Wednesday, 21 August 2024

My August 2024 recent reads

I've not read as much as I hoped during August so far, as it's been a fairly busy month! But that's not to say I haven't read anything, so I thought I'd share some quickfire reviews of the books I've read recently...

Girls Who Burn by M K Pagano


This was a NetGalley ARC, and I gave it 4 stars; it's a YA thriller set in small town America, which is something I really enjoy, and it touches a lot on privilege and grief and family issues. It follows Addie, who is reeling from the death of her sister last summer, still hung up on trying to prove that it wasn't an accident or a suicide. Tensions run high as Addie works with her childhood rival to get to the bottom of things - it's a really fast paced read with plenty of drama and twists. I would definitely recommend for an easy summer read! Pick it up here.

Unbearably Yours by Elodie Colliard


Another ARC, this one a five star!!! I absolutely adored this book, which features two penpals (Charlee and Oliver) who had fallen in love through their letters, but then fallen apart too. Thrown together in the Canadian wilderness for work, they have to navigate their way through some disasters while trying to ignore the heartache they're both feeling. The lovers-enemies-lovers and forced proximity tropes in this book were done so well, and it's beautifully written. I truly loved and would absolutely recommend. Get it on pre-order here!

Rani Choudhury Must Die by Adiba Jaigirdar


A sapphic dual POV stem romance? Sign me up; this was my first Adiba Jaigirdar read, but I'm already keen to read more. Another rivals to lovers romance, Meghna and Rani are ex best friends who are both into science, both Muslim, and both... dating the same boy?! They end up teaming together to bring him down, and rekindle their friendship along the way. Absolutely 5 stars and absolutely another recommendation from me! Pre-order it here...


Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty


I'd never read any Liane Moriarty books until I picked up Big Little Lies in a charity shop a few months ago, which I flew through in a day. When I got an ARC of Here One Moment I was chuffed; it starts out on a delayed plane journey, where we meet a variety of passengers and one who stands out - 'the death lady'. She tells each passenger their age and cause of death, and then this goes on to cause quite the stir as her 'predictions' begin to come true and people try to track her down. Beautifully, almost poetically written, this is a sad but fascinating tale of grief, trauma, magic and more. Five bloody stars again! Highly recommend. Pre-order it here!

Wonderstruck by Seraphina Chen


Another ARC, but sadly not one I enjoyed - the premise is sweet, following homeschooled Serena as she joins an actual school and gets close to the kind, cool Tyler. It's a fun storyline and I liked the characters, but the writing was baffling; there seemed to be a lot of grammar mistakes and odd repetitions, and plot holes. For me this was so jarring! If that sort of thing doesn't bother you then this is definitely a nice little romance, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it - I'd probably give it a 3 star at a push. Get it here if you fancy the sound of it...

Bad Apple by Alice Hunter


This was my first Alice Hunter read, though I know she has a few. I didn't love it, and it's sitting at 3.5 stars for me. It's a thriller that follows an ex-policewoman who has found evidence that her husband, also a police officer, is a rapist - she's reported him, been kicked off the force, and is now try to rebuild her life from rock bottom while simultaneously not giving up on getting justice for his victims. I can't really pin down what I didn't like about it, but overall it was just a bit 'meh'. Check it out here.

Love Game by Emma Rae


I read this in about 3 hours non-stop, and I'm rating at a 4 star - SO good! It's another tennis romance, strangers to lovers, with a fair bit of spice and drama. It's also set mostly in Miami, and follows personal chef Elle as she gets a job cooking for hot tennis star Nicky. There's definitely some questionable elements to the storyline but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and would highly recommend. Pick it up here.

That's everything I've read up to now in August, but I'll hopefully do a part 2 at the end of the month as I'm currently reading another Liane Moriarty, and listening to a Ruth Ware audiobook. Let me know if you've read any of these and what you thought!

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