If I had to describe August in one word, it would be “magical”. Perhaps it’s pure nostalgia that runs through my veins in August but there has always been something so special about this month. Most of our family trips to Hawaii were in August. We’d come back for the school year, sun kissed and full of aloha. Those trips were spent running in and out of family houses, accidentally drinking way too much sea water, digging sand out of every crevice, and eating the most delicious foods you could imagine. I’d come back to school, ready for the new year and new challenges. Ready to see all my friends. And ready for my favorite time of the year to start – the “ber” months. Call it magic. Call it nostalgia. Call it whatever you want. I’m just happy we’re here.
Speaking of books though, both my reading books (aka: non-audiobooks) had crap endings and I’m a little annoyed about that. Both books were great up until that end.
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
What is it About? 2nd Chance Romance. Macy and Elliot were childhood sweethearts until an incident ripped them apart. They hadn’t talked in over a decade before they run into each other. The same sparks fly because closure is important. Also, this takes place in the Bay Area, which I loved.
My Review: I gave this book 5 stars immediately because I could not put it down. Literally. I read it one day. It gave me all the feels and butterflies and I just loved it. But upon more reflection… probably only 4 stars, for various reasons. I’m keeping it at 5 since that’s what I put on GoodReads and Instagram.
Macy’s mom dies before any part of the book takes place (even though this does some time hopping). I thought of Thea a lot when Macy talks about her mom. She said, “I think of her everywhere. She is everywhere, in every moment, and also she’s in no one moment. She misses every single one of my moments and I’m not sure who that is harder for: me surviving here without her, or her without me, existing wherever she is.” I had to put the book down and cry because it hit home so hard. I feel like the authors really did well with capturing the grief of losing a mother figure (her actual mother, my aunt).
Macy’s fiancé Sean, is a literal walking red flag. I literally started flagging the pages so I could remember everything. He takes a girl home, after the first date, to bang with his young daughter there (AND doesn’t even tell Macy that he’s got a kid). When Macy talks about how she’s going to see Elliot for a not date (lol), she points out that Sean could care less cause he’s setting up a new TV. Sean could give less shits when he notices that Macy is trying to impress Elliot with what she’s wearing to the picnic (the one that he doesn’t even want to go to). Her best friend, Sabrina, calls him shallow and notes that he doesn’t give warm vibes. PDA at the picnic… that he didn’t want to go to (dominance over Elliot). Scrolling through his phone when she specifically asked that he give her company while she cooks dinner. Macy tries so desperately to paint Sean as a good man – a good FATHER and it’s giving “clueless”. “I’m also sure I could leave and he would be fine with that” UH WHAT. With or without Elliot, these two really shouldn’t be together.
Second Chance romance should really be my bread and butter, shouldn’t it? Seeing as my marriage is a second chance romance. When Macy says, “I never got to fall out of love. I just had to move on”... That’s it. That’s it right there. Which is why this trope works. It’s that feeling. The lack of closure. The open window.
Under the Dome by Stephen King
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Quote: “An idea is like a cold germ: sooner or later someone always catches it.”
What is it About? A mysterious dome comes down over the town of Chester’s Mill, trapping all of its inhabitants inside. We quickly learn what happens when certain people get power.
Warning: There is A LOT of talk about sexual assault and r*pe, as well as an unnecessarily graphic r*pe scene.
My Review: Part of me thinks I should wait at least a year before I write the review for this book because the ending really pissed me off. Alas, here I am…
This book is 1,072 pages. Dad said this was one of the only ones where he thought “This could really be a lot shorter”. I could agree. It could be about 250 pages shorter. I did thoroughly enjoy getting to know so many different characters so intimately. King is so good at creating small towns. His character deep dives makes you feel like you were once a member of this town. Maybe like you had grown up here and are coming back after 20 years. It feels so familiar by the end of the book. A good example is all the random slogans that King gives the stores/people in town. Does it add to the story? No, not really. But it does help you to understand the people a little more. As soon as I saw that there were 3 dogs, I knew that this book was going to make me mad by killing at least 1 of them (spoiler alert: he kills 2). And of course one is a corgi. I’m obsessed with the fact that King has a corgi (in real life) that he nicknamed “Thing of Evil”.
Let’s talk about Junior. Whew. He was failed since day one with Big Rennie as a father BUT that doesn’t excuse his behavior. He is an absolute terror. He was waiting for the chance to get the power The Dome gave him. For a bit, I thought that Junior was going to get a redemption arc and I’m really happy he doesn’t. That might have been the real last straw for me. He committed the first (and second) murder under The Dome. The first (and only… thankfully) r*pe of dead bodies… And that’s only a smidgen of his terrible crimes. King wrote, “Today he had killed two girls he’d known since childhood. Tomorrow, he was going to be a town cop.” The irony. I couldn’t understand why he hated Barbie so much. I landed on jealousy. Barbie is ex-military and is adored by many. He’s also not a complete psycho. Junior likely didn’t believe that Barbie r*ped Angie (I don’t even want to talk about how she lied about getting r*ped), he just used it as an excuse to beat the shit out of someone he hates.
Onto Lester’s talk with God. Lester is one of the town’s pastors and he’s absolutely batshit before the story even starts. (Note: I say “one” of the pastors – there are two and while the book starts with being very religious, it does taper off. In the beginning, I was getting really annoyed by all the religious talk). He talks to God (regularly) and Lester’s God might be my favorite God. He is so damn sassy. “Did you get up on the stupid side of the bed today, Lester?” Speaking of characters I honestly forgot about by the end of the book… I think that the only character(s) I really could care less about were Andy and Phil. During their crystal meth (yeah I know) spiral, I practically scanned the pages. I don’t even remember what happened to them.
I get that King has a corgi so he was all excited about making him save the day (EVENTUALLY) with finding the envelope (the disappointment with that whole thing is another story). But if the Golden or German Shepherd had been given that task, they would have gotten that envelope in the hands of SOMEONE way quicker and so many things could have been avoided.
I will say that so many of the deaths in this book were so satisfying. I was cheering and screaming when these assholes died. However, Big Rennie’s death was so disappointing. Sure, he suffered a bit, but I wanted someone to see the life leave his eyes. I’m mad that King took that away from me.
I wanted to end on the fact that none of the women were on Team Rennie. Not a single one. Because they knew. Because we know evil men. I’ve met men like Junior. We know to stay the hell away as pure survival instinct.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote [audiobook]
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
What is it About? This book follows the murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959.
My Review: This book has been on my TBR for years. It’s often sited as the first True Crime Novel. I understand why it’s so critically acclaimed! However, I second guessed myself at first. As I was listening to the first chapter, I kept thinking, “Wait, IS this a True Crime book?” The way it’s written really immerses you in the world of the murders. The narrator is excellent (not to mention, one of the first male narrators I’ve listened to that doesn’t make the female characters sound like whining brats) and while I’m sure that reading the book is fun, this was a whole new experience! It was a horrific murder that shook the very small community and was incredibly senseless. Capote interviewed practically every person who could have been involved (including every member of that town), as well as the murderers. It’s always rough listening to an “old” book because the narrator just busts out the n word like no other (this was a big theme in Helter Skelter as well – which I listened to in April). My biggest gripe with this book is that Capote almost paints a sympathetic portrait of the killers. He goes to great lengths to explain both their pasts and how they were failed by the people who raised them. I get it. I do. But I have zero sympathy for murderers. I was a little surprised that he busted out with that, seeing as the book is literally called “In Cold Blood”, which is how this family was murdered. It’s the 2nd best selling True Crime book (behind Helter Skelter), which I get. Helter Skelter is a shock book – everyone knows Charles Manson. It’s the book your high school band boyfriend claimed to read. So sure, it’s purchased all the time.
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey [audiobook]
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
What is it About? This is a deep dive into the research behind the Harvey Weinstein New York Times article that came out in October 2017. It details the beginnings of the “Me Too” movement and what brought us here.
My Review: I watched this movie on the flight back from Scotland. When it was over, I had an urge to punch every man on the plane. I didn’t, but I did almost scream out of frustration. I couldn’t wait to read (or listen to) this book! I will say that the reporters did their due diligence. You can tell through the writing of this book that they know what they’re doing and worked really hard to not only ensure they had the facts but to also respect the privacy of the women they were writing about. I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to come out against someone so powerful, especially when you have everything to lose. The book was heavy and a little repetitive. You heard the same story from the same person multiple times. I began to feel like I was the reporter tracking down all these leads and convincing the women involved to speak up, which was exhausting. In the end, I highly recommend watching this movie. It was condensed well enough that it covered all of the most important parts and it kept the integrity of the situation.
Have you read any of these books? Have I convinced you (or not) to read any of these? What was your favorite book to read in August? What is your favorite book that has the WORST ending?
Writes with Wolves 