What I Read in September & Share Your Shelf #6
Marilyn, Jennifer, Tanya, and I are enjoying this monthly link up (that goes live on the first Thursday of every month) dedicated solely to books and book reviews. It's hard to believe it's been 6 months since we started this link up!
My month was off to a real strong start and I had read 8 books by the 15th! It then took me the entire rest of the month to finish my other 2. What can I say? Life definitely got much busier the second 1/2 of the month.
1. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston-- Evie Porter is playing the role of the perfect girlfriend while biding her time trying to figure out what her boss actually wants. She's given names and locations from her boss Mr. Smith. Evie knows hardly anything about Mr. Smith but she knows this job just isn't the same because she's starting to have real feelings for the mark, Ryan. It was a fun and twisty tale of espionage and spies with several fun little unexpected turns.
2. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan-- Ali has been stuck... after having mourned the loss of her mother and her marriage for two years she's still wearing sweatpants and just going through the normal routine of life. But this summer she finally decides to take off her wedding rings and put on something that sort of resembles real clothes. She bumps into Ethan at the dog park where her dog immediately pees on him and while Ali is mortified, Ethan seems to take it in stride. In fact he seems like maybe he's checking her out & might actually be interested in her. Ali thinks a fun little summer romance with Ethan might be just what she needs. It was a really cute story.
3. The Rule Book by Sarah Adams-- This is the 2nd book to the one I read last month; The Cheat Sheet A super cute and simple story of second change loves and enemies to lovers tropes. Nora Mackenzie's (Mack for short) career is finally taking off and her first client is none other than NFL's famous tight end Derek Pender... only problem is that Nora and Derek used to date in college and it did not end well. Derek is still hurt and angry and determined to make Nora quit while Nora is determined to do whatever it takes to drag Derek's career into a huge success. It was adorable!
4. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown-- I both listened to and watched the movie this month. This is fabulous story based on the real life experiences of the 1936 Olympic rowing team. In a country where so many are struggling from The Great Depression and the Dustbowl this team of underdogs defied the odds. I learned a lot about the sport of rowing too.
5. The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin-- 3 college friends Hannah, Lainey, Tyson, make a pact after their 4th friend Summer commits suicide (I don't feel this is a key plot point though all the summaries of the book avoid it but we know this fact by page 10!). The 3 friends promise to always drop anything if anyone of them ever reaches out for help feeling like they have hit rock bottom. So when Hannah's life implodes one day she reaches out and the other two come running. All three embark on a trip together. I've heard a wide range of opinions on this one but I enjoyed it.
6. Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino-- I'm not sure what it is about Confino's writing style but I just love her books usually right from the first page or so! This one was no different. Set in the 1960's Beverly's world is turned on her head when she walks in on her husband and his secretary. She kicks him out and sets about building a new life for herself... helping to the run the campaign of her husband's boss' competition all while juggling her kids, her mother, and the house. She's fun and feisty and I really liked this one!
7. Want to Know A Secret? By Freida McFadden-- April Masterson runs a YouTube baking channel out of her house and knows the secret to making each baked treat a real delight. She lives in a wealthy suburban neighborhood with her husband and son but suddenly it seems like someone is out to get her. Little things start going wrong in all aspects of her life either followed or preceded by an anonymous text message. Someone is out to destroy her and reveal the secrets April doesn't want told. It was a fun and quick read!
8. The Moment I Met You by Debbie Johnson-- Elana and her boyfriend Harry are on a vacation in Mexico when they decide to explore a small town separately; Elana questioning their future and where they are heading. During their time apart an earthquake hits and the two are forever changed. Nearly a decade later and Elana is still struggling to forget the face of the kind stranger, Alex, she connected with in the aftermath of the tragedy. When she is approached to take part in a documentary about the night for the 10 year anniversary, Elana is forced to face some long buried secrets and ponder if the decisions that she has made have been the right ones. It was a really powerful and moving story.
9. Sandwich by Catherine Newman-- I really enjoyed this story SO much! Rocky is visiting Cape Cod with her family for the week one summer; in her late 40's going through menopause she can't help but reflect on all the previous summers she and her family have spent in this very same rental. Dealing with parenting adult children, a body that no longer really feels like her own, and her aging parents makes this story quite compelling. Sad and sweet, and funny and poignant, it gave me all the feels.
10. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles-- My husband's uncle recommended this book to me this summer and I just now got around to listening to it. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it! Count Alexander Rostov has been sentenced to "house arrest" inside a prominent hotel across the street from the Kremlin. You wouldn't think there would be much to say about living as a prisoner inside of a hotel but it was a really neat story with a fun cast of characters.
I did not like Sandwich at all- the PERFECT family yearly vacationing folks did not resonate with me. But I did like the movie The Boys in the Boat and I read a Gentlemen in Moscow which I thought was good. The McFadden book looks good. I can never remember if I have read any of hers or not when I read reviews. The authors of that genre tend to blur together to me!
ReplyDeleteI didn't think it was supposed to be the perfect family type folks so I was okay with their strife and secrets and angst. I do find that authors from the suspenseful genre are harder to distinguish from one another mostly because all the colors often look the same and I don't know them nearly as well as all the beach reads authors (who also tend to have very similar looking covers).
DeleteThe Summer Pact is my next book so glad you enjoyed it- hopefully I will too!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do too!
DeleteAmor Towles is one of my favorites and I really loved The Lincoln Highway if you haven't read that one. I also loved A Gentleman in Moscow. Lincoln Highway is completely different but so good. I am trying to wrap up my UK posts but maybe this weekend can add my books for September.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of checking that one out next since I had heard good things about it.
DeleteThanks for the recommendations! I just started Summer Romance last night.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteWe watched the TV series, A Gentlemen in Moscow. I bet the book is even better.
ReplyDeleteI definitely liked the book a lot better; in fact I almost felt like without knowing the book I might have been a bit lost on a few parts of the show/series.
DeleteYou've read a lot of books this month Joanne. I will add some of these to my reading list.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI've read both The Boys in the Boat as well as A Gentleman in Moscow (just now recognizing the male theme, ha) and enjoyed them too.
ReplyDeleteLOL! They were both really good.
DeleteThere's also a documentary about the Boys in the Boat that is a great watch. We loved that one too.
ReplyDeleteXOOX
Jodie
I'll have to look for that!
DeleteMy reading month was the same with most of the books before our trip on the 18th.
ReplyDeleteI saw that! I just didn't expect to have such a busy fall.
DeleteMy daughter's roommate lives in the Seattle area so I was able to talk to her and her mom about the Boys in the Boat & I learned a lot about rowing too. I enjoyed learning a new story that I had not heard of before this movie.
ReplyDeleteOh how neat!
DeleteThe 1936 Olympics was crazy, besides the Boys in the Boat, there were other things going on in that Olympics.
ReplyDeleteThe book did touch on some of what was going on during Nazi Germany at the time but I can well imagine there was so much more going on beyond that.
DeleteThe only book of these I've read is A Gentleman in Moscow, and I loved it. I did add a couple to my TBR!
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
I hope you like them!
DeleteI thought The Summer Pact was just okay. It was readable and mildly enjoyable, but it just wasn't the Emily Giffin that I'm used to. I usually LOVE her books.
ReplyDeleteThat's how I'm feeling about Jodi Picoult books! I used to love hers and I find her newer books either just "meh" or I can't even make it through them at all!
DeleteDitto, I think I have only read one of her books, a recent one, but felt like 'what's the big deal?'
DeleteFor Jodi or Emily, Leslie?
DeleteI've had my eye on a couple of these and read 2 of them. I liked Sandwich, too. But First Lie Wins wasn't really my cup of tea. I didn't like the characters. And PC and I have commented that lately in everything we watch on TV the characters seem so unlikable. Where are the good guys these days?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like a nice good guy I can root for too! I'm not into these dark comedies and dramadies.
DeleteSome great reads! I'm going to add some of these to my list, thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI've read three of these and have a few more on my list!
ReplyDeleteI have such a hard time narrowing down my list! I think for every book I read I add 2 or 3 more onto the list.
DeleteI read "A Gentleman in Moscow" and really enjoyed it. Now I need to get caught up on the show! The rest of the books sound really good too. I'm sure they will be added to my already-too-long TBR list.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the show but did think the book was better; of course I always think the book was better.
DeleteFirst Lie Wins was one of my favorites in August! What a read! A Gentleman in Moscow is on my TBR. I need to do a whole month devoted to TBRs.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link up!
I am trying not to pick up any new books until I get the ones in my bedside table read... I am just awful at setting aside the books I actually own and only reading the ones from the library! I feel my TBR pile is always growing despite how much I read.
DeleteI absolutely loved First Lie Wins! I cant wait to see what novel she comes out with next. Sara Goodman Confino is such a good author. I have enjoyed all of her novels. I love Emily Giffin's novels but The Summer Pact wasn't one of my favorite's that she's written.
ReplyDeleteThat seems to be the consensus when it comes to The Summer Pact; I'm not sure I've read much else by Emily Giffin...
DeleteHi, Joanne - A few years ago I read Boys in the Boat and Gentleman in Moscow back to back. I greatly enjoyed BitB. I originally LOVED, LOVED, LOVED every moment of GiM...that is until the crazy Hollywood ending. I was so upset about it that I still haven't read another book by the author. I need to get over, I know. <3
ReplyDeleteLOL! Yeah the ending was a bit over the top.
DeleteHi Joanne another month of great recommendations. I have had A Gentleman in Moscow downloaded forever and haven't been able to find the motivation to begin. Perhaps now is a good time. Thanks for sharing at #WOYBS? and look forward to you joining us next month. x
ReplyDeleteIf you get around to reading it, I do hope you enjoy it too.
DeleteThe only book I've read from your list is First Lie Wins and I enjoyed it. Sandwich took my attention, just for the title. Thanks for the recommendations
ReplyDeleteJust as a warning it has become quite the controversial book since it deals with abortion.
DeleteI really enjoyed The Moment I Met You, and First Lie Wins. I used to love Emily Giffin's books and haven't read any for a while. Maybe it's time to reacquaint myself with her. Thanks for linking up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
DeleteHi Joanne, we enjoyed listening to The Boys in the Boat on a road trip, it was really enjoyable. I also read A Gentleman in Moscow for our book club, it was a great read. Thanks for linkup up with us.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting!
DeleteI've heard about First Lie Wins + it's on my list but I haven't gotten around to actually reading it yet! I also just picked up A Gentleman in Moscow from a little free library a few days ago.
ReplyDeleteI love your description of Behind Every Good Man -- adding it to my list as well! Thank you for linking up! :]
You're welcome!
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