August: What I’ve Been Reading

Hello…and Happy September 1st! I had hoped to post this yesterday, but this photo of Hayden kind of sums up my Monday, and honestly, most of Tuesday:

haha

So, the transition back to school kind of got in the way of my reading, but I was able to finish three books this month. (…and to my credit, one was pretty long! 😉)

This month I read…

{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}

Local Woman Missing

Local Woman Missing

Summary:

Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold.

Now, 11 years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find….

In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense and New York Times best-selling author Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.

Quick Thoughts:

I enjoy Kubica books. I’ve read The Couple Next Door, Every Last Lie, The Good Girl and I think even more books by her. This one didn’t disappoint! This book is dark and suspenseful which made it a pretty quick read for me because it held my attention. I didn’t necessarily see the ending coming, but about halfway through there were a couple of red flags that really got me thinking about a couple of the characters. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it.

Rating:

Golden Girl

Golden Girl

Summary:

On a perfect June day, Vivian Howe, author of thirteen beach novels and mother of three nearly grown children, is killed in a hit-and-run car accident while jogging near her home on Nantucket. She ascends to the Beyond where she’s assigned to a Person named Martha, who allows Vivi to watch what happens below for one last summer. Vivi also is granted three “nudges” to change the outcome of events on earth, and with her daughter Willa on her third miscarriage, Carson partying until all hours, and Leo currently “off again” with his high-maintenance girlfriend, she’ll have to think carefully where to use them.

From the Beyond, Vivi watches “The Chief” Ed Kapenash investigate her death, but her greatest worry is her final book, which contains a secret from her own youth that could be disastrous for her reputation. But when hidden truths come to light, Vivi’s family will have to sort out their past and present mistakes—with or without a nudge of help from above—while Vivi finally lets them grow without her.

With all of Elin’s trademark beach scenes, mouth-watering meals, and picture-perfect homes, plus a heartfelt message—the people we lose never really leave us—Golden Girl is a beach book unlike any other.

Quick Thoughts:

So, I’ve seen some conflicting reviews about this book. Some don’t like the supernatural element, but I enjoyed that perspective of Vivian looking down and watching over her family after she was gone. That being said some of Vivian’s exchanges with Martha seemed a bit hokey and a little unnatural. All that to say, I’ve enjoyed every Elin Hilderbrand book I’ve read, and I loved this one too. I liked the idea of Vivian having the three nudges combined with the evolving family and friends’ relationships after Vivian’s death. Those relationships combined with solving the mystery of who the driver was who hit Vivian provided for a really interesting plot. This book was on my summer reading list, and it was the perfect way to cap off my summer reading.

Rating:

The Four Winds

The Four Winds

Summary:

Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance.

In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America’s most defining eras—the Great Depression

Quick Thoughts:

I’ve been wanting to read this book for quite some time, and I’m so glad that I finally read it. I loved it. Now, I knew it would be heavy. It’s set during the Great Depression. It was, in fact, a heavy read. There isn’t a lot of light or hope in Elsa’s life. That being said, she was inspiring to me. I can’t imagine being a mother who shoulders the responsibility of everything in today’s world, let alone having to be the sole caretaker and provider during Great Depression. Elsa is courageous. She is fierce. She is determined. I will say the ending crushed me. I was an invested reader, and I thought I knew how it would end…but I was wrong.

There are female characters in books that I will always remember. Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird. Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. Lydia in American Dirt. Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing. I can definitely add Elsa to that elite list of fierce females.

You know I love a book when I share some favorite quotes:

• “Life went on, even in the hardest of time…”
• “It wasn’t the fear that mattered in life. It was the choices made when you were afraid. You were brave because of your fear, not in spite of it.”

I’m sure we can all relate to Elsa’s grit and determination at some point in our lives even if we haven’t travelled across the country in a run down truck, worked tirelessly in a field, or pinched pennies to budget for basic necessities.

Rating:

Summer Reading Update:

These were the books on my summer reading list:

• Here’s to Us: read!
• Big Summer: started but couldn’t really get into it.
• The Summer House: read!
• Girls of Summer: read!
• That Summer: had to return it before I could read it.
• Golden Girl: read!

So, while I did a lot of reading this summer, I only read 4 of my 6 summer books. Honestly, this is also why I fail at book clubs. haha I did like having a plan on some books I wanted to read while mixing in other ones as they became available at the library.

What have you been reading lately? Let me know what I should add to my list.

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