Books Read in August: 29

Books Read for the Year: 216/200

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books: 

The God I Never Knew, by Robert Morris + The God I Never Knew devotional (spiritual).

Persuasion, by Jane Austen (classic). I’ve read all of Austen’s works, but it’s been a while (hence my comfort re-read). This is probably my second favorite and I enjoyed it so much!

Meet the Sky, by McCall Hoyle (TBR). I enjoyed this YA about being stuck on an island during a hurricane and dealing with your past.

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, by Fredrik Backman (TBR). This book is amazing! I loved every single page of it, and it’s now one of my all-time favorites.

The Yada Yada Prayer Group, by Neta Jackson (TBR). Excellent read to start off a series.

For Review:

The Morning Flower, by Amanda Hocking. I’m just going to have to stop reading this author. Her writing style just isn’t for me.

It Came from the Sky, by Chelsea Sedoti. This tale of two brothers who create a hoax that aliens have descended on their town was funny—and I felt like I was reading about Sheldon from Big Bang Theory.

Paris Never Leaves You, by Ellen Feldman. This is set during the Nazi occupation of Paris, and I found myself somewhat traumatized from reading it, just from the emotional distress the characters went through. I did not however, really like the main character.

No Woods So Dark as These, by Randall Silvis. I’ve enjoyed this series so far. This one had a lot more introspection, and I’m not a fan of the ending, but I like the characters and I’ll definitely read the next one.

A Life Once Dreamed, by Rachel Fordham. This was a sweet, uplifting read that I really enjoyed.

Cry of Metal & Bone, by L. Penelope. I really enjoy the Earthsinger Chronicles series, and this was no exception. Diverse characters and cultures and lots of actions make this fun to read.

The Wrong Mr. Darcy, by Evelyn Lozada. Have you ever seen something and wished fervently you could unsee it? This is that in book form. Calling this a Pride and Prejudice re-telling is a grave injustice. Horrible, unlikable, one-dimensional characters, over-the-top, unbelievable drama, just…NO.

Death by Didgeridoo, by Barbara Venkataraman. This was a quick, fun start to a new series.

Scandalous Secrets, by Synithia Williams. I enjoyed this second-chance romance.

The Case of the Killer Divorce, by Barbara Venkataraman. The second book in the series, this had me laughing at the characters’ antics.

Into a Canyon Deep, by James Lindholm. I wanted to like this, but it ended up feeling like the author was writing a Gary Stu character and the whole thing was filled with completely not-believable characters and action.

Fable, by Adrienne Young. I loved this! A seafaring, swashbuckling adventure about a girl abandoned by her father who strives to survive and get back to him—if only to find out why. Gorgeous cover, too.

Peril in the Park, by Barbara Venkataraman. Another fun, quick read in this series.

These Vengeful Hearts, by Katherine Lauren. Does doing the wrong thing for a good reason make it okay?

Secret Crush Seduction, by Jaci Lee (review forthcoming). This was a decent read, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the spoiled characters.

Sing Like No One’s Listening, by Vanessa Jones (review forthcoming). This was a fun YA read, although I know nothing about singing/dancing/performing.

Road Out of Winter, by Alison Stine (review forthcoming). This was a solid dystopian read—and I felt like I was freezing while reading it!

What They Meant for Evil, by Rebecca Deng (review forthcoming). Poignant and inspiring read.

Before She Was Helen, by Caroline Cooney (review forthcoming). This was a bit odd and a little chaotic for me.

The Amish Newcomer, by Patrice Lewis (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this read about a reporter who goes into witness protection in an Amish community.

Furia, by Yamile Saied Méndez (review forthcoming). This was a fantastic, empowering read!

Just Because:

Why Jesus? by Ravi Zacharias. Ravi was probably the greatest Christian apologist of the last 100 years, and his thoughts on Jesus compared to different religions were fascinating.

Soul Harvest, by Tim LeHaye.

Left Unfinished:

Olive the Lionheart, by Brad Ricca. I didn’t make it very far into this. I loved the family myth at the beginning, but when Olive’s part started, I was just bored.

Above the Clouds, by Kilian Jornet. This sounded fascinating—but it ended up being a bit too much of the technical details of training (and, frankly, he did some crazy/dangerous stuff to his body during training).

Blunt Force, by Lynda La Plante. I didn’t make it very far in this, as there was far too many technical details thrown in to keep my attention.

The Moon is Missing, by Jenni Ogden. I read about 25% of this, but just couldn’t get into it or care about the characters.

A Door Between Us, by Ehsaneh Sadr. This was just a case of it not being the right fit for me at the time.

Comanche, by Brett Riley. I wanted to like this. I’ve been through Comanche, Texas countless times, but I found this boring. It jumped around a lot. It was repetitive. And why no quotation marks?

 

 

 

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