What I Read in August : Dinah

I didn’t realize how many murders and thrillers I had read in August until I started working on this post, so if you are in the mood for suspense - this is the place for you (there is also one fantastic memoir and a light romance on the list). My streak of crazy summer reading continued, in part because I was picking zippier books, but also because I had more time on the beach and lazy weekend mornings, plus a slew of big storms that gave me an excuse to read a book in a day or two.

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What I Read in August : Dinah

Too Good to Be True

Carola Lovering writes such gripping books about toxic relationships. I was obsessed with Tell Me Lies when I read it, and when I discovered she had a new book out, I read it in two days flat (it was during Tropical Storm Henri, so I feel okay about it). The story is told from multiple perspectives, Skye, a 28-year-old woman with OCD, and then journal entries from her fiance, 42-year-old Burke, and his wife (!!!) Heather, although her story is set 25 years in the past. The stories all weave together, leaving you questioning who is telling the truth, what their motives are, and how their lives all came to be intertwined.

I read this so quickly! I definitely saw one of the twists coming, but was a little bit surprised by some of the others. I love relationship thrillers where no one starts out murdered, and are more about the games people are playing with each - they feel more likely to happen in real life which makes them more intense for me. I would 100% recommend this, but want to include a trigger warning for a very intense sexual assault scene.

Somebody’s Daughter

In a month of dark but wild books, I was excited to make a return to reality with Ashley Ford’s memoir. Written mainly about her childhood growing up in Indiana with an abusive mother, father in jail and a tumultuous family life. She grapples with confusing and conflicting messages from the people in life about her body, her relationships and the reality of how to survive what life throws at her. A sexual assault throws her world into disarray, especially when she finally learns the truth of why her father is in prison.

This was such a sad memoir, but ultimately hopeful. Ford’s childhood struck me in that it felt so far away from my own, but a very common experience in our country. I appreciated that while she ultimately found success and a way to be happy, she acknowledged that you never fully leave behind your family and upbringing, you just find a way to continually set boundaries and renegotiate relationships. It was incredibly well written and while the content was heavy, her sense of humor came through.

Survive The Night

Riley Sager is one of the biggest voices in the horror book/thriller genre these days, so I had very high expectations for this one. The book opens in 1991 with Charlie, who is dropping out of college following the murder of her roommate a few months before by the Campus Killer. To get home, she accepts a ride from a stranger that she meets by a rideshare board, but as the drive goes on her suspicions about who he is grow, even as she questions her own grip on reality.

I don’t want to reveal more of the plot, but the pacing is definitely interesting. A huge chunk of the story takes place between just Charlie and the mysterious driver in the car, with some flashbacks interspersed, but the final third of the book goes in a million crazy directions! There were maybe too many plot twists, some of which I saw coming, but it was a fun ride, especially feeling the tension grow in the car with every action feeling so loaded.

The Hunting Wives

I love bonkers books about rich Southern women in small towns involved in murders and this did not disappoint! Sophie has moved back to the small town in Texas where she attended high school, reconnecting with old friends and trying to find her footing after leaving behind a magazine editor job in Chicago. She becomes obsessed with the wealthy and fabulous Margot and finds her way into her tight-knit group of friends, only to discover a number of very scandalous secrets that bind them together and threaten to tear them apart. As a newcomer, she becomes a pawn in the emotional games the women play.

This book was a delight - it was funny, drama-filled, sexy, stressful and also weirdly relatable? The protagonist made some truly terrible choices, but felt like a real, but flawed person. I was surprised by some of the twists and enjoyed how the final act unfolded.

Make Up Break Up

In the midst of all of the murders, I was excited to finally get this loan from the library and dive into a fun romance. The main characters run rival dating related start-ups. Annika is in the midst of developing new AI that helps couples communicate better, while Hudson has a already booming app that allows people to hire someone to handle their breakup the way they would order an Uber. After a one week vacation romance in Vegas a year before, Hudson’s company moves down the hall from Annika and their rivalry takes off, with sparks flying all along the way.

This was definitely a predictable rom com plot and there was a weird number of unnecessary outfit descriptions, but it scratched my itch for something light and cheerful! The stakes weren’t too high, the premise wasn’t entirely unbelievable, and the characters were all very likeable. I wish some of the friend side characters had been fleshed out a little bit more, but overall I had fun reading this.

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