It’s time for another monthly reading roundup! I have to admit that I’ve been slowing down on my reading pace slightly. I felt bad about this at first, but then I just finally got to the point of allowing myself to relax and know it’s okay 🙂 I am still reading (almost) every night for 1 hour or 30 minutes before bed, but I haven’t been doing as much reading outside of that time, and that’s okay!
I say all this, and I still read SIX books this month, haha. So still some reading content to enjoy this month.
What I slow down on in quantity, I more than made up for in quality. I read some seriously good and surprising books this month that I’m excited to share.
What I Read: July 2021
We Run the Tides, Vendela Vida: 3 Stars
Description: Teenage Eulabee and her magnetic best friend, Maria Fabiola, own the streets of Sea Cliff, their foggy oceanside San Francisco neighborhood. They know Sea Cliff’s homes and beaches, its hidden corners and eccentric characters—as well as the upscale all-girls’ school they attend. One day, walking to school with friends, they witness a horrible act—or do they? Eulabee and Maria Fabiola vehemently disagree on what happened, and their rupture is followed by Maria Fabiola’s sudden disappearance—a potential kidnapping that shakes the quiet community and threatens to expose unspoken truths.
Suspenseful and poignant, We Run the Tides is Vendela Vida’s masterful portrait of an inimitable place on the brink of radical transformation. Pre–tech boom San Francisco finds its mirror in the changing lives of the teenage girls at the center of this story of innocence lost, the pain of too much freedom, and the struggle to find one’s authentic self. Told with a gimlet eye and great warmth, We Run the Tides is both a gripping mystery and a tribute to the wonders of youth, in all its beauty and confusion.
My thoughts: I’ve described books like this multiple times, but this was also one of the The Dutch House type cooks with a higher focus on creative storytelling and less of an action-packed story line. There is slightly more action in this one, and it did feel really suspenseful at times. I know books like this aren’t for everyone, but I just really love something about them! I listened to this as an audiobook, and I think that’s the key to getting through more “boring” books like this – even though I don’t think boring is the right way to describe it.
Something about reading a book with a less intense plot is harder for me to get through, but listening to it feels a lot more enticing.
The Lost Apothecary, Sarah Penner: 4 Stars
Description: A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.
One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.
In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.
My thoughts: I loved this book! If you like historical fiction, you should really like this. I liked that it focused on another aspect/perspective than we usually get to experience with historical fiction reads. I thought the main characters were really easy to identify with, and the ending wrapped up nicely for me (while still holding some intrigue).
The only reason I took of a star here was because (spoiler warning), I thought the entire concept of the husband poisoning himself and Caroline charged for the crime was just unnecessary.
The Maidens, Alex Michaelides: 3 Stars
Description: Edward Fosca is a murderer. Of this Mariana is certain. But Fosca is untouchable. A handsome and charismatic Greek Tragedy professor at Cambridge University, Fosca is adored by staff and students alike—particularly by the members of a secret society of female students known as The Maidens.
Mariana Andros is a brilliant but troubled group therapist who becomes fixated on The Maidens when one member, a friend of Mariana’s niece Zoe, is found murdered in Cambridge.
Mariana, who was once herself a student at the university, quickly suspects that behind the idyllic beauty of the spires and turrets, and beneath the ancient traditions, lies something sinister. And she becomes convinced that, despite his alibi, Edward Fosca is guilty of the murder. But why would the professor target one of his students? And why does he keep returning to the rites of Persephone, the maiden, and her journey to the underworld?
When another body is found, Mariana’s obsession with proving Fosca’s guilt spirals out of control, threatening to destroy her credibility as well as her closest relationships. But Mariana is determined to stop this killer, even if it costs her everything—including her own life.
My thoughts: Hmmm. This was definitely a let down, but I don’t want to say it wasn’t good! Compared to The Silent Patient, this wasn’t my favorite book. I would definitely read that one before this one if you have the option between the two.
I guessed half of the ending but not the complete twist ending, and I’ve actually heard the same thing from a lot of you too. I also loved how this one tied in the first book slightly.
The Giver of Stars, Jojo Meyes: 5 Stars
Description: Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.
The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.
Based on a true story rooted in America’s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic–a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.
My thoughts: WOW, I loved this book so much. This was so unbelievably good. I didn’t know anything about it before I picked it up, but I was so happily surprised that it was set in Southeastern Kentucky/Rural Appalachia, which is basically where I am from. I was able to easily visualize the towns, the mountains and the characters.
Even if you’re not from this area, you should still love this book. I was on hold at the library for it for more than SIX months, so there’s definitely a big following behind this one.
This is definitely thought provoking, while still being action packed and enjoyable. I loved the variety of characters too!
Meet Me in Bombay, Jenny Ashcroft: 4 Stars
Description: Meet Me in Bombay is a powerful, poignant and deeply emotional tale of love, mystery, loss and joy.” –Kate Furnivall, New York Times bestselling author
It’s New Year’s Eve in Bombay, 1913, and Madeline Bright, new to the sweltering heat of colonial India, is yearning for all she has left behind in England. Then, at the stroke of midnight, Maddy meets Luke Devereaux, and as the year changes so do both their lives.
Bold and charismatic, Luke opens her eyes to the wonders of Bombay, while Maddy’s beauty and vivacity captures his heart. Only her mother disapproves, preferring the devoted Guy Bowen as a match for her daughter.
But while Maddy and Luke are falling in love, the world is falling apart. World War I is on the horizon, and Luke will be given no choice but to fight. They will be continents apart, separated by danger and devastating loss, but bound by Luke’s promise that they will meet again in Bombay. His only wish is to return to her–but first he must remember who she is…
My thoughts: This book is apparently controversial, and I can see why. It’s set in India before WWI, when India was under British rule. Some people argue that it romanticizes a time when the people of India and Bombay were being seriously mistreated. I didn’t know this book had a complicated reputation before I finished it, and I really liked it (ugh!! I’m sorry just being honest). I thought it was a really powerful love story, but I can see the points of those who argue it wasn’t told from the best viewpoint.
I only rated it a 4/5 because the entire memory loss story line is just impossible cheesy and pretty unrealistic, but I thought the author did the best possible job making it work.
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel, Elyssa Friedland: 4 Stars
Description: A family reunion for the ages when two clans convene for the summer at their beloved getaway in the Catskills–perfect for fans of Dirty Dancing and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel–from the acclaimed author of The Floating Feldmans.
In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than sixty years, the Goldman and Weingold families – best friends and business partners – have presided over this glamorous resort which served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be – and neither is the relationship between the Goldmans and the Weingolds. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell forces the two families together again to make a heart-wrenching decision. Can they save their beloved Golden or is it too late?
Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas and financial scandal erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel’s future. Business and pleasure clash in this fast-paced, hilarious, nostalgia-filled story, where the hotel owners rediscover the magic of a bygone era of nonstop fun even as they grapple with what may be their last resort.
My thoughts: This book took my quite a while to get invested in, but once I did, I wanted to read nonstop just to figure out which way the family was going to vote. I really loved how the final decision played out, but I do think the epilogue could have been more clear. I gave it 4 stars because it was just a little hazy for me at the end, and I had a hard time getting into it at the beginning.
If you’re a huge fan of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel or Dirty Dancing, you will love this!
Shop these reads:
That’s what I read in August! Thank you guys so much for following along with my reading content and encouraging me to keep sharing all the book things. It really means a lot and keeps me sharing even when I think no one would care.
