August Reading Wrap Up!

August has been only a semi-productive reading month, but better than I expected after a very slow start. It’s been a hodge podge of advance copies, historical fiction, regency romances, a cute story of a pet fox, and a fantastic contemporary novel with time travel. Here are some of the highlights:

Best Book of the Month: The Seven Year Slip, by Ashley Poston

I LOVED this book. Imagine a magical apartment in NYC, one that transports you seven years into the past. This is what happens to Clementine when she inherits her aunt’s flat in a one-hundred year old building. Problem #1: Seven years ago her aunt was alive, traveling abroad, and had sublet the apartment to a young man named Iwan. While Clementine and Iwan learn to share the space in the past, she is also vying for a promotion at a literary agency in the present. Problem #2: Every time Clementine goes home she doesn’t know if she will stay in the now or be swept back seven years. Despite that, there is a certain advantage of knowing the past and the present, because she has the power to change things for the better. It isn’t as confusing as it sounds, but it is incredibly clever. Some will figure out the “twist” (I did) and some will not, as well as the hint that is always given when the time slip is about to happen. This is my second Ashley Poston book and I think I may have liked it even more than The Dead Romantics. She takes the modern rom-com concept and adds a bit of magic that I’ve never seen anyone do better. 9.5/10 Stars

Biggest Disappointments: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck and Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Oh, these two books! I was so looking forward to both of them, especially Shark Heart, the story of a newly married couple who receive the news that the husband is changing into a Great White Shark. Such a unique concept that was executed so poorly, due to flashbacks and tangents. Oddly, this was exactly the problem (plus a ton of language) in Happiness Falls, the story of a Korean American family where the dad goes missing one morning. The youngest child, a 14 year old non verbal autistic son with Angelman Syndrome, is the only person who saw what happened. Again, a superb concept with so much potential. And, again, a plot bogged down by tons of minutiae. Sadly, 6/10 Stars for each of these.

Best Author Discoveries: Ashtyn Newbold and Martha Keyes

I’ve been in a clean historical romance mood lately, and happily surprised at the way certain authors create distinctive stories within the boundaries of time period norms. Aside from personal favorites Sally Britton and Joanna Barker, Ashtyn Newbold and Martha Keyes do a very good job of this. I loved the characters, dialogue flow, and plots in both of Ashtyn Newbold’s books I read this month. Martha Keyes writes a lot of books set in late 18th century Scotland. The writing is a bit more cumbersome because characters use a heavy Scottish accent, but I’ve enjoyed the characters and their stories. Although Unrequited, set in England, was a misfire for me.

The Captain’s Confidante: 9/10 Stars

The Matchmaker’s Request: 9/10 Stars

The Innkeeper and the Fugitive: 8.5 Stars

Of Lands High and Low: 8/10 Stars

Unrequited: 6/10 Stars

Expatriate Women in 1940’s Paris: The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen and The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel

These two books would make good reading for a college paper because there are so many parallels between them. Both books are about women who move to France and get swept up in marriages with men who do not live up to their expectations. Both women are separated from their children. Both are put to work during the war, doing jobs they never expected to do. I doubt all of these similarities were intentional (even the titles are similar) but I still liked each book. The plots are still individual enough to stand firmly on their own as decent stories of strong women making impossible choices during a very turbulent time. 9/10 Stars for each.

As I said, a hodge podge of a month!