It was a slow(er) reading month. Work picked up, trash shows came back on TV, and my brain was distracted (Heidi gestures wildly to the state of the world). I also took a break once I reached my yearly goal of 100 books! Huzzah! Celebrate! Yay!

Total Books: 6
Audio: 3
Physical: 2
Mix: 1
DNF: 1

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Audio
Rating: 2.5/5

Summary: Two toxic people are hot for each other while a bunch of bad stuff happens!

Oh, Abby. I love her writing but don’t love when she goes overboard with the trauma. And, woah buddy, it was like she spun a Wheel of Trauma every time she was bored and decided to sprinkle in another depressing topic. It was too much, and the main character was ridiculous (not in a good way). Emotional affairs, infertility, organ donation, OCD, manipulative mothers, worries of home invasion, and more! Sprinkle in cursing, miscommunication, and an explicit scene and yikes! I need a Jimenez time out!

Genre: Thriller (?)
Format: Audio
Rating: 2/5

Summary: Miserable people on a train get murdered. No one is fun.

Look at the cover! Cool Train! Okay, that was the best part. Move along. Unfortunately, I read the reviews of “not his best work” and “he does over the top twists, but this was ridiculous” AFTER reading the book. A cold & unstable lady lures all of the people that wronged her father on a 13 hour train ride to get arrested. But they start getting murdered. I don’t mind twists, but I like them to make sense. This book did not make sense. Looks like I’m still on a quest for a go-to thriller author. Next!

Genre: Children’s (Middle/Upper Elementary)
Format: Physical/Audio
Rating: 4.75/5

Summary: Three girls seek assistance from a quirky teacher to save the town from a secret society and a giant worm monster.

If you enjoy Kate McKinnon, this is a slam dunk. For most of the book, my kid and I read along with her divine narration. Sometimes she got a little lost in the weeds with the characters, but it was just ridiculous in such a fun way. I’m almost bummed it has “for young ladies” in the title, because I had to talk my son into reading it. Once he understood the type of humor, he was invested and really enjoyed it.

Genre: (Raunchy) Regency Romance
Format: Physical
Rating: 4.25/5

Summary: A husband and wife trick each other back into love after a four year fight.

Miscommunication annoys me, but this was a charming treat. I survived the “why won’t they just talk to each other!?” elements of this book by enjoying the fun sidekick characters yelling “WHY WON’T YOU JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER!?” The entire book is this scene from Friends, and I’m not mad about it:

Genre: Contemporary Romance (a couple brief explicit scenes)
Format: Physical
Rating: 4.25/5

Summary: A high strung doctor and a guy down on his luck get thrown together for a ridiculous adventure.

The only way I’m going to enjoy a story about “working through grief with a splash of instant-romance” is if there is also a LOST JEWEL and MURDER! This was an easy-to-read delight of a book that could have turned very obnoxious very quickly. I will look for this author again when I need a lighter romance detour – which is high praise.

Genre: Fantasy/Adult Fairy Tale (A reread of a comfort book!)
Format: Audio
Rating: 4.5/5

After (wildly gestures to all current events), I needed to distract my brain with lovely world-building and a gather-the-gang adventure. I liked reading it more than the audio book, but it was still a delicious tale allowing charming escapes for my noggin.

THE QUIT LIST: Apparently, I would fail AP Literature. In a quest to read what my niece was reading in high school, I picked up the book 1984. Wow, it’s ROUGH. A society where history is being erased and there are giant posters of a toxic leader and freedoms are being eroded? NOTHING TO SEE HERE. (It was actually affecting my mental health…..so, sorry Niece! Go on without me!)

It still feels like summer, but I sense books and blankets in my future. Happy Fall Reading!