Monday, August 1, 2022

Mini Book Reviews: July 2022

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a PRC of Now is Not the Time To Panic from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my unbiased review. 

July sure flew by didn't it? Reading-wise, this month was a mixed bag of books for me while I waited for my library holds to come in. As usual, all 6 of them came in at once towards the end of the month. So stay tuned for my August reviews, as I furiously make my way through the pile. Meanwhile, I read a prerelease by a favorite author of mine, a quirky little read by another familiar author, a trashy thriller--who doesn't like those?, a novel about time travel from my Kindle TBR, and 2 books from my library holds. This was a very satisfying month of books!




A young woman, leaving her abusive boyfriend, travels to North Carolina to settle into her new beach house. A category 3 hurricane makes landfall shortly after her arrival and flattens her house, leaving her homeless. A chance encounter with a cameraman filming her home sets the rest of the story in motion. Hurricane Girl is a short book, but it is a wild, darkly comedic story that you won't want to put down. I love quirky characters and I was not disappointed. 





A few years ago I read Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here, an unusual story about 2 children that burst into flames when they become angry. I do love a quirky read and that book has stayed me with since I read it. I was excited to read Wilson's newest offering and can I just say he keeps getting better? Now is Not the Time to Panic is a coming-of-age story about a misfit 16 year old girl and her equally awkward artist friend who is in town for the summer. When they find a Xerox machine in her garage, they get it working and create a poster with a crazy phrase, hanging it all over their town. Anonymously of course. Rumors and speculation about the poster spread like wildfire and the two teens vow to never reveal that the poster originated with them. Fast forward 20 years later and a journalist who is investigating the story, figures out that the girl is behind it. What happens? You'll have to read this fantastic story to find out for yourself after November 8.


What could go wrong? A mysterious handsome man moves into an upscale neighborhood and gets involved with 3 best friends. What was his motive? The story is told from the 3 women's alternating POVs, something that often confuses me but works well here. Kind of a thriller, kind of trashy, My Summer Darlings is definitely a guilty pleasure. Sometimes a reader just needs a break from all the heaviness in the world. 






Emily Giffin is one of those authors who writes books that are impossible to put down. Meant to Be was no exception. Loosely based on the real life romance between JFK Jr and Caroline Bessette, Giffin imagines their romance. You can't help but love Joe, the happy-go-lucky son of the venerable Kingsley family. He meets the love of his life, Cate, after many, many entanglements with other women. In spite of her success as a model, she's got a lot of family history that she doesn't want the Kingsleys to discover. The story is somewhat predictable--until it isn't. Can we talk about that ending?




Oona Out of Order
is a variation on time travel that was a fun read, once I got into it. It took me a few chapters to understand what was happening. Every year, on January 1, Oona time travels to a different year of her life. She leaves herself a note on December 31 so that she can recall what happened in the most recent year she was in. Only her mother knows about this strange phenomenon and helps steady Oona through her adventures. Confusing? A little bit, but once I figured it out, I really enjoyed it! 




Imagine waking up one morning to find a box with a string inside. The length of the string corresponds to the amount of time you have left to live. All over the world, everyone over the age of 22 receives a box. Would you open your box? And how would you live your life with the knowledge the string would give you? The Measure is a creative and thought-provoking novel that explores the stories of people whose stories interact with each other, how decisions make for consequences, and how people learn to live with their strings. Crazy good and gave me so much food for thought. I felt like some of the story ran parallel to what happened after Covid began to spread. It's just fascinating and would definitely be a great book club discussion!


I also read one running-based book this month and did a joint review with Liz Dexter, who blogs over at Adventures in Reading, Running, and Working from Home. You can read her review here.

Running in the Midpack
 is a comprehensive handbook for the rest of us, the runners in the midpack. Readers can be assured of having no illusions of making it to the front of the pack, although the authors do talk about "the pointy end of the midpack", lol. It's an easy read and you can bookmark the sections you'll want to return to again. I'd recommend this book to experienced and beginner runners as well! I gave this book the full blog treatment and you can read my review here.





What have you read lately? Any books you want to recommend to me? What kind of books do you like to read? 


I'm linking up with Kim and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics.





24 comments :

  1. I read Oona out of order and got into it and thought it was a fun read. Meant to be sounds like a good summer read. I just finished 2 days in Lisbon. If you like mystery/thrillers I read it in 2 days. I also just read the new Daniel Silva book-not my fave of all of his books but very good

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  2. You really read some interesting books! I haven't read any of these, although I've definitely heard of a few of them. I'm very intrigued by The Measure and just put a library hold on it!

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  3. These are all new for me... thanks for the recommendations. I'm still working on last month's lol

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  4. Sadly I haven't read any books this year, but I recently started an audiobook. I've never listened to a book before so I'll see how I like it. Running in the Midpack sounds like an interesting read!

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  5. I haven't ready any of the books you reviewed, but just might have to order Hurricane Girl and My Summer Darlings for our beach trip!

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  6. Great variety! They all sound entertaining. Gotta say The Summer Darlings really sounds kinda naughty (in a good way, LOL).

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  7. I think I would open my box with the string. But then, what would I do if I found it was very short?

    We know a couple that are both ultrarunners. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer and unfortunately, it has spread already. I see on Strava that they simply keep on doing their runs together and enjoy life.
    I quite like that!

    Right now I'm reading "Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss, a book all about negotiating. Fascinating!

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    1. I still don't know if I'd open the box. As I approach a big milestone birthday, I am starting to realize that time is limited! I'm not being morbid, but I just don't want to miss a thing.

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  8. Some good ones here, and thanks for the shout-out on Running in the Midpack, I did enjoy reading and reviewing that with you! I was frantic with NetGalley books last month, a bit more chilled now. Reading "I am not your Baby Mother" by Candice Braithwaite, about Black motherhood in the UK, a mix of memoir and call to action; it's really good.

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    1. I will keep that book on my radar! I'm still plowing my way through all the library holds that came in. Just finished one that was meh for me. 4 more to go! lol

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  9. Meant To Be sounds like a good book! The author sounds familiar so Ive probably read some of her books before. I also think the Measure sounds pretty interesting!

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    1. I flew through Meant to Be. It was good--the author is such a good writer!

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  10. I love your book reviews. I haven't read any of those but I'm looking for some good new reads (or listens, actually). It's gotten so bad I've been re-listening to books from my audible library. It's actually amazing how little I remember of most of them!

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    1. I have yet to do audiobooks. I'm not a podcast listener either. I like to read!

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  11. At this rate I need one year to catch up on all of your books. So many good ones this month. Would I open my box? I go back and forth with wanting to know and not wanting to know.

    Thank you for linking up with us!

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  12. I always appreciate your book reviews! Thanks for the suggestions!

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