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August 2016 Books Read

Life According to Steph

It’s time once again to link up with Steph and Jana for their monthly Show Us Your Books link up.  This is the day that my Goodreads to read list grows tremendously!  August was a good reading month for me.  I read a lot of books and most of them were pretty good!  Here are my August 2016 books read:

3 stars

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The Last Time She Saw Him by Jane Haseldine – When she was a child Julia Gooden’s brother was abducted and never found.  Thirty years later her two-year-old son ends up being taken on the anniversary of her brother’s abduction.  This is a suspense/thriller book that I found to be just an okay read.  Of course once you start reading, you want to finish to see how it ends.  However, I was disappointed with how it concluded.

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The Leaving by Tara Altebrando – 6 Kindergartners went missing.  Fast forward eleven years and five of them return.  They are now 16 and remember little to nothing about their eleven years in captivity.  The story is told from three different perspectives – two of the abducted, Lucas and Scarlett and Avery, the sister of Max, the one child who didn’t return.  This is a YA thriller/mystery book that left me unsatisfied with the ending.

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Modern Lovers by Emma Straub – I read The Vacationers and thought it was just okay, so luckily I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by this book.  Which was a good thing because I wasn’t.  This was another okay read for me.  College friends, once in a band, who are now adults with their own kids dealing with grown up things.

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Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares – This is the fifth book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.  It takes place ten years after the last book, where the four friends are adults now.  I’m not sure what took me so long to read this final book.  I finally read it and was a bit disappointed with the overall story.  However, it felt good to finally finish the series.

4 stars

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15th Affair by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro – This is the 15th book in the Women’s Murder Club series.  This series and the Alex Cross series are my favorites.  As usual, this was a quick, suspenseful read with a cliffhanger of an ending!

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Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo – My daughter entered 5th grade this year and this was her required summer reading book.  Since she was reading it, I decided to read it as well.  I had never read this classic before and I like to be a resource for her if she has any questions with school assignments.  This was an  enjoyable book for both of us.

The BFG

The BFG by Roald Dahl – I love being able to enjoy books with my children.  Of Roald Dahl’s books, the BFG is one that I had never read before.  My son and I read this aloud together before we see the movie when it comes out on DVD.  This book had us laughing aloud at parts and enjoying the BFG’s nonsensical language.

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The Crown by Kiera Cass – This is the fifth and last book in the Selection series.  It was not my favorite, but I was curious to see how the series ended.

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Swear On This Life by Renee Carlino – Emiline’s roommate Cara tells her about the bestselling debut novel from author J. Colby and has her read it.  When Emiline finally starts reading the book, she realizes that the story she’s reading about Emerson and Jackson mirrors her own childhood with her best friend and first love, Jase.  Reading the book changes Emiline’s life and makes her confront her past.  This was an enjoyable read.   Although this was the first book that I read by this author, it won’t be my last.

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You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott – In this book Devon is a gymnast who has the potential to make it to the Olympic team.  Her parents have sacrificed everything to support their daughter’s dream.  However, after a tragic death of someone close in the gymnastics community, their world is rocked.  This book shows the lengths a family will go to to protect one of their own.  Gymnastics has always interested me and been one of my favorite sports to watch.  This was my first Megan Abott book, but I’d like to read more of her work.

5 Stars

6

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling – This is the fifth book in the Harry Potter series and a reread for me.   We listened to this book on CD in the car while my son followed along in the book.  This book focuses on the Triwizard Tournament.

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It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover – I am a huge Colleen Hoover fan.  This book was a heartbreaking, emotional story of Lily in two different times.  There’s the story of her and Atlas in childhood and then the story of Lily and Ryle in adulthood.  But her two worlds unexpectedly collide taking the reader for an emotional ride.

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The Choices We Make by Karma Brown –  This book tells the story of Hannah and Kate, best friends since 5th grade.  Hannah has been trying unsuccessfully for years to get pregnant and have a baby.  Kate has two daughters of her own and wants Hannah to be able to experience motherhood.  So, when the opportunity arises, Kate volunteers to use her eggs and be a surrogate for Hannah.   But of course things don’t go as smoothly as they hope and their friendship is put to the test.  This was such an emotional book for me. Warning, have a box of tissues handy!

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21 Comments

  1. the choices we make sounds interesting! i have another book on my shelf that sounds similar. i really enjoyed swear on this life (i’ve read another of her books and didn’t love it as much). added that colleen hoover book to my list! still haven’t read the crown (eh, i didn’t love #4) or the last sisterhood book.. maybe one day lol

  2. You Will Know Me is on my list but I’m not in a hurry.

    Swear on This Life is on my kindle and I am in a hurry now to read that. LOL

    The Leaving sounds like a great premise and a crappy execution. I hate that.

    Love Dahl…Staub not so much. I didn’t enjoy The Vacationers and I’m not reading her newest.

  3. The Leaving has such an interesting premise. Really bummed that they ending didn’t love up to it. I can handle weaker beginnings/middle’s much better than a bad ending. Swear on this Life has been popular this month and I’ve already added it to my TBR.

  4. I think I will have to read Sisterhood Everlasting…just too far into the series not too, although I’ve heard several people say it is a little disappointing 🙁

  5. Looking into It Ends with Us. I love the HP series. 🙂 I also enjoyed the ending to the selection series. I personally like the main character in the spin off better (cannot remember her name right now). I wasn’t on the same page with America thought I did like the original three books. 😉 XO – Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

  6. I’ve only read two Colleen Hoover books and enjoyed them both…but sometime, I gotta shake my head at the names of her characters – Atlas? Ryle? Ridge? (in a book I just read) Layken? (in another I read)
    I will read It Ends with Us.

  7. I didn’t know there was another book for the Pants series! I loved those books when I was younger, so that definitely needs to be added to my TBR list.
    It Ends With Us and The Choices We Make are definitely being added to my list as well.

    • I think I only recently realized that there was a last book in the Traveling Pant series. I also loved them when I was younger but this one just didn’t have the same effect. I highly recommend It Ends With Us and The Choices We Make!

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