Welcome back to Whatcha Reading! It’s our last one for August.
Here’s what we’re capping off the month with:
Lara: I’m more forgiving when comes to rereading books from the keeper shelf, especially when they divert from my current tastes. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder has more violence in it than I usually like now, some asshole behavior from the male lead, and less focus on the romance, but I adore this book. And rereading it always brings me joy.
Sarah: I am reading Lavender’s Blue, ( A | BN | K ) the new Jennifer Cruise (!!!) And Bob Mayer mystery. I can’t quite articulate what I think yet. In some ways my brain feels like I am putting on clothing from two jobs ago that fit but is strange and familiar at the same time.
Shana: I just started Praise by Sara Cate, ( A | BN ) an erotic romance where the heroine gets together with her asshole ex boyfriend’s hot dad. It came highly recommend as an age gap romance that will convert me into loving the trope. We will see.
Elyse: I just started Fourth Wing ( A | BN | K ) to see if it lives up to the hype.
Whatcha reading, everyone? Let us know in the comments!
@Kareni, maybe it’s Icebreaker: A Novel (The Maple Hills Series Book 1) by Hannah Grace?
@LisaM – A few years ago, I read “The Fever of 1721: the Epidemic that Revolutionized Medicine and American Politics” by Stephen Cross, which is how the US started smallpox vaccinations. So interesting! And “Lady Tan’s Circle of Women” by Lisa See has smallpox vaccinations in China in the 1400s.
The reading mojo is back! Finally read THE FIVE by Hallie Rubenhold — fascinating look at the victims of Jack the Ripper, told with compassion and thorough research. Also finally read THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA, charming, charming, charming.
Mystery/thriller: WHO IS VERY KELLY? is a spy thriller which takes place in the 1960s in South America. Great character study of the title character and very atmospheric. THE BROKEN GIRLS is a bit of a murder mystery, a bit of a ghost story, as mysterious deaths that happen in and around a girl’s school are explored many years later. THE APPEAL is a very unusual epistolary mystery, not my usual cuppa. It’s told in a series of email messages, along with some notes, receipts and other documents. Fascinating to see how the author builds such vivid characters solely by presenting their emails.
Last up: ROUGH DRAFT by Katy Tur. Quick reading, it’s a memoir of a journalist who also happens to be the daughter of a pair of helicopter reporters who pretty much invented breaking video (one of them testified at the LA Riot trials b/c they were so close to the ground and saw Reginald Denny getting beaten). There are lots of threads here — her dad was rageful and physically violent which had a deep effect on her life. Her dad also transitioned and is now named Zoe Tur, so there’s another significant change affecting her life. Could have gone a lot deeper into the meaty issues raised, though.
Long live reading mojo!!!
VERA Kelly
@flchen1: Thank you! I’ll take a look at that.