August 2026 Book Reviews!
- Christine
- 2 hours ago
- 17 min read
Happy September! I'm actually publishing this month's blog post from the road. For the first time since we moved to South Carolina five years ago, we are back in Philadelphia for a few days to visit!
When we planned this trip, we intentionally booked a condo on South Street so that we would be in the city. We lived in the Philly area for almost 25 years, but always in the suburbs. And while we went into the city a lot (I even worked in the city when we first moved there), we always thought it would be fun to live there. Growing up in Toledo, Ohio, I was so excited to move to the "big city" when we moved to the Philly area. And I absolutely loved our time being there.
Now down in South Carolina, we've really settled into small town living. The thought of dealing with Philly and everything that comes with it just isn't appealing anymore. But I'm looking forward to a few days of city living and enjoying everything it has to offer.
As I enjoy Philly for a few days, I hope you enjoy this month's book reviews. Remember that if you don't want to wait for my monthly post, you can follow me on Goodreads or The Story Graph. Enjoy!
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The Disappointed Wives Club (The Disappointed Club, Book 1) by Adrianne Lind
This book shares the story of Vivian, who feels like she's disappeared in all aspects of her life - in her work, in her marriage, etc. The book follows Vivian as she strives to rediscover herself and make herself feel important and whole again.
It's a little hard to distinguish if this is intended to be a novel and a fictional story of Vivian, or if it's non-fiction and telling the story of an actual woman. The writing style didn't really allow me to connect with Vivian or feel like I was a part of her story. It's all very "on the surface" in short chapters that feel like vignettes rather than a cohesive story.
The message the book sends is powerful. Seeing Vivian transform through the course of the book is powerful. But it just didn't resonate with me personally or connect in a way that made be feel like I wanted to find out what happened to Vivian and her story.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
The Radiance Of The Empire by Arthur Bairunas
This is a very short novella. The basis of the story is that a young boy is bullied and brutally attacked by a group of boys. His older sister decides to take matters into her own hands and seek revenge. That young boy grows up to become an emperor, and is still grappling with what happened to him.
If the quick summary of the book I usually provide sounds a little confusing, it's because I was confused. Maybe because the book is so short (it's about 70 pages) the story just can't get fully developed. There was something here, but it just was very confusing and seemed graphic just to be graphic. Not bad writing in any way necessarily, but not something I would read again or recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Two out of five stars.
H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald
After the unexpected death of her father, the author decides to get a hawk and train it. She had been obsessed with birds and falconry since she was a young girl, and she thinks that getting a hawk will keep her occupied and distracted from her grief.
As the author trains the hawk, Mabel, she goes through her own grief and depression over her father's death. This book not only tells the story of the author's first few months with Mabel, but how she worked through her grief at the loss of her father.
While the story was touching and the author did a good job of writing about her journey through grief, I personally found it really difficult to get into and not really that compelling. Excellent writing for sure. But the whole concept was rather strange and just not that interesting to me personally. This book is number 40 on the New York Times list of "The Best 100 Books of the 21st Century". Three out of five stars.
All Our Evenings by Ruthvika Rao
Three teenagers are living in Hyderabad, India in the 1990s. They forge an unlikely friendship, until Ruhee and Ganesh begin to fall in love. Arjun quickly finds himself on the outside looking in on their relationship. And when something unexpected happens, it will change things between the three of them forever.
I found this to have the start of a really good story that would be one of those that stuck with you for a long time. However, it didn't quite come together for me as I hoped it would. My take is that the author was purposefully trying to be vague about certain things, particularly around the real relationship between Arjun and Ganesh. But having to piece things together and fill in the blanks to some extent, made the book less impactful to me.
Well written and kept me interested, but it was just missing a little something that would have knocked it up to an above average book for me.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
This book is due to be published on September 1, 2026. To pre-order your copy on Amazon, click here: Kindle, audiobook or paperback.
The Boy On The Dock by A.J. McCarthy
Julie has rented a cottage on a lake for the summer in an effort to try and move on with her life after the loss of her young daughter to a tragic accident. However, she soon comes across a mysterious young boy on a dock on the other side of the lake, who appears to need help. Is the boy real or just a figment of Julie's imagination?
This is a slow burn psychological thriller that will keep you guessing throughout the book. Just when you think you have things figured out, something happens that makes you question whether you really do. On top of just the thriller piece of it, this is a compelling story of a mother who is so paralyzed by her grief, that not only can't she move on, but she begins to question her own sanity.
The main character is very well developed and someone you really want to cheer for. I loved her transformation from someone weak and broken, to someone who believed in herself. The book is a bit slow paced, but with all the twists and turns, it keeps you interested. Well thought out plot and well executed.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
A Study In Sparkling (Love Notes, Book 2) by Jodi McAlister
Fiona has just found out that her husband has a whole other family that she knew nothing about. He's informed her that he's leaving her and their three kids to be with his other family. Satoshi owns Fiona's favorite wine bar and has become a good friend. Fiona finds herself leaning on Satoshi more and more, but are they becoming more than just friends?
I had a hard time getting into this one. I just didn't feel the connection between the two main characters. There was no question that Satoshi was in love with Fiona, but Fiona's character was really hard to like and get into for me. I also felt that the book was much too long. It just seemed to circle and circle around the same issue in the main character's relationship over and over again. At the end of the day, I did want to find out how things ended up for the main characters, which is what every author wants out of their book. I just think it took a bit too long to get there.
This is book 2 in a series revolving around the same group of characters, but it was not necessary at all to read the first book. Totally different stories and focus on different main characters.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
This book is due to be published on September 15, 2026. To pre-order your copy on Amazon, click here: Kindle, audiobook or paperback.
Bloody Deeds (Detective Jane Rieger-Franklin Mystery Book 3) by Stephen Kronwith
When Detective-Sergeant Jane Rieger-Franklin receives a late night phone call that there has been a double murder, she's shocked to find out that it's her friend and colleague's (Vivian) husband and another woman. And when the initial clues point to Vivian as the main suspect, Jane knows she has to solve the murder quickly to exonerate her friend.
This is the third book in the series. I read the second book, so I was already familiar with the characters. I feel the same way about this book as I did the previous one. First, the murder mystery itself is well done, but a little slow paced. While part of the mystery is solved and shared with the reader about halfway through the book, the actual "who" and other details aren't revealed until the end. Second, the writing is quite good, but a little embellishing at times.
The main issue I have with this book and the last one is that there are just pieces of it that aren't needed. In this book, for example, I don't really see why there was so much in it about Jane and her wife's daughters. Especially when a lot of what there was about them involved their sex lives. Seemed weird and not needed at all. In the last book, the daughters played more of a role. In this book, they really didn't at all, so outside of casually inserting them in the story as needed, it seemed out of place. I'm guessing that the author wants us to have a connection with Jane and her family, but it didn't really work for me.
A good murder mystery that keeps you engaged, but maybe needs some editing to eliminate the pieces that just really don't need to be there.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
Wishes On The Waves by Catherine Michaels
Annie lost her husband and love of her life several years ago in an accident, and is trying to carry on and raise her 9 year old son. Cal is recently divorced and is trying to salvage his relationship with his teenage daughter. When Cal returns to Gull Island to try and reset and work on his latest novel, he and Annie make a connection that neither of them can ignore.
This is a sweet romance with some feel good characters and plot. If you are looking for spicey romance, this is not it. The book is just as much about the characters learning to move on from their pasts as it is about the characters coming together.
I thought the story was sweet and you do want to cheer for the characters to have a happy ending. If anything, the characters almost feel "too good" and everything feels almost "too perfect". Nothing deep here for sure, but this one makes for a nice beach read.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am voluntarily leaving this review. Three out of five stars.
A Visit From The Good Squad by Jennifer Egan
Bennie Salazar used to play in a punk band and is now a record executive who got kicked out of his own label. Sasha is the young lady who works as his assistant and has a troubled past. While Bennie and Sasha are the main characters in this book, the book really tells the story of various people who intersect through both of their lives.
This book is a bit hard to follow. Each chapter is told from a different POV of a different character and is from a different time period. And the time periods are not chronological, so there are several times where it takes a page or two in the chapter to figure out what's going on.
Because of the structure of the book, it's tough to really get to know and get interested in any particular characters - including the main characters. However, the author still manages to keep you interested in the overall story. Excellent writing and I enjoyed that it was told around the music industry. This book is number 39 on the New York Times list of "The Best 100 Books of the 21st Century". Four out of five stars!
Last Night In Brooklyn by Xochitl Gonzalez
It's 2007 in Brooklyn. The neighborhood is changing. There is excitement about a young politician named Barack Obama who is running for President. And Alicia is in her mid-20s and trying to figure out her life. When Alicia gets drawn into the world of fashion designer La Garza, who lives across the street from her, it makes her question her current path and what she wants her future to look like.
This is the second book I've read by this author. I really love her writing style and her ability to bring a time and place to life. Her writing is never pretentious and doesn't make you feel like she is writing over you, but writing to draw you into the story.
All of the characters have some major flaws, but the author still does a good job of making you feel for them and cheer for them to figure things out. A great book that will pull you right back to 2007 and definitely a love letter by the author to Brooklyn. Four out of five stars!
Come Back To The World by Catherine Ryan Hyde
E.L. (Ella) Swann wrote her first book and it was deemed a masterpiece. Shortly after the book was published, Swann disappeared and was never heard from again. Amelia Booker is an expert on Swann and has spend her life trying to find out if she is still alive and what happened to her. When a tip from friends leads Amelia and her seven year old son - Jaden - to a remote town in Mexico, Amelia realizes she's found the reclusive author. And although Swann didn't want to be found, the discovery leads to a complicated relationship between Amelia, Jaden and Ella that none of them expected.
I really loved the plot of this book. As an avid reader, a story about a reclusive novelist is right up my alley. I think the author did a great job letting us get to know the characters - warts and all - and bringing us into the complicated relationship that they formed. This is as much a story of the character defects both Amelia and Ella have and how they deal with them, as it is a story of what happens after the two of them meet.
The book is very well written. The only real critique I have is that Jaden's character could really be a bit annoying at times. I know the author was casting him as a 7 year old boy who has a very unique personality (there is a reason for this that I won't divulge as its a spoiler), but it was a bit over the top at times in his dialogue. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one and recommend it.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano
I'm one of those people that will push through a book even if I'm not liking it. I've had times where I didn't like a book, and about 3/4 of the way in the book takes a turn and ends up great. Because of that, I'm hesitant to give up. But after finishing this one, this is a book that I probably should have dropped about 1/4 of the way in.
The book is about a group of poetry writers living in Mexico in the 1970s. It starts out from the perspective of one of those writers, who tells the story of how he got mixed up with the group and how they eventually had to flee from Mexico City with one of the women whose ex-pimp was after her. The book then moves to a totally different format and consists of hundreds of pages of individual "accounts" from various people telling how they encountered two of the poets that fled over the years. At the end, it goes back to the first format and wraps up the story that it started.
Sound confusing? Probably because I felt confused most of the time. I read a lot and I'm no stranger to reading difficult books, but this one was really hard for me to get anything out of. There are so many characters that it's impossible to keep track. The story doesn't really seem to go anywhere. The book is super dense and just overall a slog to get through.
I picked this one up because I'm making my way through the New York Times list of "The Best 100 Books of the 21st Century" and this book is number 38 on that list. That list has been hit or miss for me, with more hits than misses. But this one is a definite miss and made me feel like I just don't get what everyone else seems to find so amazing about this book. Two out of five stars.
Fortress Of Dreams by C.B. Heinemann
Ian Sinclair wakes up and finds himself somewhere in the middle of France. The problem is, the last thing he remembers is going to sleep at his home in Switzerland. On top of it, he wakes up next to a pool of blood. As Ian tries to figure out what's happened, he learns of a much more sinister plot in Switzerland that could change all of Europe.
I found the plot of this book to be good. It's interesting - albeit a bit over the top. The issue I have with the book is in the actual writing. The pace of the book is slower than it should be. Things seem to go in circles over and over again a lot, which makes it a challenge to figure out what's going on. Also, a lot of the dialogue seems very off. I think the author's intent is to make Ian Sinclair's character very quirky and funny, but it just comes off as immature and falls flat for the most part.
Good story but some improvement in the writing would make this better.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
The House of Two Sisters by Rachel Louise Driscoll
Clemmie has come to Egypt in order to return an amulet that was found when her father unwrapped a mummy several years earlier. After the unwrapping, tragedy has afflicted Clemmie and her family, and she believes the only way to stop it is to return the amulet to where it came from and stop the curse.
I think the plot of this book had a lot of promise, but the pacing is really slow. In fact, I really had a hard time getting through the first half of the book - I just found it a bit confusing to figure out the story and it moved really slow. It wasn't until almost halfway through the book that the story felt clearer and the pace of the book picked up.
The story takes place in the late 1800s, so the book also has a very Victorian vibe to it, which is just not really my personal favorite. I found the characters to be a bit one dimensional and very stereotypical for the Victorian time period.
If this is the genre of book you like, have some patience with it as it definitely picks up in the second half.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Three out of five stars.
Murder At The Town Crier Tournament: Julie Belltower Investigates by Mandy Curties Partridge
When town criers from around the world gather in England for a big tournament, they quickly find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery as several of the contestants turn up dead. Julie Belltower - whose mother is one of the contestants - is an investigator back home in Australia and finds herself in the middle of the investigation to figure out who is taking out contestants one by one.
This one had potential, but was really a challenge to get through. First, there were just too many characters. With all of the contestants and then their "companions" with them, it was really difficult to keep track of who was who. The "whodunit" aspect of the book was actually fairly good, but it seemed to drag on forever, and then once the murderer was revealed, it felt very rushed to get in all the reasons why they were killing their fellow contestants.
On top of that, the writing was really tough at times. Some of the dialogue was very juvenile, for lack of a better term. Then the author would go off on strange tangents and rants about society that just needed to be eliminated. Not only did it slow the pace of the book, but didn't add anything to the story. And the whole thing with Julie Belltower and Sarah - the prosecutor - at the end just came out of nowhere and, again, did nothing for the story and didn't need to be there.
I've said this many times in other reviews of new authors, editing is your friend. This book needs a lot of editing to make it tighter and keep it moving. While the subject matter wasn't exactly something I would love, I would have rated this book higher if the writing was better.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Two out of five stars.
What's The Point? Turning Purpose Into Your Daily Superpower by Tom Rath
In this self-help book, the author - Tom Rath - talks about changing your perspective about working from just having a job to having a job that has a purpose. The author was diagnosed with a rare cancer as a child and not expected to live beyond the age of 40. That's given him the perspective to take advantage of every day and find purpose in everything he does.
I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to self-help books. Generally, I find that they aren't really telling you something you didn't already know. They key is whether they can give you tools to implement the things you might already know, but just don't know how to implement. I'm not sure that this book told me anything new or gave me any new tools, but it was inspiring. I also liked the fact that the book didn't tell me the same old thing - your job should be something you love and your passionate about. I've always believed that saying that to people is actually discouraging. While it's great if you can have a career doing something you love and are passionate about, most of us are just hoping to do something we somewhat enjoy and helps us pay the bills. Let's be honest - it's called "work" for a reason.
The author's take on things is a bit different in that he acknowledges that not everyone can do what they love and are passionate about. But, if we try and find some sort of purpose in our work, that will improve both how we do our job and how effective we are at it. I think it's still a little "pie in the sky" for a lot of people, but much more realistic.
As someone who is getting ready to retire from my corporate career and move onto the second act of my life, which includes doing things that have more purpose and I'm passionate about, I found this book quite good. My only critique is that he included a pretty long section at the end which was just pages of descriptions of different jobs. I think the intent was to show the skill set needed for all types of jobs and what the pros and cons were - to open up people's eyes to what was available. For me, it didn't seem to serve much of a purpose.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Four out of five stars!
I hope everyone had a great summer! Get ready for fall and cooler temps!
What books do you recommend I read next? Let me know! Did you check out any of these books? I'd love to hear what you think! Comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com.
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