August was a pretty good reading month. Not great, just average amounts of reading. I finished 9 books. A total of 2,938 pages. An average of 95 pages per day.
The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren (401 pages). Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is a super successful romance novelist who’s currently in the middle of a dry spell, both professionally and personally. Connor Prince is a documentary film maker who’s been conscripted by his boss into producing a reality dating show. When Connor meets Fizzy, he realizes he has the perfect concept on his hands. And with Fizzy’s input, the True Love Experiment is born. Where our Heroine is set up with 8 archetypal Hero’s- from Hot Nerd to Tattooed Bad Boy, from the One that Got Away to Vampire. But sparks fly between producer and star, and Connor and Fizzy begin to have a hard time denying their attraction. As with any true romance, the path is never easy. But omg- it was so cute! I finished in 4 days.
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint (305 pages). I love me some mythological fiction (is that a genre?! It should be). I never really thought much about Ariadne. She helped Theseus defeat the labyrinth and the Minotaur and was then abandoned by him on the island of Naxos, to be wooed and wed to the god Dionysus. That’s all I knew. I loved this version of her story. Her relationships with her family members. Her heartbreak at being abandoned by Theseus. Her love for Dionysus. The tragedies surrounding her and her family. It was awesome! And the author did such an amazing job weaving the “true” mythology into the novel. I finished in 1 day.
The Dark King by Gina L. Maxwell (275 pages). Caiden Verran is the king of Vegas. He and his brothers own most of the Strip. And he is king of the Dark Fae of the Night Court of Faerie as well, fae who have been banished from their home of Tir na nOg in Ireland for centuries. Bryn Meara arrives in Vegas for a weekend at Nightfall, a Verran hotel and casino. When they lock eyes across the hotel lobby, they both feel something they’ve never felt before. And the next morning, they wake up mated and bonded. As only fae can be. But there’s more than a few things Bryn doesn’t know about her new husband. Like treaties and blood curses. And turns out there are some things Caiden doesn’t know about his new wife. I liked this book way more than I thought I would. Imagine if there was a faerie version of Twlight. And it had a baby with 50 Shades. Now you have this book. I finished in 3 days.
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (356 pages). The residents of 12, rue des Amants, are an eclectic bunch. Antoine, the alcoholic who’s just been left by his wife on the first floor. Nick, the nice guy who was Ben’s classmate at Cambridge on the second floor. Mimi, the young student on the fourth floor. Sophie, the wealthy wife in the penthouse. The concierge in her courtyard cabin. When Jess arrives late one Friday, she fully expects her brother Ben to be waiting for her in his third floor apartment. Even though she told him about her trip shortly before leaving England, he’s her brother and he’s always there for her. So when there is no sign of him upon her arrival, she begins to worry. And no one in the building is helping. In fact, there’s a good chance at least one of them knows what has happened to Ben. Y’all- the twists and turns. Loved it! I finished in 4 days.
Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher (358 pages). Charlize Wynwood and Silas Nash have known each other their whole lives. And been in love for the past nearly four years. But as of the middle of one school day, they don’t remember each other. Or really anything. But what has happened to them? And when they finally learn what’s happening, can they fix it? I finished in 2 days.
Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge (259 pages). This was my May Once Upon a Book Club box. I’ve been hoarding. When Tabitha Knight moves to Paris to live with her grandfather, she quickly becomes friends with her neighbor, fellow American Julia Child. She helps Julia with her French, Julia helps her with her cooking. One morning, the body of Therese Lognon is found in the trash room of Julia’s apartment building, the morning after Julia’s sister hosted a party. A party that Tabitha attended and left at the same time as the victim. Inspector Merveille is assigned to the case. And Tabitha finds herself in the midst of a murder investigation that involved international espionage! I finished in 2 days.
Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson (294 pages). This was my June Once Upon a Book Club box. Cat Cranwell has been been a famous Instagram influencer for half her life. But shortly after her 30th birthday, her world implodes. Her business partner (and by extension she herself) have been accused of serious financial crimes. So Cat runs to her uncle Terry, a park ranger in Montana. While helping boost the park’s social media presence, Cat also begins to learn that there is life outside of the carefully curated Instagram life she’d created. And it doesn’t hurt to have handsome park ranger, Zaiah Smith, around to look at. A man who hates all things social media. Maybe even her…. So cute! I finished in 2 days.
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman (401 pages). London is the winter of 1799. Pandora Blake is an aspiring jewelry designer. But she’s stuck living with her uncle above her parents’ former shop of antiques. A shop her uncle has turned into a shop of frauds. When a mysterious crate containing a mysterious vase appears at the shop, her uncle becomes obsessed. And enlists the help of an antiquities scholar Edward Lawrence to learn about the vase. Turns out it more than simply an ancient Grecian vase. And as myth and fact begin to intertwine, Dora begins to learn more about her family. It took a bit to get into this one. But once I did, I couldn’t put it down! I finished in 2 days.
Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams (289 pages). Storyton Hall is a beautiful resort in Virginia, the resort of any book lovers’ dreams. Rooms are named for famous authors. And resort manager Jane Steward is the guardian of it all- books, resort and people. Her next goal is the addition of a spa. But when they break ground, they find bones and an old book. Fortunately the Rare Book Conference is staying at the resort and they are happy to lend their expertise. Unfortunately, someone doesn’t want the truth to come out. And someone is willing to kill. This book was the 4th in a series (I have no idea how it came into my possession) so there were some things that seemed confusing- relationships, jobs (some people at the Hall were Fins and Jane herself was a Guardian). I finished in 4 days.
This month’s favorite is…….a tie between The True Love Experiment and Ariadne. Totally different genres but the two that stuck out the most at the end of the day
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