July and August 2024 - Reading Roundup

This is actually two months, mostly because I only actually finished two books in July due to life busyness. I’m not rating every book for this month because I blew through so many, so I’m just going to highlight a handful of my favorites.

The Roundup

Star rating on a scale of 0 - 5. Titles in BOLD link to full review in a new page. ✨ indicates a 5 star read

• Savor It by Tarah DeWitt | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

• Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

• This is Not a Dead Girl Story by Kate Sweeney | Not Rated

• A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand | Not Rated

• The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas | Not Rated

• Nightwing: Year One by Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon | Not Rated

• All They Ask Is Everything by Hadley Leggett | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

• ✨ A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• ✨ False Confidence by Sophie Snow | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

• ✨ Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (a slight cheat - finished this one Sept 1)

Reviews

All They Ask Is Everything by Hadley Leggett | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING, the debut novel from Hadley Leggett, is a book about motherhood. Most of the reviews you'll likely see will come from the perspective of mothers -- how they related, how they empathized, how they judged. But this isn't a book only for mothers. It's a book for anyone who enjoys a complicated, well-written narrative about flawed people.

ATAIE tells the story of how a mistake made by a struggling, grief-stricken mother, Hannah, sends her two young daughters into the foster care system. Alternating the POVs of Hannah, Hannah's mother Elaine, and foster mother Julie, Leggett builds a complex and conflicting narrative that perfectly exemplifies the conflicting narratives we tell ourselves. These are not perfect characters or perfect mothers and each of their journeys confronting their own flaws happens along their own timelines. At times, this makes for a frustrating read -- as a reader, we can see all the ways in which Hannah needs help, in which Elaine prioritized herself over her daughter, in which Julie is blinded by her love of the girls. Some will say that these women are "unlikeable" and at times, they are. But that makes the ways in which each mother grows and changes more rewarding. It's difficult to write believable, deeply flawed characters that you still want the best for and Leggett handles this balance deftly.

This is an engrossing debut from Hadley Leggett and I look forward to what she writes next.

Content Warning: ALL THEY ASK IS EVERYTHING contains descriptions, descriptions, or themes of the following topics: foster care, child abuse, child endangerment, miscarriage, death, grief, depression.

✨ False Confidence by Sophie Snow | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sophie Snow is one of my favorite indie authors and FALSE CONFIDENCE is just the latest example of why. Continuing with characters introduced in her prior novel, LEGALLY BINDING, FALSE CONFIDENCE is about … well… I’ll just share her tagline because it’s brilliant:

It’s no secret that Snow’s books are high spice, but there’s way more to them than Ao3 style porn-with-plot (nothing wrong with that for when you want it). The characters in Snow’s love stories are fully rounded with complete and complex histories and inner lives. They have their own issues they have to contend with and work through to get to their happily every afters (because these are romances, after all). Jazz and Liam’s story in FALSE CONFIDENCE is witty, sexy, sweet, and rewarding (especially since there’s no 3rd act breakup). I love a messy, imperfect female protagonist, especially when they’re a feisty redhead, so Jazz had me at hello.

Snow’s books, FALSE CONFIDENCE included, do address weighty topics and often include kink in their spiciness. You can find content warnings at her website.

✨ Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb | Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Did you ever want to fall into the perfect world of your favorite TV show and live there forever? That’s the premise of Kate Robb’s sophomore novel PRIME TIME ROMANCE. Robb writes what I’ve realized might be my favorite subgenre of romance: contemporary magical realism. Her characters are people living in our very normal, ordinary world who find themselves suddenly confronted with strange happenings that lead them to the right path in their lives. In PRIME TIME ROMANCE, a 30th birthday wish transports Brynn into the world of her favorite show so she can create the perfect ending for the prematurely cancelled series and maybe for herself.

Brynn craves a perfect ending for her comfort show because she’s had exactly the opposite in her life, with her marriage ending suddenly and her having to rent out her spare room to pay her mortgage. Her roommate, Josh, gets pulled through to the fictional Carson’s Cove with her, and he’s got his own baggage to overcome. Robb writes her characters with empathy and heart, drawing you in so you genuinely want the best for them. This is one that I can already tell is going to be a comfort read I come back to again and again.

If you were terminally addicted to the WB in your high school years, you’ll love the references and easter eggs to Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and their predecessors like 90210 and Saved By The Bell.

And that’s it for July and August! As always, if you want to follow allow with my reads in real time, you can add me on The Storygraph (a Goodreads alternative) or on Instagram: @crystal.writes.