Sunday Book Club: August 2020 Reading List

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I really need to find a way to make these reading lists slightly more manage-able for myself. Because I have to tell you realizing how many books I read and how the post will be can get really daunting. I have no idea how to make it easier for myself right now though (since my reading habit definitely isn’t going to slow down). So let’s read on for this August 2020 Reading List!

August 2020 Reading List

A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos

Note: this book was given to me as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What is it about rom-com books involving cooking that makes them so good? Probably the fact that they combine my two favorite favorite things: cooking and a good book. A Taste of Sage delivers on both counts: the descriptions of food are mouth watering and the romantic plot line goes a different (but pleasant) direction from what I expected. I picked this book up expecting to read a little bit before going to bed one night and ended up reading almost the entire book in one sitting. I didn’t want to leave these characters behind and I hope Santos finds a way to incorporate them into her next book (along with more food descriptions please!).

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White

When I was younger I loved King Arthur stories and adaptations, so this one was right up my alley. Except this time we get to follow Guinevere as she enters Camelot for the first time and meets Arthur. This story is a lot different from the ones you’ve heard in the past though. But I’m going to leave it there because I don’t want to spoil it. Just know what you need to read it!

The Woman Before Wallis by Bryn Turnbull

Note: this book was given to me as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Remember how I was talking about rewatching the Starz princess series and also re-reading The Cousins Wars? Well, it seemed like a good time to catch up on a slightly more modern branch of the British family. Remember King Edward VIII? Many Americans know about his scandalous history thanks to The Crown, but I’ll give you a quick recap. Shortly after becoming King Edward VIII, he (David) decided to abdicate the throne because Parliament (and technically the Church of England) wouldn’t give him permission to marry Wallis Simpson, an American Divorce.

But this story comes right before that. Before there was Wallis, there was Thelma Furness. Thelma Furness was an American who had ties to not only British Royalty, but American Royalty as well when her twin sister married into the Vanderbilt’s. The Woman Before Wallis follows Thelma through her twenties and thirties as she navigates a rocky marriage, her sister thrown into the socialite scene, and ultimately an affair with the future King of England. I truly enjoyed this book, since I had no idea how intertwined all of these people were, but there were parts of the novel that dragged. I hoped that they would come back to support the novel more towards the end, but I’m not sure if they did. However, I would recommend it for anyone who is interested in British history!

Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey

The much anticipated sequel to Waiting for Tom Hanks finally arrived and I have to say….I think it’s better than the first. Now that Annie is off making her rom com with her actor boyfriend, Chloe is still back in Ohio at the coffee shop where life is just the same. Except for the fact that ever reporter is hounding her because they think her life is exactly like Annie’s upcoming movie. Which is a real pain in the butt since for Chloe life feels like it’s going down hill faster and faster. If you haven’t read the first book, go read it right away so you can then read this book. If you love rom coms, you’ll love this one too.

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin

I was hoping that this novel would be an interesting mystery/crime novel. It was not. It was just kind of a disappointment and I may have given up sooner if I wasn’t listening to it. I think that if I had gone into it with no expectations, it may have been better. But I was really ready for a good mystery, so it wasn’t for me.

Most Likely by Sarah Watson

This YA book started out with the most intriguing premise: one of this four best friends will become President of the United States, married to the boy with the ridiculous last name. But you don’t know which one until the end of the book. When I started to write this review, I was about to write that the book was just meh for me. But the more I thought about it, I realized that it was just one character that was meh. Otherwise, I was fully sucked into the book. I loved the other characters and the journeys they went on during their senior year of high school. So yes, I highly recommend checking out this book. (Even with the girl who’s plot line I was meh about. I’m not going to tell you which one that was anyways.)

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

Note: this book was given to me as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What is it about Jane Austen that is so alluring and charming? Whether it’s her actually books or people bonding over her books, it’s like you have a guarantee that it’s going to be good. The Jane Austen Society is about a group of people coming together in Chawton (the final home of Jane) to try and save her last home. Though each character has their own sad backstory, they’re all still incredibly charming and create a ragtag team that you can’t stop cheering on. I can’t wait to go back and read it so I can see these characters again.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Check out my full review of The Switch here!

The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe

I feel bad. Most people gave this book outstanding reviews, but it just didn’t do it for me. I completely understand the reviews and where people were coming from though. I think that if I had read this book at a different time, I may be giving it a different review. What I would say is read this book at some point (maybe not now) and form your own opinion. It’s well written and tells an important story. But also know that a lot of us are in rocky places with quarantine right now, so you may need to put it off.

Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl

I love Little Women and I look forward to any adaptation of it that comes out. I’ve only ever been disappointed once and luckily, it wasn’t by this book. This book is a little hard to describe though. It’s like a fan fiction version of the real life of Jo March/Louisa May Alcott where Jo does end up with Laurie. But this book also takes place after Jo has published what would technically be book 1 (since Little Women was originally two books). Either way, it’s absolutely delightful. I love this extra look into the lives of the March family and what they would have “thought” about their sister’s book. It was also just fun to have the addition of extra adventures for the family. This is just a win for any Little Woman lover.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

This book was amazing and I was completely invested for every minute of it. I feel like I need to elaborate more, but I don’t know what to say. It doesn’t matter who you are, you just need to read it.

The Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg

Apparently this book is the third in a series, but it reads okay as a standalone as well. It was just a meh for me though and I don’t know if I love it enough to go read the other books in the series.

The Kingmaker’s Daughter by Philippa Gregory

Of The Cousins War series, I think this may be my least favorite book. It’s told from the perspective of Anne Warwick, a girl who never fully gets the chance to grow up, despite becoming the wife to the King of England for a very short time. Therefore her commentary and thoughts just felt very childish and mislead by everything she hears around her.

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

A new twist on fairy tales! What if all of the fairy tale characters had to go to boarding schools where they were taught how to be their good and evil characters? It would make for a pretty good story, especially if two of the characters think that they ended up in the wrong school.

Even better, after I started reading this, I discovered it was being made into a Netflix series!

A World Without Princes by Soman Chainani

The sequel to A School for Good and Evil….except I can’t really tell you what it’s about without spoiling the first one…guess you better go read it!

What You Wish For by Katherine Center

Note: this book was given to me as an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Things You Lose in a Fire” was the first book I read from Center and I went into reading “What You Wish For” expecting a book along the same lines: raw, emotional, and almost too real. With “What You Wish For” emotional was there, but raw took a while to arrive. I felt like like novel kept bouncing between the too good to be true, believable, and just unbelievable. I like some of the characters, but others felt outlandish. Overall, I just wanted to like this novel a lot more than I did.

That was a lot for now….on to the next book I guess!