August was a good month! I branched out a bit more from my romance and lesser known British authors diet of July, read two buzzy literary fiction releases that I loved, and sampled a few different flavors of historical romance. I didn’t get to some of the mysteries I had on hand but I’m eying them for this weekend, along with a few more titles from the Booker longlist.
There was one book that really didn’t work for me this month, although it was a hit with most of my romance book club: Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up by Charish Reid. I’m just not a big fan of the boss-employee or teacher-student tropes and this book happens to contain both of them, along with a grumpy hero who tipped right over the line into outright jerk for me. I’ve been debating what to do about the occasional book that is very much not for me, as I’d rather focus on the books I loved and would recommend, so I’m trying out a quick note at the top of this recap about why a particular title wasn’t a hit.
Now to the rest of my August reads!
Favorites of the month
The Postcard by Anne Berest
A gripping, moving, devastating story of a woman trying to unravel her family's unspoken history, the brutal realities of occupied France, and questions of history and identity. This was extremely hard for me to read at times but also felt vital and necessary. The juxtaposition of the past with the present, instead of the two historical timelines that's common in World War II fiction, made that history feel so much more immediate. The Rabinovitch family emerge as real people instead of tragic victims, remarkably vivid eighty years after their deaths. I also thought Berest's exploration of her own Jewish identity was thought-provoking and powerful. Highly recommend even if you think you’re burnt out on World War II books.
You Were Made to be Mine by Julie Anne Long (The Palace of Rogues #5)
A former spymaster is tasked with tracking down an earl’s runaway fiancee, only to find both the truth of the earl’s villainy and a woman unlike anything he expected. I'm convinced that Julie Anne Long is operating on a different level when it comes to historical romance. She's so good at writing attraction and connection between her heroes and heroines. In the hands of another author, I'd be rolling my eyes at characters seeing each other and instinctively feeling that they're each other's destiny but she does it so perfectly that I'm completely sold. Her writing is elegant, lovely, witty, and brimming over with feeling but never overwrought and her sentences are shiver-inducingly good. I love returning to the found family of the Grand Palace on the Thames, the boardinghouse that this series centers around, and how skillfully Long has crafted an ensemble cast over the course of the series. Note that if you’re a sensitive reader, you may want to check the content warnings on this one. (Open door, moderate steam.)
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
I loved this coming of age story about intense friendships and tangled relationships, set against the backdrop of the post-2008 Irish financial crisis. It's so smart about people--about the ways we care for each other, about the ways we hurt each other--and it overflows with sharply worded observations that perfectly capture what it can be like to be a certain kind of twenty-one. I found myself vigorously nodding along and wanting to underline on every other page. O'Donoghue's perceptiveness reminds me a little bit of Sally Rooney but this is much warmer and funnier, with characters that I loved even at their worst. (I was delighted by how funny it is.) Part of why this really worked for me was that it's narrated by an older Rachel looking back on that fateful year of her life with hard-won perspective and self-knowledge. There's a lot of empathy and grace in this book, even as it's clear-eyed about people's little cruelties. One of my favorites of the year so far.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
A reflective, gorgeous book set in the early days of the pandemic, where Lara tells her three daughters the story of her long-ago summer of summer stock theater and her love affair with an actor who later became a famous movie star. The setting is perfectly drawn and transports the reader right to the cherry orchards of Michigan. Patchett's prose shines on every page in a way that feels effortless. It's emotional without ever tipping over into overly sentimental and the mother-daughter relationships are so wonderfully done. I loved the way that Patchett captures Lara's distinct relationship with each of her daughters, as well as the bond between the three sisters. There's a generosity of spirit and a warmth to this book that really appealed to me. I also loved the way this book is interwoven with Our Town and the fresh perspective it gave me on an American classic.
Really liked
Pas de Don’t by Chloe Angyal
A smart, thoughtful, and moving romance set in the ballet world featuring two appealing main characters and a strong sense of place that had me wanting to book a flight to Sydney immediately. I really liked how this captured both the beauty and astonishing physical achievement of ballet and its many deep structural issues that need reform. I was rooting for Heather and Marcus so much, as a couple and individually, and think they both emerge as lovely, layered central characters. An under the radar gem that I discovered through Chelsey’s Recipe for a Summer Romance guide and that I'd love to see more people pick up. (Open door, high steam.)
Eve’s Hollywood by Eve Babitz
This collection of LA vignettes and anecdotes was Eve Babitz's first book and it's fascinating to see her shaping the ideas and themes she would later incorporate into Slow Days, Fast Company and Sex and Rage. Her voice is already there, effortlessly cool, glittering and tough and vulnerable all at once, and very, very funny. I love her vision of LA, from the surfer kids to the taquito stands, and reading this feels like listening to your coolest, most fascinating friend tell you all of their best stories.
Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman (Once Upon the East End #1)
This Cinderella retelling set in the 1830’s London Jewish community is the perfect mix of swoony historical romance and thoughtfully researched history. I feel like this fits nicely into a very exciting recent trend of historicals that deliver on the classic tropes and dynamics while also providing a richer, more diverse vision of the 19th century. It feels grounded in history--I loved the author's note--but also has dramatic business intrigue, garden rendezvous, elaborate festivals, and a star-crossed romance. I also enjoyed that this is a gender-swapped fairy tale retelling and adored determined, passionate, occasionally imperious Isabelle as a heroine. If you like a whirlwind of a heroine and a sweet, fundamentally kind hero, I think you might find Isabelle and Aaron’s dynamic very appealing. (Open door, high steam, albeit on the lower end of high.)
Pearl by Sian Hughes
A poetic exploration of grief, storytelling, and art inspired by a medieval poem that could be a great entry point into this year's Booker longlist if you're looking to pick up a slimmer title. I thought the writing was evocative and powerful--there were some passages that made me stop and catch my breath--and Hughes’ background as a poet is evident throughout. I also really liked the way Hughes weaves in rhymes and folk tales, as she considers how we look to the tales of our childhood to explain our adulthood. It's a quiet, very interior book but the more I think about it, the more I'm impressed by it.
Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann (Olivia Curtis #1)
A vividly drawn portrait of a young girl on the verge of adulthood and her first dance, and all the daydreams and heartbreaks that come along with it. Technically, this is limited in scope but it captures Olivia's thoughts and feelings so perfectly that it feels expansive. Lehmann's impressionistic writing sweeps you up and carries you along with Olivia and I just felt for her so deeply. It’s charming, funny, and sincere and I plan to pick up the sequel, which follows Olivia ten years later and was apparently quite the scandal in the 1930’s.
The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin (The Pingkang Li Mysteries #3)
A well-born lady and street-smart scoundrel team up to solve an asassination and unravel a wide-ranging conspiracy. The Hidden Moon is another gripping blend of mystery and romance from Lin, featuring a heroine that I fell for completely. Wei-Wei is smart, stubborn, bookish, a little reckless and a little heroic, and I was cheering her on all the way. I also loved her and Gao as a team and thought Lin really excelled at showing the connection that keeps on drawing them back together despite their differences in status. The Tang Dynasty China setting is impeccably researched and the balance between action, mystery, and swoony romance is equally well done. (Open door, moderate steam.)
Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by Ellen O'Clover
A very strong, impressively well-written YA debut about a girl who creates an app that uses behavioral science to predict its users’ future and ends up fake dating her former best friend when the app reveals him as her match. I curled up with this and flew through it in a day. This book perfectly captures the sensation of being eighteen and wanting to just get there already, of being so sure and so unsure of what you're meant to do at the same time. I loved Ro and Miller's sweet slow-burn romance so much but I also loved Ro's relationships with her dad, best friend, and surrogate parent Vera. It feels so thoroughly developed from start to end and I'd highly recommend if you're a fan of contemporary YA.
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
A big, juicy, thought-provoking read based on the life of Laura Bush that’s perfect for the long days of summer. It's a nuanced character study, a reflection on the things power and fame do to people, an examination of what it means to be a famous woman, and a portrait of a longtime partnership. Alice is a fascinating character and further proof that Sittenfeld is so good at writing complicated women. Although this is chunky, it's well-paced and thoroughly absorbing. I think of Sittenfeld as a very contemporary writer and although this book feels quite 2008 at times (not in a bad way), it also makes for a fascinating look back at a place and time that's now 15 (!) years in the past. After being disappointed by Romantic Comedy earlier this year, it was great to remember what I like so much about Sittenfeld's crisp, insightful prose and skillful character development.
An accomplishment, although I don’t know if I enjoyed it?
The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz
This depiction of life after the Arab Spring and chilling portrait of an authoritarian society, governed by a centralized entity known as the Gate, is an issues-driven book that’s very good at what it does. It excels at capturing the sense of confusion at an ever more byzantine set of rules governing citizens’ daily lives, the ways big and small that an authoritarian government exercises power, and how even those who initially resist can be ground down by it. I did find myself wishing for some richer character development but I also don’t think this is the kind of book that needs character complexity to make its points. This was the FictionMatters book club pick for August and like always, it made for fantastic discussion.
Liked, with some quibbles
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams (When in Rome #2)
I suspect that part of my struggle with this small town romance is that I went into it with sky-high expectations, after hearing multiple readers rave about it. Bodyguard Will and shy florist Annie certainly have good chemistry and I did enjoy the humor, the quirky town of Rome, and the plotline of Annie working to redefine how her family sees her. However, I’m beginning to think that Sarah Adams may be a bit too wholesome for me? I wanted more layers, more messiness, more complications...and this all felt a little flat. I also think this suffered a bit from me having read Chick Magnet by Emma Barry about a week beforehand, which is also a small town romance with a hero named Will but one that I think is trying a few more new things and has more complexity. (Closed door.)
An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera (Las Leonas #2)
The second installment in Herrera’s Las Leonas series follows impulsive artist Manuela and the duchess she strikes a bargain with: her land to complete a railway in exchange for a tour of the scandalous and sapphic side of Paris. I want to love this series so much, because I appreciate the kind of thoughtful, diverse historical romance Herrera is writing, but the execution just hasn’t totally clicked for me. This is obviously very well researched and the details about Belle Epoque Paris and its queer community were my favorite part of the book. Manuela and Cora’s initial chemistry is palpable, if a little bit too reliant on insta-lust, and I was genuinely interested to see how they could overcome the very real obstacles to them being together. But I would have loved to see more scenes of them connecting on a deeper level earlier on in the book. Although there’s plenty of steamy scenes, I also wanted those scenes to have a deeper emotional resonance and show how that physical connection further developed their relationship. (Open door, high steam.)
It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker
A romance set in the world of 1930’s Hollywood, where two constantly bickering co-stars find out that they’re married due to an on-set prank gone wrong and have to rush to Reno for a quickie divorce while making one last film together. I am obsessed with the concept of this and that Lenker is trying something new in historical romance, even if I don’t think it’s 100% successful. For me, part of that was the tone, which swings from screwball to deeply emotional and feels inconsistent as a result. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the over-the-top villain, a conniving gossip columnist, and didn’t completely buy into the ending. I did enjoy all the period details and nods to Golden Age Hollywood history, which delighted my film nerd heart. I’m also fervently hoping that this is a portent of more non-19th century historical romance, which I am 100% here for. (Open door, moderate steam.)
Nobody’s Princess by Erica Ridley (Wild Wynchesters #3)
This is the latest installment in Ridley’s Wild Wynchesters series, which follows a quirky, loving family righting wrongs, delivering justice, and getting up to hijinks with swords, elaborate disguises, and trained animals. I still quite enjoy the Wynchesters’ exploits and the ways they care for and support each other but thought this was the weakest installment of the series when it came to the central romance. I liked both Graham and Kuni individually but found myself yearning for more zip and sparkle between them, especially in a series that has such a whimsical tone. For me, this needed more of them together and more of them connecting on both an emotional and a physical level. There's an open-door scene near the end that feels quite jarring because we're not getting enough of the physical chemistry between them. However, I’d still recommend the overall series and am quite looking forward to the fourth book, which is due this month. (Open door, moderate steam.)
Currently reading: Loot by Tania James. I’m about seventy pages in and really liking the historical detail, sense of adventure, and page-turning quality of James’ writing.
What’s bringing me joy lately:
Junior ice dance! The figure skating season is slowly ramping up and I’m especially fond of this year’s 80’s rhythm dance theme.
The hint of fall in the air and start of back-to-school season. I’m positively yearning for new pens. And maybe a new notebook.
A three book club week and the delights of lively conversion with other avid readers.
Tom Lake sent me to YouTube and I watched several versions of Our Town. The one with Paul Newman as the Stage Manager was good. Te one with Frank Sinatra was terrible. The best of them all was with Eric Stoltz and Mary Ann Penelope as George and Emily.