My August Reads!

Honestly, I was surprised on how much I had time to read this month, balancing application writing and lab work I had a pretty packed schedule. Despite everything going on life wise I was able to take some time for myself and sit back and enjoy some great books. Let me preface this before you continue on though, all these writings are my personal opinion if you loved a book or hated a book that is completely ok! I love hearing other perspectives on books I have read! We all are not going to like the same things and that is ok!

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco:

Honestly, I have heard mixed things about this book especially the obvious with some individuals being angry that it is not historically accurate which I will give them that. My True Crime bug has taught me enough that knowing who Jack the Ripper is one of the lost city of Atlantis tropes for True Crime lovers such as myself. However, I tried to not look at the book as an accurate representation of history but instead as a fun fictional mystery book. I did find myself struggling at some points in the book as the characters were often a bit tacky for me, but the plot overall was interesting. I found myself trying to solve the case along with our main girl, who I found likable with her stubborn nature. A go getter who dared to step outside the social norm of her time and examine cadavers what more could you ask for in a main character! The other characters in the story were ok, the author did a great job keeping the solution to the mystery a secret to the end. I found the writing style palatable but sometimes it did drag. Overall though I enjoyed the book. I do know this book is the first book in a four-part series, but I have heard that those books are not as well liked as the first.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this book and the other books in the series!

Book Rating: 4.3/5

The next book I had been dying to read which was the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Let me preface that I had such high hopes for this book that when I initially started reading it I almost DNFed it. I had such a hard time getting into the story. I could not connect with the characters I found the story a big dragging at the start and I was honestly disappointed. That being said, I hate not finishing books, and I had already purchased the book, so I felt like I had to at least read it all the way through before writing it off as a book I personally did not like. I am so happy I continued to push through the book because the bookstore scene hit so good! Things started picking up for Addie there was emotions that I could not help but feel, excitement, sadness, happy, and anger as I read the rest of the book. And the ending! No spoilers of course but if you had not read this book yet I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a good read.

Book Rating: 4.5/5

These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

Yes, yes and just yes! I absolutely loved these books I had bought both books at the same time prepping for a fast read of the first book. This is a duology and is a must have for any fantasy lover! There is enemy to lover's romance, there is monsters, magic, mafia scenes and a take on Romeo and Juliet! The main setting is in Shanghai and the two main characters are the next in line to inherit the two main mob empires, the White Flowers and the Scarlets who absolutely hate each other. The book is interesting because our two lovers Roma and Juliette have already had their love story, and now absolutely hate each other! It is a great story, and I cannot say much because of spoilers but it is a definite must read in my opinion. The second book is a still great, a tad fast paced though, switching from different characters in lightning speed you almost feel like you are running a race. But that might have been the authors intent when writing the book because there is a sense of urgency at some points. I recommend reading them I personally loved them, and I think you will too!

Book Rating: 5/5 and 4.7/5

Taking a big turn I read The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco

I am where dead children go. Can I just saw I love how this author can write a ghost story with a great plot! I would definitely recommend reading the first half of the book with the LIGHTS ON! I could not sleep without the bed side lamp on for two whole nights after reading the first half of the book! So beware if you do not like scary stories this book is not for you. However, the main ghost girl isn't all bad, you start to connect with her almost immediately, she was wrongfully murdered and now she kills bad people who murder innocent children so no need to fear her as long as you do not have any blood on your hands! The main plot involves a boy who happens to be cursed with this demon ghost type thing. The whole idea is the big bad spirit wants to be released from the boy, but that of course would require the boy to be sacrificed. Our main girl takes a liking to the boy and is almost his guardian, she tries to protect him and forms a strong connection from him. It is a great storyline of scary ghost possessions and ancient Japanese cleansing rituals brought to life in this book that will have you at the edge of your seat!

Book Rating: 5/5

After reading a nice scary story of course I had to chase it down with a romance, so I picked up the book Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton

This book was such a feels good book. It was compiled of different love stories in the New York City during a city wide black out. It was just so cute reading each different teenage and young adult love story I just couldn't help but smile the entire time reading it. I did hate how short some of the stories were though! It left me wanting more, and some characters I just could not connect with because of how quickly the setting played out. I just wish there was more! Super cute read though I enjoyed the character building that did occur, I thought it was a great and inspiring read.

Book Rating: 4/5

The next set of books I read were part of a trilogy and yes, I am surprised I read this many book in a month as well! I had a lot of weekends down time!

The Good Girls Guide to Murder Trilogy by Holly Jackson was honestly a struggle for me.

The first book was a 5/5 stars for me I loved it! Ate it up, I enjoyed Pip's character she was strong, fearless, and just how she carried herself through everything that was happening to her I admired. I loved the suspense the author brought into the story and the sleuthing! I felt like I was back to watching Nancy Drew! I absolutely loved the book the ending was amazing! The love interest was nice because she did not turn the love interest into the plot like some stories it was a nice little side piece for me to nibble on as I got into the nitty gritty of the case. Basically, a small-town prom queen Andie Bell gets murdered, her boyfriend is suspected everyone thinks its him next day he kills himself and the police think case closed. Then years later Pip comes along not believing that the boyfriend is guilty at all and tries to find the truth of who killed Andie Bell. I will let you figure out if she did end up solving the case.

The second book was still good, I appreciated how the book kind of strayed away from the murder mystery trope. In this book Pip is investigating the disappearance of her good friend's brother. Surprise surprise the local police do not take his disappearance seriously, so it is up to Pip to save the day. This book was a bit more suspenseful there were twists and turns that I did not expect but that is what makes a great mystery! The ending was sad and honestly, I feel like the author could have stopped the series here.

The third book was a struggle for me. It honestly made me upset. We find Pip haggard, emotionally and turmoil, and addicted to drugs. I understand the girl witnessed a murder I do, and I understand that the author might have tried to make the book more realistic, but I just could not get behind it. I ended up hating Pip as a character, she was anxious, not confident, slacking off, angry and just a plain old mess. Again, understandable after all she went through, but I wanted to have a character that could battle through these things, take the punches and not back down. Not fall apart. This might be an unreal expectation, but I saw Pip's character as this unstoppable crime solving force to be reckoned with and I just did not see that at all in the third book. I also did not like how the author just kind of grazed over the fact that Pip was now taking Xanax illegally to combat her stress, this is a young adult book with young readers I do not think showing through writing that illegally finding Xanax for your stress instead of talking to a licensed therapist is the best role model to set. Besides that, the book was sooooo much longer than it needed to be. The ending of the book could have been wrapped up in less pages and still drove home the message it was trying to convey; the story would not have been ruined. I found myself quickly trying to gain the gist of paragraphs so I could just get through the ending.

Overall, I did love the series even though I wish the third book did not exist or at least was a bit shorter.

Book one 5/5

Book two 5/5

Book three I gave it a 4/5 on good reads but honestly looking back on it now I have to drop it to at least 3.5/5