Thanks for your wonderful book reviews – always look forward to your comments.

Jackie Potter
South Africa

Oh, your reading list looks a lot like mine! I’m curious to hear what you think about Tom Lake and The Covenenat of Water since I haven’t read either yet. Yellowface is an interesting read. I’m still early on, but the main character makes for an interesting character. It makes for an interesting read when you want bad things to happen to the narrator because you dislike her so much.

Do you love it? I hope you love it. It’s one of my favorite books and I am excited to see what Netflix does with their adaptation.

I love that you found the perfect read for your mood! Sometimes you just need something a little lighter.

I really need to read Small Mercies. I keep hearing great things about it!

Yes! I think Hello Beautiful will stay with me for a very long time. Just loved all the characters.

Next another fun micro genre (to lighten things up) that I picked up from Sarah’s Bookshelves Live podcast was “Romances that deal with fame.” What a fun idea for a Summer read! They recommended Nora Goes Off Script and it was such a cute story! Like a Hallmark movie. I am now on a wait listed for Same Time Next Summer the latest by Annabel Monaghan.

I had also read another of their recommendations: The Idea of You by Robinne Lee in July, but it is a much racier version in this category. Open door, is the term being used these days. Let’s just call it what it is!! It was sexually explicit. I did not mind, but in case others do, I feel it is only fair to mention. The author loosely based her male character on non other than Mr. Harry Styles. I was 100% into it.

I also read a book off of Obama’s Summer Reading List: Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane. A strong 5 stars for me. I am really proud of the variety of books I managed to read in August. This was a very gritty story about South Boston during the Summer of
1974 on the eve of mandatory school busing. The main character of Mary Pat Fennessy will stick with me. This contains subject matter dealing with racism, violence and drugs. It was extremely thought provoking and very relevant today.

I did things backward when I stumbled upon the movie Mothering Sunday, before realizing it is based on the book by the same title by author Graham Swift. I believe the book was originally written in 1950. Another small gem. Set on Mothering Sunday, which apparently was the day that estate workers in England were given the day off to spend with their Mother’s. Housemaid Jane Fairchild is actually an orphan and her plans for the day change when she receives a call from her lover. I actually enjoyed seeing the movie first in this case, as it helped me understand the book better.

Lastly, I am finishing The Cutting Season by Attica Locke tonight (it is due back at the library!). This is my second time reading this historical fiction mystery thriller. I visited southern Louisiana last month & the entire time I kept thinking about this book. I love the way the story unfolds. A body is found on the grounds of a restored sugar cane plantation. Attica is the sister of Tembi Locke, author of From Scratch, which was made into a Netflix movie of the same title. They are native Houstonians.

Okay, I better finish my book!!!!!! Honestly these were all 4 & 5 stars for me. It was a good August.