August books (plural)

I did read more than one book in August (unlike July) but I didn't devour anything after like the first week of August. I did DNF a few but I won't list them out here. The transition from summer reading to fall reading, I think, is hard. 

The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding 

My first book by this author. I've been on a wait list for The Arrangement for months and then the library inexplicably doesn't have it anymore. This was on Kindle Unlimited. I liked it. The style of writing was good. I kept waiting for the twist. It was a good enough story/tale. I could've read it in a day if I'd wanted; I think it took me 3 days. Definitely a long book, though. I recommend it if you like a mystery. 

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena

I pre-ordered this because I've had a lot of luck with Shari Lapena books this year. Honestly, I liked it enough to read it in a few days so it was 100% worth buying for me. Many seem to be comparing it to The Lovely Bones which, if you've read TLB, there *is* no comparison. It stands by itself as a classic of sorts (if you've not read it, you should).

I didn't love the twist? I did kind of predict it? The writing was good. It moved along quickly. The biggest issue was this, which I put into a Goodreads review:

The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding

Nothing and no one could've made me care about the characters in this book. They all were the worst. I thought the story was far-fetched and an example of bad parenting. I honestly kept going because I was curious, not because I was invested or because I cared. It seemed like there were so many random bits and pieces thrown in (blackmail! teachers who were predators! Oregon! Only F*ns! Hazing! Kleptomania! Guns are bad! Gangs! Vegans! Drug use! Disgruntled teens!) that it was like a BINGO card for a Lifetime movie.  I don't recommend it, but I did finish it. 

^None of that is even a spoiler. I could tell you major plot points and you'd still never guess what was actually going on. 

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

I wanted to like this. I've DNF'd a lot of Riley Sager books in the past few years. It was better than the last couple of books by Riley Sager (Survive the Night and The Only One Left). I do believe I would've finished it much more quickly if it'd been on Kindle. I hate reading actual books these days. There were a lot of characters and, I felt, a lot to keep track of because I definitely didn't read it in one sitting. Reading it all at once over a few days would've made this easier. 

When all was said and done, I read like 3/4 of it and then started reading spoilers because I couldn't take it anymore. I'm counting it. The characters weren't great, the plot was a slow one. I almost felt like there was a Stranger Things element to it but he wanted to do that without saying so...if anything, it speaks to the obtuseness of 10 year old boys who turn 40 and still think and assume like 10 year old boys. 

Anyway.

The Drowning Woman was good and What Have You Done? was worth the pre-order. 

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