Like the Comet

Ooowweee. August was really busy and just a bit chaotic.

Between traveling to visit friends, spending some time with my family at home, playing plenty of pickleball and a little bit of golf, and dealing with some apartment issues, I was exhausted lol.

Being busy and social has its perks and can be really fun, but I also don’t always have the capacity to keep up with that lifestyle. Can you say INTROVERT? So you can imagine how drained I was by the end of this month.

Almost every time I sat down to read, I fell asleep immediately. Additionally, after flying through a couple of books during the beginning of the month, I just could not figure out what I was in the mood for later. So it was hard to keep my attention with anything I chose.

Which sucks, but alas, I am a mood reader. Therefore, I didn’t read as many books this month as I’d hoped, but crossing my fingers September treats me better.

All righty. Let’s get into everything I read in August.

**All summaries are taken or paraphrased from Goodreads.

DARK CORNERS by Megan Goldin

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary: Terence Bailey is about to be released from prison for breaking and entering, though investigators have long suspected him in the murders of six women. As his freedom approaches, Bailey gets a surprise visit from Maddison Logan, a hot, young influencer with a huge social media following. Hours later, Maddison disappears, and police suspect she’s been kidnapped - or worse. Is Maddison’s disappearance connected to her visit to Bailey? Why was she visiting him in the first place? When they hit a wall in the investigation, the FBI reluctantly asks for Rachel’s help in finding the missing influencer. Maddison seems only to exist on social media; she has no family, no friends, and other than in her posts, most people have never seen her. Who is she, really? Using a fake Instagram account, Rachel Krall goes undercover to BuzzCon, a popular influencer conference, where she discovers a world of fierce rivalry that may have turned lethal. When police find the body of a woman with a tattoo of a snake eating its tail, the FBI must consider a chilling possibility: Bailey has an accomplice on the outside and a dangerous obsession with influencers, including Rachel Krall herself. Suddenly a target of a monster hiding in plain sight, Rachel is forced to confront the very real dangers that lurk in the dark corners of the internet.

My Thoughts: Last month, I read The Night Swim by Megan Goldin and absolutely loved it, so I decided to immediately jump into her next Rachel Krall book. I am pleased to report it did not disappoint! I thought the premise was really unique with a mix of mysteries involving various murders and a missing person’s case, all surrounding an internet influencers’ conference. Rachel Krall is still the most fearless, kickass protagonist and I was obsessed with her drive to solve this messy case. Similar to The Night Swim, the format sprinkled in transcripts of Rachel’s podcast episodes and flips between multiple points of view - even the killer’s! It was fun to gather some inside information from the creepy antagonist that answered questions Rachel and the FBI were still digging for. The pacing of the story goes pretty quickly from start to finish which definitely kept the pages turning effortlessly. After finishing the book and reflecting for a few minutes, I think the only thing that could have been smoother is how many red herrings we were given. It felt like some of them misled me a little too much and I’d rather feel as though I’m solving the mystery WITH Rachel rather than getting left behind. Otherwise, I loved it and definitely recommend picking it up soon! You can read this as a standalone without needing to read The Night Swim first. However, I recommend doing them in order because I felt a more instant connection with Rachel this time around having already known her character.

THE NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern (REREAD)

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

My Thoughts: I first read The Night Circus back in 2020 during the COVID lockdown, and all I remembered is that it was such a magical escape. I don’t mean in the fantasy sense of there being literal magic, but the story was just so beautiful and, at a time when everything seemed to be so dark, it brought a bit of light to my days. I’ve been hesitant to reread it because I wasn’t sure if experiencing it again would have the same effect. Folks, I’m happy to report, I loved it just as much the second time through and in audiobook form as I did the first time I read the physical book. To quote my last review of this, “This wasn’t just a book, this was an experience.” The writing has a way of penetrating your emotions with every aspect of these characters and the storyline. Celia and Marco are forced into a challenge set by her father and Marco’s mentor YEARS before the two ever meet. They don’t know who they’re competing against or when this illusionist battle actually begins, but they spend their childhood into adolescence training for it. There’s a nod to “book smarts vs. street smarts” with their training methods, but everything starts coming together once Celia joins the Night Circus (aka the Circus of Dreams). Yet again, I was a puddle of romantic mush for the undeniable connection between Celia and Marco. Especially as they each started adding new attractions to the circus that they thought the other would love. The number of characters that were incorporated added so much depth to the book without becoming confusing or distracting. I think the twins Poppet and Widget were my favorite additions and I loved how their trajectory changed along the way. Again, the audiobook was just as magnificent as the physical copy, so no matter what format you choose, I highly recommend you give this book a try!

IF ONLY YOU by Chloe Liese

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Ziggy - I’m the youngest player on the National Soccer team, the baby of my family, and thoroughly sick of being underestimated, so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. Which is where my brother’s best friend and teammate, the infamous Sebastian Marchand, comes in. Seb needs to rehab his reputation. I want to give mine an edge. So I propose a fake friendship with real benefits: spending time in the public eye, my good-girl image and his bad-boy notoriety rubbing off on each other. He’s my devious, dark-haired fantasy come to life, but his destructive ways make it easy to keep him in the (fake) friend zone. Or so I thought, until I start to see the heart of gold he’s been hiding beneath that sinister surface… | Sebastian - Like any self-respecting reprobate, I’ve been spiraling downward, and I’ve finally hit rock bottom. My hockey career and sponsorships are in jeopardy, and while I’m not ready to actually reform my ways, I’m happy to pretend that I have to secure the life I’m on the brink of losing. So when my best friend’s sister, Ziggy Bergman, proposes a public “friendship” to revamp our reputations, it’s an offer I can’t refuse. Up till now, I’ve stayed away from Ren’s sweet, shy little sister to avoid any risk of ruining my one good friendship. But I reassure myself there’s no risk in our scheme. I’ll fake a friendship with Ziggy, fix my reputation, and get back to hockey, the one and only thing I love. At least, it was, until what began as a transactional agreement became the most loving relationship I’ve ever known.

My Thoughts: If you haven’t read the Bergman Brothers series, you’re really missing out. I have absolutely fallen in love with this giant Swedish family and was so excited to hear Ziggy (the youngest Bergman) was going to get her own book. Apparently I wasn’t paying attention too closely though because this book was released in April of this year and I totally missed it lol. So I was excited to rediscover it to say the least. One thing I always appreciate about this author’s writing is the amount of care she uses while depicting people with intellectual, physical or emotional disabilities. Ziggy’s character has autism, but that doesn’t define who she is as a whole. I loved her quick-witted banter and blatant honesty with Sebastian. She’s a powerhouse on the soccer field and wants to make the world see her as the strong woman she’s grown to become. Sebastian’s character has celiac but that’s only part of his story. I was obsessed with the amount of work he was willing to put into himself to become a person he thinks is worthy of Ziggy. Their love story is a little unconventional, but the friends-to-lovers trope did wonders here. If you haven’t read the Bergman Brothers series yet, I still think you can read this book as a standalone, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I suggest going in the order in which the series was published. If you have made it this far in the series, then I definitely recommend moving onto Ziggy’s!

SKIN OF THE SEA by Natasha Bowen

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary: A way to survive. A way to serve. A way to save. Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata - a mermaid - collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home. But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi goes against an ancient decree and does the unthinkable - she saves his life. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy the gods. To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But all is not as it seems. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail… Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she fails, she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata but also the world as she knows it.

My Thoughts: I thought this was a great mixture of fantasy and historical fiction. The author did an amazing job of incorporating real historical facts (ex: using braids as a map) with African spirituality and mythology. The imagery was rich and perfectly complimented all of the magical characters encountered on this journey led by Simi and Kola. My only thing is, and I can’t tell if it’s because I’m a mood reader or what, but I just wasn’t as interested in this book as I’d hoped. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a phenomenal job. However, I ended up listening to it at 1.45x speed because I kind of just wanted to be done with it. Looking back, it’s kind of a slow burn for at least 50% of the book and then it finally starts picking up towards the last 25%, but I just wasn’t invested in listening to this story at all. That being said, I don’t not recommend it if you’ve had it on your radar. I just don’t think I’ll ever reread it or anything.

MILE HIGH by Liz Tomforde

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Zanders: Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me - everyone’s favorite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night. What I don't like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job. But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons or if it’s more than that. | Stevie: I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d see it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again… no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be. Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it. Everything but him.

My Thoughts: This story was really cute! Zanders and Stevie are the perfect match for each other both in terms of personality and quick-witted banter. Zanders is a famous hockey player in Chicago who is known to the public as a complete playboy (which is a narrative he pushes), but in reality is a really great guy. Stevie is a flight attendant for Chicago’s NHL team and has sworn off athletes as love interests ever since her experience with an ex in college. Not to mention, her brother is one of the most well-known point guards in the NBA. Both characters are battling their own demons and insecurities, and although there are so many outside forces saying that a relationship between them is a bad idea and won’t work out, you could not deny their connection. I loved the storyline related to working on your mental health and healing previous traumas to be the best version of yourself in a relationship. I think those things affect how people react/respond to being vulnerable with their partners much more than people realize, and I thought the author handled those topics with such care and compassion throughout this story. I will say, this book was a touch longer than it needed to be IMO, but I enjoyed it all the same!

THE LOST APOTHECARY by Sarah Penner

Rating: 3/5 stars

Summary: A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them - setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman. Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s registry. One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley hidden in an apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her Knowledge for a darker purpose - selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register. In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate - and not everyone will survive.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this book for the most part. It has dual timelines, multiple points of view, and a little bit of a mystery element to it. The concept was pretty cool. An apothecary in 1791 has made it her mission to help women get out of dangerous situations or defend themselves against ill-meaning men in their lives by preparing seemingly innocent tinctures that are actually deadly. To keep her involvement in these murders concealed, the vials she provides to her customers only have the sketch of a bear on the glass. Fast forward to the present and Caroline is mudlarking when she finds a piece of glass with an etch that looks very similar to a bear. Cue her search for the story behind the apothecary the glass came from originally. I liked that there was a connection between these characters and that you got to see Nella and Eliza’s story unravel from their POVs while Caroline slowly uncovered clues to who these women were. The storyline was quickly paced and fun to follow. My only thing is this book didn’t blow me away or feel like anything groundbreakingly new. I probably won’t think about it much after writing this review, but it was an enjoyable enough audiobook.

SOMETHING WILDER by Christina Lauren

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession… or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there. | Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen. But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the adventure of a lifetime.

My Thoughts: This book was so much fun! It’s unlike any other romance novel I’ve read. It’s got a western vibe mixed with treasure hunting and is topped off with a second-chance romance storyline. To simplify, it was flirty and dirty - in more ways than one lol. Leo is taking an annual trip with a few of his buddies and they’ve decided to do an excursion with an adventure company that just happens to be owned by Lily Wilder. It had been a decade since Leo and Lily had seen each other, and I loved that their connection was still so undeniable 10 years later. They’re coming from very different places in life, but the things that make them different from each other also make them the perfect match. The storyline takes a huge turn when it turns out more people knew about Lily’s famous treasure hunting father, Duke, than she realized. What was supposed to be a fun adventure into the desert for a few days on horseback quickly becomes a deadly situation. Honestly, this book had a little bit of everything - romance, action, mystery, and some really great supporting characters. If you love a second chance romance and haven’t read a Christina Lauren book, I recommend giving this one a try!

Well that’s it for August.

Although football starts in September and ya girl loves watching the Wolverines and Lions, I’m hoping to crank out a few more books than I did this month. I’ll try to throw a couple of scary reads in there too to get you ready for spooky season. 🙂

2023 Book Count: 79

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YOUR TURN! What’s your favorite book to cozy up with in the fall?