In August I completed five books (there were a couple of DNFs too). While this is quite lower of a number than I generally read each month, it doesn’t bother me in the least. I was busy with other things – including a trip to visit my daughter in NYC and a visit by my son to see us for a while, which is still ongoing. We also have had a lot going on here at the house with some sprucing up projects and it has just been busy! In any case, my five books were all good in their own ways. Here is what I read in August.
Heart the Lover – Lily King
Heart the Lover is a shorter novel that I would say is a mix between literary and contemporary fiction. I loved Writers & Lovers and dove right in. I was not an overwhelming fan of part 1 as far as the story line goes. There, I said it. However, the writing, man oh man can Lily king write! I would argue that she is one of the best writers of our time! Back to the story – our narrator has a relationship with two different men as she nears the end of college, and quite frankly, they both were kind of awful to her in my opinion. In her own way at the time, she knows this, but then as the rest of the book turns, that always came nagging back at me. If you enjoyed Writers & Lovers, give this one a go. If you haven’t yet read Writers & Lovers, I would start there as there is a thread… I did get a bit lost in it and it pulled at all of the heart strings. I also always love a shorter novel that still packs a punch. Great things come in small packages. Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance digital copy in exchange for my honest option. Heart the Lover will be available on 9/30/25.
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Bitter Sweet – Hattie Williams
I have read a lot of great debuts lately, and Bitter Sweet is another. Twenty-three year old Charlie is a publicity assistant at a London publishing company and meets fifty six year old world-famous and married author Richard Aveling. So begins a bit of a torrid secret affair, Charlie is deeply in love with Richard but you never really quite see that, as her trauma of her past distorts her views of the world in the emotional sense. Bitter Sweet is quite the page turner, I kept hoping Charlie would come to her senses and wanted to know what would happen next. I don’t usually like books in which older men manipulate younger women, but the writing here is so good that even though it is a very hard topic, I did really enjoy the novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for an early digital copy. Bitter Sweet is now available.
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Careless People – Sarah Winn-Williams
Giving this a very generous 4 – more people have to read it. It should have been named Evil People. I don’t really buy that the author was so innocent as she tries to come across. But in any case, what a big f’en mess they have made.
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Atomic Hearts – Megan Cummins
This book is a bit all over the place with the dual timeline and it seems to jump a bit in those as well. It is a heartbreakingly sad book as 16 year old Gertie goes to live with her dad who is a recovering addict. This transition is due to her mom (newly divorced from dad) deciding to spend the summer sailing the Mediterranean with a new boyfriend. The abandonment comes after a terrible accident lands her in the ER as no one is there to care for her. Gertie’s one true escape is her writing and perhaps it is the thing that will save her. I did enjoy the book and it was entertaining but it didn’t move into the love category for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for an advance digital copy. Atomic Hearts is now available.
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Joan is Okay – Weike Wang
Joan is a quirky and witty 30 year old ICU Dr whose entire identity seems to be focused on her career. We learn of her background and upbringing and the impact it has had on her, particularly the death of her father. Joan is Okay read like a memoir to me and I had to look it up about 50 or so pages in to verify if I was reading a novel or memoir.
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