My Quest to Read 100 Books in a Year: July and August, Months 7-8

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why I am reading 100 books this year?

After accomplishing this goal in 2021 but falling short in 2022, I decided to tackle it again! Read my full story of this year’s challenge in my post here.

where I stand eight months in to reading 100 books

So far in 2023, I’ve read 67 books, putting me on track to hit the goal of 100 books this year.

books read in july and august on the journey to 100

Fiction:

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese - In a small town in India, one family has a curse where each generation will lose one person to a drowning death. Sometimes they drown in rivers, sometimes in small puddles of water. It is from this unlikely starting point that this epic novel takes flight over multiple generations that confront class struggles, medical mysteries and ailments, loss and love, all against the backdrop of the medical industry in India and eventually a salvation. This novel was absolutely fantastic, and I’d highly recommend it. Thanks to Net Galley for an Advanced Reading Copy.

Landing by Emma Donahue - Sile, a flight attendant, is from the country of Ireland, Jude is from the small town of Ireland in Canada where she manages the local historic museum. They meet during an unexpected event on a flight and take up an even more unexpected long-distance relationship. This novel explores the differences in geography that mold individuals and what it is to give up part of who you are to pursue a relationship.

Maame by Jessica George - This London-based tale of a Ghanian family has been one of my top recent reads. Maddie is a young adult who has been serving as a caregiver for her father, who is dying. Her mother spends large portions of the year in Ghana, and her brother is busy living his own life in London with an occasional homeward glance and offer of assistance. When Maddie’s mother returns to London, Maddie - utterly guilt-ridden - decides to set out and get a place with roommates, to try her hand at dating, and to try to be the type of carefree young woman she sees around her. Maddie’s naivete makes her entry into the world both painful and poignant.
The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi - This novel explores the lives of refugees across time and space whose stories eventually collide over a music composition. Marguerite flees Beirut in the 1940s when she is unable to pursue her musical career and is about to be married off to a man who turns her stomach. She latches on to a man passing through and follows him to Cuba. It is there that she will have a very different life, continue writing her music, and get enmeshed in the local politics that created their own refugee population. Fifty years later in Aleppo, Syria, Naim loses his hand and several family members in a bombing. As a piano player, the loss of his hand tears at him deeply. After a rough time in a tent city with other refugees, he and his mother find themselves in the metro DC area, where they are to be settled. It is here that he is welcomed by and becomes friends with a woman who has ties to the Marguerite. While I enjoyed the themes and underlying story, the novel felt too self-aware and contrived to be convincing. Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be published October 2023.
She Taught Me Everything by Amy Smith Linton - Nicola’s life is turned upside down when she gets a call that her sister has been in a car accident and is in a coma. Nicola quickly rushes to be by her sister’s side and finds herself helpless amidst whirring machines and doctors. Viv’s husband died in the car accident, ironically killed by pottery purchased for his collection slamming in to his head. Ouch! A large house, two enormous dogs, and Viv’s father-in-law make up Nicola’s new, strange surroundings. As she tries to keep everything operating smoothly - bills to be paid and the like - Nicola is confused by a man who keeps leaving messages and discovers her sister hired him as a private detective. Soon, more secrets emerge, and Nicola learns she didn’t really know her sister as well as she thought. She begins uncovering family secrets with every new string she tugs. This novel is a great read about family and loss and the secrets we keep for others and from others. Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be published October 2023.

Mystery / Thriller:

The English Girl by Daniel Silva - This story starts in Corsica with the suspicious disappearance of a woman the British Prime Minister was having an affair with. Gabriel Allon, retired from his spywork and enjoying a mellow life as a painter, is pulled into the thick of the situation and sets off on a mission to find Madeline Hart before it is too late. His adventure takes him throughout the world with twists and turns along the way.

The Rooster Bar by John Grisham - Grisham wrote this novel in response to the diploma mill type law schools that operated in the midst of loop holes that enlarged the pockets of their investors and owners while leaving law students with low rates of passing the bar exam and limited career prospects, all on the dime of the American government, who footed the bill via student loans that all too often went into default. The story follows a group of friends attending one of these schools. When they fall into bad times after the suicide of a classmate, they decide to embrace the underbelly of law practice, adopt aliases, create a (technically illegal) business, and see how they can make it on their own.
Gray Mountain by John Grisham - When the economy crashes from the Great Recession, New York law firm associate Samantha finds herself without a job. Her law firm suggests its former associates head out into the world for some pro bono work with the promise that the economy will soon return and with it, their jobs. Practically overnight, Samantha finds herself in a rural southwestern Virginia town where coal is king, the people are neighborly, and there is a dark undercurrent of Big Coal abuses that harm the local people and environment. Samantha finds herself unexpectedly pulled toward helping the local people and may find that New York doesn’t look so appealing after all.
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain - This classic 1934 novel shocked the readers of its day and has since been made into several movie versions. Cora and her husband, Nick, operate a roadside diner. Theirs is a mundane existence until a drifter, Frank, happens upon the scene. Frank immediately lusts after Cora and soon they are plotting Nick’s demise. After their attempt goes awry, Cora and Frank begin to lose trust in each other, all while being magnetically pulled back together. With money in the picture, Cora begins to doubt whether Frank cares for her or would just as soon kill her to make off with the money all on his own.

Historic Fiction:

Take the Long Way Home by Rochelle Alers - Born in a segregated Mississippi of the 1950s, Claudia is shaped by run-ins with a local white boy, Denny, who would also cross paths with her in adulthood. But long before then, Claudia’s rural existence cuts a different path as she gets the opportunity to travel to Paris to visit an unattached aunt, who fascinates her with her European worldliness and shows her a world that can see her beyond the limitations imposed on her in Mississippi. Claudia is introduced to the world of the Civil Rights Movement through her first husband, Ashley, who she meets in college, and gets a front row seat to the risks inherent in that important work. But Claudia’s travels aren’t complete and she will find herself carving a life out in Italy as she continues to challenge race and gender barriers. I enjoyed this novel but wish that Claudia’s character had been less dependent on the men in her life in a way that felt counter to her strong sense of self. Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be published October 2023.
The Other Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria’s Goddaughter by Denny Bryce - Based on the true story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, this novel explores the life of a Yorubian princess who is caught up in warfare in Africa and whose life is saved by a British subject who makes the case that he will take this princess as a gift to Queen Victoria. As Sarah learns what it is to be a goddaughter of a queen who views her as exotic and separate from the regular court, she comes to terms with what little control she has over her life and looks for the fine line of where she can rebel and what it will cost. This novel tells a fascinating story through the eyes of a particular historic figure that puts a name and face on the role England played in its Colonialism era. Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be published October 2023.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - Set in the years leading up to and during the Great Depression, protagonist Elsa has been marked as weak and undesirable by her parents, who have coddled her. When a sudden turn of events leads to a marriage with Rafe, Elsa is disowned and finds herself a farmer’s wife without any of the skills to make her useful. Forever seeking to be brave, Elsa confronts these challenges head-on, and wins the love of her new family. As the land becomes unreliable and the economy turns, Elsa finds her prior tribulations were just the beginning, and she sets off to begin a new, even harsher life, in California in an era of mass migration. I’ve not read many novels set during this time period and really enjoyed how much Hannah brought to life this important epoch of American history that is too often a short footnote.
The Ways of Water by Teresa Janssen - This is a tale of the American West through the eyes of Josie Belle, the daughter of a train engineer, who struggles to keep a steady job and leads her large family to relocate often, even though her father is generally absent, riding on the rail. The life of Josie’s family is a hard one where poverty is scratching at the door and survival isn’t possible without the kindness of neighbors. After the untimely death of Josie’s mother and at the risk of a forced marriage to a much older man who appalls her, Josie takes the brave decision to leave home and find a job and life of her own. This was a beautiful and at times a heart-rending tale that manages to sustain hope even in tough circumstances. Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be published November 2023.
Homeward by Angela Jackson-Brown - Rose returns home, pregnant. The state of her pregnancy makes it clear that the baby’s father is not her husband, who is willing to forgive her and raise the baby as his own. When her husband is lost in the war, Rose is crushed by the pain she caused him. Coming out of her grief, her sister exposes her to the Civil Rights Movement activities underway and gradually pulls Rose in to a world her parents want her to stay far away from. This novel provides a wonderful narrative of the risks young people took in the 1960s as part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and how it was these brave decisions of individuals that helped turn the tide of the American South. Thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Reading Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be published October 2023.

Romance:

The Weight of a Broken Heart by Natacha Jean - I read this as an Advanced Reading Copy through NetGalley and thought it was poorly written, had a ridiculous, non-sensical plot, and I would not recommend it.
The Rebel King by Kennedy Ryan - After reading the first book in this series an advanced reading copy, I decided to see the story through. This second novel continues the story of Lennix and Maxim and picks up where the first novel ended. With a mix of international crime and political intrigue, this fast-paced book is a fun - though predictable - read.
Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover - I only heard of this author recently but apparently she has been on the scene for a while and gained significant popularity in this genre, which is only minimally on my radar. So, I headed to my local library’s online catalogue and checked out the only novel that was currently available. The novel follows Beyah, who has been raised by a single mother struggling with addiction and who has just succumbed to an overdose. Leaving her hard-scrabble life and trailer behind, Beyah heads to coastal Texas, where her birth father lives. As a creation of a one-night hook-up, Beyah has only had minimal contact with her father over the years and the difficulty of her life has been her secret. This novel tackles complicated families, the secrets people keep, and what life is like for survivors. Beyah and her new next door neighbor, Samson, tackle their own dark histories together.
Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas - This is the first in a 4-book romance series that I happened upon while looking for a mindless, fun summer read. The premise of the series is a Bostonian family with ‘new money’ is seeking marriage prospects for their two daughters, who are not of interest to the old money set in the Northeastern US. So, they head to England in hopes of landing their daughters with British peers. There, they meet up with two local women and each novel follows one of their stories. This first novel is followed by It Happened One Autumn, Devil in Winter, and Scandal in Spring.