It’s time to join up with Show Us Your Books again! I love seeing what everyone else reads and getting good book recommendations. I hope you find a good one or two among my recommendations.
Don’t forget- It’s Prime Day so you might get a great deal on a new Kindle or e-reader today or tomorrow.
I read a couple of non-fiction books and some crime thrillers and romances. If sex scenes or foul language offend you, look elsewhere. I think most of these except for Just Mercy have one or both. Nothing terribly raunchy and they are not riddled with either, but it exists. I’m definitely not seeking out either as a criteria for a book, but it exists and it won’t stop me from enjoying the over all story.
Savannah Blues – Mary Kay Andrews I read some deep, emotional books in July and August and was looking for something a little lighter to read. I’ve seen Mary Kay Andrews recommended before and this was a free book on Prime. I read on Kindle and listened to the audio version on Scribd. It does involve a murder, a divorce, and a new relationship but all told with a funny spin. Eloise Foley and her friend are hilarious, witty characters. It doesn’t hurt either when I’m familiar with an area and the author gets the names and culture right. Andrews does a great job with Savannah and the southern culture. 4 stars
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson Stevenson tells his story of founding the Equal Justice Initiative, a non profit to defend the poor and wrongly, or excessively condemned. One of his clients, Walter McMillian, was falsely convicted of killing a white woman in 1988 in Alabama and sentence to the death penalty by the judge in a judicial override. Stevenson tells of the worst injustices in our criminal justice system. While I won’t argue that they don’t exist, I will say these are the extremes and I have not seen such in 25 years of involvement with the system. These are heartbreaking stories and I’m glad we have made tremendous progress since these cases. Read with an open mind and remember that this is a part, not the entire criminal justice system. For some reason this was a slow read for me (I was reading the paperback version) and I should have finished this in August but I could only read a few pages at the time. I ultimately finished it via the audio version on Audible. 4 stars
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah This book didn’t suck me in like The Nightingale or Firefly Lane, but once it did get my attention, it was pretty good. Meredith and Nina are two sisters who are vastly different in their lifestyles but their father’s death brings them home and together again. One thing they share is their childhood with their cold, seemingly unloving mother. Their father’s death brings about their mother’s secrets and forges a new relationship for all of them. 3 stars (because it moved a little too slow for me)
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren– Again, a need for something lighter and fun, and this fit the bill. Josh and Hazel are complete opposites and incompatible, or are they? Josh is Hazel’s best friend’s brother, so they are acquainted and friends as well. They decide to pick dates for each other and double date with their picks. They do this several times before they finally figure out who really belongs together. 4 stars
The Last Agent (Charles Jenkins #2) by Robert Dugoni– I loved the first book (The Eighth Sister) so as soon as this one was released I signed up for a Kindle Unlimited subscription so I could read this one. Jenkins returns to Moscow to rescue the agent who put her life on the line for him in book one. He had believed she was dead but new information suggests she could still be alive. These books are like fast paced action movies, but playing in your mind instead of on screen. 4 stars
See Her Die (Bree Taggert #2) by Melinda Leigh– another new release in a series. I also really enjoyed the first Bree Taggert book and was excited to dive into this one as soon as it was released. Bree is now the sheriff of her hometown where she returned to rear her sister’s kids after her sister’s murder. She is called to a campground where a homeless teenager claims her friend was shot. There is no victim and no blood and Bree seems to be the only one who believes the teen. The discovery of the body of a missing male college student puts a new twist on the investigation. There is some crossover of characters from Leigh’s other Scarlett Falls and Morgan Dane series but they flow together seamlessly. 4 stars
Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris by Jennifer L. Scott
A fun book on the lessons the author learned as a foreign exchange student in Paris. Lessons are not just about style as it relates to fashion and clothes, although there is a chapter on it, but about having personal class and enjoying life. 4 stars
I can’t wait to hear your book recommendations! Find more of what I’ve read here.
