When you said that Atonement was a classic I felt old because I remember it coming out when I was in high school 😂 I thought dang I must be really really old haha
Oathbringer was difficult for me to get through as well for some reason. It felt much slower than 1 and 2. It took me forever to read. It's not just you!
My current favourite crime writer is Ann Cleeves - her detectives are well fleshed-out, complex characters, and the plots are engaging and twisty-turny. The current Two Rivers series featuring Matthew Venn is set in north Devon, a part of England where I spent many childhood holidays, so I'm enjoying the atmosphere even more than I did with the Jimmy Perez books, which are set in Shetland. I also know many of the places featured in her Vera Stanhope series quite well, and she does a good job of bringing the north-east region to life on the page, too.
Hi Emily! I felt the same way about The book of Etta. Loved the first book, but that book just hit different. I haven't read the 3rd book for that reason.
Try Elizabeth George's Thomas Lynley series. A Great Deliverance is the first book, although, not my favorite. The series just gets better as it goes along, and I'm up to #15, I think. George is great at character building -- the further you go with the series, the more you understand Lynley and his close group. The time investment is soooo worth it! 💚💚💚
A Great Deliverance felt dated in a way the others didn't, but it's still worth reading. I started with Missing Joseph, which worked fine, but I wish I had started at the beginning to get the full context of the relationships.
@skeletonkeybooks it's best to go in order -- the first 9 or so are ok to mix it up. Once you get to 10 and up, stay in your lane, lol! Glad you found her!
One of the best books I've read was the memoirs of Frank McCourt! The first book is called "Angela's ashes" , it talks about his childhood. The second book talks about him from a young adult coming to America, it's called "tis". I don't know if you've read them already or not. The writing and storytelling are beautiful. I can also recommend the audiobooks since they're read by the author and frank McCourt is actually good at reading and telling stories. It is quite sad, but definitely worth it.
Since you enjoyed Elena Ferrante's series, you should try to read Forbidden Notebook by Alba De Cespedes, another Italian author who writes interesting and complex female characters 😊 It's a modern classic but it's not difficult at all to read.
My best books read in August The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes The Coast Road by Alan Murrin Wild Houses by Colin Barrett My Friends by Hisham Matar I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman Amy & Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
I also recently read apells for forgetting and I suspected you wouldn't like it but I didn't want to discourage you hahaha. The only reason I didn't dnf was because I was on a very long flights, I liked the idea of the book but not the book itself, it was a bit boring.
The younger sister of Keira Knightley was a young Saoirse Ronan! Definitely don't think Atonement is a romance. Just because someone makes out, doesn't make the story a love story.
Hi, Emily. I wanted to give you a different perspective. Have you tried WW 2 books set in Italy instead of Germany? I have read a few, and unlike the ones with the recurring themes and settings, the ones in Italy tend to be better, way better. One that comes to mind is The Girl from Venice by Siobhan Daiko, it was so raw and beautiful, even though historical fiction isn’t my main thing by a long shot, this one made me bawl and feel real feelings. I know you usually say that we’ve kinda become “numb” to these kind of books, but, trust me, this one is written really well, it’s hard to put down even though it breaks you inside, since it’s not discussing the war as a whole but the effect of this whole situation on the day to day life of this young lady in Venice with hopes, dreams, and aspirations and the challenges of being a female resisting in such trying times. I think you’ll like it.
I'm so glad I read Oathbringer on Kindle. If I'd known how long it was, I don't think I'd want to hold that big ass book to slog through it. My Goodreads says I finished it...TBH I don't remember a thing about it.
@@insanebutterfly3439 Sure! Finlay Donovan is Killing it (I didn't like the humor or the main character, it wasn't my type of cozy mystery), Unwind (I found the worldbuilding to be very weak, also I think I read so many YA dystopias in my teens that I'm just not interested in them anymore, the only exception being the Hunger Games) and a book by a french writer Guillaume Musso that was a translation into my native language (which is not English, so I don't know the English title or if it has even been translated into English), but it was a generic romance mystery-thriller, and I realized I don't care for those kinds of stories at all.
never whistle at night was really good but it can be awkward audiobook to listen while walking around outside. some nsfw stories that make it uncomfortable to listen in public. i do most of my audiobooks while shopping or walking to work but I had to finish this one at home.
I was wondering how you were gonna feel about Days of Abandonment. I never said anything in comments because I didn’t want you to have preconceptions. I had to DNF that book, partially because I was reading it the same month I was getting married….made me feel uncomfortable with the idea of it 😂
Ian McEwan loves to write about women getting SA’d, enjoying it, and falling in love with the guy who did it. I’m wondering if you got a bad audiobook of Ministry of Time or something? Because by the halfway point there’s heavy foreshadowing of what’s really going on and characters’ real identities.
Sorry I love the reviews, a lot of people aren't big on the living in a black/trans whatever body vs just black, trans etc. The idea originally was it was meant to be shocking, referring to black people as just bodies by black activists but it kind of loses the power. Grady Hendrix seems to be very marmite, people either love or hate him, I need to pick up a book and see
Had you read his other books before that? I had Mistborn era 1, Elantris, Warbreaker and the Emperor’s soul under my belt when I started the Way of Kings, and they taught me to trust the process, lol. It took me a month to read it, though😅
@@juliager5702hello yes i read the first mistborn trilogy! It was so good and the ending got me 😮😮😮 I also have Elantris and Warbreaker but it’s been pushed lower on the TBR list because of FOMO 😅😅 I alao read Tress but I didn’t like it 😢😢
If stores are selling Halloween stuff early August, you certainly can say it's fall on the eve of September. 🍂🍁
Awesome book reviews. I especially enjoyed your cat in the background. 🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛🐈⬛
I'm so ready for autumn
Yay to Horrorstor! It was a fun read! I’m hoping my work book club chooses Never Whistle at Night!
I love the Elizabeth George Inspector Lynley series! The books build on each other. I feel it is important to read them in order. So good!!,
Loved Malice when I read it a few years ago! And you just reminded me it was a series of sorts so I definitely want to add that back on my TBR!
ATONEMENT. ❤ One of my favorite books of all time.
Happy to hear your thoughts on Never Whistle at Night.
I gave Horrorstor 5 stars! I just loved everything about this book. I like everything Grady Hendrix writes.
Instantly adding Horrorstor to my tbr! What a fun concept ✨
When you said that Atonement was a classic I felt old because I remember it coming out when I was in high school 😂 I thought dang I must be really really old haha
Oathbringer was difficult for me to get through as well for some reason. It felt much slower than 1 and 2. It took me forever to read. It's not just you!
I'm glad to hear it! It's such a heavy book that just reading it is a challenge XD
My current favourite crime writer is Ann Cleeves - her detectives are well fleshed-out, complex characters, and the plots are engaging and twisty-turny.
The current Two Rivers series featuring Matthew Venn is set in north Devon, a part of England where I spent many childhood holidays, so I'm enjoying the atmosphere even more than I did with the Jimmy Perez books, which are set in Shetland. I also know many of the places featured in her Vera Stanhope series quite well, and she does a good job of bringing the north-east region to life on the page, too.
Almost finished with T Kingfisher’s newest, A Sorceress Comes to Call, and I really like it. Very women focused.
Hi Emily! I felt the same way about The book of Etta. Loved the first book, but that book just hit different. I haven't read the 3rd book for that reason.
Try Elizabeth George's Thomas Lynley series. A Great Deliverance is the first book, although, not my favorite. The series just gets better as it goes along, and I'm up to #15, I think. George is great at character building -- the further you go with the series, the more you understand Lynley and his close group. The time investment is soooo worth it! 💚💚💚
A Great Deliverance felt dated in a way the others didn't, but it's still worth reading. I started with Missing Joseph, which worked fine, but I wish I had started at the beginning to get the full context of the relationships.
@skeletonkeybooks it's best to go in order -- the first 9 or so are ok to mix it up. Once you get to 10 and up, stay in your lane, lol! Glad you found her!
One of the best books I've read was the memoirs of Frank McCourt! The first book is called "Angela's ashes" , it talks about his childhood. The second book talks about him from a young adult coming to America, it's called "tis". I don't know if you've read them already or not. The writing and storytelling are beautiful. I can also recommend the audiobooks since they're read by the author and frank McCourt is actually good at reading and telling stories. It is quite sad, but definitely worth it.
Since you enjoyed Elena Ferrante's series, you should try to read Forbidden Notebook by Alba De Cespedes, another Italian author who writes interesting and complex female characters 😊
It's a modern classic but it's not difficult at all to read.
Not the pileofshaming of Oathbringer, I'm in shambles 😭😭😭
It's temporary.... hopefully lol
The Ministry of Time had a very annoying and frustrating ending, so good call on the DNF’ing lol
I also DNFed Spells for Forgetting. I was so bored lol
August isnt over😂❤❤
In the film of Atonement ( which I still haven’t seen or read the book) Saorise Ronan had her first movie role.
My best books read in August
The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin
Wild Houses by Colin Barrett
My Friends by Hisham Matar
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Amy & Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
The giant jar. That’s what we’re going with now?
I also recently read apells for forgetting and I suspected you wouldn't like it but I didn't want to discourage you hahaha. The only reason I didn't dnf was because I was on a very long flights, I liked the idea of the book but not the book itself, it was a bit boring.
11-22-63🎉 S.kings best. Non-horror
The younger sister of Keira Knightley was a young Saoirse Ronan! Definitely don't think Atonement is a romance. Just because someone makes out, doesn't make the story a love story.
Hi, Emily. I wanted to give you a different perspective. Have you tried WW 2 books set in Italy instead of Germany? I have read a few, and unlike the ones with the recurring themes and settings, the ones in Italy tend to be better, way better. One that comes to mind is The Girl from Venice by Siobhan Daiko, it was so raw and beautiful, even though historical fiction isn’t my main thing by a long shot, this one made me bawl and feel real feelings. I know you usually say that we’ve kinda become “numb” to these kind of books, but, trust me, this one is written really well, it’s hard to put down even though it breaks you inside, since it’s not discussing the war as a whole but the effect of this whole situation on the day to day life of this young lady in Venice with hopes, dreams, and aspirations and the challenges of being a female resisting in such trying times.
I think you’ll like it.
I'm so glad I read Oathbringer on Kindle. If I'd known how long it was, I don't think I'd want to hold that big ass book to slog through it. My Goodreads says I finished it...TBH I don't remember a thing about it.
I honestly believe that the weight of the book is contributing to me struggling with it XD
August wasn't the best reading month for me either with 3 DNFs and 3 finished books, but let's hope for a better September!
May I ask what were your dnf?
@@insanebutterfly3439 Sure! Finlay Donovan is Killing it (I didn't like the humor or the main character, it wasn't my type of cozy mystery), Unwind (I found the worldbuilding to be very weak, also I think I read so many YA dystopias in my teens that I'm just not interested in them anymore, the only exception being the Hunger Games) and a book by a french writer Guillaume Musso that was a translation into my native language (which is not English, so I don't know the English title or if it has even been translated into English), but it was a generic romance mystery-thriller, and I realized I don't care for those kinds of stories at all.
@@nikif.166 i have not read the Finlay Donavan series because I have heard so many mixed reviews about them.
@@insanebutterfly3439 It's definitely a hit or miss. I think it was my quickest dnf this year, I put it down after 3-4 chapters.
never whistle at night was really good but it can be awkward audiobook to listen while walking around outside. some nsfw stories that make it uncomfortable to listen in public. i do most of my audiobooks while shopping or walking to work but I had to finish this one at home.
I want to read horrorstor so much
Poor Emily hope you find a five star soon
Whadyumean.. Atonement is definitely a classic 😒
I was wondering how you were gonna feel about Days of Abandonment. I never said anything in comments because I didn’t want you to have preconceptions. I had to DNF that book, partially because I was reading it the same month I was getting married….made me feel uncomfortable with the idea of it 😂
❤️📚🐱
Which platform are you using for audiobook?
Libby!
Perhaps those people are confusing ~romance~ with Romantic Era literature lol
That would make a lot of sense… but they still rave about the romance and it worries me for them 😂
📚📚📚
I dnf'd about half the books I started this month. Some months are like that-- life is too short to read books we're not enjoying, right?
Ian McEwan loves to write about women getting SA’d, enjoying it, and falling in love with the guy who did it. I’m wondering if you got a bad audiobook of Ministry of Time or something? Because by the halfway point there’s heavy foreshadowing of what’s really going on and characters’ real identities.
Come with me by Ronald malfi great thriller
Wait, did I miss it or did you pass on The Perfect Marriage?😄
🐈⬛🎃👻
Sorry I love the reviews, a lot of people aren't big on the living in a black/trans whatever body vs just black, trans etc. The idea originally was it was meant to be shocking, referring to black people as just bodies by black activists but it kind of loses the power. Grady Hendrix seems to be very marmite, people either love or hate him, I need to pick up a book and see
I simply used the term the author chose to describe his experience throughout the book
@@BookswithEmilyFox That's great, I just know you like to be correct with those things. If that's what he uses that's perfect
Oathbringer for you, Way of Kings for me hahahaha put it down back in 2021 after 500ish pages and still haven’t picked it back up 🫢
Had you read his other books before that? I had Mistborn era 1, Elantris, Warbreaker and the Emperor’s soul under my belt when I started the Way of Kings, and they taught me to trust the process, lol. It took me a month to read it, though😅
@@juliager5702hello yes i read the first mistborn trilogy! It was so good and the ending got me 😮😮😮
I also have Elantris and Warbreaker but it’s been pushed lower on the TBR list because of FOMO 😅😅
I alao read Tress but I didn’t like it 😢😢
Just got from library in audiobook
@@Beaureads24 good luck!! Hehehe my mind seems to wander when I’m listening to audiobooks