There a number of books set to be released in August that I am pretty excited about. I decided to share them with y’all to find out whether you have read/heard about them. So here goes…
If the Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss
In a North Carolina mountain town filled with moonshine and rotten husbands, Sadie Blue is only the latest girl to face a dead-end future at the mercy of a dangerous drunk. She’s been married to Roy Tupkin for fifteen days, and she knows now that she should have listened to the folks who said he was trouble. But when a stranger sweeps in and knocks the world off-kilter for everyone in town, Sadie begins to think there might be more to life than being Roy’s wife.
As stark and magnificent as Appalachia itself, If the Creek Don’t Rise is a bold and beautifully layered debut about a dusty, desperate town finding the inner strength it needs to outrun its demons. The folks of Baines Creek will take you deep into the mountains with heart, honesty, and homegrown grit.
Girl in Snow by Danya Kukafka
As morning dawns in a sleepy Colorado suburb, a dusting of snow covers high school freshman Lucinda Hayes’s dead body on a playground carousel. As accusations quickly spread, Lucinda’s tragic death draws three outsiders from the shadows.
Oddball Cameron Whitley loved—still loves—Lucinda. Though they’ve hardly ever spoken, and any sensible onlooker would call him Lucinda’s stalker, Cameron is convinced that he knows her better than anyone. Completely untethered by the news of her death, Cameron’s erratic behavior provides the town ample reason to suspect that he’s the killer.
Jade Dixon-Burns hates Lucinda. Lucinda took everything from Jade: her babysitting job, and her best friend. The worst part was Lucinda’s blissful ignorance to the damage she’d wrought.
Officer Russ Fletcher doesn’t know Lucinda, but he knows the kid everyone is talking about, the boy who may have killed her. Cameron Whitley is his ex-partner’s son. Now Russ must take a painful journey through the past to solve Lucinda’s murder and keep a promise he made long ago.
The Other Girl by Erica Spindler
Officer Miranda Rader of the Hammond PD in Louisiana is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from Jasper, just south of Hammond, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to leave the girl she used to be behind and earn respect in her position as an officer.
However, when Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the gruesomeness of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about a terrible night from her long-buried past. Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop, and not just any cop—Clint Wheeler, the cop who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda. 15 years ago.
And when her fingerprints turn up at the scene of the first murder, Miranda once again finds herself under the microscope, her honesty and integrity doubted, her motivations questioned. Alone again, the trust of her colleagues shattered, Miranda must try to trust the instincts she’s pushed down for so long, and decide what’s right—before it’s too late.
Bad Girl Gone by Temple Mathews
Sixteen year-old Echo Stone awakens in a cold sweat in a dark room, having no idea where she is or how she got there. But she soon finds out she is in Middle House, an orphanage filled with mysteriously troubled kids.
There is just one problem: she is not an orphan. Her parents are very much alive.
She explains this to everyone, but no one will listen. After befriending a sympathetic (and handsome) boy, Echo is able to escape Middle House and rush home, only to discover it sealed off by crime scene tape and covered in the evidence of a terrible and violent crime. As Echo grapples with this world-shattering information, she spots her parents driving by and rushes to flag them down. Standing in the middle of street, waving her arms to get their attention, her parents car drives right through her.
She was right. Her parents are alive but she s not. She is a ghost, just like all the other denizens of Middle House. Desperate to somehow get her life back and reconnect with her still-alive boyfriend, Echo embarks on a quest to solve her own murder.
The Walls by Hollie Overton
Single mom Kristy Tucker works as press agent for the Texas Department of Corrections – handling everything on death row, from inmate interviews to chronicling the last moments during an execution. Her job exposes Kristy to the worst of humanity and it’s one that’s beginning to take its toll.
So when Kristy meets Lance Dobson, her son’s martial arts instructor, she believed she finally found her happy ending. She was wrong.
Kristy soon discovers that Lance is a monster. Forced to endure his verbal and physical abuse, Kristy is serving her own life sentence . . . unless she’s willing to take matters into her hands. Perfectly poised to exploit the criminal justice system she knows so well, Kristy sets out to get rid of Lance – permanently.
The Good Sister by Jess Ryder
Two sisters. One secret… A lie that could destroy them both.
When her father dies, Josie is devastated to uncover he led a secret life: another house, another family and a half-sister called Valentina.
Both with red hair and icy blue eyes, Josie and Valentina could be mistaken for twins. But the similarities end there…
Josie – Sweet, reserved, jealous, thief.
Valentina – Care-free, confident, dangerous, liar.
Two sisters. One survivor.
So, have you read any of these books? Are any of them on your August TBR? Let me know if there are any August releases that you are excited about.
Happy August and enjoy your books this month!
If I Die before I wake by Emily Koch
When We Danced at the end of the Pier by Sandy Taylor- This reminded me of my favorite book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The setting and time period had a number of similarities. Both books gave me characters that I still think of. Characters who I grew attached to. Characters whose stories broke my heart and made me cry. Part of the story was set in Ireland and I found myself thinking of Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. However, although the book reminded me of my favourite books, it was quite unique in its own ways. The writing and characterization made it different and the story was one of the most beautiful ones that I have ever read. I have found a new favorite book. This is a book that I will not stop recommending to everyone. It is the most beautiful, heart-breaking story that I have read in a while and I want everyone to read it.
Thirdly, my frustrations with blogging finally ended. All that pressure that I used to feel about blogging is now gone. I now focus on sharing my reviews and giving ‘love’ to those who give it back instead of trying to interact with way too many people yet half of them never even visit my blog. I post whenever I have something to share without feeling the pressure to do it regularly to keep the blog ‘alive’I also stopped worrying about stats. In short, blogging is now fun.
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
A Haven for Book Lovers 