Doing the book club break dance

 With the times that we’re living in now, some entertainment budget decisions are necessary and with that said, I am taking an extended break from my book subscription box services.

After all, late summer and early fall are perfect for catching up with my already oversized TBR piles, plus I have other options (more on that later) for fresh reads.

In the meantime, my July box from Book of the Month Club was so good that I finished one of the books already!  

Now, before I talk about that title, I need to mention that my main selection was a Member’s Favorite that was very well received last year, First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston(just a few chapters in and so far, pretty good) and the other was the latest from Christina Lauren, The Romance Revival.

Emory Martin loves her husband Luca but it feels as if she loves her job more these days, due to the development of a secret compound that could revive the dead.

Rushing home one night, upon realizing that she’s late for their anniversary dinner, Emory witnesses Luca being in a car accident and she happens to have said miracle cure right at hand…

Luca is restored physically but his memory is a mess to say the least. He can’t even remember being married to Emory who not only has to go into coverup mode with the world at large but perhaps this bizarre situation is the ultimate opportunity for a relationship do-over.

This may sound very sci-fi scary but Lauren tends to be more invested in the human emotional aspects of any of their STEM themed stories and I’m sure that is the case here. Should be interesting to see how well this trip down memory lane for our leads works out indeed:

The book that I did finish was Kirsty Greenwood’s Romantic Hero, which I was eager to engage with after enjoying her earlier novel The Love of My Afterlife.

We met Gertie, a romance writer whose series of cowboy themed books is awaiting its big finale.

Unfortunately, Gertie is rather stalled at the moment as her boyfriend abruptly decides to end their four year relationship. That heartbreak is complicated further by the encroaching deadline for her new book and some emotional wounds left unhealed.

In need of some inspiration, she joins her flighty but kind heated neighbor in taking part in a “manifestation ritual “ that results in a character from her books suddenly showing up in her apartment.

His name is River Oakley, the resident bad guy, and he is just as confused as Gertie is about what’s going on. They soon realize that the best way to fix both of their problems is to get Gertie’s boyfriend back and River is no stranger when it comes to making other men jealous enough to return to their original love.

But is that what Gertie really wants or needs? As they get to know each other better, it turns out that there’s more to their story than either one of them ever imagined.

As with her previous novel, Greenwood is blessed with the knack to blend romcom charm with true pathos and a nice touch of whimsy that makes for a truly enchanting read. 

There are a few small references to Love of My Afterlife but you don’t have to had read that one before diving into this one (but you read that one as well!).

Even if you haven’t read any cowboy romances, this could definitely change your tune about that in more ways than one:

Onto Aardvark Book Club and yes, I did get the new Chuck Tingle book, Fabulous Bodies, and finished it right away. 

It’s a wild ride and while I think Lucky Day was a little more emotionally strong, Fabulous Bodies is engagingly awesome and would make a great horror movie for those bold enough to try.

I paired that with a debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey. Set in England of 1979, twelve year old Miv and her best friend Sharon decide to make the title list in order to see if they can track down the notorious Yorkshire Ripper, whose crimes are coming close to home.

Part of her motivation for this search is that her family might be moving to a more distant area due to not only the murders but her mother’s declining mental health. Miv figures that the best way to prevent that from happening is finding the killer yet despite her list, things are not as certain as they may seem.

I’ve heard plenty of great praise from critics and readers alike about this book and will be happy to make it’s acquaintance in the fall(saving it for a reading project) when it should be rather suitable for the season, I’m sure:

 As for my regular reading, I do have the High Summer readathon next month (see my previous post for more information) and a fall reading project that I need to plan properly for. 

For newer books, I do have a library trip to make soon(nearly finished all of the books that I borrowed last time, a nice accomplishment for me!) and some backlist reading to get through to boot. It’s good to take the time to enjoy what you do have on hand and wait until a little later for new books; patience does pay off in the end!

Also, my Autumn in August watch of the first season of The Forsytes is about to begin, so I do hope to see you all while the tea is being poured in both senses of the term: