July Book Reviews

I've made it a goal to read more and listen to more books on cd this year.

So far so good.

And if I could stay awake a little longer at night, I would get through said books a bit faster.

Mister and I have taken up listening to book tapes on our road trips.  I love this tradition we've started and that we can share a book we both enjoy together.  And Mister enjoys that I don't talk his ear off for 6 hours straight ;)  If we aren't listening to a book we are definitely catching up on latest episode of Undisclosed.  

According to Goodreads, here is what I/we've read lately.

I will worn you, there were some flops.

Faithful Place :  I've read quite a few of the other books in the Dublin Murder Squad series and have quite enjoyed them.  This one not so much.  It was slow moving and I felt like it drug out more than it needed to.  The other books in the series I've read seemed to move a lot faster and have more suspense.  This one could have ended about 50 pages before it did. 

I gave this a 3/5.

Night Circus : This was a winner in my book.  Very different from what I normally read but I really enjoyed it.  

As the title says, the book is about a circus that comes mysteriously into town at night and comes to life; vibrant and over the top.  They stay in a city for a few days then pack up and move on to the next stop.  Throughout the years there is a competition going on between two of the magicians (they do not know who each other) to create the most magical of experiences.  Love begins to get in the way of this magic and relationships blossom. I give this a 4/5.

The Chaperone : This was a very easy, quick and enjoyable read.  The Chaperone would definitely be a good beach read.  

Set in the 1920s, Cora (The Chaperone) is given the responsibility of traveling from the midwest with up and coming star Louise to New York as she begins her dancing career.  While Louise is in class, Cora has the opportunity to learn more about her childhood of growing up in an orphanage in New York.  Eventually Louise's carefree and lively attitude begin to rub off on Cora and her demeanor towards life begins to change.  The second portion of the book details how the New York trip liberated and changed Cora's life.  I give this one a 4/5.

Bad Monkey :  This was a book on cd for Mister and I and I believe he will say differently but I did not really enjoy it.  The description on the back was very intriguing.  The actual story started off okay but I just felt like it dragged on and on and on.  I skimmed the last three cds if that tells you anything.

I give this one a 2.5/5.

Currently I am listening to A Spool of Blue Thread (just started) and reading You Should Have Known (enjoying it so far).  Any good recommendations?