Total Basset Case: July Book Reviews

Jul 22, 2015

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? 

8 comments:

Mandy said...

I recommend Anthony Doerr's All The Light We Cannot See. It is an amazing book!

Brittany@TheLadyLawyer said...

Don't you love Undisclosed! They answered my question and gave me a shout out on an episode and I was giddy with excitement!

Erin LFF said...

Thanks for your reviews!! My nightstand really does not NEED any more books to read but I can't help it- I keep adding to it ;) The Chaperone sounds very intriguing!

Anne said...

Oh that's too bad you didn't love Faithful Place! Frank Mackey is one of my favorite of her characters, but I guess it is a slightly slower one - maybe that's where listening vs. reading makes a difference? Same thing with circumstances for reading Bad Monkey - reading on a beach made it way more fun :)

The Chaperone has been on my list for a while - there are some fun ones in that era that I've enjoyed before, like Rules of Civility.

And I second Mandy's suggestion - that's one I've been recommending a lot lately. I also liked Funny Girl (Nick Hornby) for something totally different - set in London in the 1960s.

Caitlin said...

I read - and liked - the first two. Just finished reading Kristin Hannah's "The Nightingale" and Elin Hilderbrand's "The Rumor". Both are entertaining quick reads.

Elisa of Fancy Free Me said...

I am completely envious of how much you read. Thank you for sharing. I"m just going to live, er read, vicariously through you!

The Lady Okie said...

Hey, I've read 3/4 of these! I agreed with your reviews. Faithful Place was my least favorite of French's books by far.

Kylie @ Counselor with a Cape said...

I'm reading Wayne Cordeiro "Leading on Empty" right now. I'm only on chapter 3, but I really like it so far. :)