The Books I Read in August

I managed to read another 8 books this month and while I know I can't keep that momentum going through September I am so thankful to have found so many great books and even a few new authors to read.

1. Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber-- When Annie looses her family in a tragic accident she sinks into despair for over a year and fears she'll never crawl out from under her grief until she visits the seaside where she spent her childhood summers.   Annie decides to move to the town and rent the same cottage.  Slowly she feels herself returning to life and healing.

2. By Invitation Only by Dorethea Benton Frank-- Such a wonderful novel!  Diane lives in the South Carolina's low country and helps her family on their peach farm.  When her son is about to be married to a very wealthy Chicago debutante Diane decides to throw an engagement party but she is not really ready to meet the new in-laws.  Susan is nervous that people are going to think her daughter is marrying beneath her but she moves forward with elaborate wedding plans.  As time moves forward the two families find that their lives change in unexpected ways and the only thing that you can really count on in life is one another.

3.  Reached by Allie Condie-- The final book in the Matched/Crossed series that I began reading last month was so good! When a plague spreads through Society Cassie and her friends are left to search for a cure in order to save her family and Ky.

4. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys-- I just love this author and her books! In Salt to the Sea we follow four young adults as they flee war- torn areas of Europe at the end of World War II just as the Germans are admitting defeat against the Russian armies.  If you read this be sure to read the Author's note in the back; I learned so much more about World War II that I had never known about.  I just can't say anymore without giving away a huge plot twist in the book but this was a real page turner!

5.  First Star I See Tonight by Susan Elizabeth Philips-- A wonderful romance novel about a young female detective who is hired by an ex- football player to bring his new nightclub up to speed.  But when it looks like Cooper's life might be on the line Piper is determined to do everything she can to keep him safe; even if Cooper doesn't think he needs her help.

6.  Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf-- When Sarah goes with her husband Jack back to his hometown she uncovers many secrets and lies about his past.  Jack has avoided his hometown for more than 20 years; leaving just as soon as high school ended to never return.  When his aunt ends up in the hospital after a bad fall he has no choice but to return and in doing so finds both himself and his family in the middle of a murder investigation.  A pretty gripping page turner that kept me guessing until nearly the end.

7.  The Geometry of Sisters by Luanne Rice-- After Maura's husband dies and her oldest daughter runs away from home she moves her remaining two children, Beck and Travis, to the Rhode Island coast.  She accepts a job teaching a local private school that includes room and board and a scholarship for both Beck and Travis.  The family struggles to move on and Maura has ghosts of the past that haunt her now that she's back in Rhode Island.

8.  Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand-- When Meredith's husband is convicted of fraud and sent to jail all her friends vanish, her money and assets are frozen and she's being hunted by the paparazzi.  She turns to an old friend she hasn't seen or talked to in 3 years and Constance reluctantly agrees to bring Meredith with her to Nantucket for the Summer.  Constance has been struggling since her husband died and her daughter cut her off from her life.  Lonely and floundering she's not sure bringing Meredith along to her beach house is the right move.

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