August & September Book Review

Happy FALL to you all!!! My favorite season has officially descended upon us. It’s spooky and cozy. The football’s on and so is the chili! Regretfully my August book review just never made it to the light of day—(back-to-school, marathon training, and prepping to launch my second book (!!!)—but don’t you worry. I’m back with a bang and some serious treats for you guys!

I have to say, this round-up just makes me SMILE. Look at those bright, fun covers! Look at those creepy titles! 

And lastly, OMG, I am so proud to announce… Our first-ever book review by the one-and-only Emerson (Emmy) Mack!!! That’s right. In the last couple years, my sweet 10-year-old daughter has nearly surpassed me in the book obsession department. Like, if we had a speed-reading contest, I’m not sure who would win. She downs a paperback every few days!

And, since every one of you either have your own kiddos or know a child you love, I had an idea: Ems!!! How about if you start writing occasional book reviews?! We could help encourage other awesome kids to find books they love so much! Her face lit up like a jack-o-lantern at this suggestion. Sis wasted no time. So, please enjoy that fun new addition!

I’ve also included a cookbook I’ve long been awaiting! Just keeping you on your toes, everyone!

I hope one of these books hits home for you!

I’m starting with the swoony rom-com to end all swoony rom-coms. Are you ready to be transported to New York in the fall? Full of nostalgia not only for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but perhaps for your very own grandmother and/or other matriarchs who have shaped you? I loved everything about this book! Cassidy is a journalist for female-focused online publication Siren. When she receives an old-fashioned listicle of dating tips from her beloved grandmother—125 Tips to Hook a Husband—she jumps on the light-bulb moment to begin an investigative piece on—duh—what not to do in the dating game, Andy Anderson-style.

But you know there’s a smoking hottie ready to blow in and complicate things! Meet Jack from her rival publication Brawler, known best for its beer, bros, and bombastic alpha attitude. Can Cassidy lure Jack with the silly archaic tips, exposing the chauvinism of Jack and his workplace? Or… will she find her grandma’s wisdom to be a surprising guide to the love she’s been long awaiting?

You guys don’t want to miss this one! Releasing November 7, 2023. Happy birthday (eve) to me! I’m still smiling and waiting eagerly to see who snatches up the film rights for this charming sophomore home-run from Devon, whom I love to the moon as a writer and human. Five New York City stars!!!! Open-door steam level, FYI. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I love Katherine Center books. How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard. The consistency of her style, warmth of her characters, and deeper life observations just keep me coming back for more! So, you better believe I smiled through every page of her latest drop, Hello Stranger! Following a horrible accident, portrait artist Sadie is faced with perhaps the worst-possible medical condition for someone in her profession: temporary face blindness. She can suddenly only see human faces in foggy parts, with no recognition of the whole picture. As she struggles to put together the many broken pieces of her current life, every new person she encounters represents yet another jumble and source of frustration.

When she finds herself smitten by two new men in her life, however, Sadie must ask herself: is it possible to stare happiness right in the face without knowing it? This book is just everything! Unique, fresh, funny, and oh-so lovable. Clean romance at its finest! I especially adored the Author’s Note at the end when she talked about her research for the novel, as well as her passion for writing romance books in the first place. Five stars from me! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

My Book Club selected Thank You for Listening for August in the category of: A Book to Make You Laugh. Holy charm, this book did a lot more than that! I absolutely ADORED this pick. I couldn’t gulp it down fast enough! If you are an audiobook aficionado like me—favorite narrators, 1.5x speed, multiple going at once—this is a must for you. Throw in the touching subplots, lovable characters, and best romance with a fun twist?! *Press Play, Please*

Better yet?! The book is written AND narrated by one of the bests in the biz, Ms. Julia Whelan herself. I personally feel like you simply need to go Audible with this one to maximize the experience. Trust!

Former actress Sewanee Chester has found a thriving career and meaningful life as an audiobook narrator, despite a shattering accident and plenty of potholes along her hard path. She stopped narrating the romance genre a long time ago, but suddenly, she is presented with an offer she can’t refuse: to co-narrate the last work of a true romance legend, with mysterious vocal heartthrob Brock McNight. Get ready, friends!!!! The sparks fly, the story curves, and you are just going to love this one! In addition to the crackling romance, I was particularly touched by the relationship between Sewanee and her grandmother amidst the heartbreaking throes of dementia. There’s just so much to love in this book. Five stars! (Rated-Rish) ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Lessons in Chemistry ranks high on the list of books I saw and heard about most in 2022. #1 New York Times bestseller, GMA Book Club Pick, and Best Book of the Year by just about every outlet. For some reason, I just never got to it—until now! What a wonderful read to the core, friends! Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant scientist turned daytime TV star host of Supper at Six, a cooking show that winds up causing a huge splash for women, society, and of course herself in the 1960s.

Throughout the journey, we have a resilient heroine, meaningful love story, crushing loss, frustrating sexism, complex motherhood, female empowerment, and, of course, plain CHEMISTRY in so many senses! The whole story is just so thoughtful, engaging, layered, brilliant, and quirky-fun.

While this is an absolute knockout of a book and I am so glad I read it, it personally took me a while to fully get into… and then still, a while longer to finish. Every time I picked it back up, I smiled and cheered all over again, but it wasn’t a page-turner, smash-in-one-sitting kind of a read (for me)! Read it to savor the lessons, the characters, and the unpredictable science of life! It’s oh so good. I can’t wait for the AppleTV+ series, starring Brie Larson (perfect pick) and coming soon (October 13, 2023)! Four stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Well, well, well. Lisa Jewell, you cannot miss!!!! Fresh release None of This Is True is my new favorite of hers since Then She Was Gone! To say I demolished this book is an understatement. I mowed through the perfectly written pages with a desperate fixation. What a premise, what a ride! Two forty-five-year-old birthday twins. One successful podcaster. One insecure stalkerish type. They connect. They dive deep. They hit record. Of course, it all goes terribly wrong. Don’t even waste your time wondering what you should read for cozy-creepy October! I got you. IT’S THIS! I especially loved the integration of the podcast format, which really brought the story to life for me. Get your grabby Halloween hands on it! Also don’t look at spoilers. Five stars! ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Alice Feeney is another queen of the genre. I’m downright obsessed with her books (especially His & Hers, which still holds my top spot). Good Bad Girl, her latest, is yet another slam dunk of magnificence! Twenty years ago, a baby was stolen in plain sight from her stroller. Today, there’s a shocking murder in a nursing home—in tandem with an escape by one of its residents. How are these nightmares connected?! And what about the women involved?! THIS BOOK! The multifaceted plot and lovable cast of strong females captured my imagination, stole my sleep, and kept me guessing nonstop! LOVED. I think I’m only knocking some stardust because this story isn’t quite as twisty and full-body-chills-disturbing as some of Alice Feeney’s other books. But for some (most?) people? That may be a plus. LOL. It’s still plenty a page-turner and just so good. A psychologically thrilling rollercoaster that I wholeheartedly recommend! 4.5 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫

The Bookwanderers is an amazing book written by Anna James. It is a must-read for kids who love reading! The book is about an 11-year-old girl named Tilly Pages who adores reading. It is the first book in the series Pages & Co. Tilly’s favorite characters out of all the books she’s read are Alice from Alice in Wonderland and Anne from Anne of Green Gables. Little does she know that the bookstore her grandparents own, Pages and Co., has magical books where she can meet these characters! This book is full of adventure, fun, and fantasy! I rate it five books! 📕 📕 📕 📕 📕

By: Emmy Mack

If I could only make recipes from a single food queen for the rest of my life, I would choose Gina Homolka of Skinnytaste, hands down! She is honestly just prolific in her ability to pump out a truly ever-flowing waterfall of healthy, practical, delicious, well-rounded, flavorful recipes for every dietary need, preference, genre, meal, tastebud in the whole world. I’m reviewing this book simply to remind you that Skinnytaste exists, along with this hot new release—because who doesn’t need an incredible cookbook full of amazing recipes with seven ingredients or less?! I’ve already read through the entire book and now it’s time to get cooking. There is zero shortage of A+++ recipe ideas in here and I cannot wait to get started. Gina just gets it!

For old times’ sake, here are some of my tried-and-true fall favorites from Skinnytaste. I make them multiple times every year and they’ve never once let me down!

·      White Bean Pumpkin Turkey Chili

·      Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

·      Pumpkin Butterscotch Bars

·      Pumpkin Pie Dip

·      Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

What’s left on your list for fall? Tell me what y’all are reading!

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Based in Orange County, California, Stephanie Mack is a longtime writer, wife to one, and mom of three little girls. She has been blogging at MOMentary Insanity® since 2014. Her work has also been featured on Scary Mommy, Faithit, Coffee + Crumbs, and more. She holds a Master of Professional Writing degree from USC. When We Blinked is her debut novel.

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