August 2023 reads

I'm back with another month of reads and this list see's some returning authors and a newcomer. Two of the books cover the themes of crime and mystery, separated with a YA romcom book. Here's what I thought about this months offerings...

Everything I read in August 2023...

Nothing more to tell, by Karen M. McManus

I first started reading Karen M. McManus' books a few years ago and have read everyone of them since. The story follows Brynn and Tripp who are tangled up in the mystery of the murder of one of their school teachers that happened four years ago.

Brynn gets an internship working on a true crime podcast and decides to investigate what really happened that day in the woods, but the further she digs into the past the more secrets she digs up.

This book has everything you'd expect from a McManus' book, easy writing, quick pacing and an engaging plot. McManus has built her empire on YA thriller books that all follow the same plot: a murder mystery with a group of teenagers trying to solve it whilst keeping their secrets hidden.

This book isn't anything new or exciting but it is an easy read that is enjoyable enough and fits the description of a YA thriller.

The American roommate experiment, by Elena Armas

Following on from her first book The Spanish love deception, Armas' latest book focuses on the story of Rosie Graham, the best friend of Lina, who was the main character of her first book.

This story follows the relationship of Rosie and Lina's cousin, Lucas, who is visiting New York. Rosie heads to her best friends apartment, after the ceiling of her flat falls in, where she finds Lucas, who has rented the apartment from Lina whilst she's away on her honeymoon. The pair decided to share the small studio apartment and the relationship between them quickly evolves from strangers to lovers.

Having read Armas' first book, I was expecting her second book to follow in the same footsteps and I was correct. The story is light hearted and fun to read and I found myself rooting for the characters just like I did with her first book. The relationship between the characters is built up slowly and we learn more about them as the plot develops.

This book contained scenes that were quite cheesy compared to the first book and everything seems like it's come straight out of a romcom. That said, if you're a lover of romance and fantasy then these books will be for you!

The Maid, by Nita Prose

This is the debut of Nita Prose and the story follows Molly Gray, a maid at a fancy hotel who discovers one of the guests dead in his bed. A mystery unfolds with Molly at the centre of it as the truth about the murder of the infamous guest is uncovered.

I'm unsure what to think of this book. The plot development was fast paced and kept the story moving along, however there seemed to be a lot of side characters involved who offered little/no impact to the story which made it confusing at times.

Molly was often described as being 'strange' and can be seen as being the butt of the joke in some parts. It's clear that Molly has characteristics that may be highlighting the fact that she is neurodivergent or autistic in some way, but the author never addresses this.

The author covered a lot of issues in the story from drug running, to domestic abuse, illegal immigration etc which took away from the story and at times felt stereotypical and borderline offensive.

This book has had mixed reviews, some people loved it, whilst others picked up on some of the issues I've mentioned. If you're a fan of murder mysteries and who done it style stories then this book may be for you, otherwise I don't think you will be missing out on much of you decide to skip this one.