I got a little more into the swing of reading this month! But since I’m still very, very into the Morbid podcast… I’m splitting my time between podcasts and reading. What can you do?

Reminder that all of the links in this post go to benefit my bookstore, Twice Told Tales in McPherson KS!

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Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
Download the audiobook here.
Grab the hardcover copy in our store (on 6/7) or order from here.

I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into with this one but let me be clear–it delivered. If I’m being honest, I picked it 80% because of the cover and 20% because I’ve really enjoyed Crosley’s memoirs and I was curious to see what she would do with fiction.

How I’ll sell it to people: So one night our protagonist is out to dinner with friends where she runs into an ex-boyfriend of hers. They catch up and go their separate ways. The next night, she runs into another ex-boyfriend–which is strange. She quickly discovers that this is not happening coincidentally…
There’s a fun NYC setting, lots of reminiscing about past relationships, a maybe-a-cult?, some good humor and a lot of mystery.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Download the audiobook here.
Get the paperback by stopping into Twice Told Tales or order your own copy here.

Probably the most anticipated/ requested book we’ve had in a while at Twice Told Tales. Emily Henry can do no wrong, more or less, as far as romance novels go. They’re always solid gold! What I like about her stories is that they’re layered and nuanced where sometimes romance can feel a little flat. Well, for that matter, a book from any genre can feel a little flat. But as someone who reads a lot of romance, I feel it the most there.

The only thing that isn’t my number one thing about Emily Henry’s writing? There’s almost no hooking up till the last 1/3 of the book. Which–makes sense according to the plot line. But still. LOL

The Most Precious Substance on Earth by Shashi Bhat
Download the audiobook here.
Order the hardcover here (6/28).

This book did to me… the opposite of what Cult Classic did. Again, I wasn’t that sure about what I was getting into with this book and also… I don’t want to say it let me down at all. But it just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. From the way the first couple chapters read and the cover design, I kinda thought that I was getting into a Young Adult coming of age type story.

The story is told in three parts and various semi-connected stories throughout each part. Part 1 takes place during high school where Nina (our narrator) has a traumatic encounter with a teacher. The next two parts take place later in adulthood. Personally, I kept waiting for the teacher-encounter to pop back up, maybe she’d tackle it in some way? But she never does and to be honest, she kind of never really learns to handle anything as far as I could tell. It’s true to life because there are people all over the place who aren’t dealing with their trauma and it creeps up in big and small ways. But, tbh, if I knew going into it that this character just has a sad story with no development, I’m not sure that I would have started it.

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Books that I nominated for August’s Indie Next List:
Diary of a Misfit by Casey Parks
Witches by Brenda Lozano

What did you read this past month???