A drifter appears…this town will never be the same. Again…
Not much happens in the small West Texas town of Dinley, and radio DJ Sandy McAllister is fine with that. Following the tragic loss of her husband and son, she’s carved out a steady, solitary existence. No more deep friendships, no more love, no more loss.
But a loud boom on the outskirts of town followed by the sudden appearance of a drifter is about to upset Sandy’s carefully scripted life. His mysterious arrival on a warm summer evening coincides with the eruption of addictive and powerful feelings she cannot control or deny. And she’s not the only one.
The bond, the connnection, with this stranger threatens to turn her life inside out and polarize her town.
And it’s not the first time this has happened in Dinley.
This is my first full month blogging and I’m really happy with the way things are going so far! This month I also began reading two books at a time rather than my usual one book at a time, which has been working out much better than I thought it would.
In August I launched two different types of monthly content of my Top Five Friday and Thoughtful Thursday. If you have any suggestions on topics you’d like to see me cover in these posts, please let me know. In addition to that, I also became a Blackwell’s affiliate! This means that any Blackwell’s link you see on my blog (including the banners) is my affiliate link, at no extra cost to you I will earn a small commission on any order placed using my affiliate link. I would really appreciate it if you check it out for your next book buying spree!
Books read this month
All the physical books I read in August.
This month I read a total of 16 books (9 physical books and 7 ebooks)
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker As you can tell I’ve still been on a Greek myth retelling kick with this entry! I loved hearing a story from the Trojan war that I have never considered before, from both slave and warrior. The characters are wonderfully conflicted and developed which made it difficult not to fall for them. This novel captures everything that is great about Greek mythology and isn’t afraid to get violent.
Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami As I’ve mentioned before, Murakami is one of my favourite authors, so it’s not really a shock to see his novel on my favourites for this month! If you have never read a Murakami novel before this is a great one to start with to understand the brilliance of magic realism, whilst also uncovering a family mystery.
The Hungry Ghost by H.S. Norup This novel was such a refreshing read with unique characters and a fascinating tale steeped in Malay culture and superstition. What stood out the most for me about this novel were the characters, especially Freja the protagonist. Norup excellently captured the voice of her child characters and developed them beautifully. This novel is released on the 24 September 2020.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern This novel was such a magical experience for me, not only is this novel a favourite for this month but it is one of my favourites in general. I don’t think any review I can write on this book (although one is coming) would do it justice. Morgenstern masterfully weaves together several different narratives and narrative styles which was delightful.