I show you my books, you show me yours vol.6

I've said it before, I'll say it again: this is my favorite blog link-up (hosted by Jana & Steph).  Hooray books!  For the record: when this link-up goes live, it is 3:00pm in the future (my time in Sydney).  That's why I link-up right away, start reading and commenting, my goodreads goes bezerk.  I'm just that excited AND it coordinates with my time zone.

I read a lot this month, so if you want to skim, here are my recommendations (but there's a lot of those too, so you really should read why I recommend them to decide for yourself.  #sorrynotsorry):  Between Shades of Gray, Angela's Ashes, Everything I Never Told You, The Girl on the Train, Shotgun Lovesongs, Moon over Manifest, Galveston.

1. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - I love a historical fiction book that actually expands my knowledge.  This book did just that.  While reading, I found myself googling things about Lithuania, the Balkans, and Stalin.  This book is heart-wrenching, even horrific at times with tales of brutality, starvation, and disease...but it is wonderful and beautiful, and I highly recommend it (if you enjoy historical fiction).  5/5
This book was included in a couple of book challenges I'm in (The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge and Semi-Charmed Kind of Life Summer Book Challenge 2015).

2.  Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt -   I'm not sure if it was a good idea or a terrible idea to read these two books in a row.  This one, a memoir, so in a way, it was even more awful in its brutality because the author actually experienced the horrors that he describes.  The imagery is so strong and truthful, that I could feel the anguish of Frank and his experiences in extreme poverty, his grief, his hunger, his confusion, and his Catholic guilt. 5/5
This book was included in a couple of book challenges I'm in (The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge and Semi-Charmed Kind of Life Summer Book Challenge 2015).

3. Darkside by Belinda Bauer - My goodness, I don't know how to rate this book. The majority of time it was somewhat slow and boring. But, by the end, I was stuck to the pages wanting to know, needing to know what in the hell was going to happen, "whodunit", and how it was all going to end. I was riveted the last 50 pages or so. But, is it worth reading the previous 250+ to get to the good stuff? 2.5/5
This book was included in Semi-Charmed Kind of Life Summer Book Challenge 2015.

4. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - I didn't love it. I feel like I'm supposed to love it, but I didn't. It was a 2014 Goodreads Best Book. It wouldn't have received my vote.  I read it in a day and a half; obviously, it kept my attention.  I just didn't think it was great. 2.5/5
This book was included in Semi-Charmed Kind of Life Summer Book Challenge 2015.

5.  The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins - Well, I had to read this, didn't I?  Every other blogger has read it or plans to read it, and my cousin recommended it to me as well.  I am often skeptical when a book receives so much attention and praise. But, I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I enjoyed each severely flawed character. I enjoyed the pace. I enjoyed the ending. For me, this book deserves the attention it is getting. 4.5/5
I read this as part of the Literary Ladies book challenge.

6. The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion - At times, I was bored; other times, I was entertained. Pretty sure I didn't need a sequel to the much more loved The Rosie Project.  2.5/5
Read for Literary Ladies and Aussie Author Challenge.

7. Shotgun Lovesongs by Nikolas Butler - I really liked this book.  I don't think I ever fell in love with it, but I really, really liked it.  I enjoyed the Wisconsin small town becoming its own character thoroughout the book.  For me, some of the characters felt less developed than others.  Or maybe I just connected to some more than others.  I especially liked Beth.  I don't want to tell you her story, so I won't tell you the specific reasons why I liked her.  Let's just say, her predicament and her experience seemed relatable and authentic.  4/5
Read for Literary Ladies Book Challenge.

8.  Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool - Winner of the 2011 Newberry Medal for Children's Literature, Moon Over Manifest is a delightful book. Filled with mystery, adventure, and colorful characters, the story bounces between 1918 and 1936 as a little girl discovers her identity. 4/5 Read for Book Challenge by Erin (that's me!)

9.  Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto - The author of this book is the creator of the television show, True Detective. Let's just say that he does not write happy, light-hearted stories. The imagery is dark, heavy, and thick much like the humidity in those parts. The descriptions of sub-cultures in Southern Louisiana and Southeast Texas are so real and so true.  Knowing that part of the country well, it felt like I know somebody who knows someone that is related to one of these characters.  It is not a quick-paced thriller.  It's slow and steady, then bam! a murder...slow and steady, then whoa! a secret revealed.  4/5 Read for Book Challenge by Erin , and I can count it towards a one-word title for Literary Ladies Book Challenge. 

10.  Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng - Part of me wanted to devour this book and not put it down; the other part wanted to read it in small increments so I could absorb it and savor it.  The story is told from the perspectives of different characters, from present to past...yet, it flows.  It's not choppy.  It doesn't break these times or perspectives into different chapters like so many other books do.  It just flows really, really well.  It is heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and I felt this in the very depths of me. It is a beautiful, disastrous, powerful book, and I recommend it. 5/5    Read for Book Challenge by Erin

11.  The Dead Women of Juárez by Sam Hawken - The first third of the book, the pace was pretty slow, but the story showed promise.  There is a very real problem in Juárez, Mexico with females being brutally murdered or going missing never to be heard of again. Most of these cases remain unsolved. This fictional book does center on characters impacted by these cases, but it felt vague, hollow, and almost like the author lost his direction, so he changed central characters in the middle of the story.  2/5   Read for Book Challenge by Erin

Challenges Update (really for my own personal bookkeeping):

Semi-Charmed Summer Book Challenge = 10/12; finishes August 31st; I have the two remaining books at home...I just need to read them.

Literary Ladies Book Challenge = 4/10; finishes September 21st; Two of the books remaining, I have checked out from the library, the other four I own, so I should finish this.

Book Challenge by Erin = 4/10; finishes October 31st; Juggling with the two challenges above, but I will definitely finish.  After all, I host it...I'm gonna finish it.

Aussie Author Challenge = 8/12; finishes December 31st

The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge = 6/12; finishes December 31st

Next up:  Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper, Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides...I'm so inconsistent how much I read per month.  If I get through those, you better believe I have more on standby.