Weekly Reading Roundup: August 27th to September 2nd

It’s Sunday, which means it is once again time for my weekly reading roundup!

I had a very slow reading week this week, since I was getting back into the workflow after a much needed vacation! I have given myself grace in not reading as much as usual, because I don’t want to get myself into a reading slump by pushing too hard.

With all that being said, here are the three books I read and my thoughts on them!

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Rainbow Road by Alex Sanchez

Genre(s): Romance, Young Adult

My rating: 4.5 stars

This book completes my reread of the Rainbow trilogy, which I read first as a middle schooler, and it was definitely a nice wrap up to this series!

I will say, as this book was published eighteen years ago, it is very much a product of its time, like the rest of the series. There is some pretty intense homophobia (towards our main characters) and transphobia (from our main characters towards a side character) and I would 100% understand not wanting to pick it up for those reasons. Both pieces seemed appropriate within the context of the story, and also I had a hard time stomaching it at times.

Overall, I think the general themes of this book stand up, in terms of coming of age and coming to terms with yourself in that pivotal transition between high school and adulthood.

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Dead Girls Can’t Tell Secrets by Chelsea Ichaso

Genre(s): Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult

My rating: 4.75 stars

Honestly, I had never heard of this book, but it came up as a suggestion on Amazon for only six dollars for a paperback copy, so I decided to give it a shot since I love thrillers.

Despite it being fairly predictable with a bit of an unsatisfying ending, I did read this in one sitting and really liked the writing style. I think this book could be a great introduction to teenage readers starting to read thrillers, and I had a great time reading it. It grabbed me from the beginning which for me is incredibly important to get me engaged in a thriller.

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The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Genre(s):Mystery, Thriller

My rating: 5 stars

It’s official: I am now a Riley Sager fan. I know he is an author whose books you either hate or you love, and I am firmly on the love end of that spectrum.

I kept getting thrown for a loop in this book and I enjoyed every second of it. I can totally understand why some folks don’t like this (without spoiling too much, there is a supernatural element, and I know many thriller readers who want something more realistic) but this was an absolute ROMP. I will be picking up every book Sager has written and will write in the future, I am SOLD!

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What books have you read this week? Let me know in the comments!