I don’t know about y’all but this month has flown by! Here it is August 27th, and I’m just now getting around to sharing my August favorites with you! Better (almost) late than never though! This month, I’m doing things a little differently and sharing my favorite reads, listens, and a fun (and quick) watch. Let’s dive in!
August Favorites
What I’m Reading:
This is controversial in some circles, but I love my Amazon Kindle. I’ve been a Kindle reader since the 11th grade and highly recommend the e-reading experience. I do about 90% of my reading on my Kindle Paperwhite and then buy physical copies of the occasional nonfiction book.
I read all of the below books on my August favorites list on my Kindle, but they’re also available in a physical format and then maybe even in audiobooks?
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
One of my friends recently recommend this book to me, so of course, I snagged a copy and got right to reading! I think I read The Hating Game in two days. Safe to say—I LOVED it! Such a fun and quick read! If you like RomComs, then I think you’ll like this book too! It’s the perfect “beach read” and I bet you’ll get so engrossed in the story that you may have trouble putting it down. I sure did!
Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.
Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.
Synopsis from Amazon
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
After finishing The Hating Game, I immediately dove into The Unhoneymooners. A different friend recommended this book to me, and similarly to the one above, I read it in 2-3 days as well! The Unhoneymooners is truly a beach read because a large portion of it takes place in Hawaii! The storyline is fun and perfect for when you want to relax and read something light and airy.
Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion…she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.
Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.
Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is…Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.
Synopsis from Amazon
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
I’m currently reading The Spanish Love Deception (on another recommendation from a friend) and it’s a fun blend of both The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners. The Spanish Love Deception is an enemies-to-lovers novel with some fake dating thrown in as well! Again, another great RomCom beach read! I’m about 40% through this book currently and will probably finish it in the next 2-3 days. After that, I’m not sure what book I’ll pick up next!
Catalina Martín, finally, not single. Her family is happy to announce that she will bring her American boyfriend to her sister’s wedding. Everyone is invited to come and witness the most magical event of the year.
That would certainly be tomorrow’s headline in the local newspaper of the small Spanish town I came from. Or the epitaph on my tombstone, seeing the turn my life had taken in the span of a phone call.
Four weeks wasn’t a lot of time to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic-from NYC and all the way to Spain-for a wedding. Let alone, someone eager to play along my charade. But that didn’t mean I was desperate enough to bring the 6’4 blue eyed pain in my ass standing before me.
Aaron Blackford. The man whose main occupation was making my blood boil had just offered himself to be my date. Right after inserting his nose in my business, calling me delusional, and calling himself my best option. See? Outrageous. Aggravating. Blood boiling. And much to my total despair, also right. Which left me with a surly and extra large dilemma in my hands. Was it worth the suffering to bring my colleague and bane of my existence as my fake boyfriend to my sister’s wedding? Or was I better off coming clean and facing the consequences of my panic induced lie?
Synopsis from Amazon
What I’m Watching:
Dogs, Explained on Netflix
Are you a dog lover? If so, then this 21 minute Netflix episode is for you! On the recommendation of another friend, I recently watched the Dogs episode in season 3 of the show Explained. This 21-minute show is the most heartwarming thing you will watch all week—I guarantee it!
So what’s it about? Well, over the course of the episode, scientists discuss how dogs came to be, how & why they interact with their owners the way that they do, and whether or not our pups feel love.
I cried twice while in 20 minutes. The show was incredibly interesting and made me love my sweet pup even more!
What I’m Listening To:
When it comes to podcasts, I tend to listen in phases. I will listen consistently for several months, take a few months off, and then start listening once again. I typically listen to podcasts while I’m at work and while I’m walking or running in the evenings. Because I tend to listen when I’m active, I love using my AirPods. Before I owned AirPods, I never understood what the hype was about, and now, I can’t imagine living without them!
I have two podcasts on my August favorites list—one focusing on true crime and the other on pop culture.
My Favorite Murder Podcast
I’m a big true crime fan—and I mean big! I started listening to My Favorite Murder years ago and quickly fell in love with the show. Not only does it feature one of my fave topics, true crime, but the hosts, Karen and Georgia, have truly fantastic chemistry! They are SO FUN to listen to!
When it comes to this show, my favorite part is the first 30 minutes or so when Karen and Georgia are shooting the breeze. They make me laugh out loud so often that I can often be heard chuckling at my desk or be seen with a goofy smile on my face while exercising.
Karen and Georgia don’t hold anything back and tend to use a lot of profanity, so if that’s not your cup of tea, then this show probably isn’t for you. But if you’re okay with it, give My Favorite Murder a listen. You won’t regret it!
Lifelong fans of true crime stories Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark tell each other their favorite tales of murder and hear hometown crime stories from friends and fans.
Synopsis from Spotify
The Popcast with Knox and Jamie
So the hosts of My Favorite Murder are currently on summer vacation, which left me in dire need of a new podcast. My sister-in-law (who first recommended MFM to me) recently told me about The Popcast and said I had to give it a try. And you know what? I’m so glad I did! The Popcast hosts, Knox and Jamie, have incredible chemistry (just like Karen and Georgia from MFM) and are SO enjoyable to listen to!
The Popcast focuses on pop culture content and is relatively clean (unlike MFM), so I highly recommend giving this one a listen if true crime and profanity aren’t your things! This show is laugh-out-loud hilarious and will definitely make you crack a smile. Go and give it a listen and let me know what you think!
A weekly pop culture podcast seeking to educate on things that entertain, but do not matter.
Synopsis from Spotify
There you have it—my list of August favorites! I consume a lot of content (like a lot), so I think I’ll try to make these “what I’m reading, watching, and listening to” posts a more regular thing!
Affiliate links are in use in my August favorites post.
One thought on “August Favorites: 2021”