This was a solid month of reading. It started with GWYNETH, which was a salacious gem of an (unauthorized!) biography but took a bit longer to read. After that, I just decided to make it the month of reading thrillers (I read six, and read them all very quickly. Any month that has a new release from Liv Constantine and Sarah Pekkanen is a good month indeed. I loved both of their new books. I also really enjoyed Stacy Willingham‘s latest. Read on for my reviews!
As always, I’d love to hear what you’re reading—drop your recs in the comments. I truly shop them every month. You can see every book I’ve read in The Library, and also last month’s reading list!
Everything I Read in August 2025
Non-Fiction
Gwyneth, by Amy Odell
This was a delight. It took me a while to get through (it’s meaty!) but it was utterly unputdownable. I’ve long been a fan of Amy Odell’s writing—her Anna Wintour biography was another favorite—and I love that she leads with curiosity. While the book can be a bit salacious at times, it’s never mean-spirited or biased. She simply states the facts as they are.
Paltrow’s story (and Odell’s book) is really split into two acts: the ’90s “It girl” era—Spence school, Oscar-winning acting career, tabloid-ready love life—and the “media mogul” years: Goop, wellness, jade eggs, and building a lifestyle empire. It’s juicy in parts (Paltrow calls Brad Pitt stupid in multiple creative ways—this came across as really mean to me), but Odell balances fascination and critique with rare skill. She’s always fair. Because it isn’t authorized and Odell didn’t have direct access to Paltrow or her inner circle, the second half feels a little thinner. Still, this is arguably the book of summer 2025: the perfect poolside read, utterly mesmerizing. You’ll learn a lot—and you’ll definitely have plenty to talk about afterward. Overall Score: A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
Thrillers
Don’t Open Your Eyes, by Liv Constantine
When Liv Constantine has a new book out, it’s an instant pre-order from me! She’s the queen of the domestic thriller (and I love that they are usually set in the NYC/Connecticut area, always with rich women and men behaving badly). Annabelle Reyolds has a seemingly perfect life in suburban Connecticut. A doting doctor husband, two beautiful daughters, and a successful career that she loves. Everything is wonderful until she starts having crazy, upsetting nightmares. And when parts of each nightmare begin to come true, she realizes she might be having premonitions.
The dreams get more and more bizarre and scary: a man who isn’t her husband, her daughter getting injured. When she dreams that her daughter Scarlett is in imminent danger (as more and more from the dreams comes true), she struggles to figure out what she can and cannot control. This one is a real nailbiter (and, surprisingly, tender!). It keeps you on your toes as we go back to Annabelle’s younger life (and the man she loved before her husband), and we see things from her daughter’s perspective (as she makes terrible choices). I couldn’t put it down and devoured it in a few sittings. Overall Score: A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
Mean Moms, by Emma Rosenblum
This book is a delight—you’ll want to devour it in one sitting. It’s my favorite of Rosenblum’s novels yet (third time really is the charm). She has such a knack for writing about wealthy women behaving badly, and Mean Moms is no exception. We meet Frost, Morgan, and Belle (who felt a little too inspired by Nell Diamond for my taste, though I still loved every page). These women seemingly have it all: beauty, brains, adoring husbands, vanity-project businesses, and perfectly behaved children at the prestigious Atherton Academy. But on the first day of school, a newcomer arrives. We meet Sofia, glamorous, mysterious, recently divorced, and straight out of Miami. She’s quickly folded into their tight-knit trio, but her presence coincides with a string of unsettling incidents. Is it coincidence, or is someone targeting them?
The novel unfolds over one wild school year, mixing biting satire with just enough suspense to keep you hooked. What I loved most was the balance: it made me laugh out loud while keeping me guessing. Mean Moms is witty, sharp, and addictive. You won’t be able to put it down. Overall Score: A- // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
The Locked Ward, by Sarah Pekkanen
Sarah Pekkanen is one of my all-time favorite thriller authors. Everything she writes is just. so. good. This was an instant pre-order from me! This one is a sister saga, in more ways than one. The book opens with Georgia Cartwright (a glamorous wedding planner from a wealthy Charlotte family) locked up in a psychiatric institution for violent criminals who await their fate. It’s the crime of the decade. Georgia (adopted as a newborn), has been accused of killing her sister Annabelle (the family’s biological daughter). As the adopted child, Georgia was always the outsider, made to feel less-than by her own family. Meanwhile, Annabelle had been the golden child.
Alone, with no family to turn to, Georgia reaches out to her estranged twin sister (adopted by another family). Amanda arrives, unsure if she can trust Georgia. What follows is a mad chase to figure out what really happened on the night of Annabelle’s murder. Has Georgia been manipulated and framed by her own family? Or is Amanda going to regret her decision to help? I tore through it and found the twist very satisfying. Highly recommend, this may be my favorite of all Pekkanen’s books so far! Overall Score: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
The Tenant, by Freida McFadden
I absolutely loved this one. Freida McFadden is a genius for plot, though I often feel like her writing is dumbed down a bit. I can never tell if this is on purpose. This one has a twist I didn’t see coming; it smacked me over the head in the best possible way. I read it in a single sitting: a rainy Saturday morning. If you love twisty thrillers, this is a must. Blake Porter, our deeply unlikeable (yet somehow still sympathetic) male protagonist, has lost everything. He’s been fired abruptly from his job as VP of marketing for a big ad agency and can’t get a job anywhere.
Unable to make the mortgage payments on his new brownstone on the Upper West Side, he’s desperate to make ends meet (and terrified of losing his beautiful fiancée Krista). The two decide to rent out their guest room to help pay their bills, which is when Whitney Cross enters the picture. Whitney seems like everything they’re looking for in a roommate. She’s down to earth, friendly, charming . . . and very beautiful. But something is off. The house always smells like something is rotting. There are strange noises in the house at night. Blake begins to feel like he is losing his mind. He’s always itchy. This new tenant does not seem to be who she says she is at all. Overall Score: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
Forget Me Not, by Stacy Willingham
Oooh this is such a good one. Stacy Willingham is developing a reputation as The South’s thriller queen and I am here for it. I loved her first two books, liked the third, and loved this. Claire Campbell is a journalist in New York, struggling to find her footing. She’s also got a past: 22 years ago, her older sister Natalie disappeared. Days later, a man was arrested and the case was closed. Claire’s made every effort to forget her traumatic past, but still can’t shake it. When she returns home for the summer to help her mother, she finds herself drawn to Galloway Farm, a vineyard on the coast.
Natalie had worked there too, and it feels like the perfect place to earn some extra money and spend time. Then, she finds a diary describing all sorts of unresolved crimes. Claire begins to wonder if the diary could be tied to her sister’s disappearance. She becomes obsessed with the family that owns the farm, wondering if something sinister is at hand, determined to get to the bottom of it! This is fast-paced, twisty, and haunting; you will tear through it wanting to figure out what happened. Overall Score: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
The Break-In, by Katherine Faulkner
Alice is a wealthy mother of one, living in a beautiful home in London, with what seems to be the perfect life: a job she loves, great friends, and an adoring husband who is saving the world at his non-profit job. One evening, Alice is hosting a playdate, and a disturbed man breaks into her home, holding a knife. When Alice kills him, it is ruled as self-defense, but she can’t shake the feeling that her family was targeted. It just doesn’t feel like the crime could have been random.
As she begins to delve into the man’s life (even visiting his home and speaking with his mother under false pretenses), she isolates her husband and friends. Even worse, horrible things seem to keep happening to her at work and even with the police. Still, she continues to investigate. Who was this intruder really, and what did he want. As she digs deeper and deeper, she realizes that the secrets hit closer to home than she ever could have imagined. This is dark and twisty and goes off the rails. It was a like, but not a love! Overall Score: B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon
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Have you read My Husband by Maud Ventura? I didn’t see it in the library. It’s a short little novel, originally in French, about a woman who’s obsessed with her husband. The narrator is truly unhinged. It’s darkly funny with clever, evocative writing, and I really enjoyed it.
I haven’t! That sounds really interesting, I’m off to check it out!
More wonderful things to add to my TBR list! I am reading The Art Spy, by Michelle Young. The true story about a yound woman in Nazi occupied Paris who worked for the national museums and was on the front lines trying to protect France’s cultural treasures and thwart the looting of Jewish owned art collections. It’s such an amazing story, I hope I would have an ounce of Rose’s bravery.
Oooh that sounds like one I should read with my mom! Thanks for the rec.
After reading numerous ‘ok, but not great’ books recently, I was thrilled to read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, as it was my first ‘5-star’ read in months! It’s about a retired/divorced woman in her 70s, whom we learn about through her letters (she prefers not to use phone, email, or texting for correspondence) to family, friends, authors, pen pals, and more. The book spans approximately five years of her life, during which we learn about her past and present as she navigates family, love, medical issues, and more through these letters. Her personality is wonderful, and the book is so well-written – it was a joy to read!
I have heard SO many great things about The Correspondent and just ordered it! Thank you for the push to move it up on my TBR pile.
What an amazing read, I highly recommend!
Ooh I’m on a bit of a thriller kick so these are great recos to dive into! August was my worst month of reading so far this year except for Finding Grace and His and Hers, both of which I really liked. I’m onto First Lie Wins now and an audiobook “Leave Only Footprints” about all the national parks. Both I’m really liking so here’s to a better month of reading already!
I need to check out His and Hers!!!!
I just finished “We Don’t Talk About Carol” over LDW & cannot get over how good it is. The twist melted my brain in the best way possible. Grace, I know you’re passionate about reading & finding more thriller authors of color, I think you would love this!
Oooh, ordering! THANKS!
Thanks as always for your book review roundup! Love these. I am also a fan of Sarah Pekkanen (especially the books she did with Greer Hendricks, so thanks for getting her new one on my radar.
Books I read in August: The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin, Don’t Let Him in by Lisa Jewell, and What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo.
The Jewell was definitely a fast and enjoyable read, not my favorite by her though. For me just a B. Three Body Problem was really interesting and out of my wheelhouse, but reading-wise a bit of a slog. Unsure if I will read the other two or check out the show, I guess that says it all.
Highly recommend the Foo- it’s the best book I’ve read on mental health in a while, maybe ever. It’s because she gets into the nitty gritty on her thought processes, her therapy, and what she does to try and improve her help. Highly recommend to anyone who has tried talk therapy or is thinking about it. It comes with trigger warnings: she had a very harrowing childhood.
Thank you so much for sharing your books from the month! The Jewell wasn’t my favorite of hers either but I always say that I’ll take a medium Lisa Jewell over most thrillers!!!
Mean Moms character Belle being too inspired by Nell Diamond for real…
Father is a banker
The Dress
The list goes on and on
Thanks for the recs!
I started read Sarah Pekkanen after reading your review of Gone Tonight. I just listened to the audiobook of Locked Ward and loved it. I love the alternating chapters/ point of view. She’s definitely a favorite author. I’m adding Mean Moms to my list as well!
She is amazing! And Mean Moms was such a fun read.
I didn’t love The Locked Ward as much as you did (but I love the author). I couldn’t get over that ‘instant connection’ despite 30+ years of not knowing each other. Forget me Not is on my TBR and I am looking forward to it.
Honestly, you are so right about that! I somehow got over it, but I could see how that would bother someone more.
Grace I love your book recs and head straight to my Libby app to borrow whatever you recommend! Would you ever consider hosting a book club on IG or another platform? Or more of a virtual book club where your audience all read the same book in a month and could share thoughts via a Facebook post or some other mechanism? Thanks so much.
I’m so glad to hear that! Probably not — but appreciate the suggestion. So many influencers are already doing this, and it was not my favorite thing back in my podcasting days. x
Always love your recs! Excited to read some of these. I’ve been in a book slump ever since finishing The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. Hands down the best book(s) I’ve ever read, and now nothing else compares. It’s a witty, smart, heart-warming series that will make you fall in love with the friendships among the four main characters. My book club is holding a special session and people are flying in from out of town to discuss!
Oh wow, thank you so much for the rec!!!!
I think you might really like Far and Away by Amy Poeppel it’s more women’s fiction but very fun and heartwarming.
Thank you for the rec!