If you didn’t know, Amazon pre-releases a few select books on Kindle for free each month. They are picked by Amazon editors, and you can download one for free each month if you have Amazon Prime. The books typically sell for $5 on Kindle, so it’s worth taking advantage if you want to add to your Kindle book collection!
I’ve been trying to commit to browsing the selection each month to get my money’s worth on Prime. So, I’ve read through all 9 of the August 2023 Amazon First Reads offerings’ blurbs, and I’m telling you which 4 I would recommend – in order of how interesting I find them!
1. Don’t Forget to Write – Sara Goodman Confino
This is my top pick – and the one I downloaded! If you like the types of books I read, recommend, and review, this will resonate with you the most! A funny, coming of age story for a young woman who is sent to live with her Matchmaker great-aunt for the summer? Sounds delightful to me!
Official Blurb
In 1960, a young woman discovers a freedom she never knew existed in this exhilarating, funny, and emotional novel by the bestselling author of She’s Up to No Good.
When Marilyn Kleinman is caught making out with the rabbi’s son in front of the whole congregation, her parents ship her off to her great-aunt Ada for the summer. If anyone can save their daughter’s reputation, it’s Philadelphia’s strict premier matchmaker. Either that or Marilyn can kiss college goodbye.
2. Salthouse Place – Jamie Lee Sogn
Looking for a twisty thriller? Delia has had not one, but now, two missing friends in her lifetime. She joins a cult to try to find out what happened to her latest missing friend… Wow! You had me at cult.
Official Blurb
In the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest, three best friends spend a day at the lake…but only two come home.
Ten years later, Delia Albio is tormented by the mystery of what happened to fifteen-year-old Zee on the lake that day. When she receives an email from Cara, the remaining friend in the trio, she can’t resist the pull of the “life-changing” news in the message. Delia, hopeful for answers, travels home to see her old friend.
But Cara is gone by the time she gets there, setting off another mystery…
3. Morning in This Broken World – Katrina Kittle
So, I’m not sure how I feel about this covid-inspired quarantine/lockdown situation in the book, but I was also getting The Notebook vibes from our feisty widow in an assisted-living facility. And I’m curious to see how life plays out for her and the family she takes into her home.
Official Blurb
Grieving but feisty widow Vivian Laurent is at a late-in-life crossroads. The man she loved is gone. Their only daughter is estranged and missing. And the assisted-living facility where her husband died is going into quarantine. Living in lockdown with only heartache and memories is something Vivian can’t bear. Then comes a saving grace.
Luna, a compassionate nursing assistant and newly separated mother, is facing eviction. Vivian has a plan that could turn their lives around: return to her old home and invite Luna and her two children to move in with her. With the exuberant eleven-year-old Wren in her hot-pink motorized wheelchair and Wren’s troubled older brother, Cooper, the new housemates make for an unlikely pandemic pack, weathering the coming storm together.
Now it’s time to heal old wounds, make peace with the past, find hope and joy, and discover that the strongest bonds can get anyone through the worst of times.
4. The Starfish Sisters – Barbara O’Neal
I won’t lie. The Starfish Sisters is not my normal cup of tea. It’s something my mom would enjoy, and I’d buy for her. But it’s also the type of book I aspire to be interested in one day. I do think it’s super interesting to hear about how friendships between women change over the years and where life takes you! Also, the secrets we keep…
Official Blurb
Phoebe and Suze used to be closer than sisters. Growing up in a quiet and wildly beautiful coastal town in Oregon, they shared everything. Until the secrets they couldn’t share threatened their bond and complicated their lives.
Now, decades later, Suze, a famous actress desperate for safe haven following a brutal attack, is back in town. Phoebe, a successful illustrator and fabric designer, has discovered keeping a secret means she can’t let anyone get close, aside from her beloved granddaughter, Jasmine. As Jasmine’s move to London looms, Phoebe doesn’t know how to face the return of her old friend and all that’s still unsaid between them. Can the two women who’ve never confronted their past do it now when the choice is between healing and survival?
Heartfelt and layered, The Starfish Sisters is a moving story about the complicated nature of female friendship, the joys and heartbreaks of life, and the resiliency and power that women possess.
Farewell Thoughts
Let me know if you read any of the books on this list or if you normally get your free Amazon First Reads book – in the comments or over on Instagram! If you liked my recommendations of Amazon First Reads books to read, I’d love for you to share this post!
