Summer reading is in FULL swing! It's my favorite to grab a book and sit outside or especially at the beach/pool to dig into an amazing book. I read some great books this month and I am excited to share them with you. Any of them would make for great summer reads - so I hope you find something you like here as well. My holds list at the library has been popping lately and I've been trying to squeeze in as much reading as I can - so many books! So little time!
Here are the books I read this month:
Book Blurb: Wynn and Jack have been best friends since freshman orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. When they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank and decide to warn them about the fire, their search for the pair turns up nothing and no one. But: The next day a man appears on the river, paddling alone. Is this the man they heard? And, if he is, where is the woman? From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of desperate wilderness survival.
My Review: The suspense builds very slowly and sometimes the descriptions of the river and the woods and the small details are overkill, but it all adds to the atmospheric feel of this book. You really feel like you are paddling down the river with Wynn and Jack. If you love nature, camping trips, hikes or canoe trips you will love the way this story builds and how the author creates the scenes. Even if you aren't "outdoorsy" (which I don't consider myself to be) this is a quick page turner that makes you feel like you took a camping trip, without ever leaving home. This book was a definite departure from my "usual" reads - but I really enjoyed it! I rate this book a 7/10. If you like a book that takes place *mostly* in the great outdoors I also recommend: The Great Alone and Where the Crawdads Sing.
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Book Blurb: Meet Daisy Winters. She's an offbeat sixteen-year-old Floridian with mermaid-red hair, a part time job at a bootleg Walmart, and a perfect older sister who's nearly engaged to the Crown Prince of Scotland. Daisy has no desire to live in the spotlight, but relentless tabloid attention forces her join Ellie at the relative seclusion of the castle across the pond.
While the dashing young Miles has been appointed to teach Daisy the ropes of being regal, the prince's roguish younger brother kicks up scandal wherever he goes, and tries his best to take Daisy along for the ride. The crown--and the intriguing Miles--might be trying to make Daisy into a lady . . . but Daisy may just rewrite the royal rulebook to suit herself.
My Review: If you know me, you know I will read (almost) ANYTHING Royal inspired. This was a perfectly delightful YA read inspired by the Royal family. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel to this story line (note: there is a sequel in the series but it follows different characters than the main characters in this book). If you love YA & Royal inspired reads, this is a fun one to pick up for a quick summer read. I rate this book a 8/10. If you like other Royal inspired reads I would suggest you try: The Royal We, The Runaway Princess and Red, White and Royal Blue is on my to be read list!
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Book Blurb: It's the perfect idea for a romantic week together: traveling across America by train.
But then Hugo's girlfriend dumps him. Her parting gift: the tickets for their long-planned last-hurrah-before-uni trip. Only, it's been booked under her name. Nontransferable, no exceptions.
Mae is still reeling from being rejected from USC's film school. When she stumbles across Hugo's ad for a replacement Margaret Campbell (her full name!), she's certain it's exactly the adventure she needs to shake off her disappointment and jump-start her next film.
A cross-country train trip with a complete stranger might not seem like the best idea. But to Mae and Hugo, both eager to escape their regular lives, it makes perfect sense. What starts as a convenient arrangement soon turns into something more. But when life outside the train catches up to them, can they find a way to keep their feelings for each other from getting derailed?
My Review: This is a super cute rom-com that is absolutely perfect for summer reading. This is just the kind of lighthearted and fun book I love to pack to the pool or beach or get lost in on the weekends. The characters are extremely like-able and I love that the story takes place on a train. I rate this book a 8/10. If you are looking for other feel good romantic type books I would also recommend One Day in December, How to Walk Away and This Love Story Will Self Destruct.
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Book Blurb: Alice may be the president's daughter, but she's nobody's darling. As bold as her signature color Alice Blue, the gum-chewing, cigarette-smoking, poker-playing First Daughter discovers that the only way for a woman to stand out in Washington is to make waves--oceans of them. With the canny sophistication of the savviest politician on the Hill, Alice uses her celebrity to her advantage, testing the limits of her power and the seductive thrill of political entanglements.
But Washington, DC is rife with heartaches and betrayals, and when Alice falls hard for a smooth-talking congressman it will take everything this rebel has to emerge triumphant and claim her place as an American icon. As Alice soldiers through the devastation of two world wars and brazens out a cutting feud with her famous Roosevelt cousins, it's no wonder everyone in the capital refers to her as the Other Washington Monument--and Alice intends to outlast them all.
My Review: This is probably one of my favorite historical fiction (especially American History) books that I've read. I felt like I read it slow to savor each page because it was just SO good. It's a fascinating story and one I knew little about so I enjoyed being immersed in this new to me story. The book felt too short - meaning I never wanted it to end! I rate this book a 9/10. If you love American historical fiction I would also recommend America's First Daughter, The Subway Girls and A Well Behaved Woman.
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Book Blurb: Two people trying to escape their pasts find a connection through an old house—and fulfill a destiny through the secrets it shares. Part love story, part ghost story, Lacewood is a timeless Southern novel about love and loss, roots and belonging, and spirits of the past that refuse to be quieted..
MOVING TO A SMALL TOWN in Virginia is a big change for New York socialite Katie McCain. But when she stumbles across an abandoned 200-year-old mansion, she’s enthralled by the enduring beauty of the neglected estate—and captivated by the haunting portrait of a woman in mourning.
Purchasing the property on a whim, Katie attempts to fit in with the colorful characters in the town of New Hope, while trying to unravel the mystery of the “widow of Lacewood.” As she pieces together the previous owner’s heartrending story, Katie uncovers secrets the house has held for centuries, and discovers the key to coming to terms with her own sense of loss.
The past and present converge when hometown hero Will Durham returns and begins his own healing process by helping the “city girl” restore the place that holds so many memories. As the mystic web of destiny is woven, a love story that might have been lost forever is exposed, and a destiny that has been waiting in the shadows for centuries is fulfilled.
My Review: I am a sucker for a book about an old home (anyone else? Is this a thing?) - so I knew this book would be a good read. Plus I love books that take place in the South. So this book was off to a great start in so many ways. Set in both modern times and Civil War Virginia the story follows both the current and past inhabitants. This book felt like a Lifetime Christmas movie as a show - in the best way possible. It was a sweet story peppered with love and loss and a GREAT summer read. I rate this book a 7/10. (Please note, an Advanced Review Copy of this book was provided to me for free in exchange for my honest opinion)
What's on my summer to-be-read list right now (also known as my library hold list, wink, wink): The Huntress, The Farm, Red, White & Royal Blue, I Miss You When I Blink, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Ask Again Yes, The Unhoneymooners, The Guest Book
I also usually include a few podcasts and shows I am loving lately - but hello! It's summer and holy cow the schedule is nuts. So I don't have a lot of suggestions. But I am loving the return of Younger to television, The Bachelorette has been a surprisingly good season (I love Hannah!) and I can't wait for Bachelor In Paradise. So basic! But otherwise there just aren't enough hours in the day right now! You know?
