Don’t worry! I’m not doing long form reviews today. There are simply too many books to review. One day I’ll get back around to it. In the meantime, visit my Instagram page for full reviews and thoughts. Now we’ve got a lot to get into. Shall we?
April Books
This Summer Will Be Different- Carley Fortune
I loved this book! Lucy arrives in Prince Edward Island ahead of her best friend, Bridget. She heads straight to an oyster bar where she meets local oyster shucker, Felix. Felix is all kinds of hot, and he shows her a very good time that evening. Imagine Lucy’s surprise when she finds out Felix is Bridget’s younger brother. Year after year Bridget and Lucy go back to PEI for coastal air and R&R. Lucy and Felix kept their hook up a secret, but year after year they seem to secretly find their way back to each other. Now it’s present day and Bridget takes off from Toronto days before her wedding to see refuge on PEI. She requests her best friend’s company, so Lucy heads out to meet her. Felix is worried about his sister, and even though they said they’d stay away from each other, this forced proximity is making Lucy and Felix feel more than just physical attraction.
A delightful story of love and friendship. I loved this one!
Remarkably Bright Creatures- Shelby Van Pelt
Widow, Tova Sullivan, begins working the night shift at Sowell Bay Aquarium mopping floors and tidying thing sup. She does better to keep busy-something she’s been doing for about 30 years after her 18 year old son, Erik, disappeared off the coast of Puget Sound. She did not expect to befriend the curmudgeonly, giant Pacific octopus, Marcellus, as a result of working there, but she does. Marcellus is a bit of a detective and soon discovers what happened to Erik all those years ago. He’s coming to the end of his life and stops at nothing to help his new friend find the answers she’s so desperately needed after all this time.
Five bright stars for this one of a kind story. Tova and Marcellus will capture your heart. The audiobook was a very pleasant experience. Marcellus has his own narrator, and I couldn’t have come up with a better voice.
Wrong Place Wrong Time- Gillian McAllister
It’s late October, and you’re looking at your 18 year old son out the upstairs window. He’s in the street. He’s walking toward someone, and he’s armed. Then the unthinkable happens- he kills a stranger. You don’t know the person or why he did it. You just know your son is in custody and everything has changed.
Finally you fall asleep, but when you wake, it’s the day before. The crime hasn’t happened yet. When you fall asleep that night, you wake up to the day before yesterday. Time is moving backward. Surely the key to this crime is in the past, and now it’s your job to figure it out.
This premise sounded so cool. Really cool! But it was a struggle for me. It got very monotonous. Lots of people love this one. Maybe it was a timing thing for me? I don’t know. I just didn’t like it.
Sunrise on the Reaping- Suzanne Collins
We get to step back into the world of The Hunger Games with this prequel. In this installment we follow the reaping for the Quarter Quell, where double the amount of children from each district will be chosen for the Hunger Games. In District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is selected to compete along with three others. His journey is no easy feat and will surely leave you with a tear or two in your eye. We’re introduced to younger versions of some of the original characters (like young Effie Trinket) and once again shown the evil side of President Snow. It’s not just a story of survival, but a story of grit, perseverance, and standing up for what’s right.
I did not care to read this. I didn’t read the other prequel, but it was a book club pick and wow, was I wrong! It was fantastic. I could not stop listening. Jefferson White (Jimmy from Yellowstone) was a fantastic narrator. It was nice to revisit this world. I loved it!
Emma of 83rd Street- Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding
In this Jane Austen retelling of Emma, we meet a modern day Upper East Sider, Emma Woodhouse, who lives next door to George Knightly. They are essentially best friends- grew up together. He’s always in her kitchen drinking coffee; she’s always in his eating ice cream. They even have Sunday dinners together with their families. (Emma’s sister is married to George’s brother.) Needless to say, there’s no romantic feelings whatsoever. Or is there?
This book was FUN! I kept thinking of Clueless, so if you grew up on that movie, you’ll love this book. It is the perfect form of escapism. Read it!
Hamlet- William Shakespeare
Hamlet is grieving the death of his father, the King of Denmark, and his mother’s remarriage to Hamlet’s uncle just two months later. At the sight of his father’s ghost and the message he relays: he was murdered, Hamlet sets out to see revenge. But everyone thinks that Hamlet has gone mad, and the new king orders him sent to England. Hamlet has other plans and still plots to avenge his father’s death even amidst exile. In true Shakespearean tragedy fashion, things don’t go quite as planned.
Truth be told, I wouldn’t have read this had I not been going to see the play and had I not already had the play in my possession. The only reason I felt confident in reading it is because of my fabulous teacher, Mrs. Taylor who gave me a love of Shakespeare in the first place.
Every Summer After- Carley Fortune
Percy and her parents buy a lake house when she’s 13 and spend every summer there until she goes to college. The first year there she meets the boys next door and forms a fast friendship with Sam. Sam and his brother Charlie live with their mom in Barry’s Bay full time and run a restaurant. Over the years Percy and Sam develop feelings, but Sam has big plans for his future and isn’t letting anything (not even Percy) get in the way. When Percy is called back to Barry’s Bay during present day, she comes face to face with an older, more handsome Sam, and while there’s hurt there, there’s also still repressed feelings of friendship and attraction. Will Sam remain closed off or finally open up to the possibility of a relationship with his childhood best friend?
This was a reread for me. The sequel to this book came out in May, so I was needing a refresher on the main characters. It held up. I still loved it. Carley Fortune could write the phone book and I’d probably read it.
The Senator’s Wife- Liv Constantine
Sloane is happily married to her senator husband. Peg, her troubled friend, is married to another senator, Whit Montgomery. When tragedy strikes, Sloane and Whit find themselves alone and leaning on each other for healing. As time passes, they decide to move on…as a couple. Sloane is starting to get back into the swing of life, when she is forced to undergo a hip replacement due to complications from Lupus. She hires a health aide to make sure she recovers quickly and correctly to avoid further complications. Things are going great until they aren’t. Sloane’s health is deteriorating, the health aide is asking all sorts of questions about the lucrative foundation Sloane runs, and she swears she’s seen this woman making google eyes at Whit! What exactly is going on??
This was a riveting story!! If you’re in a reading slump, this one will be the one to pull you out! I could not stop once I got going. Good twists and surprises, and I had fun listening to it. Definitely recommend.
May Books
Sandwich- Catherine Newman
Rocky is in the throes of menopause. Her nearly grown children and her aging parents are joining her and her husband at the beach house they’ve been going to for years in Cape Cod. She’s so excited about this week, but secrets are revealed that send Rocky back to her past to deal with things she’d pushed to the back of her mind. Bringing them to light could change everything.
I liked this one, but I didn’t love it. I couldn’t relate to Rocky in lots of aspects. Aside from not being in the same stage of life, my personal morals don’t exactly line up to hers, and it was so prevalent that it took away from the enjoyment of the book. That said, it was well written and kept me interested the whole with through.
The Favorites- Layne Fargo
Set in the world of ice dancing, we get the scandalous and whirlwind love story of Katarina Shaw and Heath Rocha. Kat is driven, determined, and convinced she’ll be an Olympic gold medalist one day. Heath loves Kat, so he’s in it with her for the long haul. When Kat and Heath compete against the Lin twins, Kat learns that their mom, Sheila Lin (think Kristi Yamagouchi), Kat’s ice dancing idol, is a coach and she could actually coach her and Heath. The price is steep and the sacrifices are great, but it sets in a motion an epic adventure of the climb to the top.
This book is told is part narrative and part interview style. The reader is “watching” a new documentary about Katarina and Heath and their career/relationship. Sort of a nod to Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It was a tad long, but it was a very good book.
Say You’ll Remember Me- Abby Jimenez
Samantha brings her rescue kitten to the hottest vet on the planet only to call him an asshole on the way out the door. She doesn’t expect to hear fro him again or get an apology, but she does, and then she gets to go on a date with him that turns into the most memorable and endless night of her life. When it’s finally over, she tells him she’s moving to California to be with her family since her mom has early onset dementia. Neither of them can believe what an extraordinary date it turned out to be, so they try the long distance thing and it will have you giggling and gleeful and wiping your eyes and grinning from ear to ear.
I LOVED this book so much! So, so much! Xavier Rush is a swoon worthy fictional man. If the topic of dementia hits close to home, it’s handled with such care, but it is discussed a lot and it felt real and raw. I still recommend this one!
Dinner for Vampires- Bethany Joy Lenz
Up and coming in her career, Bethany Joy Lenz is new to LA and seeking friends, stability, work, and trying to keep her faith at the forefront. Her new roommate invites her to a bible study at a friend’s house, and things go great. She keeps going to the meetings, meets new people, and finds family with them. Fast forward to the manipulation of the “leader” who takes advantage of Lenz’s fame and fortune, turns her against her own biological family, and even encourages a marriage between two people that were a terrible fit from the start. Lenz paints a picture of how easy it is for a young, vulnerable woman to be manipulated into an actual cult.
We know her from One Tree Hill, but we didn’t know her for being in a cult until now. This was a very interesting story. I’m glad she’s telling her story.
And that’s all folks! So many good books. I feel like my picker has gotten really good give or take a few this year. I just love reading. Drop a comment to let me know if you’ve read any of these.
