Ten was the number of books I completed this month and honestly, it was a mixed bag. On top of these ten, there were three others that I put down as DNF’s – they just weren’t vibing with me, at least right now. Occasionally I go back and pick up a DNF at another time, and one of those this month may fall into that category. As for what I completed and loved, I was about half & half with great books and some – “it was fine”… Many of these were read at our annual getaway to the mountains in Grand Lake, CO. It is a time I cherish every year and this was no exception to that.
Here is what I read in July.
Forget Me Not – Stacy Willingham
4.5 – I’ve read all of Willingham’s books – her first is still my favorite but this wasn’t far behind. It’s another slow burner with good build and suspense. Lot’s of the creep factor for sure. I had both a digital copy and audio for Forget Me Not and read it about half and half. Overall a great, entertaining suspenseful novel. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press (print) and MacMillan Audio for advanced copies in exchange for my honest opinion. Forget Me Not will be available on 8/26/25.
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Finding Grace – Loretta Rothschild
You’ve already heard this many times already – I can’t tell you really anything about this book or it would just be spoiler. Go in blind, meet Honor and her family and enjoy the story that follows. This is a well written novel that will tug at heartstrings in surprising ways and give you lots to think about.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy. Finding Grace is now available.
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Don’t Let Him In – Lisa Jewell
Lisa Jewell is known for her twisty, dark and creepy tales and this is no exception. I would throw complicated into the mix for her latest – it was at times a tad hard to follow and that actually slowed my reading down a bit. I picture the author writing this book and then numbering index cards 1 – 60 to represent the first 60 chapters. She then throws them up in the air while laughing like a bit of a crazy lady. The order they fall and she picks them up becomes the order of the book. Am I far off Lisa? In any case, it worked. I was hooked from early on and flipped pages as fast as I could figure out what the heck I was reading. If you need a dark, sinister story to distract, Don’t Let Him In is the one. Thank you to NetGalley and Atira books for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Don’t Let Him In is now available. Edited to add – Lisa Jewll, author, did comment on my Insta post with my chapter theory. She seemed amused at my thought but assured me she wrote it in the order we read it in.
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Everyone is Lying to You – Jo Piazza
Let’s take two old friends that have not spoken in years. One is a mega mommy/lifestyle-influencer and the other a reporter. Let’s throw them together at a “conference”. Sprinkle in a whole lot of bad people and see what happens. Interestingly my quick judgment on this one flipped and I found it entertaining.
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What Kind of Paradise – Janelle Brown
I have enjoyed other books by this author and her latest is no exception. I did feel that the 1st half kept a better pace than the 2nd but was still very enjoyable. It did feel like it could have been ripped from the headlines on multiple accounts and usually that is a turn off for me these days, I was still intrigued. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion, What Kind of Paradise is now available.
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The Strange Case of Jane O. – Karen Thompson Walker
This slow burn is the telling of Jane’s story from the perspective of Dr. Byrd, Jane’s psychiatrist. Jane, a new mom, has had episodes that result in amnesia where she can’t remember periods of time and is found in a park in Brooklyn. Dr Byrd tries to help Jane understand what happens and hopefully keep it from happening again. When I say slow burn on this one, I mean it…tiny little cracks of smoke that take hours to ignite. A little too slow for my tastes but overall an interesting story.
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Abigail and Alexa Save the Wedding – Lian Dolan
This one is a potato chip book that was a little on the crazy side but was a good distraction. Abigail and Alexa could not be more different when it comes to MOG’s and MOB’s (Groom and Bride) and neither of them are especially happy or excited about their kid’s upcoming wedding. But of course as any good potato chip book has, something comes up and in order to save the wedding, they have to work together. Will they? I listened this one on audio while cleaning my house.
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Our Last Resort – Clémence Michallon
I loved Michallon’s debut, The Quiet Tenant and that set me up to make this a very anticipated read. It didn’t wow me like her first and the two timeline structure here didn’t work for me as well as it could have. Our two main characters grew up in a cult and the past timeline seemed so distant and unrelated to the first. I am not sure exactly why, but it just didn’t seem to be exactly what I think was needed to make it seem as important to the story. Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Our Last Resort is now available.
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The Poppy Fields – Nikki Erlick
Going into The Poppy Fields, I knew that Erlick was going to deliver a thought provoking speculative fiction piece with lots to think and talk about, and that she did. With that said, much like The Measure, I didn’t love it. I was disconnected from the characters from the get go and that never fully changed for me. But also like The Measure, I hope The Poppy Fields does get chosen at some point for one of my book clubs as there is lots to unpack and discuss. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion. The Poppy Fields is now available.
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Kill Your Darlings – Peter Swanson
The story being told in reverse mostly just didn’t work for me. I was never able to get my brain following correctly. There were some parts of Swanson’s novel that worked for me but overall it was just ok. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Kill Your Darlings is now available.
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