My reading in June and July was not at its regular pace. June started out really quite well, but then I had a work trip which concluded just as I began a longer term family emergency. This took up all of my time and lasted through most of July. Very sadly, following a two week hospital stay, my mom, Marion, passed away. I am still processing my grief and slowly trying to find my groove in all things again. It is just going to take some time. 😢
With that said, here is what I read throughout June and July. (Most were in June.)
The Quiet Tenant – Clemence Michallon
Holy Cow! This is a tense, riveting, bite your nails kind of book. It is the story of a serial killer told by 3 main voices – his current victim Rachel, his 13 year old daughter, and his wanna-be girlfriend. If you have read Notes on an Execution, the style of the voices felt similar and I was there for it 100%. Our serial killer, Aidan, is the nice new guy in the ‘hood – newly widowed single dad that is a good looking guy, everyone likes him and wants to help him and his daughter as they grieve the loss of his wife. I don’t really want to say more. It is definitely a bit of a stressful read and while you know what’s happening, its mostly not too specifically-graphic. This one is an excellent summer read! I did receive an early e-copy from NetGalley and Penguin Random House – Knopf in exchange for my honest opinion and honestly I loved every stress filled minute of it. The Quiet Tenant is now available.
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The Covenant of Water – Abraham Vergese
Very, very long but very good. There were many parts of this book that I would easily say 5 ⭐️. But for me, it was too long with too many areas that I drifted and couldn’t focus. Also, the beginning took me too long for me to become vested in the story. I had to work a bit more at this one. I read with both an e-copy and audio, but the e-copy much more. Whenever I went to audio is where I drifted the most and had to go back and physically read it. With all that said, a moving generational saga that is quite lyrical. There were many lines I read over a few times and just thought, wow.
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Charm City Rocks – Matthew Norman
Charm City Rocks was a cute rom-com with a single dad at the forefront that had a crush on a rock-n-roll star in his youth. His son has decided to get involved and figure out a way for them to meet. Let the rom-com trope begin! Some have compared this to last year’s runaway hit, more Goes Off Script, and while I can see the comparison, to me they were quite different. In any case, it was a quick light read to enjoy between some heavier books.
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Have You Seen Her – Catherine McKenzie
Have You Seen Her is a dual timeline suspense thriller centering on Cassie as she is being helicoptered out of a remote location in Yosemite with a dead body. This is one that is best to go in blind, but you will learn about the years just before she left the area originally, her time and marriage in NYC and her current job back in Yosemite & Mammoth Lakes. I enjoyed the setting and there were so many different little mysteries, you never are sure if they are separate or tie together. In the end I found it all wrapped up in a satisfying way. I felt a little bad for this book as it was trapped in my life as I ended my work trip and began the saddest chapter of my own life thus far. I must have read a few of the pages at least 30 times as I kept trying to start again due to no concentration ability at the time. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Have You Seen Her is now available.
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Drowning – T.J. Newman
I enjoyed Newman’s debut and this was a goodie too but I may have preferred Falling more. This one is a high pace action thriller that reminded me a bit of The Martian and Project Hail Mary – minus the sci-fi. But it is that type of high adrenaline, action based, ticking clock type thriller. A fun, entertaining summer read. I did read Drowning shortly before the submersible that was touring the Titanic wreckage went missing. The timing of just have finished this book was interesting and definitely caused my interest in the event.
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It Was An Ugly Couch Anyway – Elizabeth Passarella
I enjoyed this memoir by Southern Comfort columnist Passarella on audio. When I completed it, I had no idea the whirlwind the next 30 days of my life was about to be. I actually reflected on some of it during dark, lovely nights in the hospital with my mom. It’s a good one. I also enjoyed the author’s witty humor and will be looking into what else she has out there.
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The Happy Ever After Playlist – Abby Jiminez
Abby Jiminez continues to write relevant rom-coms with real-life heart wrenching issues that don’t shy away from tough-talk. In this one, moving forward after the loss and grief of your chosen one. She’s a great writer and if the rom-com genre is your thing, this one is a goodie. While technically a sequel, I don’t think it must be read in order – however you will definitely get enough backstory that it would be worth it.
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The Paris Daughter – Kristin Harmel
I know I am going to be in the minority here but this one was fine for me – I liked it, but I can’t say it was great. I can’t really put my finger on it, I just couldn’t connect to the characters in a meaningful way and the manner in which the timelines jumped didn’t do a lot for me either. I did really feel for the whole question of – what would you do to ensure your child’s safety, which is what kept me going. But ultimately it wasn’t my favorite from Harmel.
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Hello Stranger – Katherine Center
A quirky shorter book about Sadie, a portrait artist that now has face blindness. She no longer can see facial features and recognize people by their face. I did enjoy learning about this condition, I don’t think I have ever heard of it before. Sadie was a tad on the quirky side and I didn’t agree with many of her choices, but I did enjoy the story of her navigating a portrait contest with this condition as well as her interesting developing relationship with the cute new Vet of her dog Peanut. I have read almost all of Center’s novels and while I did enjoy this one, it was probably my least favorite. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Hello Stranger is now available.
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Forever Hold Your Peace – Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Olivia and Zack are young and in love, after meeting only six weeks ago abroad in Italy. They get engaged and while their families at first have the expected hesitation of – “its so fast! are you sure?” – it becomes more than that. A weekend brunch is planned for the families to meet and everyone realizes that they aren’t quite strangers. This is a light, almost funny at times rom-com without much depth but kept the pages turning. It was the perfect read for me right now to get my mind off things. Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an early release e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Forever Hold Your Peace is now available.
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You Can Trust Me – Wendy Heard
Summer and Leo live off the grid in California and do whatever they must to get by. They are both experts in differing areas of the con game and together they make quite the team. Summer’s talent is pick-pocket and Leo is more of a relationship con. Leo sets her sites on billionaire Michael and it’s game-on until she disappears. Summer follows to the private island she was last known to travel to and it all gets a tad nutty from there. It was an entertaining read that kept me turning pages. If you are a fan of the con game as the main plot point, you will likely love this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing – Ballantine for an early e-copy in exchange for my. honest opinion You Can Trust Me is now available.
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The Rachel Incident – Caroline O’Donoghue
The Rachel Incident is a dual timeline book about Rachel and her friends while in their 20’s and how it shaped their future. While there were some parts of the book I did enjoy quite a bit such as the beginning of Rachel’s friendship with James, the majority of the book fell a bit short for me. There were great topics in here that ultimately weren’t fleshed out to the point I was hoping. I think parts of the dual timeline caused some of that for me.
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Do Tell – Lindsay Lynch
2.5 round up. I was disappointed that Do Tell was a miss for me. I’ve enjoyed Hollywood gossip books in the past but for some reason it didn’t work here for me. I was often losing track of what was going on and kept hesitating to pick the book up again. I love Lindsay Lynch and Ann Patchett and Parnassus Books and was hoping to be a fan girl for this one. If Hollywood trials are your thing, you may enjoy it more than me. Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday for an advance e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Do Tell is now available.
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