Cruel Summer by Maisey Yates

 

Title:  Cruel Summer

Author:  Maisey Yates

Narrated by:  Nancy Peterson

Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 38 minutes

Source: Thank you @netgalley for the review copy. 

What is your favorite song of the summer?  I do love the song “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama so this title caught my eye.  I finished this book up at the start of last week, which is perfect with summer coming to an official end today.  Our weather in Northeast Wisconsin also warmed back up this week so we have more summer weather.

Samantha Parker has a comfortable life with marriage to her high school sweetheart, Will, and three kids. They are ready to start on their empty nest phase when Samantha is blindsided by Will stating that he wants an open marriage.   She proposes that they have a summer apart with no contact to determine how they want to move forward.  Samantha wants to spend summer finding herself.  Will’s best friend, Logan, asks her to go with him to deliver restored class cars across the country as a part time summer job.  Will Samantha find herself?  Will she and Will reunite?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       The audiobook was good.  The Narrator was pleasant to listen to and the story was engaging.  I just had a hard time listening to it at the end when it took a turn into steamy romance.

·       This was not a breezy summer book as it tackled many hard topics.

·       I can’t imagine my husband coming home one day and asking for an open marriage.  What a shock – especially are they are just coming empty nesters with more time to spend together.

·       It was really Will wanting cake and to eat it too.  He didn’t want a divorce, but wanted to screw around since they married so young and never had another relationship.

·       I had a hard time with the romance.  On her adventures with Logan, it comes out that Logan has loved her since high school and she was attracted to him too.  How does this work?

·       Overall, in the book, Samantha is working on finding herself and what she wants in life instead of trying to please everyone else.

·       I love vintage cars so the descriptions of the cars and taking them cross country was fun for me.

·       This book had spicy scenes, forced proximity, 2^nd chance romance, and opposites attract.

Overall, Cruel Summer by Maisey Yates was an interesting summer read that tackled a lot of hard topics.

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey

 

Title:  Beach House Rules

Author:  Kristy Woodson Harvey

Narrated by:  Cassandra Campbell, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw, Suehyla El-Attar Young

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 4 minutes

Source: Thank-you to @simonaudio for the review copy.

Do you like to visit the beach?  I love the beach, but I live on Lake Michigan so the beach to me is the Great Lakes rather than the ocean.  I am trying to finish up my summer beach reads this week.

Charlotte’s husband has been arrested for a white-collar crime.  She and her daughter Iris are locked out of their home during the investigation.  A kind woman from church, Alice, invites them to stay with her.  She lives in a B&B on the beach and has a community of mothers living with her.  Will Charlotte and Iris be able to move on?  What links all the mothers living in the “momune” together?  Is Charlotte’s husband guilty?

My thoughts on this book:

·       I liked the mystery woven throughout the story.  It was tied up perfectly at the end.

·       The story is told through the viewpoints of Charlotte, Iris, and Alice, which was interesting.

·       I liked the two different generational viewpoints of a mother and a teenage daughter.

·       @JuniperShoresSocialite has a snarky Instagram account which details all of the goings on of both the moms and the teenagers in the Juniper Shores community.  Who is running the account?

·       I enjoyed all the characters.

·       Alice is a widow with three husband who died in accidents.  Is she a black widow or can she move on with handsome Elliot?

·       The narration of this audiobook was great with three narrators.  It was enjoyable to listen to.

·       I also liked the second chances in this book for life and love.

·       This book was light and entertaining.

·       It was not spicy.

·       I loved the beautiful setting on the coast of North Carolina.

·       I loved the “momune” and women helping each other and their kids working through difficult times.  I always enjoy stories of found families.

Overall, Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey was a great story of second chances and found family.  It was a great summer beach read but is also a great read for any time of the year.

A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo-Rice

 

Do you like to read summer themed books?

Jewel Stone is a best-selling author, but she has been experiencing writer’s block.  Her husband has also recently lost his job and finances are tight.  When her estranged best friend, Shelby, is in an accident and has amnesia, Jewell is her emergency contact.  She drops everything to help Shelby and is inspired by her life to write again.  As secrets from the past threaten to overtake them, will Shelby and Jewell be able to repair their friendship and confront their past?  Will Shelby’s adoptive daughter Lacey be able to find her birth mom?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       A Summer for the Books was the August pick for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I just finished it this month and listened to the Facebook Book Group meeting when I was done.  I enjoyed the meeting and the interview with the author.  She was delightful!

·       This novel does have romance, but it is closed door.

·       I liked hearing how the author based the characters on herself and family members.

·       I loved that the book explored friendships of both mothers and daughters, as well as mother / daughter relationships.

·       The book is narrated through Lacey, Jewel, Shelby, journals form the past, and a book within the book.  It is a dual timeline book.

·       The story overall was good, and the characters were interesting, but I found it confusing at times especially as the characters were referred to by different names in the past.  It was also repetitive at times and could have been trimmed down to make the storyline move quicker.

·       I liked the bookstore and beach settings.

·       The book had a good ending.

Overall, A Summer for the Books by Michelle Lindo Rice was a good story with great characters, friendships, and setting, but it did move slowly at times.

Book Source: Thank-you to NetGalley for a review copy of this novel.

The Summer that Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

 

Title:  The Summer that Changed Everything

Author:  Brenda Novak

Narrated by:  Courtney Patterson

Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 39 minutes

Source: Thank-you to @netgalley for review copy.

Do you have one summer that was more memorable than the rest?  Why?  I’ve had a few the summer I was at college in grad school, the summer I got married, etc.

As a teenager, Lucy Sinclair’s father was tried and convicted of murdering three people that she knew, including a teenage girl that was described as her rival, Aurora, for her boyfriend, Ford.  The town shunned her, and Lucy moved away.  Now fifteen years later, she has returned, and she wants to figure out if her Dad was really guilty or not.  Ford is also back for the summer and sparks fly.  Who killed Aurora and why?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was a Brenda Novak Book Group Read for June, and it was another great book club meeting on Facebook.  I finished it up in early July.

·       The plot for this novel was intriguing.

·       Lucy and Ford had a second chance romance, a trope I usually enjoy.  Ford was expecting a baby with his not quite ex-wife, which threw me off from this romance.

·       I just overall couldn’t get behind the romance.  I don’t like married leads dating people while saying that their spouse just doesn’t get them.  Get divorced, spend some time on your own, and then date. 

·       There was good suspense in the story.

·       I liked the small-town Virginia coastal town setting.

·       The audiobook was interesting to listen to.  It had a good narrator.  She acted out all the parts.  There were multiple POVs including males.  It would have been nice to have additional narrators.

·       The mystery was slow burn.

·       There was a good wrap-up and ending.  I really liked the suspense at the end.

Overall, The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak was a good romantic suspense novel.  I liked the story and mystery, but I didn’t care for the romance.

The Page Turner by Viola Shipman

 

Title:  The Page Turner

Author:  Viola Shipman

Narrated by:  Katharine Chin

Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 49 minutes

Source: Audiobook and ebook review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

 

Where is your favorite setting for a book?  The Page Turner by Viola Shipman is set in South Haven Michigan with action also taking place in the Hamptons and New York City.  I loved the South Haven, Michigan, setting as I grew up in southwest Michigan.  Our family loved to visit South Haven and swim at the beach.  My Great Uncle and Aunt lived in a beautiful historic home in South Haven.  It’s a beautiful community.  I now live in a Lake Michigan Community in Wisconsin.  The lake vibes in this novel were very relatable.

 

Emma Page has just graduated from the University of Michigan and is trying to figure out what to do with her life.  Her parents own The Mighty Pages publishing house, which prints literary fiction.  Emma has secretly written a romance novel and loves romance just as her grandmother did.  When Emma discovers a family secret, how will it affect them and the man who is trying to take their family down?

 

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Viola Shipman is the pen name of Wade Rouse in honor of his beloved Grandma.  He writes the best female characters that really speak to me.  His Grandma taught him well!

·       I read this novel in May as part of the Brenda Novak Book Group.  I loved Wade Rouse’s interview as part of the Brenda Novak Book Group.  He is delightful and his interview was so interesting.

·       GiGi, Emma’s Grandmother, was a wonderful character.  She is the type of loving and sassy Grandma everyone should have.  I was blessed to have one myself.  I loved how she loved to foster the love of reading in her kids and grandkids.

·       There were interesting literary discussions and allusions throughout the novel.  Who gets to decide what is the great American novel?  Why is romance always looked down upon as a genre?

·       The novel was a love letter to Michigan with blueberries, the state flag, roadside farms, lighthouses, Lake Michigan beaches, etc.

·       Jonathan Livingston Seagull is mentioned a lot.  I have never read it, but it has been on my TBR forever.  Have you read this novel?  If so, what do you think?

·       This novel also highlighted family dysfunction and pulling together to protect your family overall.

·       I am looking forward to his next book that will be set in Palm Springs.  It is called Thank-you for Being a Friend and seems to be Golden Girls inspired.

·       I enjoyed listening to this book on audiobook.  It was entertaining and captured my interest on long drives.

Overall, The Page Turner by Viola Shipman was a perfect summer read with great characters, a love of literature, beaches, and a sinister villain.

A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey

 

Title: A Happier Life

Author:  Kristy Woodson Harvey

Narrated by:  Cassandra Campbell, Devon Sorvari, Fred Sanders

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 16 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you!

What could you do to have a happier life?  I loved a previous job, but the work hours prevented me from spending time with my family.  To have a happier life, I made a job change.

Keaton Smith loses her job due to personnel complications at work.  Work tip – don’t date your co-workers!  Her mother asks her to travel to Beaufort, North Carolina to clean out her grandmother’s house.  Her grandparents (Rebecca and Townsend) died in a car crash in 1976 and her mom and uncle shut up their house and never came back.  Did they really die in a car crash (their bodies were never found)? Will Keaton discover her place in life?

·       This was the July pick for the Brenda Novak Book Club.  I read it in August.  I enjoyed listening to Brenda Novak’s conversation with author Kristy Woodson Harvey about the book.

·       This novel was a good look into life and how decisions can impact your life and generations that follow you.

 

·       I had a hard time at first with the timeline and the ages of everyone.  The grandparents are my great-grandparents’ age and the main character is thirteen years younger than me.  It was explained later that they were older mothers.

·       It is mostly told from Keaton and Rebecca’s points of view, but some chapters are narrated by Townsend, especially from his journal.

·       The narrators were great, and this was a fun audiobook to listen to.

·       I love the story of a granddaughter discovering the story of her grandmother.

·       I enjoyed Rebecca “Becks” St. James’s chapters about being the perfect hostess, falling in love with Townsend, her troubled relationship with her mother, and becoming a mother.  I thought it was fun for their grandkids to find their journals and discover who they were.

·       The characters and community in Beaufort were excellent.

·       I loved when Keaton’s Mom told her that life is not like a Hallmark movie, and she shouldn’t leave the big city for a man.  I laughed out loud.

·       There was a great mystery in the story of what happened to the grandparents, although I did figure it out early on.

·       What makes a happier life?  Becks thinks she couldn’t have had a happier life and loves everything about her life.  Keaton is trying to figure out how to have a happier life.

·       I LOVED the 1970s-time capsule vintage house.

·       I want to host a Beck St. James perfect party.

·       It was interesting that the story was inspired by the mysterious disappearance of the author’s great aunt and uncle and her experience opening a house that had been closed for fifty years.

 

Overall, A Happier Life was a feel-good story with a great ending.  It was a perfect beach read.

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin

 

What was your last summer read?  I finished up The Summer Pact earlier this month for my last summer book read of the year.

The Summer Pact is about four individuals that meet at college and form a lifelong friendship.  One when tragically dies, the others promise to always get together to help each other if any of the three of them are in a time of need.  When Hannah finds her fiancé in bed with another woman, she finds herself in crisis.  When the friends gather together to help out Hannah, will they all make changes to their own lives and move forward?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I have enjoyed Emily Giffin’s books in the past and especially enjoyed Something Borrowed, Something Blue, and Baby Proof.  This one was not as good as her other novels.

·       The story was slow in the middle, and it took me a long time to finish it.

·       This novel is a look at friendship and the lengths we will go to for our friends.  It also delves into grief and how everyone deals with it differently and how friends can help.

·       The story is told through the three point of views of the three friends.  I didn’t feel like I liked or connected with the characters.

·       The romance came very late in the novel and then it seemed to be immediately tied up in the epilogue.   I did not feel the romantic connection between the love interests.

·       I really didn’t like the character Lainey.  She was an actress that acted very immature for a thirty something.  She needed more of a growth story to me.  I also didn’t like how she very obviously was an alcoholic, but her friends did not help her with this problem at all.

·       I thought we would get more of Summer’s story and her untimely death and there would be a bit of a mystery.  It just remained a sad unexplained traumatic death from their college days.

Overall, I was disappointed by The Summer Pact, but I will definitely try another Emily Giffin book.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

All the Summers in Between by Brooke Lea Foster

 Title: All the Summers in Between

Author:  Brooke Lea Foster

Narrated by:  Emily Ellet

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 27 minutes

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you!

What is your favorite thing about summer?  I love so many things about summer – camping, bonfires, flowers, water, vacations.  I also love to read summer themed books in the summer.

In 1967, Thea and Margot meet each other while working in a record store in a seaside vacation town in the Northeast.  Thea is a poor local girl while Margot is part of a wealthy family.  They bond and dream of leaving to travel to San Francisco.  In 1977, Margot came back and asks Thea to hide her.  Thea is a housewife with a young daughter, while Margot has married the wrong guy and has lost it all.  Will Margot and Thea be able to determine what makes them happy in life?  What happened in 1967 that broke apart their friendship?

My thoughts on this book:

·       The narrator, Emily Ellet, of this audiobook does a good job of having a different voice for the two main characters.

·       Thea is struggling with what she wants from life in 1977.  She wants more than being a housewife.  I was frustrated with her at times as I wanted her to just talk to her husband about her thoughts.  Luckily, she finally does.  In 1967, you can see her and her husband’s relationship blossom.

·       I liked that while Thea had a troubled relationship with her stepdad, they were able to have a better relationship in 1977.  Thea understood him better and helped him out.

·       I didn’t understand why Thea thought Margo was a better friend than Midge in 1977.  Margo was only her friend for a few months in 1967 while Midge had been her friend for years.

·       This book was a mellow book for me which was interesting to listen to, but I didn’t feel tied to the characters if that makes sense. 

Overall, All the Summers in Between is a story of friendship and family relationships through good and bad times.  It was a good summer audiobook and an interesting historical suspense novel.

The Summer Skies by Jenny Colgan

 

Do you prefer a window seat or aisle seat when you fly?  I always love sitting in a window seat and getting to see what is happening when I am on an airplane.  I’m finishing up my summer reads and read The Summer Skies by Jenny Colgan earlier this month. I always love reading Jenny Colgan’s novels.  I get swept away by the stories.

The Summer Skies is set in far northern Scotland.  Morag McGinty has been born into a family of pilots.  She works for a major airline, but after a near accident, she is working on being ready to fly again.   During this situation, she has finally found a man she thinks she has a future with, Hayden.  Together they plan on relocating to Dubai.  Morag decides she can be the co-pilot on long haul flights and won’t have to face her fear of being the pilot in charge again. The family business is flying a plane service from island to island in northern Scotland. When Morag’s grandfather falls ill, she helps out by coming back home to help with the flying.  Will she be able to overcome her fears of flying as the primary pilot again?

I always love how in Jenny Colgan’s novels, the primary character is a woman who is trying to find her way in the world.  What does Morag really want for her future?  She is not sure herself and it takes coming home and being put into a precarious situation that really makes her realize what is important.  I love her side characters too – as there were many new and unique characters in this book.  Another great element is the food. There is a mouth-watering description of bread in this book that made me want to go out and make my own home made loaf.  The settings are also wild and wonderful as well.  I really want to visit northern Scotland now.  I wasn’t sure where this story was going, and I enjoyed the journey. I also have always loved aviation and enjoyed the elements in this story. I hope that it is the start of a lovely new series.  I enjoyed reading this novel.

Book Source: Review Copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey

 

Title: The Summer of Songbirds

Author:  Kristy Woodson Harvey

Narrated by:  Jennifer Jill Araya, Reena Dutt, and Jackie Sanders

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 58 minutes 

Source: Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Audio.  Thank you @simonandschuster #BookClubFavorites for the free books!

Did you go to summer camp growing up?  I always wanted to, but it was too expensive.  I did go to a couple of church campouts, and they were a lot of fun.

Three women met as young girls at Camp Holly Springs and became lifetime friends.  Now as adults they are shocked to learn that the camp is going to close.  June Moore has run the camp for many years and is sad about its closing, but is happy that her niece Daphne and friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart are back with ideas on how to keep it open.  They are all going through interesting periods of their lives.  Mary Stuart has just gotten married.  Lanier is engaged but can’t help thinking of the one who got away.  Daphne is also thinking about the one who got away, Lanier’s brother.  Lanier doesn’t want Huff and Daphne to get back together, but will their hearts let them give up love a second time?

This story was told from three points of view:  Lanier, Daphne, and June.  I thought it was interesting that June was one of the narrators rather than the third person in the friend trio, Mary Stuart.  I also love how they always call her Mary Stuart with her first and last name.  The audiobook had three different narrators which provided each book narrator with their own unique voice, which I enjoyed.

I thought the story was entertaining and light.  I loved that it explored friendship and growing up.  I loved how the women had a great time as children at the camp and wonderful memories to fall back on.  I liked that they were there to support each other during hard times and that they could still learn as adults that they can make changes and move on from mistakes.  I loved the theme of found family.  The epilogue tied up everything perfectly. It was a perfect summer read.

Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of Sun Damage by Sabine Durrant.

If you could step into a new life, where and what kind of life would you choose?  That is a hard question.  I would own a book and chocolate shop, I think.

Sun Damage is an intriguing thriller that I don’t want to tell too much of the plot to wreck it for someone else.  Ali and Sean are con artists that are making their way around the world.  After a plot goes wrong, one of them must assume the identity of someone else to hide in plain sight.  Will they be able to pull of this greatest of cons?

I really liked the setting in the south of France.  It made me want to vacation there as well.  It seemed that everyone was on a dreamy vacation and that is what made it easy for con people to get money from them.  I liked the fact that it was a psychological thriller and that the reader is always on pins and needles wondering if the main character will say or do something wrong to give themselves away.  Will they be discovered?  I liked the romance in it as well.  The novel had a great ending that I enjoyed.  I did guess one of the items in the end before it happened and felt very proud of myself.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a psychological thriller to read on your vacation.

This novel just came out this week on August 1^st.

Kismet by Becky Chalsen

 

Are you a twin or do you wish you had a twin?  I’ve always enjoyed reading stories with twins in them starting with Sweet Valley Twins as a kid.

Amy and Jo are twins that are both turning 30 this summer.  Jo has decided to have her wedding over fourth of July weekend on Fire Island, which is also the twins’ thirtieth birthday weekend.  Amy arrives trying to put the best face on everything, but she and her husband, Ben, have been having marital problems.  When her old college boyfriend from freshman year shows up as the best man, Amy is torn. Should she go after her old love or try to repair things with her husband?  Will Jo’s wedding be able to go off without a hitch with all of the personalities at play?

Kismet is a perfect sun-soaked beach read with plenty of family drama.  I’ll admit I did get annoyed by Amy as her angst against Ben dragged on, but luckily the story unfolded for me to learn about the entirety of Amy and Ben’s relationship.  I enjoyed the slight mystery of finding out what the problem was.  The entire wedding party learns about how it is better to be open with each other and to believe in the power of love.  I really liked how this story wrapped up and concluded.  I thought it was very heart warming.

I also loved the setting of Fire Island.  It sounds beautiful and I had to look it up after I finished the book last month.  It sounds like I need to check this out next time I find myself in New York.

Book Source:  Book Source: Review Copy from Penguin Random House and Netgalley.   Thank-you! Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.