I can’t believe summer is in full swing already! We’ve had a rocky start to the summer with three separate illnesses and a major reading funk, but the weather has been incredible here in Nor Cal and for that I am grateful. I’m really looking forward to camping, fresh tomatoes from the garden, and some late night star-gazing. What do you have on deck for summer?
Tiny Beautiful Things – 4 Stars! (4 Hearts)
I originally heard of this book years ago after Becca read it and we talked about the meaning of this mug, of which I still desperately want all these years later. But when I saw the trailer for the Hulu series I was downright shocked with the content and knew I must read it! (Spoiler alert: I have a feeling the Hulu series is merely inspired by the book, because there was nothing near that raunchy in the book.)
This book was a product of Strayed’s advice column Dear Sugar and includes letters that readers would write to her as well as her responses. The conversations cover topics of all kinds: grief, infidelity, life, relationships, and so much more. I enjoyed the format of question and answer. It allowed me to take my time (two months) to read them as I needed or wanted doses of advice or knowledge. Yes, she finds a way to talk about her own life in most of the responses, but I found them to be relatable and less dry, like a memoir. I continuously found her advice well-written and surprising with the direction she took it. I’m very interested in watching the mini-series now to see how they played it out.
Meet Me At The Lake – 4 Stars! (3 Hearts)
Fern and Will meet in a chance encounter and spend twenty-four hours together when she’s twenty two. They shared a day of adventure and had an instant connection, but the timing was all wrong. They agreed to meet up at Fern’s family lake in one year, but Fern shows up and Will does not. Now ten years after their initial encounter, Will drops into Fern’s life when she least expects it. Can they rekindle what they once shared or are they not meant to be?
Fortune’s debut novel Every Summer After ended up being one of my most favorite books in 2022, and it’s one that I still think about today, so my hopes for this one were very high. Every Summer After was very nostalgic to me, but Meet Me at the Lake just didn’t seem as emotionally charged. While I enjoyed Will and Fern’s story, I never fully connected with them or their history. But after a week of DNFing everything I touched, this was still a welcomed treat.
Like Yours Truly and Two Wrongs Make a Right, this book also features a male character with anxiety. In her Author’s Note, Fortune explains that Will has postpartum OCD, but that is never identified in the story itself, and I wish it had been to bring more awareness to this lesser-known health issue.
Tidbits: Adult, Romance, Second Chance.
The People We Keep – 4.5 Stars! (5 Hearts)
“It’s amazing how much you can miss people you only got to be with for one tiny little perfect bit of time; how a place where you barely got to live can be the closest thing you’ve ever had to home.”
April is living alone in a motorless motor home, her father has abandoned her for another family and she traded school for the diner in order to stay afloat. After “borrowing” her neighbor’s car to attend an open-mic night, she starts to wonder if there is more to life than this…
This was our May book club pick! This character driven, coming of age story is filled with sad, depressing, and traumatic moments that send April on a jourey to discover life without a family or home. The people she meets along the way show us all that family is not defined by blood. The pace was slow going, not something to binge, but I loved the 90’s New York setting and all of the heartwarming characters that helped April along. The last chapter had me hugging the book in the end.
Tidbits: Adult, Historical Fiction, Character Driven, Slow Paced, Huggable, Book Club, LGBTQ+ characters.
Happy Place – 3.5 Stars (3 Hearts)
Harriet and Wyn are the perfect couple and have been since they met in college. Except they broke up six months ago and still haven’t told their friends. Now their forced to survive their annual friends vacation without spilling their secrets, because they don’t want to break their friends’ hearts.
After Book Lovers last year, I had some really high hopes for this hot pink cover. Unfortunately, this one really missed the mark for me. I found the drama to be really excessive, almost like it was being made into a movie? But overall, I closed the book and just felt meh.
Becca had a much better experience, so be sure to check out her review here.
Tidbits: Adult, Romance, Second Chance, Forced Proximity, Diverse and LGBTQ+ Characters.
No Two Persons – 3.75 Stars! (3 Hearts)
Alice has always wanted to be a writer, and when a tragic event occurs, it fuels the fire she needs to put the words onto paper. Her words then find their way into nine other peoples lives, changing them all in their own unique way.
Each chapter was from a different reader’s perspective, which meant some very long chapters. Some of them connect to each other, but not always. I found it to be very enjoyable as I was reading it, but I think I wanted a bit more tie-in between the nine readers. This was definitely a testament to how a book can affect everyone differently.
Tidbits: Adult, Realistic Fiction, Books about Books.
What Alice Forgot – 5 Stars! (5 Hearts)
This was a re-read for me, originally read in 2014 as a book club pick. I loved it just as much today as I did nine years ago!
Alice faints while taking a spin class at her gym. Her accident sent her back ten years to when she was twenty-nine, happily married and pregnant with her first child. Except, Alice is really about to turn forty, has had three kids and is in the middle of a nasty divorce.
I love how from the beginning, we are stuck in Alice’s confused mind. Her thoughts are silly and full of nonsense. This book has an accurate representation of parenting and marriage and all of the struggles that pertain to both. The flashbacks Alice has really show us how so much can change from newlyweds to raising kids and the toll it can take on a marriage. What Alice Forgot filled my heart with joy and hope. It’s a lighthearted and fun story while dealing with heavy life topics – divorce, death of a best friend, infertility. I highly recommend for all readers!
Tidbits: Adult, Realistic Fiction, Older Characters, Married (Separated) Couple.
If you’re looking for a middle grade novel, be sure to check out The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. This was my most recent read-aloud to my 11-year old daughter and we loved it. We were on the prowl for a book that didn’t have death or serious illness as the main theme of the book and this one fit the bill – even though it takes place during Christmas. The cast of characters was lovely as they tried to change the mind of their curmudgeon landlord. Reminded me a bit of Despicable Me and A Man Called Ove.
Unfortunately, Perfect on Paper was a DNF for me. HOWEVER, I will still recommend it to all YA and NA readers. Personally, I struggled with the teenage drama and the main characters actions as a mid-thirties reader, but I know for sure that ages 16-24 will probably relate so much more. I loved the author’s Goodreads note about how the book came to be. This is an #ownvoices book filled with teenage representation for gay, lesbian, bi, nonbinary, pan, and transgender characters.
Looking for more book recommendations? Check out all of my book posts here!
What’s the last book that you read that you wanted everyone else to read too?
Becca @ Life’s a Pearl
Wow! What a variety! I’m glad What Alice Forgot was still a love 😍. Sorry Happy Place didn’t work for you. Ironically Meet Me at the Lake didn’t work for me lol. Hope July brings your reading mojo back!