I almost gave up on The House Between Tides, as it hit a lull in the middle, which I didn’t want to push through with my stack of to-be-reads towering higher by the day, but I am glad I didn’t abandon ship. Hetty inherits a house in the Scottish Highlands only reachable at low-tide. With it, is discovered a mysterious dead body. The book switches back and forth from the home’s owner, painter, Theo Blake in 1910, to Hetty in 2010. Blake’s complicated history is the main story, but Hetty’s becomes interesting as well. The pace picked up significantly in the last 100 pages, finally culminating in somewhat of a surprise ending. So, at the last, I am glad I read it and would recommend it.

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva is reality show meets apocalypse. You fall right into this story, particularly if, like me, you were a long-ago fan of “Survivor.” I believe Oprah had this on a “You Won’t be Able to Put This Book Down” list, which was 100% appropriate – I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. The basic story is of twelve contestants competing in a “Survivor”-like reality show. While they are filming the show, a virus spreads across the country, but the contestants know nothing about it. Alternating chapters tell either of the filming of the reality show or of the post-apocolyptic world in which one of the reality show contestants unknowingly ends up. While disturbing, this was an interesting premise and enjoyable read. My only issue was with the ending, which tied things up too quickly.

I feel like it’s not summer if Beatriz Williams doesn’t have a book out. A Certain Age is her latest. It’s a 1920s retelling of the opera Der Rosenkavalier. Every other chapter tells either Theresa or Sophie’s story. These stories intertwine as the book progresses. Theresa is unhappily married and having an affair with Octavian as the story begins. Sophie then gets engaged to Theresa’s brother, Ox. Sophie, at the same time, falls in love with Octavian. A mystery is woven through the tale to add to the intrigue. A Certain Age is another hit for Williams and one I very much enjoyed reading.

The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner is a three-generation saga of a family from a small island off the coast of Sicily. At the center of the story is the cafe, “The House at the Edge of the Night,” and the family who runs it. The story spans a century of history and brings the family up to 2009 by the end. It’s a delightful story, and, while I enjoyed it, it was a little flat for me. Good if you have a longer while to read it – it’s 415 pages – but it might be a slog if you are dipping in a little bit at a time.

Even the cover of The Rules of Love and Grammar by Mary Simses looks like a book that should be read in Maine. While it takes place in coastal Connecticut, the feeling is the same: summer and the shore. Grace has returned home after losing her boyfriend, her job, and her apartment. While home, she faces the demons of her sister’s untimely death and memories of an old love. At the same time, she creates new avenues for employment and mends ties with her family. The book was an easy summer read, but was too predictable ( you knew who she would end up with from early pages) and the author dangled the cause of Grace’s sister’s death over and over until you almost didn’t want to know how she died. So, nothing amazing, but a good way to while away the summer hours.

It wouldn’t be summer without a new Elin Hilderbrand novel. Here’s to Us centers around Deacon, who has passed away unexpectedly, his two ex-wives, his current wife, and all of their children. They have converged on Nantucket to scatter Deacon’s ashes and deal with the debt that will require them to sell the family house. Everyone’s lives are complicated and there’s a lot of animosity for them to all get through. This book was nothing earth-shattering, but, as usual for Hilderbrand, a decent summer choice.

I’m a sucker for a cheesy Emily Giffin novel and First Comes Love was another good one. Tragedy strikes the family Garland family in the prologue when first-born son, Daniel, is killed in a car crash. Fast-forward to the grown sisters, Josie and Meredith, their lives since the accident, and the choices they have made. While predictable and somewhat simplistic. First Comes Love was a good summer read.

100 Days of Happiness by Fausto Brizzi is a gem of a book. It’s a quick read, but sad from the beginning. Lucio finds out he has inoperable cancer after he has been thrown out of his family home because of his infidelity. So begins the story of his last 100 days, where he tries to settle his life affairs and win back the love of his life. It’s a tender story and one that will unexpectedly make you cry, even though you know what is going to happen at the end. This is a real winner.

This is Your Life, Harriet Chance by Jonathan Evison, reminded me of Fredrik Bachman’s books. While the character is different, the tone of voice was matter-of-fact and similar. We learn about Harriet’s life in the third person, and it is this narrated version that “talks” to Harriet throughout the story. In the book, chapters bounce back and forth from moments in her past, to her present life where she is on an Alaskan cruise, won by her deceased husband. Harriet has a lot to be thankful for in her life, it seems, until we begin to learn more about it and recognize all her regrets and mistakes. This book didn’t take long to read and was enjoyable, while also a little depressing.