Happy Place

Happy Place by Emily Henry was on my summer TBR list. I enjoy reading Henry’s books at the beach. This was not an exception. Amazon: “Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?” This was classic rom-com material and well executed.

Carrie Soto is Back

I took to walking on vacation and turned to audiobooks to pass the time. Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid was available immediately from the library, so I grabbed it. I am glad I listened to this as I think reading about all the tennis matches would have been boring. It was a good audiobook and accomplished my goal, but I didn’t love it. I have liked most books by Jenkins Reid about the same as this one and have given almost all of them four stars (and I have read most of her work). “Carrie Soto is fierce, and her determination to win at any cost has not made her popular. But by the time she retires from tennis, she is the best player the world has ever seen. She has shattered every record and claimed twenty Grand Slam titles. And if you ask Carrie, she is entitled to every one. She sacrificed nearly everything to become the best, with her father, Javier, as her coach. A former champion himself, Javier has trained her since the age of two. But six years after her retirement, Carrie finds herself sitting in the stands of the 1994 US Open, watching her record be taken from her by a brutal, stunning player named Nicki Chan. At thirty-seven years old, Carrie makes the monumental decision to come out of retirement and be coached by her father for one last year in an attempt to reclaim her record. Even if the sports media says that they never liked “the Battle-Axe” anyway. Even if her body doesn’t move as fast as it did. And even if it means swallowing her pride to train with a man she once almost opened her heart to: Bowe Huntley. Like her, he has something to prove before he gives up the game forever.” (Amazon)

The Lonely Hearts Book Club

The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore was a story I have already read. While it entertained enough, it’s been done before and better. Amazon: “Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never thinks of herself as lonely…but still she looks forward to that time every day when old curmudgeon Arthur McLachlan comes to browse the shelves and cheerfully insult her. Their sparring is such a highlight of Sloane’s day that when Arthur doesn’t show up one morning, she’s instantly concerned. And then another day passes, and another. Anxious, Sloane tracks the old man down only to discover him all but bedridden…and desperately struggling to hide how happy he is to see her. Wanting to bring more cheer into Arthur’s gloomy life, Sloane creates an impromptu book club. Slowly, the lonely misfits of their sleepy town begin to find each other, and in their book club, find the joy of unlikely friendship. Because as it turns out, everyone has a special book in their heart—and a reason to get lost (and eventually found) within the pages.” While I didn’t hate it, it wasn’t as good as others in the same field.

After We Were Stolen

Apologies in advance for completing three weeks of posting in one afternoon. On vacation I like to simply read the books and not post about them until returning to reality. Here goes:

As usual, I’m not sure how After We Were Stolen by Brooke Beyfuss ended up on my TBR list, but it came from the library and I did enjoy it. “When nineteen-year-old Avery awakens to flames consuming her family’s remote compound, she knows it’s her only chance to escape her father’s grueling survival training, bizarre rules, and gruesome punishments. She and her brother Cole flee the grounds for the first time in their lives, suddenly homeless in a world they know nothing about. After months of hiding out, they are arrested for shoplifting and a shocking discovery is made, resulting in the pair being separated. Avery is alone and desperate. She is uncertain if her “parents” survived the fire and is terrified to find out. But when the police investigation reveals there may be more survivors, Avery must uncover the truth about the fire to truly be free.” (Amazon) This was a pretty solid page-turner and good for summer.

Sankofa

Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo was OK, but not terrific. I wanted to find out the ending so I finished it, but I might not have had there not been a bit of a mystery involved. Amazon: “Anna is at a stage of her life when she’s beginning to wonder who she really is. In her 40s, she has separated from her husband, her daughter is all grown up, and her mother—the only parent who raised her—is dead. Searching through her mother’s belongings one day, Anna finds clues about the African father she never knew. His student diaries chronicle his involvement in radical politics in 1970s London. Anna discovers that he eventually became the president—some would say dictator—of a small nation in West Africa. And he is still alive…When Anna decides to track her father down, a journey begins that is disarmingly moving, funny, and fascinating. Like the metaphorical bird that gives the novel its name, Sankofa expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present to address universal questions of race and belonging, the overseas experience for the African diaspora, and the search for a family’s hidden roots.”

Babel

Ooof. First book of my “Can’t wait to read these this summer…” list was a total fail. In fact, 30% of the way in, I abandoned ship (a rarity). Magical realism. YUCK. So, strike Babel by R. F. Kuang off your list if you took my recommendation. I loved the characters and the set up, but just couldn’t with the non realistic part. Too bad.

The Ten Books I am Eagerly Anticipating for this Summer

Happy Memorial Day – the weekend I publish my summer reading recommendations and my own list for summer reading.

I have already posted my choices for good summer reads that I have vetted. This post covers those I am looking forward to biting off myself.

Let me know if you have read and enjoyed or hated any of them. They will be packed in my beach bag…

Summer Reading 2023

As I do each year, I have listed here my favorites for the first six months of the year so you can easily find them to take to the beach. Like last year, 2023 was light on 5-star books, but there are more 4.5-star choice to enjoy.

I will post another list of those I am reading this summer – who knows if they are going to be good or not…happy summer, everyone!

5-star
Hello Beautiful
All My Rage
Eat & Flourish
These Precious Days

4.5-star
My Oxford Year
The Golden Spoon
One Month of You
Meredith, Alone
Never Never
The House of Eve
Metropolis
The Paris Library
Confess

Links to read my past summer blog posts below.

2022’s summer books are here.
2021’s summer books are here.
2020’s summer books are here.
2019’s summer books are here.
2018’s summer books are here.
2017’s summer books are here.

A Likely Story

A Likely Story by Leigh McMullan Abramson has been on my booklist for a while. Amazon: “Growing up in the nineties in New York City as the only child of famous parents was both a blessing and a curse for Isabelle Manning. Her beautiful society hostess mother, Claire, and New York Times bestselling author father, Ward, were the city’s intellectual It couple. Ward’s glamorous obligations often took him away from Isabelle, but Claire made sure her childhood was always filled with magic and love. Now an adult, all Isabelle wants is to be a successful writer like her father but after many false starts and the unexpected death of her mother, she faces her upcoming thirty-fifth birthday alone and on the verge of a breakdown. Her anxiety only skyrockets when she uncovers some shocking truths about her parents and begins wondering if everything she knew about her family was all based on an elaborate lie.” It was a good story and clever, but it reminded me of others I have read.

The Covenant of Water

Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone is one of my all-time favorite books. So, it was with great excitement that I purchased his latest, The Covenant of Water. Oprah has said it is one of the best books she has ever read. However, when I received the book in the mail (go indy bookstores – it came before it was out anywhere else – and you know how much it takes for me to spend money on a book…) I realized that it was 700+ pages!!! “The Covenant of Wateris the long-awaited new novel by Abraham Verghese, the author of the major word-of-mouth bestseller Cutting for Stone, which has sold over 1.5 million copies in the United States alone and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time. From this unforgettable new beginning, the young girl—and future matriarch, known as Big Ammachi—will witness unthinkable changes over the span of her extraordinary life, full of joy and triumph as well as hardship and loss, her faith and love the only constants.” (Amazon) I did love it, but it was far too long. I can’t tell you how it could have been shorter and still covered the territory it did, but even in loving it, it made me weary.