The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman was a little like a bar of chocolate: sweet and enjoyable — a nice binge — but nothing that’s going to fill you up or linger. I had it on my TBR list and almost took it off since Gayle (Everyday I Write the Book and The Readerly Report) said it was only OK, but I found it on the Express Checkout shelf and grabbed it anyway. I also had liked Waxman’s The Garden of Small Beginnings (reviewed here). And, since it only took a few hours to read and was funny and endearing in moments, I am glad I read it. It’s the story of Nina Hill who likes her quiet life and job in a bankrupting (sure that’s not a word) independent bookstore. Of course, that life is interrupted by the death of the father she didn’t know and a man who she wants not to like. I am sure you can predict the ending and the story isn’t going to knock your socks off, but if you like a book that has everything tied up in neat knots, this is a good choice (and an excellent beach read too).

I was excited to find The Farm by Joanne Ramos in the Express Checkout section (sadly I also found 8 other books there from my list, so there has been a compulsion to read, but it’s also a busy time of year). However, while the first two-thirds were good, I hit a wall and slogged slowly through the last third. It’s about the women who run or live at “Golden Oaks” a home for surrogates who are paid a great deal to carry women’s babies. While the surrogates are led to believe that they are carrying for women who cannot conceive or carry babies to term, in fact, it is often for women who simply don’t want to disrupt their careers or bodies by carrying their own babies. I was disappointed in this read. While the topic was interesting, it didn’t live up to the hype.

I grabbed The Need by Helen Phillips off the “quick read, can’t renew” shelf at the library. I read about it somewhere and thought I’d give it a try (if only I had looked at my trusty Amazon first – it only has garnered 3.5 stars there – always a sign that the book should be skipped). It’s a slim novel, easy to read, and the cover is terrific. However, I didn’t enjoy it at all. It’s first told in alternating chapters, one at work and one at home, in the life of Molly, a paleobotonist. I appreciated this review, “This book started off with a BANG! for me. As I was reading, I wondered why it had not been receiving very many good reviews. Then, I got deeper into the book. Mystery solved.” Ha. And I will waste no more of your time reviewing this one. Skip it.

I’ve had Becoming by Michelle Obama on my TBR pile since it came out, but library books kept getting in the way. I finally grabbed it as my final read on our Maine trip. What a wonderful book! I loved it as much as I hoped I would. And, even though I knew much of the story, I was on the edge of my seat while reading, silly as that is. If you are one of the few who hasn’t picked this one up yet, you absolutely should. I LOVED it.

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo was a love story about a couple and their four daughters. I very much enjoyed it and all the twists and turns of their lives back and forth across the years. It was quite long, however, and with a slew of books that are due in two weeks, I found myself anxiously aware of how long the 500+ pages were. However, it was a good story and certainly worth picking up if you can live through the long-haul. If you are looking for something less quiet and faster-paced, this one is not it.

Ruth Ware writes gripping thrillers. I really enjoyed In a Dark, Dark Wood (review here) and thought her last one was OK. The Turn of the Key had some issues (getting scratched by a poisonous bush that is never resolved, for example), but overall, it was a great thriller that was readable in one (long) sitting. It’s a terrific summer choice.

Recursion by Blake Crouch is an excellent, mind-bending read, much like his previous book, Dark Matter (reviewed here). My 14-year old and I both enjoyed both books, but I think I liked Dark Matter better. My same description of Dark Matter holds for this one. I am not sure I entirely understood all of it, but I enjoyed the ride, nonetheless. In this crazy story, Helena invents a chair intending to preserve the memories of people like her mother with Alzheimer’s. Instead, there are devastating results. This is a great end-of-summer-back-to-reality escape novel.

Three Women has been publicized a great deal this spring and summer and I was excited to have it in my summer reading pile. In fact, I purchased this one, which happens quite infrequently. While I knew this was the non-fiction account of three different women and their sex lives, I wasn’t aware of quite how salacious this one was going to be. So, it felt a little like you wanted to cover it with a brown paper bag while reading (like 50 Shades). It was certainly an interesting book, but for more delicate readers, it might be a bit too much. In the end, I am not sure it was a summer favorite (or worth my rare purchasing), but if you are piqued by the hype, this won’t take you long to read and is certainly appropriate for summer.

I powered through Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane so I could leave it with our vacation hosts. This wasn’t a hard task because it was such a good book, but we did so many fun activities while at said vacation that there wasn’t much time for reading! This is the story of two neighbor families and the tragedy that comes between them even as the children are best friends through it. I enjoyed this one, but felt that the characters weren’t elucidated enough, or I didn’t feel like I knew them well enough. However, I liked the development of the characters’ lives over time and the general premise of this one. It’s worth picking up.