If I were you, I would skip Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser, even though the cover is amazing. The premise was promising, but it didn’t deliver – it was too predictable and not intense or alarming enough. It’s has been compared to Big Little Lies, but it’s not even close! From Amazon: “When a group of neighborhood women gathers, wine in hand, around a fire pit where their backyards meet one Saturday night, most of them are just ecstatic to have discovered that their baby monitors reach that far. It’s a rare kid-free night, and they’re giddy with it. They drink too much, and the conversation turns personal. By Monday morning, one of them is gone.” While I did finish it, I wish I hadn’t.

I’m a big fan of Isabel Allende and have read most of her books. I was lucky enough to find In the Midst of Winter on the shelf at the library. It was a good story, but not great. On a blizzard-y evening, Richard, hits a car driven by an illegal immigrant, Evelyn. He gives her his card so insurance can cover the damage. She comes to find him later that night to explain that she is in trouble because in the trunk of the car is the dead body of the physical therapist who helps the son of her abusive boss. Richard’s tenant also gets involved. In the midst of telling their story, we also learn the history of each character. It could have been shorter, particularly the history of each individual, but overall, it was enjoyable.

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey was another choice I keep reading about. And, while I liked it, I didn’t love it. I don’t know if my expectations were too high expectations. It was a good story with likable characters, but it was too long and the main character said a few things over and over that made you crazy (like I was the first female solicitor in India). I don’t normally read mysteries, so perhaps this was part of the problem as well. I wouldn’t discourage people from reading it, but I wouldn’t rush out and make this one a priority either. In a nutshell (from Amazon): “Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s first female lawyer, is investigating a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah when the case takes a turn toward the murderous.” Add it to your summer list if you like mysteries, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Continuing to blast through summer reading recommendations, I chose i’ll be your blue sky by Marisa De Los Santos next. It’s a great summer choice. Clare meets elderly Edith on the weekend of Clare’s wedding. Clare’s cold feet become walking feet as she leaves her fiance and moves on with her life on Edith’s sage advice. While the story is a bit predictable, it was just surprising enough to keep one from being bored and had a unique and captivating sub-story. I would absolutely throw this one in your beach bag. It’s fast-paced and enjoyable (but nothing deep and earth-shattering).

Here’s my annual list of summer picks. I choose these from those I have read in the previous six months that have garnered 4.5 stars or more. Any of these would be a great pick for the beach. Happy summer, everyone!

Links to read my blog posts and/or buy each book are here:

The Great Alone
Educated
Still Me
Grist Mill Road
Beneath a Scarlett Sky
The Woman in the Window
An American Marriage
Lilli de Jong
An Untamed State
The Perfect Mother

2017’s summer books are listed here.

I don’t like short stories. Just when I get into the characters or the story, they end. I didn’t realize before I picked up Neel Mukherjee’s A State of Freedom that it was short stories: I thought the tales were interconnected. So, I kept waiting for them to get connected. And, though the connection came around in the end, overall, I was disappointed. Mukherjee’s writing was good and some of the stories were interesting, but overall, I would have given this one a pass.

How to Be Safe by Tom McAllister was on several “Best Summer Reads of 2018” lists. So, when it came to the library, I was excited to grab it. A slim volume, I knocked it out over a day. However, I wish I hadn’t bothered. I didn’t like the main character and the bouncing back from reality to fantasy wasn’t to my liking. The main idea of the story is a high school mass shooting by an unhappy student. Briefly, a suspended teacher is a suspect. It is her point of view from which the story is told. Honestly, other than the topical nature of the premise, I can’t figure why this one made a must-read list. I hope some of the other choices I have put on my own summer TBR list are better!

Normally a book like The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan would not be up my alley. While you wouldn’t know it at first, the supernatural came into play toward the end and that’s not for me. However, the story was so sweet, that I am willing to suspend my disbelief and give this choice a thumbs up. It felt very much like A Man Called Ove and The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. Anthony Peardew finds and keeps lost things and writes stories about each one. He does this because many years ago he lost his fiancé, Therese. Laura becomes Anthony’s assistant. Recovering from a divorce, she needs a distraction and finds one in taking care of Anthony. At the same time, we learn about Eunice who is also finding herself and newly employed. Their stories intertwine in predictable but enjoyable ways. I’d add this one to your summer reading list.

While The Strays by Emily Bitto had an engaging and beautiful cover, I didn’t love it. I not only felt like I had read it before but also I tired of the story’s premise quickly. It’s one of those books where the parents are bohemian artists and neglect their children. Then the children get up to no good and have adult sadnesses and regret. The story wasn’t bad, per se, and it had some suspense driven by a dangling story element alluded to in the beginning, but I found myself distracted through most of the book and only really into it at the end.

I don’t know anything about Cuba and was interested to pick up Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. The premise is as follows: Marisol’s grandmother was an exile from Cuba. When her grandmother died, Marisol was tasked with smuggling her ashes back to Cuba to be scattered. While the story felt like others I have read, it was a decent read – nothing too heavy – and worth grabbing for the summer.