It's summer break, y'all! And that means it's time for all the books...or at least as many as I can reasonably read.
If you've been around the blog for awhile, then you'll know that despite my best efforts, my TBR list is constantly growing. In fact, in the face of so many unread titles, choosing what to read next can sometimes be overwhelming. That's why last summer, I sat down and made a summer reading list. You know, like the ones schools used to do but for adults and much more personalized.
Going through the titles in my Kindle library as well as the unread books on my physical bookshelves, helped me to not only remember what books I'd been interested in reading but also got me excited about what I already had. I chose 10 books to help focus my reading that summer, and it worked. I read all but four of the books on that first list...and all four of those books are making reappearances this year. Two are part of my One Woman Book Club for this year, and the other two really piqued my interest when I was going through my lists.
Almost every book on this list is available on Kindle Unlimited, which is my most-used subscription by far. At just $11.99 per month, it's extremely affordable and gives me access to thousands of titles. They've also increased the borrow limit to 20 books at a time. I've been using a Kindle Paperwhite since 2021. Because I am a Prime member as well, I have access to what's called Amazon First Reads, which allows me to choose one early-release title each month; I don't always participate in this promotion, but quite a few of the books in my Kindle library came through it.
This summer's reading list is a bit longer than last year's. Summer officially lasts until mid-September, but I decided to follow the same schedule as meteorologists and set my cutoff with the unofficial end of the summer season - Labor Day weekend. There are fifteen books total, including my book club picks for June, July, and August. Let me know if you add any of these titles to your own TBR!
Author: Barbara O'Neal
This is my June book club pick. It was part of last summer's reading list, and I'm excited to dive into it. For the past fifteen years, Kit has believed her sister, Josie, to be dead. Then, she sees Josie in the background of live television coverage of a night club fire in New Zealand. So that's where Kit goes, reliving memories of her past along the way. To reunite, the sisters must unearth long-buried secrets and face the devastating truth that's kept them apart all these years.
Author: Susana Lopez Rubio
This historical romance is my July book club pick. Set in the late 1940s in Cuba, the story revolves around Patricio and Gloria. Patricio has managed to secure a job as a runner at El Encanto, a luxurious department store that caters to Hollywood stars, politicians, and pre-revolutionary Cuba's wealthiest power players, including notorious mobster Cesar Vades and his beautiful, young wife, Gloria. What follows is a dangerous love affair that spans half a century.
Author: Charlie Holmberg
My August book club pick is by one of my favorite authors and was an Amazon first read pick several years ago that I never got around to reading. It's a historical fiction book set during the Gold Rush. Gentry and her siblings have been abandoned by their father whose gone West to California hoping to strike it rich. Struggling to survive, Gentry accepts help from a stranger when strange natural disasters begin wreaking havoc on the land. Winn can see and control the magic, but his powers don't seem to be working, and soon Gentry will be forced to make an impossible choice to save her family.
Author: Catherine Mann
So first, let me say that the Amazon First Reads for June were difficult to choose from, but this novel by Catherine Mann has some similar parallels to The Last of the Moon Girls, which I loved, so it was really a no brainer of a choice. When Bailey Rae's adoptive aunt dies, she plans to settle the estate and move to Myrtle Beach where she plans to open a food truck using recipes from her aunt's cookbook. However, those plans are put on hold when a young mother arrives on her doorstep with a copy of the same cookbook. Embedded inside is a code promising safe harbor for desperate women on the run. Now, Bailey Rae has new plan to learn who her beloved Aunt Winnie really was.
Author: Julianne Maclean
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that this particular book has been on not one but two of my very own summer reading lists (2024 Summer Reading List & 2023 Summer Reading List), and I still haven't read it. I don't want to jinx myself, but surely third time's the charm? This book is about Olivia and Melanie, two women connected by the Bermuda Triangle. Olivia's husband, Dean, is a private pilot who's been missing ever since his plan disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle. Melanie is a particle physicist who had been studying the phenomenon up until her mother's death. A shocking discovery links the two women together and sheds new light on Olivia's husband's disappearance.
Author: Rhys Bowen
This book has been sitting in my TBRs since 2021 and was also part of last year's summer book list, so again, maybe third time's the charm for this one, too? Caroline's great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a final whisper: Venice. Her final request is for her niece to scatter her ashes in the city that she loved. The sketchbook and keys will guide Caroline on a journey to unlock the secrets of Lettie's life in war-torn Italy.
Author: Hester Fox
This book is straight from my bookshelf. I'm not sure how long it's been waiting for me to read it; at the very least I can tell you that it has never been featured in on the blog, so I would guess a year or less. Augusta Podos has landed her dream job at Harlowe House, a historic New England home that's been turned into a small museum. When she discovers a reference to Margaret Harlowe, a daughter who's been all but expunged from the historical record, Augusta can't ignore the mystery. As she digs deeper into Margaret's life, a dark power awakens.
Author: Bonnie Garmus
Yes, I know. I'm late to the party on this one, which is usually not like me when it comes to books. I'm normally the person who reads things before they explode in popularity, so I feel like I'm way behind with this one. In fact, I have such high hopes for this historical fiction, I bought it outright. Elizabeth Zott is a chemist working on an all-male team at Hastings Research Institute in the early 1960s where she begins a relationship with one of her coworkers that doesn't work out. A few years later, Elizabeth is a single mother and the reluctant star of Supper at Six, a popular cooking show.
Author: Lisa Jewell
This one caught my eye on a recent trip to the bookstore. You might have guessed that we go there quite often - my daughter loves to read, too, and her daddy can almost always be counted on to buy her a book or two. Anyway, this book has an older protagonist but a modern story, which I think will be a refreshing break from my usual tropes. Forty-five-year-old Alix Summer is a popular podcaster. While celebrating her birthday, she meets Josie Fair, who is also celebrating her birthday. A few days later, they meet again, outside Alix's children's school. Even though Alix finds her unsettling, Josie manages to convince Alix that she would be a good subject for her podcast. Before she knows it, Josie has integrated herself into Alix's life and home...then disappears, leaving Alix the subject of her own true crime podcast.
Author: Tirzah Price
I read and absolutely loved Pride and Premeditation. It made my best books list of 2022. So when I saw there was a second book in this series that I didn't know was a series, I didn't think twice before buying it. This installment is a retelling of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The Dashwood sisters are not proper ladies: 18-year-old Elinor is an aspiring scientist while Marianne worked with their father at his private investigation firm. When their father dies, his will leaves his entire estate, including his firm, to the sisters' half-brother and his wife. The sisters are forced to move into a cramped London apartment but not before they discover poison in their father's teacup. Thus the sisters set out to bring their father's murderer to justice.
Author: Jane Healey
Anna Cavanaugh is a young widow and French teacher whose life changes when she is recruited to the Office of Strategic Services by WWI hero Major General William Donovan. The more she learns about the SSO's secret missions, the more Anna longs to be stationed on the road. Eventually she accepts a mission to go undercover in the French Resistance to help steal critical intelligence that could turn the tide of the war.
Author: Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Mia is Dom's ex-fiance, but they haven't seen each other in nearly ten years. Believing they've been given a second chance, Dom asks her out. When Mia dies on their date, Dom desperately wishes to be the chance to save her life. The next morning it seems as if Dom's wish has come true -- Mia is alive, but no matter what Dom does or changes, day after day, Mia still dies, and Dom vows that he will live through her death a thousand times if it means he can save her once.
Author: Kelly Harms
This book has been on my TBR list since 2020. Mia is a popular social media influencer with a celebrity dog and gorgeous fiance, but her off-camera life is far from perfect. After her fiance dumps her and she has to fake a wedding to satisfy her sponsors, Mia throws her phone off a cliff. Her sudden online absence doesn't go unnoticed. Paige Miller, a techie loner, hacks into Mia's account and begins impersonating her, not for herself but for her sister who idolizes Mia. Eventually, though, Paige is caught in the act, leading to real-life chaos.
Author: Rochelle B. Weinstein
Charlotte and Philip had an instant connection, but with their wedding drawing closer, Charlotte can feel Philip slipping away. When she meets Ben, she ignores the pull, but he's there for Charlotte in ways she didn't know she needed. Soon, she's torn between the love she thought she wanted and the love she knows she needs.
Author: Inglath Cooper
This book actually made my summer TBR list back in 2022. Ren is a rock star with a secret that's eating him alive, while Lizzy's husband stood her up for an anniversary trip. They end up on the same flight to Italy, with Lizzy taking a turbulence-induced tumble right into Ren's lap. There's an undeniable pull between them, and they end up traveling through Florence and Tuscany together. a trip that reminds them of who they each used to be before the lives they chose.
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