2 Book Lovers Reviews
The Girls of Summer was
one of my anticipated reads
for the month of June, and it
did not disappoint.
I was looking forward to
spending a few hundred
pages on a literary vacation
to a sunny Greek island,
but this book was so much
more than just a girls’ trip
for some summer fun.
Alternating between Now
and Then, the reader gets
a chance to not only see what
transpired on the island while
Rachel was seventeen, but also what her life had become in her thirties, including her memories of that youthful time on the island.
June's Anticipated Reads!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been compiling my summer reading list for weeks! I’m longing for the beautiful sunny days, and that also means that I’m longing for the days of sitting outside by the pool, sipping a cold beverage, and immersing myself in a wonderful book. Yes, that’s what summer is to me. So, here are a few of the June releases that stood out to me.
- June 6 – The Girls of Summer – By Katie Bishop
I read this one, and it was a relevant page-turner!
Read my review.
Rachel has been in love with Alistair for fifteen years. Even though she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her.
Rachel and Alistair’s summer love affair on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island has consumed her since she was seventeen, obliterating everything in its wake. But as Rachel becomes increasingly obsessed with reliving the events of so long ago, she reconnects with the other girls who were similarly drawn to life on the island, where the nights were long, the alcohol was free-flowing and everyone acted in ways they never would at home. And as she does so, dark and deeply suppressed secrets about her first love affair begin to rise to the surface, as well as the truth about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man, who controlled so much more than she could have ever realized.
- June 6 – Same Time Next Summer – By Annabel Monaghan
This one is coined as “The ultimate summer nostalgia read!” So, of course I want to read it!
Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?
- June 6 – We Could Be So Good – By Cat Sebastian
This could be so good!
Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy…
- June 6 – Charm City Rocks: A Love Story – By Matthew Norman
I love novels that are set in the music world, so naturally I was drawn to this one. I’ve also read some fantastic reviews of it, too.
Billy Perkins is happy. And why wouldn’t he be? He loves his job as an independent music teacher and his apartment in Baltimore above a record shop called Charm City Rocks. Most of all, he loves his brainy teenage son, Caleb.
Margot Hammer, on the other hand, is far from happy. The former drummer of the once-famous band Burnt Flowers, she’s now a rock-and-roll recluse living alone in New York City. When a new music documentary puts Margot back in the spotlight, she realizes how much she misses her old band and the music that gave her life meaning.
Billy has always had a crush on Margot. But she’s a legitimate rock star—or, at least, she was—so he never thought he’d meet her. Until Caleb, worried that his easygoing dad might actually be lonely, cooks up a scheme to get Margot to perform at Charm City Rocks.
It’s the longest of long shots, but Margot’s label has made it clear that any publicity is an opportunity she can’t afford to miss. When their paths collide, Billy realizes that he maybe wasn’t as happy as he thought—and Margot learns that sometimes the sweetest music is a duet.
- June 13 – Love, Theoretically – By Ali Hazelwood
I adored The Love Hypothesis, so this novel set in academia is going to be on my TBR list. End of story.
- June 13 – Speak of the Devil – By Rose Wilding – Thriller! I love to have a few thrillers on my reading lists.
Seven women are gathered in a hotel room at midnight; a man's head sits in the center of the floor. They all had a motive to kill Jamie Spellman. They all swear they didn't. But in order to protect one another, they have to find out who did…
- June 15 – Old Boys – By Nick Spalding
Okay, this may not be the rock ‘n’ roll love story that I normally gravitate towards, but it looks like a fun read! This is also going to be a buddy-read for me and my blogging partner. So stay tuned for our reviews!
Will Fairweather is getting old. His back aches, his bowels misbehave if he eats spicy food and he’s completely lost his sense of rhythm. Life has taught him not to take risks, but even that hasn’t stopped his marriage hitting the rocks too. The last thing he needs is a surprise call from Red Fairweather, devil-may-care rock god—and the father Will hasn’t seen for thirty years.
If Will’s old before his time, Red’s the boy who won’t grow up…
- June 20 – The Quiet Tenant – By Clémence Michallon – Thriller!
This book has been getting a lot of hype. I must admit, it does sound intriguing, frightening, and could very well keep a reader up very late at night (with the light on, of course).
Aidan Thomas is a hard-working family man and a somewhat beloved figure in the small upstate town where he lives. He’s the kind of man who always lends a hand and has a good word for everyone. But Aidan has a dark secret he’s been keeping from everyone in town and those closest to him. He’s a kidnapper and serial killer. Aidan has murdered eight women and there’s a ninth he has earmarked for death: Rachel, imprisoned in a backyard shed, fearing for her life…
- June 20 – Seven Exes – By Lucy Vine
This sounds like a fun premise, but would you really want to revisit your exes to see if one of them was “the one?” My curiosity is piqued.
- June 20 – Play For Me – By Libby Hubscher
Even though the main character is a Red Sox fan, I won’t hold it against the book. 😉
Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for her favorite baseball team (go Red Sox!), a handsome boyfriend, and easy access to the finest cannoli in Boston. When she loses all three and the World Series to boot, she’s forced to apply for the open trainer position at an arts-focused boarding school in New Hampshire. The only available room is a glorified closet in an apartment with three guys: Jonas Voss, the aloof and attractive orchestra teacher, and his two rambunctious roommates…
- June 20 – The Spare Room – By Andrea Bartz – Domestic thriller!
I do love a domestic thriller! This one sounds like a sizzling, deadly, addictive type of read.
Kelly’s new life in Philadelphia has turned into a nightmare: She’s friendless and jobless, and the lockdown has her trapped in a tiny apartment with the man she gave up everything for, who’s just called off their wedding. The only bright spot is her newly rekindled friendship with her childhood friend Sabrina—now a glamorous bestselling author with a handsome, high-powered husband.
When Sabrina and Nathan offer Kelly an escape hatch, volunteering the spare room of their remote Virginia mansion, she jumps at the chance to run away from her old life. There, Kelly secretly finds herself falling for both her enchanting hosts—until one night, a wild and unexpected threesome leads the couple to open their marriage for her.
At first, Kelly loves being part of this risqué new world. But when she discovers that the last woman they invited into their marriage is missing, she starts to wonder if they could be dangerous . . . and if she might be next.
- June 20 – Talking at Night – By Claire Daverley
I am a sucker for these types of books. What kind of books?
A story of sudden connections, missed opportunities, the many loves we have over a lifetime--and the one that keeps us coming back, again and again, for more.
Yeah, those kind.
- June 27 – The Seven Year Slip – By Ashley Poston
I’m not sure what to say about this one, except that I want to read it!
Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.
So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.
And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.
Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future…
- June 27 – The Rachel Incident – By Caroline O’Donoghue
This novel looks like it will be filled with angst. How can I possible resist?! Stay tuned for my review!
Rachel is a student working at a bookstore when she meets James, and it’s love at first sight. Effervescent and insistently heterosexual, James soon invites Rachel to be his roommate and the two begin a friendship that changes the course of both their lives forever. Together, they run riot through the streets of Cork city, trying to maintain a bohemian existence while the threat of the financial crash looms before them.
When Rachel falls in love with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, James helps her devise a reading at their local bookstore, with the goal that she might seduce him afterwards. But Fred has other desires. So begins a series of secrets and compromises that intertwine the fates of James, Rachel, Fred, and Fred’s glamorous, well-connected, bourgeois wife.
Happy Reading!
Old Boys
By Nick Spalding
Week of June 5/23
Morgan Is My Name
By Sophie Keetch
June's Anticipated Reads!
Well, summer is here, we’ve had our first heat wave and the AC is in and running. Now it is time for the outdoor reading, whether on the deck, at the beach, or in the park, it is great to read outside. I love the fresh air and the sounds of birds singing as I enjoy my books. Hell, I may even listen to an Audible as I garden. What a great way to enjoy some fantastic-looking new books.
- June 6 – The Couples Trip – By Ulf Kvensler
An annual hiking trip in northern Sweden, what is the worst that could happen? The last time I did that was with Adam Nevill in The Ritual. Yeah, nothing went wrong there.
- June 13 – Speak of the Devil – By Rose Wilding
I love it when the synopsis of a book connects with me and gives me that familiar feeling, just from the synopsis. Speak of the Devil, when Wilding talks about the seven women who might have killed the “victim,” I’ve got “Take it Easy” playing in my mind.
- June 13 – Morgan is My Name – By Sophie Keetch
You know that I’ve been having a great time with my Greek histories from the female perspective. Oh! Look! Here is one about King Arthur and the knights of the round table, as told by Morgan Le Fay. You know she just might have a different perspective on who the good guys and the bad guys are. This is a story that needs to be told and read.
- June 15 – Old Boys – By Nick Spalding
Every time I read the synopsis for this one my mind immediately goes to Heart-Shaped Box. But this one is more about relationships. I’ve got a feeling that this is going to be a fun ride on a crazy train.
- June 15 – Howls From the Wreckage: An Anthology of Disaster Horror
For anyone who loves anthologies and disasters, this collection of stories headlined by Nick Cutter looks like just the thing.
- June 20 – Zero Days – By Ruth Ware
I’m not always big on espionage thrillers, but there is something I like about the sound of this one.
Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her.
Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery.
- June 20 – The Only One Left – Riley Sager
I’ve had some good luck with Riley Sager in the past. He writes a good thriller. This one has all the hallmarks of a good old story: a long-ago mysterious murder, an old woman in a haunted mansion, and lies, lies, lies. I’m certain that Sager will make something special with this.
- June 20 – The Edge of Sleep – By Jake Emanuel & Willie Block
This one has a few familiar things, presented differently. A handful of survivors trying to save the world – if they fall asleep, they will never wake up. Yeah, I’m intrigued.
- June 20 – Sparrow – By James Hynes
I’ve always had a soft spot for books set in ancient Rome. This one follows a boy originally from a town in Roman Britton and his life in a brothel on the Spanish coast. I have a feeling that Sparrow is really going to get into the lives of the common folk of the Late Roman Empire.
- June 20 – Night’s Edge – By Liz Kerin
This is one that I think Freud would have had a field day with. How do I escape from mommy’s monstrous grip; except mommy isn’t a figurative monster, she is a real bloodthirsty monster. This has some real potential.
- June 22 – The Good, The Bad and The History – By Jodi Taylor
The Time Machine meets Clint Eastwood, not really, but it’s a great sound bite, isn’t it? I’ve been taking small bites out of Taylor’s St. Mary’s series with her shorts; but this is a series that I would love to spend more time with. And at fourteen books, I don’t feel intimidated. Taylor just makes her stories so much fun.
- June 22 – Caesar’s Soldier (The Mark Antony Series #1) – By Alex Gough
It has been a long time since I’ve gone to battle with the men of Rome. These stories usually have great characters and comradery. Gough has gone back to the most iconic period, the transition from Republic to Empire. All the great characters are there: Caesar, Antony, Octavius. And in true modern fashion, the new perspective: Antony. This could be a great time to go back to Rome.
- June 27 – Dead Eleven – By Jimmy Juliano
There is something about this book that intrigues me, part of it is the cover (yes, they are important). The other, well, I’ll let you be the judge: …After a few days on Clifford, Willow realizes: This place is not normal. Everyone seems to be stuck in a particular day in 1994: They wear outdated clothing, avoid modern technology, and, perhaps most mystifyingly, watch the OJ Simpson car chase every evening. When she asks questions, people are evasive, but she learns one thing: Close your curtains at night...
Week of June 5/23
What he's reading!
What she's reading!