Hello and happy Monday! How, how, how is it already the last Monday in June!? Summer needs to slow its roll!
With summer, comes a bit more time to read. Last week, we were in Florida, so I had a little more reading time. We spent a few days in Siesta Key before going to Orlando for Hadley’s last volleyball tournament of club season. I will say that the volleyball tournament provided some long days, so I didn’t get to read as much as I do when we’re on a typical vacation. Anyway, it was still a good month of reading…
(and, y’all, this post is my 1500th blog post! That seems like a “big” milestone, and since I love reading so much, I’m glad the milestone is a book related post!)
{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}
Our Last Summer on the Vineyard
Summary:
After suffering through her first year of graduate school at Columbia following her senator father’s death, Betsy Whiting is hoping to spend the summer with her boyfriend…and hopefully end the summer as his fiancée. Instead, her mother—a longtime feminist and leader in the women’s movement—calls Betsy and her sisters back home to Martha’s Vineyard, announcing that they need to sell their beloved summer house to pay off their father’s debts.
When Betsy arrives on the island a week later, she must reckon with her strained familial relationships, a long-ago forbidden romance, and the complicated legacy of her parents, who divided the family even as they did good for the world.
Following a dual timeline between 1965 and 1978, and filled with the vibrant, sunlit nostalgia of the cherished New England vacation setting, Our Last Vineyard Summer poignantly captures two generations of women navigating love, loss, and womanhood while trying to find the courage to stand up for what they believe in—and the strength to decide if the home they once loved is worth saving.
Quick Thoughts:
This was the first book I read on my “Summer Reading List,” and I couldn’t have loved it more! I’ve also read All the Summers in Between by Foster, and I enjoyed that one too. This book is historical fiction, so I figured I’d like the book, but I loved it. I always love when the plot goes from past to present which keeps my attention. There’s love, drama, complicated relationships, secrets and more.
Fave quotes:
- “Women find a way to protect the people they love.”
- “She liked the idea that memories, whether soft of sharp, shaped us like the ocean shaped the contours of the beach.”
- “Books didn’t just transport you to faraway places…They could sharpen your identity and remind you who you aspired to be.”
- “Mothers can’t just stop doing their job because we have a bad day or even a bad year.”
Rating:
His & Hers
Summary:
There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.
When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.
Quick Thoughts:
Travis and I watched His & Hers on Netflix a few months ago. It wasn’t until after we finished the series that I realized it was based on a book. So, I immediately wanted to read the book for comparison. The waitlist was long at the library, and then I read half of it before getting side tracked. I finished this month, and I’m so glad I did.
I enjoyed this mystery/thriller as much as I did the series.
The book is in London not Georgia, and the ending seemed a smidge different, but I can’t remember all the details from the series.
If you like thriller books, this one had lots of twists and turns as well as a surprise ending.
Rating:
Mad Mabel:
Summary:
Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick is eighty-one years old. She’s lived on her idyllic street, Kenny Lane, for sixty years–longer than anyone else. Aside from being a curmudgeon who minds everyone else’s business, few would suspect that Elsie has a past that she has worked exceedingly hard at concealing. Because when it comes to murder, no one ever suspects little girls or old ladies. And Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, once a little girl and now an old lady, has a strange history of people in her life coming to a foul end.
When a new little girl (talkative, curious, nosy) moves into the neighborhood and stops at nothing to befriend Elsie, her carefully-constructed life threatens to come crashing down as the secrets in Elsie’s past start coming to light. Who was “Mad Mabel” fifty years ago? Who is Elsie Fitzpatrick today? And if the past has a habit of repeating itself, who has the most to lose?
Quick Thoughts:
I’ve read quite a few books by Sally Hepworth, and I couldn’t wait for this one to be published. Also, who am I reading two thriller books in one month? Thriller/mystery used to be my favorite genre before I really got into historical fiction.
Anyway, just like with most Hepworth books, the characters are so unique. Mabel was a hoot! She’s the quintessential grumpy neighbor who wants nothing to do with her neighbors…which means they are all in her business. ha!
We learn about Mabel’s childhood which is filled with drama and tragedy, and of course that comes into play in her present day life.
I loved all the (present day) relationships in the book, and the ending couldn’t have been more perfect. I think Mad Mabel will be a top read for me in 2026.
Summer State of Mind:
Summary:
After the worst day in her professional life, burnt-out NICU nurse Daisy Stevens runs to Cape Carolina, North Carolina, looking for a new life—and possibly new romance. On her first day at her “simpler” job, high school baseball coach Mason Thaysden discovers an abandoned baby, sending ripples through the entire tight-knit town of Cape Carolina.
Mason is still struggling to reconcile the scars of the injury that kept him out of the big leagues, stuck in his hometown, and searching for a way out. This newcomer and the child they’ve saved together might be just the motivation he needs to stay put. Sparks fly as Mason acquaints Daisy with Cape Carolina, introducing her to his friends and family, including his batty Aunt Tilley, who is looking for relief from long-buried family secrets and her own fresh start.
But as Daisy becomes increasingly attached to this abandoned child, and begins facing her own demons in the process, a startling discovery is made that threatens to rip the entire town of Cape Carolina apart, placing Daisy, Mason, and Tilley in the center of the storm.
Quick Thoughts:
Ugh… I hate to say it, but I didn’t like this book much at all…which is rare for me to say. I’d been “warned” as I’d read unfavorable reviews on other blogs, but I’ve read nine of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s books, so I had to see for myself about this one. It was just so predictable, there were so many topics (and some seemed unrealistic), and there were many cheesy parts.
Shay’s post is spot on (FYI – there are spoilers in the post). From her post, “Not to be too picky here, but this book never felt “summery”, so I was confused by the title. It took place before/after Easter.”
That being said, I did enjoy the author’s note…Woodson Harvey says, “What is this book really about?” So, I definitely wanted to see her thoughts… She continues, “This book is about family, sure. And love. And unlikely friendship. But really, it’s about how, sometimes, our past wounds heal when we least expect it, how the people whose paths cross with ours might change our lives in ways we never could have imagined, and the pure joy of finding, at long last, where we belong. But, most of all, it’s a reminder that no matter the season, if we dig deep, we can always find that beautiful, glorious Summer State of Mind.
So, with that, she clarifies about the title, and I appreciate reading her perspective on what she wants the reader to take from the book, but it was still a miss for me.
Rating:
I should probably give this a 2 or 2.5, but I’d feel bad doing so. haha…and the author’s note helped me re-evaluate my thoughts a bit.
Our Italian Summer:
Summary:
Workaholic, career-obsessed Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her relationship with her teenage daughter, Allegra, and the two have become practically strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with a new crowd and is arrested for drug possession, Francesca gives in to her mother’s wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. What she never expected was to be faced with the choice of a lifetime. . . .
Allegra wants to make her grandmother happy, but she hates the idea of forced time with her mother and vows to fight every step of the ridiculous tour, until a young man on the verge of priesthood begins to show her the power of acceptance, healing, and the heartbreaking complications of love.
Sophia knows her girls are in trouble. A summer filled with the possibility for change is what they all desperately need. Among the ruins of ancient Rome, the small churches of Assisi, and the rolling hills of Tuscany, Sophia hopes to show her girls that the bonds of family are everything, and to remind them that they can always lean on one another, before it’s too late.
Quick Thoughts:
I listened to this book, and it was long! The audio length was 13 hours.
This book was ok. I think I “struggle” with romance books because they are predictable and can be cheesy.
I did like the three different female story lines…from a teenager to mother to grandmother. The Italian setting was lovely, but it wasn’t until after the first 25% of the book that they finally made it to Italy. I felt like some of the ideas were far-fetched, and it really did feel unnecessarily long.
Rating:
Overall, 3.5 but a 3 because it was too long…and didn’t need to be!
Summer Reading Update:
- Read: Our Last Vineyard Summer, Our Italian Summer, Summer State of Mind
- Currently Reading: People We Meet on Vacation (I started this one while on vacation, and I’m really enjoying it!…I want to watch the movie after I finish the book)
- On my Kindle: Down with the Shipmans, The Sandy Page Bookshop
- Waitlist: Our Pefect Storm
I can’t wait to read more great books in July!
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