This month, I have read a few 5 star books so far and I’m excited to share them with you here. It’s almost the end of the month but there is a slight chance I’ll finish another 5 star read before the end (after I write this post) – in that case it will be included in my next wrap up post! You can see the first half of my June reading here and I will share the rest of my June reads next week. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.
Title: The Beach Trap
Author: Ali Brady
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Berkley, 6/14/22
Source: Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
The Beach Trap was a highly anticipated read for me and I loved it so much! Ali Brady is a pseudonym for Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey, both of whom I am friends with on Instagram. I was thrilled to be able to read their joint debut.
“When twelve-year-olds Kat Steiner and Blake O’Neill meet at Camp Chickawah, they have an instant connection. But everything falls apart when they learn they’re not just best friends—they’re also half sisters. Confused and betrayed, the girls break off all contact. Fifteen years later, when their father dies suddenly, Kat and Blake discover he’s left them a joint inheritance: the family beach house in Destin, Florida. The two sisters are immediately at odds. Blake, who has recently been demoted from regular nanny to dog nanny, wants to sell the house, while social media influencer Kat is desperate to hold on to the place where she lived so many happy memories. Kat and Blake reluctantly join forces to renovate the dilapidated house, with the understanding that Kat will try to buy Blake out at the end of the summer. The women clash as Blake’s renovation plans conflict with Kat’s creative vision; meanwhile, each sister finds herself drawn into a summer romance. As the weeks pass, the two women realize the most difficult project they face this summer will be coming to grips with their shared past—and learning how to become sisters.”
“The point of life is to be alive in the world, to feel every emotion, even the messy and painful ones.” In The Beach Trap, Blake and Kat are half sisters who are reunited after their father passes away and leaves them his beach house in Destin, FL. Both women have struggles due to their relationship (or lack there of) with their father and although he wasn’t the best guy, leaving them the house jointly was kind of amazing of him. Because their relationship with each other needed healing. I loved that this was a sister story, plus each of them found a potential love interest in Destin as well. Add in a dog, a cute child, and the beach location and you have a perfect summer read!
Title: Meant To Be Mine
Author: Hannah Orenstein
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Atria Books, 6/7/22
Source: Swap
Why I Read It: Jewish themes, sounded good
My Rating: 5 Stars
I had to swap to get a copy of this and it was a highly anticipated own voices Jewish book. This was a quick and sweet read that reminded me of Just Haven’t Met You Yet. Edie’s grandma predicts when she will meet her soulmate so she puts all her hopes into a man she meets that day. But is he the right man?
“What if you knew exactly when you’d meet the love of your life? Edie Meyer knows. When her Grandma Gloria was a young woman, she had a vision of the exact day she would meet her soul mate—and then Grandpa Ray showed up. Since then, Gloria has accurately predicted the day every single member of the family has met their match. Edie’s day arrives on June 24, 2022, when she’s twenty-nine years old. She has been waiting for it half her life. That morning, she boards an airplane to her twin sister’s surprise engagement, and when a handsome musician sits beside her, she knows it’s meant to be. But fate comes with more complications than Edie expected and she can’t fight the nagging suspicion that her perfect guy doesn’t have perfect timing. After a tragedy and a shocking revelation rock Edie’s carefully constructed world, she’s forced to consider whether love chooses us, as simple as destiny, or if we choose it ourselves.”
I really enjoyed this read and by the way, I never realized that Mah Jongg is a Jewish thing!
Title: This Time Tomorrow
Author: Emma Straub
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio, 5/17/22
Source: Audio Publisher
Why I Read It: Sounded good
My Rating: 5 Stars
Time travel is something I’ve loved in books in the past and this is the best I’ve read in awhile! I loved all the 90s and NYC references – it even referenced my favorite episode of 90210! Alice time jumps to her 16th birthday and tries to save her father from illness. Their relationship was the main focus of the story.
“On the eve of her 40th birthday, Alice’s life isn’t terrible. She likes her job, even if it isn’t exactly the one she expected. She’s happy with her apartment, her romantic status, her independence, and she adores her lifelong best friend. But her father is ailing, and it feels to her as if something is missing. When she wakes up the next morning she finds herself back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn’t just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it’s her dad: the vital, charming, 40-something version of her father with whom she is reunited. Now armed with a new perspective on her own life and his, some past events take on new meaning. Is there anything that she would change if she could?”
I loved that Alice played with the things she did in the past to try to change her future in different ways. I really loved this book and need a print copy now!
Title: The Lies I Tell
Author: Julie Clark
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark, 6/21/22
Source: Book of the Month
Why I Read It: Sounded good
My Rating: 5 Stars
I signed up to get this from the publisher and from a book tour, but neither chose me, so I picked it from Book of the Month and I’m glad I did! It is about Meg, a con artist with a taste for the vigilante and Kat, who wants to track Meg down and expose her after one of Meg’s plots changed Kat’s life.
“Meg Williams. Maggie Littleton. Melody Wilde. Different names for the same person, depending on the town, depending on the job. She’s a con artist who erases herself to become whoever you need her to be―a college student. A life coach. A real estate agent. Nothing about her is real. She slides alongside you and tells you exactly what you need to hear, and by the time she’s done, you’ve likely lost everything. Kat Roberts has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat’s long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg’s true target is.”
Meg’s mom taught her that “two women working together are a force to be reckoned with” and this is something I love to see in a book!
Title: The Bodyguard
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, 7/19/22
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Why I Read It: Favorite Author
My Rating: 5 Stars
I’m not sure if the publisher is granting my wish for this book so I may be getting it from Book of the Month as well! Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors and this may be my new favorite by her. Hannah and Jack make the cutest couple ever and I’m now an official fan of regular person plus celebrity rom coms.
“She’s got his back. Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka “bodyguard”), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker. He’s got her heart. Jack Stapleton’s a household name―captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid. They’ve got a secret. When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah―against her will and her better judgment―finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it. What could possibly go wrong??? Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.”
I thought Jack’s family story was so well done and I love how the author makes her characters feel like your friends. I highly recommend this one!
Title: Love on the Brain
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 8/23/22
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Why I Read It: Favorite Author
My Rating: 5 Stars
I couldn’t wait any longer to read Ali Hazelwood’s new release! She writes women in STEM plus falling in love so well. Bee reunites with her grad school nemesis Levi, who seems to be a jerk but actually really likes Bee. There is also a sort of You’ve Got Mail thing going on between Bee and her unknown Twitter friend!
“Like an avenging, purple-haired Jedi bringing balance to the mansplained universe, Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project—a literal dream come true after years scraping by on the crumbs of academia—Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward. Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. And sure, he caught her in his powerfully corded arms like a romance novel hero when she accidentally damseled in distress on her first day in the lab. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school—archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away. Now, her equipment is missing, the staff is ignoring her, and Bee finds her floundering career in somewhat of a pickle. Perhaps it’s her occipital cortex playing tricks on her, but Bee could swear she can see Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas…devouring her with those eyes. And the possibilities have all her neurons firing. But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?”
While there is a bit of science talk in this book it didn’t take me out of the story too much. The one thing that bothered me was that there seemed to be a piece that wasn’t resolved regarding Bee’s secret Twitter identity, but either I missed it or it will hopefully be fixed in the final copy. If you liked The Love Hypothesis, I’m sure you’ll love this one too!
Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Harper Audio, 5/3/22
Source: Library Audio
Why I Read It: Sounded good
My Rating: 5 Stars
When I heard the word curmudgeon applied to a character in this book, I knew I had to pick it up! I got the audio from the library and it was very well done, but I do need to get a print copy now too.
“After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.”
I loved how the strands of this story came together in the end. The synopsis doesn’t mention the 3rd character, Cameron, who is a 30 year old looking for his father in Sowell Bay. His friendship with Tova as well as how they unite with Marcellus makes for a wonderful read.
Title: Shmutz
Author: Felicia Berliner
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books, 7/19/22
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Why I Read It: Jewish theme
My Rating: 5 Stars
When I first heard about the book Shmutz by Felicia Berliner, I was concerned that it would be yet another story that leans into the “religious Jews are oppressed” trope, as this is a book about a young women living in a very strict Hasidic community. I was pleased that while life in the community is shown as sheltered and not without difficulties, Raizl did not want to leave. Rather, she wanted to stay and be herself within the community.
“Like the other women in her Brooklyn Hasidic community, Raizl expects to find a husband through an arranged marriage. Unlike the other women, Raizl has a secret. With a hidden computer to help her complete her college degree, she falls down the slippery slope of online pornography. As Raizl dives deeper into the world of porn at night, her daytime life begins to unravel. Between combative visits with her shrink to complicated arranged dates, Raizl must balance her growing understanding of her sexuality with the more conventional expectations of the family she loves.”
I appreciated the description of how, when Raizl received a computer for school, she was able to stumble into inappropriate internet content. She didn’t set out to find it but her natural curiosity about the things she was never taught led her there. It was understandable how an addiction could easily develop. I thought her discovery of her sexuality was important and portrayed positively. I was left wondering how she will move on from her internet use and whether her husband will understand her needs. The ending was a little ambiguous and makes us wonder about how Raizl is doing now. As a side note, I have seen this book compared to Milk Fed, and while they both include religious Jews, I felt that this book portrayed the community more accurately, while Milk Fed was misleading when it explained some of the laws. This does have a similar feel to that book though. There is a lot of Yiddish in this book and it does contain a glossary, but I was impressed with how much of it I understood! Shmutz itself is a Yiddish word meaning dirt.
Title: Every Summer After
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 5/10/22
Source: Giveaway win
Why I Read It: Bookstagram made me do it
My Rating: 5 Stars
While as a rule I generally don’t love second chance romances, the way this one was written drew me into the story and made me believe in and love the characters. As kids, Percy and Sam were best friends. They grew into more as they got older, but now haven’t seen each other in many years. When Sam’s mother dies, Percy returns to the lakeside town where they spent their summers and reunites with both Sam and his older brother Charlie.
“They say you can never go home again, and for Persephone Fraser, ever since she made the biggest mistake of her life a decade ago, that has felt too true. Instead of glittering summers on the lakeshore of her childhood, she spends them in a stylish apartment in the city, going out with friends, and keeping everyone a safe distance from her heart. Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without. For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart. When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.”
Many people mention that this book is similar to Christina Lauren’s Love and Other Words, which happens to be a favorite of mine as well. This book also flashes back to the past and lets us get to know the characters as they get to know each other. I predicted why Percy and Sam broke up and I was able to believe in their reunion in the present. This book takes place in Canada, which was fun, having just visited there myself!
This is definitely the most 5 star reads I have had in a month in awhile and I don’t know how I will choose a favorite! Come back next week for the rest of my June reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?