The books of July

Annie
Jul 31, 2021
10 min read

July was a very, very rainy month. With that came lots and lots of reading! Although my tan complained, I could not. I hit my highest of 10 books read this month! I could not stop. I read many of them in a day, which is nothing but a testament to great writing. I made it to a lot of books that I have wanted to read for quite a while. I finally caved and bought a kindle. I was lent a couple of great reads when I was in a spot where I hadn't packed enough for the trip. I dove headfirst into the bookstagram world. I haven't looked back.

This is my puppy, Wilbur. The Blonde Logophile's top model and part-time Tiktok sensation (14.3 million views...NBD).

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

"Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.

2) A person’s undoing

3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.

Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.

If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth-shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong."

I LOVED this book! It definitely got me out of a little bit of a drought. It also let me discover my new favorite trope -- enemies to lover! I mean, come on!

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

"In the late 1930s, civil war gripped Spain. When General Franco and his Fascists succeed in overthrowing the government, hundreds of thousands are forced to flee in a treacherous journey over the mountains to the French border. Among them is Roser, a pregnant young widow who finds her life irreversibly intertwined with Victor Dalmau, an army doctor and the brother of her deceased love. To survive, the two must unite in a marriage neither of them wants and together are sponsored by poet Pablo Neruda to embark on the SS Winnipeg along with 2,200 other refugees in search of a new life. As unlikely partners, they embrace exile and emigrate to Chile as the rest of Europe erupts in World War.

Starting over on a new continent, their trials are just beginning. Over the course of their lives, they will face test after test. But they will also find joy as they wait patiently for a day when they are exiles no more and will find friends in the most unlikely of places. Through it all, it is that hope of being reunited with their home that keeps them going. And in the end, they will find that home might have been closer than they thought all along."

I was away when I finished The Hating Game. Silly me did not pack a spare, so the equivalent of my second mother (and fellow bookworm) let me pick one from her bag. This was a beautiful story and filled my historical fiction fix.

This was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me!

We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange

(Book of the Month)

"When twenty-nine-year-old Sunday Brennan wakes up in a Los Angeles hospital, bruised and battered after a drunk driving accident she caused, she swallows her pride and goes home to her family in New York. But it's not easy. She deserted them all—and her high school sweetheart—five years before with little explanation, and they've got questions.

Sunday is determined to rebuild her life back on the east coast, even if it does mean tiptoeing around resentful brothers and an ex-fiancé. The longer she stays, however, the more she realizes they need her just as much as she needs them. When a dangerous man from her past brings her family's pub business to the brink of financial ruin, the only way to protect them is to spend all their secrets—secrets that have damaged the family for generations and will threaten everything they know about their lives. In the aftermath, the Brennan family is forced to confront painful mistakes—and ultimately find a way forward, together."

I loved this! And I was so not expecting to. I am literally praying for a sequel! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars from me, but only because I WANT MORE!!

What Made Maddy Run: The Secret Struggles and Tragic Death of an All-American Teen By Kate Fagan

"From noted ESPN commentator and journalist Kate Fagan, the heartbreaking and vital story of college athlete Madison Holleran, whose death by suicide rocked the University of Pennsylvania campus and whose life reveals with haunting detail and uncommon understanding the struggle of young people who have mental illness today.

If you scrolled through the Instagram feed of 19-year-old Maddy Holleran, you would see a perfect life: a freshman at an Ivy League school, recruited for the track team, who was also beautiful, popular, and fiercely intelligent. This was a girl who succeeded at everything she tried and who was only getting started.

But when Maddy began her long-awaited college career, her parents noticed something changed. Previously indefatigable, Maddy became withdrawn, and her thoughts centered on how she could change her life. Despite thousands of hours of practice and study, she contemplated transferring from the school that had once been her dream. When Maddy's dad, Jim, dropped her off for the first day of the spring semester, she held him a second longer than usual. That would be the last time Jim would see his daughter."

So this was a recommendation from a friend. She even gave me her copy. It literally ruined me. Like "laid all day in bed" ruined me. Everyone who has been an athlete or has struggled with dealing with pressure and mental health should read this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me.

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

"Distraction (n): an extreme agitation of the mind or emotions.

Ruthie Midona has worked the front desk at the Providence Luxury Retirement Villa for six years, dedicating her entire adult life to caring for the Villa’s residents, maintaining the property (with an assist from DIY YouTube tutorials), and guarding the endangered tortoises that live in the Villa’s gardens.

Teddy Prescott has spent the last few years partying, sleeping in late, tattooing himself when bored, and generally not taking life too seriously—something his father, who dreams of grooming Teddy into his successor, can’t understand. When Teddy needs a place to crash, his father seizes the chance to get him to grow up. He’ll let Teddy stay in one of the on-site cottages at the retirement home, but only if he works to earn his keep.

Her two wealthiest and most eccentric residents have just placed an ad (yet another!) seeking a new personal assistant to torment. The women are ninety-year-old, four-foot-tall menaces, and not one of their assistants has lasted a full week. Offering up Teddy seems like a surefire way to get rid of the tall, handsome, unnerving man who won’t stop getting under her skin.

Ruthie doesn’t count on the fact that in Teddy Prescott, the Biddies may have finally met their match. He’ll pick up Chanel gowns from the dry cleaner and cut Big Macs into bite-sized bits. He’ll do repairs around the property, make the residents laugh, and charm the entire villa. He might even remind Ruthie what it’s like to be young and fun again. But when she finds out Teddy’s father’s only fixing up the retirement home to sell it, putting everything she cares about in jeopardy, she’s left wondering if Teddy’s magic was all just a façade."

I did really like this, but it just could not beat The Hating Game for me! Still a great, great read, and Sally Thorne really does know how to deliver!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 from me!

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

(Reese's Book Club)

"This house, this place, knows all my secrets."

It is a perfect July morning, and Elle, a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three, awakens at "The Paper Palace"--the family summer place she visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different: last night, Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next twenty-four hours, Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love, Jonas if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives. As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day, we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity. Tender yet devastating, The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity, the legacies of abuse, and the crimes and misdemeanors of families."

I was really, really excited fo this book. I may have set my expectations too high, though... I really did enjoy it, but the ambiguous ending left me a little bummed out. I'm excited to see what we have for AUG pick from Reese.

Rating -- ⭐️⭐️⭐️

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (TOP PICK!)

"Sometimes, it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up

— she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan — her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened."

HOLY %$&*(%)O@$)%^(#$%$)^#! I read this in a day. After a couple of weeks, I still don't think I can accurately describe how it made me feel. So here's a gif.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -- easiest rating I have ever given.

The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan

"Kathleen is eighty years old. After she has a run-in with an intruder, her daughter wants her to move into a residential home. But she’s not having any of it. What she craves—what she needs—is an adventure.

Liza is drowning under the daily stress of family life. The last thing she needs is her mother jetting off on a wild holiday, making Liza long for a solo summer of her own.

Martha is having a quarter-life crisis. Unemployed, unloved, and uninspired, she can’t get her life together. But she knows something has to change.

When Martha sees Kathleen’s advertisement for a driver and companion to share an epic road trip across America with, she decides this job might be the answer to her prayers. She’s not the world’s best driver, but anything has to be better than living with her parents. And traveling with a stranger? No problem. Anyway, how much trouble can one eighty-year-old woman be?

As these women embark on the journey of a lifetime, they all discover it’s never too late to start over.

As these women embark on the journey of a lifetime, they all discover it's never too late to start over...."

A great tale of three women. I really enjoyed this, and it makes the perfect summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (BOOK of the month add-on)

"Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready, to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a genuine connection to the legendary star. Still, as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways."

So this has been on my TBR forever. I finally added it as an add-on for my BOTM. My mom and sister kept stealing it, so I didn't get to it till the end of the month. It was so unbelievably beautiful, and I now get the incredible hype over this book!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 from me!!

The Soulmate equation by Christina Lauren

"Single mom Jess Davis is a data and statistics wizard, but no amount of number crunching can convince her to step back into the dating world. Raised by her grandparents—who now help raise her seven-year-old daughter, Juno—Jess has been left behind too often to feel comfortable letting anyone in. After all, her father’s never been around, her hard-partying mother disappeared when she was six, and her ex decided he wasn’t “father material” before Juno was even born. Jess holds her loved ones close, but constantly working to stay afloat is hard...and lonely.

But then Jess hears about GeneticAlly, a buzzy new DNA-based matchmaking company that’s predicted to change dating forever. Finding a soulmate through DNA? The reliability of numbers: This Jess understands.

At least she thought she did until her test shows an unheard-of 98% compatibility with another subject in the database: GeneticAlly’s founder, Dr. River Pena. This is one number she can’t wrap her head around because she already knows Dr. Pena. The stuck-up, stubborn man is, without a doubt, not her soulmate. But GeneticAlly has a proposition: Get to know him, and we’ll pay you. Jess—who is barely making ends meet—is in no position to turn it down, despite her skepticism about the project and her dislike for River. As the pair are dragged from one event to the next as the “Diamond” pairing that could make GeneticAlly a mint in stock prices, Jess begins to realize that there might be more to the scientist—and the science behind a soulmate—than she thought.

Funny, warm, and full of heart, The Soulmate Equation proves that you can never calculate the delicate balance between fate and choice."

I had wanted to read this forever. Having a biology degree, I really enjoyed all the DNA talk and analytics. It was a super cute read, though, and made me excited for the other Christina Lauren reads on my TBR! Plus, it was my first read on my brand new Kindle Paperwhite!

My rating is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️