Well, I meant to do a monthly recap but June got away from me before I could recap my May books, so we get a doozy of a book review post today! Some books that I loved, some that I didn’t love, but maybe you can find a book or two to read!
- Black Cake
Amazon Synopsis: We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become?
In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.
Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?
My Review: This book was honestly a miss for me. I think dysfunctional family is not my preferred trope, because I often find myself more annoyed with the characters than feeling bad for them. This book was a great peak into the culture of Caribbean nations and found family, but otherwise the book felt slow for me.
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Amazon Synopsis: 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 a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
My Review: Well. I hated this book!!! I was surprised because One True Loves, also by Taylor Jenkins Reid, is one of my favorite books of all time. This book was about a selfish rich woman who wants a young writer to write out her story- all of the juicy details. All about her seven husbands, and which one she loved the most. Spoiler: she didn’t love any of them because it turns out she was in love with a woman who she cavorted with sometimes behind her husbands back and sometimes with their full knowledge and approval. Yeah. NOT FOR ME. There was a plot twist near the end that many people loved, but it was dark and not a happy ending.
- Book Lovers
Amazon Synopsis: One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming…
Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
My Review: This was a cute one! I love my rom-coms and that’s ok. It’s a very predictable enemies to lovers, but with an added bonus of a cute sister relationship. I also loved that they didn’t just end up abandoning the big city life in favor of life, but they decide to pursue both. That is not often shown in books if you ask me! This one is open door.
- Jewel of the Nile
Amazon Synopsis: Raised as an orphan by her aunt, Chariline has only been told a few pieces of her parents’ tragic love story. Her beautiful dark skin is proof that her father was Cushite, but she knows nothing else. While visiting her grandfather before his retirement as the Roman official in the queen’s court, Chariline overhears that her father is still alive, and discovering his identity becomes her obsession. Both her grandfather and the queen have reasons for keeping this secret, however, and forbid her quest. So when her only clues lead to Rome, Chariline sneaks on the ship of a merchant trusted by friends.
Theo is shocked to discover a stowaway on board his vessel and determines to be rid of her as soon as possible. But drawn in by Chariline’s story, he feels honor-bound to see her safely to shore, especially when it appears someone may be willing to kill for the truth she seeks.
In this transformative tale of historical fiction, bestselling author Tessa Afshar brings to life the kingdom of Cush and the Roman Empire, introducing readers to a fascinating world filled with gripping adventure, touching romance, and a host of lovable characters―including some they may recognize from the biblical book of Acts.
My Review: I read a previous book by Tessa Afshar and LOVED it. It made the New Testament biblical times come alive in my mind, and I was thinking about it for a very long time after finishing it. So I was disappointed that this one did not hit the mark. This one came across as more far-fetched and Biblically cheesy, if you know what I mean. I will for sure try another by this author because of how much I loved her other work, but this one completely missed the mark for me!
- Hang the Moon
Amazon Synopsis: Brendon Lowell loves love. It’s why he created a dating app to help people find their one true pairing and why he’s convinced “the one” is out there, even if he hasn’t met her yet. Or… has he? When his sister’s best friend turns up in Seattle unexpectedly, Brendon jumps at the chance to hang out with her. He’s crushed on Annie since they were kids, and the stars have finally aligned, putting them in the same city at the same time.
Annie booked a spur-of-the-moment trip to Seattle to spend time with friends before moving across the globe. She’s not looking for love, especially with her best friend’s brother. Annie remembers Brendon as a sweet, dorky kid. Except, the 6-foot-4 man who shows up at her door is a certified Hot Nerd and Annie… wants him? Oh yes.
Getting involved would be a terrible idea—her stay is temporary and he wants forever—but when Brendon learns Annie has given up on dating, he’s determined to prove that romance is real. Taking cues from his favorite rom-coms, Brendon plans to woo her with elaborate dates straight out of Nora Ephron’s playbook. The clock is ticking on Annie’s time in Seattle, and Brendon’s starting to realize romance isn’t just flowers and chocolate. But maybe real love doesn’t need to be as perfect as the movies… as long as you think your partner hung the moon.
My Review: I had a lot of “misses” in May, and this was another one. It was a typical rom-com, but so many things just didn’t connect. Why does the dude choose her for his social experiment? And what exactly is his social experiment- that plot point seemed to be completely tossed to the side as this story went on. I also discovered this was the second in a series, with the first being a novel with same sex romance. I will not be reading the 3rd in a series because this was sub-par romance to me!
- Homesteading from Scratch
Amazon Synopsis: Guiding readers from desire to full-blown off-the-grid living—and everything in between—this book covers farming, animal husbandry, food preparation, homeschooling, fiber arts, and even marketing. It provides inspiration from other homesteaders, with operations from small to large, who have made a go of it, outlining their successes and failures throughout the process. It helps to democratize the homesteading movement, by providing “ins” for nearly every level of dedication, from the container gardener to full-time farmers. It provides the knowledge necessary to discover homesteading as a movement and as a lifestyle.
My Review: Since we bought our homestead in May, I have been enjoying reading through various homestead books. Most of them are great! I read what is really relevant to us now, but skim the aspects of homesteading that are way over our heads. I will probably need to continuously revisit these books to give myself little refreshers on how to do different things around the homestead. I recommend this for anyone who is interested in a homestead of any size!
- I Must Betray You
Amazon Synopsis: Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.
Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.
Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?
My Review: This was SO GOOD! I felt deeply drawn to these characters and what they were living through, and I kept googling to see how the events in the book related to the real life events of the time. This is marketed YA so some of the review say it is a bit juvenile and doesn’t go into much depth. I can see where they get that from, but overall I did not feel that at all. I’m always here for historical fiction that is not set in WWII, and this one was fantastic!
- Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
Amazon Synopsis: What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. These days, as New York Times best-selling author Mary Roach discovers, the answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.
Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and “danger tree” faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.
Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to “problem” wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem―and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat.
My Review: I almost returned this to the library before reading it, because I’m not all that interested in nature studies. But when I cracked the book open and started reading, I was HOOKED. I loved this book. It was funny, informative and just the perfect palette cleanser because I had never read a book like it! She writes all about how humanity and nature sometimes clash…and what we can do about it, or is there really anything we can do about it? Fascinating. I loved this one!
- The Roughest Draft
Amazon Synopsis: Three years ago, Katrina Freeling and Nathan Van Huysen were the brightest literary stars on the horizon, their cowritten book topping bestseller lists. But on the heels of their greatest success, they ended their partnership on bad terms, for reasons neither would divulge to the public. They haven’t spoken since, and never planned to, except they have one final book due on contract.
Facing crossroads in their personal and professional lives, they’re forced to reunite. The last thing they ever thought they’d do again is hole up in the tiny Florida town where they wrote their previous book, trying to finish a new manuscript quickly and painlessly. Working through the reasons they’ve hated each other for the past three years isn’t easy, especially not while writing a romantic novel.
While passion and prose push them closer together in the Florida heat, Katrina and Nathan will learn that relationships, like writing, sometimes take a few rough drafts before they get it right.
My Review: Another rom-com about people who write books. Hmm, I sense a theme (Book Lovers, The Roughest Draft, Beach Read). This is also a friends to lovers to enemies story. I enjoyed this one greatly and found the writing style to be just delightful.
- Little Town on the Prairie
This book does not have an Amazon synopsis, so I will write my own: The Ingalls find themselves living in town and the girls are growing into young ladies. If you haven’t read the Little House on the Prairie series, its time for you to read them! Delightful!!! Tera and I (and Kiah for the most part) have been listening to the entire series on audio and we are loving them all. I forgot how fun these books are and how inspirational they are at the same time.
- The Paris Apartment
Amazon Synopsis: Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.
The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.
The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge
Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.
My Review: Another miss for me! I had liked a previous book by this author, and although I’m not a fan of thrillers, I do not mind page turning mystery, so I thought this one could also be for me. But it was just too far-fetched and easy to figure out. I didn’t feel like I needed to turn the pages to FIGURE IT OUT because with each chapter I was thinking “Huh? How does that work?” I did finish it and it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever read, but also not something I couldn’t put down.
- God Bless This Mess: Learning to Live and Love Through Life’s Best (and Worst) Moments
Amazon Synopsis: Suddenly in the spotlight, twenty-four-year-old Hannah Brown realized that she wasn’t sure what she wanted. After years of competing in beauty pageants, and then starring on The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars, she had become incredibly visible. There she was, in her early twenties, with millions around the world examining and weighing in on her every decision. She found herself wondering what it would mean to live on her terms. What it would mean to stop seeking approval from others and decide—for the first time—what it was she wanted from her own life.
My Review: Ah, the Bachelor/Bachlorette show. Thankfully, my desire to watch and follow the show is no more. Still, I love to read the real life memoirs of people who have been on the show. It’s fascinating to me! I did enjoy reading this book, and she did dish out some behind the scenes information about various people in the franchise. I still think that she has a little bit of maturing to do, as there was a fair bit of whining about problems that really could be considered “first world problems”. I did like the book and appreciate an introspective share of all the events and thoughts and feelings of this one sweet person.
- Happy-Go-Lucky
Amazon Synopsis: Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, David Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. As Happy-Go-Lucky opens, he is learning to shoot guns with his sister, visiting muddy flea markets in Serbia, buying gummy worms to feed to ants, and telling his nonagenarian father wheelchair jokes.
But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most. To cope, he walks for miles through a nearly deserted city, smelling only his own breath. He vacuums his apartment twice a day, fails to hoard anything, and contemplates how sex workers and acupuncturists might be getting by during quarantine.
As the world gradually settles into a new reality, Sedaris too finds himself changed. His offer to fix a stranger’s teeth rebuffed, he straightens his own, and ventures into the world with new confidence. Newly orphaned, he considers what it means, in his seventh decade, no longer to be someone’s son. And back on the road, he discovers a battle-scarred America: people weary, storefronts empty or festooned with Help Wanted signs, walls painted with graffiti reflecting the contradictory messages of our time: Eat the Rich. Trump 2024. Black Lives Matter.
In Happy-Go-Lucky, David Sedaris once again captures what is most unexpected, hilarious, and poignant about these recent upheavals, personal and public, and expresses in precise language both the misanthropy and desire for connection that drive us all. If we must live in interesting times, there is no one better to chronicle them than the incomparable David Sedaris.
My Review: I grabbed this from a Little Free Library on our trip back from Florida, and read it on the plane. It was a collection of essays- some I liked, some I hated, and some were just alright. David Sedaris is truly a talented writer and he intersperses humor with honesty to make a deep connection with his readers. He can be very crass and some content was a little much for me (#clutchmypearls)! I left this under a seat in the airport because I didn’t have any desire to bring this one home with me.
- Four Aunties and a Wedding
Amazon Synopsis: Meddy Chan has been to countless weddings, but she never imagined how her own would turn out. Now the day has arrived, and she can’t wait to marry her college sweetheart, Nathan. Instead of having Ma and the aunts cater to her wedding, Meddy wants them to enjoy the day as guests. As a compromise, they find the perfect wedding vendors: a Chinese-Indonesian family-run company just like theirs. Meddy is hesitant at first, but she hits it off right away with the wedding photographer, Staphanie, who reminds Meddy of herself, down to the unfortunately misspelled name.
Meddy realizes that is where their similarities end, however, when she overhears Staphanie talking about taking out a target. Horrified, Meddy can’t believe Staphanie and her family aren’t just like her own, they are The Family—actual mafia, and they’re using Meddy’s wedding as a chance to conduct shady business. Her aunties and mother won’t let Meddy’s wedding ceremony become a murder scene—over their dead bodies—and will do whatever it takes to save her special day, even if it means taking on the mafia.
My Review: This book was the Three Stooges meets Crazy Rich Asians. As long as you can suspend belief and go into this book knowing it’s just full of ridiculous humor, it’s going to be a good one for you. I liked it enough to give it four stars as the plot was cute and the characters were over the top funny. I’m not sure if I would read a third in the series, but this one was just fine for sitting pool side during my vacation.
- The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
Amazon Synopsis: Kim Edwards’s stunning novel begins on a winter night in 1964 in Lexington, Kentucky, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins. His son, born first, is perfectly healthy, but the doctor immediately recognizes that his daughter has Down syndrome. Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split second decision that will alter all of their lives forever. He asks his nurse, Caroline, to take the baby away to an institution and never to reveal the secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child herself. So begins this beautifully told story that unfolds over a quarter of a century—in which these two families, ignorant of each other, are yet bound by the fateful decision made that winter night long ago.
My Review: Wow. This one was deep and dark and not always easy to read. I really loved it, and it made me think deeply about the choices that we make. The ones that are “best”- who are they actually best for? Ourselves? Or everyone else who will be impacted by that decision? This was a page turner and I did really enjoy the ending.
- Becoming
Amazon Synopsis: n a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.
My Review: I tend to not align politically with the Obamas, but one thing is for sure: Michelle Obama is a classy lady. I loved this memoir from cover to cover! She is so authentic and a powerful communicator and this is a must read! I learned so much and nodded along and went back in time to where I was when Michelle was living in the White House. Loved this one!
- Fire Keepers Daughter
Amazon Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. She dreams of a fresh start at college, but when family tragedy strikes, Daunis puts her future on hold to look after her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team.
Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims.
Now, as the deceptions―and deaths―keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.
My Review: First- I don’t know that this should be marketed YA. It is a little bit heavy and dark for me to hand to a teen. With that out of the way, this was an excellent and informative book. One of the first ones I’ve ever read that focuses on teens living on/near a Native American reservation. It really takes us into the beauty and the trials of growing up Native American. This dealt with rape, the treatment of women and indigenous peoples, but also had a firm plot point that wasn’t just a sob story. I really liked this one!
- Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
Amazon Synopsis: The history of the Sackler dynasty is rife with drama—baroque personal lives; bitter disputes over estates; fistfights in boardrooms; glittering art collections; Machiavellian courtroom maneuvers; and the calculated use of money to burnish reputations and crush the less powerful. The Sackler name has adorned the walls of many storied institutions—Harvard, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oxford, the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations to the arts and the sciences. The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing a blockbuster painkiller that was the catalyst for the opioid crisis.
My Review: Why has this book gotten so much support and interest? It was a SUPER interesting story, I will give it that. It was also like 700 pages long and could have been summarized in about 200 or less. I also found the author’s writing to be very biased/one-sided. He clearly thinks that all the Sacklers have done wrong. After reading the book, I would say that they have for sure done a lot of wrong. But at what point do next generations get to live without the burdens of what their ancestors have done? I don’t know the answer to that question. I think we may all answer it slightly differently, to be honest. This book also made me think a lot about how we view medication now- oh, so and so says to take this pill or this shot, and there are no side effects- but really? I’m not entirely sure we can trust people who say that. Anyways, lots of thinking happened as a result of reading this book, but it also took me two months to read through the incredibly detailed log of the Sackler family and all of their wrong doings.
- Where the Crawdads Sing
Amazon Synopsis: For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens.
My Review: This one did live up to the hype for me! It was a great book! It was slow in some parts, as the plot basically involves a girl who lives along in the swamp. The plot twist at the end did make me gasp out loud and I’m excited to see the movie!
- Love Lettering
Amazon Synopsis: In this warm and witty romance from acclaimed author Kate Clayborn, one little word puts a woman’s business—and her heart—in jeopardy . . .
Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing custom journals for her New York City clientele. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Knowing the upcoming marriage of Reid Sutherland and his polished fiancée was doomed to fail is one thing, but weaving a secret word of warning into their wedding program is another. Meg may have thought no one would spot it, but she hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid.
A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other, both try to ignore a deepening connection between them. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late . . .
My Review: Cute little rom-com, if a little bit unrealistic at parts. I enjoyed it and the romantic complications of book characters 🙂
- The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency
Amazon Synopsis: The Weekend Homesteader is organized by month—so whether it’s January or June you’ll find exciting, quick-to-do projects that allow you to start your own homestead without getting overwhelmed. If you need to fit homesteading into a few hours each weekend and would like to have fun while doing it, these projects will be right up your alley, whether you live on a forty-acre farm, a postage-stamp lawn in suburbia, or a high rise.
My Review: Another homestead book that was good- take some, leave other parts, and use what I have to run my very own homestead!
Phew- we made it!!! That was a lot of books. I hope that I gave you some ideas of a book that you could grab next to read. Have you read any of these? Or have interest in reading any?