Ooooh, do I have some GREAT books to review this month! I only had one book that was a disappointment, and the rest were excellent reads that I highly recommend. I read 9 books this month, although two of them were books that I had started back in June.
Theo of Golden
My Review: Ah, Theo of Golden. If you haven’t heard of this book, you have probably been living under a rock! This book has become beloved by so many, and for good reason! It is a really sweet story, about an elderly man who comes to a town under some “private” and slightly mysterious circumstances. He befriends himself to a unique cast of characters in the town, and he begins buying portraits and giving them away to the person drawn in the portrait. The end of the story takes a twist that ties it all together and leaves us heartbroken but so bonded to this group of people.
I really liked this story. It was slow-moving without too much plot to keep things going. The characters were lovely and endearing, and everything was tied up with a pretty neat bow by the end. I’m so glad I read it, and I really did love it. It’s not my favorite book EVER, but it’s a good one 🙂
Mad Mabel
My Review: I always forget how much I love Sally Hepworth books! She does a great job of writing thriller-adjacent books that are right up my alley! They are suspenseful but not scary, with great characters and personal interactions, but not always romances. This is the story of an old lady (hmmm I’m sensing a theme here from my first book!) who is a beloved member of her neighborhood- but it turns out she has some secrets. She is actually a murderer. We found this out pretty early along in this story, but what we know of Mabel just doesn’t match up with this fact. So we get to hear the whole story of how she can possibly be both a murderer and the Mabel that we have grown to love. This is a good one- worth your time to read!
The Shippers
My Review: Ah, Katherine Center- you did it again! A sweet, clean summer romance that is full of witty banter, set on a cruise ship, and full of lovely characters. I really appreciate how Katherine Center (similar to Abby Jiminez) writes these sweet romances but the characters have actual flaws and issues to overcome. It makes it seem so much more relatable!
Birth Vibes
My Review: Jen Hamilton is a hilarious influencer who works as a labor and delivery nurse. She posts lots of content about helping and supporting women who are giving birth, and she wrote this book as a guide to help create the “birth vibes” someone may want during their birth. As a doula, I loved this book! It provided several birth stories that I LOVED. Each birth story kind of presented a different scenario that can happen during birth. The second half of the book goes through every single thing that a woman may face during labor and delivery. I will for sure be recommending this book to all of my doula clients, and if you happen to be giving birth or are setting yourself up to support someone who is, then this book is for you!
The Island Club
My Review: Aw, this one was a bummer for me for one reason and one reason only: an affair. That’s it. I draw the line. I do not like books that use an affair as a plot point, and I usually won’t even read the book or DNF it immediately when that happens. Anyways, I did read this whole book and the characters were cute and I wanted them to succeed but I just can’t write anything beyond that because I don’t like affair plots. The end.
By the Book
My Review: This is the 4th book I’ve read in the Meant to Be series. This is a series that is based on the Disney Princess plots. They are all sweet and closed door romances, and I have enjoyed every single one. In case you didn’t guess, By the Book is based on Beauty and the Beast. A book editor gets “stuck” in the large mansion of the famous pop star that she is hoping to get a book out of. Slowly, over time, they write the book and fall for each other. It was cute and sweet and I liked it!
Hunt, Gather, Parent
My Review: Ok, this book was DENSE. It’s a parenting book/memoir about how other cultures seem to parent a little bit differently than Americans. She builds a premise that we are OVER doing it as American parents, and it’s not helping our kids at all. I really enjoyed this book and got some really great information from it. I loved her ideas on how to encourage more independence and autonomy in kids and how to give them more responsibility- they can handle it! This went along really well with the Raising Boys and Girls podcast that I’ve been listening to- they are doing a series on Capability.
Of course, I didn’t agree with everything this author presented. She talks a ton about evolution in this book, which isn’t my take on things. She also has only one child, and so focuses much of the book on how she applied all of these theories to her one child. Nw, listen: I have strong opinions that Moms who have one child are MOMS. There is no award for having more and more children. BUT…the way that we parent has to change and shift if we are raising an only vs. raising multiple. Similarly, a toddler Mom giving advice to a Mom of teens might miss the mark in some areas. I felt that same way while I was reading this book- I felt as if her experiences were valid and great and successful for her circumstances, but I wasn’t sure how they would work/apply to mine, if you know what I mean.
Anyways, it’s a worthwhile book to pick up if you are interested in raising kids who are a little more independent and capable than what we are seeing in the average American culture.
Skylark
My Review: I think this book is the perfect example of a “it wasn’t you, it was me” type of book. It had a lot of stuff going for it that is just not my presence in a book: WWII timelines, dual timelines in two different time periods, slow moving with very little plot- if those things usually grab you- then this book is for you! Haha- it was not for me. It was well written and the characters were lovely, but I was honestly bored.
The Way of the Wildflower
My Review: This is one of my favorite books that I’ve ever read. Ruth Simons does beautiful work, and this was no exception. It is actually a 30 day devotional meditation, with each day focusing on a different wildflower and a parallel biblical lesson that goes with the wildflower. It was SO encouraging, so beautiful and exactly what I needed at this time in my life!
And that is a wrap-up for my July reads! I have started reading The Calamity Club and am hoping to read a few more of summer books in August.
What are you reading right now?
Have you read any of these books? What did you think about them?