Hello friends! I hope you all had a great Memorial Day & enjoyed your long weekend! I’m back today with another long round of book reviews since it’s been 2 months since I’ve done one of these. Today’s group is a mix of thrillers (because you know I can’t stay away from those) & some general fiction. I’m finding it harder & harder to be wowed by mysteries & thrillers lately, it seems like I can’t find one that truly surprises me. This group had some really great historical fiction though, like Lilac Girls & Daisy Jones. As always, I’m looking for recommendations so let me know what you’ve been reading!

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It’s no secret that reading is my all-time favorite hobby & I always have at least one book loaded onto my iPad & another one on my nightstand.   My mother has always been an avid reader & my grandmother was a librarian, so I guess that I come by it honestly!  Now that summer is quickly approaching & vacation plans are in the works, I’ve been compiling my summer reading list.  While my taste in books ranges from YA to historical fiction to chick lit, I’ve found myself gravitating toward mysteries & thrillers lately.  Must be all of the Investigation Discovery Channel I’ve been watching!  While I can’t get enough of the page-turners, I’ve also included a few beach reads to lighten up the list.  I would love to know what you’re reading this summer!

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It really doesn’t matter if I’m out by the pool or curled up by a fire, there are few things that I enjoy more than a glass of wine & a good book.  Since Memorial Day, & the summer, are almost upon us, I wanted to share what’s on my reading list for this summer.  I think that summer is the perfect time to pick up a few guilty-pleasure, beach reads.  This year I’m hoping to combine those with a few that have been on my to-read list since last fall.  What’s on your list this summer?

First on my list is The Nest, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s debut novel.  The Plumb siblings are on the eve of receiving their inheritance, but a reckless older brother has put the family trust at risk.  The group must confront each other & their own choices.  A massive trust fund, a stint in rehab, & plenty of sibling drama is the making of a great story about family relationships.  And let’s be honest, if Amy Poehler recommends it, it’s a must read!

 

Kate Morton’s The Lake House has been on my list for a while now & I was lucky enough to recently receive a copy in a Goodread’s Giveaway.  Another family drama, The Lake House begins on a summer night in the English countryside when the Edevane’s infant son vanishes.  Years later, a young detective stumbles upon the estate & the still-unsolved case.  The story alternates between the present and the past as the detective and the Edevane’s now elderly daughter unravel the mystery of what really happened on that night in 1933.

Harvesting the Heart is one of the few Jodi Picoult books that I haven’t read yet, so adding it my summer list was a no-brainer.  I have long admired her ability to create multi-faceted, & instantly relate able, characters.  In Harvesting the Heart, Paige is forced to confront her feelings on her mother’s absence from her life when she has a child of her own.  It promises to continue Picoult’s tradition of exploring emotional pain, love, growth, and vulnerability.

 

Finally, The Vegas Diaries is Holly Madison’s follow-up to her best-seller, Down the Rabbit Hole.  It was release this week, so I haven’t gotten my hands on it yet, but plan to make a trip to Barnes & Noble this weekend.  The Vegas Diaries picks up where Down the Rabbit Hold left off – Holly has left the Playboy Mansion to reinvent herself in Las Vegas.  She is on a mission to leave the stereotypes behind & find her own place in the world, which is something we can all relate to.

 

The rains have stopped, the temperature is climbing, and summer is officially here!  I think that summer is the perfect time for some light, fun reading.  Here’s my summer list, what are you reading?

Topping my list is Candace Bushnell’s newest release, Killing Monica.  With her hallmark wit and humor, Bushnell delves into the life of a best-selling author looking to change things up.  Pandy “PJ” Wallis is a writer whose novels about a young woman making her way in Manhattan have spawned a series of blockbuster films.  But now Pandy wants to attempt something different: a historical novel based on her ancestor Lady Wallis.  Her publishers, audience, husband, and her ex-best friend (who plays Monica on the big screen) want her to keep cranking out Monica books.  Will Pandy be able to reinvent herself?  I can’t wait to find out!

 

The Girl on the Train has been hailed as the next Gone Girl by the New York Times.  I was a huge fan of Gone Girl and psychological thrillers in general.  Rachel’s life has recently fallen apart.  Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning, with a stop at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck.  Their life—as she sees it—is perfect.  And then she sees something shocking.  Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved.  Told in chapters alternating between Rachel in current time and Megan last year, I’m having trouble putting this one down.

 

The historical fiction that I read is typically set in Tudor England, but I am super excited about delving into All the Light We Cannot See‘s World War II France.  The New York Times bestseller tells the story of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.  When Marie-Laure and her father flee Nazi occupied Paris, they carry what might be the Natural History Museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.  In Germany, the orphan Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing radios, a talent that wins him a special assignment to track the resistance.

 

Another historical fiction, The Witch of Painted Sorrows is set in the magical 1890s Belle Époque Paris.  Sandrine flees her dangerous husband for her grandmother’s Paris mansion, but doesn’t find safety in the City of Lights.  The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up.  Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.  But something sinister is altering Sandrine – she’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.