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.
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