June Books

So I'm super late with this post because I completely forgot it was the second Tuesday of the month already- July is flying by!! Thank goodness, because I'm ready for fall! Temps in the high 80s are just not my jam, ya know? Anyways, I'm not going to do my regular book post format of posting the author/publisher's summary then my thoughts; I'm just going to streamline it into a few sentences per book- I do have 13 to review this month after all! Alright, let's get to it..

The Castaways- 4 stars: Two friends are killed on a boat, and the rest of their friends, nicknamed "The Castaways," struggle in the aftermath. Secrets are revealed and friendships are tested. As always, Elin Hilderbrand writes Nantucket so well, and I really enjoyed this quick summer read, even though I thought some of the characters were annoying in their relationships.

Tempting Fate- 3 stars:  A 43 year old happily married mother of two randomly meets a younger millionaire at a bar and starts an emotional affair that rips everything in her life to shreds. This book felt super unrealistic to me, there was no reason for her to have an affair and it felt like the author pushed it on her. The characters didn't seem to make believable decisions.

Silver Girl- 5 stars: The main character's husband basically pulled a Bernie Madoff and she had no idea, but she is being investigated and everyone hates her, so an estranged friend takes her into her Nantucket house for the summer. I really thought this book had interesting subject matter- how could she not have known what her husband was doing, right? Well it explores all of that but not in a super deep or confusing way. The only thing I didn't like was the dead seal #RIP

Summer Secrets- 3 stars: This book jumps all over describing this woman's life as an alcoholic and all the people she hurt and tries to make amends to over the years. I thought this book was just alright, mainly because I didn't find most of the characters to be believable, a common problem I have with light reads.

The Rumor- 3.5 stars: Two best friends on Nantucket have issues one year- Madeline is having trouble writing her book and Grace starts up an affair with her gardener. Rumors run rampant on the island, and it's interesting to see how rumors can twist the truth. Not one of my favorite Elin Hilderbrand's, but not my least favorite either. It kept my interest well enough.

The Lake House: This premise of this book sounded interesting, a baby disappears during a party on an idyllic lakeside estate in England in the 1930s, but a few chapters in I just couldn't finish- it was too slow and life is too short for boring books.

The Crown- 4.5 stars: The next (and I think final) book in the Selection series. I really love this series, it's like a mix between the Bachelor and The Hunger Games, with royalty thrown in. Highly recommend the whole series.

The Guest Cottage- 3 stars: A mother on the brink of divorce from a super crappy husband rents a house from a friend on Nantucket and when she shows up with her 15 year old and 10 year old, is surprised to find that a widower with his troubled 4 year old have also rented the house for the summer. They decide to stay there together, as weird as it may seem. This book kept me turning the pages but the characters were so underdeveloped and cliche, which is pretty typical for Nancy Thayer books, that it definitely took away from the overall story.

Fool Me Once- 4 stars: A page-turner about a woman with PTSD whose sister, and husband most recently, have been murdered, but then she sees her husband playing with her daughter in her nanny-cam weeks after his death and she starts questioning and investigating everything. It's one of those books with crazy twists and though I liked the book a lot, the ending is why I took off a star.

Just One Day, Just One Year, Just One Night- 4 stars: The premise of Just One Day is that Allyson is sent on a trip to Europe with a bunch of other teens after graduating high school, and she meets this guy and they go off to Paris together for just one day, then it follows her life after they become separated and she returns to college in the US. Just One Year is from the guy, Willem's, perspective for that day and the whole next year, and Just One Night is a very short story of the aftermath. It was a cute story and I read all three in just 2 days.

You- 2 stars: Meh, this book is written in the second person, from a stalker to the girl he's stalking. It is creepy and it made me feel uneasy, plus reading in the second person is super tedious and gets old after awhile. I'd say skip it.