Reading Lately – Summer Wrapup
Summer for some means a ton more reading but because it’s my busy time at work it typically becomes just a way to to just unwind at the end of the day. I also was super proud to finally check “libary card” off my to do list and began reserving digital books for free! I felt so responsible but have learned that I have to wait longer than expected for some of the titles I’m really wanting. So here is a little summer wrapup of what I’ve been reading lately.
Amazon: Drue Campbell’s life is adrift. Out of a job and down on her luck, life doesn’t seem to be getting any better when her estranged father, Brice Campbell, a flamboyant personal injury attorney, shows up at her mother’s funeral after a twenty-year absence. Worse, he’s remarried – to Drue’s eighth grade frenemy, Wendy, now his office manager. And they’re offering her a job.
It seems like the job from hell, but the offer is sweetened by the news of her inheritance – her grandparents’ beach bungalow in the sleepy town of Sunset Beach, a charming but storm-damaged eyesore now surrounded by waterfront McMansions.
With no other prospects, Drue begrudgingly joins the firm, spending her days screening out the grifters whose phone calls flood the law office. Working with Wendy is no picnic either. But when a suspicious death at an exclusive beach resort nearby exposes possible corruption at her father’s firm, she goes from unwilling cubicle rat to unwitting investigator, and is drawn into a case that may – or may not – involve her father. With an office romance building, a decades-old missing persons case re-opened, and a cottage in rehab, one thing is for sure at Sunset Beach: there’s a storm on the horizon.
My thoughts: It’s always fun to read a book with a beach setting in the summer and this one was a little beachy with a little mystery thrown in. It took me a little bit to get into this one but once the drama heated up I finished it in a flash. A little romance, a little murder mystery and one unsuspecting bad guy made this an easy summer read.
Amazon: After a crushing betrayal by the man she loves, Gillian Gibbons flees to her family home for a much-needed escape, but when she finds an old photograph of her grandmother in the arms of a Nazi officer, Gillian’s life gets even more complicated. Rattled by the discovery, Gillian attempts to unravel the truth behind the photos, setting her off on an epic journey through the past…
1939. England is on the brink of war as Vivian Hughes falls in love with a handsome British official, but when bombs begin to fall and Vivian’s happy life is destroyed in the blitz, she will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves…
As Gillian learns more about her grandmother’s past, the old photo begins to make more sense. But for every question answered, a new one takes its place. Faced with a truth that is not at all what she expected, Gillian attempts to shine a light not only on the mysteries of her family’s past but also on her own future.
My Thoughts: This was a kindle unlimited freebie and it is SO good! I could not turn the pages fast enough on this one and couldn’t wait to uncover the secrets Vivian has kept. If you like historical fiction, A Fire Sparkling is a great read.
Amazon: At the age of thirty-nine, Alice Chang suddenly finds herself living in the last place she expected: her mother’s house. But in the face of divorce, eviction, and the recent death of her father, she doesn’t have a choice.
Watching as her mother thrives in a new job and meets younger men at the local gym, Alice struggles, reflecting on her parents’ marriage, her relationship with each of them, as she adjusts to being single again for the first time in twenty years. Then she finds her father’s old journal…and uncovers a shocking family secret that forces her to question everything she thought she knew about love, regret, family, and her own path forward.
As Alice comes to terms with the man her father really was, she must finally decide who she wants to be and what it will take to get there.
My Thoughts: This is another Kindle Unlimited freebie. Turning the pages on the family secret while also seeing Alice navigate her new single life kept the pages turning on this one. Like Wind Against Rock may not have enough substance for some of you, but I thought it was worth the read.
Amazon: Getting snowed in at a luxurious, rustic ski chalet high in the French Alps doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world. Especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a full-service chef and housekeeper, a cozy fire to keep you warm, and others to keep you company. Unless that company happens to be eight coworkers…each with something to gain, something to lose, and something to hide.
When the cofounder of Snoop, a trendy London-based tech start-up, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other: PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes. But as soon as one shareholder upends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hadn’t made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.
As each hour passes without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further…one by one.
My thoughts: Page turner! This was only the second Ruth Ware book I have grabbed but it definitely held my attention. One by One was definitely the book I had to finally stay in my pajamas half the day for because I could not wait one more day to finish.
Amazon: Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
My thoughts: Even while I was enjoying the sweet, somewhat predictable, love story between Poppy and Alex, I was a little confused by the title. The author wraps that up and at the end People We Meet on Vacation made perfect sense. The characters names were so perferfly matched to their personalities in my opinion and I truly fell in love with each of them. This is a cute little chick lit read.
Amazon: For the last several years, Penn and Kim Holderness of The Holderness Family have done the hard maintenance and the research to learn how to fight better. With the help of their marriage coach Dr. Christopher Edmonston, they break down their biggest (and in some cases, funniest) fights. How did a question about chicken wings turn into a bra fight (no, not a?bar?fight; a?bra?fight)? How did a roll of toilet paper lead to tears, resentment, and a stint in the guest bedroom?
With their trademark sense of humor and complete vulnerability, Penn and Kim share their 10 most common Fight Fails and how to combat them. Throughout the book, they offer scripts for how to start, continue, and successfully close hard conversations. Couples will emerge equipped to engage and understand, not do battle—and maybe laugh a little more along the way.
My thoughts: First of all, I was gifted this audio book to review and was so thrilled! I love Kim and Penn and their videos always make me laugh. So…much…more to these people! This is one of the best marriage books I think I have ever picked up. I really think I need the hard copy so I can flip back to all the “helpful boxes”. Now, this is not a book to save a marriage that is in the pits of despair with some tough issues but if you have a decent marriage and just want to continue to grow and make it stronger I think this is a MUST READ. So many helpful nuggets that I think most will be able to relate to! Everybody Fights will make you laugh but will also make you think about your daily interactions with your partner.
So these are the books that have kept me reading this summer! What has been on your reading list?