June Books.

Summer is always when I do the most reading, so I have lots of my favorite authors to share with you from June. Since it's also halfway through the year, I'm 2/3 of the way to my goal of 36 books. I will, no doubt, get overzealous and up it to 50 (if previous years tell me anything) and be scrambling in December to finish. 

First, when I look back at my May books post, I can tell you that I did not finish Expiration Dates and I didn't get very far in Here One Moment. I do poorly with predictable rom-coms (though I loved In Five Years because it was so sad) and Liane Moriarity has turned so bland and unappealing to me. Reading her is like walking through a department store or something when you're not interested in buying anything. I actually disliked Apples Never Fall so much that I couldn't finish it. And using Nicole Kidman in that Nine Perfect Strangers series was ridiculous. I barely finished that book and watched like 20 minutes of episode one. Anyway, all that to say I am disappointed to admit that I didn't get far in her newest book and I don't care. I would say that Big Little Lies was an anomaly but The Husband's Secret and What Alice Forgot were fantastic too. 

If you want to about an anomalous crowning achievement, let's look at The Girl on the Train....I don't think Paula Hawkins ever wrote anything I finished after that. 

But what I did read this month...

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth This was a bit triggering in so many ways. I found it to be not for the faint of heart. I'm not going to say much because anything can be considered a spoiler in this book. It was good, for sure, but it was different. I didn't love the ending. It seemed rushed and like justice was just out of reach. 3 STARS. 

She's Not Sorry by Mary Kubica There is a huge twist in this book and I did not see it coming at all and I actually went back and re-read a page to make sure I was seeing what I was actually seeing with my own two eyes and did my brain comprehend it? I will say I spent the first half of the book thinking how dumb the main character was. The ending left a few possibilities open, I remember, which I found interesting. 5 STARS

The Housemaid is Watching by Freida McFadden The third book in the series, I definitely had this one preordered. I would say the beginning was really slow. It's quite the time jump from book #2 so it took some time for me to figure out what was going on but I would say it picked up at the end. Not as good as the first two books, though. 3 STARS

The Next Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine I really could not put down the first book several years ago. I distinctly remember bouncing newborn Wells in his bouncer with one hand and reading a hardcopy of The Last Mrs. Parrish from the library with the other hand. I did read The First Shot prequel novella two years ago and that is required reading for this sequel, as a warning. Go find it somewhere. It's free on Kindle Unlimited. 

Anyway, this sequel didn't compare to the original. No real twists; I couldn't figure out what I disliked most though: how incredibly dumb Daphne was, how annoying Daisy Ann was, or how cold Amber was. 3 STARS. 

Everywhere You Look by Liv Constantine This was a novella but I'm counting it. I've never read such a smashed together plot in my entire life. It was a Lifetime movie for SURE.  I found it on Audible randomly (or rather, the algorithm found me after I finished The Next Mrs. Parrish). I regret every second of it but it was free. If you are a fan of The Last Thing He Told Me (I was not), you'll like this.

2 STARS. 

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering I avoided this for months because I thought it was about a kidnapped baby. It's really not. That's the plot point that the story centers around but it's not about a kidnapped baby. It's about two friends whose lives take different paths after college. I love all the details and the characters and how the season of fall is almost like a character in the story. I really just enjoy her writing so I should've read this sooner for sure. 5 STARS.

I'm in the middle of a few non-fiction books but I move so slowly through those...ridiculously slowly. Up next for me though with fiction is the new Beatriz Williams, another author I wait for that summer release from each year. (Did anyone else notice that Taylor Jenkins Reid didn't release a new book this year???). 

Linking up for Share Your Shelf!