July Wrap Up — books on her brain

Aug 10

Aug 10 July Wrap Up

Well it might be 10 days into August but better late than never! I finished seven books and it felt like the majority were in the first half. We flew to San Diego for a combined anniversary/babymoon trip and it was SO nice to read by the pool. I hit a pretty major reading slump in the back half of July and watched more than my fair share of Real Housewives. Overall, I really liked what I read this month and found a few new favorites to recommend!

MILLER’S VALLEY - What a beautiful, quiet book. It was everything I wanted Oliver Kitteridge to be but wasn’t. Small town on the verge of change with layers and layers for each character. I picked this one up because I remember seeing Rachael and Renee rave about it last year after buddy reading it. This was my first novel by Quindlen and won’t be my last.

THE COUSINS - This one honestly fell pretty flat for me. It sounded amazing in theory but was just pretty slow. It took a lot of suspension of disbelief and I really didn’t think the payoff was worth it. A quick easy read but not the first YA mystery I’d go to.

BEACH READ - All hail queen Henry. I was hesitant after seeing SO MUCH LOVE for this one but it really is delightful. I purchased it specifically for our trip and it was a great vacation read. Spoiler alert: I liked PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION even more but this one is also great.

TROUBLEMAKER: SURVIVING HOLLYWOOD AND SCIENTOLOGY (AUDIO) - I absolutely devoured this audiobook. I had zero context for Leah Remini before listening but I loved it. A fascinating look behind the curtain of scientology and my jaw dropped many times.

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING - Another majorly hyped book that I was curious about. Overall, I loved the subject and thought it had a great premise but it didn’t work for me personally as a reader. It felt pretty slow throughout until the last 15% and then everything was incredibly rushed. Great in theory but not for me.

FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT - An alternative title could be FINLAY DONOVAN IS OUT OF CONTROL AND HOW IS THIS HAPPENING. If you are looking for something absolutely ridiculous AND completely engrossing, this is the book for you. I audibly gasped at the end and I am SO glad there is a follow up novel.

WHY NOT ME? (AUDIO) - I finally listened to Mindy Kaling’s second book and all I can say is that I adore her just as much as I thought I did. I will forever love The Office and I guess I should finally give The Mindy Project a chance. She’s hilarious and wonderful and I basically would just like to hang out at her house and be best friends. Totally normal, right?