Books I Read in July

Before I get to today's post I just wanted to mention that I finally updated my Bloglovin' account with my new blog! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Oh I found so many wonderful books to read this month!  Between the beautiful sunny days outside on the patio and a couple of long car rides I was able to read another 10 books this month.

1. Whisper's Edge by LuAnn McLane- Savannah loves her job working as social director in the retirement community of Whisper's Edge.  Tristan buys the community from his grandfather and had planned to use the waterfront property as a quick profit turn around but never expected to fall for Savannah. A very cute and quick read; if somewhat predictable from the get go.  The quirky characters made this a fun story.

2.  28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand-- Mallory and Jake carry on a "Same Time, Next Year" affair on Nantucket for 28 Summers.  This one weekend a year romance complicates their lives in so many ways but neither one wants to let the other go.  Very much a typical Elin Hilderbrand - Nantucket novel that was quite enjoyable if you could immerse yourself in the story and forget that these two people were carrying on a very long side fling/affair that was bound to be hurting others.

3. Hideaway from Nora Roberts-- Cate was kidnapped as a child and the book spans through many years of her life--  how she tried to put the past behind her despite someone with a vendetta against all involved that night.  I really enjoyed this one!  I can't say much more without giving away major plot points.

4.  The Wedding Dress by Danielle Steel-- Spanning 4 generations of women from just before the Great Depression, into WWII, to the 60's, and into today's silicon valley fortunes this book connects each of these generations with a treasured wedding dress designed by one of the biggest design houses in France in the 1920's.  A quick and easy read that jumped forward through time here and there to keep the story going with the next generation.

5.  The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes-- A wonderful historical fiction novel about the packhorse librarians of Kentucky.  Set in an old mining town in the late 1930's the lives of several women are changed when a packhorse library is started up.  Women who take books on horseback up into the rural mountain homes of Appalachia to shoe people who otherwise would not have access to any reading material.  This is one I can see myself recommending to everyone.  It was so good!

6.   The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware-- A fast paced mystery novel.  When Lo Blacklock gets to take her bosses place on a small, 10 cabin, luxury cruise's maiden voyage she's hoping to write an impressive piece for their travel magazine that will ensure her promotion.  But when Lo thinks she hears a woman thrown overboard she starts unraveling a mystery that puts her life in danger.

7. Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews-- I love reading memoirs and I have always loved Julie Andrews! Everything from her iconic roles in Mary Poppins to Maria Von Trapp to her musical performances and children's books is included in this memoir.  But I didn't love this book. I thought it was good but it didn't always hold my interest and took me a few weeks of reading here and there to get through; mostly because I didn't know so many of the movies, contemporaries, and people mentioned.

8.  Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner-- When Daphne, a plus sized social media influencer is approached by an old frenemy to be in her wedding her first instinct is to decline.  But Drue is quite persuasive and convinces Daphne that she has changed, that she misses their friendship, and that she NEEDS her to help.  Daphne agree and by the time the big day is approaching the two seem to have patched things up but everything in Drue's life is not as it seems and when she's found floating in the hot tub on the morning of the nuptials Daphne has a real life murder mystery on her hands.  I really enjoyed this book so much; even the glimpses of what it must be like to be a social media influencer.

9.  On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah-- I loved this story!  When Annie drops her daughter off at the airport for a semester abroad she was so worried about how she was going to fill her time and her days.  Only to arrive home and have her husband tell her that he's leaving her and is in love with someone else.  Annie decides to go back to her hometown and heal with the help of her father.  She is reunited with an old college friend who is in need of help for both himself and his daughter who are drowning in grief.  The three spend the season relying on one another, healing, and learning to be happy again.  When Annie's life is turned upside down once again she must make a very difficult choice.  A heart wrenching Kristin Hannah novel I had not heard of before a fellow blogger reviewed it on her blog.

10. The Lies that Bind by Emily Griffin-- Another great read!!  Cecily meets Grant just after a difficult breakup with her long- term boyfriend Matthew.  Cecily and Grant forge an unlikely bond and spend a whirlwind summer together before Grant disappears in the aftermath of 9/11.  Cecily begins uncovering how little she really knew about Grant and reconnects with Matthew.  With lots of secrets and lies on all fronts this was an irresistible novel.

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