I can’t believe that we are halfway through July! Summer is in full effect and I’ve been all about light, fun reads. In June I only read 5 books, but the majority were great, 4 star reads! I’m sharing this post with Steph and Jana’s monthly Show Us Your Books linkup. Here are my June reads:
3 Stars:
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid – (Historical Fiction, June 2021) Nina Riva holds an annual epic end-of-summer party at her house in Malibu. However, her August 1983 is one for the books for Nina and her three siblings. The story takes place over this one August 1983 day with flashbacks to her and her siblings past, showing the events that lead up to this one particular, unforgettable evening. I found this book to be enjoyable enough but not my favorite of hers.
4 Stars:
The Life Intended by Kristin Harmel – (Contemporary Fiction, April 2014) Kate has been a widow for 10 years and is newly engaged. But then she starts seeing her late husband in her dreams and their possible future if he hadn’t died. These dreams lead her to make decisions that shape her current reality. This includes taking a sign language class and getting involved in the foster care system, both which have huge impacts on her life. I had never heard of this book until I found it on my work’s “Free Book Shelf” and thought I’d give it a try. I’m glad that I did because this was a great read. After reading it, I saw on Goodreads that I have a couple of the author’s other books already on my to read list, which I plan on reading sooner than later.
Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez – (Contemporary Romance, April 2021) Famous travel YouTuber gets unexpected custody of her half-sister’s infant daughter. Her neighbor, who happens to be a wealthy, good-looking lawyer, ends up helping her out in this new role and the two become friends…..and maybe more. I liked the book’s message about living for today. I also liked Adrian and Vanessa’s characters and chemistry! This is the third book in The Friend Zone series and I’ve enjoyed each of them. This can totally be read as a stand-alone though without having read the first two.
The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren – (Contemporary Romance, May 2021) Single mom, Jess, is genetically matched with a 98% compatibility to Dr. River Pena. He just happens to also be the founder of the matchmaking company. Are the two destined to be together? I had taken a Christina Lauren break because I found the books becoming too formulaic. However, I really enjoyed The Soulmate Equation. I found it to be a lot different than their other books and I really liked Jess and River’s characters. This was a light, fun, easy read, which I read in a day (haven’t done that in forever!).
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner – (Contemporary Fiction, May 2021) Two women with the same name but very different lives, have their paths crossed when one keeps receiving the misdirected emails of the other. The two women end up meeting in person and form a fast friendship. However, we soon learn that one of the Diana’s has a motive for meeting the other. The story moves between the past and the present, detailing the events that led to the present. This wasn’t a “light” read, despite the cover making it appear so. I did enjoy the book but wasn’t a fan of the ending and would have liked more aftermath story.
I almost always want more aftermath story. I try to honor what the author intended with endings but it’s hard sometimes LOL
Malibu Rising was definitely not my favorite of hers.
Agree. I feel that way with movies that end abruptly too!
I still have 6 months to wait for That Summer. I’m glad to hear it’s more serious than a typical “summer read” since I’ll be reading it in winter.
Ugh, I hate long library wait lists! Hope you enjoy it!
I’m looking forward to reading Life’s too Short. Thanks for the recommendations. My latest book reviews ~
Tanya – The Other Side of the Road
I hope you enjoy it!
The life intended sounds SO good!
Yes, it was a nice surprise read!
I have Malibu Rising on my kindle but haven’t dived into yet. I love when we find an unexpectedly great book. I’m not a huge Weiner fan so I’m still on the fence about her latest, plus I have a gazillion books on my TBR since my reading mojo is still obscenely pathetic. But I hear you on waiting more of the aftermath story. I am the same way with many stories. Sometimes the story to get to the ending seems a lot less interesting then what the story after would be.
I know you’ve had some reading motivation issues, and I wouldn’t recommend Malibu Rising as a have-to read.
I still have one left to read in Abby Jimenez’s series, and I’m excited for it, because I enjoyed this one and The Happy Ever After Playlist so much. Definitely a new favorite romance genre author for me. And I felt similarly about Malibu Rising. So many people seem to LOVE it, but I thought it was a fine read, not as great as some of her others…
I’ve enjoyed the Abby Jimenez series and she’s become a go-to romance genre author for me too!
Even thought I love the 80s, I’m really on the fence about Malibu Rising now. I want to read a TJR book this summer but might dip back and grab The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo instead.
I hear you on aftermath endings. Sometimes I want a little bit of drama as the loose ends are being tied up.
If you’re looking for a good TJR book, I recommend something else. I loved her earlier stuff.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the Life’s Too Short novel!
I am definitely adding Life’s Too Short and The Life Intended to my list! I loved Soulmate Equation. It reminded me more of CL’s older stuff that I fell in love with. Their newer things haven’t been my favorites until this one. And same with TJR. I enjoyed the back story of Malibu Rising but didn’t care anything about the party stuff. I wish she would stop writing about fake famous people.
I agree about CL. I had loved their earlier stuff and then took a break because the books were all becoming formulaic. The Soulmate Equation was different in a good way!
I read Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner last year and really liked it. I need to check out more from her! Glad these were all fairly good reads!
Yes, glad I had a good reading month!
The Life Intended and Life’s Too Short sound really touching. I could use some warm fuzzies lately 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Yes, I love a good “warm fuzzy” read!
The Life Intended sounds good.
I tried The Soulmate Equation and struggled. If you haven’t, try One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. Similar in *some* ways but so much better (it’s compared to The Soulmate Equation on the jacket, I believe).
One Plus One is on my to read list! The Life Intended was a good read.