This month, I have read a few 5 star books so far and I’m excited to share them with you here. It’s almost the end of the month but there is a slight chance I’ll finish another 5 star read before the end (after I write this post) – in that case it will be included in my next wrap up post! You can see the first half of my July reading here and I will share the rest of my July reads next week. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.
Title: Never Coming Home
Author: Kate Williams
Genre: YA Thriller
Publisher: Delacorte Press, 6/21/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Never Coming Home by Kate Williams is a modern take on And Then There Were None. Ten teen influencers are sent to a remote island supposedly to promote it, but something is weird about it. Plus, the teens themselves have quite a lot of secrets. And then one by one they begin to die – some quite gruesomely!
“Everyone knows Unknown Island—it’s the world’s most exclusive destination. Think white sand beaches, turquoise seas, and luxury accommodations. Plus, it’s invite only, no one over twenty-one allowed, and it’s absolutely free. Who wouldn’t want to go? The mysterious resort launched with a viral marketing campaign, and now the whole world is watching as the mysterious resort opens its doors to the First Ten, the ten elite influencers specifically chosen to be the first to experience everything Unknown Island has to offer. You know them. There’s the gamer, the beauty blogger, the rich girl, the superstar, the junior politician, the environmentalist, the DJ, the CEO, the chef, and the athlete. What they don’t know is that they weren’t invited to Unknown Island for their following—they were invited for their secrets. Everyone is hiding a deadly one, and it looks like someone’s decided it’s payback time. Unknown Island isn’t a vacation, it’s a trap. And it’s beginning to look like the First Ten—no matter how influential—are never coming home.”
I definitely didn’t figure this one out and I couldn’t put it down. It was a perfect summer thriller!
Title: The It Girl
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Gallery / Scout Press, 7/12/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Having only read one of Ruth Ware’s books before and not loving it, I wasn’t sure whether I’d feel the same about this one. Luckily, I loved it! This book is about a group of friends at Oxford and their “it girl,” April, who is killed. Hannah’s testimony put a man in prison – a man who had been lurking around and acting creepy and yet there was no proof – and this man has always claimed he was innocent. Now Hannah is looking back and hoping to discover the truth.
“April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the year, April was dead. Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.”
I did not predict the resolution or the series of events that occurred!
Title: Thank You For Listening
Author: Julia Whelan
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Harper Audio, 8/2/22
Source: Publisher / Libro.fm
Why I Read It: Love her as an audio narrator
My Rating: 5 Stars
While I was approved to read Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan via Net Galley, I had to listen to it narrated by the author as it has to be a rule to listen to a book about an audiobook narrator that Julia Whelan wrote and narrated! This book is about Sewanee (pronounced Swan-ee), an audiobook narrator who has stopped narrating romance books (with a pseudonym) because she no longer buys into happily ever afters. However, she is asked to narrate a book written by an author she loves and she needs the money to support her grandmother’s increasing care needs, so she agrees to do it. She will be sharing the narration with Brock McKnight, and the two begin an email and text conversation that is full of banter and at times hilarious.
“For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger. On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her. As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more. If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.”
There is a lot to love in this book including the main character’s use of an eye patch due to having lost her eye, Sewanee’s best friend and what she deals with as a Black woman actor, and Sewanee’s relationship with her beloved grandmother. The romance is swoon worthy as well! And if you are an audiobook fan, I highly encourage you to listen to this one, as Julia Whelan is amazing.
Title: Dream On
Author: Angie Hockman
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Gallery Books, 7/5/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Loved her previous book
My Rating: 5 Stars
I loved the book Shipped by Angie Hockman and I’m so happy I loved Dream On just as much! Cass wakes from a coma with memories of her relationship with Devin – only no one in her life knows him and there is no indication she’s ever met him herself. But then she DOES meet him! They try to figure out why she dreamt of him when they don’t know each other and only have a few friends in common. Is it fate or is something else at play?
“When law grad Cass Walker wakes up after surviving a car accident, she is flooded with memories of a man named Devin. The only problem? Devin—as confirmed by family, friends, and doctors—doesn’t exist. Everything about him, from his coffee-brown eyes to the slightly crooked angle of his pinkie to his high-wattage charm, is a figment of Cass’s coma-addled imagination. Still, she can’t get him out of her head. So when she happens upon the real Devin a year later in a Cleveland flower shop, she’s completely shocked. Even more surprising is that Devin actually believes her story, and despite his protective younger brother’s doubts, they soon embark on a real-life romance. With her dream man by her side and a new job at a prestigious law firm, Cass’s future seems perfect. But fate might have other plans…”
This reminded me of Meant To Be Mine as well as You Were There Too – both books that I loved. It makes you question whether fate is telling you something or if it could be misinterpreted!
Title: Some Of It Was Real
Author: Nan Fischer
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: Berkley, 7/26/22
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Sylvie is a psychic medium doing a live show when she meets Thomas, a man who wants to expose her as a fraud. They make a deal in which she can’t look at the material that her agent sends her about who will be in her next show’s audience. To keep her honest, he comes with her to visit her childhood home. A search for her repressed childhood memories begins.
“Psychic-medium Sylvie Young starts every show with her origin story, telling the audience how she discovered her abilities. But she leaves out a lot—the plane crash that killed her parents, an estranged adoptive family who tend orchards in rainy Oregon, panic attacks, and the fact that her agent insists she research some clients to ensure success. After a catastrophic reporting error, Thomas Holmes’s next story at the L.A. Times may be his last, but he’s got a great personal pitch. ‘Grief vampires’ like Sylvie who prey upon the loved ones of the deceased have bankrupted his mother. He’s dead set on using his last-chance article to expose Sylvie as a conniving fraud and resurrect his career. When Sylvie and Thomas collide, a game of cat and mouse ensues, but the secrets they’re keeping from each other are nothing compared to the mysteries and lies they unearth about Sylvie’s past. Searching for the truth might destroy them both—but it’s the only way to find out what’s real.”
This book read like a thriller with a thread of romance and I couldn’t put it down! It was entertaining to try to determine whether Sylvie’s abilities were real or not, while learning about her past as well as Thomas’s. Sylvie’s dog and Thomas’s cat were adorable too. This book includes loss and grief, murder, and human as well as animal illness.
Come back next week for the rest of my July reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?
