Welcome to my May 2024 Favorite Books post! This monthly post is where I share the 5 star books I’ve read so far each month. I had a few 5 star reads this month that I am excited to share. I had to publish this a bit before the end of the month, so if there are any more favorites, I will post them in my next book post. You can see the first half of my May reading here and I will share the rest 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: Darling Girls
Author: Sally Hepworth
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, 4/23/24
Source: Book of the Month
Why I Read It: Love her books
My Rating: 5 Stars
My April BOTM choice was Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. I love her books and was looking forward to this one! It was hard to put it down and even though the topic could be quite upsetting, I loved the book overall.
“For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Norah, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farming estate and given an elusive second chance at a happy family life. But their childhood wasn’t the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Miss Fairchild had rules. Miss Fairchild could be unpredictable. And Miss Fairchild was never, ever to be crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadows of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses. Or are they prime suspects?”
This is about foster sisters Jessica, Norah, and Alicia who were raised by their foster mom Miss Fairchild. They reunite when bones are found buried under their former home. There were many twists, some that I predicted. Again, the subject matter and reading about how these girls grew up is not easy, so take care if this is sensitive for you!
Title: This Summer Will Be Different
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 5/7/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I loved Carley Fortune’s book Every Summer After and enjoyed Meet Me At The Lake. I loved This Summer Will Be Different! This one is about Lucy, who is very committed to her best friend Bridget. When Bridget brings Lucy to her family home on Prince Edward Island, Lucy unknowingly hooks up with Bridget’s brother Felix. Over the next few years, the two try to resist each other but can’t seem to do so (forbidden love – one of my favorite tropes). Now, Bridget is getting married and suddenly runs off to PEI, telling Lucy she must drop everything and meet her there.
“Lucy is the tourist vacationing at a beach house on Prince Edward Island. Felix is the local who shows her a very good time. The only problem: Lucy doesn’t know he’s her best friend’s younger brother. Lucy and Felix’s chemistry is unreal, but the list of reasons why they need to stay away from each other is long, and they vow to never repeat that electric night again. It’s easier said than done. Each year, Lucy escapes to PEI for a big breath of coastal air, fresh oysters and crisp vino verde with her best friend, Bridget. Every visit begins with a long walk on the beach, beneath soaring red cliffs and a golden sun. And every visit, Lucy promises herself she won’t wind up in Felix’s bed. Again. If Lucy can’t help being drawn to Felix, at least she’s always kept her heart out of it. When Bridget suddenly flees Toronto a week before her wedding, Lucy drops everything to follow her to the island. Her mission is to help Bridget through her crisis and resist the one man she’s never been able to. But Felix’s sparkling eyes and flirty quips have been replaced with something new, and Lucy’s beginning to wonder just how safe her heart truly is.”
The friendship story between Lucy and Bridget almost took over the slowly developing love between Lucy and Felix. As they only see each other once a year, while they do start out with extreme attraction to each other, they don’t fall in love until much later. Their story is told in flashbacks while in the present Lucy and Felix are both trying to help Bridget with whatever has made her run away just before her wedding. I loved their chemistry and the way their relationship grew! The island was a great setting as well.
Title: Finn and Ezra’s Bar Mitzvah Time Loop
Author: Joshua S. Levy
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary / Sci Fi
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, 5/14/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I love good Jewish representation in books and I love time loop books, so this one was very appealing to me! Luckily, it held up! This is about two Jewish bar mitzvah boys whose families differ in the ways they observe and celebrate Judaism, but who are each having their bar mitzvah on the same weekend. Finn and Ezra are stuck repeating the weekend over and over and become friends while trying to break the loop.
“Finn and Ezra don’t have a lot in common—except, of course, that they’re trapped in a bar mitzvah time loop, reliving their celebrations in the same New Jersey hotel over and over and over again. Not ideal, particularly when both kids were ready for their bar mitzvahs to end the moment they began. Ezra comes from a big family—four siblings, all seeming to get more attention than him, even on his bar mitzvah weekend. Finn is an only child who’s tired of his parents’ constant focus, even worse on his bar mitzvah weekend. They just want to get past it, just want to grow up. And now they’re both stuck. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. No way out. Until Finn and Ezra meet and realize they’re not alone. Teaming up, they try everything they can think of to break the loop. But nothing works, and after every reset, the boys’ schemes become more desperate. As their frustrations build, the questions mount and real-life problems start to seep through the cracks. With all the time in the world, can Finn and Ezra ever figure out how to move forward?”
Ezra is from a large family and he feels a bit ignored, even during his bar mitzvah. Finn is from a small family and his parents dote on him. The boys learn about each other as time goes on, and eventually they learn about themselves. I loved that this featured different types of Jewish families and the ultimate lesson of appreciating every moment.
Title: One Perfect Couple
Author: Ruth Ware
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Scout Press, 5/21/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware is about a group of 5 couples who are recruited and sent to an island to film a reality show which will determine who among them is the perfect couple. However, a dangerous storm hits and with a lack of resources and support, the situation deteriorates. The story is told from Lyla’s viewpoint with interspersed radio calls for help and diary entries written by another character.
“Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize. But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real—and the stakes are life or death.”
I enjoyed this fast paced look at what can happen when a group is stranded on an island. This has been compared to And Then There Were None, but to me it felt more Lord of the Flies. There is violence, domestic abuse, injury and death, and an overall tense atmosphere. While not the kind of thriller with a ton of twists, the depiction of being in this scary situation kept me turning the pages.
Title: Wild About You
Author: Kaitlyn Hill
Genre: YA Rom Com
Publisher: Delacorte Romance, 5/21/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Wild About You by Kaitlyn Hill was a very cute book about Natalie, who enters a reality show contest centered around hiking and surviving on the Appalachian Trail. She is partnered with Finn, the grumpy to her sunshine, and their team goes from enemies to loves as they make their way through the challenges they are assigned.
“Natalie Hart has always been loud, unfiltered, and unapologetically herself. But then comes her freshman year of college, when she loses her merit scholarship and gains one pesky little anxiety diagnosis. Hesitant to take out more student loans, Natalie decides to shoot her shot and applies to Wild Adventures, a popular outdoorsy reality show. Sure, Natalie prefers her twelve-step skincare routine to roughing it on the Appalachian Trail while competing in challenges against other college kids, but that scholarship prize money is calling her name. High risk, high reward, right? Enter Finn Markum, her randomly assigned, capital-O Outdoorsy teammate whose growl could rival a black bear. These partners have more friction than a pair of new hiking boots. Or is it flirtation? Turns out falling in love might be the wildest adventure of all…”
With anxiety representation and both Natalie and Finn having experienced losses, these two have a lot to deal with on top of the reality show challenges, but they can pull it off together! I loved the humor and sweetness in this fun story.
Come back next week for the rest of my May reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?
