Today’s post covers the second half of the books I read in July 2026. I shared what I read in the first half of the month here. I shared my five star reads here. It’s also time for the Share Your Shelf Link Up! I hope you will join Joanne and I to share what you read this month. 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. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: Circling Back To You
Author: Julie Tieu
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Harper Audio, 7/22/22
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
For my rom com pick for my 26 in ’26 list, I listened to Circling Back to You by Julie Tieu. This was my second of her books and I enjoyed it more than the one I read previously. It was about Cadence and Matt, who work together, and are not enemies like in most workplace books, but are friends to start. They get to know each other better when they go on a business trip to their hometown and meet each other’s families. There’s a bit of fake dating involved as well.
“Cadence Lim has transformed from behind-the-scenes number cruncher to an integral part of the sales team at Prism Realty. But despite moving up the corporate ladder, her complicated relationship with her estranged elderly father weighs heavily and she can’t seem to shake the desire for a new beginning. At least Cadence can always lean on her favorite co-worker and co-conspirator, Matt Escanilla. A top broker with an unsuccessful love life, the forever single Matt is constantly being nagged by his loving Filipino family to settle down. Their relationship takes a turn when a business trip lands them both in their hometown and Matt enlists Cadence as a pretend girlfriend for a family gathering. The new after-hours setting forces the two friends to see each other in a new light, and their previously buried feelings rise quickly to the surface. When competing promotions threaten to separate Cadence and Matt, these office besties must work together to round up their ambitions and families to pursue their overdue romance.”
I liked the switch from reading workplace rivals to this one being workplace friends. The Filipino representation was enjoyable too. This was not my favorite rom com but it was still a fun enough listen!
Title: Same Time Next Summer
Author: Annabel Monaghan
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: GP Putnam’s Sons, 6/6/23
Source: Gift
Why I Read It: TBR
My Rating: 4 Stars
I had Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan waiting to read and I decided to catch up on her backlist just before reading her newest this month. I had mixed feelings about this one. I loved the writing and liked the characters but it was my least favorite kind of rom com. Sam was engaged to someone else when she reunited with her childhood love Wyatt. So the main couple wasn’t actually together in the book besides in flashbacks from their youth.
“Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right? Yet being back at this beach, hearing notes from Wyatt’s guitar float across the night air from next door as if no time has passed—Sam’s memories come flooding back: the feel of Wyatt’s skin on hers, their nights in the treehouse, and the truth behind their split. Sam remembers who she used to be, and as Wyatt reenters her life their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice.”
When this book ended, I was left wanting more. Luckily, it wasn’t my last Annabel Monaghan of the month (see my favorite books post for the other review!).
Title: Signals
Author: Saira Hameed
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Harper, 5/19/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Signals by Saira Hameed is a non fiction book about hormones – what they are and how they work, as well as what happens when they don’t. In stories about her patients, the author, an endocrinologist, covers thyroid issues, adrenal issues, infertility, diabetes, obesity, and more.
“Hormones write life’s masterplan – building a new human being in utero, transforming a helpless newborn into a sturdy toddler, igniting the firestorm of puberty, conjuring the alchemy of fertilization and directing the transition into menopause and beyond. And all the while, day-to-day, minute-by-minute, hormones control our mood and stress levels, how hungry we feel and how much we weigh, changes in libido and blood sugar, the circadian rhythm of our energy balance and sleep-wake cycle. In Signals, Dr. Saira Hameed takes us on a journey through the endocrine system, the body’s miraculous and often misunderstood communication network of endocrine glands and hormone signals. We barely notice these internal signals efficiently carrying messages from cell to cell because the power of hormones over our brains and bodies is so fundamental that their omnipotent control is simply felt as life itself. Yet when the body’s signaling system breaks, we see with hindsight that be ‘hormonal’ is in fact to be human. Here Dr. Hameed combines expert experience, revelatory science, medical history, and cultural commentary with compelling compassionately recounted patient cases. In this special confluence of storytelling Dr. Hameed invites readers to share in the mysterious, magical inner world of the endocrine system, going beyond hormone hacks and hype to tune out the noise and instead listen into the signals – to the powerful endocrine life force of how the body talks to itself.”
It was interesting to read about the available treatments for some hormone related conditions and how for some (including obesity) she suggests lifestyle changes rather than medication.
Title: The Good Parts
Author: Evann Normandin
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 7/28/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
The Good Parts by Evann Normandin is about Rose and Landon, who are now separated after Rose chose to take a memory erasing pill and to forget about her relationship with Landon. He wants to win her back now and the story is told from his viewpoint in the present and hers in the past.
“When Landon receives a letter from Rose―the woman he once planned forever with―he learns their love story is over. She’s undergone a radical memory-erasing treatment, leaving behind her grief, her past… and him. But Landon can’t bear to lose the love of his life. If she fell for him once, couldn’t she fall for him again? Now living in Edinburgh, Rose’s world is a blank canvas, and she’s dating someone new. When Landon reenters her life as a stranger, they become fast friends, their lives entwining once more. But what Rose doesn’t know is that this new friend carries the weight of everything they once shared: their firsts, their marriage, and the heartbreak they barely survived. And when she starts exhibiting strange symptoms, it becomes clear their history isn’t gone―it’s just buried. And remembering could come at a devastating cost.”
I didn’t love Rose’s decisions here although there was an obvious trauma she wanted to escape from. Being that her father could not remember her, I did not know why Rose would choose to forget those who were important to her. This was an interesting take on a love story along with grief.
Title: The President’s Daughter
Author: James Patterson and Bill Clinton
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Hachette Audio, 6/7/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
From my 26 in ’26 bonus list for 500+ pages, I listened to The President’s Daughter by James Patterson and Bill Clinton. To start with, I have to mention that the main character in this is narrated by Tony Goldwyn – even though the introduction lists a different narrator instead of him – and I couldn’t help but refer to the president character as Fitz. His name is actually Matt Keating, and his daughter Mel is kidnapped by a terrorist. The story is about her attempts to escape while her father works to rescue her.
“All Presidents have nightmares. This one is about to come true. Matthew Keating, a one-time Navy SEAL and former President of the United States, has always defended his family as staunchly as he has his country. Now those defenses are under attack. A madman abducts Keating’s teenage daughter, Melanie, turning every parent’s deepest fear into a matter of national security. As the world watches in real time, Keating embarks on a one-man special-ops mission that tests his strengths—as a leader, a warrior, and a father.”
Mel was a scrappy and smart character and this was a quick and fast paced listen. I thought it got somewhat repetitive and it relied on stereotypes a bit too often. While of course I love Tony Goldwyn, his attempt at alternate accents didn’t quite work! Overall, I enjoyed this listen.
Title: Let’s Not Go Overboard Here
Author: Erica Hendry
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 6/2/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Let’s Not Go Overboard Here by Erica Hendry is about Mel, who is grieving the loss of her best friend. Being pop culture obsessed and going on a yacht trip with her friend Vish leads to Mel being convinced that something happened to Freya, one of the Vish’s bosses.
“This is a story about a definitely dead girl, a possibly dead girl and a living dead girl. All aboard. There are a lot of things that pop culture aficionado Melanie Hoffman is great at: rattling off storylines from The Real Housewives, reciting the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen filmography from memory, and quoting Gossip Girl like it’s The Godfather, to name a few. And then there are the things she’s not good at: maintaining a healthy work-life balance, sleeping (in general), and being a functioning adult who isn’t completely destroyed by the death of her best friend, Ari. Mel has accepted that nothing will ever fill the crater-sized hole that Ari’s absence has left behind, and the cork on her grief is stopped tight. But then her company requires Mel to take a mandatory vacation. Cue the explosion. Desperate to avoid two weeks alone with her thoughts, Mel joins her friend Vish on a yacht trip in Greece chartered by his tech company. It’s the Below Deck fantasy of Mel’s dreams, with built-in quasi-celebrities to fixate on in the form of the posh co-founders of Vish’s company. Mel has done enough social media stalking to immediately typecast the fabulous yet fragile Freya, her arrogant boyfriend Seb, and the hardworking and humble Ollie. A luxurious yacht chockful of hot, rich Brits? Mel couldn’t dream up a better distraction from her sorrow. But Mel’s dream quickly plunges into nightmarish waters when a sinister conversation overheard in the dead of night convinces Mel that Freya is in danger. And when Freya turns up missing the next morning, Mel immediately clocks what happened with the skill of a rabid true crime fan: Freya was murdered, and Seb is the prime suspect. But Freya’s disappearance doesn’t rock the boat in the way Mel is expecting. In fact, no one else onboard seems to think anything’s fishy. Mel’s concern for Freya grows into obsession, and she becomes dead set on saving Freya’s life like she couldn’t save Ari’s. With her time left on the yacht quickly dwindling, Mel must uncover what happened to Freya before going under herself.”
This was an entertaining mystery which those familiar with Bravo shows are sure to enjoy. It also includes Jewish representation!
Title: Listen To The Girls
Author: Chrystal D. Giles
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Random House Books For Young Readers, 5/5/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Listen To The Girls by Chrystal D. Giles is about Calla, who hears allegations around her favorite teacher and isn’t sure what to believe. She and her two best friends open an account where kids can write in anonymously, and the more Calla reads, she begins to realize that maybe the way her teacher treated her wasn’t the way a teacher should act towards a student.
“Calla has always had smart-girl energy. She’s Josiah the track star’s practical younger sister. Charlee and Jacoby’s problem-solving best friend. Attorney Dionne Howard’s model daughter. So it’s nice when someone seems to see her for her, outside of all that. But what if that person is a grown-up who maybe isn’t as trustworthy as Calla thought? Calla’s mom likes to say ‘Always do what you know is right.’ But what if you don’t know what the right thing is? These are the questions Calla faces on the last day of seventh grade, when she finds out that her favorite teacher has been accused of inappropriate conduct at his old school. Calla doesn’t know what really happened. She does know that people are saying mean things about the girls who have spoken out—and that can’t be right . . . can it? Inspired by her favorite newsblogger, EboniNews (whose motto is Amplify. Connect. Truth. ACT.), Calla has an idea. Can she find a way to ACT?”
I think this book is very important because it describes grooming behaviors and will teach young readers what may feel like positive attention could actually be inappropriate. I liked the friends and family members who supported Calla along the way. This could be a difficult read, but it is such an important topic.
Title: Bunkmates For Never
Author: Liz Montague
Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Novel
Publisher: Random House Studio, 5/12/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Bunkmates For Never by Liz Montague is the second graphic novel in the Camp Frenemies series. Bea returns to camp and now that she and her friends are post 7th graders, they have little supervision – or more freedom. Bea is growing more mature, and her friend Virginia isn’t a huge fan of how she has changed.
“It’s the last day of seventh grade and Beatrice is different than she’d been a year ago. True, she’s wearing mascara and doing her hair differently, but it’s more than that—she doesn’t seem to need her stuffed bunny, Roger, as much. And last year, he went everywhere with her. Everywhere. When Bea gets to camp and reunites with Virginia and Roxy, they can’t believe how much she’s changed—especially Virginia, who won’t let it go. Can’t a girl grow up a little?! As tensions rise, and friends become frenemies once more, Bea decides that maybe camp isn’t for her. After all, they are the oldest campers—and maybe they shouldn’t have even come back. Will they make up by the end of camp, or will frenemies become enemies?”
I didn’t think this story was very realistic regarding the freedom the kids had at camp. It is still cute and addresses the changes that kids experience at this age.
Title: RV There Yet?
Author: Suzanne Nelson
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers, 5/12/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
RV There Yet? by Suzanne Nelson is a cute book about a newly blended family who go on a familymoon trip to Yellowstone in an RV. Each character from the parents to the kids have unique personalities. Cricket, the oldest, is a writer and caretaker. Flossie is into archaeology and makes things fun. Parker calls himself Chewbacca and is thrilled to have brothers. Darwin is a worrier. Newt is a prankster. The kids are all dealing with their parents’ respective divorces and the new dynamics for their families.
“Five new step-siblings
Two frazzled grown-ups
One borrowed RV (that’s seen better days)
One escaped pet snake
Three weeks in Yellowstone National Park
What could possibly go wrong?
Ride along with Cricket, Flossie, Parker, Newt, and Darwin as they navigate unexpected animal encounters, inexplicably terrible food, ridiculously tight spaces, alarming practical jokes and—most of all—figuring out how to be a family, in this humorous and heartwarming story.”
I liked how this story was told and I enjoyed the letters and emails that began each chapter. Each character was unique and enjoyable. It turns out that this story was based on the author’s own family experiences!
Title: With Love From Wish & Co
Author: Minnie Darke
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Random House Audio, 8/16/22
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
From my 26 in ’26 list, I listened to With Love From Wish & Co by Minnie Darke. This book was about Marnie, who is a gift buyer helping people choose the perfect gift for their family and friends. Marnie mixes up the gifts for her client’s wife and mistress, leading to a story about Brian’s attempt to fix his marriage. Meanwhile, Marnie is hoping to purchase her grandfather’s historic storefront and she falls for Brian and Suzanne’s son Luke.
“Marnie Fairchild is the brains and talent behind Wish & Co., a boutique store that offers a bespoke gift-buying service to wealthy clients with complicated lives. Brian Charlesworth is Marnie’s most prized customer, and today she’s wrapping the perfect anniversary gift for his wife, Suzanne . . . and a birthday present for his mistress, Leona. What could possibly go wrong? For years, Marnie’s had her heart set on moving Wish & Co. to the historic shopfront once owned by her grandfather. When the chance to bid for the property unexpectedly arises, Marnie—distracted—makes an uncharacteristic mistake. Soon Brian is in a fight to rescue his marriage, and Marnie is scrabbling to keep her dreams alive. With the situation so complicated, the last thing Marnie needs is to fall for Brian and Suzanne’s gorgeous son, Luke.”
This was a fun book and I enjoyed the interconnected stories of the various characters. The main love story is between Luke and Marnie, but there are other threads taking place which made this more of a unique rom com.
Title: The Lake Club
Author: Lina Patton
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: William Morrow, 6/16/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
The Lake Club by Lina Patton is described as a thriller, but it was more of a drama with some mystery in it. It is about Danika and Augie. Danika hires Chat as a nanny for her two kids and is weirdly obsessed with him. Meanwhile, he and Augie have chemistry. Danika is a member of the Lake Club, while Augie works there.
“When Danika Crawley attends events at the Aldon Lakes Country Club, heads turn. Danika has it all—beauty, money, a successful husband, and two perfect children. She plans on making this summer her best season yet and has a secret weapon to secure the envy of her neighbors. Augie Elling has lost it all. Reeling from a post-grad scandal amidst her now-former life in New York, she returns to Aldon Lakes with her tail between her legs. Augie wants to keep her head down, save money, and find a way to leave her hometown for good, but someone keeps distracting her. Danika and Augie have one thing in common: they are both a little obsessed with Chat, the male nanny Danika hired for the summer. But, unbeknownst to either woman, Chat’s appearance in town sets off a chain reaction that threatens Aldon Lakes’ carefully maintained ecosystem. As the heat rises between the three of them, the truth behind a long-buried scandal comes to light, and everyone at the club must reckon with the consequences.”
I found the characters basically unlikable until their motivations and past became clear. While the pace was slower in some parts, I was definitely curious about the secrets all the characters were keeping. There was one reveal that really surprised me as well!
This post includes 11 of the books I read this month. Eight were print books and three were audio. Eight of these were adult books and three were Middle Grade. Genres included rom com, non fiction, contemporary, thriller, mystery, and graphic novel.
If you wrote about books this month, you can link up with us here:
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
