Welcome to my July 2025 Favorite Books post! This monthly post is where I share the 5 star books I’ve read so far each month. You can see the first half of my July reading here and I will share the rest of my July reads next week. There is still time left this month so if I have any additional 5 star reads they will be shared in next week’s post as well. 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: Totally and Completely Fine
Author: Elissa Sussman
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Dell, 7/8/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I have loved Elissa Sussman’s books in the past and I loved this one as well! This one is about Lauren, whose brother is Gabe, from Funny You Should Ask. Lauren lost her husband Spencer and their relationship is shown in flashbacks, while in the present, she meets Gabe’s friend and fellow actor Ben, and falls for him.
“In her small Montana hometown, Lauren Parker has assumed a few different roles: teenage hell-raiser, sister of superstar Gabe Parker, and most recently, tragically widowed single mother. She’s never cared much about labels or what people thought of her, but dealing with her grief over the loss of her husband, Spencer, has slowly revealed that she’s adrift in her own life. Then she meets the devilishly handsome actor Ben Walsh on the set of her brother’s new movie. They have instant chemistry, and Lauren realizes that it has been far too long since someone has really and truly seen her. Her rebellious spirit spurs her to dive headfirst into her desire, but when a sexy encounter becomes something more, Lauren finds herself balancing old roles and new possibilities. There’s still plenty to contend with: small-town rumors, the complications of Ben’s fame, and her daughter’s unpredictable moods. An unexpected fling seemed simple at the time—so when did everything with Ben get so complicated? And is there enough room in his life for the woman Lauren wants to be? Alternating between Lauren’s past with Spencer and her present with Ben, Totally and Completely Fine illuminates what it means to find life-changing love and be true to oneself in the process.”
Lauren is a single mom to a young teenage girl and is mourning her loss, while trying to move on. I enjoyed the emotions behind this and the way Ben fit into her life. I also loved catching up with Gabe and Chani. I don’t love that my copy of this one doesn’t totally match my other two books by Elissa Sussman!
Title: Top Heavy
Author: Rhonda DeChambeau
Genre: YA Contemporary in Verse
Publisher: Holiday House, 6/10/25
Source: PR Group
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Top Heavy by Rhonda Dechambeau is a YA book in verse about Esme, a dancer who struggles with her large chest size. Although I am not a dancer, I am also top heavy, and could relate to Esme’s feelings. A book in verse is a faster read but can still contain so much. Esme and her best friend Mia make their elite dance team, but they take the place of two other girls. This leads to bullying. Esme also deals with harassment regarding her chest. On top of that, her father is out of work after an accident, and the family has money concerns.
“Fifteen-year-old Esme lives and breathes dance. Alongside her best friend, Mia, she is happiest when in the studio… sweating, stretching, soaring. And after a summer of nonstop practice, Esme and Mia earn coveted spots on the Elite dance team. Now that they’ve proven themselves to Miss Regina and the senior girls, it should be smooth sailing. Except that Esme and Mia took the spots of two popular, well-liked dancers. Except that Esme’s dad hasn’t been able to work for months, and there’s hardly enough money for groceries, never mind dance tuition and recital costumes. Except that a stranger touches Esme during a night out, touches the breasts that have always felt like giant targets. After years of being oversexualized for her large chest, this is the violation that pushes Esme over the edge. Was it her fault? Could she have stopped it? Why can’t she just be different? Esme stumbles, off kilter and adrift from her loved ones, struggling to find the strong, central cord that will pull her up and allow her to soar again.”
I loved that Esme had supportive parents and there were other supportive adults in her life like her grandmother and her dance teacher. The story also includes a first love and an assault by a stranger.
Title: One Golden Summer
Author: Carley Fortune
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 5/6/25
Source: Bought
Why I Read It: Love her books
My Rating: 5 Stars
Carley Fortune is a go to summer author for me and I loved her newest release, One Golden Summer. This is about Alice, who takes her grandmother Nan to the lake cottage where Alice spent the summer when she was 17. When Alice meets Charlie, who we previously met in Every Summer After, he decides to help her fulfill a list she made of things she would like to do – or that she should have done the summer she was 17. So they kind of act like 17 year olds. But it was sweet!
“Good things happen at the lake. That’s what Alice’s grandmother says, and it’s true. Alice spent just one summer there at a cottage with Nan when she was seventeen—it’s where she took that photo, the one of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat, the image that changed her life. Now Alice lives behind a lens. As a photographer, she’s most comfortable on the sidelines, letting other people shine. Lately though, she’s been itching for something more, and when Nan falls and breaks her hip, Alice comes up with a plan for them both: another summer in that magical place, Barry’s Bay. But as soon as they settle in, their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat, and the man driving it. Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice took his photo from afar. Now he’s all grown up—a shameless flirt, who manages to make Nan laugh and Alice long to be seventeen again, when life was simpler, when taking pictures was just for fun. Sun-slanted days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart. Because Alice sees people—that’s why she is so good at what she does—but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back.”
Slow burn, lots of yearning, and a secret Charlie didn’t want Alice to know made for some frustration but ultimately a great story.
Title: Problematic Summer Romance
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 5/27/25
Source: Bought
Why I Read It: Love her books
My Rating: 5 Stars
A second book by Ali Hazelwood in just a few months? Yes, please! Problematic Summer Romance is about Maya, who is Eli’s sister from Not In Love. If you’re paying attention, this is the 3rd book this month about a sibling from another book I loved! Maya is in love with Conor, Eli’s best friend, and Eli and Rue’s wedding puts Maya and Conor back into proximity. Conor has been putting her off due to their age gap of 15 years, but it is obvious that he loves her too.
“Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life. Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him. It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life. But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists. When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.”
Maya and Conor’s story is revealed in flashbacks to when they first became friends, and their current reunion is a slow burn to both of them admitting their feelings. I loved the cameo by Scarlett and Lukas as well!
Title: Eliza Starts a Rumor
Author: Jane L. Rosen
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin Audio, 6/23/20
Source: Gift – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 5 Stars
From my 25 in ’25 Backlist list, I listened to Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen. I loved this story about Eliza, the moderator of the Hudson Valley Ladies’ Bulletin Board. After becoming an empty nester and realizing another message board was being used by some of her neighbors, Eliza posts a story anonymously, about her neighbor having an affair. Based on what she sees and infers, the rumor may have some truth to it, and Olivia realizes it may be her husband that the post is about. Meanwhile, Allison, a single mom, meets Jackie on the message board and is misled about who she is talking to, and Amanda, Eliza’s childhood friend, returns home.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. When Eliza Hunt created The Hudson Valley Ladies’ Bulletin Board fifteen years ago she was happily entrenched in her picture-perfect suburban life with her husband and twin preschoolers. Now, with an empty nest and a crippling case of agoraphobia, the once-fun hobby has become her lifeline. So when a rival parenting forum threatens the site’s existence, she doesn’t think twice before fabricating a salacious rumor to spark things up a bit. It doesn’t take long before that spark becomes a flame. Across town, new mom and site devotee Olivia York is thrown into a tailspin by what she reads on the Bulletin Board. Allison Le is making cyber friends with a woman who isn’t quite who she says she is. And Amanda Cole, Eliza’s childhood friend, may just hold the key to unearthing why Eliza can’t step out of her front door. In all this chaos, one thing is for sure…Hudson Valley will never be the same.”
Each of the women in this story has an issue they are dealing with and I enjoyed following each of their stories, from agoraphobia to domestic abuse, single motherhood, and infidelity. I did find it slightly confusing that the women’s names were so similar, but the audio was done well and I really enjoyed the book overall.
Title: The Unexpected Consequence of Bleeding on a Tuesday
Author: Kelsey B. Toney
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Random House Books For Young Readers, 6/17/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Delia is dealing with extreme period pain – and extreme gaslighting from health care providers. When she uses marijuana to deal with her pain, she is caught and expelled from high school, which effects her entire plan of becoming a doctor to find out herself what is wrong with her body. Enrolling in public school reunites her with a former friend who is now also dealing with health issues, and the two bond over unfair school policies with regards to missed classes.
“High school senior Delia Bridges has the most amazing mom and sister, a killer GPA–and periods that are so painful they make her scream, pass out, and throw up. Though she doesn’t know it yet, Delia has endometriosis, an affliction plaguing millions of people that is notoriously difficult to diagnose. Pain makes everything harder, but Delia is just one semester away from graduating from Stockwood Prep and pursuing her dream of becoming the kind of doctor she’s never had: one who takes her symptoms seriously. But when she breaks a rule for the first time ever and is caught using marijuana at school to manage her pain, Delia is expelled. Her expulsion jeopardizes her college acceptance, her planned mentorship, and everything she had carefully planned for years. Without her academic success and no closer to a diagnosis, is Delia anything more than her period?”
It was so frustrating that Delia was not taken seriously and that not one of the doctors she saw considered that she might have endometriosis. I guess they didn’t have google either, because if you type in “extreme period pain,” endo comes up immediately! I loved Delia’s support system and was very happy when she finally found someone to take her seriously. You could really feel her pain and frustration throughout this well written and important book!
Come back next week for the rest of my July reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?
