Welcome to my August 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 August reading here and I will share the rest of my August reads next week. There is still a little bit of 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: June In The Garden
Author: Eleanor Wilde
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Crown, 6/17/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
This book needs more attention! It was so good. June is the main character. When her mother dies, she is left on her own, and as someone who is neurodiverse, this is difficult for her. But she knows she doesn’t want to move into a group home, or a house without a garden, so she sets out to find her biological father.
“After her mother’s unexpected death, June must vacate her home. But when the social worker urges her to move into a flat with no garden—clearly, that won’t work. With no other options, she embarks on her first solo trip in search of a father she’s only seen in a single old photograph. When June unexpectedly shows up at her father’s door, he panics and turns her away, unwilling to jeopardize his idyllic life and new family. On her way out, June spies an unruly backyard and with nowhere else to go, quietly moves into her father’s yellow garden shed. Once again, she can spend her days surrounded by her beloved flowers. But when her father’s 12-year-old son—her half-brother—discovers June, she must choose between being seen for the first time or running away yet again.”
June thrives on set schedules and things that stay the same. I loved learning about June’s past and coming to understand her behaviors. I also appreciated how she made a home for herself in her father’s garden, and how she befriended the boy who discovered her there.
Title: Last Night Was Fun
Author: Holly Michelle
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Avon, 6/10/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
This book was a lot of fun! I think I’m a fan of the “You’ve Got Mail” type trope. This one is about Emmy, who receives a wrong number text which leads to a texting relationship. Meanwhile, she has a workplace rival, Gabe, with whom she is competing for a promotion. Sure enough, mysterious texting guy is none other than Gabe, which is discovered when they finally meet prior to him coming to Emmy’s sister’s destination wedding!
“Emmy Jameson lives by three rules: no dating, no sharing personal news at work, and baseball above everything. As the only female data analyst for a professional baseball team, Emmy is constantly trying to prove herself. Especially when she’s put up for a senior analyst position against her arrogant, infuriating coworker Gabe Olson. Sure, he’s gorgeous and smart and he was a baseball star in college who knows the sport inside and out, but so does Emmy. She is not going to lose to him again. There will be no distractions this summer. Not even her sister’s pending destination wedding in Mexico for which she needs to find a plus one. But then she receives a text from an unknown number with a simple message: ‘Last night was fun.’ When she strikes up a conversation with the mystery texter, they realize that he was given a fake phone number after a bad date that just so happened to be Emmy’s. Despite her rules, Emmy can’t deny the instant connection she feels and soon finds herself falling for the stranger on the other side of the screen…and inviting him to her sister’s wedding. Emmy’s world turns upside down when her mystery man turns out to be none other than Gabe Olson. They are left having to travel to the wedding together while trying to sort out which version of their relationship is real: their in-person rivalry or the deep connection they found in their messages.”
I enjoyed this book. The data analysis in baseball job was fun to read about. I might have liked getting Gabe’s viewpoint as well as Emmy’s, and a misunderstanding lead to some annoyance, but overall this one was a great read!
Title: A Deal With The Devil
Author: Elizabeth O’Roark
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Entangled: Amora, 6/10/25, original 8/10/21
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I wasn’t sure this book would be for me but the reviews convinced me to give it a try, and I liked it much more than I expected. It was also less steamy than I expected it to be, with a nice, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine love story. This is about Tali, who becomes Hayes’s assistant.
“Hayes Flynn is an arrogant jerk known best for his scotch habit and the way he spreads his British ‘charm’ all over Hollywood, never with the same woman twice. He’s the last person I want to work for, except he has a face I can’t look away from, and the longer we’re together, the harder he is to hate. Because under that smug exterior is a heart he doesn’t want to show―one that was badly broken a decade earlier. A part of me wants to fix it for him before I leave…but can I do it without breaking my own in the process?”
Both characters have been hurt in the past and they end up taking care of each other in the sweetest ways. Their banter was great too. It always makes me happy when I love a rom com!
Title: The Harvey Girls
Author: Juliette Fay
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Gallery Books, 8/12/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
I have enjoyed Juliette Fay’s books in the past but this was my first of her historical fiction books and I loved this one as well. This book is about Charlotte and Billie, who are both hired as waitresses for the Harvey House restaurants, which are located on train lines. Charlotte is fleeing an abusive marriage and Billie is only 15, but her family needs the money she will make as a Harvey Girl. The book actually begins at Union Station in KC, MO, where there is still a Harvey’s Restaurant! They begin working in Topeka, KS, and later relocate to the Grand Canyon.
“1926: Charlotte Crowninshield was born into one of the finest Boston society families. Now she’s on the run from a brutal husband, desperate to disappear into the wilds of the Southwest. Billie MacTavish is the oldest of nine children born to Scottish immigrants in Nebraska. She quit school in the sixth grade to help with her mother’s washing and mending business, but even that isn’t enough to keep the family afloat. Desperate, both women join the ranks of the Harvey Girls, waitresses who serve in America’s first hospitality chain on the Santa Fe railroad. Hired on the same day, they share three things: a room, a heartfelt dislike of each other…and each has a secret that will certainly get them fired. Through twelve-hour days of training in Topeka, Kansas, they learn the fine art of service, perfecting their skills despite bouts of homesickness, fear of being discovered, and a run-in with the KKK. When they’re sent to work at the luxurious El Tovar hotel at the Grand Canyon, the challenges only grow, as Billie struggles to hide her young age from would-be suitors, and Charlotte discovers the little-known dark side of the national park’s history.”
I loved the women’s friendship which developed over time. I also appreciated the discussion of the Native American population that was displaced when tourism began in the national park areas.
Title: Everything Is Probably Fine
Author: Julia London
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Harper Muse, 8/12/25
Source: PR for Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
This book is about Lorna, who is dealing with anger and grief over the loss of her mother and her sister’s addiction issues. She is mandated to go to a wellness center for treatment after an incident at work and she begins connecting with her neighbors, especially 8 year old Bean.
“Lorna Lott has been leaning into the awkward side of things most of her life. Her intensity and drive haven’t earned her any friends, but at least her sales team is meeting their quotas. Why should she care that they call her King Kong when her promotion to senior vice president is within reach? Or it was–until she made a mistake that even apology donuts couldn’t fix. Now she’s been mandated to attend a thirty-day wellness program, and everything is on the line. If she can’t get her low-key rage thing under control, stop her eyes from leaking, and figure out how to be more likeable, she won’t get a promotion or raise. Which means she won’t be able to buy back her grandmother’s house and reclaim the happiness she hasn’t felt since childhood. Cooperating with the program means coming to terms with her past. Mainly, how her older sister’s substance abuse ruined Lorna’s life–and her many regrets about the way she handled things. With the help of her oddly endearing eight-year-old neighbor and his equally charming father, she throws herself into the process of making amends. But as she begins to accept that there is nothing she could have done to change the course of her sister’s life, Lorna faces her most challenging task yet: changing the course of her own.”
This is the exact type of book that I love, with a grumpy protagonist who is affected by the love of a child. Lorna begins making amends for the things that happened in the past, realizing that some things seemed worse to her than to others and that some things were different than she thought. She begins to accept what she can’t change and to allow love from others in. I also loved Lorna’s corgi, Aggie!
Title: Good Grief
Author: Sara Goodman Confino
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Lake Union, 8/26/25
Source: PR for Author
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
This light and humorous read takes on the mother in law / daughter in law relationship when Ruth moves into Barbara’s house two years after Ruth’s son and Barbara’s husband died. Barbara is raising two kids and her own mother has just left, so Ruth is there to help – or just to get in the way!
“It’s 1963, two years since Barbara Feldman’s husband died. Raising two kids, she’s finally emerging from her cocoon of grief. Not yet a butterfly, but she’s anxious to spread her wings. Then one day her mother-in-law, Ruth, shows up on her doorstep with five suitcases, expecting a room of her own with a suitable mattress. Abrasive and stuck in her ways yet well meaning, Mother Ruth arrives without warning to help with the children. How can Barbara say no to a woman who is not only a widow herself but also a grieving mother? As Ruth’s prickly visit turns from days to weeks to what seems like forever, Barbara realizes Ruth has got to go. But Barbara has an ingenious plan: introduce Ruth to some fine gentlemen and marry her off as fast as she can. Soon enough, something tells Barbara that Ruth is trying to do the same for her. At least they’re finding common ground―helping each other to move forward. Even if it is in the most unpredictable ways two totally different women ever imagined.”
Both women really just want the best for one another and each tries to set up the other with various men. There is a side workplace harassment and wrongful termination story as well, plus appearances by past characters from the author’s books. I loved how Barbara and Ruth came to appreciate each other as well as the 1960s time period. And I was very excited to see my own name in the acknowledgments!
Come back next week for the rest of my August reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?
