The month of July our family did plenty of traveling, so I had ample time to read! It was glorious. And made up for my lack thereof last month in June.
A couple of the books I read might be some of my favorite reads all year long. I love when I come across THE book that stands out from all the rest.
In the order that I read them, starting with…
So before I get into this review, I should state that I’m mildly obsessed with planning a trip to New England. So naturally I have been drawn to books set in that region of the country. The Secrets of Midwives set in Rhode Island, is a novel about three generations of of midwives, that have secrets of their own that they don’t want to tell. Neva, the main character who is a third-generation midwife and pregnant, is proactively keeping the details surrounding her pregnancy private. Even her own mom and grandma are left out of these details. Neva’s grandmother, a retired midwife, has a similar secret from 60 years prior and is faced with the conflict of sharing it with her family or not. Each chapter is alternatively narrated by Neva, her mom Grace, and her grandmother Floss. It touched on the complex relationship of mother and daughter, and each page I turned wanting to know the details of each character’s secret!
The next book I read was…
Oh my word. This one was good. I love me some autobiographies, and this one did not disappoint. I would say, hands down, my favorite autobiography is Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi, but this one is a close second. I knew Katie Couric from the TODAY show, but had no idea all of the twists and turns she took throughout her career. Her experience and perspective of that world is fascinating, you really get to see the ins and outs of certain celebrity personalities, for better or for worse. I loved learning about her commitment to her family, which seemed to be a grounding force for her as she made decisions for her life and career amidst an industry that had little accountability to maintaining any standard of family values. This was so good. I highly recommend. This was one of my favorites this month!
My third read was another book set in Rhode Island…
Um, this was hands down my favorite of all the books I’ve read so far this year. I loved it. It’s been a while since I’ve been sucked in by a book. A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams is a novel that takes place right before WWII in a seaside community of Rhode Island. This tumultuous storm of friendship and falling in love had so many twists and turns that I had not expected or predicted. It kept me on my toes and had me reflecting on what I would do in the main character, Lily Dane’s situation. It also drew me in to the romantic side of things and took me down memory lane of falling in love and being pursued by Ryan. (Sigh). There were certainly thriller moments, but well played and not over the top, as I’m a tad of a scaredy-cat when it comes to thrillers. I don’t like feeling like breathing into a paper bag each time I finish reading a book. This was definitely a book where I found myself thinking about it a lot outside of reading it.
My next read of the month was set further south in Georgia…
Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey is the first of four in the Peachtree Bluff book series. This one was a fun, light beach read that reminded me of Elin Hilderbrand novels. It was a great chick-lit that included all the things. A love story, drama, conflict, surrounding the lives of three adult sisters who simultaneously move back in with their mama for a season. They each are figuring out their lives and dealing with the things that life has thrown at them. I loved reading how their mom processes and navigates her relationship with her now adult daughters, as well as how the sisters interacted with one another as adults. I’m putting the rest of the series books on my to-read list!
The final book I read this last month was…
This was another great summer read. Secrets in Summer by Nancy Thayer was set in none other than Nantucket. The heart of where I truly want to visit in New England. This one I could picture every scene of every chapter in my mind. Parts of this novel had me frustrated as it pertains to passive relationships, but mostly it was a happy read with slight drama. I enjoyed the bond of the main character and her newly developed friendships with three other women neighbors, from the span of three generations. I loved the setting and getting to learn more about Nantucket life, and it was relevant to read about the interactions of three different generations of women, and what each holds for teaching and learning from one another.
That’s a wrap on my JULY BOOK REVIEW!
I’ve got my beachy book lineup for the last of my summer reads for August.
Whatcha all reading these days? Any favorites? I’m all ears! Comment below, I would love to add to my list!
To see the books I read in January, click HERE.
