Ok how can I get myself a beach house summer?! Doesn’t that sound amazing? The next best thing besides living beachside for the summer is being able to cozy up with the authors book and escape mentally though! 

Since I’ve been a fan of the author for awhile now I know I can expect a great mix when I start one of her books. This was no exception and besides the idyllic setting you also have a mystery surrounding Ashley’s true identity, a few friendships (new and old) blossoming and some romance too. The author is such a gifted storyteller and she always creates characters that are memorable and fun. I’m always a sucker for an unlikely friendship and the relationship between Joanna and Ashley was really lovely. This is the true definition of a beach read, it’s light but not too sappy, it conures up some gorgeous summery imagery and has a plot that’s interesting. 

Normally I get bored when a book is over 400 pages but for one of my all time favorite authors I make an exception and I still didn’t want this one to end. I did my best to savor it and take my time but it was just so damn amazing it was difficult to slow it down. Most of you know I read a lot, I generally don’t remember specific details after a couple of weeks go by but KH books always stay with me. This is special for me as there are usually only a handful of books every year that leave a lasting impression and without fail, every single year one of her books lands a spot on this list. I don’t think there’s any one particular thing that makes her books such standouts for me, but rather a magical combination of things that culminates into such an incredible reading experience. Maybe the best part is her insightful, honest and humor takes on life in general. Lillie is a woman that’s the same age as me so we already had that at a starting common factor but her raw portrayal is where I really connected with her. Yes, she’s been literally screwed over in the worst way, and yes she’s humiliated, betrayed and so so a angry but dammit was it nice to see a woman deal with a major life upheaval in a truly relatable and believable way. Was she always full of grace? Absolutely not. Did she do things that were slightly crazy? Yes mam. Was I cheering her own and cackling like a loon myself? YES! So many of her observations were spot on and her general sense of humor was charming and oh so witty. I could probably sit her all day and talk about all the things I loved about this one but I’ll spare you and just finish by saying I adored it, I think it’s a must read and KH never, EVER disappoints. 

Give me a romance with celebrities and I’m all in before you even tell me more, I’m not sure my Hollywood obsession will ever go away. 

From the synopsis: A talented Hollywood starlet and a reclusive A-lister enter into a fake relationship . . . and discover that their feelings might be more than a PR stunt in this sexy debut for fans of Beach Read and The Unhoneymooners. 

So celebrities AND fake dating?! GIMME. Don’t let the cute cover fool you, this had some depth and explored some darker subject matter too. Sure, it had plenty of LA glitz and movie star glam but really it was much more than that surface level stuff. Grey and Ethan do not have an easy road to their HEA, the author really makes these two work for it, but the ending was SO worth it for me. I also appreciated that Ethan was an ass for a large part of the book, oftentimes the male hero in a romance is too perfect for words, which is fun. BUT seeing one with some serious issues that aren’t solved overnight was refreshing and ultimately more satisfying for me. I’m super impressed this is a debut and can’t wait to see what the author does next 

I have another binge listen audio recommendation for you! This one pulled me in from the start, I was instantly drawn into the three women who all live Brighton Hills where you just know not everything is as it seems. Cora thinks her husband is cheating so she enlists Paige, who tragically lost her son last year and then there’s a new neighbor Georgia who just seems off. That’s really all you need to know as far as the plot is concerned but if you like twisty and tense domestic thrillers this was really compelling. You hear from all three women and the narrator, Imogen Church was fantastic and incredibly engaging. I think this would be a great addition to your summer TBR as it’s super juicy and also riveting.

I’m a big fan of this author and what struck me the most here is how totally different this one felt compared to her previous books. It’s not a bad thing when authors switch things up necessarily but it definitely wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from her. The one thing you need to know is that this is not a thriller, it’s definitely different from her last book but I would say it’s a little closer to her style with Tell Me Lies. There is something captivating about the authors writing style and she had me in her clutches for sure, but instead of thriller vibes it’s very much more about Molly and Jake’s relationship in the past and then their separate relationships in the present with a side of obsession. There was a lot of angst and plenty of reflection and reminiscing but I enjoyed the back and forth to see where Molly and Jake’s relationship went wrong. Overall I did like this, just totally different than what I was expecting!

This is one of those middle of the road reads for me, I didn’t dislike it but I also didn’t love it either. I appreciate what the author was doing and knew what she was trying to say but it too way too long to get there and it was a slog for me to get through it. The Oppenheimer family was full of unlikable people and hearing them whine and behave terribly became grating for me quickly. I’m one hundred percent sure that I would have given up on this one but since I listened to the audio version and Julia Whelan narrates I was drawn in enough by her amazing performance I stuck it out. I seem to be in the minority here though so take my review with a grain of salt. I was also an outlier with my thoughts on The Most Fun We Ever Had so I think these dense and wordy family stories are maybe just not for me. 

Man I just adored this sweet, tender and slightly quirky romance SO much! Nora won me over pretty much instantly, she was super funny and I related to her in many ways, especially her takes on parenthood. She’s sharp and witty and exactly the kind of character I wish I could befriend. I would say this leans more to the womens fiction side than a true romance, you definitely still get romantic elements but it’s also very much about Nora and her personality journey. There is a lot of emphasis on family and her kids were the cutest. If you like books where a celebrity dates a regular person this was just excellent, it was such a mature romance and had some surprising turns along the way.