Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake is the first book in Alexis Hall’s new queer Great British Bake Off series, and it is delightful.
The book follows Rosaline, a single mom, as she works her way through the different stages of a Great British Bake Off-esque show. The character development is amazing, and I absolutely fell in love with Harry. I really wish I could have watched this as a show.
5 Stars
Dirty Dancing meets Schitt’s Creek, The Last Summer at the Golden Hotel was a fun read. An abundance of characters, and a family tree as reference, it is not difficult to keep track of the zany characters. Even with the point of view jumping all over the place.
The book felt nostalgic, even though I have never been to the Catskills. The end of the book moved me to tears, and overall the book had a very magical feel to it. (BOTM)
5 Stars
Easily my favorite read of the month, The Guncle follows Patrick, a gay former television star, as he takes in his niece and nephew for the summer after their mother (his best friend) dies and their father (his brother) enters rehab. A coming of age story, if you can come of age in your forties, The Guncle tugs on your heartstrings as you watch Patrick help his niece and nephew navigate their grief and come to terms with their new reality.
The book is all at once heartfelt and heartbreaking, humorous and tender. The book made me laugh and cry, and when I finished all I wanted to do was hug it close to my chest. It is a book I wish I could completely forget so I could experience reading it for the first time again.
5 Stars
Taylor Jenkins Reid is a new favorite author of mine, and Malibu Rising is a book I highly anticipated the release for. And I was not disappointed.
Following the Riva siblings, children of Mick Riva the rock star, Malibu Rising‘s A-plot takes place during a single day leading up to and during the annual end of summer party. The B-plot takes place in the past, weaving in the siblings past to give a clearer picture of the choices they make the day of the party.
Like her previous books, Reid’s characters make the story. They come to life on the page and draw you in never letting you go. (BOTM)
5 Stars
Your typical regency romance, The Duke and I was our book club pick for the month of June. While I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype surrounding it with the Netflix show, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Fake dating and friends to lovers are two of my favorite romance tropes, and they were both included here. The relationship between Simon and Daphne was fun, and I loved seeing them interact. I enjoyed all of Daphne’s siblings as well, and I am planning to read the rest of the books in the series.
5 Stars
Another highly anticipated release, John Green’s Anthropocene Reviewed is a series of essays in which Green reviews aspects of the Anthropocene on a five star scale, all while interweaving personal stories.
This book is a beautifully written, honest and heart wrenching picture into Green’s life, and this book has catapulted to the top of my list as my favorite of his books. While I had heard some of these personal stories before on both his Vlog and his Pod, some he has never really told before. Deeply personal, and extremely eye-opening, I love that Green has shared this book with the world. (BOTM)
5 stars
The Road Trip is such a lovely book. While telling the story of two exes who are forced to take a road trip to a mutual friend’s wedding, we get flashbacks to their time as a couple.
The “then” storyline was very frustrating for me to read, but I understand in order to root for them to reunite, you have to understand why they broke up in the first place. In all I didn’t find the character of Marcus to be at all redeemable, but I loved Addie and Dylan, and I just wanted their love to succeed.
4 Stars
Have you ever really looked forward to a book, and then when you read it are utterly let down? That’s me with Anne of Manhattan. I’m a sucker for retellings, just look at my bookshelf and you will find at least 3 retellings of Beauty and the Beast. And this was a retelling of one of my favorite books, Anne of Green Gables. However, this book ended up falling way short for me.
The book read like fanfiction, which as an avid reader and writer of fanfiction I’m very familiar with. What I mean by that is the author never really delved deeply into the familiar characters. We only saw them, and their romance, at surface levels. She did a lot of telling, and not a lot of showing. Which was very frustrating because I love Anne and Gilbert, and wanted to see a modern take on their romance.
3 Stars.
Book two in a series (oops!), Hang the Moon tells the story of Brenden and Annie and their journey to love.
Typical friends to lovers trope, this book is fun and lovely and hits the right spots if you love a good rom com. I enjoyed the story, and never felt like I was missing something even though I didn’t read the first book. I really enjoyed the flipped character trait of the man being the hopeless romantic and the woman being the cynical one.
4 stars
A fast-paced thriller from beginning to end, Riley Sager’s Survive the Night is one to read if you like to be kept guessing.
Charlie wants to get off campus ASAP after the tragedy of her best friend being murdered, and she finds a ride home with a stranger, Josh. From the second she gets in the car until the end of the book, it’s impossible to put down. Taking place in 1991 without cell phones and social media, it’s the right setting for keeping you on the edge of your seat. I was able to guess some of the twists, but only paragraphs before they were revealed, and guessing didn’t detract from the story at all.
Completely satisfying, I read the book in two sittings. (BOTM)
5 Stars.
Stephanie Caffrey, Author 