Happy Summer, readers! These first few weeks of summer have flown by and yet I still feel like we haven’t fully settled in to the lazy days of summer yet. Our kids have been busy with camps, crafts and catching up on all of the things they don’t have time for during the school year. Thank goodness we still have seven full weeks left before the crazy starts again. With lots of books on my shelf to read, I know what I will be doing with that time. These last 10 books were a pretty varied selection that took me to different time periods and different parts of the world. Some of these I LOVED and others are a suggested hard pass. Read on to see which titles need to be added to your beach bag and which ones to leave on the shelf.

“The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin

Having lost the love of his life, A.J. Fikry is lonely and closed-off. Living above the bookstore he opened with Nik on isolated Alice Island, surrounded by his wife’s memory, he has become the shell of a man craving isolation and ending most of his days at the bottom of a bottle. When one evening’s drunken stupor causes his retirement plan to unravel, A.J. almost gives up on life entirely. He sets out on a run after closing one evening and deciding there is nothing left for him to lose leaves the bookstore unlocked. Upon his return he notices the front door is ajar. Creeping around the store expecting to find an intruder, A.J. discovers in the children’s section an abandoned two-year old little girl with a note asking the bookstore’s owner to take care of her. Much to the surprise of everyone, A.J. decides to oblige her mother’s final wishes forcing A.J. to open up his heart in ways he thought were gone forever. Each chapter of this heartwarming book begins with a book recommendation from A.J. to Maya and little notes advising her on life and as a writer. Gabrielle Zevin has created a home in Island Books that any book worm would love to call their own. I dare you to read this book and not have this storied life warm your soul.

“Recursion” by Blake Crouch

In 2018, Helena Smith’s mother is living with Alzheimer’s. She is increasingly losing her memories and Helena is working non-stop to find a way to stop this from happening. A brilliant neuroscientist on the verge of an incredible breakthrough, Helena is quickly running out of time and money. Her invention, a memory chair with the ability to map a person’s memory and return them to someone like Helena’s mother is still years away from trials. When Helena is approached by an investor who is willing to give her unlimited funding to create her chair she is desperate to say yes but at what cost will this be to her in the long run? Barry, living in 2007, is a New York City policeman heading towards a call to help talk down woman on top of a building. She is convinced she is suffering from False Memory Syndrome. This “illness” has started to pop up all over the city but no one knows what is causing it, whether or not it’s contagious or how to treat those inflicted. Though it’s not exactly his job to investigate the FMS outbreak, Barry follows a lead not knowing that he will be altering everything he knows to be true as well as those he loves most. Blake Crouch has written an absolutely genius, twisting and complex story involving multiple timelines, memory and a race to undo the end of time. For fans of “Dark Matter” this new work by Crouch is not one to miss. Do yourself a favor and pick up both of these today.

“The Immortalists” by Chloe Benjamin

As a children, the Gold family did something that children shouldn’t. Eleven-year old Daniel overheard a group of older boys talking about a fortuneteller, a woman who can tell you what day you will die. When he gets home he convinces his three siblings that they need to see this woman. They each set off trying to find where she lives and once they have the address the sneak off to pay her a visit. She will only allow one of them at a time into the apartment and tells each of them that they are not to discuss with anyone what she has told them. It’s only years later, after their father has died, that the four Gold children bring up this day again. Each of them sharing their expiration date with one another, all but Simon, who refuses to say anything other than “young.” The book then breaks off into four sections following one of the Gold children at a time as they each press on into adulthood and towards the last day of their lives. Chloe Benjamin has written vivid and beautiful characters into life. As each section comes to a close you wonder do the Gold children create the final scenes of their life, like a full-filling prophecy, because they believe their date to actually be their last or was that fortuneteller not a scam artist after-all?

“The Breakdown” by B.A. Paris

Cass is out with her co-workers celebrating the end of school year when a huge storm begins to brew. She decides to head for home promising her husband, Matthew, that she won’t take the shortcut through the woods. Driving conditions are terrible on the main roads so she decides to make a break for it and head in the direction she said she wouldn’t. She’d get there faster this way anyway. Sheets of rain are coming down as she nears the end of the lane. She can finally see another set of lights ahead of her and hurries on to catch up so they can share the use of headlights for the remainder of the drive but as she gets closer she sees that the car isn’t moving but instead is parked in the lay-by. Annoyed that she now has to squeeze past she flashes the woman inside a dirty look as she passes. Realizing this woman might be in trouble out here all alone in the woods, Cass decides to pull over as well. When the woman makes no effort to get out or signal for help, Cass decides to continue on and call the police when she regains cell service once she clears the woods…something she ultimately forgets to do. When she wakes the next morning, Matthew informs her there has been a murder not 5 minutes from their home. A woman in the woods was found dead in her car. Knowing Matthew would be furious with her if she told him she returned that way last night she keeps her run-in with the woman to herself but when the silent phone calls starting coming, Cass begins to wonder did Jane’s killer see her that night? Does he know who she is? This was my first book by B. A. Paris (big thanks to my friend who recommended!) and it certainly won’t be my last. When an author keeps you up until 1 a.m. you know you’ve found a gem. Add this to your TBR list immediately.

“The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” by Stuart Turton

A man wakes in the forrest at dawn with no memory except for the name, Anna. While still confused and uncertain of where or who he is, he makes his way towards Blackheath Manor. What he doesn’t yet know is that he will be forced to repeat this same day over and over again until he can solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, the only way out of this game. Each morning he wakes in the body of a different guest staying at Blackheath, bringing pieces of his days inside his other hosts with him. Peter & Helena Hardcastle have invited everyone to the Manor to welcome their daughter, Evelyn back home from Paris after 19 years. The Hardcastle family have been at odds since the death of young Thomas that day by the lake and morbidly this party falls on the anniversary of his murder. Can the man piece together what becomes of Evelyn Hardcastle and escape the endless trap that his Blackheath before someone else beats him to it? This original, creative and cleaver mystery gave me a Clue meets Groundhog Day meets a sci-fi feels. It was so intriguing to see where author, Stuart Turton, was taking the reader next it made the book hard to put down. There are so many twists, turns and time jumps it will keep you on your toes. “The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle” was really unlike anything I’ve read before, really creative. This is a great read for fans of the mystery/suspense genre. Will definitely be rereading this!

“The Night Olivia Fell” by Christine McDonald

They say everyone in the world has a twin and if that’s true then Olivia has just met hers. On a school trip she meets Kendall a girl that looks so much like her they could be sisters. Not knowing who her father is, this chance encounter leaves Olivia feeling unsettled. What she didn’t know yet was that this meeting would set in motion a series of events that would leave her at the bottom of a bridge fighting for her life in a few months. The night Olivia fell, her mother Abi rushed to the hospital filled with questions. What happened to Olivia? What caused the bruising around her wrists? Why are the police insisting this was an accident? Determined to get justice for her daughter, Abi must take on the investigation herself, something that will push her to her breaking point. The story told in two time jumps from Olivia and Abi’s perspective weave together the truth about what actually happened on that October night on the ZigZag Bridge. “The Night Olivia Fell” was just okay for me. It reads more like a YA book and was a bit too predictable. I’ve read some pretty great mysteries lately and sadly this one just didn’t measure up.

“Firefly Lane” by Kristin Hannah

It’s 1974. The year that fourteen year old Tully meets her best friend Kate. Tully and her addict mother move into a home on Firefly Lane. Kate is desperate for friend while Tully needs the stability of a family to lean on. The two girls become inseparable morphing into “TullyandKate”. As the decades roll on, the girls pass through high school, college, careers, marriage, children each with the other by their side. In their 30+ years of friendship the two women experience the highs and lows of life together, tear into one another and lift each other up. “Firefly Lane” offers real and raw insight into the family dynamic between husbands, wives, mothers, daughters and sisterhoods that women create for themselves. Kristin Hannah has written another heartwarming book in “Firefly Lane” that will bring you on a rollercoaster of emotions. As a mother of a daughter, this book made me sit back and think about what it will be like when our relationship reaches the teenage years as well as appreciate what it was like to grow up in a family that more resembled Kate’s than Tully’s. I’m grateful to have my own “TullyandKate” friendship that is going on 26+ years and although we are close to 1,500 miles apart we will always have each other. Do yourself and favor and pick up a copy of this book for you and your BFF.

“Love & Luck” by Jenna Evans Welch

Addie and her family are in Ireland for her Aunt’s wedding. Her mother and three older brothers flew to the island with the intention of Addie and her next oldest brother, Ian, breaking off from the group to visit Addie’s best friend Lina (Love & Gelato crossover) in Italy for a few days after the ceremony. The two siblings have been fighting for the majority of the summer over a secret that Addie is keeping from her parents. The pair have an epic brawl at the wedding causing their mother to give them an ultimatum. If either sibling cause any more problems, they are both off of their sports teams. The next morning Addie and Ian are supposed to be catching a flight to Florence when Addie wakes with a start to find Ian gone. Racing to the lobby she catches him just as he is about to get into the car with someone she’s never met before. Ian informs her that he never had any intention of coming with her to Italy and that he will meet her in Dublin for their flight home. Knowing that if their mother were to find out they deviated from their plan it would end her soccer career, Addie decides to jump in the car with the two boys. Addie, Ian & Rowan set off on a three day road trip across Ireland and along the way Addie discovers that she isn’t the only one in the family who has been keeping secrets. I was really excited about reading “Love & Luck” after “Love & Gelato” made me want to drop everything and head immediately to the airport but sadly this one fell a little flat for me. I would recommend the twin books by Jenna Evans Welch for any adventurous YA readers that are eager to get out and see the world and parents can be relaxed with the very subtle love stories and clean language.

“All We Ever Wanted” by Emily Giffin

From the outside it would appear that Nina has the perfect life. Husband she loves, a son recently accepted to Princeton, a fortune in the bank allowing her to focus on volunteering for causes she cares about but things aren’t always what they seem. While Nina and her husband attend a charity event, across town their “perfect” son is making a decision that would derail everything. Tom is a loving and caring single father to his daughter Lyla working two jobs to be able to send her to the prestigious private high school she attends along with Nina’s son. When Lyla’s mother left them, Tom vowed that he would keep Lyla safe at all costs causing him be overprotective and watchful of everything Lyla does but Tom doesn’t know about the things his teenage daughter hides from him. These two families’ worlds become irrevocably intertwined all thanks to a single photograph and the aftershock reactions it creates throughout their pristine Nashville neighborhood. Written with alternating perspectives from Nina, Tom & Lyla, “All We Ever Wanted” is a bit of a different departure from Emily Giffin’s usual light, breezy & fun romances. As a long time Giffin reader, I was really thrown for a loop when the story turned out to be more of a thought-provoking look at morality, ethics and the terrifying task of raising teenagers in a digital world. A great read for any Giffin fan to add to their collection.

“The Twilight Wife” by A.J. Banner

Marine biologist, Kyra Winthrop suffered a life altering head injury while out scuba diving with her husband, Jacob. To help her recover the couple move to Jacob’s childhood summer home on a remote island off the coast of Washington. Missing four years of her memory, Kyra is impatient to learn anything she can about the life she has lost. Small flashes begin to come back to her but the pieces don’t connect with the narrative that she is being told by Jacob. There are people she feels strangely connected to and lingering feelings for Jacob’s friend, Aidan. Kyra feels that the answers she needs are being kept just out of her reach. With the help of a therapist and a few locals she met on a trip to the island the year before Kyra’s life begins to come back into focus but what she discovers when the haze finally clears might cost her her life. Unfortunately, I found “The Twilight Wife” to be predictable from the start. The typical, what you think is going to happen actually happens ending. Though the story had a lot of potential it just fell flat. I would give this one a pass.

Til next time,

E

For more reviews visit @thebookedmama on Instagram