It’s finally starting to feel like spring here in our corner of New England. With our weekly summer countdown moving onto just one hand now, I’m starting to daydream of the warm reading afternoons ahead. This last ten stack has a little bit of everything – including some misses as well as hits. Have you started your summer TBR list? There are a few great titles included below that deserve an add. Happy Reading!

“I’ve Got Your Number” by Sophie Kinsella

In one afternoon Poppy’s perfect life is up in flames. If losing her priceless family heirloom engagement ring during a fire drill wasn’t bad enough, Poppy gets robbed while calling for help and her phone is stolen. As luck may have it she comes across a phone discarded in the trash of her hotel’s lobby. Poppy leaves her “new” number with the hotel in case someone finds her ring but when the phone’s owner contacts her, he wants his phone back, now. Sam’s PA quit dramatically and had thrown away the company phone as her final mic drop. All of his important emails and texts get forwarded to this phone and now some strange girl is begging to keep it for a few days. Sam acquiesces and the two are now tethered together by technology until the missing emerald is found. Now on top of wedding planning and juggling her fiancé’s family she is now managing Sam’s life and getting herself tangled up in drama she never anticipated. My only problem with “I’ve Got Your Number” is that turning the last page meant that I am growing ever closer to finishing all of Sophie Kinsella’s back titles. To say I loved the characters in this book would be an understatement. I would be the first in line to buy the sequel of this book. As always, another hit from Kinsella to add to your TBR.

“Watergate: A New History” by Garrett M. Graff

“In the early hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard named Frank Wills enters six words into the log book of the Watergate office complex that will change the course of history: 1:47 AM Found tape on doors; call police.” Author Garrett M. Graff has compiled, albeit a beast of a book, a reader friendly, organized depiction of Watergate that not only educates but stands as an impressive snapshot of one of America’s most famous political scandals. The 832 page count may scare some readers off but for history buffs you can’t beat Graff’s take on Watergate. The audiobook version is well read and may offer a great alternative to digest this book. Having not learned much about Watergate before I am so grateful to Avid Reader Press for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved Graff’s “The Only Plane in the Sky” and you can’t beat this author’s attention to detail and research.

“The Perfect Family” by Robyn Harding

In the middle of the night, the Adler’s home became the target of a prank. It was just some bored kids with a carton of eggs Thomas decided but then they kept showing up night after night. Smoke bombs on the lawn, paint on the garage, rocks through the window and slashed tires causing frayed nerves and suspicion. When Thomas and Viv’s newly installed surveillance cameras can’t decipher who the hooded culprits are, the family begins to spiral. The elder Adler’s are convinced it’s teenagers from Tarryn’s school, Eli is worried people he thought he left behind have found him and Tarryn is happy to point the blame in any direction other than herself. What the Adler family doesn’t know is that each of them is carrying around secrets and suspects and any of them could be the target. If you are looking for a page-turning thriller “The Perfect Family” is a great read. I was in the dark about how this would resolve until the last page. Though I wish the ending was tied up differently I really enjoyed “The Perfect Family” (Fingers crossed there is a sequel in the works!)

“The Younger Wife” by Sally Hepworth

Dear Reader, you are cordially invited to attend the wedding of Heather and Stephen. An albeit unconventional affair as Stephen’s recently divorced wife, Pam, will be in attendance. Their adult daughters are the same age as the bride and most of those in attendance are there for the gossip, not the happy couple. When a scream is heard from inside the sanctuary and the celebrant emerges covered in blood everyone is left to speculate what happened. Ambulances are called, guests are asked to leave and an investigation begins. Any of them could be the victim, any of them could be at fault. When a family has the amount of secrets buried that the Astons do, someone was eventually bound to snap. There is not a likable character among the lot in “The Younger Wife” and it really makes for quite the page-turner. You have no idea who to root for at any given time and the ending (at least in the ARC) version leaves you feeling unsettled and unsure. If you are looking for a twisty read, give “The Younger Wife” a try. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“A Bookshop in Berlin” by Françoise Frenkel

“In 1921, Françoise Frenkel–a Jewish woman from Poland–fulfills a dream. She opens La Maison du Livre, Berlin’s first French bookshop, attracting artists and diplomats, celebrities and poets. The shop becomes a haven for intellectual exchange as Nazi ideology begins to poison the culturally rich city.” Françoise Frenkel’s first hand account of what it meant to be hunted by the Nazi’s is heartbreaking and terrifying. The title is a little misleading as this isn’t a story about a bookshop but about its owner’s harrowing ordeal during WW2. The book, first published in 1945 was rediscovered in an attic in 2010 and given another life. I always prefer to listen to non-fiction books but I would recommend reading the physical copy as the audiobook narration made it very difficult to focus. A good read for anyone who loves history.

“The Paris Apartment” by Lucy Foley

Needing a quick escape from her life, Jess decides that a visit to her brother in Paris is the perfect solution. Leaving her directions on Jess’s voicemail, Ben tells her he will be at the apartment to greet her when she arrives. Only when Jess shows up at his front door he is nowhere to be found. Could he have just left without telling her? As hours become days, Jess is convinced there is something more to her brother’s absence. Ben’s neighbors are suspicious and the more she digs into his life in Paris, Jess uncovers dangerous secrets about those he shares an address with. When confronted each of the apartment’s occupants adds a small piece to the mystery of what happened to Ben and now that she is here Jess can’t leave until she finds him, no matter the outcome. Fans of Lucy Foley will find “The Paris Apartment” a great addition to her previous thriller collection. Written with her signature twisty style Foley leaves you guessing right to the last page. I have seen many mixed reviews for this book but I enjoyed it and I went in with an open mind. For me, “The Paris Apartment” is worth an add to your TBR list.

“Bomb Shelter” by Mary Laura Philpott

In the middle of the night author Mary Laura Philpott was awakened by every parent’s nightmare, her teenage son was in the middle of a medical emergency. A self-proclaimed worrier, Philpott contemplated if this terrifying incident happened to her protected family, what else could be next? Written with equal parts humor and anxiety, Philpott beautifully expresses the worry journey a parent experiences through many stages of their children’s lives. I related so much to a lot of the content in this book and would recommend the audiobook, which is read by the author herself to anyone traveling through this parenting journey who often has played out every possible, crazy scenario in their head well into the wee hours of the night. No greater gift than being a parent but, man, does it make you crazy at times, am I right?

“Finlay Donovan is Killing It” by Elle Cosimand

While at lunch with her editor, Finlay Donovan is overheard discussing the plot of her next crime novel by a woman sitting nearby. As Finlay sat at the table alone the woman approached her with a proposition thinking Finlay was in fact a contract killer, she hires her on the spot to dispose of her horrendous husband. With her life falling apart and no way to pay the bills, Finlay finds herself agreeing to investigate. One thing leads to another and all of a sudden, Finlay is in over her head. She quickly discovers writing about crime and actually committing one are two very different things. I read this first book in the “Finlay Donovan” series in a day. Its fast-paced, witty story is one that quickly grabs you and keeps you rooting for Finlay all the way through. I can’t wait to pick up the second book in this series which is out now. A great read for an upcoming vaca or a lazy weekend.

“The Socialite” by J’Nell Ciesielski

A rescue mission behind enemy lines was not what Kat expected to be tasked with when her sister ran away from home. Now Ellie is living the luxury life in Paris with her Nazi boyfriend while the world around them crumbles. Nothing will convince Ellie to leave Paris and go back to the way her life was before making Kat’s job of dragging her back to England all that more difficult. She must tip toe around Ellie’s boyfriend, not letting him know she is against him and everything he stands for with every fiber of her being. He must not know that Kat will stop at nothing to see her sister safely back home. I usually love historical fiction books set during this era but “The Socialite” sadly did not live up to its peer books. The pacing is slow, the prose is overly dramatic at times and reading scenes in which Hitler was a main presence just didn’t sit right with me. I’m sure there are His Fic readers out there that will love this book but sadly for me, it was a miss.

“True Identity: Cracking the Oldest Kidnapping Cold Case and Finding My Missing Twin” by Paul Joseph Fronczak

Who is Paul Fronczak? At 10 years old the author thought he was Paul but after discovering newspapers hidden away in a crawlspace in his home he discovered that he may not in fact know who he is at all. For another four decades nothing more was spoken of the infant baby stolen from his mother’s arms on the day he was born back in 1964 or the toddler returned to them by police two years later. When his lifelong suspicions could no longer be held back, Fronczak took a DNA test which proved he was not the kidnapped baby, starting him on a journey to uncover who he really is and what happened to the real Paul Fronczak. “True Identity” is born thanks to many genealogists, science and decades of investigative digging to uncover the mystery of what happened on that October day in a Chicago hospital, who was the boy returned to the Fronczaks and what became of the author’s biological twin sister. I couldn’t stop listening to “True Identity” which is narrated by the author himself. The journey that Fronczak went through to truly know who he is jaw dropping and is a recommended must read/listen in my opinion.

’til next time,

The Booked Mama

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