Books – June 2024 Part 2

June was a good reading month for me! So good, this is my second book post for the month! Let’s get into it!

This Summer Will Be Different by Carly Fortune

That’s it, pack my bags…I am going to PEI! I absolutely loved this one from Carly Fortune! She has become a must read for me. Felix and Lucy meet one night, have major sparks and chemistry and then they realize who the other is…..and a forbidden romance has just entered the scene. Lucy can’t fall for her best friend’s brother!!! And yet, every summer…they keep coming back to each other. The progression in this book was spot on. It took place over several summers, and they had to sort of work out their own lives. It was very realistic and believable. I absolutely loved the ride, and this is the perfect summer read with the setting.

Bottom Line: Read it!

House of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen

It has been awhile since I have read something beside a romcom, and this was a nice break! I love a good whodunnit, and this one is so well written! We have the Barclay family…who was all home at the time of the nanny’s murder…and it could have been any of them. But Stella is there for the best interest of the daughter, Rose. Who is mute, and a little creepy. As Stella gets to know the family to determine the best interest of Rose’s custody arrangement, she starts to investigate who actually murdered Tina as well. It is a slow burn to the finish line, leaving many chapters ending on cliffhangers to force you to keep going! I loved that about the book. And I switched my thoughts on who did it many times. And while I loved that whole storyline….there was something that really bothered me towards the end of the book.

While I like to get to know the characters and their backstories….you have Stella who is going through a divorce herself from Marco. And there are scenes where she is feeling lonely and stuff. But out of no where towards the end of the book, Stella finds herself attracted to the female detective. Like what???? There was no implication anywhere in the book that she was going through some change or self discovery. I feel like almost every book now has some sort of LGBTQ+ character in it and it’s fine if it makes sense in the book. But for our lead character to all of a sudden switch? Felt like a cash grab to me, or the author trying to find a way to weave it into our story to be listed as a LGBTQ+ novel for social points or something. It really took the book from a 5 star to like a 3.5. It was out of no where and forced rushed in at the end. We already had enough side stories with Stella and her divorce, her father-like relationship with her mentor Charles, Marcos mom, the neighbor, etc….it just didn’t make sense.

Bottom Line: Read it! Overall, despite my gripes, I really enjoyed this one.

**I received an ARC copy of House of Glass. All opinions are my own.**

The Catch by Amy Lea

Just a week or so ago, I read Love You, Mean It that had a similar While You Were Sleeping/The Proposal vibe…and here we are again! Mel is an influencer that tells the hospital that she is Evan’s fiancé after a boating accident so that she can go back with him. After, they enter an agreement to continue their fake relationship to help Evan save the Inn and his family. They sort of have an enemies to lovers type thing going here…but I don’t always feel the chemistry. I felt like the side story of Mel’s 11 year old stalker was weird. And the storyline with her brother was very anticlimactic. Overall, it was a fun read and I liked the setting!

Bottom Line: Read it.

The Second Chance Year by Melissa Wiesner

Oh, what a good read! Sadie doesn’t like to take anything from anyone, and tends to be very vocal when something happens. Which completely blows her life up. She loses her job and her man, and finds herself moping on her little brother’s best friends couch with ice cream and the Golden Girls. Until she is given a second chance year.

What a premise! Listen, sometimes magical realism just doesn’t do it for me. But Rebecca Serle and Ashley Poston always seem to get it right….and this definitely reminds me of their books. I loved following along with Sadie as her second chance year starts, and she handles things with a hindsight perspective. The thing we have to consider is…would we want a second chance if it was truly given to us? Will things still shake out the way they are supposed to in the end? Is the grass greener on the other side? This book focuses a lot more on Sadie’s self realizations than any romance. It handles a lot of hard topics like bullying, family dynamics with a golden child, sexual harassment in the work place and the boys club work culture that still exists in many industries today. This was a fun ride!

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received a copy of The Second Chance Year from Netgalley, I am leaving my review voluntarily.**