Happy FRIDAY! AND . . . Happy MAY BOOK REVIEW DAY! Woohoo!

My favorite post of the month!!!

I am pumped about today’s Book Review post, because I really liked all of the books that I read. All SIX of them! A couple of road trips helped to bump that number up, along with that whole quarantine thing we are all dealing with right now!

I mixed in a little chick-lit, a little historical fiction, a book with all of the feels. Just so much GREATNESS in today’s post. Definitely have some books here that you need to grab for your summer reads! Here we go . . .

“The Central Park Pact”
Passion on Park Avenue
Love on Lexington Avenue
Marriage on Madison Avenue
by Lauren Layne

May started with a super fun trip to the lake with family, and I was in need of a fun and easy read. I’ve always enjoyed Lauren Layne books, and am ALWAYS up for a series.

Lauren Layne writes Hallmark movies in a book. Generally PG with some PG-13 language. She is very much like Kristan Higgins, where you know what will happen at the end, but the journey getting there is still sweet and fun.

The three books within The Central Park Pact series center around three friends: Naomi, Claire, and Audrey.
Book 1: Passion on Park Avenue
Book 2: Love on Lexington Avenue
Book 3: Marriage on Madison Avenue

These three friends have been wronged by the same man, and make a pact to never allow each other to fall for the wrong guy again. Really cute and sweet. Definitely the type of book to throw in your pool or beach bag, and not worry about trying to follow a difficult plot while half reading and half watching your kids in the pool. Perfect for summer!

Rush by Lisa Patton

If you were ever in a sorority, read this book! If not, I’m not sure you would enjoy it. And, you’d probably think all Greek life is insane. Which, in some ways, it is.

I was a Kappa Kappa Gamma at SMU in Dallas. I met some of my very dearest friends moving into the freshman dorm and we all pledged Kappa together. So blessed by these girls.

Let me just say that I LUCKED out on moving day when I met my friends. I wasn’t a legacy to any house, I had zero clue what I was doing during rush, and wasn’t sure that I could come up with the money to pay the dues. But, I somehow managed to get a bid, and had the best college experience.

Rush takes you through a year at a sorority house at Ole Miss. Chapters are told by either a housekeeper, an alumni representative, or a freshman going through rush.

Reading this book took me WAY back. I have remembered things from rush week that I had long since forgotten. Some heartwarming, others cringe worthy.

This book definitely says more about how we should help those around us rather than what it’s like to be a sorority girl. This book will definitely make you cringe in parts, but overall it holds a sweet and heart-warming message. Check it out!

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Oh this book. Y’all.

A friend of mine has been trying to convince me to read this for a year now. I have no idea what took me so long because I really LOVED it.

And, the best part? I didn’t realize until after I had finished the book that it is based on a true story. Amazing.

The Alice Network follows two unlikely friends that find they need each other. Chapters are told back and forth between Eve in 1915 and Charlie in 1947.

Eve was a spy within The Alice Network in the first World War, and has spent the last 30 years being destroyed with what she saw, what she experienced, and what she lost.

Charlie is an American college student looking for her missing cousin after the second World War. She desperately believes her cousin to be alive, and escapes her family’s grasp to prove it.

The Alice Network is historical fiction, and while it is NOT Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale, it does have some of those feels. It is so amazing what women went through during both World Wars, and how so many of them worked behind enemy lines to try to do what was right.

Great book! Great! Read it! Loved it!

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

I am becoming such a fan of Rebecca Serle. Last January, I read The Dinner List, and just loved it. A truly magical story! You can read my review of it here, if you haven’t read it just yet).

I was excited to dive into her newest book, and really had no idea what to expect. Well, friends. It is a GREAT book!

In Five Years is about a woman that has her dream job, her dream boyfriend, her dream apartment . . . just, all of the things. She has planned her life perfectly, and everything is falling into place. On the night that she gets engaged to her boyfriend, she has a dream of her life five years into the future. All with a new apartment and a new man in her life. The dream was so realistic that it truly messes with her mind as she moves on from it.

This book takes you through the next five years of her life, and leads you to that moment from her dream. Did it happen? And, if so, what caused the changes?

Y’all! WOWZA! I read this book in record time just because I wanted to see how it ended. Such a sweet, sweet book. SO much about friendship, and how we view love in our lives. Just a great book! And, perfect for the summer!

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Whew! That was a long one! Let me know if you read any of these. I always love to hear from all of you when you read my reviews. So fun to share my love of reading with y’all! And, as always, send me your recommendations. I have some VERY exciting new releases coming my way for the summer, but always need more.

Have a great weekend! Stay healthy and safe! XO