Happy BOOK REVIEW Day! Woohoo! My favorite post of the month!

Also . . . super quick . . . how is it June 29th? I know that I have basically been on summer break with my kids since mid-March, but now I feel like this year is flying by. Anyone else feel that way? I am just trying to hold onto everyone over here, and try to slow down time. Cue the Mama tears.

Back to business. I really went back to the well this month, and only read authors that I have loved in the past. Strangely enough, all four books are written by a pair of authors. I was VERY pleased with some, and really disappointed with another. BOO!

Here we go . . .

The Wife Stalker by Liv Constantine

Hmmmmm . . . this is a hard one for me. I have been a HUGE FAN of Liv Constantine’s first two novels. The debut novel, The Last Mrs. Parrish, remains one of my all time favorite thrillers. I have lost track of who is borrowing it now, and I don’t care because I think everyone should read it. Such a FUN book. The second book, The Last Time I Saw You, was equally as great. If you remember last summer, I read it on our annual framily trip, and ended up telling the kids the story in a kid-friendly, ten-year old version way. They all LOVED it, loved guessing who was good and who was bad, and have all spent the last year waiting for me to get another great “framily trip” book. Well, due to the craziness of the world, our framily trip was cancelled this year, but I did get the BRAND NEW Live Constantine book.

WOOHOO??????

I am SO very bummed to share that I really struggled with this book. As a mother, a wife, and a woman, this book was hard for me. I told a friend after I was finished with it that the first 2/3 were not great, but I really loved the last third. But, all in all, I am not sure reading this book is even worth it. YIKES! I am so sorry to say that because I LOVE Liv Constantine books.

The Wife Stalker centers around two women: Piper, the new business woman in town that is clearly trying to escape a dark past. And, Joanna, a middle-aged woman trying to hold onto her husband and children. The man in the middle is easily swayed by Piper, and Joanna feels like she has to act fast to save her family.

Great plot, but uncomfortably executed. Maybe if I was a young woman in my twenties without a husband and children, I would have loved this book from start to finish. But, I’m not. So, this one was a hard one for me. I really did end up liking the end quite a bit. The first 2/3 of it? Not so much.

Have any of you read this book? Am I crazy to not be in love with it?

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

After finishing up The Wife Stalker, I REALLY needed a fun and easy read to take to the beach on our trip to North Captiva. Enter in Christina Lauren. This twosome writes books that have the making of a Hallmark Movie, but only on the racy side. Don’t judge me. I love this stuff.

Most of Christina Lauren’s books, are pretty basic chick-lit, but I was very happy to see that this one had a bit more depth. It actually reminded me of a lighter version of Swear On This Life . . . one of my top three favorites from 2019. LOVED that book.

Love and Other Words centers around Macy, and her life in northern California. Macy’s mom died when she was ten, and prior to her death, her mom wrote out lists and lists to help her dad with raising a young woman. So sweet. This book goes back and forth between Macy in her teenage years, and Macy now as a pediatric oncologist resident in San Francisco. The eleven years spanning these chapters tell her story of life, healing, and trying to move from pain.

This book is super, super sweet. Now, it is rated R . . . FYI. I really liked this. This was my book on our beach trip, and it was PERFECT for the occasion. Lots of heartbreak followed by beautiful happiness. Yeah for this book!

The Honey Don’t List by Christina Lauren

Because I love this author duo, I kept by Christina Lauren train going by picking up their newest book. The Honey Don’t List was released in March, and I have to say that Reid loved my reading this book. I kept telling him all about it because I just couldn’t get enough.

So, full disclosure, I am a huge HGTV fan. Harlan is starting to join my obsession, and I am currently trying to convince him that “Beucler Bungalows” should be the next big hit. Anyway . . .

Melly & Rusty are the HGTV “it” couple. They married young, settled in Jackson Hole, and opened a sweet, home decor store. As their family grew, and their sweet personalities charmed everyone around them, their brand grew and now includes a HGTV hit show, books, and endorsement deals with large chain stores. Their marriage is the envy of everyone around them as she plays the straight-laced wife, and he always has her and everyone else around them laughing. I will not write out who this reminds me of on the surface, but if you like HGTV, I was wondering if another certain “it” couple had read this book.

This book mainly centers around the book tour for their newly released book on marital advice. Here is the problem: after years of marriage, they can’t stand each other. They put on a good show, but it is up to their respective assistants (Carey & James) to clean up their messes.

This book is so funny and sweet. Again, this one if rated R. I flew through this book, and loved every minute of it. The perfect choice for your easy, summer read!

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah

After my Christina Lauren lovefest, I decided to throw in another suspenseful thriller. So, I have been up and down in the past on this author duo. Two summers ago, I read The Wife Between Us, and was a HUGE fan. And, then last spring, I read An Anonymous Girl, and barely made it through it. So, when their new book came out this spring, I had to try them out one last time.

The verdict on You Are Not Alone? I LOVED THIS BOOK! This book was SO much fun. Suspenseful, but not scary. Crazy, but not anxiety-inducing. I was so confused as to what was going on, that I couldn’t put it down. Such a fun read, and this would make a GREAT movie.

Shay Miller has a bit of a lonely, rough life. Her career is going nowhere, her dating life is non-existent, and she has no real family or friends to speak of. When she meets the glamourous sisters, Cassandra and Jane Moore, she just can’t believe that they actually want to be friends with her. What she doesn’t know, is that it is not friendship the Moore sisters are after, it is her identity.

OOOOOOOOhhhhhh . . . this is a good one, friends. I think that I have decided that I am more of a chick-lit fan, but it is books like this that make me fall in love with the suspense genre all over again! Check it out!

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I love reading in the summer! Such great options to just escape into! As always, let me know if you have ready any of these, and what you thought about them! AND . . . send me your recommendations! XO