It’s BOOK REVIEW DAY! Woohoo! My favorite day of the month. Thanks to Spring Break travel and a little time at home nursing myself after a small procedure, I read FIVE books this month! Two of the books I started at 8am and ended at 9pm at night . . . amazing what you can do when a doctor tells you to sit and rest. Ha! So, this meme was basically me during March and it makes me laugh.

I really and truly just liked all of the books I read this month. Not a bad one! Perfect books to add to your list for upcoming trips and summer relaxation! Here we go . . .

One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

I have become a big fan of Rebecca Serle’s magical novels. I, along with every other blogger, read The Dinner List a few years ago and loved it. And, then I read In Five Years. That one was amazing, and I actually named it one of the top three books I read in 2020. Truly a beautiful book with a magical concept. That is what Rebecca Serle does. She writes chick-lit books, that offer depth and a twist of some magical whimsy, if you will. Whatever you call it, I am HERE FOR IT!

One Italian Summer, her newest release, may be my favorite of hers yet! LOVE this book and already on my list of favorites this year!

(Please note that if you have lost your mother, or someone close to you from cancer, this may be triggering for you.)

Katy’s mom was her best friend, and after her death, she doesn’t know how to continue to live her life or to find her new normal. They had planned a trip to the Amalfi Coast, which they were set to depart three weeks after her mom’s death. Katy decides to leave her husband and grieving father at home and take the trip herself in an effort to escape the waves of grief. While there, she runs into her mom . . . the version of her mother from thirty years ago that is living the life while experiencing the Italian coast. They become friends during her stay, and Katy learns more about her mother’s heart and zest for life as she is learning more about what she wants for herself in this new normal that she will be living once she returns back home.

Y’all, this is a magical, sweet book. This book is all about healing from grief, learning to forgive, and living in the new normal. I just LOVED this book, and I am currently trying to convince Reid that we need to take a trip to the Amalfi Coast ASAP. The backdrop of this story was written so beautifully, and it has had me researching travel guides for this part of Italy. Please read this one, and then reach out to let me know your thoughts. It will give you all the good feels!

Hook, Line & Sinker by Tessa Bailey

If you have been following my book reviews for long, then you know I love a great chick lit book with a side of steaminess. I don’t mind admitting to this shameful, guilty pleasure of mine. Ha! I discovered It Happened One Summer last year, and it truly was one of my favorites. I loved the characters, the town of Westport, the romance between Piper and Brenden, just all the things.

Hook, Line & Sinker, the sequel, took a bit to get out because Tessa’s husband was sick and ended up in the ICU for THREE months while she was writing this. Thankfully, he is all better now! So, when this finally arrived on my doorstep, I was THRILLED! This sequel follows Piper’s sister, Hannah, and Brenden’s best friend, Fox – both also characters in the first book.

Hannah works in the LA entertainment industry and convinces her studio to film their next movie back in Westport just so that she can be around her favorite people. When Piper’s guest room is filled with her future in-laws, Hannah takes over the guest room in Fox’s apartment. Fox is a known womanizer, but her best friend that she cares deeply for. While the chemistry is definitely there between them, Fox doesn’t want to ruin a cherished friendship and Hannah doesn’t want to be just another conquest for him. Weeks together in close quarters starts to change feelings, and a very sweet, sweet relationship starts growing. This book is rated R, but the characters are ADORABLE, and I want to vacation in Westport. You cheer for everyone in this book, and it is easy breezy, and SOOOOO cute. A perfect book for the summer.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Hmmmmmm. So, I loved her last book, The Wife Upstairs. It was a great mystery that had me all in from the first page trying to figure it all out. I was really excited about this and should have known something was up when I cracked the book on a plane and the flight attendant said “I just read that book. It was good, just different from her last one”. That, my friends, is basically my book review on this one. Good, but not as good as her last one.

Reckless Girls follows six, adventurous people when they end up on a deserted island that has a sketchy past with a history of shipwrecks, WWII hideouts, and people going crazy due to “the island”. Sadly, a little research told me that this spooky island is not for real because there were some CRAZY stories that had my historical nerd side very intrigued!

Looking for adventure, these six people dock their boats on Meroe Island and have plans to party for a couple of weeks. What starts out as bonfires on the beach and bottles of red wine at night turns very quickly into an episode of Lost. Please know that I LOVE the series Lost and watched the finale twice because I had so many theories. So, the characters go from friends to questioning each other to seeing the island as something that is legit trying to make them crazy. I liked this one, I really did. I read this slowly over Spring Break, so maybe that is why it never hit me hard and just seemed long in the end? It was interesting and fun, and the suspense in the ending chapters was amazing. Good thriller that will make you want to cancel those plans to hang out somewhere secluded this summer! 

The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John

A few of you recommended The Lion’s Den to me last month and let me say THANK YOU! WOW, did I love this book. This reminded me of Liane Moriarty earlier books (like Big, Little Lies) that had you guessing, confused, and entertained all the way through.

Belle and Summer have been friends since high school, with Belle being the responsible, hard worker and Summer being the flighty one always looking for adventure and trouble. A decade into their friendship, Summer invites Belle and other friends on a week-long Mediterranean cruise aboard her billionaire boyfriend’s yacht. Sounds amazing until the dream vacation turns into a nightmare when the passengers start being treated like prisoners. Summer’s controlling boyfriend is clearly up to something shady, and Belle begins to question her own friendship with Summer when things go missing, people appear to be getting drugged, and issues from the past start to rear their ugly head.

Oh y’all. I had NO idea where this book was going halfway through. It kept me so entertained, and I just loved it! This book will make you want to win the lottery just so that you can cruise around the Mediterranean for a month. A beautiful backdrop for this mysterious story. The characters are a mix of quirky individuals, but you will find a few that you truly love and cheer for. Please read this so we can discuss! Loved it!

The Suite Spot by Trish Doller

Last summer, I read Float Plan while on vacation. Super cute and sweet. I knew that The Suite Spot was from the same author, but I had no idea that it was a sequel. Kind of. The Suite Spot follows Anna’s sister and her daughter, although the characters from the first book are mentioned off and on and we can see how their story continues to play out. Ah, closure. Love me some good rom-com closure.

Rachel lives with her mom and her three-year-old daughter. After she is fired from her manager position at a luxury hotel for something she didn’t do, she has to figure out her next steps and try to jump off that cliff of comfort to finally make something of her life. She is offered the manager position at a boutique brewery concept hotel on an island in Lake Erie, so she picks up her life and moves to Ohio to begin a new chapter.

Mason, the owner of the new hotel, has been through so much in recent years and isn’t used to people being up in his business. He hired Rachel just because he was desperate for help, but he clearly wasn’t prepared for all that she, and her precious daughter, were bringing to town.

Y’all. This book was PRECIOUS! Tends to be PG-13/maybe R in a spot of two, but so, so cute. I enjoyed this one more than the first, and HIGHLY recommend it for anyone needing an easy breezy beach read for their upcoming vacation or upcoming lounge time on the couch. If you need me, I will be working on my plans to recreate the adorable boutique hotel from the book, The Limestone. Except instead of beer on tap everywhere, champagne will be a flowin’. Taking reservations for the fall. 😉

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Whew! That was a lot for for one month! Such fun, and I can’t wait to hear from you when you have read these books. And, as always, send me your recommendations. I always love hearing from you! Have a great weekend! XO