Everything I Read This Summer: Ranked

Peanut Butter Fingers · 18 hrs ago · 7 views

Summer may not technically be over yet, but with all three boys back in school it feels like our summer season has come to a close. I may be cutting summer a little short but I was feeling the itch to chat all about books on the blog today so that’s what we’re going to do! I read a decent number of books this summer, though admittedly less than usual because I was often so darn tired by the time my usual bedtime reading rolled around since our summer was filled with travel, visitors and later-than-usual bedtimes for the boys. Hopefully the fall season will bring a little more reading back into my life, but I still managed to read a handful of books, many of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Below you will find everything I read this summer ranked in order from the books I enjoyed most to the ones I’d probably pass on if you’re looking for your next read. As always you’ll find a mix of genres below — everything from contemporary and historical fiction to mysteries and romance — and I hope something below pops out at you if you’re looking to fill up your library holds list! Happy reading, fellow bookworms! Everything I Read This Summer: Ranked The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett Genre: Historical Fiction / My rating: A  The best way I can describe The Calamity Club is to say it’s simultaneously very long and yet not long enough. I love, love, loved it. From start to finish, this book had me absolutley enamored and deeply rooting for both main characters. I spent the first half of the book not really knowing where it was going but also not caring because I adored Meg and Birdie so much. I ended up getting the audiobook version of The Calamity Club through my Libby app halfway through reading it and then went back and forth between the book and the audiobook, as I read before bed at night but listen to audiobooks while multitasking during the day. For this book, I felt like the audiobook version took my enjoyment of the story to another level. The women reading as Meg and Birdie did such a phenomenal job adding dimension to the character’s voices in a way that had me reading in their voices in my mind when I would switch back to reading this book. This book is officially claiming my top spot for my favorite book of the year so far! It was captivating, thought-provoking, heartbreaking, unexpectedly funny at times and a truly memorable read. The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham Genre: Contemporary Fiction / My rating: A  I enjoyed the heck out of this book! I was looking for something light and fun for the summer and The Academy nailed it. It was the kind of book that reads like a New England boarding school drama show you cannot help but binge on Netflix. I looked forward to reading it before bed every night and cannot wait to dive into the second book in this mini series once it’s released this fall. From Amazon: It’s move-in day at Tiffin Academy and amidst the happy chaos of friends reuniting, selfies uploading, and cars unloading, shocking news arrives: America Today just ranked Tiffin the number two boarding school in the country. It’s a seventeen-spot jump—was there a typo? The dorms need to be renovated, their sports teams always come in last place, and let’s just say Tiffin students are known for being more social than academic. On the other hand, the campus is exquisite, class sizes are small, and the dining hall is run by an acclaimed New York chef. And they do have fun—lots of parties and school dances, and a piano man plays in the student lounge every Monday night. The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young Genre: Mystery/Romance/Magical Realism / My rating: A- Having previously read and mostly enjoyed Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young, a few of you encouraged me to read The Unmaking of June Farrow by the same author. I’m glad you nudged me this way because it was such a creative book that read like so much more than your typical love story. It involved time travel in a way that felt fresh and intesresting and an underlying mystery was woven throughout the story that piqued my interest and kept me engaged and excited to flip thorough the pages. From Amazon: In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm—and the mysterious curse that has plagued their family line. The whole town remembers the madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance, leaving June to be raised by her grandmother and haunted by rumors. It’s been a year since June started seeing and hearing things that weren’t there but June is determined to end the curse once and for all, even if she must sacrifice finding love and having a family of her own. After her grandmother’s death, June discovers a series of cryptic clues regarding her mother’s decades-old disappearance, except they only lead to more questions. But could the door she once assumed was a hallucination be the answer she’s been searching for? The next time it appears, June realizes she can touch it and walk past the threshold. And when she does, she embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but also uncover the lingering mysteries of her small town and entangle her heart in an epic star-crossed love. Here’s to Us by Elin Hilderbrand Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance / My rating: B+ Something about summer has me craving easy, breezy books and Elin Hilderbrand...