Bestsellers I Read in July 2023 – A Book Review
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Is it technically the end of summer since my kids are already back in school, but it’s still hot as hell outside? I don’t know. We’re in a weird summer/fall limbo I think. In any case, I believe I ended my summer reading list with a bang! I read three books this time. I know, normally I average four, sometimes five. But with all the activities I had planned with the kids (i.e. play dates, pool time, you name it), I found it kinda hard to get my reading on. But I did still read three, and that’s not nothing. So, here goes…
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Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
What a sweet love story that was just perfect for summer time! It truly had me engaged the whole time. The story flip-flopped between present day and the past when Percy and Sam were preteens to teenagers. I really wanted to see the two main characters together. They were perfect for each other. I really liked that Sam was always honest. I figured out the bad thing that Percy did about 2/3 of the way through and yeah, it’s bad. But at the same time, it kinda needed to happen. It sucks that it happened, but it added to the story. Also, one thing I noticed, these characters seemed to drink… a lot. And it was so casual and normal, like taking a walk down the street. They always seemed to have a beer in their hand. Not necessarily a bad thing, just noticeable. Overall, this was my favorite book I read this past month, hands down. Highly recommend!
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The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden
This was another book in which what you think is happening isn’t even close to what’s actually going on. I listened to this one on audio and the whole time I was like, okay there’s a mysterious car following her, who is it? I already know it’s not who we think. And then of course, it wasn’t. One character was such a shallow, heartless piece of you know what, but I won’t spoil it and tell you who that is. The ending was surprising, so that’s a good thing. I should’ve guessed who was in the house at the end, because once it’s revealed, I was like “Oh duh! Of course!” But I unfortunately didn’t see it coming. So big ups to the author on the fun twists. Still, I didn’t like this one as much as The Housemaid. But at the same time, still a cool read. This is my 2nd favorite read of the month.
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Too Late by Colleen Hoover
By now, if you’re familiar with my blog, then you know I love me some Colleen Hoover. Her writing just speaks to me. But this one did not hit for me. Asa was terrible and sometimes comical. I did not feel for him at all. The author tried to give us some back story on Asa so we could see why he is the way that he is and why we should sympathize with him. But it just didn’t work for me. You can be dealt a crappy hand as a child and still grow up to be a decent human being. It’s his fault that he doesn’t have any true friends or loves in his life. He decided to grow up and be a criminal and manipulate people around him and create an atmosphere where he couldn’t trust anyone. When the story was told from his POV, I just really wanted to vomit. His thoughts were so ass backwards. And his ideas of what a marriage is supposed to be? I was like, what century are we in? It also got melodramatic and a little silly at the end. And another thing – Carter/Luke was terrible at his job. How did he not get fired? The only good thing going for this book was the intense moment when Asa set up that whole surprise for Sloan about 2/3 of the way through. My heart was racing the whole time, really because Asa was such an unpredictable character. You just never knew when he was gonna snap. I liked Carter/Luke. He was a really great guy. Sloan was okay. I’d give it 2 stars.
As always, happy reading!
Check out my other reviews below:
