As someone who loathes the summer months, I feel like the season was never-ending this year. But since it’s coming to an end (finally!) I thought I’d share some of my favourite reads from the last couple of months.
So Thrilled For You by Holly Bourne
This one is a real page-turner and one that will feel very relatable to some people. The story follows four friends, all of whom narrate the book. Each one has a different stance on motherhood and pregnancy. One has a newborn, one is pregnant and due any day, another is absolutely sure she never wants children and the final one is struggling to conceive. Throughout the entire plot, we see the difficulties each character faces. Whether it be criticisms of how they’re parenting, life expectations of others around them or even criticism from their friends. I liked how we got the full story from having the four friends narrate the book too. It felt like we were having more of a reliable narrator. I think it was also interesting to see how one person interprets how someone else acts and then has thoughts and judgements that they don’t necessarily speak on. It’s a very realistic example of human nature.
Look What You Made Me Do by John Lancaster
Lancaster’s book is perfect for those who love a good story that will keep you on your toes, filled with twists and turns. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one as the blurb is very subtle, not giving anything away. I won’t say much about this one either because I don’t want to spoil the experience. The direction of the plot kept surprising me and I couldn’t tell which way the author was taking the story, which kept things interesting too. There are lots of unlikeable characters, making for an even more dramatic story. The novel follows a wife who discovers her and her husband’s secrets have been revealed on a new reality tv show. She slowly starts to spiral as she tries to uncover what he has been up to and what exactly is going on in the lives of those around her.
Heart the Lover by Lily King
Honestly, this is worth the hype. 100 per cent. I loved this. It was impossible to put down and I finished it in one sitting on a flight to America. The story follows Lily and her relationship with two friends at university. I liked how the story flipped from past to present and we got glimpses of how the lives of the three changed over the course of their lives. It’s quite a heartbreaking read but filled with characters that feel realistic. I loved the themes of first love and forgiveness. I really want to read her other book, Writers and Lovers. I believe it’s set in the same world and is a prequel to this one. But neither have to be read in any particular order. There was one thing near the end of Heart the Lover that I thought was slightly unrealistic for a mother to do. However, I guess everyone’s life experiences are different and the ending was her reality and choice.
The other books that I read and my thoughts
There are so many other books I did love too but I wanted to focus mainly on my top summer reads. I adored the final instalment of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, she wrapped it up perfectly. I’m sad the graphic novel series is over but it is definitely better to go out on a high than to make more unnecessarily.
The Honeymoon by Kate Gray was another I enjoyed a lot. It starts with two couples who are on holiday and befriend each other. After grabbing a meal together on their final night, an incident takes place and a man is murdered. Everyone has secrets to hide in this twist-filled novel. As they arrive back in the UK more gets revealed about the couples, the people from their vacation and things that have been kept hidden. I was gripped throughout the entire book and kept getting my theories squashed every time a new twist was revealed. This is a great psychological thriller.
Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams is a non-fiction that was recommended to me over the last two weeks. I picked it up not knowing too much about it other than it being a former employee’s exposé on Facebook. There was a lot to take in and some chapters I did find a bit slower to get through than others but overall it felt a very insightful and important read. A good non-fiction for those who are interested in that type of thing.
I Want You To Be Happy by Jem Calder is being hyped a lot on social media at the moment and I’m glad to have picked it up before I saw that as I tend to not like things as much if I’m expecting it to be exceptional. I did enjoy this to an extent but it wasn’t my favourite. Overall I gave it three stars. It was good but not my cup of tea. It’s a dual point of view book between a young woman and an older man who embark on a situationship after meeting on a night out. It is quite a depressing story but gives an insight into modern day dating. The male protagonist is awful too. The writing is beautiful and I can see why this book has been compared to Sally Rooney (someone I’m also not the biggest fan of, sorry!)
When all else fails, it’s time to jump into some fantasy. Dire Bound by Sable Soresen was a quick read for me and I did give it four stars but I do think a lot of books in this romantasy genre follow the same format so they are a bit predictable. I liked the idea of needing to bond with the wolves in order to proceed with the trials. The villain and twist were predictable but it was well written and kept me engaged throughout so I can’t really fault it for doing a new spin on already existing tropes.
Then I read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (3.5 stars). The Secret History is one of my all-time favourite books but I do love dark academia so I wasn’t expecting to love The Goldfinch as much as that based on the blurb. However, after many attempts to get past the first chapter over the last couple of years, once I got into the right frame of mind I did enjoy it. The scenes in Vegas were some of my favourites as well as the ones in the Netherlands. One of my gripes with this book, is there’s too much of it. I think it drags a bit. The premise of the story is fascinating and I did like the journey the main male character goes on after the incident in the museum and the tragic death of his mother. However, it could have been condensed quite a bit. But take that with a pinch of salt because my husband read it and said he would have enjoyed even more chapters, so it’s all subjective.
Sadly there were some I didn’t love as much as I expected, including Queenie is Working On It by Candice Carty-Williams (2.5 stars) – one I’d been excited to read as I loved her first book, Queenie. I felt a lack of motivation to pick this one up. Maybe there’s a theme and books about situationships just aren’t for me. I did like the discussion around her fertility in her 30s and the parts that focussed on her job in journalism. But I don’t think this sequel was needed.
Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (1.5 stars) wasn’t great. In fact, it was hard to get through. I’ve enjoyed some of his other books but this felt a bit like Coraline without much plot. The young child who narrated the book also irritated me and the story wasn’t frightening at all.
Let me know your favourite summer read in the comments below.
I’m also on Instagram, Twitter and Threads – @bookwormgirl_24
Discover more from bookworm girl
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
bookworm girl 