I thought I posted these reviews on August 1st, but here we are with it sitting in drafts. Ooops!!
Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey
I have to be honest and say that this book is cringe and I can’t count how many times I rolled my eyes. I feel like Tessa’s recent books haven’t been near as good as her older ones. Or maybe I am just getting too old for them and not the right audience. But the insta-love doesn’t feel genuine and Chloe started out quite honestly…..ridiculous. She is supposed to be 25 but is so sheltered that she asks in a tour of an apartment who does the laundry in the basement once her clothes land in the laundry shoot. Hello girl, you! You do the laundry! I cannot with this. I am not sure I will be picking up anymore books by Tessa, I am sorry to say 🙁 Eventually I just gave up and didn’t read all the way to the end. I have too much on my TBR to waste my time with this.
Bottom Line: pass
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
I have to be honest, I didn’t love the twist in Every Summer After. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved the book though!! So when I realized this book was about Sam’s brother, Charlie, I was a little worried I would have a hard time rooting for him. But Charlie has a way of sneaking into your heart! I absolutely devoured this one. I loved Alice and Nan and their adventure at the lake, as Alice tries to cheer her up after surgery. I loved the reconnection with John, and getting to see glimpses of Percy and Sam who we all loved from Every Summer After. This is such the perfect summer read!
Bottom Line: Read it!
Kitty St Clair’s Last Dance by Kate Robb
*This one comes out October 7, 2025*
I loved this one! The book is told in present time, and through dreams that Jules has after reading Kitty’s diary. I loved the magic realism aspect, it was done so well here. I really enjoyed watching Jules and Reeves build something after a misunderstanding when they first met. I loved Jules best friend and all the people we meet at the retirement home. I haven’t picked up anything from this author before, but I am for sure going to check her out now!
Bottom Line: Read it!
**I received a copy of Kitty St Clair’s Last Dance from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**
Engaging the Office Enemy by Kristin Canary
So this book has some tropes I usually enjoy…fake dating, close proximity, office romance and enemies to lovers. But I have to be honest and say that I never really liked the main female lead, Alexis. She is very immature and tiring. She thinks that her dying her hair childish colors and saying she doesn’t like men makes her edgy, but it just makes her sort of sad. We didn’t need the constant reminder that she doesn’t like Dax. And she is constantly complaining that Dax gets all the good accounts, but she can’t be adult enough to treat people professionally at her job and give solid ideas to deserve those big accounts. Dressing frumpy and having crazy hair colors doesn’t exactly portray professional who can handle big responsibilities if you ask me. She is just so judgmental and tries to hard to be different. I am coming in to this not having read other books in the series, and I am not sure that I would pick up anymore. I just didn’t love this.
Mistakes We Never Made by Hannah Brown
I thought the premise of the story was cute, trying to save a friend’s wedding. I like a good second chance romance and forced proximity trope as well. I will say, Emma kind of got on my nerves more than she didn’t. She is so controlling and tries to meddle in all her friends lives because she thinks she knows best. She has a weird idolization of her friend Sybil too. And Sybil….like what in the world was going on with her?? I feel like I got more questions than answers. I feel like there are a lot of toxic people/relationships in this book. I am not quite sure what to rate it, as I read it because I was interested to see where it was all going to go. But I also am disappointed in it a little. Like I wanted more from the end? Maybe more character growth too. I never really connected with any of them.
Bottom Line: It passed the time fine.
You Never Know by Tom Selleck
I have always liked Tom Selleck, and I was excited to read his memoir. I enjoyed all the stories he shared over his years as an actor. He has always seemed like a decent guy. I will say, I am extremely disappointed that about 70% of the book was dedicated to Magnum PI. There was zero mention of his time as Richard on Friends, very little about Three Men and a Baby and Blue Bloods was only discussed at the very end. I am hoping that maybe he will have a second book for life after Magnum? He is a great story teller and he narrates his audiobook. LOVE when they do that! If I didn’t listen to this via audio, I may have been bored and skipped around. I will say, I definitely feel like I got to know him a little better, I just wish there was more from the 90s forward.
Bottom Line: If you were a Magnum PI watcher, this is for you!
Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone
This book is so different than others that I have read lately, in the best way. I just loved this book. Lenny and Miles have both suffered unimaginable loss. Miles wants to help Lenny deal with her grief, and needs her help connecting with his niece and Reese. This book is so emotional, but full of healing and hope. I loved all the characters. I dont even want to say anymore other than just read it!
Bottom Line: Read it!
These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
I do love a family drama, and goodness this one delivers. There is so much drama between the death of the father, the mother’s behavior, the sibling rivalries, the guy who is running the game, love interests, just all of it! All of the characters are ones you aren’t sure if you are rooting for them or not, because they are all pretty terrible in their own ways. But that is what makes this such an interesting read. I was totally invested in the family drama and couldn’t wait to see how it all turned out. I was a little unsure how I felt about the ending? But I loved getting there. I would definitely read something else from this author.
Bottom Line: Read it!
**I received a copy of These Summer Storms from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**
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