I know it’s officially summer when our house looks like a bull ran through it by 8:30am… daily pool swims in the late afternoon… and bedtime gets pushed back a little later… all to rinse and repeat the next day. It’s also my favorite month to read. I love sitting by the pool on a Sunday afternoon and getting lost in a good book… and I typically gravitate towards cliché beach reads that I can breeze through. I actually just bought the new Ruth Ware book “Zero Days” and I started it last night (not a beach read, but still, I always get lost in her books)….

But before I get ahead of myself, I’ve rounded up the books I read over the 2nd quarter, and my overall “rating.” It was an eclectic mix of books… some psychological thriller, a historical fiction book, and then a lighter Emily Henry book thrown into the mix as well. I’d have to say it was a pretty good few months of reading…

Also, if you have any book recs, send them my way! I’m always keeping a list!

And with that, I hope you have a wonderful day ahead!
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1. THE QUARRY GIRLS: I took a short break from psychological thrillers in the first quarter, and this was my reintroduction back into them, if you will. I’d say it was pretty good and in true psychological thriller fashion…. had me on my seat, wondering what would happen next. I will say some of the story line was a bit disturbing, but overall, I would recommend. Here is a brief synopsis:

“Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games.
Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears―the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.
Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be. Not the police, not the boys she met at the quarry, not even her parents. But she can’t stop digging because she knows those girls are in danger.
She also knows she’s next.”
Overall I give it a 7/10

2. THE HOUSEMAID: Another psychological thriller, which was so good. It did ring a little similar to “The Last Mrs. Parrish” (if you’ve read it), but still, very good. Had me turning the pages very quickly. Here is a quick synopsis:

“Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…”
Overall 8/10

3. THE HOUSEMAID SECRET: So this is the sequel to the last book- I’d say it’s stand alone but reading the first would definitely help. I actually liked this one more than the first… lots of twist and turns! A brief synopsis:

“Don’t go in the guest bedroom.” A shadow falls on Douglas Garrick’s face as he touches the door with his fingertips. “My wife… she’s very ill.” As he continues showing me their incredible penthouse apartment, I have a terrible feeling about the woman behind closed doors. But I can’t risk losing this job—not if I want to keep my darkest secret safe…
It’s hard to find an employer who doesn’t ask too many questions about my past. So I thank my lucky stars that the Garricks miraculously give me a job, cleaning their stunning penthouse with views across the city and preparing fancy meals in their shiny kitchen. I can work here for a while, stay quiet until I get what I want.
It’s almost perfect. But I still haven’t met Mrs Garrick, or seen inside the guest bedroom. I’m sure I hear her crying. I notice spots of blood around the neck of her white nightgowns when I’m doing laundry. And one day I can’t help but knock on the door. When it gently swings open, what I see inside changes everything…
That’s when I make a promise. After all, I’ve done this before. I can protect Mrs Garrick while keeping my own secrets locked up safe.”
Overall 9/10

4. HAPPY PLACE: I first read one of Emily Henry’s books last summer and then immediately proceeded to read everything else she had written. This one is her best, by far, IMO. I felt is was beautifully written with well developed characters who you could easily gravitate towards. Here is a brief synopsis:

“Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.
They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
 Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?”
Overall 10/10

5. THE SUMMER PALACE: I’ve read multiple novels from this author and this one was okay… I feel like there was a lot going on in the book, and lots of different story lines, that it just felt like too much and was hard to connect with any one character. It wasn’t bad, just wasn’t my favorite… Here is a synopsis:

“When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah’s mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family’s beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.
But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah’s twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is—questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah’s husband, Eli, who’s been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by challenges of life during quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.
When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.”
Overall 6.5/10

6. THE GOLDEN COUPLE: I read this one on the way to, and from Hawaii and it was so good. It came highly recommended to me and didn’t disappoint. Lots of good plot twists and has you wondering “what’s going to happen next” almost every step of the way. I was hooked and read it very quickly. A brief synopsis….

“Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all―until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers.Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.
When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.”
Overall 10/10

7. MOLOKA’I: It’s no secret I love Hawaii, so I’m not sure what took me this long to read this book. Set on the island of Moloka’i it follows the story of a young girl who is exiled due to leprosy, and her journey across her lifespan. I found the historical aspect of it so informative and good, but the book was slow at times, and heartbreaking, but in the ending came together nicely (and as someone told me, picked up a bit more towards the end of the book, which I agree with). There is a sequel to the book though, and I will likely read it because I did have lots of lingering questions about the very concept of the sequel. A brief synopsis:

“Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i. Here her life is supposed to end—but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.”
Overall 8/10