Friday Favorites & the books I read in June

 

Happy Friday, friends! I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika for today's favorite blog post of the week. I hope you've had a good week! Mine has been more wonderful that what is average, for sure, but if you'll come back tomorrow, I'm going to share a bonus post about my week at the beach. For today, I am using the whole post of Friday Favorites to talk about one of my favorite things: books. I read some excellent books this month, so I hope you're inspired in your reading! (Click on each picture to be redirected to an Amazon link.)

First up was this one by JoJo Moyes that another blogger recommended. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a book about mix-ups, mess-ups, and making the most of second chances. A great question to think on as you read this is, who are you when you're forced to walk in someone else's shoes? My quick summary is as follows: Two identical bags, two women as different as night and day. Sam accidentally took Nisha's bag, mistaking it for hers, but she found inside that bag was the confidence she'd been missing lately, thanks to a depressed and jobless husband refusing to seek medical help. Nisha had everything in the world until she didn't. Her husband is leading a secret life and he locks her out of all their bank accounts and credit cards. As she scrambles to find food and a place to lay her head at night, she realizes the gift of friendship that her adult life has been missing. In a fight to regain their lives back, a very unlikely group of women become friends as they risk it all to help each other. 

I loved the main characters and all the supporting characters as well! I would give this one that rating based on readability and the fast pace.

Next up for me was a new author.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yup! Another five star read that I'd been on a wait list from Libby. Here's a quick summary: Maddie lives a very mundane life. She works, she helps take care of her dad while her mom is out of the country every other year. She doesn't mind this until she realizes how little of a life she actually has. When her mom comes back from Ghana, Maddie decides now is the time to move out. She finds a couple of roommates, she starts to date, and she starts to live. It all goes great until tragedy strikes her family. Now she's questioning every decision she made up until this point, and she struggles to find the peace that is missing from her life. Through some counseling, and sound words of wisdom, we experience through Maddie, what it feels like to be torn between two homes and two cultures as she faces the present day difficulties of everyday life. 

I really loved Maddie in this book. She was endearing to me, because I have sons who are her age, and I feel like I could have been reading about some of their thoughts, if that makes sense.

Next up was a quintessential book of summer. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from a floating dance floor in her backyard to the color of the cocktail napkins. Like any other mother of the bride to be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy. But Birdie, someone who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have expected a late night phone call from Chess, telling her that everything is cancelled. Soon after her decision to call off the engagement and wedding, even more tragic news comes her way, and she becomes a shell of the beautiful young woman she once was. Birdie, Chess, her sister Tate, and her own sister India, decide to spend the summer at their family home on the island of Tuckernuck, a small island off the coast of Nantucket. No phones, no television, no grocery store- a place without distractions. Throw all these women together, and what sounds like a peaceful summer getaway becomes so much more. Before their time there has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered and old loves are rekindled. 

Next up was my favorite book this month!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Workaholic, career-driven Francesca is fiercely independent and successful in all areas of her life except one: family. She struggles to make time for her teenage daughter Allegra, and the two have become strangers to each other. When Allegra hangs out with the wrong crowd and gets in trouble, Francesca gives in to her mother's wish that they take one epic summer vacation to trace their family roots in Italy. She just never expected to face a choice that might change the course of her life. Allegra wants to make her grandmother happy, but she hates the idea of forced family time. Then, a young man on the verge of priesthood begins to show her the power of acceptance, healing, and the heartbreaking complications of love. Sophia knows her girls are in trouble. A summer filled with the possibility of chance is what they all need! Among the ruins of Rome, the small churches of Assisi, and the rolling hills of Tuscany, Sophia hopes to show her girls that the bonds of family are everything.

I devoured this book! It just might be in a top place for my favorite book this year.

Lastly was this one, by a favorite author.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

Wendy Anderson is 35, the mom of two children and happily married, until she discovers her husband cheated on her. Confused, angry, and lost, she rents a house on Nantucket for two summer months. When she and her children arrive at the house, she discovers that Trevor Black, a 30 year old recent widower and his son Dylan who is 5, rented the same house. Neither one is willing to give up their much needed summer vacation, so Wendy and Trevor devise a plan to share the big house for the summer. Preparing meals in one kitchen, Wendy and Trevor become fast friends, and they soon realize they're falling in love, even though neither one thinks they're ready to move on yet. Over the last sun-soaked weekend, as chaos reigns and emotions run high, Wendy must decide where her heart truly lies. 

Tell me about your summer reads! Do you have any that you love? I'd love to hear from you! Just a reminder that this Wednesday the 5th is our next Currently link up. We'll be sharing what we're currently loving, savoring, celebrating, remembering, and trying. I'll get back with you on that date about what'll be in store for us with that post in August. Thanks for reading my blog, friends! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for my bonus beach trip post. Love to all!