Summer Reading Update

I'm officially back from Palm Beach and excited to have a few days to be productive before leaving for New York on Saturday. I've read six books since I last shared an update on what I'm reading, so I wanted to give an update on the books I've finished and how I liked each of them! As always, my reads are on my Goodreads page, ranked, reviewed (most of the time) and in order!

For a recap, in my first reading post this summer I had read Faithful, Fortune's Daughter, and The Identicals. In my second reading post this summer I had finished The Castaways, The Island, and Commonwealth.

For this third edition, I have finished: The Rumor, Modern Lovers, The Last Summer, The Hopefuls, Every Time You Go Away, and The Matchmaker.

THE RUMOR // (4 Stars) As usual with any Elin Hilderbrand book, I loved this! This particular story was juicy and captivating. Madeline and Grace are best friends, and while Madeline struggles with writer's block, Grace is busy perfecting her award-winning garden and conducting an extra-marital affair... that she only tells Madeline about. The rumor becomes a story-line, and real life, and the unfolding of events is so, so exciting!!!

MODERN LOVERS // (2 Stars) I didn't love this one... it wasn't bad, but it just wasn't the kind of story I'm into. Essentially, Elizabeth and Andrew are married with a son, and their former college bandmate, Zoe, is married to a woman with whom she has a daughter. Zoe and Elizabeth are best friends, and the two families live just down the block from each other in Brooklyn. The marriages are experiencing their own issues while the son and daughter are exploring a potential relationship. 

THE LAST SUMMER // (3 Stars) Okay, I liked this book, but it took a while to get into. Once it picked up, the story was captivating, but the beginning was sloooow. The storyline: Sisters Riley and Alice, now in their twenties, have been returning to their parents’ modest beach house every summer for their entire lives. Riley is a tomboy and a lifeguard, and her younger sister Alice worships her. Every summer growing up, in the big house that overshadowed their humble one, there was Paul, a friend as important to both girls as the place itself, who has now finally returned to the island after three years away. But his return marks a summer of tremendous change. A relationship sparks, someone suffers a serious illness, and when these matters form a deep secret, this particular summer stands out from the rest.

THE HOPEFULS // (3 Stars) I am giving this one the same rating as the previous, but for different reasons. I liked this better throughout the whole book, just because I was a little more into it as it went on, whereas The Last Summer I didn't really like until closer to the end. Basically, Beth tells the story of her experience moving from New York to DC because her husband, Matt, wants to pursue a career in politics. They make best friends in DC, Ashleigh and Jimmy. The four of them do everything together, coordinating brunches, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy’s career rises higher and higher, the couples’ friendship—and Beth’s relationship with Matt—is threatened by jealousy, competition, and rumors.

EVERY TIME YOU GO AWAY // (3 Stars) This one is a good, light beach read! The story has kind of a sad concept being about Willa's late husband, but overall it's an uplifting and positive story. I didn't really "get anything out of it" though, and wouldn't recommend it particularly. My overall review is more like: I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't really do much for me. 

A summary: Willa has never fully recovered from the sudden death of her husband, Ben. Now, years after Ben’s death, Willa finally decides to return to the beach house where he passed. When Willa arrives, Ben’s ghost keeps reappearing, trying to start conversations with Willa. To protect her sanity, Willa enlists her son Jamie, her best friend Kristin, and Kristin’s daughter Kelsey to join her for one last summer at the beach. Jamie and Kelsey rekindle their childhood friendship, and Willa searches for the chance to finally say goodbye to her husband and to reconnect with her son. 

THE MATCHMAKER // (5 Stars) I cried so hard at the end of this book I could barely even read the words on the page. Elin Hilderbrand is officially my favorite author. This whole story was incredible... such a beach read, but nonetheless, I loved it.

Dabney Kimball Beech is the most loved and the cutest lady on Nantucket, and she has always had a gift for matchmaking. She can see pink if a couple is a "perfect match" and green if something is wrong. She is married to a famous economist and Harvard professor, Box. But... Box isn't her "perfect match." Her match is Clendenin Hughes, her high school boyfriend who left for Asia after college and the father of her daughter, Agnes. She hasn't seen Clen since the day he left Nantucket, but suddenly he's back. Agnes is engaged to the wrong man, Clen is on the island, and Dabney is in pain. The ending comes out of nowhere and it's so, so good!!

Have you read anything you love lately? I've heard so many great things about Crazy, Rich Asians, so that is definitely coming up on my list!

xoxo