Summertime is prime reading time as far as I’m concerned. I love to sit out on the patio with a book after work or read a few pages at the beer garden. And this month I queued up plenty of audiobooks as I prepped for my first craft fair in 17 months.
Not every book was a winner this month, but there were a few standouts.
The Half Sister by Sandie Jones • ★★☆☆☆
This one has been on my TBR list for a while, and when my library hold came up, I was happy to claim it. But this story—about a family torn apart by a woman claiming to be a long-lost half-sister—wasn’t a thrill.
Sure, there were lots of turns and twists as characters tried to learn more about this half-sister and the family she supposedly belonged to, but the resolution wasn’t really satisfying. And it didn’t end up being that stunning. I think I’m becoming harder to please.
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Silmani • ★★☆☆☆
When I rented this from the library, I was really hoping for a twisty, domestic thriller.
But it just wasn’t. To me, there wasn’t much exciting here. A family hires a nanny and they are thrilled with her work. After a while, the polish wears off. This just didn’t seem new to me.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite • ★★★★★
This is an incredibly quick read at just 226 pages, but Braithwaite made the most of every word.
This book was thrilling, funny and left me thinking for days. What if my sister was a serial killer? Would I still love her like Korende loves Ayoolya?
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray • ★★★★☆
It became a bit of a summer tradition to pick up a bit of historical fiction like this each summer. It all started with a handful of Fiona Davis books and it grew from there.
The Personal Librarian definitely fits in this category for me and was such a good read. This book is a factionalized version of the life of Belle da Costa Greene, librarian to JP Morgan.
Belle is a fascinating character in this novel and IRL. In order to make her way in society, she suppressed her Black identity and passed as white. This helped her become a librarian at Princeton and then later for Morgan. She was intelligent, outspoken and intuitive. And this novel does a great job following her story.
The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey • ★★★☆☆
I had this book on my list for a while and really wanted to savor it. I mean the premise was great: A museum director moves her taxidermy to a great estate during WWII to protect the collection. Once there, pieces start moving and eerie stuff begins to happen.
Fantastic, right? The summary gave me The Silent Companions vibes (and I loved that book). The first two-thirds were satisfying but things took a less spooky turn toward the end. And it sort of felt lame and unexpected. But the build-up was good. It’s a B-.
The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith • ★★★☆☆
I’ll say it, this description from Chirp grabbed me: “As curator Ellie prepares for an exhibition, she’s horrified to learn that the paths of a famous Dutch painting and its forgery — which she herself created — are set to converge.”
Ooh! Like what a scandal! The book was not as scandal-focused as I anticipated, but a good listen nonetheless.
As always, you can follow along with my progress and see what I’ve read over on Goodreads!
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