This month has been a very slow reading month for me. I always think it’s hilarious when people talk about what they’ll do during the summer “when things slow down” because I feel like summer is just as busy as the rest of the year! It’s just that instead of school, soccer practice, and small group, we’ve swapped for seasonal activities like cookouts, hikes, and day camps.
Throw in travel and starting work on the first draft of a new novel, and I haven’t read a lot the last two weeks. Nevertheless, I do have a few good books I want to share with you, so let’s do this!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I might make some extra coffee money at no extra expense to you if you buy something through one of my links. Read more about that here.
Just Finished:
When Leah discovers her life is in danger, she flees Richmond and the priviledged life she’s always known, eventually traveling west to Montana to answer an advertisement for a mail-order bride. She arrives to find her groom has died, and has to figure out what’s next. Good thing he has a grumpy brother, am I right? This historical romance hit all the right notes for me with a plucky heroine who faces some pretty tough odds as she makes her way in the unforgiving Rocky Mountains.
The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love
In a world where some birds have magical powers, being an ornithologist is a difficult and competitive occupation. Professors Beth Pickering and Devon Lockley are ‘frenemies’ at best, but when a competition to retrieve a rare bird in order to obtain tenure throws them together, they learn that there is more than meets the eye behind each other’s disparate personalities. I really liked the banter, the entertaiing side characters, and the creativity in this historical fantasy, though I didn’t like that it became surprisingly spicy in the second half. It’s not extremely spicy…just spicier than I prefer. But I adore the gorgeous cover!
In Progress:
I’m not exactly sure why I picked this book up because I wouldn’t have said I struggle with anxiety. But many of the stories and encouragements are still resonating with me, so maybe I had more than I thought! I’ve been taking this book slowly, only reading when I have time to sit down and focus on an entire chapter at a time, as I prefer to do with nonfiction books when possible.
In this enemies-to-lovers story, Kelsey comes home to spend the summer planning her wedding while helping out on the family farm. To her shock and horror, her dad has also hired Cade for the summer, her nemesis since second grade. Sparks fly as Cade challenges her to think about what’s really important and what she really wants out of life. This book has been funny and enjoyable so far, but I’m a little nervous about how the author is going to wrap this up without Kelsey being a cheater. But I’ve loved the other Cindy Steel books I’ve read so I’m going to have faith and keep reading!
I’m five percent in and I can already tell I’m going to love this story, which is not a surprise because Courtney Walsh is one of my favorite romcom authors. This is book two in the Only Magic in the Building series, a collection of related but independent stories about occupants of an apartment building called The Serendipity. There’s a hint of magical realism in that the building occasionally nudges the residents towards love, and in this case, it’s through a newspaper that forces Matteo and Iris to play matchmaker—never suspecting that the match might be between themselves.
Up Next:
When a travel writer and podcaster decides to explore her heritage, she doesn’t anticipate meeting a handsome but grumpy kilt-wearing Scotsman who teaches her what it means to be “home”. I have always wanted to visit Scotland and I love historical books set there, but I think this might be the first contemporary novel I’ve come across set in Scotland. I’m really looking forward to starting it soon, and I hope I like it as much as the other Pepper Basham novels I’ve read in the past.
Three words: western fairytale retelling. This story about a beautiful, down-on-her-luck young woman who ends up on a ranch with seven old cowhands sounds so fun! Especially when suspicious circumstances lead to her being investigated by a ruggedly handsome Texas Ranger. This is the next audiobook in my queue.
Leave a Reply