My very favorite books from July! Here are the books I most loved reading during the past month. I'd love to hear: what are some of your recent favorite reads--or books you've read recently that just weren't for you? 01 This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger Krueger's writing is lovely, and while the adult characters sometimes feel like caricatures of evil villains, his young characters and the vivid setting of 1930s on the Mississippi are pretty irresistible. I listened to

I had fun reading about the glamorous modeling-surfing-photography-music star family pedigree. But I felt as though the last hundred pages or so of Malibu Rising shifted into melodrama and too-convenient resolutions. Although her tennis pro husband's recent infidelity with a famous tennis player is putting a damper on things, in Malibu, California, famous model and skilled surfer Nina Riva--the daughter of legendary crooner Mick Riva--is about to throw her end-of-summer party

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading The People We Keep, Allison Larkin's upcoming novel about a young protagonist shaping her life through songwriting and finding human connection; Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid's newest book about siblings surfing and forging their own paths on the coast of California; and Dark Roads, Chevy Stevens's suspenseful novel, out next week, about young women going missing in British Columbia. Which books are you reading and enjoying these day

Ursula unknowingly lives her life over and over again as Atkinson explores how choices large and small cause enormous repercussions for a person--and sometimes for the entire world. “It was a long time ago now, and it was yesterday.” Ursula didn't survive her own birth. But she got another go-round at life, and that time she survived being born--only to die young in an accident. When she lived her next life, she lived slightly differently, and her decisions shifted moments an

The moments of redemption aren’t too easy, and I found the various threads building toward the amazing ending to be satisfying and delightful and messy and wonderful. Rule of Wolves is the second and final book in Bardugo's young adult fantasy King of Scars duology. In book one, King of Scars, Nikolai was a king rebuilding the kingdom of Ravka following a long civil war. Bardugo's story line offered great twists and turns, intrigue, romance, and, as always, characters I loved

The Second-Chance Books I love a good second-chance book in which the main character gets the opportunity to go back and try again, redo their life, shift their circumstances, or change the situation around them. It's an irresistible do-over premise for me: a flawed human gets another shot at existing in this unpredictable, problematic, glorious world--and appreciating it more fully while changing their original outcomes. Three more I'd like to read along these lines include:

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Rule of Wolves, Leigh Bardugo's second and final book in the young adult King of Scars duology; I'm listening to Life After Life, Kate Atkinson's lovely book about second chances (and third, and more) at life; and I'm diving into A Passage North, Anuk Arudpragasam's recent literary novel about a young man considering his life as he travels to pay tribute to a recently deceased friend of the family. Which books are you reading and enjoying

I adored the romantic setup and seemingly ill-fated attraction in Saft's young adult fantasy-mystery, but I was dissatisfied with the reasoning and motivations in the final section. I loved the setup of Saft's romantic young adult fantasy novel Down Comes the Night. Wren is a loose cannon, a fierce soldier, intensely loyal, a magical healer, and she has an uncontrollable spirit--oh, and she's niece to the queen, who would like to be rid of her altogether. Hal is from a neighb

I appreciated learning about various key players in Black Bottom life, and I absolutely adored the vivid details Randall offered about everyday life during different eras, but the fifty-two sections and rambling pace of the book left me feeling unmoored. “...I’ve known women who could argue the paint off a wall and didn’t dream of law. I’ve seen girls who got raped, blamed themselves, not the man, then got talked into thinking sex was evil and they were dirty. And I have also

Fugitive Telemetry is full of more wonderfully grumpy Murderbot, flummoxed by humans' behavior and saving their skins at every turn. It's good to be back with grumpy Murderbot on Preservation Station. In Fugitive Telemetry, Murderbot attempts to solve the mystery of a murder--while generally annoyed and hindered by the slow humans and frequently dopey robots all around it. Fugitive Telemetry is full of wonderful passages in which Murderbot is flummoxed by humans' social conve

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Down Comes the Night, a young adult fantasy story featuring magical healing and warring kingdoms; Fugitive Telemetry, the newest book in Martha Wells's science fiction Murderbot series; and Black Bottom Saints, Alice Randall's immersive tribute to fifty-two Detroit heroes and heroines large and small--with a cocktail recipe inspired by each. Which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms? 01 Down Comes the Night by Allison

Castillo's Amish setting is intriguing, I didn't see the resolution of the mystery coming, and I was kept engaged while listening to narrator Kathleen McInerney. A rebellious young woman who left her Amish culture behind and became estranged from her family has returned to Painters Mill, Ohio. But her homecoming ends almost immediately in tragedy: she is brutally murdered in a motel on the outskirts of town. Chief of police Kate Burkholder, who was once part of the local Amis

Spyra's humor is edgy, dark, and far from politically correct as she plays up absurd and disturbing scenarios in the name of satire. This book! Spyra frequently made me verrrry uncomfortable as I read Big Time, her collection of stories. They're satirical, dark, edgy, bizarre, and often outrageous. I'm curious about what unsuspecting readers may think if they go into this one without warnings about dark subjects played up for amusement. Spyra seems eager to leap over the line

Small moments in this young adult book ring true, and the story feels primarily about relationships, set against a witchy background. In the world of Griffin's young adult fantasy novel The Nature of Witches, witches control the weather. And (this part of the storyline may feel familiar) climate change has weather patterns spinning out of control. Destructive blizzards, devastating tornadoes, desperate heat, and shockingly bitter cold are alternately threatening the land arou

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading a bizarre, dark set of short stories by a former Late Show with Stephen Colbert writer, Jen Spyra; Rachel Griffin's young adult fantasy novel The Nature of Witches, in which witches control the weather and find romaaaance; and I'm listening to Fallen, my first book in Linda Castillo's thirteen-book Kate Burkholder series--each of which is set in Amish country. Which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms? 01 Big Time: St

My very favorite reads so far this year! I post a monthly wrap-up of my favorite reads, but now that 2021 is halfway over, it feels like time to share the best books I've read in the past six months. Great Circle is my favorite book of the year so far! I also loved A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor (see my five-star review below). Reading and adoring that book requires initially reading the first book in the series--which I recommend that you do. I loved Soulmate Equation for so

Krueger's writing is lovely, and while the adult characters sometimes feel like caricatures of evil villains, his young characters and the vivid setting of 1930s on the Mississippi are pretty irresistible. I listened to Krueger's This Tender Land as an audiobook, and I was satisfyingly immersed in 1930s life along with Odie, Albert, and their best friends Emmy and Mose. At the Lincoln Indian Training School in Minnesota, young American Indians taken from their families for fo

Blush centers around a family winery and the three generations whose lives orbit around the vineyard and also features racy reads from the 1980s in the form of past and current book clubs for women, an element I really enjoyed. Jamie Brenner's recently published novel Blush centers around a family winery and the three generations whose lives orbit around the vineyard. Hollander Estates has long been the respected grandfather of North Fork wineries on Long Island, and most mem

This is a brutally violent story shadowed with heartbreaking regret. It's a fast read, and after my love of Blacktop Wasteland last year, I'm in for any of Cosby's writing. In Razorblade Tears, two men are coping with the tragic, violent, mysterious deaths of their married sons. Derek and Isiah were estranged from their ex-con fathers, each of whom now regret every moment they didn't make sure the young men knew that they were perfect and beloved. Buddy Lee and Ike have sworn

The first section of Lockwood's story about an internet darling is absurd, frivolous, vulgar, irritating, and frequently disturbing; the second section shocked me with its meaningful and poignant examinations of life and loss. No One Is Talking about This is fiction from Patricia Lockwood, the author of the memoir Priestdaddy. Lockwood is a poet, and Priestdaddy illustrated her truly quirky and off-kilter poet's view of the world. Part I of No One Is Talking About This is out