In my last reading update, I thought I could be at 18 by the end of July. That did not happen, but I am cruising along. Blame improv and Football Manager.

Anyway, the quartet in this post get me to 15 for the year. Still no duds even though the first one is the only one without any caveats attached. Hope you find something you like!

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin: I am not really sure how I came upon this book, but when I was reading it at the beach, at least two family members pointed out how much they had enjoyed it previously. I found the story incredibly inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. I wanted to hug April and then shake some sense into her. The story moved along at a perfect pace and even though there are so many different characters and places included in the journey, I never felt overwhelmed or lost. A really wonderful tale of surviving and rising above.

Forget About Me by Karen Grey: Writing this close to a month after I finish the book is a little hard. And I like that. This story, just like the first book in the Boston Classics series, flows effortlessly through ’80s nostalgia and romcom tropes. Once again, you want to smack some sense into the characters even though you know everything will turn out okay in the end. This one took a little slower to get into than the first book. I still think I will continue my journey through this four book series regardless.

Love by Roddy Doyle: I went back and forth through this entire book wondering how I would feel at the end. In short, you followed two Irish guys in their 40s or 50s – I don’t think it is ever really clear how old they are – and then dive in and out of memories and clarifications about what is going on in their lives. Roddy Doyle really pulled me in years ago with his first novel The Commitments. This one does not have the same grasp on me as that debut, but I love his style. I don’t know if I ever want to see these two guys or talk to them, but I enjoyed the day I spent with them.

Rock the Boat by Beck Dorey-Stein: I liked this setting. I liked the characters. I liked the story. The writing? Sometimes, it seemed like she needed a more aggressive editor. But that only took a little bit of the enjoyment away from this story about three millennial friends back in their hometown trying to avoid sharing the secrets they know about each other as their lives get more intertwined than they imagined they ever would. I bought this at the beach to read at the beach and came away mostly pretty happy.