What I Read in May, June & July

Books I read in May, June & July 2022. I’m so excited to share with you all what I’ve been reading the last three months! I’ve read some amazing books and also some meh books. I’ve been trying to be better at not finishing books I’m not enjoying and that means less books read in total but I don’t care about the numbers. My top three books of the year and in this list. I hope you find some books to add to your TBR!

Reading Stats

• Total Books Read – 11 (7 physical books and 4 audiobooks)
• Pages Read – 2,257
• Audio book Total hours listened – 32 hours
• Favorite Book I read lately – Lessons in Chemistry (my favorite book of the year so far!)

 

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

I really enjoy Emily Henry’s books so I was very excited to read her latest one that came out last month. I really liked it but my favorite of hers is still Beach Read. I think the premise of this book and trope is very interesting and while Nora may seem like an unlikeable character I really enjoyed her development thorough the book. This book is more than just a love story is also a sister’s story. I actually enjoyed that aspect of the book more than the love story. I didn’t buy the love story (which is usually my problem with romance). 

Format – Physical | Rating – 4 Stars. Full review coming soon!

 

Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott

This is the second Mary Laura Philpott’s book of essay’s I read. I find her so funny and would love to be her friend. However, I don’t think I was the target audience for this book. I think if you are a parent you probably would find the essay’s more interesting or relate to them. The audiobook is narrated by the author which I loved because it felt like I was just having a conversation with her. 

Format – Audiobook | Rating – Read (check out my rating system here). Full review coming soon!

 

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

This is a great thriller! Fast paced, had multiple point of views and overall very entertaining. The one thing I would say is that its marketed as a 90s book and I saw reviews of people saying it gave them 90s nostalgia but that is not the case. The initial murder happens at a Bluckbuster but that’s about it. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration (there’s multiple narrators for each point of view). This was one of those audiobooks that I kept finding things to do around the house so that I could listen to it. My husband also read it an really enjoyed it. 

Format – Audiobook | Rating – 4 Stars. Full review coming soon!

 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

My favorite book of 2022 so far! I loved this book so much and kind of want to re-read it already. I loved the characters, the plot, everything about this book. Elizabeth is a character I won’t forget and now my answer for the question “if you could have dinner with one fictional character who would it be?”. My favorite things about it are: good character development with a plot, spans a long period of time, a badass woman main character and a dog that has its own voice. 

Format – Physical Book | Rating – 5 Stars. Full review coming soon!

 

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

This has been the book of the summer. I’m seeing it everywhere on Bookstagram and I wanted to see what the hype was about. This is a very readable book and I read it on a plane ride so its great for when you’re looking for something to read in a few days or at the beach. Annie from the From the front porch podcast described it as The Summer I turned pretty but for adults and I completely agree with that description. I liked it, it was a fast read but I didn’t LOVE it. 

Format – Physical Book | Rating – 3.5 Stars. Review coming soon!

 

Carrie Soto is back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I was lucky to be able to read an advanced copy of this book and I can tell you that Taylor Jenkins Reid (TJR) does it again! I love tennis and find it fascinating (even though I don’t play). It feels like you are watching a tennis match when reading this book. I think people will either love or hate this book, Carrie is a very interesting character. However, if you hate Carrie I don’t trust you (just kidding!). This book comes out August 30 and you’ll want to read it ASAP!

Format – Physical Book | Rating – 5 Stars. Review coming soon!

 

The No-Show by Beth O’leary

If you’ve been following me for a while you know that I love The Flatshare. It is one of my favorite romances so I always get excited for any Beth O’Leary books. I think this book is best enjoyed not knowing much about it except that it can be a heavy book at parts (don’t let the pink cute cover fool you). It’s not my favorite Beth O’Leary book but worth a read. 

Format – Physical Book | Rating – 4 Stars. Review coming soon!

 

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

I had seen nothing but great reviews of this book so I picked it up. It has one of the most beautiful covers that have come out this year. I really enjoyed this book, it is amore quiet story than what I tend to love but I enjoyed the character development. It spans a long period of time and has multiple point of views which I always enjoy. I don’t think I loved it as much as others but I understand the hype. 

Format – Physical Book | Rating – 4 Stars. Review coming soon!

 

The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels

This was my book club’s pick for June and I technically didn’t finish it but I read 80% so I am including it here. First I thought this was a non-fiction book and its not. I think maybe the cover having an actual person on it made me think that. Overall, I was just bored and it was heavy/sad and I wasn’t motivated to keep reading it (or listening). I read enough to have a good discussion with book club and I can’t really say why I wasn’t compelled to finish it. 

Format – Audiobook | Rating – Read it if you want

 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Another favorite book of the year! This is one of those books that I can’t really tell you eloquently why I loved it so much. If you read the synopsis you won’t be compelled to pick it up. It is about video games (which I don’t really like) but it is about so much more. 

Format – Physical Book | Rating – 5 Stars. Review coming soon!

 

Atomic Habits by James Clear

This book has been on my TBR forever, it is always at the top of the self improvements lists. I am always looking for ways to improve/change my habits and this book has a lot of useful information. I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by the author and I recommend that format. However, I need to now go back and revisit the concepts he mentioned and do some of the exercise suggested. I kind of wish I had the physical book for that. 

Format – Audiobook | Rating – 5 Stars. Review coming soon!

These are all the books I read in May, June and July 2022. What was your favorite book you read recently? Let me know in the comments!