Whether you enjoy books where a murder is solved (The Body Next Door) or have ever wondered if there was a way to go back or forward in time to solve your classmates mysterious death (The Midnight Club). Fly halfway across the world to trace the history of your heirloom engagement ring (The Heirloom) or follow your mothers last wishes with a one way trip to Paris (The Paris Novel). Join Emma Makepeace a.k.a the female equivalent of James Bond on her next mission in (The Trap) or take a fantastical romp through history in the 2016 novel (My Lady Jane), this months list of reads will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.
The Body Next Door | Maia Chance
This novel had one of the most satisfying endings that I could have ever hoped for. At first, I found myself too put off by a certain character in the book (who you’re supposed to dislike/hate anyway) and I’d considered giving up on it a time or two for this reason, however, I found skimming that particular character’s storyline and focusing more on the other characters helped me as a reader. The book is truly masterfully written, and while it’s darker than many books I’ve read before, I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy books revolving around secrets that are sometimes better left buried, and getting to know the characters’ backstories to see why they turn out the way they do.
While you’ll have to wait until August 8th for the release of The Body Next Door, I will be sitting down with Maia for a Q&A before the release. So stay tuned!
RATING: A
They buried their secrets, but not deep enough…
Hannah McCullough’s life is far from perfect, but you’d never know it by looking at her. Instead, you’d see a beautiful young mother wholly devoted to her two children and a docile wife utterly besotted with her self-made millionaire husband, Allan. You’d see the designer clothes she wears, the luxury car she drives, the dewy-eyed au pair she employs.
You wouldn’t see the dark secret she carries.
But when a construction crew unearths the body of a young girl near the McCulloughs’ vacation home on Orcas Island, Hannah has no choice but to confront her past. She wonders how much Allan knows about the victim and the apocalyptic cult she was connected to. Meanwhile, Allan can’t seem to understand why his beautiful young bride, as polished and pristine as the collectible artifacts in his glass case, would threaten their fairy-tale lifestyle by digging too deep, in places she knows she shouldn’t.
As the police investigation into the gruesome discovery deepens, the facade of Hannah’s picture-perfect marriage starts to crumble, and she soon finds herself on a dire hunt for answers. And Hannah’s search takes an unexpected turn after she crosses paths with three strangers with shocking secrets of their own.
The Midnight Club | Margot Harrison
If it was possible to see the future or return to the past, would you? That is the question the members of The Midnight Club must ask themselves. When a group of college friends who worked at the campus literary magazine return to their old stomping grounds, the last thing they expect to do is revisit the past. They soon find out that their host has other motives. She wants them to take a ‘mysterious substance’ made from the sap of the local trees to ‘travel’ or ‘sog’ as it’s known in the novel, back to the past. The reason? To find out the truth about what happened the night their friend Jennet died. The only question is, what truths will they discover in the process, and what long-forgotten memories will be brought back to life?
RATING: A
It’s been twenty-five years since The Midnight Club last convened. A tight-knit group of college friends bonded by late nights at the campus literary magazine, they’re also bonded by something darker: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet junior year. But now, decades later, a mysterious invitation has pulled them back to the pine-shrouded Vermont town where it all began.
As the estranged friends gather for a weeklong campus reunion, they soon learn that their host has an ulterior motive: she wants them to uncover the truth about the night Jennet died, and she’s provided them with an extraordinary method—a secret substance that helps them not only remember but relive the past.
But each one of the friends has something to hide. And the more they question each other, the deeper they dive into their own memories, the more they understand that nothing they thought they knew about their college years, and that fateful night, is true.
Twisty, nostalgic, and emotionally thrilling, The Midnight Club explores that innate desire to revisit our first loves, our biggest mistakes, and the gulf between who we are and who we hoped we’d be.
The Heirloom | Jessie Rosen
I absolutely devoured this book. As much as I wanted to savor each moment like the delicious pastries that main characters Shea enjoys during her time in Italy and Portugal, I just didn’t want to put this one down. When Shea’s boyfriend (now fiancee) John gives her a heirloom ring (something on her list of 4 things that would break a relationship for her) she decides to go in search of the rings original owner to find out if the history surrounding will either spell doom for her current relationship, or will bring what she’s always been searching for. Along with the help of journalist Graham, she travels with her older sister Annie to their native Italy to discover try and find the lost love of the woman who owned the ring last. This leads them on a journey throughout Florence before Annie returns home and Graham and Shea travel to Portugal alone. You’ll have to read the book to find out where Shea’s search takes her (and who the ‘ring’ ends up leading her to).
RATING: A+
The answer to the biggest question of her life lies in someone else’s past.
Shea Anderson’s beloved Nonna had endless rules for a happy, healthy life: avoid owls, never put a hat on a bed, and never, ever accept a marriage proposal that comes with an heirloom ring. Happily ever after is hard enough without bad karma in the mix.
Naturally, panic sets in when Shea’s boyfriend, John, proposes with an heirloom ring. Yes is her answer, but Nonna’s warning sets Shea on a mission to ensure the ring contains forever energy: She will find its previous owners wherever they may be. With the help of her long-suffering big sister and a nosy journalist eager for a big story, Shea embarks on a journey that takes her from Los Angeles and New York to Italy and Portugal.
Sophisticated, cinematic, and full of lively observations, The Heirloom is a diamond-sharp read for everyone who’s ever tried to make their own good luck.
The Paris Novel | Ruth Reichl
If one could subsist (live) on descriptions of food alone, The Paris Novel would be such a book. Both the descriptions of the sites, sounds, and flavors of the food in this book are enchanting to all the senses. It is a book to be savored, and not to be rushed through. You must enjoy every single morsel that Reichl offers up. I highly recommend this book whether you are a francophile, or a foodie!
RATING: A+
Stella reached for an oyster, tipped her head, and tossed it back. It was cool and slippery, the flavor so briny it was like diving into the ocean. Oysters, she thought. Where have they been all my life?
When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a traumatic childhood has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone. But when her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes.
Alone in a foreign city, Stella falls into old habits, living cautiously and frugally. Then she stumbles across a vintage store, where she tries on a fabulous Dior dress. The shopkeeper insists that this dress was meant for Stella and for the first time in her life Stella does something impulsive. She buys the dress—and embarks on an adventure.
Her first stop: the iconic brasserie Les Deux Magots, where Stella tastes her first oysters and then meets an octogenarian art collector who decides to take her under his wing. As Jules introduces Stella to a veritable who’s who of the Paris literary, art, and culinary worlds, she begins to understand what it might mean to live a larger life.
As weeks—and many decadent meals—go by, Stella ends up living as a “tumbleweed” at famed bookstore Shakespeare & Company, uncovers a hundred-year-old mystery in a Manet painting, and discovers a passion for food that may be connected to her past. A feast for the senses, this novel is a testament to living deliciously, taking chances, and finding your true home.
The Trap | Ava Glass
This third novel featuring Ava Glass’ the female equivalent of James Bond, Emma Makepeace, is a novel you’ll want to devour this summer. Fast paced as always, you’ll find yourself staying up late to read just one more chapter of this book. The story takes us to Edinburgh for the G7 summit, where Emma is in charge of bringing in a Russian expatriate who has been caught up in a plot to target the leaders gathering at the summit. In the days leading up to the event, Emma must seduce her target, all while working with a partner in the local police force who are suspected of leaking important details of the covert mission to the press.
Rating: A+
British spy Emma Makepeace races against the clock to stop the Russians from carrying out a high-profile assassination in this gripping thriller from the author of Alias Emma.
“Emma Makepeace is a worthy heir to the James Bond mantle.”—JAMES PATTERSON
She has just one week to stop a killer.
Emma Makepeace is headed to Edinburgh for the global G7 Summit when her team is tipped off about a high-profile assassination the Russians are planning—but they have no idea who the target is.
Surrounded by the world’s most powerful political leaders in a gridlocked city, Emma must set a trap and use herself as bait.
With time running short, Emma faces the most perilous mission of her career. How far will she go to catch the killer?
My Lady Jane | Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows
Publishers Weekly definitely had it right when they called the book “comical, fantastical and romantical.” (Yes, we all know that’s not a word) I really enjoyed the book that the Amazon Prime’s series is based on. While I’m still team series (although there are part of the book that I wish would have made it to the screen) with the ‘will there be a season 2’ hanging in the air, I had to see what could happen storywise. It does not disappoint. If you’re looking for a book which is ‘loosely based on historical facts’ before going over to pure fantasy, I know you’ll enjoy both this book (and the series) as much as I did.
Rating A
This comical, fantastical, romantical, New York Times bestselling, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey is “an uproarious historical fantasy that’s not to be missed” — Publishers Weekly
In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.
At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.
Like that could go wrong.
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