A busy month getting back into school mode, and a book club study of The Artist Way, which requires a lot of non-reading time, meant that I didn’t read as much as usual. This month I read:

• Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez – My friend Barb reminded me that this author does great romances that can double as fun beach reads, so I picked up this one specifically for my recent vacation. I loved the story! Justin and Emma meet online because they share the same curse – everyone that they each date ends up find their soulmate immediately after breaking up with Justin or Emma. They decide to meet and see if they can break their curses together. What starts as a fun joke quickly becomes so much more, as the two have instant chemistry and they each have a truckload of family baggage they are hiding/ carrying/ avoiding. I really liked these characters, along with Emma’s best friend Maddy, and Justin’s siblings. They were lovable and I was rooting for them to figure out their issues and find their way to each other for real.
• The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol, Agenete Friis [audiobook] – I heard the Currently Reading podcast recommend this book, so I was ready for a good crime story, and some Nordic Noir. This was VERY DARK. I wish I had read it in print, instead of on audio, because there were names from Denmark and from Lithuania that were unfamiliar to me, and which were confusing while listening. The story starts with our main character, Nina, finding a boy in a suitcase (hence the title). We follow Nina as she takes care of the boy and tries to figure out who he is and what happened. Through other timelines, we learn about many other characters that are connected to this boy, but we don’t understand until it all comes together in a fast-paced, tense ending. This was interesting and I’m curious about the rest of the series.
• The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett – This entire story is told through emails and interview transcripts, as we follow Amanda’s quest to figure out the true story of the Alperton Angels. The angels were a cult that all died by group suicide while trying to kill the antichrist. The baby and the two youngest members escaped and were hidden away for decades by the time Amanda is trying to write a new book about the mystery. We follow Amanda’s interviews and emails as she pieces the story together, racing to beat the clock as many witnesses die as she gets closer. I loved this book!
• Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All by Chanel Miller – I found this book in my library catalog after asking ChatGPT to help me find new middle grade books published in the last 1-2 years. Our teachers are always looking for new books to read with kids, or to add to their libraries, and we want well-written, quality novels with stories that have good lessons for children. This is a sweet story about Magnolia and her family, who own a laundromat. At first, Magnolia is embarrassed by her family business, though she loves the left-behind sock wall she has created. When Magnolia meets Iris, new to NYC, they go off on a mystery adventure to find the owners of all the left-behind socks. Throughout their journey, Magnolia learns about herself, her parents, and how to be grateful. This is a sweet story!
• Three Days in June by Anne Tyler [audiobook] – I also found this book in my library catalog when looking for audiobooks for my commute. I have known the author name Anne Tyler for decades, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually read any of her books. This was interesting because the main characters were a divorced couple in their 60’s, and you don’t read a lot of modern novels that have main characters beyond the 30’s or 40’s. Gail is a socially awkward mother of the bride, and we follow her through the weekend of her only daughter’s wedding. Gail’s ex-husband Max shows up with a cat and has to stay with her, which is an unexpected start to the weekend. We get to know Gail and Max, and the history of their marriage and how it ended years ago, as we watch their daughter’s wedding festivities through their eyes. This was a sweet story about this pair of exs in mid-life, navigating another change in their lives.