Mini Book Reviews: July 2025

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Spectacular Things, The Homemade God, and Finding Grace from the publishers and Netgalley in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.

July was a busy month for me, and I struggled to find time to read. When I did try to read at bedtime, I kept falling asleep, only to have my iPad wake me up by hitting me in the face. One of the hazards of reading on a tablet in bed, I guess!

Anyhoo, I read 6 books this month.  I didn't read all 5 NetGalley books in my July prerelease library because all of my library holds came in at the same time. I had to let a few of them go. One more to read to kick off August, and then I'm going to get back to those NetGalley books. I promise!!

It's a good problem to have! I enjoyed all the books I read this month and there's something for everyone here.

Mini Book Reviews: June 2025

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of The River's Daughter, The Other Side of Now, The Compound, and Sunny Side Up from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.

I don't know if it was because of my prolific reading month in May, but I struggled to get through my books this month. With the exception of one book, I loved everything I read this month. I think I had too many distractions, and it was hard for me to focus on the pages.

It's hard to pick a favorite, but how can you beat Taylor Jenkins Reid? Her new one, Atmosphere, grabbed me and didn't let me go until I read the last page. I'm still thinking about it! On the other hand, Sunny Side Up was not my cup of tea. It was too shallow and fluffy for this reader. But it was very readable. It would be a great beach read. Just not for me.

Overall, I read 6 books this month, which made me happy. I stuck to my goal of finishing all my NetGalley reads plus I was able to read 2 library holds. It's all about balance! 

But that's the best thing about books-there's something for everyone!

Mini Book Reviews: May 2025

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Shopgirls, All the Mothers, The Boy From the Sea, Aftertaste, Food Person, and Dreaming of Home from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links.

When life gives you bad weather, you read a lot of books. At least I did. I had a lot of downtime this month, due to the never-ending cloudy, rainy, cool days. The only upside was that I had 6 Netgalley reads due this month, plus a few library holds that I didn't want to miss out on. It's not a bad problem to have. It's hard to pick a favorite read, but I have 2: The Boy From the Sea and Aftertaste, which came out of nowhere. Aftertaste was one of those last minute Netgalley offerings, and it sounded intriguing, so I jumped on it. I'm so glad, because the story blew me away. I'm not alone--out of everything I read, this was the highest ranked book on Goodreads this month. I hope it gets some momentum. The Boy from the Sea was a classic family drama, set in Ireland. Just so, so beautiful.

Mini Book Reviews: April 2025

 Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Enough: Climbing Towards a True Self on Mt Everest, Heartwood, The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits, and The Imagined Life. This post contains affiliate links.

April was another great month of reading for me. You know it's a good month when your lowest rated book was by Jennifer Weiner. She's usually a win for me, but this time, The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits was just ok. Maybe it was just me--the ratings on Goodreads disagree with me. It could be just a matter of personal taste. But that's what is so great about reading books--there's something for everyone. And if you don't like it, you don't have to finish it. Thankfully, no DNFs this month! 

Mini Book Reviews: March 2024

 Disclaimer: I received ARCs of Broken Country, The Dream Hotel, Dream Count, Claire Darling, Hot Air, and Saltwater from NetGalley and the publishers. This post contains affiliate links.

Thank goodness March has 31 days because I had a lot of books to read this month! I was also fortunate to have 2 weeks off work with plenty of downtime to read. I even had time to meet my goals of reading one Kindle read and one non-fiction read. My favorite book? Broken Country, which will most likely be one of my favorite books of the year. 

I hope you'll find something here that interests you!

Mini Book Reviews: February 2025

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of A Forty Year Kiss, Like Mother, Like Mother, Show Don't Tell, and Propaganda Girls from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links. 

February may be a short month, but I still did plenty of reading. It helped that I was stuck inside most of the time due to the extended polar vortex that wouldn't blow away. A silver lining of sorts, I suppose.

Four of my books were NetGalley pre-releases, and they were all winners. The other two were books I had my eye on. Homeseeking, which had great pre-release press and is also a GMA book club pick, was on my list. The wait from the library was long, but miraculously, my hold came in quickly! I vowed to dig into my backlist this year, and Home is Where the Bodies Are was a fun, quirky thriller that I'm glad I picked up. I also read books from a couple of repeat authors, Nickolas Butler and Curtis Sittenfeld. 

I can't wait to dig into my March books!

Mini Book Reviews: January 2025

Disclaimer: I received ARCs of The Three Lives of Cate Kay, All the Water in the World, and Good Dirt from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for my honest reviews. This post contains affiliate links. 

Oh my goodness! Such a great month of reading for me. I love when I have some good new releases that I can recommend--my favorite was Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson. If you read her last book, Black Cake, you know what a good writer she is. Cross My Heart was a really fun thriller and I couldn't put it down. Liane Moriarity never disappoints and Here One Moment is ready for Nicole Kidman to make into a mini-series. You really can't go wrong with any of the books I'm sharing this month. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Mini Book Reviews: December 2024 + Favorite Reads of 2024

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a copy of Three Days in June and The Heart of Winter from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I was pleased that despite the busyness of the holiday season, I was able to read 6 books this month. Even more pleasing was that I finished off this month with 2 great prereleases, which turned out to be 2 of my favorite reads of the year. If these two books--Three Days in June and The Heart of Winter are examples of what's to come for 2025, we have a lot of good reading to look forward to!

Mini Book Reviews: Nonfiction November 2024

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a complimentary copy of Epic Runs of North America from Hachette Publishing in exchange for my review.

I didn't expect to read so many books this month but with the focus on non-fiction, I had so many options! Some of the books were in my TBR, some were recommendations from other readers, and some were just spontaneous picks! I've never been good at planning my reading--I like to just go with what suits me at the time. Sometimes after reading a really heavy, long book, I like to read something totally different. 

My favorite book this month was The Sugar Rush. A book about maple syrup? It was just so much more--a buddy story and a competition that was humorous and touching. Plus I learned a lot about maple syrup! My least favorite book was Sure I'll Join Your Cult. Reviews called it hilarious, but I found it obnoxious and chaotic. 

I'm looking forward to getting back to some fiction. I do have a few more nonfiction books I want to read. I hope you find a book or two that you want to read here!  

Mini Book Reviews: October 2024

Disclaimer: I received a copy of The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my review. This post contains affiliate links.

It was another busy month but I managed to read five books, including one epic novel which couldn't be rushed. I read a thriller based on lots of positive reviews, but it didn't thrill me. Maybe it was because I read it after I finished the epic novel? There's quite a variety of books here and hopefully, you will find one that you like.

Coming up: Non-Fiction November! I read non-fiction often, but in November, I dedicate the month to nothing but non-fiction. I've compiled a list of books already and hope for some really good reads. Thanks to Liz, our runner friend and book blogger, who is also participating and for sharing the info. This is my second year and I'm really looking forward to it! If anyone is interested in participating or checking out some of the other bloggers who are sharing their favorites, here's the link to Heather's blog.