Anyone who has visited here before knows that I love to read (in fact, I love books so much I even started a bookstagram account recently!). So today I thought I’d share a few recent books I’ve really enjoyed to kick off your summer reading.

Under the Southern Sky - Once again Kristy Woodson Harvey has hit it out of the park with ‘Under the Southern Sky’ and it’s no surprise at all that it’s a NYT bestseller! I really can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this one. What I love about her books is they are what I’d dub “elevated beach reads”. They give you all the warm and fuzzy feelings you want for a breezy beach read but the characters and world in which they live feel entirely relatable and fully formed. This book follows the story of Amelia, a journalist, who discovers that the embryos of her childhood friend Parker and his late wife have been marked as abandoned. Amelia and Parkers are both dealing with grief and this discovery brings them together in a complicated and beautiful way.

The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany - There were so many things I loved about this book. First and foremost, the amazing female characters, each on their own specific journey to find love and, more importantly, themselves. They’re very different women but they’re also family so they stick together on this crazy trip with the hope that maybe things can change. The three women’s stories touch on subjects we can all relate to: wanting to find our true selves, questioning decisions from our past, complicated family dynamics and wanting to find a Happily Ever After. Secondly the location is just another perfect character. I’ve never been to Italy but felt like I was there with these women across the different decades. Check this one out if you’re looking for something uplifting and charming and maybe someday there will be a Netflix adaption so we can see the beautiful locations and compelling characters come to life on our screens.

When the Stars Go Dark - If you’re looking for a much darker novel, this is the one you should buy. Anna is a cop recovering from a major trauma who retreats to her childhood town in Northern California only to find herself in the middle of a missing persons case. I couldn’t put this one down and have been thinking about it ever since.

Finlay Donovan is Killing It - I was looking for a book to read on my kindle on our recent camping trip and it was such a fun read! This book follows Finlay, a down on her luck divorce trying to make ends meet. While pitching a book idea to her editor she is accidentally mistaken for and hired as a hitman. And then of course everything that can go wrong does go wrong. I ended up loving this book so much I can’t wait for the sequel to come out next yearI don’t usually gravitate towards quirky dramadies but this was a seriously enjoyable read. The book tells the story of Finlay Donovan, a recent divorcee and crime writer who is accidentally mistaken and hired as a hitman. And then of course everything that can go wrong does go wrong. I ended up loving this book so much I can’t wait for the sequel to come out next year.

Happy reading!

-Callie

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