After really struggling with a reading rut in April, I found myself breaking out of it in May. I indulged in lots of easy reads and thrillers. There's nothing like an engaging page turner that makes me want to keep picking up my books and reading into the night. (Multiple times this month, my husband had to pull my Kindle out from underneath where I'd fallen asleep on top of it in bed). 

I also found myself enjoying several audio books this month as the weather got nicer and I was more inclined to go outside at lunch time for a walk with a book to break up my work day. 

Here's what I read. I gave almost everything this month four stars.

Four Stars

The First Husband by Laura Dave
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Annie was feeling pretty grounded in life until her long time boyfriend comes home one day and decides to end things. The announcement sends Annie reeling and she eventually rebounds with a chef she meets on a night out trying to console herself. She doesn't expect to fall in love, but she does, and she moves with him to rural MA where he hopes to open a new restaurant. At the same time, Annie's old boyfriend comes back full of regret and she gets a great job offer overseas. Really enjoyed this as a fast and light read.

Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an Ashley Spivey recommendation that helped pull me out of a book slump. Marin and Sadie are sisters that had completely opposite reactions to their mother's death. Marin buckled down and became a caretaker to Sadie isolating herself from the world and never taking a risk. Sadie on the other hand became a world traveling photographer. On a break from work, Sadie convinces Marin to take a girls' weekend to a small island for relaxation. Marin reluctantly agrees, but then Sadie misses the flight, and Marin is off on her first solo trip. This was a super fast and enjoyable read.

The Guncle by Steven Rowley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was such a fast read and the characters really pull at your heart strings. When Maisie and Grant lose their mother and their father suffers a health scare of his own, they're sent to live with Gay Uncle Patrick in Palm Springs. While Patrick has always loved his niece and nephew, he feels out of his league raising them, while dealing with their grief and his own grief over the loss of their mother. Despite the sad situation that throws them together, this book is heartwarming as Patrick, Maisie and Grant all manage to find their way by leaning on one another.

The Wish by Nicholas Sparks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have not read a Nicholas Sparks book in ages, but when I saw this on the shelf at the library, I snapped it up knowing it would be an easy summer read, and it did not disappoint. When Maggie was 16 she found herself pregnant in high school, her parents send her across the country to live with her aunt in North Carolina until the baby is born. Her aunt hired her a tutor to help with the school work and the two grow close over the year. Maggie is now an adult living in New York and the book jumps back and forth between the present day and back in 1996 in North Carolina. A fast and enjoyable read.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book came with rave reviews, but it honestly took me a while to get into because of the two main characters' personalities. They were both a little jarring and until I settled into them, the book itself felt jarring. By the end of the book though, I was really appreciating Elizabeth and her style and attitude and kind of loved watching her inspire others throughout the book.

How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You've got to suspend a lot of your disbelief for this book, but it was interesting enough as an audio book that I kept wanting to go for walks to find out what happened next. Alice is the only witness to her sister's murder, but on the day she's set to testify in court against the killer, she gets knocked out and jumps back in time to Halloween 1 year ago -- the day her sister was killed. She's given a second chance to save her sister's life and find the real killer. There's some weird stuff that happens in her time travel, but if you can get past that, this book is decently suspenseful and I found it to be good company on long walks.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I generally love books that are twists on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. In this case, an estranged family gathers on a remote island for Nana's 80th birthday and when high tide comes they are isolated until the water recedes and cars can reach the island again. But overnight, family members start dying one by one. The story jumps back and forth in time between the present and the past as you try to figure out who is killing off each family member. The only thing I didn't love was the twist at the end. If I say more than that I'll spoil things, but it felt a bit like an easy way out or something. Still decently enjoyable overall though.

Three Stars

The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Compared to many other Ann Patchett books that I've loved, I thought this book was good but not great. It's broken into three sections and told from the voices of three different characters. I found the first character the most interesting, even though she was also the most unlikeable to me. By the end of the book, I found myself wanting more of her perspective rather than hearing from the other characters.

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