June was the month of my family beach trip, which is always a great week of reading for me. This year, I didn't read quite as many books on vacation as normal since I was busy playing in the ocean and building sandcastles with my nieces. But I still read seven books, and most of them were fun and fast reads. 

Five Stars

Happy Place by Emily Henry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Emily Henry's books are just the best and most fun reads. I was so excited when I got this book off the library waitlist so quickly, and I tore through it in a day or so. A group of friends have been vacationing together in Maine since college. When they come together this year, things have changed. One is engaged, and one is keeping a secret that they no longer are. As the friends spend more time together, some of the secrets come out. The book has a happy ending, but I'll leave it there to not spoil it.

Four Stars

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I flew through this book wanting to know what happened. Isabella’s son was taken from his crib one year ago and the investigation to find him has grown cold. In order to help, Isabella agrees to be interviewed by a true crime podcaster. Fast and twisty, this book often had me trying to guess what exactly was going on.

It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved the premise of this book and the way it asked what if about modern fertility medicine. What if a couple couldn’t have kids and had tried fertility treatments for years? What if during that process the police show up to say the husband’s DNA proves a local serial killer is his son? And that he has a wide-reaching number of offspring from when he donated sperm in college. I enjoyed both the thriller angle of this book and the relationships impacted by the husband’s sperm donation. Flew through this book on vacation.

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is about a teen TV show getting rebooted in modern times, and it was a perfect beach read. The cast was inseparable as kids during the height of the show, but no longer speak to each other as adults after a disastrous live finale years ago. But they’re coming together for a reunion and all the drama that entails.

Three Stars

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Gabe and Pippa live in a house overlooking gorgeous but deadly cliffs. Gabe has repeatedly talked people off the literal edge. He’s never failed until recently and this person is someone Gabe knows. Pippa wants to know what’s going on, and finds more than she bargained for. A good read, but not as good as Hepworth’s other books.

Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It took me a while to get into this audiobook. It started pretty slow and it took a while for the six adults (a set of siblings and their significant others) to get to the creepy cabin in the woods. Once they're there, the summary promised a thriller where no one felt safe. The book did eventually get there, but it just took a while. By the end, I was curious to see what would happen and how things would resolve, but I wish this one would have had more action from the start.

Two Stars

The Guest by Emma Cline
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I liked Emma Cline's last book quite a bit and had been looking forward to this one coming out, but The Guest fell pretty flat for me. I didn't find any of the characters particularly likable and the ending felt like a bit of a letdown after I'd stuck it out to see what happened. This was an incredibly fast read, I finished it in one day by the pool, but it just didn't land for me.

View all my reviews