Monday Mini-Reviews

It's been quite a while since I wrote a mini-review post and I certainly have books to share.  These half dozen aren't even all of them, but I'll save them for after I get back from vacation.

All of the ones I'm sharing today were fantastic, and I'm having such a great summer of reading. 

Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann - this is a debut featuring the dysfunctional Briscoe family. There are lots of secrets - and one doozy of a surprise- that are revealed throughout the book.  I really enjoyed the setting of this one along with the way Swann developed her characters.

Where The Grass Is Green and the Girls Are Pretty by Lauren Weisberger - Weisberger is an expert at writing the "wealthy New Yorker with problems"  novel and I love this kind of book.  Peyton is the host of a morning TV show, always striving to stay thin enough, rich enough, when her husband is arrested in a college admissions scandal.   From there the story unfolds and secrets are revealed.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I feel like this is THE novel of the summer.  I don't know anything about surfing or Malibu, but I loved this story about a family that lives in Malibu and we follow their lives over the span of a couple of generations. I loved the name dropping (Desi Arnaz, Gidget) and the setting.

Cheat Day by Liv Stratman- this is another debut novel about Kit and David who were college sweethearts and are now married. Although they are happy enough, Kit meets a guy who her sister hires to do some renovations on her bakery (where Kit works) and the two begin an affair. I won't lie.  Kit's choices made me sad, but I thought the ending was interesting and the entire book made me wonder about peoples' motivations.

Falling by T J Newman - if Malibu Beach is THE novel of summer, I feel like this is THE suspense novel of the summer.  What would you do if you, as the pilot of a commercial jet, was told that unless you crashed the plane your family would be killed? This is the premise of this page turner that I think would make a great movie.  

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner - Weiner's books are a sure sign of summer and this is one that I enjoyed a lot.  Daisy Shoemaker's life seems pretty great- nice husband, a teenage daughter, a house in a nice neighborhood.  But when she receives an email for someone else the two women become friends.  Little does Daisy know that their friendship is anything but random and that it will change her life forever.  Weiner has a message she wants to convey in this book and she does a great job getting that across while still writing a story that is entertaining.

I've already read a couple more books during our vacation that have been fantastic and with several more days before heading home, I'm hopeful that I can find a little more time to squeeze in a few more great books to share next week.