July 2024 Book Reviews and Recommendations

Summer is going fast as always! Have you been fitting in some summer reading? I sure hope so. If not, take the time to read the book reviews below from a few of my July reads to see if there is a book that sounds good to you. Don’t let summer pass you by without selecting an excellent book and scheduling a beach day for the ultimate pleasure reading scenario.

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Darling Girls

Darling Girls is a mystery in which a dead body is found under a house. The house held a lot of upsetting memories for three grown adult “sisters” who were there together as foster kids for a couple of years with a horrible abusive foster mom. They tried to report her abuse back when they were kids but the police didn’t believe them. Now the body might be their proof or will someone try to pin the body on them?

Each woman has personal issues stemming from childhood but they are always there for each other no matter what. The story unfolds flip-flopping between past and present. I did NOT guess the twists which I greatly appreciated. I was very impressed with the story and ending. 

The Wilderness of Girls

This story started so cool but I found the middle was a bit long and less interesting. Thankfully, the ending picked up again. You may want to read the trigger warnings before starting!

In The Wilderness of Girls, a young girl goes to live with her uncle after her father gets arrested and her stepmother jets off somewhere. Working as a forest junior ranger, she comes upon two wolves and four wild girls. One girl is severely injured and in need of help. The girls get rescued and the community learns that these teens have been living in the forest almost their entire lives under the leadership of a man they call “Mother”. The girls believe Mother loves them and in the prophecy Mother has told them. They think they are five sisters/princesses who are destined to save another land. Rhi (the junior ranger) must be the fifth sister.

The wild girls get taken into psychiatric help and split up into foster families. Some of the girls still strongly believe in the prophecy while others begin to see the cracks in what Mother had them believe.

Swan Song

I always love a good Elin Hilderbrand novel and she says Swan Song is her last Nantucket novel (at least for now). This story can be a stand-alone read though you may recognize many of the other characters if you have read some of Elin’s other books set in Nantucket. It’s a great book, entertaining, but not my absolute favorite from her. I think 28 Summers might take that title.

The chief of police is about to retire and that’s a good thing because his heart health isn’t great. Before he can retire he gets one last swan song, a case that’s big and somewhat personal to close out the summer.

At the beginning of summer, a new couple buys a mansion and creates some excitement on the island. The wife throws lavish parties and everyone wants an invitation. The parties get a little crazy. By the end of the summer, the invitations are becoming more exclusive but some people are over the couple and their ways.

Now the mansion has burned down and the couple’s personal concierge is missing after a yacht party. Is foul play suspected?

I loved the interweaving stories. In the beginning, it was almost too many characters to keep track of but it’s worth it. The ending was very satisfying. Don’t expect a romance novel with this one.

Husbands & Lovers

I absolutely loved the contemporary storyline in Husbands & Lovers and was shocked that I thought the historical fiction part was unnecessary. Usually, historical fiction is my jam! While the history was interesting, that storyline almost added too many additional characters and I didn’t care enough about the grandmother as I did the granddaughter.

A woman’s son is in need of a kidney transplant. The father is a famous musician and doesn’t know the child exists. Now the father is coming back to the island for his wedding where the mom nannied for his younger siblings one summer when they fell in love during college. Will he be a match?

The story details their love and the reader eventually finds out what tore them apart. Will the wedding still occur or are feelings still there?

In the meantime, the woman and her sister are researching their DNA results after finding out their grandmother was adopted. The historical fiction part of the book focuses on a 1950s British diplomat’s wife who lives in Egypt. They met in a refugee camp after the war. Years later how does she end up covered in burns at a catholic home for unwed mothers in Ireland?

For more book reviews check out my June Book Reviews!