Book Nerds Across America

Every year I look forward to the month of May, it is the time that I begin searching for my summer beach reads. I have a soft spot for any book that takes place in a tropical or beach setting, I think mostly because I am stuck in the middle of nowhere, landlocked from the beautiful ocean. They are my escape when I am stuck inside trying to stay cool, while it is 100 degrees outside combined with about 90 percent humidity. Stepping outside here is like stepping into Dante's 9th circle of hell- because of course since that is where the worst of the sinners go, it's got to be hella hot right?

Thanks to MacMillan Audio I was able to get my hands on an early listen of Holly Goldberg Sloane's new novel Pieces of Blue, and it was the perfect way to kick off my summer of beach reads.

It is set in Hawaii where Lindsey and her three children move after a tragic surfing accident results in her husband's death. Lindsey takes the life insurance money and buys a ramshackle motel on the island of Ohau, and attempts to start their life over. I loved the setting, I use to live in the area that the book takes place in, in fact, Sloane even mentions one of my favorite casual eating establishments Giovanni's ( IYKYK ), so reading it was like taking a trip back to my old stomping grounds, thus making the book so much more enjoyable to me.

As far as the characters in the book, I liked them all, but the stand-out characters to me were her three children, Olivia ( 14 ) Carlos ( 12 ), and Sena ( 7 ). They each had such strong personalities, and they added a great deal of depth to the story.

Lyndsey was a great mom to the children, ad she worked hard on trying to make their new life as normal as possible, even with the enormous amount of changes that were taking place in their lives, she was a real trooper with all her responsibilities.

Also, there was Chris, a visitor from the Mainland, he and his wife had often come to Ohau and spent time at the motel before she had passed on. He takes on some handyman duties that need to be done around the place to pay for his room there, and of course, he comes with a complicated past and secrets.

This was a quick read, a great story about repairing your life after tragedy and learning your inner strengths. It was a great family saga, which I have always been drawn to. But also, the descriptions of the lush island were so visible they also became a bit of a character in the story, and they put you right in the middle of the area. Sloane even put in several twists that kept the story from feeling dry and kept the story moving along. All in all, it was not a bad choice for my first beach read of the season.

Henry lured me in with loads of banter and enjoyable characters. I really liked both Nora and Charlie, both were snarky and I love snarky! I also really enjoyed Nora's sister Libby, she was a wonderful secondary character. Charlie was a great guy and very likable. Many times in the enemies to lovers trope the men, are usually asses. I guess you need a reason for them to be enemies! Nora felt relatable, not perfect, but very driven in her career as a literary agent. I will give Emily Henry big props in her writing of characters, she makes them relatable, even if the book isn't to your liking.

Book Lovers was a refreshing and quick read. There are some slightly steamy scenes and Charlie and Nora had good chemistry, plus the ending was cute. Pick this one up if you need a cute sweet Rom-Com to get you out of a reading slump or if you just need a break from something a bit more serious.

Our Italian Summer is a new family drama by author Jennifer Probst which follows three generations of the Ferrari women on a vacation to Italy. We meet Sophia, who is mother and grandmother, she has booked the trip hoping to mend the strained relationship between her daughter Francesa, who is a workaholic, and her granddaughter Allegra who is a bit of a wild child and needs her mother's attention.

I had no problem connecting with any of the characters, however, it did take me a bit to warm up to Francesca, she seemed only concerned with her work and herself, however as the book moved forward I enjoyed watching her grow and transform as they all developed a better understanding of each other and what matters to them as both a family and to themselves.

The book was written from each of the viewpoints of the characters and I loved getting the different perspectives from them. The author Jennifer Probst was excellent at descriptive writing, I have never read one of her books so do not know if this is a regular thing from her, but imagine how she excelled at it, it most likely is. Having the story take place in Italy gave her much to describe also, from the scenery which put you right in the places she described, to the food..oh the food, it made your mouth water at times. Throughout the entire book, you felt that you were right there with the three women.