I was totally planning to share what I read in July at the beginning of August, but then we went to Maine and I didn’t turn on my laptop. So, here we are halfway through August! But, this is a great group of books. There were some I really enjoyed, and some less so. Colleen Hoover continues to absolutely kill it, and several of these really made me think. Check out reviews of more recent reads here, and follow me on Goodreads.
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover: After serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake, Kenna Rowan returns to the town where it all went wrong, hoping to reunite with her four-year-old daughter. But the bridges Kenna burned are proving impossible to rebuild. This line really stuck with me: “It proves that time, distance, and devastation allow people enough opportunity to craft villains out of people they don’t even know.” We all make mistakes. And we also spend too much time judging other people for theirs. The author didn’t end up setting this story in a particular place because it could happen to anyone anywhere. A lot of food for thought in this one.
The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews: Hattie Kavanaugh went to work helping clean up restored homes for Kavanaugh & Son Restorations at 18; married the boss’s son at 20; and was only 25 when her husband, Hank, was killed in a motorcycle accident. Broken hearted, but determined to continue the business of their dreams, she takes the life insurance money, buys a small house in a gentrifying neighborhood, flips it, then puts the money into her next project. This was a little kitschy, but cute. I loved putting the magnifying class on a small town, with a whole host of characters and the (literal and figurative) skeletons in their closets.
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin: April Sawicki is living in a motorless motorhome that her father won in a poker game. Failing out of school, picking up shifts at Margo’s diner, she’s left fending for herself in a town where she’s never quite felt at home. She ends up taking a big risk to try to escape from a dead end life. Along the way, she misjudges and makes mistakes, but ultimately learns a lot about herself. This made me think so much about relationships, and how easy but harmful it is to assume we know what other people think of us, and let our past dictate our future.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus: Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans. Quirky, headstrong and stubborn, Elizabeth is a force to be reckoned with. But, she gets in her own way plenty too. This was such an interesting perspective on women trying to become more than “just housewives,” and what it took to stand up and demand more. Elizabeth is a quirky character to say the least, but unabashedly herself.
Orchid Blooming by Carol Van Den Hende: A childhood tragedy followed her into adult life. Will Orchid Paige ever claim real happiness again? This is the prequel to Goodbye, Orchid, which I read a couple of years ago. As I read this one, I remembered pieces of that one, and I think it took away a little bit to know what happens next. That said, this story is touching, and beautifully written. It’s a great example of how people can help us grow and overcome, if only we let them in. I received a preview of this book from NetGalley.
