book reviews

Everything I Read in July 2026 – Part 2

The Keeper

I finished this book but barely. It was not enjoyable and dragged on endlessly. It’s been on my TBR (to be read) list for more than a year so I had high hopes that were extinguished only a few chapters in. Cal is a retired Chicago detective living in a small Irish town with his fiance, who was born and raised in this town. The community is tight because they have all grown up together but those bonds begin to fall apart when a young woman is found murdered. The authorities seem to have no leads so Cal uses his decades of experience to investigate it on his own. There is SO much detail in the book that I don’t feel adds much to the story thus making it difficult to get through. Overall, this was not a favorite. Rating: 6

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)

I fell in love with the first Vera Wong novel so I had to read the second one in the series. It is just as endearing with so many enjoyable characters. After solving the murder of the man found dead in her tea shop, Vera’s life took a turn for the better. She is surrounded by people who care about her, her tea shop is thriving and her son is hopefully getting married soon. But when a random phone call threatens to scam Vera out of thousands of dollars, she has to report it to the authorities. While leaving the police station, Vera meets a young girl who was there to report the disappearance of her close friend. After the success of solving one crime, Vera is confident she can help solve another. This is an easy and fun read that will keep you laughing the entire time. Rating: 9

The Calamity Club

One of the best books I’ve ever read! I never wanted it to end and it was a LONG book. The story is told from two different viewpoints – Meg, an 11-year old orphan and Birdie, a woman in her 20’s. Birdie has come to visit her sister and ask for money to help with the family. Birdie’s sister married into money so she feels this will be an easy ask and then she can go home. While visiting, Birdie accompanies her sister to a local orphanage where her sister volunteers regularly. There Birdie meets Meg and forms an immediate attachment. When Birdie’s sister’s husband runs off with all their money, questions surround how they will survive and pay off all the debt he has left them with.

During the chaos of deciding how to deal with this betrayal, Meg’s birth mother, Charlie, arrives in town in hopes of getting her daughter back. Birdie agrees to help Charlie with the agreement that Charlie will also help Birdie make money to save her sister’s home from going into foreclosure. What transpires will shock everyone but desperate times call for desperate measures. The cast of characters in this book are truly captivating and I felt so invested in their lives. A must read for everyone!! Rating: 10

Dolly All the Time

An easy summer beach read that will keep you entertained from start to finish. Dolly returns home to her small town in Rhode Island to help her father with his fish market. Dolly’s been helping at the market for her entire life and now has her son helping out as well. After a small fire in the home, the fire chief tells Dolly that her father’s roof needs to be replaced but it will cost nearly $50k to fix. Dolly is desperate to find the money to save her family home. When the town’s wealthy eligible bachelor, Stewart Whitfield proposes she be his girlfriend for the summer to help repair his image from a recent broken engagement, Dolly jumps at this chance. What she thinks will be an easy agreement that will help her family turns into a connection that could break her heart. Rating: 8.5

You Deserve to Know

I was hooked from start to finish with this book! A really good mystery that kept me guessing the entire time. Gwen, Lisa and Aimee are neighbors who have become close friends over the years. Their husbands and kids all hang out together and they spend time as a group nearly every weekend. So when Gwen’s husband is murdered one night after one of their weekly Friday night dinners, the group tries to rally around Gwen to support her. That is until secrets are revealed that could threaten to destroy the entire group dynamic. The very last chapter of the book really threw me for a loop and I finished the book in complete shock. Rating: 9

Strangers

This book has been all over my social media with tons of rave reviews and major buzz. Sadly, I found this memoir to be simple and unremarkable. The story details the breakdown and sudden heartbreak of Belle Burden’s marriage, which is devastating but didn’t feel significant enough to be made into a best seller. Belle comes from immense wealth and her family has been known throughout the NYC social scene for decades. She marries her husband despite some early red flags and they build a life together for more than 20 years.

At the start of the pandemic, Belle gets a call from someone who tells her that her husband is having an affair. Stunned and reeling from the news, she confronts her husband who confirms the affair and says he wants to leave the marriage immediately. The memoir details her feelings of betrayal and never getting the closure that she hoped as to why her husband left. This book did receive tons of rave reviews so I definitely think my feedback on it is in the minority. If it has been on your list to read, I would still recommend reading it because everyone’s preferences are different when it comes to books. Rating: 7

Everything I Read in July 2026

1. Mad Mabel

This book has a ton of buzz right now and for good reason. It’s a great read with a shocking twist at the end! Mabel’s neighbor turns up dead and the authorities are trying to decide if it was foul play or natural causes. He was elderly but Mabel was known to have had a few arguments with him from time to time. When the media picks up the story, a picture of Mabel is taken and the public recognizes her as “Mad Mabel”, Australia’s youngest convicted murderer. Mabel is now in her 80’s but tries to avoid the spotlight as much as possible because of her past.

Some of Mabel’s neighbors are shocked because she has always been a good neighbor. She even babysits the little girl across the street from time to time. Is she dangerous? Or was there more to her conviction than what the courts led people to believe? The premise of the story is quite heavy. But the writing and dialogue is a bit more light-hearted and comical at times. It’s a unique contrast with a jaw-dropping twist at the end. Rating: 8

2. Buckeye

I almost quit this book a few times because it is a slowwww burn but it did get better in the last 1/4 of the book so I stuck with it. This book is incredibly emotional however and really will take your breath away with some of the experiences that the characters must endure. Cal lives a simple life with his wife, Becky, who helps people connect with their loved ones who have passed away. But Cal doesn’t approve of Becky’s “gift” and it drives a wedge between them especially during a time where the country is dealing with the difficulties of war and uncertainty.

Cal meets Margaret shortly after she arrives in town after moving for her husband’s new job. Margaret is bored in this small town and dreams of life back in a big city. She forms a connection with Cal which turns romantic until Margaret finds out her husband is on his way home from war. She must end things with Cal but not before one last night together which will forever change the course of their lives. The intense emotion I felt reading this made me have to take breaks because it was so heartbreaking at times. Rating: 8

3. Don’t Open Your Eyes

A great captivating thriller will so many twists and turns! Annabelle seems to have everything in life – a great career, a loving husband and two beautiful daughters. But lately, she has been having horrific nightmares about things that haven’t even happened yet. She will dream something awful about someone in her life and then the next day, her dream will manage to come true! It’s starting to scare Annabelle though she is afraid to tell anyone because it sounds too crazy to be true.

Are these dreams trying to warn her of something? When the dreams begin to involve her daughter, Scarlett, she gets worried even more. She is afraid something is going to happen to Scarlett. So she decides to try and figure out what these premonitions could mean. When she realizes that her past could have something to do with what is currently happening, she decides to revisit some emotions and memories she fought hard to forget. But what is revealed to her could put her in more danger. Rating: 9

4. Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

An absolute ridiculously delightful book that I could not put down!! Vera Wong prides herself on being a good chinese mother though her son, Tilly is all grown up. He is still not married so she must stay on him to find a good woman so he can settle down and have grandchildren. But in the meantime, Vera runs her small tea shop in San Fransisco’s Chinatown while feeling a bit lost as to her purpose in life. Her husband is dead and her son no longer needs her as much, so she feels lonely and unsure of her future. That is until she finds a dead man on the floor of her tea shop one morning and decides that she will solve his murder.

The police don’t seem to think it was foul play but Vera knows there is more to this story. Her hilarious approach to investigating all his friends and family will have you chuckling to yourself the entire book. This was an absolute delight to read! Rating: 9

5. My Sister’s Grave

A good thriller but not anything remarkable unfortunately. It kept my attention but it didn’t stand out to me as a favorite from this month. There are some twists near the end that keep it interesting. Tracy is a detective with the Seattle PD but went into this line of work after never getting closure on the death of her sister decades before. Tracy was convinced that the man who was sent away for killing her sister, Sarah, didn’t do it. So she became a detective to help other families never face the same fate.

When Tracy gets a call that Sarah’s remains have been found so many years later, she is convinced that the man in prison was not the killer. She convinces an old friend to take this case and represent the killer in order to get him out of jail so the investigation could possibly be reopened. What Tracy uncovers threatens to destroy everything she has even known about her family and could be putting her life in danger. Rating: 8

6. Silver Girl

I’ve read countless Elin Hildebrand books and always enjoy them. This was published more than a decade ago but I will always love her writing. Meredith’s life is falling apart after her husband was found guilty of defrauding investors out of billions of dollars through his investment firm. Her life is in shambles and the press is relentless in following her every move. Meredith hopes that connecting with her long-time friend, Connie and staying at her home on Nantucket will help give her the peace of mind she needs to figure out her next steps. The story seems to be loosely based on Ruth and Bernie Madoff and their downfall in the early 2000’s. It’s not my favorite Elin Hildebrand book but it was an easy enjoyable read. Rating: 8

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