Before I get started on the books I read, here are three books I DNF’d during this time:

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston – this romance had a very interesting premise, but I couldn’t get into the audio and it felt really slow
Everything All at Once by Stephanie Catudal – this memoir put me to sleep with its deep observations on life (it was just too smart for me)
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Catherine Webb – I usually love quirky stories like this (every time this person dies, they are reborn at their original birthplace and live the life again) but it was moving too slow and again, had some parts that were too deep and put me to sleep

[38] Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
Fiction / Women, heard about from Stephany, audiobook

Synopsis: Joy and Stan Delaney sold their tennis coaching business and are trying to enjoy retirement life, but are bored and getting on one another’s nerves. When a young woman shows up in duress at their door, they’re excited to have purpose again. Helping and caring for this woman fills the gap in Joy’s heart from being grandchildless and forgotten by her own four grown children. Her children find the houseguest odd though, and become increasingly suspicious the more they learn about her. When Joy goes missing months later, the police want to blame her husband, but could there be more going on?

Review: Gosh, I just love a messy family drama with lots of juicy details! And this one is long, drawn-out, and character-driven. You intimately learn about Joy, Stan, their four children, and the stranger who showed up, and I was here for it. The characters are well developed and felt so REAL. I could feel Joy’s frustration with everything in life, especially that none of her children had given her a grandchild yet. She drove me crazy, yet was endearing to me, because I know people like her. It totally made sense why their four children turned out the way they did.

Definitely an emphasis on this being LONG though. I got to what I thought was the end and was like, “how is there still 15% left?” I was totally fine with it because I was enjoying it, but whoa. It was around 18 hours on audio. I’m so glad I decided to listen to this one – the story is set in Australia and an Australian (or someone doing a great accent) read it, and it added so much t it!

Recommend? For sure, if you don’t mind the length (TWSS?)

[39] Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
Fiction / Thrillers / Domestic, Green Light from Knox on The Popcast, read on Kindle

Synopsis: Every summer, these rich families leave their Manhattan homes and head to their summer homes on Fire Island in New York. They normally spend time at the beach, at the tennis courts, gossiping about one another, and hooking up with people who aren’t their spouses, but this summer there’s something new – a murder.

Review: It was a delight to read this book about all these people behaving badly in so many ways. And surprisingly, I only hated one of the characters, and found myself cheering the rest on to keep being so horrible. It was just FUN. This is described as a thriller but I wouldn’t call it that – the murder isn’t really the focus of the book. The focus is how horrible these people are and how horrible they can make it other’s lives. Loved it.

Recommend? Yes

[40] Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
Fiction / Women, saw in “Available Now” on Libby, audiobook

Synopsis: Sewanee Chester is an actress turned audiobook narrator after an accident disfigured her. She’s paid her narrator dues by reading romance under a pseudonym, and now she’s voicing more “serious” books and has gladly put romance and it’s fake HEA (happily ever afters) in her rearview mirror. When she goes to Las Vegas to begrudgingly host a romance panel, she’s surprised to meet a charming stranger and spend a night together that neither of them will forget – but probably should, since they didn’t exchange numbers.

When she returns to LA, she gets a request to resurrect her romance pseudonym one last time and co-narrate with the romance industry’s hottest male voice – Brock McNight. She only agrees so she can use the money to help fund her grandma’s move to memory care. She’s surprised to find herself enjoying it, and actually forming a connection with Brock, while still wondering about the man from Las Vegas.

Review: Oh my gosh, if you’re interested in this book you HAVE to listen to it on audio. The author/narrator is a former actress turned audiobook narrator turned author and her voicework is AMAZING. The man Sewanee meets in Las Vegas is Irish and his accent had me swooning.

This book sounds superficial, and I’ll admit, that’s why I picked it up – as you can see my brain can’t handle much right now. But the book was really layered. Sewanne is going through a lot – she’s still coming to terms with her accident and determining what she wants to do career-wise while her actor best friend gets amazing roles, she’s dealing with her grandmother’s failing mind and her father’s inability to deal or help, and then the hookup in Las Vegas and the connection with Brock… there’s a lot going on. It kept me entertained and had good life advice in it (1. life is not linear, 2. sometimes you have to get to the destination to appreciate the journey, 3. accept who you are and know what you want, 4. be a someone not a something).

And the chemistry between Sewanee and her love interests is so good. I had lots of stupid grins on my face during this book. (I do wish things had gone a bit farther if you know what I mean though.) I get annoyed how these books often have some dumb conflict right before it ends, but since it always works out (HEA), I’m fine with it.

Recommend? Yes!