Read any good books lately?

With all the travel I’ve done this summer, I’ve had plenty of plane rides to crush some books and am excited to share my thoughts today. (And even when I am not regularly doing these round up posts, I am always logging my current reading selections over on Goodreads!)

If you’ve been reading the What’s On My Nightstand series for a while, you may noticed that I tend to read a lot of books by the same authors—Liane Moriarty, Emily Giffin, Elin Hilderbrand. I love these ladies because they create characters I can relate to with worlds I can really imagine. Life is too short to read bad books, and those authors usually come through for me. And an added bonus of reading all of an author’s books: nothing is more gratifying when you realize a character from another book you’ve read shows up in the one you’re reading. But, I’m always looking to expand my repertoire, so let me know if there are any authors you love that I should check out. Bonus points if their stories could be turned into a RomComchey, at least I know what I like! ;]

Before we jump in, I wanted to leave you with one last thing. I recently read a quote that talked about why reading is such a great pastime to have because no matter what else is going on in your life, you always have another world to jump back into. I could not agree more. 

CALL ME IRRESISTIBLE // SUSAN ELIZABETH PHILLIPS

I discovered Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ books earlier this year. I’ve slowly been working my way through her Wynette, Texas series which chronicles the lives of a group of very intriguing characters who are all interconnected. I’d read the one where the President’s daughter, Lucy, leaves her groom, Ted, at the alter, and then I read the one about the President herself. This novel explores Ted in more depth, as told through the eyes of her best friend, Meg, who the small town of Wynette thinks broke Ted and Lucy up. If you’re looking for a great series of books, I can’t recommend this one enough.

SAVE THE DATE // MARY KATE ANDREWS

I picked this book up in the Barnes & Noble bargain bin, which is one of my favorite ways to find cheap reads. I’d read a few Mary Kay Andrews books before, but liked this one better than any others I’ve read. It follows a florist in Savannah, and she has to overcome many obstacles, such as a new popular florist in town, to get her business off the ground. Of course, she found love along the way.

TRULY MADLY GUILTY // LIANE MORIARTY

I have long loved Liane Moriarty novels, but I have to say, this one was probably my least favorite since The Last Anniversary. The story begins and all you know is that something tragic happened on the night of this barbecue, but you don’t know what the tragedy was. The story, following three families, then begins flashing between present day and the night of the barbecue, so you learn more details overtime. But, it takes about two-thirds of the way through the book for you to get the whole story about the night of the barbecue.  I was so curious about what happened, and so annoyed it wasn’t coming sooner, that I finally just read a spoiler online. I did like the way Moriarty tied all the characters together at the end, but thought she could have talked about the barbecue sooner so you could better follow her exploration of the concept of guilt.

FIRST COMES LOVE // EMILY GIFFIN

I was a little disappointed with Giffin’s last novel, but felt like this one made up for it tenfold. First Comes Love is told through the perspective of two sisters, who lost their brother, golden boy Daniel, tragically when he was on the cusp of finishing med school and had the world at his feet. Their parents have since divorced, and the narrative explores how family dynamics can change after tragedy, as well as different kinds of love in the world. I read through this one in like a day and a half, and can’t recommend it enough.

THE BLUE BISTRO // ELIN HILDERBRAND 

I’ve read a lot of Elin Hilderbrand books, but this one stands out to me as a favorite. Written about a restaurant named—you guessed it—the Blue Bistro on Nantucket, I loved the inside look at what it might be like to work at a popular summer establishment. The narrative follows the protagonist, Adrienne, who is new to Nantucket and takes the job as hostess at the Blue Bistro. She quickly becomes intrigued about the chef, Fiona, who won’t let any press into their renown kitchen and seems to have a lot of doctor’s appointments. It took me a while to figure out Fiona, which kept me turning the pages—as did the love story that blossomed between Adrienne and the Blue Bistro’s owner, Thatcher.