Mini-Reviews of Recent Reads – July 2024
Book reviews of new 2024 books including Honey, Briefly Perfectly Human, Not in Love, The Ministry of Time, The Rom-Commers, and New Nigeria County.
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What makes for good summer reading is always an interesting question. So many of us love having a little extra time to read–whether it’s on vacation, on lazy afternoons at home, or while multi-tasking (like listening to audiobooks while walking or doing yard work).
With all this extra reading time, you would think more of us would pick up some of those heavy doorstoppers we’ve been meaning to read.
But that’s not what summer reading is for. We want the light, the fluff, the things we can half-listen to while marveling at the waves or forest.
We don’t want anything that taxes us too much, especially when the heat already feels oppressive.
Most of the books this past month hit just that right sweet spot for summer reading. I did DNF a number of audiobooks that just weren’t working for me, and while not all of these were winners, most were solid choices for summer reading.
And in case you missed it: 13+ Books That Feel Like Summer
Now, of course, I am all-in on Olympics coverage. My young gymnast and swimmer love seeing these amazing athletes. I do, too, but I also love all of the stories that emerge (and I have to admit to loving Snoop Dogg and Flavor Flav as the Olympics hype-men we didn’t know we needed). What are your favorite Olympic moments so far?
On to the books!
Print and E-Books
The Rom-Commers
Author: Katherine Center
Publish Date: June 11, 2024
Source: St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley
Genres: Romance
Emma Wheeler has long dreamed of being rom-com screenwriter, but her dreams were sidelined when she became a caretaker for her dad after an accident. When her friend and agent offers her a once-in-a-lifetime chance to help superstar screenwriter Charlie Yates rewrite his rom-com, Emma’s sister takes over caretaking duties and pushes her to go. Charlie has no use for her help, but when she rips his screenplay to shreds, he admits that Emma might know what she’s doing. For the next six weeks, Emma teaches Charlie about the art of the rom-com, but it turns out the “rom” may not just be in the pages of their screenplay.
Readers who are fans of rom-coms will love Emma’s passion for the genre and all the ways she convinces Charlie of their value. Katherine Center always builds great tension and creates characters you want to see happy (and together). While The Bodyguard still probably holds my top spot of Center’s books (those characters make a few cameos here), I loved the premise of this and flew through it.
The Ministry of Time
Author: Kaliane Bradley
Publish Date: May 7, 2024
Source: Book of the Month
Genres: Science Fiction, Romance
In the near future, in a London suffering under the effects of climate change, a civil servant takes a job with the Ministry of Time as a “bridge.” Her charge is Commander Graham Gore, who died in 1847 on an Arctic expedition. As the bridge helps Gore adapt to modern life, the two become closer and form a small social circle with two other ridiculously charming time travelers from the past. But all is not what it seems in the Ministry, and both the time travelers and the bridges may be in danger. The question is, who is the threat–and why are they targeting them?
This is a charming take on time travel, and it’s a good choice for readers who don’t typically read science fiction. The tone has a clinical dryness that feels like a fit with the genre, but the sweet charm of the friendships and slow-burn romance will satisfy readers who have less interest in the sci-fi aspects. Bradley touches on a lot here–the Arctic expeditions (meticulously researched and represented here), the generational trauma of the British-Cambodian bridge, climate change, colonialism, and more. This won’t be for everyone; I found the language odd at times and time travel is always a mind-bender, but those willing to immerse themselves in the oddities will appreciate it.
Within Arm’s Reach
Author: Ann Napolitano
Source: Random House Publishing Group via Netgalley
Publish Date: 2024
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction
The McLaughlins are a big, complicated Irish family. At the helm is Catherine, who is starting to have visions of people she’s lost: her husband, her mother, and three of her children. Despite her decline, she vows to care for her granddaughter Gracie and the baby she is expecting. The rest of the family is not as accepting, and they struggle with their own choices and next steps in life. Napolitano examines how an already complex family is complicated even more by past and present secrets.
These complex family dynamics seem to be Napolitano’s specialty, and she also explored them in Hello, Beautiful. While that one didn’t resonate with me as much as it did with many other readers, I still enjoyed it and felt the ties between the characters. I felt it less with this book; the different threads felt disjointed and I struggled to care about some of them salvaging their relationships. Napolitano is a beautiful writer, so I can’t fully count out any of her books, but this won’t stick with me.
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Audiobooks
Briefly Perfectly Human
Author & Narrator: Alua Arthur
Publish Date: April 16, 2024
Genres: Nonfiction
Alua Arthur is a death doula who offers companionship and assistance at the end of life. This can mean different things, depending on the client’s needs: sometimes it’s about accepting that death is imminent, while others, it’s about the business and logistics of death. As a former lawyer, Arthur is uniquely qualified to help with both. In this memoir, she recounts her path to becoming a death doula, which included a devastating personal loss. She also offers stories from her work, which puts her right in the face of the gray areas of life: the complexity of grief, forgiveness, acceptance, and more. She also explores her own personal struggles with depression and how her work gave her insight into her own life.
This is an absolutely beautiful memoir, filled with thought-provoking insight into how we all approach death–and life. Arthur is an exquisite writer and narrator; I highly recommend the audio, which she narrates herself.
Honey
Author: Isabel Banta
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Publish Date: June 25, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Fiction
Amber Young is a talented young singer who is determined to make it, and in 1997, the call to join the girl group Cloud9 is exactly what she’s been dreaming of. This is the age of the pop princesses and the boy bands, and Amber is in the thick of it, chasing the reigning queens, falling in love with the pop idols, and seeing herself defined by the press. Behind the scenes is more complicated than any of the paparazzi narratives, and Amber has to determine which friends are true, what love is true, and most of all, what’s true about herself–even as everyone else tries to define those things for her.
For readers who also came of age around the time of the pop superstars of the 90s, this novel will be particularly interesting—especially because we’ve watched many of them crumble as they reached middle age. While some of the teen dramas didn’t resonate (there were times this felt a little YA), this did give the fictional stars and their relationships complexity that the public never got to see in tabloid stories swirling around the real stars of the 90s.
Not In Love
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Narrator: Callie Dalton & Jason Clarke
Publish Date: June 11, 2024
Source: Libro.fm ALC
Genres: Romance
Rue is a biotech engineer who is content with her life of science, a few close friends, and occasional hookups. When Eli–one of those potential hookups–turns out to be part of a hostile takeover of the company where Rue works, things get complicated. They’re on opposite sides, but they can’t seem to stay away from each other. Is it just physical–and temporary–or could it be more?
Ali Hazelwood writes STEM romances, and most of them are rom-coms, which I enjoy. This, however, was more of an erotic romance, which is not typically a sub-genre I’d choose. It all felt a little too intense–the (not very interesting) corporate drama, the “forbidden” romance, and Eli’s instant obsession with Rue. Not my favorite.
New Nigeria County
Author: Clare Brown
Narrator: Clare Brown, Ayanna Dookie, Korey Jackson, Andrea Jones-Sojola, Brittany Pressley, Emana Rachelle, Malika Samuel, Heather Alicia Simms, Diana Bustelo, Tyla Collier, Alejandra Reynoso, David Sadzin, André Santana & Shaun Taylor-Corbett
Publish Date: June 18, 2024
Source: Libro.fm ALC
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Satire
New Nigeria County is an affluent community that is shaken up when Carèn calls the police on teen with yellow hair wearing cargo shorts–known gang attire. She suspects he is part of the Live, Laugh, Love gang, but Jake and his mother, Meghan (Margin? Miranda? Their names are so exotic!), are actually her new neighbors. As Carèn tries desperately to defend her actions and calls on all her resources to maintain her status, Meghan pushes to assert their right to be a part of the community.
This is a fast-paced, audio-only satire, performed by a full cast. Brown flips the script in more ways than one–here, women hold the power while men hold down the homes, with only a few “boy bosses” occasionally rising to positions of power. Smart, biting, and filled with small moments that will make you cringe–and think. Brown is apparently known for TikTok skits on similar topics; I haven’t seen them, but even without that context, this short audiobook worked for me.