Mini-Reviews of Recent Reads – July & August 2025
New reviews of 2025 books, including Sunrise on the Reaping, The Strange Case of Jane O, The Antidote, The Missing Half, Then Came You, All the Men I’ve Loved Again, and Everyone Is Lying to You.
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Summer came and went so fast, I had very few slow, lazy days of reading! I’m catching up on what I did manage to read in July and August, many of which were worth the read.
One book in particular accounted for my low numbers, but it surprised me by being fully worth the time and effort.
We’re having perfect early fall weather here in Colorado, and I do hope for a few more pleasant afternoons of reading outside. For now, here’s what I read through the dog-days of summer:
Sunrise on the Reaping
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publish Date: March 18, 2025
Source: Scholastic Press
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia
The newest installment in the Hunger Games series takes us to the 50th Hunger Games, when Haymitch is a tribute. This one is a Quarter Quell, and the catch is that each district must send four tributes instead of two. We follow Haymitch into the arena and learn how he managed to secure the victory that left him bitter and traumatized.
Even knowing the outcome of the story, any story set inside the arena makes for fast-paced, compelling reading. Because of that, I liked this better than The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, but the shock factor of the whole Hunger Games concept has worn off a bit by this point. Many familiar faces show up here—so many that it seems a little too convenient, though it is nice to get a little of those backstories. Worth reading if you’re a fan of the series, but no new ground is tread here and it’s not as strong as the original trilogy.
The Strange Case of Jane O.
Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Publish Date: February 25, 2025
Source: Random House
Genres: Literary Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
After having her first child, Jane experiences a number of psychological episodes, culminating in her going missing and then reappearing unconscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, with no memory of what happened. Told through Jane’s letters and her psychiatrist’s notes, they each wrestle with what happened during those lost hours. Was it a dissociative fugue? As details of Jane’s experiences emerge, the psychiatrist begins to question what’s real—and what reality actually means.
Karen Thompson Walker weaves a literary tale that’s part psychological mystery and part sci-fi, which she also does beautifully in her previous books, The Age of Miracles and The Dreamers. While I didn’t find this one quite as compelling, it has the same quiet, dreamy-but-unsettling feel that I’ve come to associate with her writing. She has such a unique voice that I will always be ready to pick up her next book.
The Antidote
Author: Karen Russell
Publish Date: March 11, 2025
Source: Knopf
Genres: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction
Karen Russell, author of Pulitzer-prize nominated Swamplandia!, takes us to the fictional town of Uz, Nebraska, on Black Sunday. The town is buried under the dust, the Great Depression, and violence in its past and present. Mystical happenings surround the town: the Prairie Witch is a vault for people’s memories, depositing them with her so they can move forward unencumbered; one man’s farm is untouched by the dust; and a photographer’s camera shoots revealing photos that jump time.
This book took me a long time to read. It felt relentlessly bleak, which made the reading slow and kept me from immersing myself for long periods. But all of the various threads were so intriguing that I kept coming back to it. It took a while for those threads of memory, climate change, violence, and history to come together, and the brilliance of it all wasn’t apparent for me until the end. The magical touch is light and meaningful, and despite the slow pace, I was astounded by this book and found myself thinking about it long after I put it down.
Audiobooks
The Missing Half
Author: Ashley Flowers
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
Source: Bantam
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
Nic has been struggling ever since her sister, Kasey went missing seven years ago. An empty car and her untouched purse were the only things the police had to go on–except for Jules Connor, another young woman who disappeared in the same way two weeks earlier. Both became cold cases, but when Jules’s sister, Jenna, finds Nic, they both are determined to learn what happened to their sisters.
This had me hooked throughout, with a number of discoveries and reveals that kept me invested in solving the mystery. There are some twists here that worked, but this unfortunately fell apart for me at the very end.
Then Came You
Author: Dylan Allen
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
Source: Libro.fm ALC
Genres: Romance
Addie has thrown herself into work for years, avoiding relationships and connections after her father’s betrayal. So when one night with Simon immediately goes sour, she leaves it behind her—until she’s forced to work with him on a big project. Simon slowly wears down her defenses, and Addie has to decide if she’ll let him in for real, or if her past is too much for her to imagine any kind of future in love.
I enjoyed the chemistry between Addie and Simon, and the complications from Addie’s past presented real obstacles for the couple. While it won’t stick with me for long, this was an enjoyable listen that kept me invested in the outcome.
All the Men I’ve Loved Again
Author: Christine Pride
Publish Date: July 8, 2025
Source: Libro.fm ALC
Genres: Romance
Cora falls in love with Lincoln when she starts college in 1999, almost from the moment she first sees him. They have a passionate relationship, but young, first love isn’t always stable, and they go through a series of ups-and-downs that leave Cora questioning what she can trust. During one of their breaks, she connects with Aaron, and they exchange letters that make her feel seen. After an intense weekend together in Paris, she finds their connection can’t continue. Twenty years later, Cora is again in contact with the two men who taught her how to love, and she has to decide if a second chance with either of them is in the cards.
I loved the concept of this book, but I had a few quibbles with the execution. The relationship with Aaron didn’t get nearly as much play as the one with Lincoln, so it was hard to feel invested in him. Knowing the overall arc of the story, the Lincoln relationship in college dragged and I was ready to move on to Aaron and the 20-year gap in contact with either of them. That gap, also, felt like it should have been more significant, as far as changes for all three of them and what it’s like to reconnect as full adults. I did like this, but these pacing issues kept me from caring as much as I wanted to.
Everyone Is Lying to You
Author: Jo Piazza
Publish Date: July 15, 2025
Source: Dutton
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
In the 15 years since they graduated, Lizzie’s college best friend, Bex, has become a trad-wife influencer on social media. When Bex calls Lizzie (a magazine writer) and offers her an interview and an invitation to a high-profile conference, it may be just the career boost Lizzie needs. But then Bex goes missing and her husband is found dead. Lizzie must navigate the cut-throat world of influencers in order to find her friend and clear her own name.
Career influencers are everywhere now, and the exposure of the truth behind the perfect facades was my favorite part about this book—and it went beyond just the picture-perfect homes and wardrobes. I was hooked, and if you’ve watched the rise of trad-wife influencers with the same mixed feelings of fascination and revulsion as I have, this will be right up your alley.
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