Mini-Reviews of Recent Reads – June 2025
June 2025 book reviews, including The Names, Playground, The Summer You Were Mine, Can’t Get Enough, Sunny Side Up, The Retirement Plan, and So Far Gone.
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Summer reading has officially begun!
This past month, I had plenty of lighter reads to fit the season, but regular readers will know that I usually have a mix of heavy and light.
Mixing things up like this gives me space to reflect on the things I read, and it also helps me better remember the books (if I read two rom-coms at the same time or back to back, the characters and storylines get mixed up in my head).
Not all of these books were winners this past month, but even the ones I rated lower had redeeming qualities–they either gave me good food for thought or were decent choices for light summer reading.
Let me know in the comments what books are working for you this summer!
The Names
Author: Florence Knapp
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
Source: Pamela Dorman Books
Genres: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
When Cora visits the registrar to name her newborn son, her abusive and controlling husband, Gordon, expects her to name the boy after him. But Cora hesitates, and what follows is three alternate versions of life—her son’s and daughter’s, her own, and that of her extended family—different only because of her choice of name.
Told over 35 years, in seven-year time hops, this novel invites us to ponder not just the significance of a name, but of every single decision we make. It’s a fast and compelling read, but also dark, with a number of disturbing scenes of domestic abuse (mind your triggers). Knapp has crafted an unforgettable debut novel that will stay on your mind long after you finish reading it.
Playground
Author: Richard Powers
Publish Date: September 24, 2024
Source: Library
Genres: Literary Fiction
As a young girl, Evie Beaulieu becomes one of the first scuba divers. She then dedicates her life to the study of the ocean. Decades later, Todd Keane and Rafi Young become friends in a Chicago high school, challenging each other to strategy games and thought experiments. Rafi finds solace in literature, while Todd becomes a billionaire in tech and AI. They come together on the island of Makatea, which has been chosen as the launching site of a new experiment: sea-based cities. Told over decades, Playground follows their paths to this moment of decision for an island—and possibly all of humanity.
Powers’ The Overstory is one of my all-time favorite books. It inspired a sense of awe in me that is unmatched by other novels. I had hoped Playground would evoke a similar sense of awe for the ocean that The Overstory did for trees and forests. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Powers’ writing is incredible, and it’s what kept me reading, but I was slow to get invested. Once I was, I found the ending confusing and abrupt. This is ostensibly a book about oceans, but it’s more about AI, and unfortunately, the message is a bit muddled.
The Summer You Were Mine
Author: Jill Francis
Publish Date: July 1, 2025
Source: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genres: Romance
Lifelong friends—who were once almost more—reunite in their Italian hometown when their grandparents marry each other. Ellie is struggling after her podcast career had a very public downfall, while Cris is retiring from swimming after a drug accusation. They may be able to help one another and pick up where they left off years ago–if they can rebuild the trust that was broken.
This was a sweet second-chance romance in a dreamy Italian setting. There is some neurodivergent representation here, but it feels limited; it’s more discussed than actually shown in the interactions between Ellie and Cris. While the story lays out their history and why their attraction remains, it did feel a little lacking in building a true adult connection between the two. Thumbs up on the setting (summer reading!), but the romance was just so-so.
Audiobooks
Can’t Get Enough
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Publish Date: May 13, 2025
Source: Forever
Genres: Romance
Hendrix Barry is living a fabulous life, with a successful job in the entertainment industry and an overall fearless approach to everything. She doesn’t believe there’s a man out there who can keep up with her–until she meets Maverick Bell. Smooth and successful in his own right, the biggest danger to Hendrix is Maverick’s ability really see her. When he pursues her, will she be able to stick to her life plan, or can Maverick break down her defenses?
This was a fun listen because Hendrix is such a badass, take-no-prisoners character. She is focused on her goals, but she also doesn’t lose sight of the people around her and how her actions might affect them. Maverick barely phases her and pursues her with single-minded clarity—but without trying to manipulate, dim, or overpower her. I enjoyed the journey of watching them build a respectful partnership (but this also has plenty of spice, which may or may not be up your alley!).
Sunny Side Up
Author: Katie Sturino
Narrator: Yael Rizowy
Publish Date: June 24, 2025
Source: Celadon Books via Netgalley
Genres: Romance
Thirty-five-year-old Sunny is recently divorced and discouraged by her weight and single status but is highly successful in other areas of her life. She’s ready to embrace herself and start dating with confidence. But dating isn’t straightforward, and she’s soon spinning with all of her options. Could her disarming mailman, Dennis, be the one for her? Or maybe the smooth millionaire, Ted, who is making her dream of creating and selling the perfect plus-size swimsuit a reality?
Sunny is kind of a fun character to go on a frustrating dating journey with, but she’s also pretty unrealistic. She runs a PR empire, is starting a new swimsuit line that is immediately successful, and has a little newsletter side project that spills all her body acceptance and dating details and garners her attention in the national spotlight. Plus she’s juggling multiple men. I couldn’t imagine how she found the time or energy for all of it. It’s fun and light overall, and relatable for the body acceptance aspect, but little else.
The Retirement Plan
Author: Sue Hincenbergs
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
Source: Libro.fm ALC
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
When Marlene’s husband, Dave, dies in a freak accident, and she runs off to Florida with a surprise life insurance payout, her friends Pam, Nancy, and Shalisa start thinking: maybe they should consider speeding things along for their husbands so they can do the same. The husbands, meanwhile, have their own retirement plan, and when things go sideways for them, they start to suspect that Dave’s death wasn’t an accident—and they’re the next targets.
This book is completely bonkers and, if you can just roll with it, actually pretty fun. There’s no one to root for here—from the scheming wives and husbands, to the two-faced hitman and his quietly evil but much-adored wife, to the incompetent and narcissistic casino manager—they’re all pretty terrible. But the entertainment is in watching them get tied up in knots around one another’s bumbling schemes. Worth grabbing when you want something unchallenging and absurd.
So Far Gone
Author: Jess Walter
Publish Date: June 10, 2025
Source: Libro.fm ALC
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers
In 2016 after the election, journalist Rhys Kinnick has a confrontation with his right-wing son-in-law that ends with Rhys punching him. He then retreats to a remote cabin in the Pacific Northwest, frustrated with himself and with the state of the world. Seven years later, his grandchildren show up at his door with a request from their mother for him to care for them. But when the militia his son-in-law associates with shows up and takes the kids, Rhys vows to do anything to get them back, and save them from that extremist life.
This was a journey that alternates between deadly serious, bumbling madcap, and thoughtful nuance—and it actually works. Rhys is no angel, and the militia members aren’t the only ones who veered too far to their political side (I appreciate the clever title). But we get the perspectives of many characters here, which provides some depth to a book that could provide only one side of the political story. While it doesn’t aim for balance, this approach does offer a bit of insight.
What have you been reading lately?
The Best Books of 2025 (So Far)
Mini-Reviews of Recent Reads – May 2025
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The Names by Florence Knapp is the best book I have ever read. The writing style, the character development, and all of the heart gripping passages. If you enjoy getting totally sucked into a story that never drags, you will LOVE this one.
I love how you’ve made a complex topic feel so simple!