July 2026 Book Review

The past few weeks have gotten away from me, as my dad and sister visited me with my nephew, and I am slowly readjusting to my normal life. This summer has been a cozy reprieve from life, and I have enjoyed falling back in sync with myself. I know that it is going to continue to be a process, but I like that reading has become an anchor for me again. I am finding my attention span for tv waning, and I only want to curl into a book. It's nice to find escapism through narratives, and I am reminded that the last time I felt this entranced with the written word was in 2020. That March, due to the pandemic, I read 11 books within the month. A feat that I have never done before or since, but I am very proud of the seven (or nine books, depending on how you count) I have read this month. Here is a rundown of the books, and I hope that you choose to get lost in their pages as well.

(Shout-out to Heidi for texting me about the books she has been reading from my June version of this. It makes me happy that you've been enjoying the books that I loved!)

The first book I read was Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood. I read this to see the chemistry of Maya and Conor prior to their book Problematic Summer Romance. Of the two, I enjoyed PSR much more than its predecessor. In her author's note in the beginning, Hazelwood states that this book is more erotic than her other books due to the characters' traumatic pasts and how they communicate and use sex as connection, and I think it does make sense for the story. However, Rue is someone who is hard to connect with, and again, she is written very well because we as the audience feel removed from her emotion because we are not in her trusted circle. However, this was a hard book to connect with the characters. Everyone has secrets, and I don't love secrets. What I will say is I loved seeing the few nuggets of Maya and Conor. I get why her friend thought there was chemistry because while it's subtle, it's there. Conor watched Maya walk into the room and downed his drink. Very suspect. Overall, I enjoyed other Hazelwood books more than this one, but it's well-written, so if you feel compelled, you might enjoy it, too.

My next story was First-Time Caller by B.K. This is a very cutesy story. A woman's child calls into a romance radio station, which spirals the city into wanting her to find love, so she joins the show as a temporary co-host. What I liked about this story is that nothing felt rushed. There's a genuine friendship that forms between Aiden and Lucey, and it's a gradual connection that forms. It feels very authentic and realistic. My absolute favorite part of the book was the vignettes between chapters that are snippets of the show or audience feedback, particularly when Jackson freezes and has random weather rambles! Huge shoutout to the fact that Lucie is a mechanic! Love seeing an unconventional career for the female lead! Overall, I think the marketing of this as a 90s rom-com type of story fits, and I think this was a very adorable love story.

The third story of this month was Gisèle Pelicot's A Hymn to Life. I know, you might be questioning what a memoir is doing amongst the romance novels, however, as I have been joking with my friend Deb, we are easing our way back into my typical reading stamina. As an attempt to test the waters and see if I can take on something less sweet and light-hearted, I added something a little more serious. In case you missed the French court case involving Gisèle, her husband drugged and raped her and invited other men into their home to rape her (and video recorded it)! During the trial, she waved her right to anonymity because that would allow the men to have anonymity, and she didn't want them to be able to hide from what they had done. She wanted them to be the ones with shame because for too long women are the ones who carry the shame of men's misdeeds. The memoir goes through the build up of how she met her husband and the life they had together prior to the heinous crimes. Throughout the story, she holds onto the fact that she didn't want her life with him to be considered a waste because there were good times among them - they had children and grandchildren and a life together. When I opened the book and got into it, I sent a text to my friends saying that men terrify me. That you can be married to someone for a lifetime, and they can change into someone else and be a monster. Later in the book, she writes, "I know my story has fueled disgust for men, but it has not done that for me." Ultimately, this was what you would expect the book to be. I don't necessarily recommend it, but I do think it was interesting to see her insight.

Next came two Carley Fortune novels. The first was Our Perfect Storm. Not to spoil the book, but if you have any idea on how tropes work and have any form of close-reading skills, it's very obviously a friends to lovers book. I loved the dynamic of their friendship and how they grew up together. What I didn't love is the annoyance of why they couldn't be together. In their adult life, they were roommates, and they got along great. It is ridiculous that they couldn't easily make the switch into a relationship. However, I guess it's realistic that when you care deeply about someone, you don't want to potentially ruin what you have by making it more than it is. Thinking of my own stints with having feelings for friends, I can see how it can go the other way, and that's not fun either. However, it's better to be honest and put the feelings out there because the relationship gets ruined either way when you aren't. In the end, this was a really good summer romance book, and I can see why there's hype behind the book.

Immediately after, I read One Golden Summer. This is a follow up to Every Summer After. I read that a few years ago, and I remember thinking it was cute. When Prime put out the series, I checked it out, and if I am being honest, it's a bust. Don't waste your time. Watch Off Campus instead! I have a lot of feelings about the two, but I ultimately think that the show lost a lot of what made the book light and fun, making it much more serious and dramatic than necessary. In seeing the reviews, many people agreed with my opinion, and many people said that they would give the show another shot with another season because Charlie is THAT good. I completely understand the love that everyone has for Charlie because he is honestly the best book boyfriend out of all of the ones I have read this summer, and he has a lot of qualities that I want in a future partner. Alice heads to Barry's Bay and needs a summer of fun, so she writes a list of things she wishes she did when she was 17 and visiting for the first time. Charlie sees the list and goes along with all the things. He is light-hearted and fun. SO MUCH BANTER! (You know how I love banter!) Then, her family oversteps, and HE HANGS UP ON THEM AND TELLS HER GRANDMA HE IS DISAPPOINTED BY HER ACTIONS, and it is the sexiest thing a man could do. As someone who is her own protector and who protects her people, it is hot as hell to have a man step up for you. I said it. Dear future partner, you better have the nerve to hang up on my family and put them in their place on my behalf. This is a top favorite of the books from this summer!

To return to the First-Time Caller world, I read And Now, Back to You. This one is cozy as well. It takes place during a huge snow storm, and there's a "miscommunication" about rooming arrangements, so Jackson and Delilah have to share a room! It is a very clear grumpy and sunshine romance. Their chemistry is adorable, and I love how Jackson takes care of his sisters. It's nice that Aiden and Lucie make a lot of appearances. Overall, this series is light and fun, and if you read the first one, it's easy to continue along in the universe.

Then, I read Vacation Wars by Meghan Quinn. Till Summer Do Us Part is better in my opinion, but I laughed hysterically at how awkward Tessa is. From the first chapter, she tells us about an interaction she has with Myles, and it is so absurd that I couldn't stop laughing and reading. Most of the story is Tessa having to defend herself against her friends who are over-stepping, but I like how they eventually create a healthier version of their friendship through communicating that they needed to grow from their high school dynamics. The downside of this book, for me, is that the love interests live in different countries, and while they have a knowing of who the other one is for a long time, it feels like their love story was too fast paced. She returned home by the end of the story, and I wish they had used the long distance part of their relationship better. It kind of ruined the story for me because they could have really gotten to know each other deeper through those long distance conversations. If you aren't hung up on things like that, you would enjoy this story.

Finally, if we want to include The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren, I technically started it on July 31, but I finished it this morning on August 1. Instead of talking about it later this month, I will write about it while it's fresh on my mind. One of my first points will be that in this story, there is a long distance portion, and THEY DID WHAT I WANTED VACATION WARS TO DO! It was nice to read it and feel vindication for my frustration because the characters even state how it was nice to get to know each other through their phone calls and texts, allowing for the relationship to slow down and develop! Out of the two couples, my money is on Liam and Anna maintaining their relationship long term. Additional things I loved about this was the realistic depiction of how a narcissistic parent can impact each child differently, and I loved that Anna wanted Liam to choose himself. I think he was justifying things to help his family, but, by challenging the dynamic, it helped for everything to change for everyone. Again, this is what I love about romance is that they all deal with realistic problems even amongst the very unrealistic problems. (If any ultra wealthy man needs me to serve as his wife for a two week vacation, sign me up. I'll have Zoë pick out all the expensive outfits! 😂)

In conclusion, I have started reading Weyward by Emilia Hart. It is witchy and has generational threads to the story. I was planning on it being one of my July books, but all of my holds from the library came in at the same time, so I wanted to read those before reading a book I owned a physical copy of. My plan is to continue to grow my desire to leave the safe sphere of romance and explore other genres. The next phase of the plan might be feminine witcherature, as the phrase my friend Deb has coined. No matter how many books I read in August and no matter what genre they fall in, it has been lovely to escape into the world of books. I've been missing this!