What I'm Reading | June

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore | Matthew J. Sullivan

I loved this novel!! It captivated me from the start. Usually mysteries can feel predictable, but this one had me guessing until the end. Stories that take place in bookstores can't help but be amazing to the book nerd. :) Truly, I thought this was a great summer read and I loved seeing the characters develop. 

[goodreads excerpt]:  When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind. Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs—the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store’s overwhelmed shelves. 

5/5 stars

Little Fires Everywhere | Celeste Ng

I listened to this on audiobook and thought it was a story with deep + developed characters, a lot of drama, and unexpected twists. Another fun summer read! 

[goodreads excerpt]:  In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is meticulously planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colours of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules. Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this idyllic bubble with her teenage daughter Pearl, and rents a house from the Richardsons. When the Richardsons' friends attempt to adopt a Chinese-American baby, a custody battle erupts that dramatically divides the town and puts Mia and Mrs. Richardson on opposing sides. Suspicious of Mia and her motives, Mrs. Richardson becomes determined to uncover the secrets in Mia's past. But her obsession will come at unexpected and devastating costs to her own family – and Mia's.

4/5 stars

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis

I'm listening through the Chronicles of Narnia on audiobook and love them. I haven't read this one since I was in middle school (I think) and it's been fun to re-experience the story all over again. The narrator is fantastic, and this would be an amazing family audiobook for the summer.

[goodreads excerpt]:  NARNIA...the land beyond the wardrobe, the secret country known only to Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy...the place where the adventure begins. Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first, no one believes her when she tells of her adventures in the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund and then Peter and Susan discover the Magic and meet Aslan, the Great Lion, for themselves. In the blink of an eye, their lives are changed forever.

5/5 stars