Summer Reads 2021

Well, a few blogs I love do a book review every month, and I love getting new ideas for authors and books. So I thought it'd be fun to do a little post on the books I've read this summer... It's been a fun summer of books for me. A few new authors, a few classics, and a few great beach reads. Hope you enjoy this Summer Reads edition blog post! 

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First up is Live in Love by Lauren Akins. At the beginning of summer, I knew I wanted to grab an audiobook that I could listen while I ran, did errands around town or around the house, and I love finding books that the author has read, so I came across Lauren's. Pierce and I love a good Thomas Rhett song or album, so it was fun hearing about their journey through growing up, dating, and eventually marriage and quick stardom as a young married couple. I really enjoyed reading about their journey through adoption and found myself rooting for their marriage in a time that a Christian marriage isn't always supported in the music industry. I don't know them, but felt like I did by the end and was thankful God gave them the platform He did so that they could use it for his glory! 

Next I read The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand. This was the book that I picked up at the library when we went to Mexico this summer. A few people had recommended Elin Hilderbrand to me, and I had never read any of her books so I thought I'd give this one a shot. And honestly, I love Parent Trap and all things twin, so I enjoyed the storyline of this one! I told Pierce that it was the perfect beach read - not extremely suspenseful, but had characters that I got to know and wanted to know what would happen in their lives. I will say that I did skip a page or two here and there and it wasn't the most morally sound plot line, but with one of the characters being named Tabitha, it was fun to cheer them on throughout the story! 

After we got back, I started in on The Return. Oh Nicholas Sparks....I had a season where I read so many of his books...I fell in love with North Carolina through so many of his stories. I had kind of taken a break though, but picked this one up this summer and found myself really enjoying it!! Trevor takes a trip back to his grandfather's old lake cottage after his grandfather passes away, and I loved how he gets to know this small town and the people in it. His character is very likable and I found myself rooting for his friendship with so many people in the town. It made me wish I had an old lake house to explore one day! 

A Distant Shore by Karen Kingsbury... My, my, my...I cannot say enough good things about Karen Kingsbury. Everyone who knows me knows I just love her so much. I seriously enjoy reading her books so so much. She is a believer and every book she writes points me back to my faith. I have read her whole Baxter series and just loved every single book....cried at multiple points throughout her storylines and fell in love with her characters. But when I saw this book come out in April, I was hesitant because I knew it was a hard topic of trafficking. I decided to wait on reading it, but then one night broke down and tried the sample...and pretty much immediately fell in love. She does an amazing job at tackling a hard topic with such grace and faith, and I left this book feeling more hopeful and prayerful than I ever could have imagined. She paints a picture and builds a storyline that leaves you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what comes next without feeling like you are just weighted down and can't see the good. "Jack Ryder" is one of the stars in this book, and my husband was reading Jack Ryan at the time, so it was a fun little parallel and a perfect amount of FBI for me, without nightmares...I just can't recommend this one enough! 

Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau was a sweet highlight of my summer reads! Oh my...can we just go ahead and take a trip to Paris?! This book made me want to roam the streets of France, learn to speak French, and change my profession to ballet, not to mention eat a million baguettes and croissants in the meantime. This is more of a young adult novel, but it was a perfect summer book for me. You will fall in love with Mia's ballet journey, and I found myself cheering for her throughout the whole story...just a sweet and easy little read that I definitely recommend! ...not to mention the fact that you can highlight so many amazing little places to visit if you ever go to Paris...and learn a few French words along the way! 

And last but not least...Bookshop by the Sea. Well, Denise Hunter was on my Friday Favorites this past week for good reason. I was just so thrilled when I came across her books. She is a Christian author and three of her books have been turned into Hallmark movies, so...you can pretty much guess the overall feel of this book. But my goodness, I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. I just adored the cover and loved every time I picked it up. I felt like I was with my good friends reading about Sophie's love for books and opening a bookshop and Aiden's kind and compassionate spirit. It was just a joy to read...and I'm already on to my next book of hers...highly recommend if you like to live in these genres as much as I do ☺️

Aww ok what books do you recommend I read next?! I would love to hear what you have been reading this summer or plan to read this fall too!! It's always fun to find new books and authors!

Thanks for following along today! I'll see you back here tomorrow!
Love y'all!
Tab