For the Love of Reading: July 2025

I read 8 books in the month of July, a record number for me! Let’s take a look at what I thought of them.

The Names by Florence Knapp
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is quite possibly the best book I’ve read all year and I have been recommending it to every literary fiction reader I know. Florence Knapp does an incredible job of exploring how identity is shaped . . . is it genetics, circumstance, or just the name we are given? I had no trouble following the shifting storylines; each version of the main character felt distinct and emotionally grounded. I found myself deeply invested in every path he could have take and truly appreciated how each one was filled with its own moments of heartbreak and triumph. There’s so much feeling in this book, so much to reflect on when we consider whether our lives are defined by chance or by choice and how a small shift like the name we are given can completely change the life we might have led. A truly unforgettable read.

The Librarians by Sherry Thomas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
You would think that a book set in a public library about four librarians trying to solve 2 murders would be a book I would love. Unfortunately, in this instance, you would be wrong. The writing is uneven, at times beautifully descriptive and at others exceedingly dull. The library as setting is well done but there are too many cutesy descriptions, like calling the staff break room the Den of Calories. I didn’t care about the murders at all and found the plot hard to follow. If you go into this expecting to read a book about four odd people who work at a library you might enjoy it but if you’re looking for a tight and well written mystery, this just isn’t it.
I was given an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is no nack to grief. It’s like the sky – it hangs over everything. Sometimes the sun peeks through the clouds, other days it rains, and some days it pours . . .
It’s been a long time since I started and finished a book in one day and I’m glad I had the time to do that with this book. It was utterly compelling from the first chapter and I had to keep reading to get to the end. As others have noted, it’s difficult to talk about the plot without giving away key factors, so I will just say that it’s a story of grief, morality, obsession, and (questionable) redemption. The ending spoiled it a bit for me as it felt too easy and I think it would have been more satisfying if it had been more nuanced. Still, a unique book that is both thought provoking and entertaining. Highly recommended.
I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

All Fours by Miranda July
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Miranda July is undeniably a talented writer, her prose is sharp and often very insightful. All Fours, however, just wasn’t for me. The main character’s choices often left me frustrated or dismayed and didn’t resonate with me in any meaningful way. I kept hoping for a moment of connection or clarity and it never quite arrived. This might be a case of me simply not being the target audience. If you’re a longtime fan of July’s books and are interested in an unconventional exploration of identity, desire, and midlife reinvention, this will be right up your alley. For me, it just didn’t work.

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This should be a book I would love: a secluded lake, mysterious neighbors, plenty of suspense and an unreliable narrator watching it all unfold through a drunken haze and binoculars. But somewhere along the way it all fell apart. There were too many characters, too many red herrings and it started to feel cluttered rather than suspenseful. And then there’s the twist. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that the explanation for everything took a sharp left turn into territory that felt ridiculous and even stupid. It undermined the tension that Sager had built to establish and just cheapened the whole thing.

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this book from start to finish in less than 24 hours because I could not put it down. The story weaves personal grief and memory with larger themes about identity, social class, and the weight of the past. The characters are real and flawed and every scene felt like an intimate look into their private thoughts. There’s trauma but it’s not melodramatic, there’s suspense but it’s not contrived, there’s emotion but it’s not overly sentimental. Highly recommended if you’re looking for literary fiction that’s both gripping and profoundly moving.

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love Elizabeth Strout’s books, particularly because they are set mostly in Maine and an area in Maine that I am especially fond of and familiar with. So, to have the opportunity to read this book while sitting on the porch of a cottage on the coast of Maine was idyllic. While it’s no Olive Kitteridge, it is still full of her charming and flawed characters and her observations of the beauty, complexity, and astonishment of daily life. Recommended for fans of Strout.

Hunter’s Heart Ridge by Sarah Stewart Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This second installment in Taylor’s Vermont mystery series returns us to the fictional town she created in Agony Hill. Peppered with returning characters and a few new ones, she captures the quintessential vibe of New England with an early winter snow storm that traps our main character, Detective Franklin Warren, in a hunting lodge with all of the suspects in the murder he is investigating. A secondary story line follows the enigmatic and stoic Alice Bellows as she hosts a dinner party, helps her neighbors, and reflects on her own mysterious past. It’s brooding and atmospheric with plenty of suspense and terrific writing, all set against the backdrop of the upheaval of the 1960s. It gripped me from the beginning until the end and I highly recommend for mystery fans who want something more than a simple who-done-it.
Many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

And that’s my monthly reading roundup. As always, I hope you find something to add to your own TBR.

And here’s your daily dahlia, too. This one is called mystere.