Best Books of the Summer 2023

I've sure been reading a lot of books this summer, sitting in my chaise lounge in my bedroom, which is a pretty cozy spot. For June, July, and three weeks into August, I have plowed through 36 books. It would be ridiculous for me to try and review them all for you, so I will give a brief synopsis of my absolute 5-star favorites. I am leaving a few favorites off this blog post because I mentioned them in other book review posts. Those additional 4.5 and 5-star mentions were Fourth Wing, The Wedding Dress Circle, & The Secret Book of Flora Lea. Stick with me until the end, when I reveal what may be the best book of 2023!

So onto my latest recommendations!

Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash. It is 1940 and working-class Londoners Millie and Reginald Thompson send their 11-year-old daughter Bea to America to live with another family to keep her safe until the war is over. Her temporary family, the Gregorys, live in Boston and have a summer home in Maine. They also have 2 sons near about Bea's age. As she gets close to her lovely American family, it is a struggle for Bea to have her heart and home on two different continents. This is a powerful book, with deep and complicated relationships between characters you will care for. Very well written, and you will feel the sea spray on your face and smell the blueberry muffins as you read. 5 stars – Free on Kindle Unlimited

The Trackers is another winner from Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain. It is 1937 and "Val" Welch has been sent to the small town of Dawes, Wyoming to paint a mural in the post office as part of one of FDRs New Deal projects. A wealthy local art patron and rancher, John Long, and his glamorous wife Eve, offer to put Val up on their property. Eve has a shady "past" and an ex-husband who may not be happy about her new marriage. When Eve suddenly disappears, John Long talks Val into playing private eye and going after her. And soon Val has some no-good desperados after him. Great secondary characters and lots of Yellowstone vibes. Great plot, terrific descriptions, and everyone is slightly unreliable. This was so good! 5 stars

Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman. Do you love the romance trope about an ordinary person who falls in love with a celebrity? I sure do. Billy Perkins is a single dad who lives above a record store in Baltimore. He is a happy man who doesn't wish for much more than to spend time with his teenage son and teach piano. His peaceful life comes to a halt when his son Caleb pulls some strings and manages to bring Billy's longtime adolescent crush back into his life. This is none other than reclusive, "retired", rock star drummer Margot Hammer. If you enjoy middle age romance, quirky characters you will root for, and second chances to reinvent your life, you will enjoy this book as much as I did. 5 stars for doing this genre exactly right.

Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom. You may have read her previous book, The Kitchen House (free on Amazon Kindle), which was also excellent. Crow Mary is based on a real-life character, an indigenous Crow woman named Goes First. The book begins in 1863 where we get a close look at the life Goes First lives with her tribe and as the daughter of a Chief. In 1872 our main character is married off to a white fur trader named Abe Farwell. He renames her "Mary" and they embark on a journey to Saskatchewan, Canada. Mary comes to love her husband but is conflicted between wanting to retain her own culture and becoming a part of his world. A real event called The Cypress Hills Massacre takes place in 1873, and Mary commits a heroic act that results in her saving the lives of a number of native women who have been abducted and abused by white men. This act of bravery and the subsequent fight to see justice served will take a toll on Mary and her marriage for years to come. If you are interested in historical fiction, the conflicts between cultures, and the suppression of indigenous people, put this book on your "to-be-read" list. I thought it was very well done and that sensitive scenes were handled carefully. 5 stars

Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander. It has been 1214 days and Meredith has not set foot out of her house. She has her reasons, for sure, among them are depression, agoraphobia, and years of abuse. She supports herself by working remotely, has a cat named Fred, and a friend Sadie who visits regularly. She also belongs to an online support group, loves to bake, and does jigsaw puzzles. Her life gets a shake-up when she starts to receive home visits from Tom, a volunteer for "Holding Hands", a charity support group. The book flips back and forth between the present and the events in Meredith's past which have led her to her current situation. The secondary characters are really well fleshed out, even the ones you hate. Meredith's courage and humor will have you both laughing and crying. The book is very hopeful in tone and I rated it 5 stars. 

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer. Some years past, a hugely popular children's author quit writing books under strange circumstances. His hoards of followers have been waiting for a new book for a long while. Suddenly the reclusive author comes out of seclusion with a new book and a competition. He will host four of his fans on his private Clock Island for a game. Whoever wins, will be given the rights to the new book, which is sure to make a fortune. The competitors are each compelling and deserving, especially Lucy Hart who is a struggling preschool teacher whose goal is to be able to foster/adopt one of her students. This was a sweet book, about found family, facing your fears, and making dreams come true. 5 stars

The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange. The author's previous book "We Are the Brennans" was a big hit a year or so ago, but I actually liked this second book better. Tara Connelly is 30 years old when she is released from prison after 18 months on a drug charge. Her only choice is to move back home with her family, which now consists of the siblings she grew up with. Tara tries to rebuild her life, but her family presents many challenges to her moving on.  The story is made more perplexing by the secrets each member keeps, and the romantic interest the cop who put Tara away is showing her. You want to root for all these characters and the complicated family dynamics will keep you turning the pages. There are plenty of roadblocks to Tara's rehabilitation, and readers will hang in there to see how the story unfolds. 5 stars

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett may very well be the best book I've read in 2023. This author writes so well and consistently portrays life in a way that seems not only realistic but evocative of the deepest meaning of existence. Set during the 2020 pandemic at a cherry orchard in northern Michigan, a mother is reunited with her three adult daughters during harvest and relates to them the story of her youth while they pick cherries. She shares with them the history of her brief romance with an individual who became an extremely famous movie star. They met during a summer stock performance of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town", which was performed at a repertory theater located on Tom Lake in Michigan. "Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart." Honestly, I think this book is a masterpiece.  Captivating characters, masterful storytelling, and, the writing is poetic. I loved every minute of this book. If you are smart, you will get the audiobook version, which is narrated by none other than Meryl Streep. I urge you to read it. 500 stars. 

Each of these books was amazing, and if you read them, do let me know what you thought of them!