Week of June 30, 2025

For us here at the Jersey shore, the July 4th holiday is in the middle of the busiest 6 weeks of the year. Between Father’s Day and August 1st is basically “high season” here, when you can’t find a parking spot in town, and you’ve got to make a dinner reservation a few weeks in advance. This is our 6th summer being here full time during this season, and I still have trouble adjusting to it. The New Jersey beach life is so different than California beach life. My mother grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and when my brother and I were kids, that’s where we took our beach vacations. We would fly from Pennsylvania to California and spend time with my mom’s parents at their home out there and we would go to the beach. Even as recently as 2015 I was out in Santa Barbara for an entire summer and the beach was just like I remembered it as a kid. A day at the beach included a bonfire, barbecuing on the beach, an entire day spent there if you wanted it to be. And not necessarily in bathing suits either - the beach was for all sorts of activities, but not necessarily the water. There were public bathrooms nearby, beaches were free to use, and nothing was crowded. Here in New Jersey, the beaches aren’t free - everyone needs to buy a beach tag, be it seasonal or daily or weekly. Each town has their own fees and pricing. And people do indeed set up for the day here, but they bring cabanas and tents and umbrella and radios and coolers full of food, because there’s no barbecuing or bonfires allowed on the beach. And you’ve set up your “camp” literally on top of the next person’s camp. Looking at the beach from the walkway from the street is a sea of canopies. Everyone is in a bathing suit because the heat is stifling on most days. With temperatures in the high 80’s and humidity just as high, getting into the ocean is a necessity to cool off. And speaking of the ocean, there are no public restrooms on most beaches so the ocean is your toilet or else you hoof it back to your house to use your facilities there. And the beach is for tanning and people watching and some simple beach games. And since we’re in the height of the crowded part of the season, this is when we pull back a little bit and let the visitors have access to the town. I’m more than happy to be a spectator during these busier weeks rather than fight the crowds. But it gives me lots of time to sit under the awning on the deck, watch the boats go by on the intercoastal waterway, and read my books! It’s not a bad way to while away the summer.

• As always, here’s my rating scale for your information:

  ⭐️ Did not like this book, would not recommend. Lots of errors, plot holes, not worth the effort to read, most likely didn’t finish. But I’m giving this author a single star for making the effort to publish a book. Not everyone’s even gotten that far, so yay for you.

  ⭐️⭐️ Didn’t really like it, multiple issues with style, plot, syntax or characters. Most likely forced myself to finish it. Would consider other books by the same author but I might have to be convinced.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyed the book. Perhaps there were issues with plot or style but it was an enjoyable read. I could see recommending it if it were of a specific genre or trope or series. Most of what I read could easily fall into this category and I’d be a happy camper.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a good book. Like a really good book. I will think about this book when I’m finished, and there’s a really good chance I’ll buy it for my personal library if it was a KU read. I’d recommend it to other readers of the same genre or trope. I’ll definitely search out other books by this author, probably as soon as I’m finished reading.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow. Just wow. Amazing book, amazing story. If there were flaws in the book I’m completely overlooking them because in my mind the book was sheer perfection. I didn’t want the book to end and I’m immediately adding it to my favorites and my re-read pile. And if there’s an audio version I might have to buy that, too. I have a book hangover, I miss the characters, and I feel actual, physical loss in my life when this book is finished.

Thanks for joining me this week! Let’s dive in!

1. The Happy List, by Briar Prescott ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 294 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM romance, friends to lovers

   I read the Until series of 3 books by Briar Prescott earlier this year and loved them all, so I was looking forward to this series. The Happy List is book 1 in the “Better with You” series of interconnected standalone books and I’m sure I’ll read them all. This was a solid start. Gray is an attorney, a solid guy, no surprises in his life. When his girlfriend of 2 years proposes to him and he realizes that marriage and kids isn’t the life he wants, he finds himself single and truly pondering his life choices for the first time. Then his carefree, lifelong best friend Kai returns to Boston after years of traveling, and Gray starts to look at Kai in a new way. Kai thought that his boyhood crush on Gray would have faded in his years away but it didn’t. And when Gray sees Kai out with another guy, he realizes he’s jealous and has legitimate feelings for his best friend. The rest of the book has them sorting out their issues and figuring out how to not ruin their friendship while exploring whatever awakening romantic feelings are developing. It was a cute book, good banter, likable characters.

2. The Dating Experiment, by Briar Prescott ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 282 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM romance, enemies to lovers

   This is the second of the “Better With You” books. Jamie worked for Connor, hated him as a boss, and had no idea he was gay. Jamie struck up a texting friendship with his deceased grandpa’s Words With Friends game partner (kind of a stretch) and they hit it off. Of course Jamie has no idea that he’s texting Connor this whole time and after months of texting, which turns into sexting, when they finally meet, all hell breaks loose. They decide to continue their relationship in secret and eventually Connor’s uptight ways fall by the wayside and they actually give it a shot. This book was better than the first one, in my opinion.

3. Together Alone, by Barbara Delinsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Edition, $14.99, 512 pages.

   Genre/tropes: Contemporary Fiction, Women’s Literature

   This book took me down a lot of different paths. Long time friends, Emily, Kay and Celeste all struggle with the questions of “what comes next” after they each send their daughters off to college for the first time. Emily longs to re-connect with her husband Doug, but ends up finding solace in the new tenant they take in to earn a few extra dollars to go towards college tuition. Teacher Kay and her husband find themselves navigating unfamiliar territory together for the first time as he places uncomfortable demands on her for the first time. And Celeste, a long time single mom, decides it finally her time to be fancy free but at a cost she finds too great in the end. All three women face the same struggles that every mom does when the nest empties out and we’re left with the never ending question of “now what?” It was a good read, and there were even some mystery components to the story as well. I’d definitely recommend.

4. Before Us, by Jewel E. Ann ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 446 pages

   Genre/tropes: Romance, Forced Proximity, Fake Marriage, Friends to Lovers, Grief

   I really like this author, most of the time. This is one of her better books, for sure. But there’s a lot of miscommunication in this book which gets frustrating as a reader. I understand why it was happening, with Zach and Emersyn each being so damaged in their own way that misinterpretation was bound to happen. But it was painful to see and kind of hard to just let it play out. Homeless epileptic Emersyn ends up cleaning houses for a living and is referred to Zach and Suzie by a friend. Suzie is dying of cancer but she and Emersyn bond quickly and become very close. When Zach learns Em is sleeping in her car, he invites her to move into the guest room, which she does. But Em has never had kindness in her life and has a great deal of trouble accepting any form of help at all. When Suzie finally passes, Zach is devastated but Em had made a promise to Suzie that she would stay and take care of him. So she does. And unbeknownst to Em, Zach had made a promise to Suzie that he could do something kind for someone and decides to secretly marry Em so that she has healthcare in order to get her epilepsy meds covered and can take advantage of his discount on flight tickets (he’s a pilot) so that she can travel the world. Confusion and feelings ensue as a result of this “marriage” and Em feels the need to put distance between the two of them, but even Hawaii and Fiji and Australia isn’t enough for her. This was a lovely story of getting over grief and finding love.

5. The Southern Lawyer, by Peter O’Mahoney ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 334 pages

   Genre/tropes: Legal thriller

   I’ve always been a big John Grisham fan, and this was giving big Grisham vibes. I liked this a lot. Prosecutor-turned-defense-attorney Joe Hennessy returns to practice law in Charleston years after his 10 year old son was murdered there. One of South Carolina’s most powerful (but corrupt) men is charged with selling stolen artwork and hires Joe to defend him. As Joe digs further, he realizes that these charges are but the tip of the iceberg. This is apparently a 6 book series and I will definitely be reading the rest of these books. This had a solid plot, wasn’t too convoluted to follow, very entertaining, good legal bantering, great courtroom scenes.

That’s it for this week! As always, you can keep up with all of my reading on my Goodreads if you want to. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12921106-karen

Love, Karen