Happy Tuesday! It’s almost the end of the month, so I am sharing the books I read this month and what I am currently reading. I am linking up with the Share Your Shelf ladies – Joanne, Marilyn, Tanya, and Jenn – so be sure to check them out on the first Thursday of the month for other great bookish posts.

August was a GREAT reading month for me. I read ten books and am in the middle of three more. I read five books from my 2025 Sunshine and Books Summer Beach Read list and a few new to me authors. Here they are…

 Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry ☀️☀️☀️
**2025 Sunshine and Books Summer Beach Read**

I wanted to love this book, but I didn’t. I wanted more from Alice and Hayden. They are both in town to write a biography of reclusive celebrity Margaret Ives. I love a juicy celebrity story and thought Margaret’s story was good. I liked the relationship developing between Alice and Hayden. But, it all took too long. The last 20% of the book was great, but it felt like a slog getting there. I don’t know, but this might be my last Emily Henry book. I’ve given a few five stars, but when I think back for books to recommend, I never think of these.

Lion Down by Stuart Gibbs (kids audio)

Heading back to the FunJungle theme park with Teddy and Summer for another adventure. This time there is a mountian lion in the area AND hunters looking for her. FunJungle is celebrating their one year anniversary and there are plenty of opportunities for Teddy and Summer to solve a mystery and get into a little trouble doing it.

Our Last Vineyard Summer by Brooke Lea Foster ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

This is the first book I’ve read by Brooke Lea Foster but it will not be the last! I loved this book. It is historical fiction and narrated by a mother and daughter as they navigate what they think is their last summer on in their house on Martha’s Vineyard. I love a family story and this is a good one. Betsy, her mother Virgie, and her sisters are all coming back to the family’s summer house after their father/husband died. Betsy and Virgie narrate the story bouncing between 1968 and 1975 trying to figure out a woman’s place in the changing world, how to be strong women, and support each other. This is a great summer read and I loved it! *Thank you to NetGalley for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
**2025 Sunshine and Books Summer Beach Read**

I loved this book! When Vivian goes to her dad’s lake house after he dies, there are quite a few surprises. Lucy, her half-sister, is there and they’ve never met. Lucy doesn’t know their father died. The two sisters go through Parent Trap-esque adventures trying to figure out their relationship, how to honor and greive their father, and what to do next. Lucy’s marriage is ending, Vivian is dating a married man, and they are both retreating to the lake house where they have such wonderful memories of their father. Hannah Orenstein wove together a wonderful story of the sisters, their mothers, their friends, the amazing lake town, and their father. Go read it!

Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
**2025 Sunshine and Books Summer Beach Read**

I was chatting with Kristy about this book after posting about it on Instagram and I said “What a masterpiece!” I loved this book and was so excited to read it after hearing Kristy talk about earlier this summer.

In this book, Charlotte’s husband is arrested for white collar crime. She finds out when she pulls up to their lovely home and it is crawling with FBI agents. Charlotte has no where to go and no one to help her, until Alice invites her to stay at a mommune. Only moms and kids living together, helping each other out, and right on the beach. It is definitely unconventional but the moms get to know each other, the kids become friends, and they all work together. It all sounds great, except the Jupiter Shores Socialite social media account is constantly stirring the pot in town. Spilling secrets, turning people against each other, and spreading a few rumors. The moms and kids are working to get back on their feet and I loved following along. There are a few twists along the way, and they make for a great story!

Summer Light on Nantucket by Nancy Thayer ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
**2025 Sunshine and Books Summer Beach Read**

I was so happy to go back to Nantucket this summer with Nancy Thayer! Blythe is headed to Nantucket for her the summer like she does with her four children every summer. Blythe is looking forward to another great summer. Blythe is happily divorced, but still very close with her ex-mother-in-law who lives on Nantucket. Her ex-husband will be there for a few weeks with his mother, just like always. She knows things will be a little different – her kids are older and her daughter’s boyfriend is coming with them for a month. But she had no idea it could be this different. Her first love appears after moving to Ireland and breaking her heart in high school. Her ex-husband is asking her to keep a secret. She meets a new man who makes her feel like a queen. And she’s preparing to go back to work in the fall after staying home with her children for years. Blythe is about to have quite the summer! This is a great summer story and I loved reading along as Blythe decides what she wants to do as a woman, a mother, a friend, and a love interest. *Thank you to NetGalley for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Life is a Lazy Susan Sh*t Sandwiches by Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

I first saw these two authors on their reality show Sweet Home Oklahoma on Bravo and I loved it. I thought they were funny and such good friends. When their clips started popping up on my Instagram feed, I was all in. I think the I’ve Had It podcast is so funny. Jennifer and Pumps (that’s Angie’s nickname) have supported each other through thick and thin. They are champions of all people, except the jerks, and they decided to write a book to tell their stories. They have been through some things! Jennifer’s husband has been to rehab multiple times and is now sober. Pumps has been in rehab and was married to a sex addict. They do not hold back in this book. I love a memoir because I am curious about how everyone lives behind closed doors and I’m a little nosy. 😉 I’ve read this book pretty quickly and I loved it! *Thank you to NetGalley for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Mansion Beach by Meg Mitchell Moore ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

I’ve read most of Meg Mitchell Moore’s books and I enjoy all of them. This book takes place on Block Island, like a few of Meg’s other books. Nicola decides she wants to completely change the course of her life and heads to Block Island to do it. Her cousin David married into a very wealthy family that has a spare cottage on the island and is letting Nicola live there for the summer. She’s interning at the local aquarium. Her neighbor is the CEO and founder of a fashion website that is about go to public. While David and his wife Taylor, Nicola, and Juliana are ready to have a great summer, that is most definitely not what happens. Their lives twist together in unexpected ways and it makes for an interesting summer for all four of them. I loved it!

The Sandy Page Bookshop by Hannah McKinnon ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
**2025 Sunshine and Books Summer Beach Read**

I have loved every book that Hannah McKinnon has written and this is no exception. Leah’s life is crashing down around her in Boston and she escapes to her family’s cottage on Cape Cod to regroup and figure out her next steps. She is wandering around town and finds an empty building that is practically begging for someone to love it. Even though Leah is struggling, she decides to open a bookstore. Together with Brad, a grad student on the Cape for the summer, Lucy, a high schooler who’s summer has been turned upside down, and Eudora, a former guidance counselor and recent widower, they create a space for the whole community. Of course it isn’t as easy as that, but I loved how their stories were woven together through the summer. This was a great summer read! *Thank you to NetGalley for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

This is one of Luke’s summer reading assignments. I listened to it after he read it the first time so we could talk about it. I read one of Jack’s summer reading books my freshman year in college so we could talk about it with a few reminders from him.
*As a reminder, I do not add a rating for kids books. I am happy to share my sunshine rating and thoughts if you would like to email me, but as an elementary school librarian in a county with many book challenges I do not feel comfortable publishing them here. It stinks, but that is the way it is right now*

Currently Reading: It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
**2025 Sunshine and Books Summer Beach Read**

Currently Reading: I am Asking in the Name of God by Pope Francis

Currently Listening: Tyrannosaurus Wrecks by Stuart Gibbs (kids audio)

You can always checkout what I’ve been reading on my Books 2025 page. (Oops, I need to update that page!) I have all of my yearly reading pages linked here if you want to see what I’ve been reading for the last 7 years.

I do not think I will read quite as much in September as I did this month with school starting. I started back yesterday and being at work sure does take up a lot of reading time. Ha! I am not ready to move on from summer books yet. September is still summer! Do not forget that friends! What have you been reading lately? Have you found a new favorite? Have a great day full of sunshine and books!

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