July Reading List

July was a good month for new-to-me authors. I read twenty books in July, including several non-fiction, rated from three to five stars, and discarded a dozen more. Here are some of the five stars recommendations.

Met Her Match by Jude Devereaux 2019

A lake girl whose father owns a resort can do everything that needs doing. She’s saddled with a surprise roommate for three weeks, a handsome diplomat’s assistant who is engaged to the town mayor’s daughter. Lake girl is sorely misunderstood and mistreated by the town folk so avoids going into town.

The two roommates become good friends while working together to handle whatever needs doing around the resort. Since this is a romance, they fall in love, but don’t act on it because they are both honorable people. 5 stars

Eat to Beat Your Diet by William W/ Li, M.D. 2023

I’m always reading bits and pieces of non-fiction books along with fiction, but I read this one practically cover to cover. SO much good information in here about how our bodies work, the role of fat in our bodies (spoiler, it’s not all bad), the difference between white fat and brown fat, the role fat plays in our body, the foods we should be eating for optimal health. Great book packed with important information. Highly recommended. 5*

Thunder Game by Christine Feehan 2025

This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Feehan and I was pleasantly surprised. Genetically enhanced humans (with animal, reptile, insect, and avian DNA) is not really my thing, but the story sucked me in and I stuck with it til the end. A Ghost Walker comes across an old friend and two women fighting for their lives against a band of super soldiers and helps them out. If you like shifter romance or romance with enhanced humans, apparently Ms. Feehan is a go-to author. Not my thing and I still gave it 5 stars.

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner 2023

I’m not sure if this is contemporary romance or women’s lit––either way, it’s a good story. A heavyset woman whose mother has been on her about her weight her entire life has a one night stand with a handsome writer at a bachelorette party in NYC, then goes back to Philly and the man who’s loved her since their teens. Two years later, the writer and his best friend join a bicycle trip from NYC to Niagara Falls led by the woman. 5 stars

July-August 2025 Harvard Magazine Making Money Funny by Max J. Krupnick

Like most of us, I have a relationship with money. I was poor for a very, very long time, then not so poor, then getting by, then comfortable––but never what I call wealthy. I’ve settled into comfortable. I don’t worry about paying the bills and if I will eat, but I also don’t have a lot of bills and am a conservative spender/shopper.

Making Money Funny is a profile of Bloomberg Opinion columnist Matt Levine, a lawyer who once worked for Goldman Sachs. Levine is my kind of money writer––he breaks down the complex so I can understand it with humor, which makes his column a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the story of how he got there. Interesting guy. I enjoyed learning more about him. highly recommend his column even if you don’t want to know more about the writer. But if you do, you can read the article online here. INSERT LINK (https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2025/07/harvard-bloomberg-column-matt-levine)

Four Thousand Weeks Time Management for Mortals 2021 by Oliver Burkeman

I cannot remember who recommended this book to me. On the first page it tells me that in the long run we’ll all be dead. I know that. What I didn’t know is that if I live to the ripe old age of eighty, I’ll experience 4,160 weeks in my lifetime. That’s only ten years away, or five hundred twenty weeks. put like that, it doesn’t feel like very much time to do all the things I’d like to do.

When I look at my expiration date patience feels like it has no place in my plans. I must do! I must write as many books as I can! I must see all the places, all the people, I want to see! Sadly, those goals are doomed from the start. I will never write all the books I want to write because I keep coming up with new characters and new stories before I finish the books I’m currently writing. Ditto for places and people.

This book is essentially a guide to how to think about Time, and Time Management. I won’t rate this book because non-fiction––unless it is horribly, or obtusely, written––gives me different things depending on my emotional and mental attitude at the time. What I mean is, I may get nothing from a NF book and then reread it a year or two later and get the “Ah-ha!” moment that is life-changing. That said, I definitely picked up some nuggets that will affect my attitude going forward.

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez 2025

There’s a trigger warning with this book because it concerns the heartache of caring for a loved one with dementia. I lost my brother-in-law to Lewy Body Disease, which is the double whammy of dementia and Parkinsons and I feel for anyone dealing with the loss of a loved one’s memory. That said, Say You’ll Remember Me also deals with long distance romance and the toll it takes.

A Minnesota veterinarian falls for a woman on first sight. They have one incredible date, and then she moves to California the next day to help her family care for her mother who has dementia. Abby handles the subjects with compassion and understanding and made me realize the importance of building memories with those I love. Definitely a 5 star read for me.

The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak 2025

A man is convicted of three murders in a small beach town, leaving his 17 year old daughter to fend for herself. She returns to the town fifteen years later because she believes he is innocent of one of the murders and wants to find the proof. While there, she reconnects with the young man she was in love with at the time. They team up to learn the truth even though the entire town fights them. Good mystery with a healthy side of romance. 5 stars.

Girl Anonymous by Christine Dodd 2025

I had no idea what to expect of this book. It might be dark mafia romance with a tiny bit of paranormal romance? A woman who is the last of her Romany family line works for a fine arts moving and protection company. She saves the life of a woman whose husband did his best to wipe out her family when a bomb explodes in the house. It’s a twisty yarn and I can’t say more than that without getting into a convoluted explanation. I enjoyed the book. There’s definitely some steamy power sex and a HEA so I’m calling it a romance. 5 stars.

Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn 2018

Corporate attorney who feels guilty about her work tries to set things right, but the grieving brother won’t accept her apology. He asks her to pose as his fiancee instead to help him win a bid for a campground he wants to buy as part of his deceased brother’s legacy. This is also romance, so we get an HEA, but the trip there is excellent. 5 stars.