Happy July, everyone! It's the middle of the month somehow and I'm just now getting around to posting this monthly update. So sorry. Between traveling for the Fourth, having oral surgery, and trying not to melt in record breaking heat, I've been a little busy, I guess. 

I managed to read two bookish books in June:

I re-read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson for book club. I loved it the first time I read it a few years ago and loved it again the second time. It was a hit with everyone in my book club, too. If you haven't read it, do. It's a lovely novel that emphasizes the power of reading, among other inmportant themes.

Although I was a rabid Little House on the Prairie fan as a kid, I didn't know much about the life of its author outside of the autobiographical elements in her books. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser talks all about Laura Ingalls Wilder's life as a woman, a pioneer, an author, and a mother. I found it very interesting. 

July is turning out to be a good month for me and bookish books. I started the month with this one:

Translated from Spanish, I Lived On Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosín is about a young girl living in Chile during a time of political upheaval. When her parents come under suspicion from the dictatorial government, they are forced into hiding and she is sent to live with an aunt in the U.S. Throughout the ordeal, the girl finds comfort in words and books. 

I'm reading this gem right now:

When a beloved but reclusive children's author who hasn't published in years suddenly announces a by-invitation-only competition that will reward one lucky winner with an unimaginably lucrative prize, Lucy Hart is stunned to find herself one of the competitors. The 26-year-old is desperate to adopt a vulnerable young boy who's floundering in foster care, but she doesn't have the money to provide the stable home he needs. Winning the author's contest could change both of their lives forever. What will she find when she sets foot on magical, mysterious Clock Island?

I'm loving everything about The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer, from the gorgeous cover to the warm, likable characters to the intriguing plot. It's engaging and fun so far.

The audiobook I'm listening to right now also has some bookish themes:

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney is a thriller about an estranged family who gathers at their grandmother's isolated manor for her 80th birthday. Nana is a beloved children's author and illustrator who's made a tidy fortune that all of her descendants want a (large) piece of. When she dies suspiciously, each of the party attendees becomes a suspect. Who killed Nana and why? And who's next on the killer's hit list?

Happy belated Fourth of July for those of you in the U.S.! I hope your holiday was safe, fun, and relaxing. My family and I celebrated in Utah, where we also attended a 3-day family reunion in honor of the 99th birthday of my husband's late grandmother. Such events can be wonderful opportunities to reminisce, reconnect, and even reconcile. On the flip side, they're notorious for simmering with tension, conflict, and drama. Is it any wonder novelists—especially those writing in the mystery/thriller genre—love a reunion setting? No matter how many times the trope is explored (and it seems especially popular lately), I always find it appealing. Whether it's family members brought together for a reunion, classmates reconvening to mark the passing of years, old friends celebrating a special occasion, or some altogether more sinister reason to gather, I'm here for it. Since today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is a freebie, I decided to focus my list on mysteries and thrillers on my TBR list that use a reunion of some sort as a backdrop. 

Before you scroll on, though, be sure to pop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess, Jana, some love!

4. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley—I didn't love Foley's The Guest List, itself a reunion novel, but I'm willing to give this book a try anyway. It concerns a group of college friends coming together for their annual getaway. As they arrive in the Scottish Highlands, a blizzard roars in, trapping them together. Tension grows, resentment simmers, secrets brew, and someone dies. Whodunit? 

5. The Girls Are All So Nice Here by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn—Ten years after she graduated from college, Ambrosia Wellington receives an invitation to a class reunion, along with a note that says: "We need to talk about what we did that night." As she receives increasingly ominous notes, it becomes obvious that someone wants to make her pay for her role in a deadly game she participated in a decade ago.

6. The Invite by A.J. McDine—A group of friends are invited to the posh country home of a charismatic woman they knew as teenagers for an exciting weekend reunion. When they arrive, their hostess is not in residence. There is, however, a corpse in the cellar. Where is Elle? Why is there a dead body in her house? What game is their enigmatic old friend playing this time?

7. What Have We Done by Alex Finlay—At Savior House, the group home that was supposed to shelter them, a trio of teenagers endured horrifying abuse, which bonded them forever. They haven't seen each other since then, but now someone is trying to kill all of them. Their forced reunion isn't want any of them want, but it might be the only thing that can save them all...

8. All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato—A birthday party brings together a group of friends for a night of celebration and fun. When it ends in the guest of honor's murder, Detective Rita Myers is called in to investigate. Everybody loved Jay Bradley. Who would want to kill him? And why?

9. The Reunion by Kit Frick—This YA thriller centers around the Merryweather family, an estranged clan who come together at a swanky Mexican beach resort for a wedding. It doesn't take long for tempers to boil, secrets to surface, and patience to snap. When a member of the family ends up dead, all the rest of them become suspects. 

10. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney—The fragmented Darker family is brought together on a remote island to celebrate their matriarch's 80th birthday. As they're cut off from the rest of the world by the tide and a raging storm, Nana is found dead. An hour later, another family member is killed. Can the survivors figure out who is murdering their kin before all of them are picked off in a brutal game reminiscent of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None?

There you are, ten mystery/thriller novels with reunion settings that I want to read. Have you read any of them? What did you think? What's your favorite reunion novel? What's the craziest thing you've ever witnessed at a reunion? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here at BBB (although I'm still behind from previous weeks).

Besides seasonal TBR lists, my most favorite Top Ten Tuesday prompts are the ones about upcoming new releases. It's always fun to see what books loom on the publishing horizon and which titles everyone is excited about. This topic will be dangerous for my already overwhelming TBR pile mountain mountain chain, but I'm here for it!

My list is heavy on mysteries and thrillers, which is no surprise. Fall seems to be the time when lots of readers are in the mood for darker reads. I'm always up for a suspenseful novel and there seem to be many of them coming out soon. I've already mentioned a number of new releases I'm excited for in recent posts, so this list will be focused on ones I haven't talked about yet. 

As always, TTT is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Make sure you click over there and give her some love. 

1. Thicker Than Water by Megan Collins (available July 11)—Sienna and Julia are not just best friends, they're also business partners and sisters-in-law. Although they believe their unique bond can never be broken, it starts to bend when Jason—Sienna's beloved brother and Julia's imperfect husband—is accused of a brutal crime. Comatose Jason can't answer any questions, so it's up to the two women who love him most to clear his name. If he is, indeed, innocent, which is looking less and less likely...

2. Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker (available July 18)—This one sounds a little zany, but still intriguing. It's about four moms who send their darling toddlers to the same preschool. When the pupils are overtaken by a strange medical condition that has them craving blood, their mothers are a bit...taken aback. Then, the kids' teacher is found dead. Suddenly, the moms and their adorable little bloodsuckers are all suspects in the murder.

3. Women of the Post by Joshunda Sanders (available July 18)—Inspired by the real story of the only all-Black battalion of women in the Women's Army Corps to serve overseas during World War II, this novel focuses on several American women who are sent to England with their unit to do the important task of sorting over one million pieces of mail for the troops. The assignment quickly becomes personal as the ladies get to know each other and discover a mysterious letter addressed to one of them. 

4. I'll Tell You No Lies by Amanda McCrina (available August 1)—After a devastating accident kills her mother, 18-year-old Shelby Blaine is wracked with grief. Adding insult to injury, her Air Force intelligence officer father receives a new assignment that requires them to move from West Germany to New York. It's 1955 and Shelby's dad is tasked with interrogating an escaped Soviet pilot. When Shelby meets the accused, she becomes hopelessly entangled in his story. As the stakes stack higher and higher against him, she must decide where her loyalties lie.

5. Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister (available August 1)—When a young woman is kidnapped, a detective starts searching for her. Then, the policewoman's family is threatened and she knows that solving the case will mean dooming everyone she loves most. Does she have the strength not to seek truth and justice? Can she really go through with framing an innocent person in order to save her family?

6. A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power (available August 8)—This triple-timeline novel tells the story of three generations of Yanktonai Dakota women in part through the eyes of the dolls they turned to for comfort in difficult times.

7. Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead (available October 5)—I'll read anything described as "Southern gothic" and this one sounds especially compelling. It's set in a small, God-fearing Louisana town that is steeped in eerie stories and superstition. When a skull is found in a swamp next to strange carved symbols, it puts the entire town on edge. Ruth, a librarian and the daughter of the town's charismatic preacher, soon realizes it's up to her and an old friend to confront their hometown's secrets in order to keep them all safe.

8. Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity by Elizabeth C. Bunce (available October 24)—I've mentioned how much I love this middle-grade mystery series before. It's super fun, especially on audio with the talented Bethan Rose Young narrating. This installment, #5, sees Myrtle accompanying Miss Judson to the estate the governess has just inherited on a remote Scottish island. Myrtle is thrilled to find out that not only is the old house rumored to be haunted, but also that it hides multiple mysteries. 

9. The Search for Us by Susan Azim Boyer (available October 24)—As a genealogist and an adoptive mother, I'm always intrigued by stories about DNA, adoption, long-lost family reunions, etc. This YA novel sounds right up my alley. It's about two half-siblings who are brought together through a DNA test. Together, they launch a search for the biological father neither of them has ever known, with whom they hope to reconnect for varying reasons. 

10. The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor (available November 28)—Nothing is going right for novelist Olivia Fitzgerald. Not only is her writing career in jeopardy, but her personal life is in tatters as well. When her publisher offers her a tantalizing and mysterious ghostwriting job, she jumps at the chance. Nothing is quite as it seems at the billionaire's estate where she will be working, nor is its owner...

There you go, ten new releases I can't wait to read. Which up-and-comers are you most excited for? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor. I also reply to TTT comments made here (although I'm still behind from last week).

Yesterday, while I was clicking around the blogosphere for Top Ten Tuesday, I kept noticing bloggers reference the 20 Books of Summer. I'd never heard of this fun, relaxed annual reading challenge and I wanted in, darn it! I'm not a fan of summer, but I love books and reading challenges, so this is definitely something I'm all in for. 20 Books of Summer (#20booksofsummer23) is hosted by Cathy over at 746 Books (a blog I've somehow never encountered before). The challenge runs from June 1 to September 1. I'm late to the party, but that's okay. I read fast, so 20 books in two (ish) months is *probably* doable. There are options to read only 10 or 15 titles. I'm going to go for broke, though. Why not? 

I'm headed to Utah next weekend and I need to finish the Pioneer Book Reading Challenge before then/while I'm there so I can redeem my prize—a $50 gift certificate to be spent in-store. Most of these books fulfill one of the challenge prompts. 

Edited on 08.03.23: I'm shifting my focus away from the Pioneer Book Reading Challenge (not admitting defeat, at least not yet...), so I changed out a bunch of my picks. Thank goodness this challenge is laidback like that!

1. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser—This is my current physical book. I've read about 1/3 so far. finished 06.22.23

2. In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce—I'm listening to this one on audio and am about halfway done. finished 06.23.23

3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (re-read) - finished 07.05.23

4. A Sky Full of Song by Susan Lynn Meyer - finished 07.14.23 

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (re-read) - finished 07.29.23

6. Kim by Rudyard Kipling - DNF

7. I Lived on Butterfly Hill by Marjorie Agosin - finished 06.24.23

8. The One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate - finished 06.25.23

9. Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O'Shaughnessy - finished 08.09.23

10. Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow - finished 08.07.23

11. Crow Mary by Kathleen Grissom

12. O' Art of Death by Sarah Stewart Taylor - finished 08.05.23

13. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - finished 08.30.23

14. The Talk by Darrin Bell - finished 06.26.23

15. Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

16. Death in Bloom by Jess Dylan - finished 08.05.23

17. Ellie Engle Saves Herself by Leah Johnson

18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown - finished 07.18.23

19. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer - finished 07.16.23

20. Enchanted Hill by Emily Bain Murphy - finished 07.25.23

Looks like a good list to me! Wish me luck.