After moving to the suburbs in May, my morning commute is a solid hour on a good day. All that time in the car made me download Audible in what turned out to be the best decision of my life! I’m a book worm at heart, but everyone knows life can get in the way of our favorite hobbies. However, now that I spend HOURS in the car, I fly through a novel a week. It’s heaven. Actually, sometimes I find myself parked in the car long after I’ve reached my destination if I’m at a particularly good part… so I decided to share the best books I read this summer so far.
The 9 Best Books I Read This Summer…
….and the perfect recommendation for each reader!
For the lover of Scientology documentaries:
The Marriage Pact: A Novel
The Marriage Pact sucked me in and thoroughly creeped me out in a can’t-look-away kind of way. Newlyweds Alice and Jake are invited to a secret club, The Pact, who’s sole purpose is protecting marriage. However, it soon reveals itself to be a violent, obsessive cult, and there seems to be no way out. This book takes new meaning to “till death do us part”.
For anyone with family drama (read: all of us):
The Identicals: A Novel
Although I’m typically a twisty mystery lover, I ADORED this book. I cried, in the best way possible, throughout the whole epilogue. Harper and Tabatha are identical twins whose parents divorced and took custody of each, moving them away from each other, (yes, just like the Parent Trap). One summer, when each is drowning in their own unescapable personal drama, they decide to switch places.
One weekend when Taylor was out of town I seriously just laid in my bed and listened to this book until it was done. I couldn’t put it down, not because it was twisty, but because the characters were so lovable. I wish it never ended.
For lovers of “Gone Girl”…
The Sleeper
Of all the twisty mysteries on this list, this one most closely reminded me of Gone Girl. A beautiful girl with a dark past and the seemingly perfect life. A secret. A mysterious disappearance. A steamy affair. You’ll devour this one right until the last page.
For the girl that loves a little sci-fi…
Behind Her Eyes: A Suspenseful Psychological Thriller
I. Freaking. LOVED. This. Book. Not just loved, was OBSESSED. Obsessed to the point where I wrote a separate blog post about it. If you’re someone that likes a little science fiction, (aka you watch Game of Thrones and love Harry Potter) this will be the best book you ever read. If you hate science fiction, one tiny plot point might put you off. You’ve been warned.
Adele and David seem to have the perfect life: handsome doctor married to a beautiful wife. Louise, a single mom, runs into David one night at a bar and they have an affair. The next day at her job as a secretary, she realizes David is her new married boss. Very Grey’s Anatomy. Louise runs into his wife and they end up becoming close friends, despite the fact that Louise is keeping the secret of the affair/friendship from both of them.
Don’t feel too bad for Adele, the wife, though. Each chapter flip flops between the two women’s point of view and you quickly learn Adele knows everything about the affair and befriended Louise on purpose. Adele has a dark past in and out of psych wards that helps the story play out in the form of diary entries and flashbacks. You quickly get suspicious that one of the narrators is lying to you. Who’s telling the truth? Is David really the controlling, abusive villain Adele is making him out to be? Is she a sociopath just trying to scare Louise away from him to get her husband back?
For anyone that’s had their heart stomped on:
Heartburn
This one is way old-school. Like 1990’s. But it was so funny, witty, and full of food-porn that I couldn’t stop listening and laughing. You’ll get sucked into the thoughts and musings of Rachel, a pregnant woman who discovers her husband is cheating and has a hilarious way of looking at the world.
Ally
