Five Star Friday - July 2023

Five Star Friday is my version of the monthly wrap-up. On the first Friday of each month, I will share my five-star reads from the previous month. Fingers crossed, I have lots of books to tell you about.

This month, I was able to read 28 books, and I had  5 five-star reads. 

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Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman
Published by Dell on June 6, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

When a single dad meets the former rock star crush of his youth, everything they thought they knew about happiness and love is thrown into chaos in this hopeful, heartwarming romantic comedy

Billy Perkins is happy. No, for real. It’s kind of his thing, actually. And why wouldn't he be? He loves his job as an independent music teacher and his apartment in Baltimore above a record shop called Charm City Rocks. Most of all, he loves his brainy teenage son, Caleb. Although not the world’s most traditional parent, Billy has plenty to teach his son about art and manhood before Caleb goes off to college.

Margot Hammer, on the other hand, is far from happy. The former drummer of the once-famous rock band Burnt Flowers, she’s now a rock and roll recluse living alone in New York City. When a new music documentary suddenly puts Margot back in the spotlight, she begins to realize how much she misses her old band and the music that gave her life meaning.

Billy has always had a crush on Margot. But she’s a legitimate rock star—or at least, she was—so he never thought he’d actually meet her. Until Caleb, worried that his easygoing dad might actually be lonely, cooks up a scheme to get Margot to perform at Charm City Rocks.

It’s the longest of long shots, but Margot’s label has made it clear that any publicity is an opportunity she can’t afford to miss. When their paths collide, Billy realizes that he maybe wasn’t as happy as he thought—and Margot learns that sometimes the sweetest music is a duet.

I guess this was sort of a celebrity romance, but there was so much more to this story. It was fun and sweet, and every character endeared themselves to me. I loved the blended family and the relationship between Billy and his son so much. I was charmed by Charm City Rocks and am looking forward to reading more from Norman. 

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The Book of Silver Linings by Nan Fischer
Published by Berkley on August 15, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

Within the margins of an antique book, a timeless love waits for a young woman on the precipice of a terrible mistake in this enthralling exploration of fate and independence from the acclaimed author of Some of It Was Real .

Constance Sparks always says yes …when her capricious best friend needs money; when her boss gives her more responsibility without a raise; and when her boyfriend, Hayden, who is very kind but also secretive, asks her to marry him.

While planning their wedding—and struggling with anxiety about the right course for her future—Constance researches the history of her antique engagement ring and unearths the name of a man who might be connected to it, plus his tragic love story. When she finds a book of letters in her library’s old manuscript section written by the long-dead man, Constance is deeply touched by his words and leaves a note for him confessing her uncertainty and doubts. She’s shocked days later to find a response tucked among the pages.

As the notes continue to arrive, Constance finds herself quickly falling in love with a ghost and putting her real-life relationship in jeopardy. Will a bond based on letters impossibly sent from the past derail her future? Or will Constance discover her voice and risk everything for the chance to somehow connect with her true soul mate?

I found a lot to love about this story. Constance was wonderful and so easy to cheer for. I hated that she was damaged from her past and had high hopes for her future. The search for the history of her engagement ring was interesting and had a bit of a paranormal feel to it as well which took the story to a different level for me. And the dogs! I loved them so much! The overall themes of loving yourself and seeking the love and respect your deserve were well integrated into the story, too. 

[review]

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The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Published by Gallery Books on July 11, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process in this moving new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Veil and the Peachtree Bluff series.

Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for, and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.

June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, during a fateful summer at camp. They’ve all helped each other through hard things, from heartbreak and loss to substance abuse and unplanned pregnancy, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne is confronted with a relationship from her past—and a confidential issue at work becomes personal—she is faced with an impossible choice.

Lanier, meanwhile, is struggling with tough decisions of her own. After a run-in with an old flame, she is torn between the commitment she made to her fiancé and the one she made to her first love. And when a big secret comes to light, she finds herself at odds with her best friend…and risks losing the person she loves most.

But in spite of their personal problems, nothing is more important to these songbirds than Camp Holly Springs. When the women learn their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they band together to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.

From an author whose “writing coats your soul with heart” ( E! Online ), The Summer of Songbirds is a lyrical and unforgettable celebration of female friendship, summertime freedom, and enduring sisterhood—and a love letter to the places and people that make us who we are.

Friendship for the win! I had such a wonderful time in this world. There was the mission to save the camp, but the characters all had their own stories as well. Complicated relationship, second chances, and so much more were at play, and I loved every second of it. 

[review]

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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Published by Viking on August 13, 2020
Age/Genres: Adult, Science Fiction

Goodreads

Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived.

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

I know! I have not shut up about this one, but how can I when it's still running through my brain. Haig gave me so much to think about with respect to choices, regrets, and how we all really matter in some one to someone. I think it's easy to forget that sometimes, and this was a great reminder. 

[review]

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The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Published by Berkley on June 27, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Time Travel

Goodreads

An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.

Love and grief - two of my favorite book themes were combined in a fantastic way by Poston. I love the idea of an apartment that just "knows" when its inhabitant needs some guidance via someone from their past. It's kind of trippy to see the person in the present and in the past which is like the present. Sounds crazy, but Poston did an incredible job with it. 

[review]

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Honorable Mention

July was packed with great reading. Here are my honorable mention books. All earned 4.5 stars.

• South of Buttonwood Tree by Heather Webber
• The Shop on Royal Street by Karen White
• The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
• Codename Charming by Lucy Parker
• The Year of Second Chances by Lara Avery
• Come as You Are by Jess K. Hardy
• Beverly Bonnefinche Is Dead by Kristen Seeley
• The House on Prytania by Karen White
• Escape to Starshine Cove by Debbie Johnson

What were the best books you read last month?
Let us know in the comments!