Five Star Friday - July 2024

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 26 books, and I had  3 five-star reads. 

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If Cats Disappeared From the World by Genki Kawamura
Published by Flatiron Books on March 12, 2019
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction

Goodreads

The international phenomenon that has sold over a million copies in Japan, If Cats Disappeared from the World is a funny, heartwarming, and profound meditation on the meaning of life.

The postman’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage to keep him company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can tackle his bucket list, the Devil appears to make him an offer: In exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, our narrator will get one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week…

With each object that disappears the postman reflects on the life he’s lived, his joys and regrets, and the people he’s loved and lost.

Genki Kawamura’s timeless tale is a moving story of loss and reconciliation, of one man’s journey to discover what really matters most in life.

This was a short book that left me with so much to think about. This was one of those thoughtful books that push you to reflect on your own life. Here was a man at the end of his life who was bargaining with the devil to add a few more days to his life. What seems like an easy task in picking something to disappear from the world forces the man to take a hard look at his life, what was important to him. He was pushed to face his regrets and attempt to make things right before it was too late. I found this to be quite a powerful and touching story, and I was glad he didn't make cats disappear from the world. 

[review]

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Elizabeth of East Hampton by Audrey Bellezza, Emily Harding
Published by Gallery Books on August 6, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

This fresh and whip-smart modern retelling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice transports you to summer in the Hamptons, where classes clash, rumors run wild, and love has a frustrating habit of popping up where you least expect it.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged—well, by Elizabeth Bennet anyway—that there’s nothing worse than summer in the Hamptons. She should she’s lived out there her whole life. Every June, her hometown on the edge of Long Island is inundated with rich Manhattanites who party until dawn and then disappear by September. And after twenty-five years, Lizzy wants to leave, too.

But after putting her own dreams on hold to help save her family’s failing bakery, she’s still surfing the same beach every morning and waiting for something, anything, to change. She’s not holding her breath though, not even when her sister starts flirting with the hot new bachelor in town, Charlie Pierce, and he introduces Lizzy to his even hotter friend.

Will Darcy is everything Lizzy Bennet is not. Aloof, arrogant…and rich. Of course, he’s never cared about money. In fact, it’s number one on his long list of things that irk him. Number two? His friend Charlie’s insistence on setting him up with his new girlfriend’s sharp-tongued sister. Lizzy Bennet is all wrong for him, from her money-hungry family to her uncanny ability to speak to him as bluntly as he does everyone else. But then maybe that’s why he can’t stop thinking about her.

Lizzy is sure Will hates everybody. He thinks she willfully misunderstands them. Yet, just as they strike an uneasy truce, mistakes threaten Charlie and Annabelle’s romance, with Will and Lizzy caught in the undertow. Between a hurricane and a hypocritical stepmother, a drunken voicemail and a deceptive property developer, the two must sift through the gossip and lies to protect the happiness of everyone they love—even if it means sacrificing their own. But when the truth also forces them to see each other in an entirely new light, they must swallow their pride to learn that love is a lot like sometimes the only way to survive is to let yourself fall.

I know! Another P&P retelling, but I have to say, I adored it. I had read this duo's last Austen retelling, Emma of 83rd Street, and I knew I had to read more from them. Lizzy was such a star. She really went above and beyond for her family, and the family dynamic was another stellar part of this book. I loved all their personalities and the way they interacted with each other. But it was the interactions between Lizzy and Will which made me laugh, smile, and swoon. Those two were two sides of the same coin with both of them putting their families' needs ahead of their own. I think they were meant to be together and support each other through their struggles. I had such a wonderful time in East Hampton and hope the authors have more Austen retellings coming our way. 

[review]

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Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on August 6, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

A tender, laugh-out-loud debut romance about a woman who ends up in over her head after a little white lie . . .

When thirty-year-old post-double-mastectomy BRCA 1 carrier and reluctant thrill-seeker Alison Mullally arrives at her ex-boyfriend Sam’s funeral to find that no one knows he dumped her, she agrees to play the grieving girlfriend for the sake of the family and pack up Sam’s apartment with his prickly best friend, Adam Berg. After all, it’ll only take four weekends . . .

But Adam doesn’t want Alison anywhere near him. Forced to spend long hours with the grump, and his monosyllabic demeanor, Alison decides she must put her people-pleasing abilities to the test. She will make him like her. And after awkward family affairs and packing up dilemmas, the two form a tenuous friendship . . . if “friendship” means incredible chemistry and tension between them. Can Alison come clean and finally embrace the life and love she's always wanted? Or will her little white lie get in the way of her new, unexpected romance?

Four Weekends and a Funeral had a wild premise. Alison found herself agreeing to fake date her ex-boyfriend who happens to be dead. It was all to make his mother believe that her son had found someone before his death. Part of playing the grieving girlfriend involved packing up her ex's home, a task she was forced to share with his grouchy best friend. Watching a friendship take root and grow in those four weekends made my heart soar. Adam was such a gem, too. Something that stood out in this story was the fact that Alison carried the BRCA 1 gene. The author is also a carrier, and she did an amazing job developing and weaving this aspect into the story. I knew some things but learned a lot more. The perspective went beyond the medical as well, and I really appreciated all that Palmer shared with me. Funny, heartwarming, touching -- this book had it all and left me wanting more from Palmer. 

[review]

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Honorable Mention

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

• The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
• Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks
• The Feud by Sawyer Bennett
• Under Your Spell by Laura Wood
• The Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood
• Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
• The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord
• Serendipity by Becky Chalsen
• Worst in Show by Anna E. Collins
• The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey

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