Hello fellow readers! As you might have noticed (and if you haven’t make sure to check it out) but I recently posted my Fall 2026 TBR, meaning it is now time for my Summer 2026 Wrap Up. I read quite a bit during the summer, as I normally do since I’m not much of an outside person, and here are my thoughts on all of them.

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman – I kicked off my summer reading list with this nonfiction about a heiress from the Gilded Age that had one of the most sizable fortunes at the start of the twenty-first century. More astounding than that, Huguette Clark was a recluse whose fortune didn’t come to light until she began to sell some of her Gilded Age properties. This was an interesting topic for a book but there wasn’t much to it and with the book being close to 400 pages I found a lot of the content repetitive and felt like I got a good idea of the story in less than 200 pages. A much slimmer version of the book would have been much better.

The Women by Kristin Hannah – Without a doubt the most surprising book I read this season! If you have been following my book reviews for awhile now you’ll know that I have always jived with Kristin Hannah’s books so I was very apprehensive to grab this one set during the Vietnam War. But my mother insisted I would enjoy it and, as it turns out, she was right! The pacing was good, the story was interesting, and I appreciate Ms. Hannah telling a story about the veterans not always discussed – the women. If you are looking for a war story told from a different perspective I would suggest this one.

Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead – A surprise followed by a letdown. I went into this book believing it was a paranormal story with vampires at the center of it. That’s not what it ended up being and instead I found myself struggling through a subpar thriller that takes place in a highly religious community in Louisiana. Unfortunately, I’m starting to wonder if the first book I read by Ashley Winstead, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, might have been a fluke. I will still try some of other books but will be going in with lower expectations.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – As a teenager in the 2010s I really enjoyed The Hunger Games movies that came out. But I never got around to reading the actual books so when my book club suggested we read the first book I was excited to pick it up. Even after all these years the book still holds up with lessons that are just as important today as they were twenty years ago. There isn’t much else I can say about this book without repeating what everyone else as said. So, just pick up the book if you haven’t already.

The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce – A romance DNF. There was nothing necessarily bad about the book but I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I might pick it up again when I’m wanting a second chance romance.

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig – My book club returned to the fantasy genre for our July pick. A few months ago I read my first fantasy in ages, Shield of Sparrows, and I loved it. This new fantasy was good and I really enjoyed the little group that took on a quest to help the main character save her friends, but I just didn’t love it as much as Shield of Sparrows. Still, I will pick up the second book since it did end on a very interesting note.

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager – And then July hit and with it the Summerween Readathon! I have participated the last few years and this year would be no exception. The first book I picked up was this Riley Sager thriller that has dual timelines, all dealing with the disappearances of three camp goers. This was a great start to the readathon and while I didn’t love this one as much as last year’s Riley Sager Summerween book, Home Before Dark, it was still a solid four star read.

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones – This is the one book during the readathon that I DNF. The concept was interesting but there was something about the writing that just through me off.

Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen – A big part of Summerween is the vibes, taking the spookiness of Halloween and meshing it with the stickiness of summer. This 2026 release following a group of friends reuniting for a fun weekend managed to combine both of those vibes. It was scary but also I felt the warm summer night air as I flipped between the multiple POV’s. It was a quick read and I had a good time reading it.

Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft – A thriller/mystery that gave off all the spooky vibes, Night Watcher was a quick and fairly short read. While a good choice for Summerween, this also would be a great story to pick up during the fall season as the rainy, gloomy vibes make it the perfect transition story from the warm to the cold months. Following a radio host who survived a serial killer when she was a child as she attempts to solve a series of murders that eerily remind her of that killer we discover that the real murderer might be much closer.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum – A highly anticipated thriller for 2026, this crime thriller takes the slightly unusual step of telling the story from a male perspective, a fresh take that helped the otherwise run of the mill story. It also combines podcasting which, while a popular activity nowadays, is starting to become a bit overused in mystery/thriller books.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke – Now let’s talk about THE most talked about book of 2026. Already picked up by Anne Hathaway for a film adaptation and discussed in countless articles, this literary fiction follows Natalie, a tradwife who finds herself transported to 1855 and forced to live the life she continually pushes on her followers. There is a lot to discuss here, particularly with the current tradwife trend that has taken over social media. I will say that in order to get the best reading experience out of Yesteryear you should go into it with an open mind. Some elements of the book can be quite triggering, particularly with discussions to religious extremism, but if you are comfortable with that I think you will discover a book with a lot to discuss. I would highly recommend reading this with a buddy or a book club because you will want to discuss this once you are done.

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune – After the heavy handness of Yesteryear I needed something light and fluffy. A summer romance book seemed to be the answer. Taking place at the lake over the course of one summer, it follows the blossoming relationship between a high achieving photographer and a laid back handyman. This was sweet, cute, and very steamy at times. It is the second book in a series but honestly there is no need to read the books in order.

The Wounded Generation by David Nasaw – This nonfiction talks about life in America after WWII. I learned a good amount of new information but like the first nonfiction book I read at the beginning of this season, the book became very repetitive after awhile and a slimmer version would have been much more impactful.

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood – The August pick for book club this is my first Ali Hazelwood book. It is an age gap romance between two people that shouldn’t be together, even if they were closer in age. I never felt connected to the main characters’ chemistry and with so many supporting characters I had a hard time keeping them all straight. I will give Ms. Hazelwood’s books another chance though.

FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven – This book was a fairly interesting, not so much because of it is story but how it is written. You are essentially reading a fictional book that is styled as nonfiction and each chapter is an interview with someone who was involved in the FantasticLand disaster, in which stranded theme park workers formed groups that hunted and killed each other during a hurricane. It gave me very much Daisy Jones and the Six when it came to format style and I actually really liked it. The story itself was fine but how Mr. Brockoven chose to write it earned it some extra points.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – Fellow reader I finally did it! I have finished Rebecca. As far as classics go this was a fairly standard story, an interesting concept with a lot filler to the point I sort of skimmed through some of the chapters. I had originally since the 1940 film adaptation so I knew what was coming but I will say that the way Daphne du Maurier reveals the mystery and the truth behind did was well done. The narrator, though, is fairly underdeveloped and that was a shame. Truly, as the book title suggests, the star of the show is Rebecca and as long as you know that going in you might enjoy this one.

The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren – The last couple of summers I have read one by writing duo Christina Lauren. This is their newest release and contrary to what the cover reveals the story combines romance with science fiction. Emery Finch is working on a top secret project at work and it is putting a strain on her marriage to her husband of three years, Luca. But when Luca is involved in a terrible accident and Emery is forced to use her top secret project to help him. Like their other books, Romance Revival is a fun romance that keeps you interested until the end. That being said, it is not my favorite from duo but I will continue to pick up their books in the future.

The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer – My final book of the summer! And boy was it a good one! The newest release from Marcus Kliewer, author of We Used To Live Here, follows Macy who agrees to house sit for a rich woman for a long weekend. But when she messes up a series of rituals, Macy finds herself fighting for not just her life but for the survival of the entire human race. This was such a fast read and excellently paced. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on this one make sure to check out my full review that I posted on this blog a few days ago.