Muse Letter: July 2024
My month in review on books, music, and special moments in between.
Dear Reader,
Sometimes we just have to put one foot in front of the other and see where it takes us. And that’s where I’m at mentally with writing this muse letter. While I don’t necessarily feel I’m in the right head space to share a whole month in review, I’m also not in a head space I care to continue. And since I’d like to be in the right head space to share my lovely month of July with you I’m gonna just type one letter key at a time in hopes I’ll get there and make it worth your while. But first let me refill my coffee...
Ok so yeah, July was lovely. It was the heart of our summer break full of celebrations, travel, adventure, and play. And some how because the nature of our month was outside my personal normal I managed to squeeze in a ton of reading to fill in every internal nook and cranny possible to calm my inner self. Hard to explain, but if you know - you know!
With that said, we should probably get to the meat of my muse letter since we have quite a few books to go over, along with some tunes that filled my ears, and a mini photo gallery to showcase some visuals from our month.
I hope you enjoy.
Happy Place by Emily Henry (Romance)
Not my normal preferred genre, but I opted for a light and easy read while relaxing on our little family getaway to the countryside. This was my first Emily Henry novel and it was good. It wasn’t life changing and was quite predictable, but it did keep my interest. A typical romance in my opinion so I will spare you my vague description of the plot. But all in all, it worked for what I wanted out of a book at the time. *3/5 stars*
Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon (Mystery Thriller)
This was a buddy read with a friend and we really had a good time with it. It was slightly predictable from a character dynamics perspective, but entertaining non the less. It is centered around a murder that a mother, daughter, and grandmother get involved in trying to solve. The family trio aspect added a nice heart-felt element to the story that made it for me. And I found the grandmother hilarious! *3/5 stars*
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse (Mystery Thriller, Crime)
I’ve had this on my tbr list for a good bit now so I’m happy to check it off. This too was a buddy read and honestly we felt it was ok. It started out promising with the authors descriptive writing about the historical sanatorium building and such, but gradually fell short and left me wanting more than what I was given. Basically murders take place there and a detective who is currently on leave due to personal problems is vacationing there and suddenly gets involved in the mystery. The plot did touch some historical crimes and behaviors that actually took place in real life which was interesting. However we didn’t really think the detective (main character) was all that great so there’s that! *3/5 stars*.
Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain (Historical Fiction)
This was our Textured Book Club pick for the month as well as for another personal book club I host. It was selected based on its controversial topics that introduce an outside the box perspective that challenges the “What would you have done?” mentality. Which I happen to love in a story. It is set in North Carolina during the 1960s so the lack of equal rights was definitely on the forefront. It also involved incidents of Eugenics that I had no clue existed, as well as breaks in the over all foster care system. Honestly the story had me quite riled up on occasion and definitely pulled at my heart strings. The ending moved me to tears. I also thoroughly enjoyed the authors writing style. She generates such a lovely smooth and fluent pacing that carries the reader ever so gently through the characters and their surroundings. I loved it! *5/5 stars*
When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories, & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown by Kenan Thompson (Memoir)
I have been watching Kenan on Saturday Night Live for years. And since he has been the longest standing comedian on the show I was curious to hear his story and how he has stuck it out for so long. Plus he grew up in my generation so I figured it would tap into some nostalgia content; which it did. I recommend the audible version so you can hear him tell his own story. *4/5 stars*
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors (Romance, Literary Fiction)
I have to say I walked into this one with little expectations. For whatever reason I had a feeling this was going to be one of those over-hyped books that had a great cover. So I decided to take it on my travels to Puerto Rico since I tend to be more forgiving on what I read while away from home. Well I was right. I didn’t find it all that great. I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t love it either. I just didn’t really connect with any of the characters nor their choices or thought processes behind them (if there were any?). And some characters I could have done without completely! It just kind of made me sad for them. It has a great cover though, I gotta give it that. I do aim to try the author’s latest novel Blue Sisters at some point. *3/5 stars*
The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (Mystery Thriller)
Apparently tis the season for thrillers in my reading life at the moment, lol. And I can’t complain because the change of pace has been really fun. This too was a buddy read with a friend and what a trip we had! It is centered around a group of long time friends that go on a trip in the woods together to catch-up after years of life getting in the way of their connection. It does have a slew of characters to keep up with so get your brain in gear for that. Nor are any of them likable in my opinion! But it was comical, creepy, and sometimes even disturbing. Let’s just say there were a lot of animal references splashed throughout. Plus I didn’t expect the ending which is always fun. So all in all it was an entertaining read. *4/5 stars*
Love and Summer by William Trevor (Romance, Historical Fiction)
I stumbled upon this one after researching recommendations for summer reading. It had a pretty cover so I figured why not. It is set in Ireland during the 1950s centered around a farmer wife and a new in town photographer who develop a relationship over the summer. I’m not sure this book is for everyone from a writing style perspective, but I honestly really enjoyed it. Specifically because it represented how relationships between two people can play out sometimes. It did hurt my heart though. If you are seeking a short summer read with classic tones you might want to give this one a try. *4/5 stars*
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (Historical Fiction)
This is a fictional story based on the real relationship between Earnest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson. It is set in the 1920s primarily in Paris during a pivotal peek for some of the Great American writers of all time. I really enjoyed it more than I expected to. Their story was a bit nuts and heartbreaking; but it was also lively, spontaneous, ambitious, and full of dreams. It definitely captured the lives of creatives; which I found so inspiring. I now want to re-watch Midnight in Paris to revisit some of the characters that were also captured in this book. *4/5 stars*
The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager (Thriller)
This was yet another buddy read with a friend and my goodness it was a fun one, and fast! It was full of suspense, sarcasm, and unexpected twists and turns throughout. I enjoyed ‘The Last Time I Lied’ by the same author and found this one even better. I don’t think I want to try and explain the plot. But if smart and clever thriller writing is your thing you might want to give this one a try. *4/5 stars*
I think my playlist cover says it all as a visual description for this month’s collection of songs. A bit odd and out of sorts, but pretty cool non the less. Which pretty much sums up my July. If I were to pick any favorites from the playlist they would probably be tracks 7, 8, and 9; which were songs playing in a few Ubers we took while in Puerto Rico.
Also - that iguana on the cover was just randomly hanging out on a stone ledge at a historical fort we toured in Puerto Rico. We have geckos in Texas, Puerto Rico has iguanas...who knew??!?
We celebrated America’s birthday, we played, we had a little Christmas in July, we survived Hurricane Beryl with no power, we baked birthday pies, we traveled to Puerto Rico (more on that soon), and then we played and celebrated some more.
So to wrap up my July muse letter I will leave you with a little photo gallery to showcase some of those special moments.
How was your July?
p.s. My head space seems to have shifted for the better after writing you this muse letter today. Granted it’s no longer morning, there was a trip to the dentist thrown in the mix, some new school year preparation, and now I’m hearing “what’s for dinner?“ that I have no clue the answer to. But if you made it this far, thank you for being here. I truly appreciate it. And many blessings your way.
Love,
As always enjoyed, enjoyed, enjoyed
My July was good and filled with lots of Pickleball. lol