My Favorite June reads

Unsurprisingly, I've been reading a lot, lately.

In my effort to combat the depressing state of the world these days, I've been reading fewer thrillers and dark mysteries, choosing instead cozies and what I like to call "happy literature".

Also, unsurprisingly, one these books appeared on my list of "feel-good" novels posted a few weeks ago.

Summaries are my own.

A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai (Little Brown BFYR, 10 September 2019).

Simran Sangha comes from a long line of Indian matchmakers.  Even though her mother really wants Simi to continue the family business, the 15-year-old believes that the tradition is outdated.

When she accidentally connects her cousin with a young lawyer, her family is delighted.  Simi is still skeptical, until it occurs to her that matchmaking might elevate her social status at school.

Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliott (Peachtree Publishing, 1 October 2020).

Another YA novel, I reviewed this for School Library Journal (though the review hasn't been published yet).

Teen  Haylah Swinton thinks she has come to terms with her curvy body.  Negotiating her way through the bumpy world of high school isn't easy, but she's storing up material for when she becomes a famous stand-up comic.

Beach Read by Emily Henry (Berkley, 19 May 2020).

Two novelists, both struggling to start their next work, find themselves in beach houses next door to each other.  Augustus Everett writes dark literary fiction; January Andrews writes bestselling rom-coms.

In an effort to overcome the writer's block, they decide to write their next books in the other person's genre, taking each other on field trips designed to exemplify their research techniques.

Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies by Vicky Zimmerman (Sourcebooks Landmark, 9 June 2020).

Not at all what I expected, which was what has come to be known as "Southern fiction", the story actually takes place in London.

Kate Parker finds herself living with her mother again after her boyfriend, Nick, suddenly decides he's not sure about their relationship.  

In an effort to lift her spirits, Kate begins volunteering at Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies, a residence for elderly women.  She makes friends with 97-year-old Cecily Finn (with a sharp mind, and an even sharper tongue) whose prescription for Kate's depression is a 1950s-era cookbook called Food for Thought.  

Upbeat books (for grown-ups)

Many of these books begin with a not-so-wonderful incident, but you'll be smiling through your yawns by the final page, because you're going to want to read every one of them in a single sitting.

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan (HarperCollins, 28 April 2020).

Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. 

Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.

Grown-up Pose by Sonya Lalli (Penguin Publishing Group, 24 March 2020).

Adulting shouldn’t be this hard. Especially in your thirties. Having been pressured by her tight-knit community to get married at a young age to her first serious boyfriend, Anu Desai is now on her own again and feels like she is starting from the beginning. 

But Anu doesn’t have time to start over. Telling her parents that she was separating from her husband was the hardest thing she’s ever done—and she’s still dealing with the fallout. She has her young daughter to support and when she invests all of her savings into running her own yoga studio, the feelings of irresponsibility send Anu reeling.

Ghosting by Tash Skilton (Kensington, 26 May 2020).

Dumped by his fiancée, not only is Miles couch-surfing across New York City, but downsizing has forced him to set up shop at a local café. Also, he no longer believes in love. Not a good look in his line of work…helping people find love as a ghostwriter for a failing dating site.

Zoey’s eccentric L.A. boss sent her packing to New York to “grow.” But beneath her chill Cali demeanor, Zoey’s anxiety makes her terrified to venture beyond the café across the street into the big city…

Finding themselves competing for space at Café Crudite, the only thing Miles and Zoey think they share is their daily battle for last day-old biscotti and a mutual dislike of each other. They don’t know they’re both writers, creating “authentic” profiles for rival online dating services. They think they have absolutely nothing in common. . . . until they meet anonymously online while pretending to be their clients and sparks fly.

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs (HarperCollins, 7 July 2020).

In the wake of a shocking tragedy, Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming but financially strapped bookshop in San Francisco. She also becomes caretaker for her ailing grandfather Andrew, her only living relative—not counting her scoundrel father.

But the gruff, deeply kind Andrew has begun displaying signs of decline. Natalie thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted living facility to ensure the care he needs. To pay for it, she plans to close the bookstore and sell the derelict but valuable building on historic Perdita Street, which is in need of constant fixing. There’s only one problem–Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to sell. Natalie adores her grandfather; she’ll do whatever it takes to make his final years happy. Besides, she loves the store and its books provide welcome solace for her overwhelming grief.

Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies by Vicky Zimmerman (Sourcebooks, 9 June 2020).

When her life falls apart on the eve of her 40th birthday, Kate Parker finds herself volunteering at the Lauderdale House for Exceptional Ladies. There she meets 97-year-old Cecily Finn. Cecily’s tongue is as sharp as her mind, but she’s fed up with pretty much everything. 

Having no patience with Kate’s choices, Cecily prescribes her a self-help book with a difference. Food for Thought: a charming 1950s cookbook high on enthusiasm, featuring menus for anything life can throw at the “easily dismayed.” So begins an unlikely friendship between two lonely and stubborn souls - one at the end of her life, one stuck in the middle - who discover one big life lesson: never be ashamed to ask for more.