I was smart on my first summer trip of the year and brought three books! I didn't finish all three, but I did finish two and start the third! I have a goal of reading 52 physical books this year in an effort to make a dent into the books I own but haven't read yet, and finding the time to do so has been harder than I thought! Half way through the year, but I'm not halfway through the 52. I'd say maybe next month, but I know better by now. July is often the month I read the least, because being a teacher, its nice that I have (almost) unlimited time AND energy to get done the things I don't have time/energy for during the school year. My "Books Read" list may be small in the summer, but my "To Do" list has a lot of checked off tasks!
Book 32 of 2026 📖 People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (4/5⭐️)
Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.
Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.
Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven't spoken since.
Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.
Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?
I read my first Emily Henry book about a year ago and now I’m anxious to read them all! I purchased this one with the sole purpose of reading it on a vacation, and with it coming out on Netflix I knew I needed to get to it sooner rather than later!
I haven’t read enough Emily Henry to know if the books always end happily (though I am under the assumption that they end in best case scenario!) and because of that I was on edge, wondering if Poppy and Alex would end up together or not. And as much as I wanted them to end up together, I also REALLY like a good solid friendship story, so I knew I’d be happy if it ended that way as well.
The story was lovely, and it was perfect to read while basking in the Hawaiian ocean air.
Book 33 of 2026 📖 Heart Life Music by Kenny Chesney (4/5⭐️)
Heart Life Music is a love letter to the journey: all the places I’ve gone and how we got here. This book takes you on the ride.
Knoxville. Moscow. Myrtle Beach. The Virgin Islands. Plentywood, Montana. Holmdel, New Jersey. Key West. New England. The Road. No Shoes Nation. Beyond.
We’ve had a lot of fun, a bunch of challenges, a few moments of wondering “what the hell?”—and more love than any artist deserves. You’re gonna meet so many people, some you’d never expect to see crossing my path, whether it’s the Wailers, Willie Nelson, John Madden, or Grace Potter. Maybe you won’t be surprised at all. I just know this: A whole lot has happened.
For anyone who’s found a piece of your life in any of my songs, this is for you. Open a cold drink, get out on your deck or your boat or wherever your happy space is, jump in, and live them along with me.
And if you’ve got dreams, whatever they are, know they don’t always come easy. But if you believe, do the hard work, and keep coming back, you’d be amazed at what can happen. I’m a pretty average guy, so look at this—know you might could do it, too.
It’s been a helluva trip around the sun.
When I think of who played on the radio when I was growing up, Kenny Chesney is one of the first that come to mind. He was a favorite of my dad’s, and because I am my father’s daughter, he became a favorite of mine too. It’s so easy to forget ‘famous people: they’re just like us!’ I’m always so fascinated in the behind the scenes, how did a person get to where they are, what was their childhood like, how did their brain process their life choices, etc etc etc. This was an easy read, and covered Kenny’s life growing up and into adulthood as he entered the music industry in Nashville up until now.
Memoirs are always hard to rate, because I don’t want it to seem like I’m rating someone’s life. Or really their depiction of their life. I chose a 4 because it was organized nicely and held my interest, but wasn’t un-put-down-able like other memoirs I’ve read have been.
Book 34 of 2026 📖 High Noon by Nora Roberts (4/5⭐️)
Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara found her calling at an early age when a violently unstable man broke into her family’s home, trapping and terrorizing them for hours. Now she’s Savannah’s top hostage negotiator, who puts her life on the line every day to diffuse powder-keg situations.
After watching her talk one of his employees off a roof ledge, Duncan Swift is committed to keeping this intriguing, take-charge woman in his life. Phoebe’s used to working solo, but she’s finding that no amount of negotiation can keep Duncan at arm’s length. Especially when a man throws a hood over Phoebe’s head and brutally assaults her—in her own precinct house—and threatening messages begin appearing on her doorstep. Duncan backs her up every step of the way, as she establishes contact with the faceless tormentor who is determined to make her a hostage to fear—before she becomes the final showdown.
I found this book in great shape at Goodwill, and I’ve read a lot of great Nora Roberts books in the past year, so I grabbed it to add to my collection. The thing I love about Roberts is how varied her writing is. I’m not normally a fantasy reader, but I’ve LOVED fantasy novels of hers. On the other end of the spectrum, this book was police procedural and I was hooked on every work. In fact I stayed up way too late finishing it, resulting in this being a 1-day read. I have a couple other Nora Roberts that seem to be along the same lines as this one that I will have to pull out soon.
Book 35 of 2026 🎧 It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica (4/5⭐️)
A scream shatters the silence…
Courtney Gray’s peaceful vacation turns into a nightmare when she discovers her brother and sister-in-law dead in their lakeside cottage. Her niece Reese is missing. Her nephew Wyatt is asleep upstairs—unharmed.
A town full of secrets…
As police swarm the quiet resort, dark truths about Courtney’s family—and the town itself—begin to surface. Is Reese a victim… or the killer?
A truth no one saw coming…
With everyone hiding something, Courtney races to uncover the terrible mystery. But the closer she gets, the harder it is to know who—or what—to trust.
It’s taken a lot for audiobooks to hold my interest in the last year, but I think I finished this in less than two days. I didn’t know how this was going to wrap up, and I was kept wondering until the very end. The story was fast-paced, and I liked how the story wove between the different perspectives. If you’re someone who likes believable stories, this one might step outside , but I enjoyed it!
Book 36 of 2026 📖 We Are All Guilty Here (North Falls #1) by Karin Slaughter (4/5⭐️)
Welcome to North Falls. A small town where everyone knows everyone. But nobody knows the truth.
Until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanish, and the town ignites.
For Officer Emmy Clifton, it’s personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home.
But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.
Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?
This is the first book in a new Karin Slaughter series. Much like all of her others I was hooked - and though it may be too early to declare this, I think this will be my favorite series of hers. Not even a quarter of the way in and I already feel like I know the characters in their town. I’m so happy to see that there is a second book already coming out this year.
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(Summaries are from Amazon, but all thoughts about them are my own!)
Reading Challenge: 20/52 physical books read in 2026
Total Books Read in 2026: 36
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