This month had me thinking, is everything better with a little murder?
I read a total of five books this month.
Two audiobooks. 🎧
Three physical books. 📚
Three out of the five books where murder mysteries – yes, I am classifying Bury Our Bones in Midnight Soil as a murder mystery.
Audition felt like I was waiting for someone to be murdered…
And Ashley Poston was back at it worth another perfect summertime whimsical romcom that I could not put down!
Check out the titles along with my short review and star rating below. Let me know your thoughts on any of these titles and what you are reading in the comments! ✨
The Busybody Book Club
Freya Sampson
The five members of the St. Tredock Book Club disagree on everything, from the books they read to the biscuits they eat. But when one of the group suddenly disappears and a dead body is discovered at his house, these bibliophiles must put their differences aside to solve the mystery.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Format: Audiobook
This book was cute but I figured out who the bad guy was pretty early on and none of the other characters even suspected the individual. Also, I am not a huge fan of pop culture references in the books I am reading and this one had TONS.
With that being said this was an easy breezy cozy mystery.
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
V.E. Schwab
Set over 500 years, this tale of three sapphic vampires is a story about hunger, rage and the ways in which women are told to be satiated even when they aren’t.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Format: Print
Let’s get it out of the way, if you didn’t like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and if you are over vampires – this book is not for you – lucky for me I love both Addie LaRue and vampires and I was completely bewitched by this book!
Just like when I read Addie LaRue, I found myself pausing reading in disbelief that V.E. Schwab is just out there writing beautifully chilling masterpieces that will last the test of time.
Sounds Like Love
Ashley Poston
A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Format: Print
Poston is an auto-buy author for me. I love how she mixes supernatural whimsy into a romcom and Sounds Like Love itches the scratch left behind since Poston’s last book, A Novel Love Story, came out last year.
While this is cute and what gal doesn’t love a bitter, man bun wearing, reformed musical bad boy, Sounds Like Love did not hit like Poston’s previous release.
Audition
Katie Kitamura
One woman, the performance of a lifetime. Or two. A mesmerizing Mobius strip of a novel that asks who we are to the people we love.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Format: Audiobook
Reading this book felt like trying to complete a puzzle but you can not find the last piece. I was just waiting for something awful to happen.
Murder on Sex Island
Jo Firestone
When a cast member goes missing from the hit reality show Sex Island, producers ask the mysterious detective Luella van Horn to go undercover as a contestant and solve the case.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Format: Print
Coming in under 220 pages, this is the perfect summer weekend (or afternoon) read! Also, after watching the trainwreck that is the current season of Love Island, I believe everything that happens in this fictional book could very well happen in real life!
And here is the current standing of my Top Reads of 2025
On the July TBR
Murder Takes a Vacation
Worth Fighting For
Friends to Lovers
Welcome to Murder Week