Five Star Friday is my version of the monthly wrap-up. On the first Friday of each month, I will share my five-star reads from the previous month. Fingers crossed, I have lots of books to tell you about.
This month, I was able to read 26 books, and I had 5 five-star reads.
Published by Penguin Books on July 21, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
A NOVEL LOVE STORY meets LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS in this rom-com following Roxie Mitchell, an adventure-loving romance reader who finds herself trapped in a meet-cute turned murderous
When Roxie makes a tongue-in-cheek wish to live out the plot of her favorite author’s next novel, she has romance in mind—namely, the sweet, safe, swoon-worthy storylines Anna Matthews is known for. It should be a dream come true when her wish is granted and she finds herself swept into a first date with a handsome stranger who seems designed to take her breath away.
Except for one little hiccup: That handsome stranger tries to take her breath away. Literally. With a knife. The thing is, Roxie may be the new Anna Matthews protagonist—but this time, Anna is writing a crime thriller.
Thrown into a perilous genre she’s never read, Roxie is desperate for help. So when her escape takes her straight into the path of Grant Hoffman, an anxious English professor with a convenient love of crime novels, she decides that kidnapping a grown man is a small price to pay for her own survival. Together, Roxie and Grant navigate a madcap story where the lines between fiction and reality blur. They’ll find out if they have what it takes to make it to The End—or maybe even Happily Ever After.
In If Books Could Kill, the main character become part of a story written by her favorite author. She was expecting to be in a sweet, HEA romance but finds herself part of a murder mystery instead, and her goal is to stay alive. This was action packed and tons of fun. Eberle definitely put her own spin on the medium awareness trope.
Published by Atria Books on July 21, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
From the internationally bestselling author of Any Trope but You comes an enemies-to-lovers rom-com about a hopeless romantic wedding planner and the cynical divorce lawyer forced to help her plan her ex’s wedding.
Gracie Holland lives for Happily Ever Afters—just not her own. After a crushing breakup, she’s thrown herself into planning weddings at Larkwood, the ivy-covered Rhode Island estate where she also lives in the guest cottage. But when her beloved boss passes away and leaves the estate to her grandson, Gracie’s carefully rebuilt life is suddenly on the line. Jude Larkwood is everything she’s sworn ruthless, practical, and immune to romance—he’s a divorce lawyer, for crying out loud! Worse, he plans to sell Larkwood by the end of the summer.
Jude has spent his life cleaning up other people’s romantic disasters—and he has no interest in watching another love story fall apart on his family’s lawn. But inheriting Larkwood comes with one its maddeningly optimistic wedding planner. Gracie’s sunshiney faith in love unsettles Jude almost as much as her ability to push through his defenses. He’s built a life on keeping emotion out of the equation—but something about her keeps slipping past his guard.
When Gracie’s ex calls out of the blue asking her to plan his wedding, she sees an unexpected opportunity. Jude reluctantly agrees to give her until the wedding to change his mind, and in exchange, she drags him into a two-month crash course in love to make even the most hardened cynic start to wonder if love might not be such a scam after all.
But as cake tastings and vendor emergencies give way to late-night confessions and undeniable chemistry, Gracie and Jude must confront the fears they’ve spent years avoiding. But can a hopeless romantic and a confirmed cynic find a future they both believe in?
Lavine is two for two with me. She does such a great job leaning into classic tropes, and here we had a wonderful enemies-to-lovers romance. The backdrop of planning a wedding added to what was already a fun story. I adored watching these two fall in love!
Published by Harper on June 2, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
The acclaimed, prize-winning #1 New York Times bestselling writer returns with a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time.
When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a little more than year when Daphne was nine. Now fifty-three, Daphne hasn’t seen Eddie for many years, not since the fateful event that changed the direction of both their lives. Meeting again, time falls away; while their relationship was brief, it had a profound impact on them both, and now that they are reunited, they have no intention of ever being separated again.
Whistler is a story about two adults looking back over the choices they made, and the choices that were made for them. It’s a story about bravery, memory, the often small yet consequential moments that define our lives, and the endless stream of loss that in time comes for us all. Beautiful in its simplicity, it is ultimately about how love endures, and how the feeling of being known by one other person, even for a short period of time, can change everything.
Whistler starts as a reunion story between a woman and one of her step-fathers, her favorite step-father. The story of their accident was woven into the present storyline, and it helped me realize the lifelong bond they shared and how this event shaped their lives. The reunion was also very meaningful. I thought it helped Daphne work through a lot of complicated feelings she had about her mother, her father, and herself. Overall: A quiet story that hooked me from page one as I was so invested in these characters and their happiness.
Published by Random House on March 17, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
In this warm, intimate novel, a woman celebrates the joy she finds in the ordinary things in life and discovers it’s never too late to start new adventures. By the New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv and Open House
Florence “Flo” Greene is nearing the end of her life, and she decides to leave her house and an account of her life for Ruthie, the younger woman who grew up next door, moved away, and still is like a surrogate daughter. As Flo writes to Ruthie about the meaning of beloved things in her home and about events in her past, she also tries new adventures of her own. She intervenes in the lives of friends in her neighborhood.
Flo's project has been to encourage Teresa, a wise but unconfident woman, to open her heart to romance. Flo goes to the library to get advice from Mimi, a librarian. She encourages Ruthie, who is contemplating divorce, to try again with her husband, by sharing a startling secret long buried about Flo’s own seemingly perfect husband and marriage.
In her final weeks, Flo leaves an indelible mark on others, as this moving novel celebrates life, change, and ways to discover new happiness, friendship, and love.
What would you do if you were handed a terminal diagnosis? Flo decided to be a busybody. She befriends a death doula who had given up on love and encourages her to try again. Flo also pens the longest letter ever to her old neighbor. In the letter, she shares her life story, the ups and downs, and all the joys in hopes that it would push her to rethink her divorce. I love a celebration of simple joys, but this also was about a woman who overcame disappointments and setbacks, and who decided to continue to live the rest of her days to the fullest.
[review]
Published by Berkley on June 16, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Romance, Enchanted Realism
Rating:
Goodreads
The new head gardener at the enchanting Lilymoor House stumbles upon a secret garden . . . with a mysterious man trapped inside, in the next magical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Sounds Like Love and The Seven Year Slip.
When Sophie Drear plans her escape to coastal Maine for the summer—for a temporary job revitalizing the storied grounds at Lilymoor House—she doesn’t expect to fall in love.
But she does: With the beguiling land, the fragrant flowers, and the towering hedge maze. With the quirky staff and the enigmatic woman who owns the place.
And then, the door appears. Never in the same place twice, it leads her to a secret, and unfinished, garden with a frustrated thundercloud of a man trapped inside.
This mysterious garden is not the only sign that the future of Lilymoor is unstable: the foliage resists Sophie’s careful nurturing, vines threaten to strangle the hedges, and the manor’s owner has wild ideas about who will take over when she retires—including her inconveniently attractive nephew who is also there just for the summer.
Despite herself, Sophie has come to care for the residents of Lilymoor just as much as she cares for its grounds. With the help of one man on the outside of the secret garden, and one man on the inside, she might be the only person who can figure out exactly what Lilymoor needs to bloom once more.
Poston never fails to win my heart with the wonderful and magical stories. A year ago, Sophie lost her best friends, and her life lost all its color. She had been struggling with this loss which was negatively affecting all areas of her life, including her job. She was "encouraged" to accept a temporary position to help revitalize the Lilymoor gardens for their 250th celebration. This place was special to Sophie and her best friend, and it ends up being a place of healing for her as well. I was very moved by Sophie and the friendship she shared with Harrie. I totally felt and understood her pain. They shared such an incredible friendship! I was happy to see Sophie find comfort in the gardens that brought so much joy to her and Harrie. Overall: A very touching tale.
Honorable Mention
June was packed with great reading. Here are my honorable mention books. All earned 4.5 stars.
- Never Planned on You by Lindsay Hameroff
- The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson
- Falling Into You by Jill Shalvis
- The Midnight Train by Matt Haig
- Married with Benefits by Ellie Palmer
- Chrismoose Kisses by Jaqueline Winters
- The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh
- Rival Season by Leah Brunner, Katie Bailey
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