Books I’ve read lately – The Fitnessista

Sharing a recap of the books I’ve read lately and if they’re worth adding to your collection. 

Hi friends! How are you? I hope that you’re having a lovely morning!

We’ve been enjoying all of the Sevilla adventures, going to bed at at least midnight every might, and then sleeping in every day. It’s.been.amazing. I’ve managed to get in some reading time before bed and have blasted through four books. Two were horrible, and two were excellent. I’m sharing recaps below and I’d love to hear what you’ve been enjoying this summer!

Books I’ve Read Lately

The Warsaw Orphan by Kelly Rimmer

This one absolutely wrecked me. It’s set in WWII Poland and follows a teenage girl who starts smuggling Jewish children out of the ghetto. The writing is beautiful, and even though the subject matter is heavy, it’s the kind of book that sticks with you long after you finish it. Highly recommend if you’re in the mood for something emotional and powerful. 9/10

From Amazon:

In the spring of 1942, young Elzbieta Rabinek is aware of the swiftly growing discord just beyond the courtyard of her comfortable Warsaw home. She has no fondness for the Germans who patrol her streets and impose their curfews, but has never given much thought to what goes on behind the walls that contain her Jewish neighbors. She knows all too well about German brutality–and that it’s the reason she must conceal her true identity. But in befriending Sara, a nurse who shares her apartment floor, Elzbieta makes a discovery that propels her into a dangerous world of deception and heroism.

Using Sara’s credentials to smuggle children out of the ghetto brings Elzbieta face-to-face with the reality of the war behind its walls, and to the plight of the Gorka family, who must make the impossible decision to give up their newborn daughter or watch her starve. For Roman Gorka, this final injustice stirs him to rebellion with a zeal not even his newfound love for Elzbieta can suppress. But his recklessness brings unwanted attention to Sara’s cause, unwittingly putting Elzbieta and her family in harm’s way until one violent act threatens to destroy their chance at freedom forever.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

The main character is about to get married to what seems like the *perfect man* but runs into her old boyfriend (who broke her heart years ago). Sparks start to fly again and it ends up being “what could have been” energy with a side of family dynamics and summer nostalgia. I loved the idea of this second-chance romance book and the author is wonderful (Nora Goes Off Script is one of my favorite beach reads), but this was boring and slow for me. I had to force myself to finish it. 2/10

From Amazon:

Sam’s life is on track. She has the perfect doctor fiancé, Jack (his strict routines are a good thing, really), a great job in Manhattan (unless they fire her), and is about to tour a wedding venue near her family’s Long Island beach house. Everything should go to plan, yet the minute she arrives, Sam senses something is off. Wyatt is here. Her Wyatt. But there’s no reason for a thirty-year-old engaged woman to feel panicked around the guy who broke her heart when she was seventeen. Right?

Yet being back at this beach, hearing notes from Wyatt’s guitar float across the night air from next door as if no time has passed—Sam’s memories come flooding back: the feel of Wyatt’s skin on hers, their nights in the treehouse, and the truth behind their split. Sam remembers who she used to be, and as Wyatt reenters her life their connection is as undeniable as it always was. She will have to make a choice.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

This one is super popular, and I found it to be totally chaotic. A woman shows up at a fancy hotel and ends up being wrapped up in the “wedding people” that have taken over the property for an entire week. This felt really different from anything I’ve read lately, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I kept waiting for some great relevation or moment, and this one was just flat for me. The ending didn’t even make up for the slog of a read. 2/10

From Amazon:

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years―she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe’s plan―which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined―and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confino

This one was hilarious, which I expected because all of SGC’s books make me literally LOL. A woman agrees to be a bridesmaid in FIVE weddings (why??), and she starts blogging anonymously about all the ridiculous things that happen along the way. Think bridezilla moments, ugly dresses, lots of juicy drama. It was a fun, light read that still had a few deeper moments mixed in. It was just what I was looking for in a vacay read and I loved it. 9/10

From Amazon:

Lily Weiss is her mother’s worst nightmare: thirty-two and single―the horror! She’s also a talented writer but hides behind a boring job at a science foundation. To her friends, she’s reliable and selfless, which is how she winds up a bridesmaid in five weddings in six weeks. Anything for her three best friends and two (younger) siblings, right? Even if her own love life is…well, she’d rather not talk about it. To keep her sanity, Lily needs a safe place to vent.

And so her anonymous blog, Bridesmania, is born. The posts start pouring out of her: all the feels about mom-zillas, her vanishing bank balance, the wicked bridesmaids of the west, high-strung brides-to-be, body-shaming dress clerks, bachelorette parties, and Spanx for days, not to mention being deemed guardian of eighty-eight-year-old Granny (who enjoys morning mimosas in the nude) for her brother’s destination wedding.

So far the blog has stayed anonymous. But as everyone knows, few things online remain secret forever…

When all is said and done, can Lily help all five couples make it to happily ever after? And will her own happy ending be close behind?

Ok, friends: any great vacay reads you’d recommend? Any classics that you’ve re-read over time?

xoxo

Gina