The first Wednesday of each month, Carolyn Astfalk hosts #OpenBook, where bloggers link posts about books they’ve read recently. I had a total knee replacement in mid-July, so I’ve had less time to read than I normally do, not to mention less capacity for reading anything heavy (though there are a couple of tougher books in this pile). And I’ll admit there’s been more time spent binge-watching HGTV, specifically Beachfront Bargain Hunt and old Flip or Flop.

Here’s a taste of what I’ve been reading this summer (since I’m seriously behind in participating in Open Book):

Fiction

A new Maddie Evans novel, Hooked on the Heart, dropped last week and, as I told the author, it feels so good to fall into one of her books. If you like your rom-com with plenty of banter and characters you can’t help but like, this book is for you. Chef and restaurant owner Colin moves in downstairs from Natalie, a yarn store owner who insults his restaurant before knowing who he is, then misunderstands his comment about his apartment stove and decides it’s her mission to teach him to cook. Two more books are planned for the series, and I’ve already preordered those!

 

T.I. Lowe’s novel Lulu’s Cafe was not at all a light read, and at times it was difficult. All that said, it was an excellent story with a hopeful ending. On the run from a husband who violently abused her and locked her in a closet for days at a time, Leah winds up in a Southern town and is taken in by Lulu, a cafe owner who gives her a job and a place to stay. But Crowley, a local lawyer, is suspicious about Leah — and attracted to her enough to find out the truth about her past. Trigger warnings: graphic domestic violence.

 

If you like fun stories with lots of banter, I recommend A Very Terrible Text by Elana Johnson. Hillary mistakenly texts the neighbor she doesn’t get along at all with to ask for a date, thinking she’s messaging someone she’s been contacting on a new dating app. And then things snowball and she doesn’t know how to get out of it. This isn’t even a Grumpy/Sunshine story, since both main characters are grumpy! For extra fun, much of the banter is conducted via text message. It’s a hilarious, clean read, and you’re probably going to crave potatoes for a while during your book hangover.

 

I waited quite a while for my library’s copy of Under the Tulip Tree by Michelle Shocklee, and it was definitely worth the wait. 23-year-old Rena wants to be a writer, but it’s 1936 and there are no jobs of any kind out there, much less writing jobs. A kind newspaper editor lets her know about a new WPA program that was assigning writers to interview former slaves about their life history. Rena meets the 101-year-old Frankie, who tells Rena the story of her life — which includes a horrifying revelation. Highly recommended.

 

YA/Children’s

 

Normally I don’t reach for vampire novels (or any other horror books, for that matter), but Pauline Books & Media sent me a beautiful review package for The Curse He Chose by Sister Allison Regina Gliot, FSP. When a book for kids, tweens, or teens comes my way, I take my responsibility seriously — is the book something I’d have encouraged my own kids to read at that age? There are many vampire novels out there for readers 14 and up, but very few Catholic ones. This book deals with questions of salvation, the presence of evil (and what we do about it), and the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It’s beautifully written, and a compelling story — and I will admit, so intense that I needed to switch to a lighter book after the sun went down! This is Book 1 in the In Aeternum series. If your teens want to read vampire novels, you can hand them this book without worrying about inappropriate content or anything that goes against the teachings of the Church. Bonus: there’s some gentle evangelization happening in there, too, in the novel itself and in the extra content at the end of the book: “Fact or Fiction?”, a prayer section, and a glossary of religious terms a reader might not know.

Nonfiction

Notre Dame football season started last night, and though the game didn’t end the way I’d hoped, it was still great to watch and I have high hopes for the season ahead. Father Nate Wills, C.S.C., chaplain for the team, has written Pray Like a Champion Today: Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame Football. In it, you’ll find prayers and football stories, but more than that, you’ll find testimony to the importance of prayer and presence, no matter what you’re doing. (Netgalley review)

 

Newly released from Pauline Books & Media, Daily Devotions for Grandmothers is Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle at her gentle, encouraging best. This author is one I’ve followed for a good 20 years. Her earlier books were a great inspiration in the middle of my days of mothering little kids and teenagers. In this book, you’ll find 366 daily entries, each beginning with a Scripture verse or a quote from a saint or the Catechism. The daily entries also include a meditation (“Steep”), call to action, brief prayer, and an observation or affirmation to consider through the day (“Savor”). Bonus content includes the Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus, other prayers and litanies, and meditations for the Seven Sorrows Chaplet (which one of my own grandmothers used to pray — I now treasure her chaplet). This book would make a terrific gift. I’m not a grandmother (but I hope to be one someday) and the publisher kindly sent a review copy.

 

Do you follow Babs on Instagram? (She’s on TikTok too, but I don’t use that app.) Babs is the Fun Grandma who shares cooking, parenting, and household tips with her followers, and she’s all about optimism, encouragement, and prioritizing family time. Every Day with Babs: 101 Family-Friendly Dinners for Every Day of the Week, the second cookbook by Barbara Costello, is packed with terrific recipes, stories, and cooking tips. I love that the recipes come with photos of the finished dish. I borrowed this book from the library and made a list of at least 30 recipes I wanted to try — and that was enough to get me to buy my own copy and one for a friend. The price is great right now, $19 for a large, full-color hardback cookbook.

 

Rose Sweet’s new book, My Type of Holiness, takes a fresh look at the age-old basics of temperament theory and connects it to our quest for sainthood. Our goal is Heaven, and God has given us the gifts to get us there — if only we can get out of our own way. (Review copy received from the publisher.) Read my full review.

 

In Real Moms of Real Saints, Colleen Pressprich takes a look at the real lives of mothers of saints, reassuring modern-day moms that there’s nothing picture-perfect about holiness. This encouraging book does not sugarcoat the struggles these strong women faced and is a refreshing change from books that portray saintly women as wearing halos during their earthly lives. A balm for any woman who’s doing her best to keep it together in challenging circumstances. I’m honored to have been asked to endorse this book.

 

And one I bought over the summer but haven’t read yet …

File this one under “You’ll know your friend is a Church geek when you see this on her coffee table”: Sacred Times: A Guide to the General Roman Calendar and the Table of Liturgical Days by Paul Turner, published by Liturgical Press. I’ve been interested in the liturgical calendar since high school, now that I think about it, so when I saw that this book had won a Catholic Media Award, it seemed only right that I get myself a copy. It’s all about how the liturgical calendar works and what prayers to use on what days. I don’t think I’ll be reading it cover to cover, but I’ve already used it to reference a couple of things.

 

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Links to books in this post are Amazon affiliate links. Your purchases made through these links support Franciscanmom.com. Thank you!

Where noted, books are review copies. If that is not indicated, I either purchased the book myself or borrowed it from the library.

Follow my Goodreads reviews for the full list of what I’ve read recently (even the duds!)

Visit today’s #OpenBook post to join the linkup or just get some great ideas about what to read! You’ll find it at Carolyn Astfalk’s A Scribbler’s Heart and at CatholicMom.com!

 

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Copyright 2025 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images copyright 2023 Carolyn Astfalk, all rights reserved, used with permission