July: Reading With Rochelle Weinstein
Hello Readers & Friends,
It’s been steamy hot around most of the country, but July was a great time to lose yourself in the pages of a good book. Here are the stories that got me through: some old, some new, French, memoir, and a summer splash. If you need a break from the world, check these beauties out.
The Bookshop Sisterhood, Michelle Lindo-Rice, Digital ARC
On the cusp of opening a bookstore together, four women’s lives are upended. Can they mend what’s broken before opening day?
What to expect: You had me at bookstore! Great exploration of female friendship.
Available Now
The Postcard, Anne Berest, Audible
The author searches for the writer of an anonymous postcard. One side is a photo of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. The other features the names of her maternal great-grandparents and their children—all killed at Auschwitz.
What to expect: Deeply moving and affecting. A long read! Relevant to today’s times and the roots of antisemitism and generational trauma.
Available Now
Pink Glass Houses, Asha Elias, Paperback ARC
A social satire of wealthy PTA moms at a Miami elementary school trying to gain and maintain power.
What to expect: Elias nails the sexy (and absurd) aspects of Miami culture. Entertaining and juicy. Waiting for this one to be a Netflix miniseries.
Available Now
Wish You Were Here, Renée Carlino, Paperback
Charlotte spends one magical night with Adam, but when morning comes they part ways, until a chance encounter months later. Only now, she’s dating someone else.
What to expect: Tears, soulmates, and the Julia Roberts film Dying Young. Jamie Rosenblit from Beauty and The Book has me reading Carlino’s entire backlist. #hooked
Available Now
All the Summers In Between, Brooke Lea Foster, Hardcover and Audible
Hamptons 1967. Thea and Margaret are fast friends until the day everything changes. 1977. The girls meet again. Can this friendship be salvaged?
What to expect: A poignant tale of the many facets of friendship. Seventies music provides plenty of nostalgia. How our friends see us for who we are, even when we don’t see it for ourselves.
Available Now
Long Island Compromise, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Audible
The 1980 kidnapping of their father sets the Fletcher kids on a course of trauma and survival.
What to expect: Clever writing and killer dialogue, Edoardo Ballerini shines as the narrator in the audiobook, and some of the wildest sex scenes. Yes, you read that correctly.
Available Now
The Wild Road Home, Melissa Payne, Paperback ARC
Mack fakes his death so his wife, Daisy, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, can be properly cared for. Living off the grid, he meets two young siblings on the run.
What to expect: Allies are found in the most unexpected places, a beautiful, emotional story of family, sacrifice and trust. Mack and Brandi will remain in your heart.
Available Now
A Novel Summer, Jamie Brenner, Paperback ARC
Bestselling author Shelby Archer returns to the beach town, and bookstore, where she must face betrayal and best friends Hunter and Colleen.
What to expect: Brenner’s signature summer charm, three friends navigating heartbreak and starting over. A Pat Conroy cameo, and a thoughtful look inside the mind of an author.
Available Now
A Happier Life, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Hardcover and Audible
After losing her job, Keaton heads to Beaufort, SC to clean out her mother’s house. There she learns about the Saint James family, meets the charming neighbors, and is forced to make a major life decision.
What to expect: Woodson Harvey’s richly-layered plot and authentic storytelling, two timelines with journal entries akin to The Notebook (my fave), a beautiful story of love and healing.
Available Now
Did I Ever Tell You?, Genevieve Kingston, Hardcover
Genevieve’s mother leaves her (and her brother) a treasure chest of letters and gifts upon her passing spanning until the age of thirty and through life’s milestones.
What to expect: Bittersweet mother-daughter story. As someone who lost her mother, I found the messages throughout this novel truly uplifting.
Available Now
To All the Boys I Loved Before, Jenny Han, Paperback
Laura Jean’s secret box of love letters lands in her crush’s hands.
What to expect: An oldie, but a goodie, best for fans of YA.
Available Now
Happy Reading! And don’t forget to write reviews for your favorite books. They really make a difference to an author.
Rochelle
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Rochelle B. Weinstein is the USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of seven women’s fiction novels. Rochelle spent her early years, always with a book in hand, raised by the likes of Sidney Sheldon and Judy Blume. A former entertainment industry executive, she splits her time between sunny South Florida and the mountains of North Carolina. When she’s not writing, Rochelle can be found teaching workshops at Nova Southeastern University, hiking, reading, and finding the world’s best nachos. Her eighth novel, We Are Made of Stars, releases February 2025. Please visit her on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Threads, or at www.rochelleweinstein.com.
WHAT YOU DO TO ME
From the bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends comes a moving novel of two unfinished love stories and the music and lyrics that bring them together.
Journalist Cecilia James is a sucker for a love song. So when she stumbles across a clue to the identity of the muse for one of rock’s greatest, she devotes herself to uncovering the truth, even as her own relationship is falling apart.
While writing an article for Rolling Stone, Cecilia works to reveal the mystery that has intrigued fans and discovers a classic tale of two soulmates separated by fate and circumstance. Rock star Eddie Vee once sang with his soul, dedicating love songs to Sara Friedman, his inspiration and first love. Now, Eddie takes refuge in anonymity, closed off to the past. Sara, too, has distanced herself from their love, moving thousands of miles away to live the life she once railed against. As Eddie and Sara tentatively open up to Cecilia about broken dreams, she struggles to give them a happy ending. In the process, she learns that broken hearts can be healed―even her own.
What You Do To Me is the story of a love song and of the triumph of the heart over the greatest of odds. Even for those who have written off love forever.
BUY HERE
Category: On Writing
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