Quick Lit – July 2025 Edition

Welcome to Quick Lit: July 2025 Edition, where I share books I chose for my own reading enjoyment in a mini-review format. These are not books I received for review, but books I’ve wanted to read or that have caught my attention. Most of them have been talked about ad nauseam or have been on my to-read list for a long time, so they don’t really need a full review. But I’d still like to give them some space here on the blog, so instead, I’m offering mini-reviews of the books that won’t get full-page space here.

I’ll be sharing with Modern Mrs. Darcy and her monthly Quick Lit post. Be sure to head over to see others share their Quick Lit posts in her comments.

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read more about that.

---

Did you know I also regularly review children’s books? Check them out HERE. I’m also sharing my Summer Read-to-Learn series again. The posts are full of great children’s books to keep kids reading and learning all summer long.

I’m currently reading GITEL’S FREEDOM and SPECTACULAR THINGS for review, and I’m listening to THE ANXIOUS GENERATION.

I recently reviewed THE SIDE PROJECT and THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD BEACH AND BOOK CLUB, and I shared my BEST BOOKS SO FAR AND A MID-YEAR READING UPDATE

Follow me on Goodreads, HERE.

We’ve been to a few movies lately, and I’ve watched some shows, which is out of the ordinary for me. But, I sometimes like to watch a show while puzzling, so I’ve returned to Call the Midwife on Netflix. I have 3 episodes left in Season 13, and Season 14 will be on Netflix in September, with Season 15 being released in the US in March 2026. This is my favorite show, so I’m always sad when I’m all caught up with no new episodes. We went to Mission: Impossible–The Final Reckoning, and I found it a bit too long and too intense in spots. We also saw F1: The Movie in the theater, and I really enjoyed it. We also watched Nonnas on Netflix, which I really loved.

ATMOSPHERE
By: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio and Julia Whelan
Published: June 3, 2025
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby

I shared this in my Mid-Year Best Books post. This is one of those books where you are sad you can’t experience it for the first time again. I loved every minute of this story and how well crafted the characters, the setting, and TJR’s impeccable research on space travel created a novel that I could not stop listening to. As soon as I heard about the book, I added it to my Libby holds, and I was able to get it quite quickly after it was published. Listening to the audio version was a no-brainer since Julia Whelan was one of the narrators. I do think this is a book I would read again, and I just might have to purchase a physical copy to have.

TJR wrote this book hoping that astronaut Joan Goodwin will convince you to go outside, look up, and be open to wonder. I am already a fan of Space books, especially nonfiction ones, and this one felt very real. Since I had already read THE SIX, the biographies of the first six women astronauts, I felt like I was already immersed in the story TJR created. These two books make an excellent book flight. ENDURANCE by astronaut Scott Kelly would also make a great companion read with this one.

This dual-timeline story is set in the 80s, but part of the novel takes place when one of the characters is on the Space Shuttle while the other part is during the characters’ training at NASA. In the audio version, the main story is narrated by Julia Whelan, while the part of the story in Space is narrated by —

“Bravery is being unafraid of something other people are afraid of. Courage is being afraid but strong enough to do it anyway…Bravery, Joan suspected, is almost always a lie. Courage is all we have.”

TJR so expertly takes readers into the minds of the women who struggled to be seen and heard, who fell in love, who kept secrets, and who sacrificed everything just to be able to travel to Space. I can’t recommend this novel enough. I just loved it.

“I want to take you everywhere and do everything with you and ask you every single question that’s been on my mind for months and I want to know when you knew what was happening between us and I want to tell you when I knew and I want to hold your hand in a quiet corner and I want to lie in bed and hear your heartbeat through your chest. I want to bring you coffee in bed and I want to hear you tell me anything you’ve always wanted to tell someone because you know that you’ve met someone that desperately wants to listen.”

HORSE
By: Geraldine Brooks
Published: June 14, 2022
Publisher: Viking
Historical Fiction
Format: Paperback

I wasn’t sure I was going to be too interested in a story about a horse from the 1800s, but it was our book club read for the month, so I dove in and, surprisingly, I loved it. I read CALEB’S CROSSING by Brooks several years ago and found it a bit too “literary,” even though I appreciated the story. This novel, set in the 1800s, the 1950s, and the present day, focuses mostly on a racing thoroughbred, Lexington, and the slave who raised and trained him.

“I will not trade my horse for any that walks on four legs. When I sit astride him I soar, I am a hawk. He trots on air. The earth sings when he touches it.”

At the beginning of the novel, Theo finds a painting of a horse in his neighbor’s discarded items and becomes intrigued. This painting of Lexington, the famous horse, sends the reader on quite a journey. Even though it was heavily detailed, I was still immensely interested. From the slave story to the relationships between the present-day characters, I quickly became invested. I wish I had read this book several years ago before we traveled to Lexington and Louisville. I now want to go back because I understand so much more about this history and the legacy of raising thoroughbreds.

I was surprised by the number of words I didn’t know, whether they were horse terms or descriptive words, I felt like I was frequently looking up words. Brooks’s extensive research, combined with her literary and descriptive writing, makes this a story to last for ages. This book made me miss my own horses I had as a child, Taffy, Diamond, and Chocolate. If you give this story a bit of attention and time, you will be greatly rewarded with a historical adventure worth reading. The author’s notes at the end give you actual historical information about the horses and people mentioned in the story.

THE MYSTERY GUEST
Molly the Maid #2
By: Nita Prose
Narrated by: Lauren Ambrose
Published: November 28, 2023
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Mystery
Format: Audiobook through Libby and Hardcover

I really loved THE MAID, the first in the Molly the Maid series. I decided to dual-read/listen to this one so I could remove another hardcover from my shelves. Molly is still a delight, and the narration by —- made Molly come to life for me even more than in the first novel.

Molly has been promoted to Head Maid at the Regency Grand Hotel. The hotel is excited to host the famous author J.D. Grimthorpe for his book tour and a top-secret revelation that will be shared at a press conference. But before he can say his big news, he drops dead. Molly is right there when it happens and is at the center of the investigation. But, Molly has a big secret of her own that if she reveals, she might just be implicated herself.

“My gran. She was always like that. She always found a way to ignite hope. And what is hope if not the decision to shine light into the dark?”

I love Molly’s quirkiness and literal look at life. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind and tell you what she really thinks of you. I laughed out loud many times and loved the journal that Prose takes us to reveal the murderer. The flashback to Molly’s childhood was my favorite, and I didn’t see the big surprise ending related to Molly’s life. I’m looking forward to reading the novella #2.5 and #3 in the series, which are already available.

“The x in the equation, the missing key–it’s been there all along, right in front of my eyes.”

What good things have you been reading? I’ve also read books that I reviewed for publishers. Check them out HERE.

You can see all my other Quick Lit posts by clicking HERE.

---

This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you paying a cent more for your purchase.