Books and Looks: A summer 2025 Round Up

I returned to office three days a week in September. In an attempt to get myself excited to get ready each day and commute 20-60 minutes (depending on traffic), I thought doing a round up at the end of each month of what I wore and read may help. There will likely be a mix of work looks and much more casual looks.

I’m kicking it off with a look back at all of my summer books and some of my summer looks. This summer was busy. I had multiple work trips, a reading vacation and some relentless heat. Since the end of May I have been in Seattle, Tallahassee, Denver, a forest in Western Pennsylvania, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, and Pittsburgh. I spent a lot of time reading on planes, in hotel rooms and in my reading chair.

The Looks

Travel and Casual Looks

When I'm traveling for work, it is typically at an offensive time or includes long layovers or often both. I'm also typically at risk to be on at least one flight with a professional acquaintance. I try to balance comfort with looking semi-put together. I basically think to myself "What can I wear to feel comfortable, but not embarrassed if someone sees me?" A similar ethos applies for my casual looks, except I'm willing to wear jeans.

Work Looks

Much of my summer was spent at conferences and other sorts of professional events while occasionally working in the office My office/professional dress code is a cross between business casual and creative professional. In the summer, this means a lot of dresses. I tend to prefer a more polished, tailored, classic looks so you will see a lot of that. Most of the dresses are from Nuuly, my favorite way to keep my closet updated .

The Books

I read quite a bit this summer, which is something that I am quite proud of. I really made it my mission to read instead of doom scrolling, reading the news or even watching mind numbing tv. I have been joking that I've read so much because I need to disassociate so much more this year.

Here is everything I've read since May 25 when my summer of travel and mayhem started).

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim—This was the community reads book for Lexington KY this year and it did not disappoint. The books is a mystery that focuses on a father that goes missing and the only witness is the non-speaking, autistic son. Told through the perspective of the daughter/sister, it is both tense and emotional. I was extremely engaged the whole way through and am still not quite positive about what exactly happened.

The Art of Exile by Andrea Max—I grabbed this on a whim when I saw a brief description that used the words "magic" and "heists." I immediately knew I needed to read it. I was very entertained and excited to see where the author takes this world. Full review here.

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood—A more thorough review to come but I really enjoyed this book. I think all of the "outrage" about the age gap romance was clearly from people that did not read the story.

A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic by J. Penner—Cute, cozy and the perfect way to disassociate. The first in the Adenashire series sees a young, shy, human woman as she ends up on a magical version of the Great British Bake Off. During her time on the show and away from home, she makes friends, finds her self-confidence and even finds love. It was tropey and floofy and everything light that I needed.

A Fellowship of Librarians and Dragons by J. Penner—The second in the Adenashire series tells the story of one of the friends from the first entry as she learns that she is allowed to not be happy and cheerful all of the time. Dori (?) gets to grow in confidence as she raises the dragon left to her by an ancestor, navigates the new town that she has moved to after the baking competition and finds love in a mysterious newcomer.

A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett—I have never read a Robert Jackson Bennett novel and not completely loved it. This sequel to The Tainted Cup hits all the right notes for me. This series has a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery each book in a world with a fascinating magic system and the entire series has an overarching mystery that I cannot wait to learn more about. Read my full review here.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center—I grabbed this book in an airport bookstore after I accidentally finished the book I brought way too quickly. Katherine Center is the queen of

The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner- This is the second Sarah Penner novel I have read. The first was The Lost Apothecary and this story was similar in that Penner focuses on a woman in modern day navigating a mystery that is based in the past. Penner does a great job of weaving the past, mythology, and magic with a present day mystery. This is set along the Amalfi coast and follows an archeological diver as she unravels the mysteries of the past while searching for a treasure that her father photographed and tasked her with finding before his untimely death. If you like historical fiction with a little mystery and magic, this books is right for you.

A Most Puzzling Murder by Bianca Marais- I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I really struggled to get into it. It is a super interactive book—readers can solve the puzzles and choose their own adventures. For me though, the story was just not quite what I needed it to be. There was simultaneously not enough and too much magic.

Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World by Anne-Laure Le Cunff- I am not quiet about how much I love personal development books and I am a self-professed goal obsessed person. So this book seemed extremely intriguing to me. What do you mean give up your goals? However Le Cunff isn't saying to become complacent. Instead she beautifully describes the problem with linear goal setting. Primarily, we fail to enjoy the achievement because we so quickly move on to the next thing, the next rung on the ladder. I really recommend this book if you've been struggling with goal setting and growth lately.

Oathbound by Tracy Deonn—I just need a moment to remind everyone that this series is fucking amazing. Tracy Deonn has taken arthurian legend, woven it through with African rootcraft and created a phenomenal tale of a young woman who is standing up to racism, misogyny, and eurocentric ideals. This series deserves every freaking award in the book and I would sit for hours just listening to Deonn explain how she crafted such an amazing world. I'll be creating a longer post where I talk more about my adoration for this series and Deonn here.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst- This is a cozy, magical mystery and I cannot recommend it enough. If you read The Spellshop, this is the story of Caz's creator as she navigates being transformed back into a living entity and works to help save some enchanted greenhouses on a distant island.

The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness—A full review will be available on my site here. This was Harkness's latest entry to the All Souls Series. It focused much more on Diana Bishop and the prowess for higher magic that is unexplored in the original three books. I absolutely adored this book and am eagerly awaiting the sixth in the series.

The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child- I've been (slowly) making my way through the Agent Pendergast series. This was the third in what is known as the Diogenes Trilogy. The main antagonist is Diogenes Pendergast, Agent Pendergast's brother. I had taken a bit of a break this summer on the Agent Pendergast novels, but this one wholly absorbed me. I could not for the life of me set it down. I highly recommend this series to anyone that likes procedural crime/spy tv shows and note that there is usually a little science masked as magic thrown in.

Well, Actually by Mazey Eddings- This was a very fun romcom and I thank Hitha Palepu for putting it on my radar. The main character is on a web show that is basically like chicken shop. At the start of the book, she gets drunk and posts on socials about a beloved male influencer/podcast host who is trying to deconstruct toxic masculinity. Because, guess what, she used to date this guy and he was pretty terrible to her. Hijinks ensue. The banter was really well written and the b-plot about the toxic work environment for the startup infotainment site (a la Buzzfeed) was really interesting. A longer review will be available here.

Royal Gambit by Daniel O'Malley- The latest in the Chequay Files series did not disappoint. I'm a huge fan of this series and cannot believe more people are not talking about it. Perhaps it is because the tv show adaptation was so horrible. This one followed a young woman who must discreetly protect the new heir to the throne after her brother, the future king, is murdered by supernatural forces. We got to see some of the characters from past stories and continued to explore the lore and world of this alternative reality.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry- Emily Henry's latest release is a bit different from previous books, but it is still as un-put-downable as ever. My full review is available here.

Three Pianos by Andrew McMahon- This is the memoir of Andrew McMahon, lead singer of Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. I listened to it in audiobook format because he narrates it himself (I love his voice). He tells his very personal story—from growing up all over the country and his dad's struggle with addiction, his own struggles following his leukemia diagnosis and recovery, and all of the things that went right (and wrong) with his music career. His candor was beautiful and it was really interesting to understand the meaning behind some of his songs.

So that's everything I read and a lot of things I wore this summer. More book reviews should be coming in the coming weeks. I'm trying to get back to a more regular writing practice.