Book Review: "The Revelation of Dionne Daphne" by Mara Brock Akil

Speaking of revelations, this book was truly fantastic. Mara Brock Akil is the creator of television programs like Girlfriends and Being Mary Jane, but unbelievably, this is her debut novel. I’m so grateful to Storehouse Voices for the advance copy of this!

“It’s like this idea that if you heal yourself, you heal a bunch of generations behind you and in front of you. We’re all just glints in the dirt, waiting for someone to reveal us.”

It’s 1991. Dionne Daphne seems to have it all. She’s the associate beauty director at Essence magazine and she’s in the running to succeed her boss and mentor as director. She’s stunning and smart, and men want to be with her.

But her whole life changes with a late-night visitor. Her ex-boyfriend Darren shows up at her door around 5:00 am, desperate to talk to her. What he tells her threatens to upend everything she’s worked for and, perhaps more importantly, her life as she knows it.

The more she tries to reconcile this disclosure from Darren, the more she starts thinking about childhood trauma that she’s kept hidden all these years. But now, in the wake of all that might change for her, she needs to speak up. She decides to go visit her mother and stepfather in Kansas City and share the secrets she’s kept hidden. Will the release of this trauma help her find peace?

The book is told over a two-week period. It’s a heavy story that might be triggering for some, but it’s also powerful and insightful. Dionne is a character I’ll be thinking about for a long time!

Book Review: "Fabulous Bodies" by Chuck Tingle

For someone who almost never reads horror novels, Chuck Tingle’s books have been a fun yet gruesome gateway into the genre. There’s always a lot of blood and gore, but he infuses his books with queerness and humor.

Poppy is a fashion influencer. She has more than 215,000 followers on social media, people who want inspiration from her posts, not to mention the occasional thirst trap. She has a five-year-old daughter, Marlo, and she’s determined to give her a better childhood than she had. The influencer gig certainly helps, but her second job makes the difference.

Poppy works nights as a grave robber. Well, it’s not quite what it sounds like—she actually gets paid to transport recently dead bodies to her customers. She doesn’t necessarily know what they do with the bodies, and she’s fine with that.

One night, she is contacted by a mysterious customer offering 5 million dollars if she delivers a body to them. And not just any body: Eddie Michaels, America’s version of Elton John. Eddie is Poppy’s musical hero. He has a fantastic voice, he’s flamboyant and openly gay, and his music has been a huge part of her life.

The job sounds much easier than her usual body retrieval gigs go. Although that seems too good to be true, $5 million would allow her to spend more time with Marlo. Things are going exactly according to plan. And then Eddie wakes up.

This was a fun romp. Eddie is unhinged and utterly hysterical, and Poppy can’t believe what she’s gotten herself into. Plus she’s with her undead musical idol. There are definitely gory parts of the book but they don’t linger too long. Can’t wait to see what Tingle comes up with next!

Book Review: "Wasp's Nest" by Kat Stoddard

Tess is getting ready for her second marriage. She’s marrying Warren, an old friend of her family’s. He’s running for the state senate and he’s a dependable, serious, steady man who loves her.

Warren is quite different from Peter, Tess’ first husband. They met while Peter was a talented art student and Tess had just graduated from college. She had family money, he worked as a cater waiter to make ends meet. But Tess was intrigued by his talent and soon after, they fell into a tempestuous relationship which led to an impulsive marriage.

The marriage ended when Peter got out of rehab for alcoholism. Both have tried to put their past behind them. But Peter is shocked to receive an invitation to Tess’ wedding, and an opportunity to bring a plus one.

There’s really no reason Peter should go to the wedding, but if Tess has seemingly moved on, shouldn’t he show that he has too? He decides to bring Mitch, a handsome young man and aspiring writer, and they’ll pretend they’ve been dating for a while. Mitch is excited to find inspiration in the wedding and the reunion of exes. He’s also hoping that Peter will be interested in him romantically.

No one is counting on all of the drama that will ensue. Peter’s appearance dredges up a lot of past hurts and recriminations, and forces both him and Tess to re-examine their relationship and their feelings for each other. Mitch starts to fall for both Peter and Tess. And as other secrets emerge, no one is quite sure what the actual wedding will bring.

I thought this was a really well-told story and an exploration of a fascinating set of relationships. Tess wasn’t particularly likable but as she starts to spiral out of control, she becomes (slightly) more sympathetic. I’m a big fan of family dynamics and dysfunction, and this book gave me lots of both!!

Book Review: "Destination Funeral" by Paige Harbison

I don’t know if I’d ever want to get stuck in a time loop. That being said, though, I sure do love reading about them!! Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. Paige Harbison has done it again!

“Does it really matter if you make a mistake, I wonder, as long as you know it’s a mistake?”

Babe Bennett was larger than life. Everyone on Mercy Island had a story about her. When she died, the reading of her will and her memorial service summoned her two daughters, Didion and Sammie, and their two closest friends, Matt and Austin, to the island.

Estranged from her mother for the last several years, Didion has to see her sister and her friends for the first time in a while. There are a lot of hurts and resentments that have cropped up, not just for Didion, but the others as well. How could they go from being inseparable every summer to not speaking at all?

When they learn that Babe has left her summer house, Birdsong, to all four of them, they have to decide what to do with it. Her will stipulates that they have to spend a weekend all together, with no phones or internet access. And then they discover that they keep waking up to find it’s Saturday, so the weekend will never end. It’s up to them to find their way out of the time loop—and maybe confront all the things left unsaid for so long.

This was a funny and emotional story. There were so many issues they all dealt with. I will say that Didion is a hard character to warm up to, but once she got out of all of her spirals, I felt for her.

The book publishes 7/21.

Book Review: "Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt" by Ben Reeves

“I always thought life was a bit like a house. People buy a house and they spend their whole lives trying to make it perfect. They decorate the rooms the way they want them. Make it a happy place to be. Make it somewhere they could die in.”

What a profoundly moving book this was! I honestly didn’t know what to expect, and it absolutely blew me away.

Travis seems like an ordinary man. He lives with his cat and mostly keeps to himself. But Travis has a very specific role in the world: he is Death.

Travis visits people in the last hours of their lives. He tries bringing them comfort, calm, a friendly face in their final moments. These are people he has kept track of throughout their lives; many of them are ready for his visit.

One day he meets Dalia, his neighbor from across the hall, and her young daughter, Layla. For the first time, he understands what it feels like to have someone want your company, to belong. But in the end, he has a purpose, and he must keep his responsibilities in mind.

I loved this concept and found the way the story was told to be so beautiful. Travis is an incredibly compassionate character and you can see how conflicted he feels at times. This really touched me.

The book publishes 7/7.

Book Review: "The Someday Garden" by Ashley Poston

I love magical realism in books, particularly romances. Ashley Poston is one of the authors who has helped develop my fondness for magical realism. I love the way each of her books have challenged my mind and touched my heart.

While in college at Duke University, Sophie saw a documentary about Lilymoor House & Gardens up in Maine. The beauty of the gardens, the mazes, even the legendary stories about the magic to be found intrigued her completely. She and her best friend Harriett visited during their senior year and were utterly obsessed. They made a promise to return 10 years later.

Ten years later, Sophie is a horticulturist for the New York Botanical Garden. She gets a summer job at Lilymoor, helping prepare the estate’s gardens for its bicentennial celebration. Working at Lilymoor is everything she dreamed it would be, and she quickly falls in love with its grounds, its staff, and Eula Beck, the spry and crafty old woman who owns the place.

There are definitely mysteries she can’t quite figure out, including the origin of vines that threaten to kill the hedges. But one evening she finds a door that she’s never seen before. It leads to an unfinished garden no one seems to know about. And there’s a handsome man who seems to be stuck there. But the door is never in the same place twice.

As the celebration draws closer, the estate’s quirks prove endearing and frustrating. Eula plans to retire but is quiet about what she plans to do with Lilymoor. And Sophie wants to help free the man from the garden, but not her heart.

There are a lot of separate storylines that take a while to gel and pick up momentum. I felt like the book really hit its stride in the last third or so, and there’s lots of emotion to be had. The supporting characters, including Damnit, the ornery goose, are endearing as well.

Book Review: "Keep Them Close" by David Ellis

I’ve been patiently waiting until this book was released earlier in the week. Battling severe FOMO watching so many Bookstagram friends reading advance copies has been tough! But I’ve got to tell you, this was worth the wait. David Ellis is a freaking master of the twisty thriller!

Allison knew her husband Finley was cheating on her. His infidelity both saddened and enraged her, as she has loved him since they were young. But as tempted as she is to get revenge, she bides her time.

Allison’s brother Luke was destined to be a baseball star until an accident derailed his potential career. Now he’s a renowned coach with a talent for taking miserable teams and turning them into champions. And while Luke and Allison have always been close, their relationship has frayed quite a bit lately.

When Finley is murdered, of course Allison is immediately considered the prime suspect. She knew what he was up to and with whom, but she had her own plans. Can she count on her brother to help her, despite the distrust between them?

Ellis’ thrillers are always full of twists, which makes it hard to review one of his books. But once you pick this up, you won’t want to put it down until you’ve devoured every last word.

Book Review: "Long Island Girls" by Gabrielle Korn

I love picking up a book you don’t know that much about and being wowed by it. It’s full of music and friendship and finding yourself and realizing your dreams, but that’s description simplifies what makes it special.

“And I started thinking about how when we’re young and don’t know any better, we love these things that are bad, and eventually we grow up and we realize how bad they are, but we don’t start liking newer, better things. We continue to love that same awful old music, not because of what the music is but because it reminds us of how we used to feel when we listened to it.”

The book begins in 2005. Susan and her best friend Katie are just about to start their senior year of high school. They’re music snobs but beyond that, they’re fairly typical teenagers, filled with angst and insecurity. One night Susan meets Eliza on the way to an indie concert, and she feels a connection that makes pieces of her mind fall into place. Yet as quickly as the spark ignites, it is extinguished.

As the years move forward, Susan graduates college and moves to Brooklyn, where she handles social media for an indie record label. She feels at home in a world she has always loved, but Eliza is never far from her mind. Yet as each encounter grows more intense, they can never outrun the old secrets and hurts.

The book follows Susan at five-year intervals, from 2005 to 2025. It takes her a long time to truly recognize her worth and her own identity, and come to terms with her romantic history. It’s a wonder what kind of clarity comes from truly knowing yourself for the first time.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book and the relationships they had. I kept waiting for things to get melodramatic and was so glad they didn’t. This is a coming-of-age novel that demonstrates coming of age doesn’t only happen as a teenager.

Book Review: "With Friends Like You" by Amy Chozick

Wow, this book was wild! I honestly didn’t know what to expect but I couldn’t put it down. Thanks so much to Dutton and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Emily loves her infant son and can’t get enough of him. But she’s struggling with physical pain since his birth and the lack of sleep is taking its toll on her. She loves her husband, Roman, but he’s always working, so she’s mostly on her own.

As she takes the baby to playgroups and classes, she thinks about Daisy. Daisy was her college roommate—she gave Emily confidence and companionship, and Emily felt like they were soulmates. But when Daisy’s family stopped paying for college, she started dancing at a strip club and taking drugs, and soon dropped out. Not long after, Daisy disappeared from her life completely.

Emily has spent years trying to find what happened to Daisy. She obsessively scans pornographic magazines, travels to strip clubs, and even hires a private investigator, but to no avail. And then one day, Daisy reappears.

Daisy quickly reclaims her place in Emily’s life. She’s good with the baby and willing to watch him when Emily goes back to work. The two of them build a luxury refuge for mothers of young infants, with childcare specialists to watch the children and teach them language skills and music, while they relax, exercise, and take advantage of designer drugs, vibrators, and alcohol. But Daisy still maintains her air of mystery—she doesn’t talk about her past and doesn’t really share about what she does to make money. Will she disappear again?

There’s a lot more to this book than I can describe without giving anything away. I was completely hooked on the story and wondered how it would end.

This will publish 7/21.

Book Review: "Bromantasy" by Máire Roche

This book was so much fun. It definitely had me smiling throughout and even laughing out loud a time or two. What a great read as Pride Month was winding down!

Juniper is a bit of a dolt. He’s not the smartest tool in the shed but he is a lot of fun to be around—until he drinks too much mead and starts itching for a fight. He works on a farm; when he’s not working, he loves relaxing, perfecting his skin care routine, and eating lots of cheese.

He lives with his best friend, Mo. Mo is stronger and (mostly) braver than Juniper, and he is fiercely loyal. Of course they’re madly in love with one another but neither is smart enough to realize or acknowledge it.

On what should be a typical night at their local tavern, Juniper starts a brawl with someone he thinks is his nemesis, Bill. It turns out, however, that he fights with a band of mercenaries, and he and Mo (always by his side) are put in jail. To repay his debt, Juniper must go on a quest to catch a dragon that has been terrorizing nearby villages. So he and Mo set out reluctantly.

The quest takes them through forests and their bravery and strength are tested. Along the way, while each admires the fit of the other’s questing pants, they come to realize what everyone else knew all along: they love each other fiercely.

I do love books which feature characters going on a quest, and Juniper and Mo’s was no exception. I loved the discoveries they made about the dragon and how they handled things, and I loved their banter. It was a silly but sweet book with lots of heart.

Book Review: "Play It Again" by Georgia Clark

As teenagers they were inseparable. Four friends—Annie, Lola, Vicky, and Dylan—took their hometown by storm when they starred in a gender-swapped adaptation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. It was an incredible summer, but the night the show closed the four were torn apart, and went their separate ways.

Twenty years later, they all have very different lives from what they dreamed of. But when their hometown of Rhodes, NY, gets a less-than-impressive write up in a tourism magazine, the town gets closer to dying out completely. Given that Annie owns a pet grooming place in town, she’s definitely concerned.

All four of them get summoned back to the now-closed playhouse where their fondest memories reside. Jazz, their director, wants to revive their production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to hopefully bring some life (and money) back into the town and the theater. Of course, it will only work if all four agree.

The pleasantries of their reunion quickly fade as the memories of the show’s end 20 years ago are revisited. There’s no doubt that the feelings both couples had for one another still linger, but so do secrets, misunderstandings, and emotional wounds. Can they put the past aside to not only save Rhodes and put on a show, but also to see if a second chance is possible?

This was a mostly fun and lighthearted story, full of nostalgia and emotion. I was a theater kid so I definitely enjoyed those aspects of the book. I felt like the pacing got very slow in the middle and I also thought at times the characters’ actions were a little more petty and childish than they should have been.

Book Review: "Happier Here with You" by Amy Gail Hansen

This book was an unexpected surprise! I selected this as one of my Amazon First Reads for June. I really loved it and hope more people find it!

Maggie is a food historian and director of a museum. She loves her job but it’s been hard recently, juggling work responsibilities with caring for her 5-year-old daughter Hannah. She doesn’t have time to spend cooking or relaxing, and as a widowed mother, she feels horrible about it.

One day, she gets a letter from her great-aunt Alice, inviting her and Hannah to visit her farm in Wisconsin. Maggie barely remembers Alice—for some reason she never visited through the years. But little by little she starts to remember the time she spent with Alice when she was very young, and how much she enjoyed the farm.

When she and Hannah arrive at the farm, it’s as if no time had passed for Maggie and Alice. Having the time to slow down and bake together and catch up relaxes Maggie and helps her recapture her love of cooking. And then she meets Brady, a handsome local chef, who reawakens her heart.

When Maggie offers to organize Alice’s box of family recipes, she makes a startling discovery. Apparently before Alice inherited the farm, it played an important role in history—and finding the details could open the door to a whole new chapter of their lives.

This book combines found family, food history and recipes, romance, and historical fiction. I loved the town where the book was set and found the characters really enjoyable.

Book Review: "Consequences of Normal" by Elle Baade

What a powerful read this was. This book was eye-opening and thought-provoking, and it hit me square in the feels. I definitely could see this being a great book to discuss with a book club or others.

Matt and Jane are leaving Texas to move back to Matt’s hometown of Atwood, Wisconsin. He has taken a job as headmaster of a prep school, and they’ve moved into an infamous old mansion in town. Jane hopes the move will be good for all of them.

Their six-year-old son Charles insists he’s a girl. He likes wearing his older sister’s hand-me-downs and watching Julia Child videos. Jane and Matt have indulged Charles’ desires and let him dress as he wants. But once Matt has settled into his new job, he wants his family to fit in.

Jane starts to realize that Charles isn’t going through a phase; he might be transgender or intersex. But Matt insists that Charles dress like a boy and cut his hair, which only makes him sad and withdrawn. When tragedy strikes, Jane knows her priority is to fight for her child to live the life she wants—before it is too late.

Many people in their lives—family, friends, teachers, doctors—weigh in with their opinions. And the more Jane stands up for her child, the angrier Matt becomes, until he realizes Jane will choose their children over their marriage.

I liked the realism in the book, that everyone didn’t suddenly do a 180 about Charles being transgender. Matt is very hard to like and it was good when Jane stopped being a doormat for everyone. But this is one of those books that definitely makes you think while it makes you feel.

Book Review: "Someone Else's Husband" by Kimberly McCreight

“When your heart has been blown to pieces, who cares about the precise trajectory of the blast?”

Kimberly McCreight has done it again! She has delivered a twisty suspense novel that really made me think. I’ve been wanting to read this and it definitely lived up to the hype.

Gretchen and Richard Falk are a wealthy NYC couple. Gretchen came from a life of privilege, while Richard pulled himself out of a life of poverty to one of great power in the financial world. But late one night, the police arrive at the Falks’ door with a search warrant. They want to bring Richard to the police precinct for questioning.

Richard has recently returned from a trip with his old friends to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The group is joined by a woman, Frankie, an artist who just landed her first solo show, and wants to celebrate by climbing Kilimanjaro. Richard and Frankie are drawn to one another during the harrowing journey, which is cut short by a tragic event. But the two remain in contact upon their return to NYC, even though they both know it’s wrong.

When Frankie’s apartment is found full of blood, the police believe Richard murdered her. As Gretchen tries to hold her life together and stand by her husband, she also starts to figure out if Richard played her for a fool. She does some digging on her own to see what Frankie is all about.

The book shifts back and forth from the time before the Kilimanjaro climb, the short time after their return, and after Richard’s arrest. It really kept me hooked from start to finish. Really a great read!!

Book Review: "Operation Boyfriend" by Zarah Detand

First things first: if someone wants to pretend they’re dating me because they need a date to some fancy occasion, count me in. It’s probably the only way I’ll get a fancy vacation!

Dean is a cardiothoracic surgeon. He’s known to be a little intense, and he’s definitely a workaholic. His sister is getting married at a fancy resort in Cambodia, and both she and their mother are pressuring him to bring a date. He folds under the pressure and tells his mother he’ll bring the guy he recently started dating.

The challenge is, Dean is not dating anyone. He barely has any time to breathe, let alone date, and his emotional walls are a difficult barrier to breach. But now he’s expected to bring his alleged boyfriend. Which means he has to find one.

Taylan is a surgery resident who has been intimidated by Dean in the past. He’s also in desperate need of a vacation but doesn’t have any money. So when he’s approached about the possibility of being Dean’s fake boyfriend in exchange for an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation, he doesn’t need to think twice.

As they get to know each other better in preparation for all of the prying that will come during the wedding festivities, they realize that each has emotional baggage to deal with. Dean is afraid of being hurt, so he never lets anyone close enough, while Tay is dealing with impostor syndrome. But as the beautiful sunsets and romantic setting sink in, both have to be reminded this is temporary. And it isn’t real. Right?

I can never get enough fake dating. Zarah Detand has become a go-to author for me, and once again she delivers a sexy, sweet, and emotional book. Her characters are always so memorable and endearing.

Book Review: "All's Fair in Love and Pizza" by Lane Hayes

Y’all, this book had me at PIZZA BAGELS. I enjoyed a lot about the story—the chemistry between the characters, the competition, the banter—but it was all about the pizza bagels for me.

Mateo has been working at his family’s pizzeria for as long as he can remember. Since his father and his uncle died, Mateo and his cousin run Boardwalk Pizza. It’s an institution in the college town of Haverton.

When Mateo and his crew learn that the empty space next door is going to be taken over by a bagel shop, they’re somewhat excited. The shop will be run by Rob Vilmer, Mateo’s football teammate in college who had a great pro career.

Rob remembers having a huge crush on Mateo back in college, but since Rob was closeted nothing ever happened. He’s excited to see Mateo again—until the two of them butt heads when Rob reveals his plan to make pizza bagels. How can this guy just come into town and start selling pizza bagels next to a pizzeria?

Mateo gets angrier and Rob loves egging him on. Rob’s business partner suggests the two stores have a bake-off that will last through football season. And when the heat of competition bubbles over to the bedroom, both have to decide whether to trust their heart to their rival.

This was fun, steamy, romantic, and hunger-inducing. It’s been a while since I read a rom-com by Lane Hayes, and I’ll be back for more!!

Book Review: "Big Fan" by Alexandra Romanoff

This book was the first from 831 Stories, a modern romantic fiction company that prioritizes pleasure reading and the genre’s enthusiastic fans. I really enjoyed it and boy, it was steamy…

Maya is a political strategist whose career was on the rise. She was on the verge of guiding her candidate to victory when a personal scandal erupted: her husband cheated on her with a campaign intern. Her candidate won despite the fodder that her life gave the media.

Even though Maya was the victim, she’s the one still followed by gossipers and catty DC acquaintances. When she gets an opportunity to help a gubernatorial candidate, she hopes this will be her ticket back to the work she loves.

At the same time she is contacted by Charlie, who was the lead singer of Mischief, the boy band she was obsessed with as a teenager. In fact, she and her best friend launched a nationwide fan club for the band. Charlie read about her interest in his old band, and he asks for her help in guiding his comeback as a solo artist.

While she can’t take the job to help him, the two strike up a friendship. They both want more than that, but Maya has to be sure she doesn’t get caught in another scandal, or her career will be destroyed. But is a chance at love—especially with your teenage obsession—worth taking, or is it safer to just keep your head down and focus on work?

I really liked this storyline and the complexities of Maya’s world. The chemistry between Maya and Charlie is intense, and the steamy scenes seriously sizzle. I’m looking forward to the next book published by 831 Stories!!

Book Review: "The House of Now and Then" by Edward Underhill

I thought this was a really special book. Give me magical realism, emotional growth, and a beach cottage and I’m more than happy, but this just really hit me in all the feels.

“You ever feel like when you look back at something you know happened to you, it feels sort of like it happened to someone else? Or like you’re watching a movie? Like you can’t recognize that version of you anymore?”

Harlowe needs to get away. He and his boyfriend, Jackson, have broken up and Jackson is keeping the apartment. His academic career is going nowhere as well, just like his thesis advisor told him it would. So he rents a cottage on Cape Cod for the summer in the hopes he can reset everything.

But the cottage has some surprises. The first day Harlowe is there, he realizes he has some unwanted roommates. His father is in the kitchen, his thesis advisor is at the dining room table, and Jackson is in the bathroom. No one else can see them, they won’t go away, and Harlowe has no idea how to make them leave.

As the summer moves on and Harlowe settles into the community, he starts spending time with Nathan, the cottage owner’s nephew. A younger version of Nathan appears in the cottage as well from time to time. What do the ghosts want from him, and how can he help Nathan with his own issues.

This really moved me, and I really wasn’t sure how the story would tie up. I’ve enjoyed Edward Underhill’s YA books and I definitely hope to see more adult books from him!!

Book Review: "Leave and Come Back" by Lavanya Lakshmi

If you love Bollywood musicals or at least Bollywood dancing, you’ll understand why I say that this book would be so fantastic to see onscreen. The imagery that Lavanya Lakshmi used, to describe the outfits, the food, the dancing, were so vivid but I know they’d be incredible to actually see.

Simran loves her life in Toronto. She works for a university but teaches an afterschool dance class. She lives with Liv, her college roommate. She has also just started dating Liv’s brother Leo after the two of them have been flirting for years. But as happy as she is, there’s a hole in her heart. She’s been estranged from her aunt, uncle, and cousins—who adopted her when her parents died—for seven years.

Her younger cousin is about to get married, and Simran is torn about whether to return to New Jersey. Her older cousin and (former) best friend Kavitha convinces her to come—for the full two weeks of wedding festivities. When Leo accidentally crashes the engagement party—and makes an enemy of Veena parima, Simran’s judgmental aunt and the family matriarch, disaster is about to strike.

But the cousins come up with a scheme, modeled after their favorite Bollywood movie, DDLJ. They’re going to pretend Leo is a stranger to Simran and give him the time to ingratiate himself with the family, the community, and Veena. Sounds easy, right?

I thought this was such a fun debut novel. Sure, it’s predictable, and miscommunication isn’t my favorite thing, but there are a lot of themes here that brought emotion and insight to the plot. It was a great example of how a community comes together to honor its own, and how everyone is in everyone’s business.

Book Review: "Waist Deep" by Linea Maja Ernst

“It is an acknowledged truth that they don’t see one another more often because of work and kids. But it’s also an excuse—work, the kids—to finally be as boring as they’ve been all along. To let go of that need to be interesting. Falling into a calm has-been existence, ruled by the joy and dread of routine.”

The six of them—Quince, Sylvia, Charlie, Karen, Gry, and Esben—have been friends since their university days. But it’s been years since they’ve all been able to spend some real time together. So this weeklong stay at a Danish lake house is something they’re both looking forward to and dreading.

No matter how much time has passed, many of them haven’t really changed. But when Karen and Esben, who’ve been together since university, announce their engagement, it throws a ripple into the group, primarily for Sylvia. She has always had a crush on Esben but never said anything, but given the fact that she’s in a monogamous relationship with her girlfriend, Charlie, she wonders if there’s a way to have it all.

Quince transitioned in the years since university. He is beautiful, an almost Pan-like figure, living his truth for the first time. But while he plays peacemaker among his friends, there’s also lines he shouldn’t cross—but can he stop himself?

I tend to enjoy books that bring a group of old friends together again after some time. This is an interesting exploration of relationships (straight and queer), as well as ambition, fidelity, and figuring out what you want from your future. It’s not as dramatic as I expected, but perhaps some of that is the Danish way. A very interesting and satisfying Pride Read!

Book Review: "Meeting New People" by Daniel M. Lavery

Barbara is in her fifties, and one of her best friends, Susan, has just surprised her by ending their friendship. This wasn’t a random argument—Susan had a list of things about Barbara that she found objectionable. This incident bothered Barbara more than anything.

“But there’s nothing in the world as immovable as a woman who’s finished with you. A woman who’s finished with you, not just mad at you but finished with you, might as well be dead or on the moon or living a thousand years ago because there’s no path a person can walk anymore between the two of you, not even a little one, no matter how wide the road was before.”

As Barbara reflects on the dissolution of her friendship with Susan, she realizes that she has had nine other best friendships in her life. All of them ended at one time or another, for one reason or another. But it makes her wonder if there’s some flaw in her personality that has caused these relationships to fall apart.

She starts thinking about how she’ll meet her next best friend—hopefully someone she can grow old with. It’s so difficult to make friends as adults, especially once you reach a certain age. She weighs the options—should she befriend a colleague, join a group or a church? And what should she do differently this time?

This is really a thought-provoking book. I’ve thought about the challenges of making new friends as an adult. Parts of this book are really funny, but my challenge is that the majority of the book is told as an inner monologue. I needed more interaction between the characters to move the plot forward.

Book Review: "The Disaster Gay Detective Agency" by Lev AC Rosen

I had such fun with this book!

Brandon is in love with love. If a guy smiles at him, his mind moves quickly to dreaming of their happily ever after. His heart gets broken every time (even if 99 percent of the guys weren’t interested in the first place), but his heart-eyed outlook never changes.

One night a handsome man, Jon, checks into the hotel where Brandon works. They definitely share a moment at the front desk, and it’s not long before Jon calls to see if Brandon can deliver extra towels to his room. (Yes, this was a pickup line, and sleeping with the guests is against the rules.)

The next morning, Jon doesn’t text Brandon back as promised. They soon find out he checked out early but left a bag and his cell phone. Brandon is determined that this is his chance at true love, so he and a friend set out to give the phone back. But when they arrive, they witness a murder—and Jon fleeing the scene. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as dangerous things happening.

Brandon, along with his three best friends—workaholic law associate Nicole, dreamy stoner Ollie, and revenge-minded drag queen Ian—are not expecting to get embroiled in any criminal hijinks. But with crime-podcast-loving Ollie leading the way, this ragtag band of detectives sets out to figure out the murder and Jon’s role in it before it’s too late.

I’m a huge fan of the Evander Mills mystery series that Lev AC Rosen wrote (still hoping that will continue), but this book gave him the chance for some quirky fun. The characters all have their own issues but their friendship matters most of all.

Book Review: "The Lowe Job" by Grace Alexander

I thought this was absolutely great. Such gossipy, soapy fun, but with some serious themes thrown in. Grace Alexander hit her debut novel out of the park!⁣

⁣ “It started with a blow job. They had aspirations for it to become the most notorious blow job of all time. It was a lofty aim. They knew that realistically they were never going to beat that blow job—you know the one—but the least they could do is try.”⁣

⁣ Lili Lowe is a beautiful and intelligent young woman who wants a career in politics. Her intelligence is often discounted because of her looks, and she is valued by her boss, who is a member of Parliament. One day she is caught by the paparazzi giving her boss a blow job in his car. A scandal erupts that threatens to ruin her life, while her boss seems to escape reasonably unscathed.⁣

⁣ But Lili has a hidden asset: her mother, Lydia. Once a ruthless talent agent, Lydia has a plan to milk the scandal for all it’s worth. Her machinations lead to media opportunities, endorsement deals, and a reality show called The Lowe Job. Lili, Lydia, and her three other daughters become household names—whether they want to or not.⁣

The book follows the Lowe women through the ups and downs of post-scandal life, and also traces the past of each of them. Lili’s three sisters—ambitious Stevie, ethereal Iris, and distraught teenage Katie—each have their own reactions to their newfound fame, and each has their own issues to deal with.⁣

⁣ I really couldn’t get enough of this book. It definitely had some very pointed commentary about the double standard that exists between men and women when a sex scandal erupts. These are not totally likable characters, but I was hooked on their stories.

The book will publish 6/16.⁣

Book Review: "Cash Hooper Saves A Life" by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey

This series makes my heart melt. I discovered it last year and get so excited when I see another book will be published. I’m not at all ready to say goodbye to Goose Run or these characters.

Cash has a great deal of trauma from the horrible abuse he and his twin brother Chase dealt with during childhood. He is a sweet, kind man who doesn’t feel comfortable talking much, even with those he’s known for a while. His life is fairly routine and he likes it that way.

One night he finds a dog chained to a tree, bleeding and in obvious pain. Cash takes the dog and rushes it to the local vet. But when he arrives he finds that the usual vet is on vacation and his nephew, Mason, is filling in.

Mason is intrigued by the handsome man bringing an injured dog to his uncle’s office late at night. Clearly the man cares about the dog—and he can’t stand the sight of blood, because he faints. Mason now has two patients, and he doesn’t mind caring for either of them.

As Mason and Cash spend more time together, they become the bright spot in each other’s day. Mason is attracted to Cash but he’s only in town until his uncle returns. Cash has never been attracted to anyone, and has never let anyone get close to him except his brother. But Mason makes him want to change.

I’ve loved the glimpses of Cash’s character I’ve gotten in previous books, but I wanted to hug him so hard after this one. Mason, too, has a lot of emotional baggage to deal with, so they really are a perfect couple. Plus any book with cute dogs and kittens is a hit for me! I look forward to Book 5!

Book Review: "Villa Coco" by Andrew Sean Greer

I hope when I eventually get the opportunity to travel to Italy that I love it as much as I love books set there! Even when I don’t love the book, an Italian setting always makes me feel better.

Our narrator has just (barely) graduated from college but his career prospects seem dim. He’s encouraged by his advisor to apply for a job in Italy, to be assistant to the Baronessa, an eccentric wealthy woman who shows no signs of slowing down, even at age 92.

Of course, what he pictured the job to be and what it is are vastly different. While he expected to spend the majority of his time cataloguing the art and antiques in the dilapidated estate, he quickly gets pulled in many different directions by the Baronessa, who is known as Coco.

Villa Coco always seems to be full of larger-than-life guests, from princesses to plumbers. The whole experience is well beyond his comfort zone, but he falls under Coco’s spell. And while his cataloguing efforts are hampered by the disappearance of items he knows he saw, he finds an even more noble calling. When the Baroness loses someone close to her, she realizes the one thing she must do is locate the love of her life and be reunited before it’s too late.

There is definitely lots of emotion (repressed and otherwise) in this book, and the eccentric characters lightened the mood a bit. Parts of the book felt almost like an E.M. Forster novel—I kept expecting Maggie Smith to pop in. I wanted to love the book more than I did, but it was fun.

Book Review: "Waiting on a Friend" by Natalie Adler

It’s 1984 in New York City’s East Village. AIDS has started ravaging communities all over the country, but NYC has been hit particularly hard. Renata has been seeing ghosts of people who have died, some she was friends or acquaintances with, some she never knew. She isn’t quite sure how to help them, but for the most part, they don’t cause trouble.

When Mark, Renata’s best friend and roommate, dies from complications of the disease, she is devastated. She wasn’t at the hospital when he died, which was how she imagined it would be. So she’s eagerly awaiting Mark’s ghost to visit her. But for some reason, he’s not showing up.

“I thought about the ghosts I had known. Were any of them suffering? How would I know? Who can really tell what goes on in someone else’s life, or death? Some of them remained, outwardly, at least, concerned with the petty issues of their lives, and others were above everything, as if they had one foot in our world and another in a place we couldn’t imagine.”

As Renata mourns Mark and takes tentative steps toward a relationship with a nurse she met, Claude, she tries to move on. But at the same time, a company has popped up in the city promising to rid people’s apartments of ghosts or other disturbances. Renata is convinced this shady company is not doing the good deeds it purports to do, and it’s up to her and her friends to try and uncover their true motives.

“How was I supposed to mourn anyone—Mark, François, my mother, whoever was next—when it would take the rest of my life to accept that they were gone when they should have been here still? How do I mourn someone when I can’t get over that one fact, that they were supposed to be alive but they were not and there were people responsible for that?”

This is another terrific 2026 debut. It definitely packs an emotional punch, and some scenes remind me of the movie Longtime Companion, which I love. How much would we love a glimpse of loved ones we’ve lost, just one more time?

Book Review: "The Delivery" by Gregg Hurwitz

“What if you could have something that knows everything about you, everything you want, and could get it for you? While staying totally under your control?”

File this under “careful what you wish for, you just might get it!” This was a bit creepy and compelling, one of Amazon’s First Reads for June.

Rebecca and Mark have been trying to get out from under the grief following a miscarriage. But with pressure mounting from Mark’s boss and the needs of Maddy, their neurodivergent daughter, neither feels like they have a handle on their lives. So when they’re offered an opportunity to purchase a solution developed by a technology company, they take the leap.

Several months later, they take delivery of “Mr. Man,” an AI companion who looks surprisingly human. Mr. Man was grown from their family’s DNA, and he can anticipate their every need. At first, it’s a complete pleasure: laundry is done, dishes are washed, meals are prepared…

But then, as tragedies start occurring, they realize that Mr. Man not only fulfills requests, but he also takes care of things they’ve only talked about in passing. In some cases, they haven’t even clearly said anything, but it appears Mr. Man’s job is to protect them. No matter what.

Gregg Hurwitz is one of my favorite thriller writers, but I realized that I’ve only read his Orphan X series. So to experience his writing in a different genre was definitely a pleasure. I know sometimes I wish I had some help, but I’m good without an AI companion! (Trigger warning: animal cruelty but you can skim over it.)

This will publish 7/1/2026.

Book Review: "Make Nice" by Ryan Effgen

I love dysfunctional families. (Fictional dysfunctional families.) There’s just so much fodder for drama and confrontation. Ryan Effgen’s debut novel takes one such family on vacation—what could go wrong? Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for the advance copy!

The Pickford family is gathering at The Grand Hotel, a ritzy resort on an island in Lake Michigan. It’s been three months since their mother died, and their father has decided that they all should vacation together. No one is exactly sure why.

Viv is fairly sure her marriage is over, what with the recent discovery that her husband is gay. But she’s determined to pretend everything is fine, especially to her teenage daughter, Ash (don’t call her Ashley). Pete is a scientist, recently referred to as the nation’s foremost expert on gastropods.

And then there’s Corey, the black sheep of the family. Corey didn’t attend their mother’s funeral, and in fact, Pete and Viv didn’t even know their father invited him. But Corey isn’t the type of person to shrink under scrutiny—he almost seems to relish his role as family outcast. However, he’s ready to take control of his life—and he has five pounds of cocaine he plans to sell to the rich tourists, which should give him a good start.

Of course, you bring a family together, and there are always secrets to be revealed, old wounds to be reopened, and lots of emotions. Why did their father summon them to the island? Can peace and love be found amidst the fudge and ice cream shops and the horse-drawn carriages?

The book is billed as a cross between Sandwich and The Wedding People. There are certainly similarities but I didn’t feel as connected to the characters in this book as I did in those others. This was enjoyable but not necessarily unique in any way.

The book publishes 7/14.

Book Review: "Fruit Fly" by Josh Silver

“…always remember: gay is in. Go gay. It’s cool now. It sells. However—here is the gold dust—the perfect blend is gay AND sad. You nail that, you’re minted.”

This was an intense read but an utterly addictive one as well. Thanks so much to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the advance copy!

Mallory wrote a bestseller 7 years ago and was lauded as an up-and-coming literary sensation. But after the buzz from her first book fades, she’s stuck with writer’s block and the very real fear that she’ll never be able to replicate or exceed her previous success.

When an internet search convinces her that one topic that guarantees literary success is a dark, gay story, she goes all in. She sets up an account on Grindr (using a picture of her husband) and immediately finds herself traveling down the rabbit hole of anonymous sexual conversations. She even gets invited to a party by a man she chats with.

Of course, she wonders if they’ll let her into the party, not being who she says she is. (Although she envisions becoming the center of attention, being called “Mother,” etc.) But as she arrives she witnesses a strange scene at the door: two men start roughing up a younger man who had brought them drugs. And then she watches another man beat him up. She can’t help but rescue him, and he lets her drop him off. When she gets home, her creativity flows in a way it hasn’t in some time.

Leo is the young man. He is caught in that vicious cycle of addiction and wanting to recover, and puts himself in danger as he tries to feed his addiction. Mallory wants to be involved in his story, because it’s fueling her book, but he doesn’t want her help. Who has the right to own and tell our stories? This book is dark at times but really fascinating.

It publishes 8/4/2026.

Book Review: "Marion" by Leah Rowan

“People do wild things when they think they’re going to lose the person they love most in the world.”

This book was so good! You’ve probably seen that I’m a fan of retellings or books that give a different slant (sometimes radically different) from the original. And while this is a retelling of Psycho, it’s so different that you can read this without having seen the movie and you won’t be at a disadvantage.

When Marion discovers that her older sister Lauren has been abused by her husband, she immediately goes into protective mode. Their mother had worked with abused women for years, and tried helping them escape their situations. But when Lauren downplays the abuse and goes home to her husband, Marion knows she needs to protect her.

She heads to Saratoga Springs with plans of getting Lauren out of her marriage. (Her plans are bolstered by the $100,000 dollars she took from work.) Yet on the way upstate, her bus breaks down in New Paltz fairly late at night. The only place in town with a vacancy is the Billings Motel, an outdated place run by a quiet, handsome man named Norman.

Norman is charming, and he even cooks Marion a meal. When she gets back to her room, she decides to take a shower…and then the curtain pulls back to reveal Norman…with a knife. Marion refuses to be the victim in this situation, and she fights back—hard. After stabbing him to death, she realizes she has to clean up her mess and get up to her sister’s. But that plan gets waylaid quite a bit.

There are lots of twists in this book that I didn’t see coming. Marion is a fascinating character—part vigilante and part victim. I wondered how things would get tied up and I was fairly satisfied with the ending. I can’t wait to see what Leah Rowan does next!!

Book Review: "Second Helpings" by Dylan Morrison

Y’all, this book had a dog named Pastrami! I thought this was really sweet, but it had me at Pastrami.

Sam has been a part of Silverman’s Deli, his family’s restaurant, for as long as he can remember. It’s been an institution in Cleveland for 75 years. He’s now the manager and he loves every aspect of the job.

But things have been dicey since the restaurant got a scathing review by a well-known columnist. Sam and his staff question the authenticity of the review, because there are a lot of criticisms that seem completely false. Regardless, the number of customers who have been coming in has reduced sharply, and Sam isn’t sure he can keep the deli afloat for much longer.

To top things off, one day Jake walks into the deli. Jake was Sam’s high school boyfriend until a tragedy ripped them apart. They’ve not seen each other in 12 years, and although their first few encounters are awkward, they quickly realize how much they’ve missed one another.

Having Jake around helps Sam’s anxiety about the deli, and Sam gets to cook for him, which is definitely one of his favorite things. But as they draw closer, they need to confront the event that tore them apart, and there are other secrets that Jake needs to share.

I enjoyed another book by Dylan Morrison so I had a feeling I’d like this one too. I’m a big fan of second-chance romances and I thought that Sam and Jake had great chemistry. And now I’m going to lament that there are no good delis around here…

Book Review: "There's Only One Sin in Hollywood" by Rasheed Newson

What a fantastic book this was!! I really enjoyed Rasheed Newson’s first book, My Government Means To Kill Me, and this was an incredible follow-up. I’m a huge movie buff, and the amount of research Newson did here really showed.

Xavier Barlow is on the cusp of becoming the next Black movie star in the late 1950s. His magnetic good looks and his talent set him apart, and he wants to become a bigger star than Sidney Poitier.

Aaron is a fixer for Skyline Studios. His job is to get Black stars out of trouble and salvage their reputations if scandal occurs. Ironically, one of the things he handles is keeping closeted gay stars from getting into trouble—while he is gay himself.

When Xavier gets killed right after a disagreement with the studio, Aaron is convinced he was murdered. Xavier wanted to be an openly gay actor, wanted to change the status quo—but that type of freedom wasn’t allowed in Hollywood at that time.

Aaron is determined to bring those behind Xavier’s death to light. While everything else in his life has fallen apart, he wants Xavier’s talent—and his sacrifices—to be known and respected.

The book is written from Aaron’s perspective, tracing the challenges and opportunities Black actors faced in the 1950s and 1960s. The nostalgic feel of the story was so appealing. Aaron pulls no punches about his own role in all that occurred. This was such a great Pride Read!!

Book Review: "Whistler" by Ann Patchett

I have been eagerly anticipating the release of Whistler since I first saw it pop up sometime late last year. Ann Patchett is one of my absolute favorites, so needless to say, I snapped this one up with a preorder!!

“She would say it was because childhood never leaves us. We seal the room up and cover it in sheetrock. We dry and sand and paint, but the pocket of history remains, and sooner or later someone always winds up tapping on the wall, commenting on the way it sounds strangely hollow in there, and then the whole thing comes tumbling down.”

Daphne and her husband Jonathan are spending an afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As they walk through the museum, Jonathan notices that an older man is staring at Daphne and is following them. She doesn’t recognize the man at all.

It turns out the man is Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather. Eddie was married to Daphne’s mother for about a year when she was 9, about 45 years ago. While Daphne had long forgotten about Eddie, seeing him triggers her emotions. He was very special to her (and her to him), and despite being in each other’s lives for a short time, both played impactful roles.

Eddie is thrilled that Daphne is happy to see him, and it’s clear from their first few minutes together that they intend to rekindle their connection with one another. They share some special—and traumatic—memories, but they also learn the full truth of why Eddie’s marriage ended and what Daphne and her younger sister knew about it all. This renewed relationship brings joy to both of them.

Patchett has an uncanny talent to wring complex emotions out of what initially seemed like a simple reunion. I knew how I wanted the story to go, and I was pleased she didn’t take it down any overly melodramatic paths. This is a beautiful story of love, bravery, family, reconnection, and the warmth of memory. I absolutely loved it.

Book Review: "Isaac" by Curtis Garner

I read queer books all year long, but for Pride Month I definitely increase the number. For my first read of Pride, I stumbled upon this gem, which I liked more and more with every page I turned.

Isaac is finishing high school in London. He’s a great student, particularly in English and writing, and dreams of being a success. He’s also gay and desperate for his first encounter, which comes via an app. He quickly becomes addicted to the thrill of being desired, although he also becomes familiar with the fickleness of men on the apps.

One night at a party he meets Harrison, a 28-year-old artist, and Isaac falls quickly. He loves to be part of a couple, to be exposed to a world and friends different from those he’s familiar with. Harrison is quixotic, and little by little, Isaac starts to feel less confident and needier when he’s in his presence. But is this the way relationships are supposed to feel?

“Happiness was not a discovery to be had, like finding money on the ground. It was exactly as his mother had described: something he didn’t realise he was experiencing until he was no longer experiencing it, in the same way that misery was not something that ended and began depending on where you were; it stayed with you, even if it changed in form.”

The time draws closer to Isaac’s leaving for university in Manchester. He makes some interesting discoveries about himself, Harrison, and his mother, which force him to stand up for himself and speak his mind once and for all. But what will this do to his relationships?

This really was a beautifully written book. Isaac’s character definitely grew on me, and I loved Cherish, Moya, and Karim, too. I really could identify with the ways Isaac felt he needed to be different in order to have a relationship with Harrison. What a great kickoff to Pride Reads!

Book Review: "The Midnight Train" by Matt Haig

Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library was a profoundly moving book, and one of my favorite books of 2020. This book is in the same world but isn’t a sequel, so either can be read as a standalone.

“I think the trouble with life is we do things because we should. We act for outside eyes. I’m trying to live it the other way round. To do what feels right deep down even if it shouldn’t be.”

Wilbur is in his eighties when he dies. He was once a business tycoon, with bookstores all over the world. He was an adviser to prime ministers and sought after as a speaker and consultant. It was quite a journey from being raised poor in post-World War II England.

Moments after he dies, the Midnight Train comes to pick up his ghost. The Midnight Train can take you back to your past, giving you the chance to relive the moments that meant most. To see what kind of person you really were.

Wilbur knows he was happiest on his honeymoon in Venice with his wife, Maggie, whom he loved since they were children. But as the train takes him through his life, he sees all of the moments he’s squandered, the things that were unsaid to loved ones, and the things that should never have been said or done. Can he help the Wilbur he sees in these memories change course without completely ruining the future?

I loved the concept of this book. I definitely found many moments that spoke to me and made me realize the importance of being a good person, saying the things I want to the people who matter. I didn’t find this book as emotional as The Midnight Library, but that didn’t hamper my enjoyment of the book.

Book Review: "Nerve Damage" by Annakeara Stinson

“Is it love if it does more harm than good in the end?”

Clarice and her boyfriend have had a rocky one-year relationship. There certainly have been good times but there have been a lot of fights as well. Clarice has broken up with P.T. more than a few times, but she’s always taken him back.

One night he admits that he cheated on her when he was angry at her. This was the last straw. She broke up with him and told him to never contact her again. But shortly thereafter, P.T. started bombarding her with texts from burner phones and emails from fake accounts. He apologized and begged her to take him back. When she refused, he started sending gifts, hanging outside her office with flowers, and showing up everywhere she went. She had no choice to get a restraining order, and then moved across the country to escape.

Three years later—the day the restraining order expired—Clarice swears she sees P.T. at a bar in Los Angeles, where she lives now. Her best friend thinks she must’ve hallucinated it; her therapist is worried about all the anger and anxiety she’s kept bottled up; her mother is planning her fourth wedding; and her father, from whom she’s been estranged, keeps calling.

She really doesn’t know what to do. If it really is P.T., should she ignore him? Confront him? Go back to court? As she gets more and more anxious, she decides to track him down. But her methods are a bit, well, stalkerish…

This was definitely a tension-filled book because I had no idea what was going to happen. The narrative shifts between different incidents in the past and the current time. Clarice is a fascinating, slightly unhinged character, and I could totally see her causing trouble.

Book Review: "Frat Around and Find Out" by Devon McCormack

I like reading “important” books that challenge me as much as the next person. But sometimes I need a smutty M/M romance. This hit the spot and actually had more emotional complexity than I was expecting.

Sigma Alpha and Alpha Theta Mu are two rival fraternities. They’re constantly trying to one up each other, and when the annual TaskFrat challenges come around, the two are always neck and neck until the very end.

Lance is the president of Alpha Theta Mu. He takes his responsibilities seriously, especially when it comes to battling their foes. And he has a worthy rival in Ty, the Sigma Alpha president.

Ty is supremely confident about everything, including his prowess with women. He’s the type to love ‘em and leave ‘em, and he teases Lance for focusing more on feelings than conquests. But he also can’t seem to get Lance out of his mind, and not for competitive reasons. What’s that about?

Lance, too, realizes that Ty has an inexplicable hold over him. Is it possible that he’s crushing on his rival? The more they’re pushed together, the more they’re drawn to each other. Is this just a curiosity thing for the both of them, or are there feelings behind the attraction? And how will the brothers of both of their frats handle this?

I’m excited that this is the first book in a series, because I really enjoyed it. Both Ty and Lance are dealing with grief-related issues, and it was nice to see how each helped the other. (And in case you were wondering, the steam was pretty hot.)

Book Review: "Ironwood" by Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly has written more than 40 books and I’ve been reading them since 1992, when his first book was published. He has created some prolific characters, which have spawned several series. Ironwood is the second book in a new series, and this one kicked ass.

Stilwell is a detective sergeant stationed on California’s Catalina Island. Those who get stationed there are usually paying for making someone higher-up angry, or for doing something illegal or inappropriate. Stilwell was sent to Catalina for similar reasons, but he’s grown to like that it’s separate from the chaos of Los Angeles.

One night, acting on a tip one of his deputies got from a confidential informant, Stilwell and two of his deputies are staking out the island’s airstrip. They’re waiting for a plane to land and drop off drugs. But when it does, the deputies close in on the plane, shots are fired, and the plane leaves.

The whole incident has tragic consequences. As the police investigate, Stilwell is relegated to the side. But he wants to know who was responsible and where everything went wrong, so he does some investigating on the side.

Meanwhile, when sorting through the list and found, he finds an expensive backpack that belonged to a woman who disappeared while hiking four years earlier. But the backpack was found only two months ago; why is that? Stilwell’s looking into this connects him to the cold case unit led by Detective Renée Ballard. And what this partnership uncovers is another tangled web he’ll have to deal with.

Connelly is so good at taking his time to lay out the details and then gradually ratchet up the tension. He always keeps me guessing one way or another. I hope there will be a third book in this series!!

Book Review: "Patient, Female" by Julie Schumacher

I first discovered Julie Schumacher when I read her absolutely hilarious book Dear Committee Members. In that book (and a few others afterward) she created a pompous college professor adrift and amidst bureaucracy.

Her latest book is a short story collection, and it really demonstrated the depth of her talent. While one story made me laugh out loud and a few others had flashes of sly humor, most of the stories had more of an emotional pull.

In “Passengers,” an overprotective mother worries about her daughter after an incident at school. “Hospital Bridge” is the story of a middle-school student who, after being forced into volunteering at a nursing home, starts gambling on bridge games with the residents. “How My Light is Spent” follows an instructor at a community college and her short story writing class.

Some of my favorite stories in the collection were “Slow Learner,” which told of a woman’s fascination at the connection between her autistic son and her dying mother; “Your Better Self,” about a couple who get gifted a trip to a wellness spa by their late neighbor; “Syllabus,” a hilarious story written as a syllabus; “Spin,” in which four friends play a game with real-life implications; and the title story, in which a professional patient runs into someone she used to know.

As with most collections, not every story is a home run. But Schumacher creates such vivid characters, and I know I’ll have a few of these stories running through my mind for a while.

Book Review: "Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It" by Brooke Avelar

I believe the last few years have seen more phenomenal debut novels than ever before. I love reading books from my auto-buy authors, but I get so excited when the book I’m loving is a debut. Add this one to the list—it was great!!

“There were approximately one hundred and fifty boys in my grade at Manhasset Central Middle School. By the time I turned twelve, I had been in love with at least one hundred and twenty-five of them. If I didn’t have a crush, I didn’t see the point of getting out of bed in the morning.”

Phoebe is in love with love. She’s been reading romances since she was young, hiding the smuttier ones under her bed. In seventh grade she was more than ready for her first kiss—but the expectation led to anxiety, which led to, well, a disastrous reaction. Since that moment, getting close to a guy makes her so nervous that she usually cancels dates.

But now, a month from her 30th birthday, Phoebe is still a virgin. She’s determined to change that, so being the overly organized teacher that she is, she puts together a checklist on losing her virginity in 30 days. (And she laminates it.)

As she starts making her plans, she unexpectedly winds up with three potential suitors. There’s Finn, the hot new 4th grade teacher; Matthew, a former high school classmate with whom she competes in Wordle and Words with Friends; and then there’s her roommate, Jonathan, who has been one of her best friends since college. Will one of these men help her achieve her goal?

This was a fun book, with lots of banter between the characters. And while Phoebe’s plight is definitely amusing, I loved the way this book dealt with her anxiety and other mental health issues. As Brooke Averick says in her author’s note, we rarely see this side of a character in a romance, and I’m so glad that we did!

Book Review: "Dolly All the Time" by Annabel Monaghan

Annabel Monaghan is an absolute auto-buy author for me. Her characters are always so well-drawn, and her books have such an emotional richness to them. I’ve loved every one of her books, but Dolly All The Time may be my new favorite.

When a small fire occurs one night in her childhood home, Dolly and her teenage son Gus leave their lives in Boston and head back to her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island. Ever since her mother left their family when Dolly was 12, she’s been the one who has taken care of everything—for her father and her two younger siblings.

Dolly loves being back in Whitfield and quickly assumes the caretaking role once again. One day after working at the family’s fish house, she comes across Stewart Whitfield, the handsome heir to the Whitfield fortune. (Their hometown is named for his family.) Stewart’s car has a flat tire and he has no idea how to fix it. Dolly shows him how, and the press takes an impromptu picture of them, as Stewart’s engagement has just ended in a scandal.

Stewart is desperate to close the deal on his becoming the company’s new. The one drawback is that his parents think he’s too much of a workaholic to succeed. So Stewart asks Dolly to be his fake girlfriend, a challenge she accepts. Suddenly she is attending benefits and client dinners, and bringing out a whole different side of Stewart.

I’ve read tons of romances and rom-coms that have fake dating at their core. Even though the approach is familiar, the way the relationship between Dolly and Stewart unfolds is just lovely.

I absolutely loved this book. Not only were the main characters totally appealing, but the supporting characters rocked also. There was banter, steam, self-discovery, happiness, sadness, and humor. It was exactly what I needed!