Book Review: "When She Was Ours" by Anna Nordberg

This was my Amazon First Reads selection for July. What a powerful and emotional book this was! I really hope lots of people read this.

Thea was an excellent surgeon—tough, compassionate, always willing to go the extra mile for her patients. But for the last several years, she’s been fighting a losing battle with cancer, and she knows she’s coming to the end of her life.

As family and friends gather for her older daughter Phoebe’s wedding, she’s so grateful she’s alive to see it happen. At the same time, she’s full of sadness that she won’t live to see her younger daughter Astra graduate from college or forge her own path. But the last thing anyone is prepared for is an incident during the wedding that will change many lives.

Despite being a woman of science, Thea keeps feeling premonitions of imminent harm to her family. So before she dies, she meets with a family friend and makes one request, not knowing if it will ever be needed.

Years later, Phoebe and Astra have moved on with their lives but their grief is still hard to process. When they are contacted by a man who offers them a glimpse of their mother’s early life and her innermost thoughts, they jump at it. But the decision sets in motion a chain of events that will impact a number of lives.

This was just excellent. It’s so thought-provoking and moving in its exploration of grief and how it impacts each of us differently. Another fantastic debut novel in 2026!

Book Review: "25 Days in Athens" by Jack Strange

Will and Ollie broke up more than three years ago, after Will rejected Ollie’s second marriage proposal. But even though they clearly wanted different things, Will still pines for Ollie and believes they are soulmates, despite the fact that Ollie has moved on.

Ollie’s announcement on social media that he and his boyfriend Alec have gotten engaged throws Will into a spiral. And then Will gets invited to their wedding in Athens. Why would Ollie invite him?

Even though he’s not sure it’s the right idea, Will decides to attend the wedding. But he plans to arrive in Athens earlier than others, so perhaps he can tell Ollie how he feels and maybe they can be reunited. No one thinks this is a good idea.

When he arrives in Athens, Will runs into Sam, his childhood best friend, who moved away years ago. They were once totally inseparable, and Will is pleasantly surprised to see that Sam grew up to be absolutely gorgeous. Reconnecting feels amazing, and there’s definitely some serious chemistry between them. But Will is in Greece to get Ollie back.

Sam agrees to be Will’s plus-one at the wedding, and they pretend to be a couple. But the closer the two of them get, the more Will considers telling Ollie how he still feels. Will he throw away a chance at happiness for a glimpse of what might have been?

The book was a mashup of some of my favorite romance tropes: friends to lovers, fake dating, and second chance. I loved the pairing of Will and Sam, and thought that the supporting characters were a lot of fun. And don’t get me started on the setting of the book!

Book Review: "Unsayable: A Life in Writing" by Michael Cunningham

“When you set out to be a writer you may or may not understand all that you’re agreeing to. You’re saying, by implication, that you’re qualified to write about the passions and sorrows and underlying motives of others. You live, with various degrees of comfort and discomfort, with the fact that even if your work is read by only a handful of people, you’ve claimed the right to set down the definitive version of relations that, in fact, have no definitive versions.”

Michael Cunningham is one of my all-time favorite writers. The Hours and The Home at the End of the World, in particular, are books that, more than 30 years after they were published, still profoundly affect me. So I couldn’t resist reading his new memoir, which talks about how he found his way to writing and how his love of language and storytelling shaped him.

Even as a young child, he was obsessed with language, and the specifics of it. There wasn’t just a tree in his yard, it was an oak tree, while there was a maple tree in his neighbor’s yard.

He started writing stories when he was young but he never had much confidence in them. So he turned to painting and drawing as a creative way of expressing himself. But he never stopped searching for the words to convey emotions or share accounts of his experiences—true or false.

Cunningham touches on specific moments in his life—being with his best friend in high school, who was his first love; spending time in Provincetown with an elderly gay couple who loved his stories about his adventures; working briefly as a hustler; and the first time he met the man who would become his husband.

This was a fascinating, at times emotional, book. I definitely thought it provided some insight into a writer’s mindset and it made me appreciate Cunningham’s writing even more.

Book Review: "The Gulf of Lions" by Caitlin Shetterly

Alice is a recent breast cancer survivor. It’s only been a year, and she’s still very scared of her long-term prognosis. Just before she was diagnosed, she learned of her husband Pete’s infidelity. So while he did everything during her surgery and recovery and chemotherapy, she still isn’t sure how she feels about him and their marriage.

She once was a writer, and during her recovery she found passion for it again. She’s landed a fantastic freelance assignment: she and her two daughters will travel to France, where they will camp across the country. Her daughters, Sophie and Iris, are 13 and 8-1/2. None of them have ever camped before. But this trip is both mother-daughters’ reconnection and a trip of triumph.

The places they go, the scenery they see, the people they meet, the food they enjoy, all of this imbues the trip with beauty and joy. But at the same time, Alice isn’t fully prepared for a trip with two girls who need more of her than she’s prepared to give, nor is she fully ready to be alone with her own thoughts about her mortality and the state of her marriage.

“There are versions of me I don’t recognize anymore.”

While this book is billed as a standalone, Caitlin Shetterly’s previous book, Pete and Alice in Maine, is, inherently a prequel. I wish I had known that because that book would probably have set the foundation for these characters and their actions, and perhaps make me feel more sympathetic towards them.

There are many beautiful and thought-provoking moments in the story, and the imagery is absolutely vivid. However, I didn’t really love the characters—especially Sophie and Iris. And the last 15 percent of the book came out of nowhere, creating melodrama where there had not previously been any.

Book Review: "The Good Parts" by Evann Normandin

This book was a sad one. There are bright spots, certainly, and a dash of hopefulness, but I found this to be an emotionally heavy book. That being said, however, it’s so beautifully written.

Rose and Landon meet the first night they’re both in college. Both feel awkward at times, which is what draws them together, but with Landon, Rose feels like she can step out of her shell every once in a while. Landon falls quickly for Rose, and can think of nowhere else he’d rather be than with her.

They get married and build a life together. For a while things are wonderful. But when tragedy strikes, it destroys them both, and Rose leaves. Landon has faith that she’ll return, but then one day he gets a letter in which he learns she has taken a memory-erasing pill and will no longer remember him or their life together.

Devastated, Landon travels to Edinburgh, where Rose is living her new life. He believes that if she fell in love with him once, she can do it again. But Landon’s reappearance triggers memories that Rose should have forgotten, and these memories prove physically harmful to her. Can he let her go in order to save her life?

There are a lot of sad moments in the story. Rose isn’t the most sympathetic character all the time, although her grief is justified. And while Landon certainly has his quirks, his devotion to Rose is never in question.

The book has an interesting narrative structure: Rose’s story starts at the beginning while Landon’s starts in the present. There are lots of messages to take from this book and I’ll be thinking about this for a long while. This really was a spectacular debut!

Book Review: "Yes, Chef" by Grace Reilly

A grumpy/sunshine romance with a handsome, brooding, tattooed chef with abandonment issues? Plus lots of delicious-sounding food and ultra-steamy steam, too? I’m in!

Poppy’s family owns a major restaurant company, but her own job as a brand influencer is criticized for not being serious enough. She tries hard to please her family and make them respect her, but every effort seems to turn disastrous or, worse, publicly humiliating.

One night, at one of her family’s most renowned restaurants, she has a very public meltdown when her boyfriend breaks up with and denigrates her. At the same time, one of the restaurant’s chefs, Jack Hartman, causes an angry scene before quitting. Both Poppy and Jack commiserate in a bar and lick their wounds. They both need to run away.

Jack heads back to Diamond Bay, Florida, where he grew up. His recently deceased mentor left Jack his restaurant, where he worked as a teenager. He figures he can resurrect the restaurant, show off his prowess running his own place, and hopefully parlay that into a new job back in New York City. With nowhere else to go, Poppy follows Jack, hoping he can use her influencer skills to build a brand and buzz for this new restaurant.

Of course, despite their attraction to one another, they get along like oil and water until both realize they’re working toward the same goal. Plus, Jack has unresolved issues with his mentor’s memory as well as fearing failure, while Poppy just wants to prove herself to her parents once and for all.

Give me a book that takes place in a restaurant and you know I’ll be happy. The chemistry and banter between Poppy and Jack is top-notch, as are all of the supporting characters. I loved that the book dwelled on emotional issues and featured two love interests with ADHD. Such a great book!

Book Review: "The MASH Up" by Laura Marie Meyers

This was all kinds of adorable. Definitely put a smile on my face!

Ruby lives her life according to plans and rules. She doesn’t deviate from the path she’s set for herself, and luckily, her boyfriend is the exact same way. But her carefully choreographed plans go awry at her 35th birthday party, when her boyfriend tells her he’s moving to New York for a job opportunity. It’s the biggest risk he’s ever taken—and she can’t take it with him.

When she wakes up the next morning, she discovers that she’s living inside a game of M.A.S.H. that she played in 7th grade. She wears brightly colored clothes, drives a tie-dye jeep, and owns a roller-disco diner. It’s all exactly as she dreamed back then, before her life became regimented. The only part of her dream that hasn’t manifested itself is her “other half,” which is supposed to be Penn, her twin brother’s best friend.

In this version of her life (as in real life), Penn knows how to get on her every nerve. It’s been that way since they were kids. But has he always been this sexy? Or this annoying?

Having to live such a spontaneous life is very unsettling for Ruby. But she figures that the only way she’ll get back to the “real world” is to make Penn fall in love with her. What if, once that happens, she doesn’t want to leave? What if she realizes she likes this side of her—and Penn?

This was a really fun debut novel. Penn is definitely a crushworthy book boyfriend, and the banter between him and Ruby was top notch. I loved that this had a bit more emotional depth than a typical rom-com, and I think I want a tie-dye jeep!