Book Review: "The Twin Clause" by C.G. Macington

Earlier this year, I discovered C.G. Macington’s St. Jude’s Medical series. I fell in love with these books about two brothers and doctors who were raised in privilege (and tremendous dysfunction) and the men they fell in love with. The characters were flawed but beautiful people who dealt with crises both medical and emotional.

When I finished Book 3 in July, I thought the series was ending, so I was thrilled when I saw Book 4 was coming. Now that I read it on the day it was released, I was excited to see there will be a fifth book coming out at some point.

Dr. Preston York and his husband, Dr. Luke Silva, are both well-versed in their fields and exceptional in a crisis. But when it comes to planning their future, Preston pushes too hard and Luke goes silent. And in their tiny New York apartment, a little silence goes a long way.

When both of their mothers start pressuring them for grandchildren (each in different but complementary ways), they try to deflect the subject. Luke’s father left the family when he was young, while Preston was raised by warring factions who threw money at everything. Not the best role models, but the idea of fatherhood is both enticing and terrifying.

When Preston’s mother offers to pay a surrogate $1 million, Luke’s sister offers to carry the baby. And when they find more than they were bargaining for, the York and Silva families rally around Preston and Luke to support them. Fatherhood looks great on them.

While Macington brought some of his signature humor and steam to this book, it’s definitely a little more serious than the previous books. After the craziness of their love story and their wedding as well as all the York family madness, this book explored what it’s like to build a life together, and how you try not to let your past scare you from your future. Can’t wait for Book 5!

Book Review: "Three Days Grace" by Jeremy Bradley-Silverio Donato

I’ve had the good fortune over the last month or so to stumble upon some books I hadn’t heard of. Three Days Grace was another of those. This was a powerful, emotional read, sad but hopeful, and it will be a book that sticks in my mind for a long time.

“‘I think,’ he said, ‘that sometimes we learn how to love by recognizing what love isn’t. By seeing the darkness and choosing to live in the light instead.’”

The night before they’re supposed to fly to South Africa on vacation, Lynne and her wife Susan are expecting three guests to meet them at their hotel room in Paris. There’s Nick, Lynne’s son, who has had a strained relationship with his mother since he was a teenager; Laslo, an artist and friend of Susan’s; and Marc, Lynne’s closest friend and confidante.

The whole day, Lynne has seemed out of sorts. She picked several fights with Susan over trivial things and when the five of them go to dinner, her behavior is almost erratic. And then she discloses a piece of news that affects all of them, Nick most particularly. They suddenly must confront the truth about events of the past that they all knew about in their own way, but no one ever did anything about them.

This is a story of loss, grief, guilt, shame, pain, and how we can hide painful truths from ourselves. The book deals with sexual and physical abuse of children (although it’s only referred to without details), which might prove triggering. But this book is gorgeously written even through the sadness, anger, and pain.

“I told him that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is stop pretending. That loving yourself doesn’t mean you love other people less.”

Book Review: "Proof of Progress" by Elizabeth Castellano

Maria Astorini should look familiar to you. She’s been in the public eye for decades, first as the daughter of a famous mother, then as an actress, frequent talk show guest, author, and occasional object of scandal.

She recently landed a new role that has put attention on her again. But when a throwaway comment about a book she was contracted to write 37 years ago somehow gets back to her publisher, they finally start asking about it. They’d be more than happy for her to pay the advance back (but compound interest after 37 years is pretty staggering), or she can write the book.

She really doesn’t think the world needs another celebrity memoir, but she’s not paying the publisher back. So in order to provide proof of progress, she sends the publisher anecdotes of different times in her life.

Maria touches on her father’s sudden death when she was young, which was accompanied by a freak injury to her tongue (44 stitches needed). She talks about her on-again, off-again relationship with a college friend, who is both her closest confidante and her biggest nemesis. She discusses her marriages, her children, her relationship with her mother (who became a famous motivational speaker and author), her financial ruin, and her career.

I found this to be an amusing story but because it’s told in anecdotes, nothing felt complete. Maria is a mess, but she’s surprisingly loyal to her friends (to a point), and her life is never free of drama and challenging people. It was a fun, lightweight read.

Book Review: "Meet Me in Paris" by Kristin Harmel

C’est magnifique!! I had a feeling when I picked up this book that it would leave me all kinds of emotional, but wow! This was sappy and beautiful and moving and just excellent.

“It’s in our nature as human beings to search for logical explanations for everything, but sometimes, all we need to do is find space in the quiet to listen to what our hearts are telling us.”

Julia has returned to Paris after nearly 30 years, bringing her daughter, Piper. Julia is dying, and wants this trip to be full of memories her daughter can cherish. Piper meets a handsome waiter and Julia surprises herself by falling for an American man, but how can she tell him she’s dying?

Jackson, a singer, had the biggest song of the 1990s. He’s in Paris to kick off a tour he hopes will revive his career, but he’s not counting on love, too. Ninety-nine-year-old Henry wrote Jackson’s big hit, inspired by his love for a French woman during WWII. He thought she died during the war, but he was wrong—so he’s returned to Paris to see if, despite her dementia, she remembers him at all.

Lou and George became friends as soldiers in Vietnam, and are in Paris for a tour for veterans. But there are secrets both have kept from one another. Shelby is on a trip with her two best friends, supposedly celebrating her divorce. However, celebrating is the last thing she wants to do, and when she meets Russ, a bar owner, she finally starts to see the woman she knows she is.

These stories, as well as a few others, unwind over several days. Kristin Harmel said she was inspired by Love Actually, so that was more than enough incentive for me! I was fully engaged in all of the stories, and just wish Lou and George’s story got as much page time. But this was such an amazing book.

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: "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: "Look What You Made Me Do" by John Lanchester

Jack and Kate have been together more than 30 years, since meeting in college. They both have the roles they usually play in life, Jack is a successful architect prone to pontificating, Kate has various charitable and community projects she works on.

Phoebe is a screenwriter who doesn’t care who likes her and who doesn’t, at least personally. She has a difficult, narcissistic mother and a handsome, somewhat flaky partner, Tony.

Phoebe finally hits it big with Cheating, a television series that seems to hold the whole country in its thrall. But when Kate sees it, she recognizes details of her life and her relationship with Jack mirrored back at her. Even pet names he used to call her are used in the series.

Kate is distraught. Was Jack cheating on her? Was he treating his lover the exact same way he treated Kate, using the same seduction techniques, everything? She’s determined to figure out the truth behind the creation of the series.

The book flashes back and forth, tracing Kate and Phoebe’s lives. We see the history of Kate and Jack’s relationship, and we see the issues Phoebe has dealt with all her life, particularly with her mother. And we’re captivated by how both women react to what’s in front of them.

This was definitely a slow burn, but I found the book to be a captivating story of love, betrayal, survival, and even a little bit of revenge. I really enjoyed the way things unfolded and the little twists John Lanchester threw in along the way.

Book Review: "Kin" by Tayari Jones

“No matter who your mama is, or how long she’s been gone, you can’t help but miss her. When you are born, she marks you with her milk, even if you never tasted her breast. That’s not hoodoo, it’s just the way the body and the spirit come together to make you a person.”

There’s something about the way Tayari Jones writes that draws me in from the very first page. And this, her newest book, is so beautifully written and so perceptive in the way it captures loss, chosen family, friendship, and love.

Vernice (aka “Niecy”) and Annie have known each other practically from birth. Growing up in the small town of Honeysuckle, Louisiana, both girls were motherless. Niecy’s mother died when she was very young and her Aunt Irene raised her, while Annie’s mother left her in the care of her mother. The sense of being left behind pervaded both of their lives.

What Niecy wants more than anything is to be a mother and wife, to have a normal life. She goes to attend Spelman College, where she tries to blend in as much as she can, but for the first time she is introduced to a world where Black women can be powerful and privileged.

Meanwhile, trying to find her mother is the one thing that occupies Annie’s mind. She takes off one night with a young man she likes and two others and heads for Memphis, where her mother has supposedly moved to. But the journey to Memphis—and to finding her mother—is a circuitous one, seeing her experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

There is so much emotion in this book, and not all of it is out in the open. The relationship between Niecy and Annie is rich with love, struggle, strength, and guidance, and their connection is a powerful one even when they don’t see each other and they live different lives. I really felt this book in my heart.

Book Review: "Boy from the North Country" by Sam Sussman

“…who you are will change, Evan. That’s what time does to all of us. You will face difficulty. You will need your own resilience. And you will need love. You’ve always been intelligent, but it’s your heart that makes you special. Just don’t forget that, all right? Don’t turn your back on that part of who you are.”

Evan longed to get away from his hometown in upstate New York. He went to college abroad and lived in several different countries. His mother summons him home rather urgently, telling him that she has cancer and needs to have surgery, so she’ll need his help.

Arriving home, he is awash in memories of growing up and spending time with his mother. For a good deal of his childhood and teenage years it was just the two of them, undertaking creative pursuits, enjoying the arts, and believing Evan could be anything he dreamed of. His mother had a few relationships during his childhood, but they always turned bad.

Growing up, people always commented on how much Evan resembled Bob Dylan. He found out that his mother knew Dylan in the 1970s, but she refused to divulge whether he was Evan’s biological father. As his mother undergoes chemotherapy, she shares with Evan the story of her life, her dreams and the challenges that haunted her. And she tells him the full story of her relationship with Dylan.

The book shifts between the present and moments in the past, both in Evan’s childhood and his mother’s life. It’s so beautifully written and it’s tinged with sadness, but the power of a mother’s love runs through the book. For those who have lost a parent or experienced a loved one dealing with terminal illness, the book may be triggering.

Book Review: "Loved One" by Aisha Muharrar

Poignant and powerful, Aisha Muharrar’s debut novel will stay in my mind for a long while.

“There was a queasy unease to treading new waters, building the compass as you sailed, every choice a guess. Except it was worse now. Because it was expected at eighteen, or even twenty-five, but at thirty, it was embarrassing.”

Gabe was Julia’s first love. They met as high school students in Barcelona and had a wonderful summer. But Gabe wanted to be a musician, and he didn’t want a relationship to interfere with his career, so they went their separate ways.

From time to time, they would run into each other in Los Angeles. Gabe became a popular indie musician and Julia became a sought-after jewelry designer. Their old feelings would resurface on occasion, but they always seemed to tamp them down. And then, tragically, Gabe died accidentally when he was 29.

Julia is overcome by the waves of grief she feels, especially since their relationship was left at loose ends before he died. As a favor to Gabe’s mother, she travels to London to meet the last woman he loved, to see if she could reclaim some of his belongings. But upon meeting Elizabeth, an icy, guarded restaurateur, both women become protective over their memories of Gabe and the secrets each holds.

The narrative shifts between the present and various memories of Gabe and Julia’s encounters. There is an elegiacal sadness in this book but it’s never maudlin. It captures the frustrations we might have when we wish we had said, or did, something to a loved one whom we’ve lost. This was simply gorgeous.

Book Review: "The Heartbreak Hotel" by Ellen O'Clover

This book seriously gave me all the feels. I had high hopes for this and it definitely delivered!

Lou isn’t surprised when her famous musician boyfriend breaks up with her. They’ve been together since college but they’ve been drifting apart for a while. She’s sad, obviously, but her biggest worry is that she’ll have to move out of the house they’ve been sharing in Estes Park, Colorado. She will not lose that.

The challenge is, she doesn’t have a job, so how can she afford the rent? But then she comes up with an idea: turning the house into a bed and breakfast where people can recover from their own heartbreak. Her landlord, Henry (whom she is surprised to find is a handsome veterinarian, not an old man) isn’t thrilled with the idea, but he reluctantly agrees to let Lou run with it.

It’s not long before the inn is a success. And while Lou is helping her guests, her own life is a mess, left over from her tumultuous childhood. The good news is that Henry keeps coming around, and they find themselves drawing closer. But Henry is keeping his own heartbreak hidden from view.

“I started the Comeback Inn to care for people—because the part of me that knows how to nurture others has always felt like the best and truest part. But as I breathe into the cross-stitched pillow cover, as my eyes burn with tears, I wonder if that’s all I’ll ever get to be, all I’m capable of. If the power I thought I held by being needed is just a weakness; if I’ve sought out sadness in others so I don’t have to confront my own.”

There’s a lot of emotion in this book—grief, sadness, laughter, anger, and happiness to name a few. And while pieces of the story hit a little close to home, I couldn’t get enough.

The book will publish 9/23.

Book Review: "More or Less Maddy" by Lisa Genova

“She’s bipolar. That word gets thrown around without a medical license all the time, mostly by boys to describe girls as crazy. It’s a derogatory dart meant to demean and dismiss its target. But those boys aren’t doctors, and Dr. Weaver isn’t hurling names.”

Maddy’s first year at NYU was definitely stressful, but isn’t that the case for most college freshmen? There’s dealing with a roommate, dealing with all of the work and exams, as navigating her emotions after her high school boyfriend broke up with her just before college.

She often feels like the black sheep of her family. Her sister and brother excel at everything, her mother cares tremendously about appearances, and it’s no wonder Maddy is always sad or anxious. But it all seems rather innocuous until her mood swings blossom into a full-blown manic episode, and she is diagnosed as bipolar.

“But this chose her. Without her consent, like an arranged marriage, till death do they part. She wants an annulment, a divorce, an open window onto a fire escape, a new doctor, a time machine. Some way out of this.”

Despite her doctor’s advice to lead a more tranquil life, Maddy decides what she wants is a career as a stand-up comedian. Of course, the pressure and the constant fear of rejection doesn’t count. And at times she’s convinced she’s writing Taylor Swift’s biography or being involved with one TV show or another.

This was a tremendously powerful, emotional book. It really captured the rawness of depression and bipolar disorder. But at the same time, there are touches of humor which lessens the heaviness of the book. Lisa Genova always tugs at my heartstrings with her books, and this one is no exception!!

Book Review: "Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid" by Ngozi Ukazu and Mad Rupert

A few years ago, I fell head over heels for Ngozi Ukazu’s graphic novel series, Check, Please!. Recently, when reading an article ranking the top queer fiction books, I came across a mention of Ukazu’s latest graphic novel, and I had to jump on it at once.

Molly has wanted to go to art school at PICA, which is in her hometown, for as long as she can remember. But on the first day, she discovers that her full-ride scholarship no longer exists. Desperately wanting to go to school while keeping this from her mothers, Molly takes loans to stay afloat while looking for a solution.

In looking through PICA’s often-overlooked financial aid manual, Molly discovers a loophole. If she can recruit 9 of her fellow art students to play in a softball league, and if they win 1 game, everyone on the team will get major athletic scholarships.

Of course, at an art school, finding people willing to step outside their comfort zone and play an organized team sport is a bit of a challenge. But with the help of her best friend Ryan (himself a PICA dropout), who promises to coach the team, she begs, bribes, and cajoles students into joining the team. Some of the students are actually athletically inclined, while some are definitely not.

The team starts off horribly, even though there is definite promise. There are one or two ringers, plus a fashion student who can hit but refuses to run because it isn’t ladylike. But all they need is to win one game, and they find out that depending on one another and being part of a team feels good, too.

This was such a fun read, full of drama, joy, found family, and queer students finding their confidence. Mad Rupert’s illustrations are fantastic, and once again, Ukazu’s storytelling hit me in the feels.

Book Review: "The Summer Between" by Robert Raasch

A few days before they graduate from high school in 1978, Andy tells his best friend (and ex-girlfriend) Elena that he’s bi. Or maybe gay. While at first Elena worries that it was something about her that made Andy gay, she quickly realizes that his disclosure isn’t as surprising as she initially thought it was.

With just the summer remaining before Andy heads to NYU to study art, and Elena remains in New Jersey for college, Andy begins to take a few tentative steps out of the closet. While New York City has a reputation as a dangerous place, it’s also one of the epicenters of queer life, so he ventures into Greenwich Village.

Andy’s first foray into a gay bar leads to an unfortunate encounter that affects him more than he’s willing to admit. But it’s not long after that he meets Ben, an NYU graduate, and they begin dating. Ben also takes a protective interest in Andy, trying to help him become less sheltered and more open-minded, so hopefully he’ll stay safe.

For Andy, the summer is full of spending time with Elena and other friends, having evenings and weekends with Ben in NYC, and eagerly anticipating the start of college. But it’s also a time of crises, of wanting friendships to last forever even while growing apart, and of coming out to those you care about most.

As Andy tries to find his way, he’ll experience the highs and lows of first love, loneliness, envy, and random encounters. He’ll also realize those who are in his corner and those he can leave behind.

I love coming-of-age stories, and I really enjoyed this book. Andy’s voice was so authentic—I remember being on the cusp of adulthood yet still not there yet. I also remember what it felt like when your emotions are so close to the surface that you become attached to someone that’s not in the same mindset as you. It’s hard to believe that this is Robert Raasch’s debut, and it’s a book I’ll definitely think about for a while.

Book Review: "Five-Star Stranger" by Kat Tang

Our unnamed narrator (whom we come to know only as “Stranger”) works for the Rental Stranger app. You can hire him to be your guest for an event, make someone jealous, serve as wingman or pretend spouse/boyfriend/sibling, or use him for a variety of other purposes. He prides himself on his work and keeping his clients happy. (He wants to keep his five-star rating intact.)

“If I had a motto, this would be it: your happiness is my happiness, my guiding principle, my mission statement.”

Playing so many roles for so many clients leaves him little time to be himself. And that’s fine with him. His life when he is not working (a rarity) is a lonely one, full of guilt and grief, as well as pondering what’s real and fake in his interactions with his clients.

For a number of years, he has had a regular client, Mari, for whom he pretends to be her husband and father to her young daughter. One day a week, he picks the girl, Lily, up from school, helps with her homework, cooks dinner, and lately, puts her to bed before his “wife” comes home. But the charade is getting more and more complicated, as the woman is starting to resent him for how much more Lily likes him rather than her, and Lily is grown up enough to begin asking questions of her "father."

When another client starts to ask questions about his relationship with Mari and Lily, it forces him to evaluate what he derives from his work, and what he wants from his life. He reflects on his unresolved feelings toward his mother, and he wonders whom he really is.

This was a pretty cool concept, but I felt that Stranger was kept at arm’s length from the reader. At times, the story was sparse on details, and just as it started opening up a bit, it ended abruptly. But overall, it was fascinating and thought-provoking.

The book publishes 8/6.

Book Review: "Stone Cold Fox" by Rachel Koller Croft

She knows what she wants and she’s not going to let anything—or anyone—stand in her way.

Y’all, I absolutely DEVOURED this book. Literally, I was hooked from the very first sentence: “I decided that I would marry Collin Case after the fifth time we fucked.”

Bea is beautiful, smart, and ambitious. She provokes strong reactions—and quite different ones—between men and women. After spending her childhood as a pawn in her mother’s calculated efforts to swindle wealthy men, Bea wants nothing more than to settle down with the right man. Provided he’s immensely wealthy.

She sets her sights on Collin Case, shortly after she lands his family company as a client for the firm she works for. Collin is handsome, very rich, pleasant, and dull. He’s perfect for Bea, and it’s not long before Collin realizes she’s perfect for him.

Of course, when an outsider tries to marry into a family that has been wealthy and highly connected for generations, they’re bound to face resistance. But Bea is prepared for the long game of winning them over to her side. And while she’s unfazed—and even energized—by the machinations of Collin’s best friend, Gale, Bea can’t help but wonder how much Gale knows, and how dangerous she might actually be.

Does the apple really fall far from the tree? Will Bea be satisfied if she gets what she wants? This book was excellent—twisty, sexy, and funny, and now I want more!!

Book Review: "A Thousand Miles to Graceland" by Kristen Mei Chase

Two women. One convertible. One thousand miles.

This book was adorable and poignant.

Grace has found that the easiest way to deal with her outrageously over-the-top mother is to connect with her as little as possible. But when her husband ends their barely functioning marriage, she decides to cope with that by granting her Elvis-obsessed mother’s 70th birthday wish—a road trip from El Paso to Graceland.

What’s a road trip without adventure or chaos? Throw in an overabundance of her mother’s makeup and wigs, and lots of unresolved hurts and memories, and this one is sure to be a doozy. But as much as her mother aggravates her, spending all that time in the car, with Elvis songs on repeat, helps her understand some of what has made her tick.

Will they make it to Graceland in one piece? Can they overcome the issues from their past that made Grace leave home as soon as she could? And can the power of the King move them through?

This was a fun book, sweet and emotional. Reading it a few weeks after Lisa Marie Presley’s death gave it an added bittersweet note, but I love stories of family dynamics and, of course, Elvis.

Book Review: "The Wilderwomen" by Ruth Emmie Lang

They're trying to find their mother. They may find themselves, too.

Five years ago, Nora Wilder walked away from her daughters. Her older daughter, Zadie, knew something was going on with her mother, but Nora wouldn’t tell her what it was. And even though Zadie has psychic abilities, she is unable to figure out where Nora went or what made her leave.

Zadie’s younger sister, Finn, experiences “echoes” of memories of other people when she’s in particular places. During her high school graduation party, she has her strongest echo yet, and she wakes up in the aviary of a zoo. She realizes that this memory belongs to her mother, and she thinks it’s a sign that Nora wants to be found. And regardless of what Zadie or Finn’s foster parents think, she’s determined to find Nora.

Reluctantly, Zadie agrees to accompany her sister on a trip which takes them to places Nora might have gone. And as Finn’s echoes grow more intense, Zadie has to try and figure out how to save her sister—and decide if she thinks their mother wants to be found.

This is a beautiful, emotional story with elements of magical realism. I loved Ruth Emmie Lang’s first book, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, and this had a similar feel. A great BOTM pick this month!

Book Review: "Seven Days in June" by Tia Williams

In Tia Williams' latest novel, Seven Days in June, a second chance at their love story gives them everything to gain—and everything to lose.

“I remember that I’m not lonely. I’m alone. When I’m comatose from writing and mothering, when I’m hurting too badly to cook, talk, or smile, I curl up with ‘alone’ like a security blanket…Alone never gets disappointed by me.”

Eva is the bestselling author of an erotica series featuring a vampire and a witch. She’s struggling to finish book 15, dealing with chronic pain, which is a disability she’s lived with her whole life, and she's trying to be the best single mom to her precocious preteen daughter. She doesn’t feel she’s succeeding anywhere.

When prizewinning author Shane Hall shows up at a literary panel where Eva is speaking and begins waxing poetic about her work, it sets the Black literary community afire. But what no one other than Shane and Eva know is that 15 years ago they fell madly in love over the period of a week, only to have everything fall apart. The fact is, each has been using the other as inspiration for their work since then.

Shane’s return throws Eva’s life into upheaval. Their chemistry is still undeniable and the thought of letting each other go again is something neither wants to consider. But Eva is not sure she wants to leave herself vulnerable again, not sure if she can take the risks he could bring to her life and her daughter’s.

Over the course of seven days, they try to decide whether to let themselves fall again and what that vulnerability will mean. At the same time, the story looks back on the first seven days they spent together all those years before, and how indelibly it changed them.

Boy, this was so fantastic. It was poetic and steamy and beautiful and sad, really just amazing. Shane and Eva are such complex characters and their story hooked me from start to finish. I didn't want this to end!

Book Review: "The Truth and Other Hidden Things" by Lea Geller

Sometimes the thing you need most hurts a lot of other people. This is the message at the core of Lea Geller's newest book, The Truth and Other Hidden Things.

“The day Harry didn’t get tenure was also the day I discovered that an IUD is not foolproof. At the time, it was hard to say which news was worse.“

Bells Walker’s life is about to implode. She’s 43, living in a small Manhattan apartment given to her husband as part of his job at a university, and she has two adolescent children. A surprise pregnancy and her husband’s being denied tenure were not what she was counting on.

When Harry lands a job at Dutchess College in New York’s Hudson Valley, the family gets uprooted to a small town called Pigkill, much to everyone’s chagrin (except Harry). But the bucolic town Bells pictured has actually been taken over by hipsters and super-high-maintenance parents, all who’ve escaped the rat race of NYC to create a new one in Pigkill.

With no job prospects in sight and feeling ostracized by the mothers who clearly have it all together, Bells decides the best way to express her feelings is through an anonymous blog. Calling herself the “County Dutchess,” she sets her snarky sights on the people, the behaviors, and the not-so-secret goings-on in Pigkill. Her blog catches fire quickly and readers want to know, who is the Dutchess?

Of course, Bells’ fulfillment from writing the blog (fulfillment she has been searching for for years) has to stay a secret, or she could jeopardize Harry’s job and her kids’ tenuous efforts to fit in. But the more her posts go viral, the greater the risk is. Is it worth it? Can this secret stay secret?

I thought The Truth and Other Hidden Things was fantastic—laugh-out-loud funny in places, poignant in others. It’s amazing the things we do to try and prove our self-worth, to ourselves and the others we think are finding us wanting. I couldn’t get enough of this and Lea Geller’s storytelling!

Suzy Approved Book Tours, Lea Geller, and Lake Union Publishing provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!