Book Review: "The A-Listers" by Berlin Wick

Former child star Jace Wilder is going to be starring in one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year. Iron Horizon, based on the story of the rock band with the same name, is unlike anything Jace has ever done. His manager—as well as his controlling mother—are concerned the film might damage his reputation.

His costar in the movie is British actor Lennox Rome, who parlayed being a social media influencer into an acting career. The two actors have never met, but Lennox beat Jace for a film award despite being new to the industry, and they’ve been pitted against each other ever since.⁣

The film traces the band’s story from their start in high school to the two leads falling in love, which ultimately led to their failure. In order to do their story justice, Jace and Lennox must ensure their chemistry and camaraderie are completely authentic.

From the moment they meet, both men feel an unmistakable pull toward the other. But neither has been in a relationship with a man before, and neither really understands what their feelings for one another means. Yet as the tabloids circle, they have to worry about not only hurting their career, but each other as well.

I really enjoyed the chemistry between Jace and Lennox, and there is a lot of steam. However, Jace’s mother is so crazily manipulative, so it really took me out of the story whenever she popped up. I also dislike miscommunication as a trope, and that reared its head a few times in the book. But in the end, the romance outweighed the obstacles, and left me smiling.

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: "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: "Wait for Me" by Amy Jo Burns

Amy Jo Burns’ last book, Mercury, was one of my favorite books of 2024. Needless to say, I was looking forward to this and I’m grateful to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work as well for me as Mercury did, but it was an intriguing story. Marijohn is 18 years old in 1991, spending the summer working at her father’s gas station and writing songs she plays on her broken mandolin. Her best friend Lazarus is her cowriter, duet partner, and overall sidekick.

Marijohn’s father swears that he was the last person to see country music phenomenon Elle Harlow before she disappeared in 1973. He’s obsessed with keeping Elle’s legacy alive, and there’s a distinct possibility she could be Marijohn’s mother. She longs to know the truth.

The last night before Lazarus leaves for college, Marijohn is determined to tell him she loves him. But when a meteor strikes their town that night, it changes the course of everything, and brings secrets long hidden to the surface.

The book shifts to Elle’s story for a bit. We see her apprenticing to a healer, craving a musical career, and feeling unloved and unsupported. Her story shows that talent can flourish anywhere.

I felt like a lot of the dialogue in the book, particularly where Marijohn and Elle were concerned, was almost stream of consciousness. There’s a lot of miscommunication here, which is my least favorite trope to read about. But the central themes of loss, longing, and love really resonated with me.

Book Review: "Still Into You" by Erin Connor

I. Loved. This. Book.

Erin Connor’s debut, Unromance, was one of my favorites last year. But if possible, I loved her newest book even more. It just made me smile and tear up and laugh.

“It’s the only relationship I’ve ever had that’s actually worth talking about, except for the fact that I absolutely do not want to talk about it.”

Sloane has dreamed of being a music journalist for as long as she can remember. She’s gone from helping her friends’ band with their social media to a freelance writing job, with hopes of landing an actual position with benefits.

She can’t believe she gets offered the chance of a lifetime—to interview Final Revelations, a famed punk band that has not done an interview in 8 years. This could be career-making.

The thing is, the band’s lead singer, Dax, is her ex. Hanging around with the band feels like old times, and she and Dax quickly fall back into passionate flirtation. But Sloane knows that her integrity will be called into question if she doesn’t resist her feelings for him.

Second-chance romance is one of my favorite tropes. Throw in musicians and journalists and banter and steam, and I’m totally sold. I can’t say enough about this book and can’t wait for Connor’s next!!

Book Review: "In Bloom" by Liz Allan

“It doesn’t matter anymore. We are trouble. We have always been trouble. Our mothers have been telling us this for years.“

At first glance, this book appears to be fairly simple and straightforward. But it’s only as you come to the end that you realize what quiet power Liz Allan’s debut novel really possesses.

It’s 1994 in Vincent, a small coastal town in Australia. Four high school girls, longtime friends, have a band called The Bastards, because none of them has a father present. They’re obsessed with Nirvana, with loud, angry music, and believe the band is their ticket out of their horrible little hole of a town.

These girls live by a self-fulfilling prophecy. They’re almost a group of ruffians—poor, rowdy, disdainful, and not particularly smart—so no one expects much from them. But they don’t care—they’re just biding their time. And an upcoming Battle of the Bands competition is the key to freedom.

Trouble strikes when their lead singer, Lily, drops out of the band. Shortly thereafter, she accuses the girls’ beloved music teacher (and perhaps their only champion), Mr. P, of sexual assault. The other three girls know he’s innocent and don’t understand why Lily would accuse him of such a horrible act. They’re determined to discover the truth, and nothing—or no one—will get in their way.

Most of the book is narrated by the three remaining Bastards in a collective voice. This was an interesting and very effective choice. You really feel for these girls, who just want to be viewed in a positive light by their peers and their families. The book really made an impression on me!

Book Review: "Chasing Stardust" by Erica Lucke Dean

This sweet, funny, and moving book really warmed my heart. Many of us have imagined what our parents were like when they were younger, but how many of us get a first-hand look?

Zoey is devastated when her beloved mother dies of cancer. She has spent the last few years caring for her, putting her own future on hold while her older sister stayed in college. She knows it’s time to focus on moving forward, but she has one last task to complete for her mom.

Her mother has asked Zoey to spread her ashes following a path between Tennessee and California. Apparently it’s the path her grandmother followed in 1972: David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust tour. Her grandmother G-Lo was more than a groupie—she and the singer slept together, and that’s how Zoey’s mother came to be.

With her mother’s ashes and her diary in hand, driving her grandmother’s old Cutlass, she’s ready to hit the road. But from the very start she gets into trouble and the car breaks down outside Nashville. At an all-night diner she meets Dash, a handsome young man who’s apparently fleeing his domineering father’s expectations. Dash is more than willing to be a partner on this journey.

“How do I explain that I’m having a hard time reconciling Mom’s memories with my own…that with every word I read, my perception of her changes, dredging up emotions I can’t begin to understand. That I’m caught between this unquenchable desire to know everything about her past, and the fear of what I’ll discover if I spend too much time looking.”

As the trip continues, Zoey learns about her mother, grandmother, and herself. I love road-trip books and thought this was an utterly enjoyable read.

Book Review: "Sounds Like Love" by Ashley Poston

“We were all made of up memories, anyway. Of ourselves, of other people. We were built on the songs sung to us and the songs we sang to ourselves, the songs we listened to with broken hearts and the ones we danced to at weddings.”

There’s just something about the way Ashley Poston writes. I’ve enjoyed all three of her books—the first two were among the best books I read those particular years. I cannot get enough of the way she sprinkles her romances with magical realism as well as humor and such gorgeous emotion.

Joni has finally made her dreams come true, being a sought-after songwriter in LA. A few of her songs are tremendously popular, and everyone is waiting for what she writes next. But she cannot find anything that inspires her, that makes her feel compelled to create.

With the pain from her mother’s recent dementia diagnosis still fresh, Joni returns to her hometown on the Outer Banks. She grew up spending most of her time at The Revelry, the music venue that’s been in her family for more than 70 years. But when Joni gets home, she’s floored by her parents’ plan to close The Revelry, her mother’s fading memories, and the way she feels life has gone on without her.

The other thing that happens shortly after her arrival at home is she starts hearing snippets of a melody in her head, one she can’t place. She starts hearing the voice of a man, whose thoughts she can hear in her head (and vice versa). They start to rely on each other, but when he comes to her hometown, she’s surprised by how different he is in person—until he lets down his guard. He believes that if they write the song they’re hearing, they may be able to sever the psychic connection.

As always with Poston’s books, I find myself highlighting so many quotes and definitely getting choked up. I know this book will be on my year-end best list!!

Book Review: "The Life of Chuck" by Stephen King

I’ve been reading Stephen King’s books since I was a teenager (which was shortly after movable type was invented, lol). While I definitely have had my favorites through the years, I always enjoy when he departs from his usual work to write more thought-provoking and emotional books.

“The Life of Chuck” was originally included in King’s 2020 collection If It Bleeds. But when a movie adaptation starring Tom Hiddleston (squee!) was released last year, King’s publishers released this on its own.

The story opens at a time where the world seems on its last legs. Natural disasters are destroying the U.S., wiping out farms and manufacturers. The internet and other forms of communication are sporadic when operational at all, and the overall state of the world has led to a significant rise in suicide.

Marty is a schoolteacher who is trying not to become too cynical as the destruction continues. Meanwhile, all over town, he sees billboards and signs proclaiming, “Charles Krantz. Thirty-nine great years. Thanks, Chuck!” But who is Chuck, and what has he spent 39 years doing?

The story follows Chuck from adulthood through his teenage years. You see him spending a few hours one afternoon dancing to a street drummer’s music, an occasion that fills Chuck with nostalgia. We also see Chuck growing up, living with his grandparents, who share some memorable moments and also leave him with a secret that shakes him to his core.

I couldn’t devour this fast enough. It’s emotional, thought-provoking, life-affirming, and a bit of a warning about what could come. It’s definitely a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

Book Review: "Songs for Other People's Weddings" by David Levithan and Jens Lekman

David Levithan is one of my all-time favorite authors. I’ve had so many of his books, both YA and adult, on my year-end best lists, and this new one will join this year’s list for sure. The concept of this book is fantastic as well.

“There are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of songs about falling in love, being in love. There are more about having your heart broken. But how many songs are there about loving someone and having the nature of that love change? How many songs are there about going from lover to friend, from sex to affection? How many songs are there about being happy alone?”

J is a Swedish singer of some renown. Because one of his songs essentially offered his services as a wedding singer, that’s become his gig. He interviews the couple to get a feel for their relationship and then writes an original song that he performs at their wedding. This job has taken him to weddings big and small, all over the world.

While he is writing about other people’s love stories, his own romance is on the rocks. His girlfriend has moved to NYC for work and the more time she spends there, the more she seems to be pulling away from J. She seems to resent any questions he has about whether their relationship has a future, and whether she’s planning to return to Sweden when her work is done.

As J gets invited to be part of couples’ special day—young and old, rich and poor, queer and straight—he starts wondering how to capture the essence of love for others when he can’t do so on his own. It requires both creativity and strength, and emotional maturity he’s not sure he wants to have.

This book was a collaboration between Levithan and Jens Lekman, a Swedish singer who actually has become a wedding singer. Lekman writes songs for each of the weddings, and you can actually listen to them by scanning a QR code in the book. This was such an enjoyable, romantic, thought-provoking, and emotional book, and the songs really deepened the feels.

Book Review: "Deep Cuts" by Holly Brickley

“I think songs gave me a window into a magical life,” I said. “Something bigger, or whatever, waiting out there. And I felt like the only way to get there was through the songs. Like the songs, if I listened hard enough, would show me how to get it right.”

Have you ever met someone that got you completely, someone on the exact same wavelength as you? A person who shares your obsession about a particular subject, which you can discuss for hours?

When Percy meets Joe for the first time in the fall of 2000, they’re both students at Berkeley. Percy loves music—listening to it, not performing—and she is sitting in a bar, commenting about a song, when Joe overhears her. Percy has lots of opinions about music, and a lot of knowledge about musical minutiae, and she’s not shy about sharing them.

Unlike many people Percy has encountered, Joe is utterly fixated on her opinions, and counters with his own. This marks the beginning of a friendship, a collaboration, which will impact their lives tremendously.

Joe is a songwriter, and he asks Percy for her opinion on a song. She gives her thoughts—not always as diplomatically or constructively as she should—and Joe listens. The first song she helps him with becomes the jumping-off point for a relationship shaped by Joe’s need for feedback and Percy’s desire to give it. But does her unequivocal honesty harm their relationship? Does this collaboration put Percy at a disadvantage?

I am a huge fan of music, so much of the dialogue in this book resonated for me. At times, though, I felt like an outsider looking in, because I wasn’t familiar with the bands and/or songs Percy referred to. None of the characters are particularly sympathetic, but I found their relationship to be flawed and fascinating.

Book Review: "From Here to the Great Unknown" by Lisa Marie Presley and RIley Keough

I’ve been an Elvis fan for as long as I can remember. My parents used to play his music, I watched a lot of his movies while I was growing up, and I distinctly remember people being upset when he died. A few years after college, a friend and I even road-tripped down to Memphis and visited Graceland.

As an Elvis fan, Lisa Marie Presley also fascinated me. I enjoyed her music and was always fascinated by her life, and felt it was really tragic when she died. Needless to say, when I heard her memoir, which was finished by her daughter, was going to be published, I knew I needed to read it.

This book was an emotional one. Not only was it sad to read about how devastated she was to lose her father when she was 9, but she struggled her entire life with so many things. Addiction. Depression. Being such a subject of fascination for the public. Finding and keeping love. Grief.

While there wasn’t much in the book that necessarily surprised me (although I had forgotten she was briefly married to Nicolas Cage), it still was gripping to read her thoughts. The counterpoint and further details Riley Keough provided definitely deepened the story through her perspectives.

I often wonder if life in the public eye truly prevents a person from living a “normal” life and enjoying it. Certainly from this book you can see how Lisa Marie’s fierce parenting protected Riley from falling into many of the same traps that her mother did.

This was moving and powerful. I’m so glad Riley decided to ensure that her mother’s story didn’t remain untold after her death. And I feel grateful that the Presleys shared their talent with the world.

Book Review: "A Home for the Holidays" by Taylor Hahn

“I understood how life could be both beautiful and devastating at the same time. Maybe healing was just learning how to live with both.“

⁣ ⁣ Mel has always loved Christmas, ever since her free-spirited mother Connie used to create elaborate schemes to keep the holiday magic alive as long as possible. As an adult, her memories buoy her, especially when she remembers that her mother was, more often than not, an alcoholic mess otherwise.⁣

⁣ Two weeks before Christmas, she gets a phone call from the hospital telling her that her mother has died. While this news isn’t entirely surprising, Mel is full of sadness that Connie didn’t share her health problems, as well as grief that she didn’t pay closer attention.⁣

⁣ Shortly after Connie’s death, a woman shows up at Mel’s doorstep and introduces herself as Connie’s estranged best friend, Barbara. Of course, Mel has never heard of Barbara, but Barbara can explain why, with stories of Connie’s failed music career and their fight over a man, which ended their friendship.⁣

⁣ Through Barbara, Mel gets to see a side of her mother she didn’t know, which made her decline even sadder. But as Mel gets drawn into Barbara’s family, including her son Henry, a soon-to-be-divorced doctor, she realizes that she’s not quite getting the full story, and until she does, she won’t understand her mother or, by extension, herself.⁣

⁣ I definitely loved this book. It’s funny and emotional and hopeful and sad. And while “holidays” is in the title, this isn’t really a holiday book. It’s a beautiful exploration of grief, love, addiction, and understanding how to forgive both whom you lost as well as yourself.⁣

Book Review: "Once Upon a Boyband" by Jenny Proctor

“The only thing better than tall, dark, and handsome is tall, dark, and handsome…with puppies.” (I’d agree!)

Laney is a small-town vet working with her father. Her personal life is quite boring, but she does have a bit of a crush on one of her clients, Adam, who runs a dog rescue in town. (Luckily there are a lot of dogs that come in and out of the rescue, so he’s at the vet a lot.) He’s always been rather shy, but on one visit, they start talking and apart from their shared love of music, the chemistry between them is pretty intense.

Adam has been interested in Laney for some time, but he finally gets the courage to strike up a conversation. And then he discovers that her favorite band is Midnight Rush, a boy band that was huge about 8-10 years ago.

Adam knows Midnight Rush too—because he was a member. As Deke, he was a teenage heartthrob, but he walked away eight years ago and never made another appearance. Now bearded and muscly, no one knows his secret. But Janine was obsessed with the band—and still might be.

When the band’s old label wants to do a reunion concert, there’s nothing Adam wants to do less. But when he finds out they’ll be donating the proceeds to a charity he cares about, he capitulates. Of course, his secret won’t be secret anymore, and what would Laney think knowing that the guy she’s dating used to be her ultimate crush? (Spoiler: she cannot believe it. But it’s amazing!)

Yet the more Adam reunites with his old friends and bandmates, the more he remembers why he walked away. And as demands start to increase so does the pressure. Can he deal with his issues before he destroys his friends again, and can he avoid ruining any chance at a potential relationship with Laney?

This was so much fun, full of drama, humor, and romance. I wished Adam was more communicative and didn’t keep pushing everyone away, but I understood his issues. I really enjoyed this!!

Book Review: "Seven Summers" by Paige Toon

I’ve been trying to think how best to express the way this book made me feel, and then I saw this blurb from Carley Fortune: “This book wrecked me in the best possible way.” Same, Carley, same.

Liv and Finn knew each other in grade school until he moved away. But six summers ago, they meet again at the bar Liv is working at, because Finn is filling in as lead singer for the house band. Their flirtation lasts all summer, and just when they give into their feelings, tragedy strikes. Liv is utterly bereft and Finn is there for her, but ultimately, he has to go back to Los Angeles and his real band.

They love each other deeply, but neither can move to the other. Finn doesn't want to come back to Cornwall because there are too many bad memories (and his music career is taking off), and Liv can't leave her older brother, Michael. So they make each other a promise—Finn will come back to Cornwall every summer, and if both are single, they’ll be together until Finn leaves again. But each summer it gets harder and harder to say goodbye and wait until the next year.

This summer, Liv meets Tom, a brooding man who rents out her guest cottage. At first she thinks he is surly, but she realizes this handsome man has so many layers, and is just as attracted to her as she is to him. As they draw closer, Liv realizes she’s found the reason to move on to a love that will stay all year long. But is that enough to give up on Finn?

The book alternates between the present and each of the previous six summers. Essentially it’s Liv’s story, as you see everything that unfolds through her eyes. Once again, Paige Toon dazzles with her ability to make you smile through your tears and weather the ups and downs with these characters.

I absolutely loved this book and I’m such a huge fan of Toon’s writing. This was a beautiful, emotional story I couldn’t get enough of.

Book Review: "Lo Fi" by Liz Riggs

Alison left her home in Michigan to move to Nashville. She’s in love with the city and the opportunity to immerse herself in music, which she loves so much. She works at The Venue, a club where both aspiring artists and famous bands come to play.

“I just work the door. I stamp hands. I’m not even a critic or journalist, not a true insider. I’m not in a band. To even say I write songs wouldn’t be fair, not in a town full of songwriters. If I’m anything at all here, I’m just a fan.”

Al would love to become a musician, but after a disastrous performance at an open mic night (she refers to it as “the incident”), she has no desire to perform again, nor has she been able to find the inspiration to write more songs. So when she’s not working, she and her roommate go to clubs and hear bands, and even get to attend some exclusive parties.

When she is working, Al is also drinking a lot, sleeping with the bartender, talking about music, and flirting with Julien, her coworker. She’s also trying not to obsess over her ex, who is the lead singer of an up-and-coming band, or dwell on the disappearance of a famous singer.

Al has no idea what she really wants, or how to get what she thinks she wants. She knows she wants Julien but can’t seem to fully commit to that, and she wishes she could perform again, but she can’t get past her fear. It takes help from some unlikely sources to move forward.

It took a bit for the book to hit its stride, but then it really clicked for me. Liz Riggs uses a stream of consciousness style at times, but it really puts you in Al’s frame of mind. It reminded me of being in my 20s and going to concerts all the time, barely sleeping and living for music.

Book Review: "The History of Sound" by Ben Shattuck

When short stories are done well, they can have as much power as a full-length novel. And sometimes, they make you long for more time with their characters but don’t leave you hanging. The History of Sound hits both of those targets.

What’s unique about this collection, however, is that elements of one story appear in another, so they’re essentially paired. Sometimes the pairing is more obvious and other times it’s more subtle, but this technique gives you a different perspective from a different timeframe.

There are absolutely beautiful stories in this collection. My favorite is the title story, where a music student meets a man in a bar just as WWI is heating up. The two fall in love, and spend a summer walking through the woods of Maine, collecting folk songs from various people. Their relationship is brief but has an immense effect on the musician, even years later. (This is being made into a movie with Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor.)

Some other stories that I know will stick with me include: “The Auk,” which follows a man dealing with his wife’s dementia in a very unique way; “August in the Forest,” about relationships and secrets we keep from those we love; and “Edwin Chase of Nantucket,” in which a young man’s life in 1796 is upended when his mother’s old boyfriend arrives with his new wife.

All of the stories take place in New England, and are set anywhere from the 1700s to the present. Ben Shattuck is definitely an immense talent, one whose career I’ll eagerly be following.

Book Review: "Anyone's Ghost" by August Thompson

I really love coming-of-age novels, particularly when the main character is profoundly changed by someone or something. August Thompson’s debut novel is utterly fantastic—it’s thought-provoking, poignant, funny, and it felt so incredibly real.

Following Theron’s parents’ divorce, he lived with his mother in Los Angeles during the school year and with his father in New Hampshire during the summer. When he was almost 16, he planned to spend the summer watching TV and getting high, but his angry father had other ideas, and got Theron a job at a hardware store.

The only other employee in the store was Jake. Jake was 17, and everything that Theron was not—tall, confident, handsome, and he did what he wanted. The two quickly bonded over their shared love of music, jokes, and being critical of their parents, not to mention smoking pot and drinking.

They spend nearly every day at work, and usually hang out together at night. Their friendship is one where they can say anything to each other, express their true feelings or fears. Theron has never had a friend like Jake—he feels admiration, envy, even some infatuation for him.

“I wanted Jake as much as much as I wanted to be Jake as much as I wanted to be his friend as much as I wanted to be his brother.”

I was really moved by this story, which tells of Theron and Jake’s relationship that summer, the fits and starts through subsequent years, and moves to the present, where Theron is 30 and grieving. I can’t wait to see what Thompson does next!

Book Review: "A Storm of Infinite Beauty" by Julianne MacLean

Scarlett Fontaine was a Hollywood star. She won several Oscars—for acting and songwriting—and was known for her beauty and fashion sense. Amazingly, she died when she was only in her mid-30s, but her talent lives on.

Gwen is a distant cousin of Scarlett’s and is the curator of a museum in Nova Scotia (where Scarlett grew up) that is dedicated to Scarlett’s life. She’s also going to inherit Scarlett’s estate, as she’ll be the last living heir.

One day, Peter, a photojournalist, comes to the museum to discuss a biography he’s writing about Scarlett. He shares some things about Scarlett that Gwen had never heard before, a story about time in Alaska and a secret child. Gwen, who is tremendously protective of Scarlett’s legacy, is shocked by Peter’s claims at first, and wonders if he has fabricated a scandal to sell his book.

But the more facts Peter lays out, the more the pieces start falling in place for Gwen. She’s been dealing with the end of her marriage as well as feelings of grief and anger, so working with Peter to verify this information becomes a good distraction for her.

Peter and Gwen travel to Alaska to see what they can find, and at the same time discover more about themselves as well. The book shifts between the 1960s in Alaska and the present, as the events in Scarlett’s early life unfold.

I didn’t realize that the bulk of the story was going to be Scarlett’s time in Alaska. It really didn’t grab me at all, but this book is highly rated on Goodreads so I might have missed something.

Book Review: "We Love the Nightlife" by Rachel Koller Croft

If you grew up in the 1970s and/or are a fan of disco music, you might know what song has been running through my head since getting an ARC of this book!!

Nicola and Amber meet in a London dance club in 1979, the tail end of disco’s popularity. Amber, a vivacious young American married to a staid Englishman, longs for fun and attention, so she goes clubbing alone many nights. Both women see each other as kindred spirits, and their shared love of dancing cements their friendship.

But while they may share similar interests, they’re actually quite different. Nicola has actually been a vampire for nearly 200 years, and she thinks Amber might be the perfect companion to spend eternity with. Realizing Amber’s unhappiness, Nicola offers her the opportunity for immortality, where every night can be full of music, dancing, and glamour, without any of the trapping burdens of human life.

While becoming a vampire is exotic and exciting, Amber realizes that she still needs friends, and perhaps more. But Nicola is full of rules and wants to control Amber. And after nearly 50 years, Amber discovers just how far Nicola has gone to keep Amber right where she is, so Amber is ready to start a new life. The thing is, though, leaving Nicola may be the most dangerous thing she does—if she can even succeed.

The book is narrated by both Amber and Nicola, and shifts through time, from Nicola’s childhood in the 1800s to the present. It’s rare to find a story which has female vampires at its core, and these are really fascinating characters.

Rachel Koller Croft’s debut, Stone Cold Fox, was excellent, and this book, while very different, once again proves what a talent she is.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy. The book publishes 8/20.