Book Review: "Canine Custody" by Gary Goldstein

Have you ever wondered what a pet was thinking when you spoke to it, or what they thought when something in your life changed or shifted? Gary Goldstein’s new book explores that idea and it’s definitely heartwarming. Thanks so much to Gary for the complimentary copy!

Layla and Franklin have been married for a while when Layla unexpectedly brings home a dog. Franklin never considered himself a dog person; in fact, he had a run-in with a dog when he was young. Needless to say, he’s surprised and a bit angry to find that Layla adopted a dog without discussing it with him, no matter how adorable Betty, a springer spaniel, is.

But while it’s not long before Franklin has become completely enamored with Betty, his and Layla’s marriage is definitely on the rocks. And when an incident with Layla’s water bottle leads to a fender bender with Betty in the car, it prompts her to ask for a divorce.

Once they move toward divorce, their relationship completely deteriorates. And while they would really like to keep lawyers out of the mix and try to work with a mediator, the one sticking point is Betty. They both want full custody of the dog, and neither is willing to compromise.

The story is narrated by Franklin, Layla, and Betty, so you see the same events through each of their eyes. Of course, Betty is mostly confused about why her parents don’t live together anymore and why she can’t spend time with both of them. But you also see how the friction manifests itself for all of them.

This is a fun book, but it’s also a weighty one emotionally. I’ll admit that Franklin and Layla aren’t very likable at times (Layla in particular), but Betty more than makes up for it!!

Book Review: "My Dear You: Stories" by Rachel Khong

I was so excited to read Rachel Khong’s brand-new story collection. I really enjoyed her previous books, Goodbye, Vitamin and Real Americans, and couldn’t wait to see how her voice would work in a variety of stories.

This was a really intriguing collection. Many of the stories dealt with unique, almost futuristic topics, but also many dealt with relationships, love, marriage, dating, and family.

Of the 10 stories in the book, here are a few of my favorites. In the title story, a young woman dies on her honeymoon and goes to heaven, only to find her memories of her life start to disappear. “The Freshening” envisions a world where the U.S. government creates an injection which turns everyone a person sees into the same race, sex, and ethnicity.

“The Family O” is about a group of Asian women who have all dated the same man they met on a dating app, and he apparently fetishizes them. In “Tapetum Lucidum,” a woman and her husband adopt a cat who somehow conjures up the ghosts of their exes. And in “Serene,” a woman befriends a sex doll she hopes to sell in order to get breast implants.

Khong is such a talented writer. These stories evoked a range of emotions and were very thought-provoking. Some definitely packed a punch, and I’ll be thinking about them for a long while.

Book Review: "The Hitch" by Sara Levine

This was one of the wildest, most creative books I’ve read in some time. I'll never look at corgis the same way again!

Rose is an anti-racist, secular Jewish feminist eco-warrior, a believer in eating healthy foods, and the owner of an artisanal yogurt business. She’s unmarried and doesn’t have children of her own, but she dotes on her six-year-old nephew Nathan and her beloved Newfoundland, Walter.

Rose is one of those people who knows everything about everything. She has an article, a study, a program to back up all of her opinions. And one of her opinions is that she should get to spend more time with Nathan, but her brother and sister-in-law don’t necessarily think she’s the best influence on him.

However, when her brother and sister-in-law take a vacation to Mexico, they agree to leave Nathan in Rose’s care. Rose is so excited; she has her spare bedroom redone for him, and has outlined a vegan meal plan for the week. But only one day into her caregiving stint, disaster strikes. When Rose, Nathan, and Walter are in the park, Walter attacks and kills a corgi.

Walter has never acted aggressively before. And when Nathan starts acting strangely, Rose figures it’s his reaction to the incident. But then Nathan tells Rose that the corgi’s soul is living inside him. And this dog is a troublemaker. If Rose can’t fix this, she’ll never be trusted to care for Nathan again.

Although the concept of the book sounds silly, it’s actually quite moving and thought-provoking. Rose is not the most likable character but she does grow a bit by the end, and she really does love Nathan. I’ll be thinking about this for a long while!!

Book Review: "Pony Confidential" by Christina Lynch

I was curious about this book but when a friend said it was her favorite book she read last month, I had to give it a try. Wow. Just wow.

Pony remembers the best part of his life, when he was owned by a girl named Penny, who vowed they’d always be together. But one day he was given away without a word from Penny and he never saw her again. He has thought about her every day since, his sadness turned to anger and acting out as he is passed from owner to owner. He vows revenge.

Penny is a teacher, raising a teenage daughter and experiencing marital problems. Her everyday life is shattered when she’s arrested for a murder that happened when she was 12. She is extradited across the country, back to upstate New York. As she waits for her trial and for someone to find out the truth of what happened all those years ago, she thinks about a time in her life when she was truly happy, her time with Pony.

When Pony, with the help of other animal friends he encounters, realizes that his anger toward Penny has been misplaced, he’s determined to find her. He begins a journey to where he last saw her, and in the process makes some interesting discoveries.

“Empathy is painful and inconvenient, but it also can bring us a much deeper joy than material things, even carrots.”

This book was incredible. There’s humor, sadness, love, mystery, and self-discovery. It’s part Toy Story, part The Incredible Journey, and yet immensely unique. I’ll be thinking about this for a long time.

Book Review: "In the Weeds" by B.K. Borison

In the Weeds is a terrific, steamy, small-town romance with a fantastic supporting cast!

Lovelight Farms was an absolute joy of a find last year, and I’ve been meaning to get to this second book in the series for months! I was so excited to take a trip back to the small town of Inglewild.

Beckett can’t get Evie out of his mind. It was just a one-night stand (well, two nights), but there was something different about her and the way she made him feel. The last thing he expected, though, is for her to show up at Lovelight Farms.

He had no idea that Evie, from that bar in Maine, is actually Evelyn St. James, world-famous social media influencer. And she’s at the farm as part of a social media contest. But no sooner does she appear than she leaves again.

The thing is, while Evie appreciates the renown she has achieved, she seems to have lost her passion for her job, lost the happiness and her sense of purpose. To recapture it, she goes back to the last place she truly felt peace: Lovelight Farms. (Do you think that has anything to do with a sexy, brooding farmer?)

“It’s okay if it takes you some time to find it again. And it’s okay if you find it just to lose a bit of it here and there. That’s the beauty of it, yeah? It comes and goes. Not every day is a happy one and it shouldn’t be. It’s in the trying, I think.”

I loved this book so much. Beckett is definitely a new book boyfriend, but boy, do I love the people of Inglewild!!

Book Review: "The Beach Trap" by Ali Brady

Romance, family drama, house renovations, and a beautiful beach setting—could you ask for more? If this sounds up your alley, check out The Beach Trap.

Kat and Blake became inseparable best friends at camp the summer they were 12 years old. But as the summer ends they make a shocking discovery: they’re half-sisters, and Blake hasn’t seen their father in years. Devastated by this betrayal, Kat breaks off all contact with Blake.

Fifteen years later, their father dies and leaves both of them the family’s beach house in Destin, Florida. Blake wants to sell it as soon as possible because she needs the money to care for her grandfather, but Kat wants to hang onto the place that held so many memories for her.

The house is run down, so the sisters—in a rare moment of agreement—decide that they will renovate it and at the end of the summer, Kat will buy Blake out. But while Blake does most of the work, Kat, a popular social media influencer, wants complete creative control, which causes more friction between the former friends.

Meanwhile, both embark on summer romances, although Blake finds a man with family secrets of his own. Can the happiness they’ve found last more than the summer? Will the sisters be able to find their way through their past resentments and hurt in order to rebuild their relationship? And what will happen to the house?

This was such an enjoyable read. It had everything I love in a book—even an adorable dog—and I was immersed from start to finish. It’s definitely a bit steamy, but it’s also poignant, funny, and sweet.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the advance copy in exchange for an unbiased review!

Book Review: "The Arc" by Tory Henwood Hoen

Does the perfect soulmate exist for everyone? If so, can an algorithm find that person? That's the question at the center of The Arc, Tory Henwood Hoen's debut novel.

Ursula has had it with relationships. She's dated a variety of men, thought she found the right person, only to have the relationship end or end it herself. She's successful otherwise—she's the VP of Audacity at a NYC branding agency, she's smart, beautiful, and funny. And maybe a little weird?

"'The point is,' said Ursula, 'I'm not normal, and my weirdness has never properly aligned with someone else's weirdness, and I don't know if it ever will. I just can't imagine it. But I refuse to rein myself in anymore.'"

After an encounter with a mysterious woman in a steam room, she learns about The Arc. It's an exclusive, expensive service that promises to curate your soulmate for you, using a series of complicated psychological, emotional, and physical assessments. When a professional windfall helps her conquer the price point of the service, Ursula is matched with Rafael, a 42-year-old lawyer, and from the very moment they meet, they feel something special.

As they fall deeper in love with one another and begin thinking about the future, a bump in the road throws them off course. But aren't they supposed to be soulmates? Shouldn't they be able to weather any storm?

This was an interesting book which had its moments, but I think it tried too hard to be a satirical commentary on modern society. There are so many over-the-top things in the book, like when Ursula goes to lunch with a millionaire and the narration goes into an at-length description of the foams, purées, reductions, shadows, breaths, etc., they're served, or when the book mocks a client meeting Ursula attends in which the name of a toilet-paper-on-demand company is debated. So often I just rolled my eyes at these things, but they completely distracted me from the story.

Those of you who follow my reviews know I love a good romance, so I wish The Arc had stuck more to that storyline than all of the other extraneous stuff. But others have enjoyed this, so maybe I'm not the satirical type?

NetGalley and St. Martin's Press provided a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

The Arc publishes 2/8/22.

Book Review: "I Hate You More" by Lucy Gilmore

I Hate You More is a cute, funny rom-com with an unforgettable golden retriever at the center.

Ruby is no stranger to competition. She was a pageant girl, trained and pushed by her mother, who served as her coach. But she couldn’t get out of that world fast enough, and when she turned 18, she was done.

When a friend asks Ruby to show her beloved golden retriever at the West Coast Canine Classic, she agrees to get back into the competitive spirit. But she didn’t realize Wheezy isn’t quite competition-ready: he’s lazy and not too interested in following commands.

And if that’s not enough, she faces another obstacle in Spencer, the handsome veterinarian and dog show judge. He is determined to keep Ruby—and Wheezy—out of the show. But even though Ruby has felt adrift since quitting pageants, she’s still a force to be reckoned with when she sets her mind to it. And she’s determined that Spencer will eat crow when Wheezy wins.

I thought I Hate You More was a cute story and Wheezy is one of my favorite dog characters!! I can always go for an enemies-to-lovers rom-com, and this has some added emotional weight, as well as identical twins.

Book Review: "Good in Bed" by Jennifer Weiner

Sorry if this makes you feel old, but Good in Bed, Jennifer Weiner’s debut novel, is celebrating its 20th anniversary!

Cannie feels like she’s in a good place. She has a job she loves as a pop culture reporter, good friends, a dog, and she’s even feeling reasonably okay about her body, which is no easy thing for her. And then her happy place gets blown to smithereens when she learns that Bruce, her ex-boyfriend, has penned an article for a popular magazine called, “Loving a Larger Woman.”

At first she is devastated. How can someone she thought loved her do this to her? She wants to get even. She wonders if she’ll ever find anyone to love her when she’s not your “typical” woman (read: model-thin).

What ensues is a funny, heartwarming, thought-provoking journey of self-discovery. Cannie is a tremendously real character and many of the things that she feels and does (although not all) are very genuine. As someone who has struggled with my weight my whole life, I totally felt the range of emotions she went through, and I totally loved that everything wasn't solved with her suddenly becoming thin and beautiful!

Amazingly, although Weiner has been writing books for 20 years, I only have read her last few books, so I have her whole backlist to explore. And if there are more books like this, I’ll happily dive in!

Thanks to Atria Books for the complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Book Review: "The Last House on Needless Street" by Catriona Ward

The Last House on Needless Street is, quite simply, one of the wildest and most unique books I’ve ever read. (What would I expect from a book with a blurb from Sarah Pinborough, of the WTF-was-that-ending Behind Her Eyes?)

There’s a boarded-up house at the end of Needless Street. In that house lives a troubled man who doesn't always have a hold on his memory. His teenage daughter lives there too, and he demands that she stay inside the house. Then, of course, there's the cat, Olivia. Olivia isn’t your ordinary cat.

You need to know nothing more in order for this book to truly work.

This seems like a fairly simple story, but it’s anything but that. It’s creepy, disturbing, sad, thought-provoking, disorienting at times, and honestly, just so unique. It may trigger some (I don’t want to spoil anything by listing triggers so DM me if you’re concerned) but reading Catriona Ward’s afterword definitely makes everything make more sense.

I can't honestly say if I liked The Last House on Needless Street, but I admire the way it all worked together. And if you're a fan of audiobooks, apparently this is one you should listen to.

Thanks to Storygram Tours and Tor Nightfire for inviting me on the tour and providing me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. This is a perfect book for spooky season!

Book Review: "Rock Paper Scissors" by Alice Feeney

Rock Paper Scissors, the new thriller from Alice Feeney is worth every bit of the hype it’s getting—and more!

“I love my wife. I just don’t think we like each other as much as we used to.”

Adam and Amelia’s marriage is in trouble. Adam is tired of her nagging him about working too much. She’s tired of his singular focus on work, plus the fact that he suffers from prosopagnosia, or face blindness, means he doesn’t even recognize her in a crowd or even a room. She’s tired of not being seen.

The couple wins a weekend getaway in Scotland. Both know it’s their last chance to save their marriage. Neither is sure they want to. But the getaway doesn’t quite seem as appealing as they thought it might be. Does someone else not want their marriage—or perhaps them—to survive?

I’ll leave it at that since it’s best to let the plot unfold. The story is interspersed with letters written to Adam for every year of their marriage, letters that up to this point he hasn’t seen.

I thought Rock Paper Scissors was absolutely great. I had my suspicions but most of them were wrong, and I just couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I always love when a thriller makes me say, “Wait, what?”

Given the hype and my uneasy relationship with thrillers I was nervous about this book but it definitely delivered. I’ll definitely go back and read some of Feeney’s earlier stuff!!

Book Review: "Take Me Home Tonight" by Morgan Matson

In Take Me Home Tonight, Morgan Matson's new YA novel, when two best friends sneak out for a night in NYC, they get an evening they never imagined.

Kat and Stevie are best friends. They couldn’t be more different from each other in many ways, but they’re both theater kids, and their lives often revolve around the fall play and the spring musical. And they mostly tell each other everything. Right?

When Stevie’s plans to celebrate her 18th birthday in NYC fall apart, Kat decides that they should go into the city anyway. They’ll go see a play, go to the restaurant Stevie was supposed to, and have an incredible time. (Of course, Kat has an ulterior motive beyond doing something nice for her friend, but whatevs.)

So they sneak into NYC (their parents would never let them go to the city alone on a Friday night) and get ready for a memorable night. And that’s what they get, complete with family drama, a dog that likes to wander, broken phones, and even the possibility of romance. At the same time, they’ll have to confront their fears about the future and explore the rough spots in their friendship.

I grew up about an hour outside of NYC so I love stories that take place there, and as a theater kid, I stan books about them. This was a cute story, balancing serious and silly (there’s an awesome joke about Paul Rudd, whom I’m obsessed with). The characters aren’t perfect—Kat, in particular, is fairly ridiculous—but there is growth in their arcs.

While there definitely were some coincidences and situations that made me say “Really?”, the one thing that didn’t work for me in Take Me Home Tonight was a secondary plot line involving the girls’ other best friend, Teri. If it had been removed, I don’t the book would have missed it.

Having been a YA fan for so long I can’t believe this is my first Morgan Matson book, but I’ll definitely remedy that!!

Book Review: "At the Edge of the Haight" by Katherine Seligman

Katherine Seligman's At the Edge of the Haight is a well-written, sometimes emotional look at homeless young people and the challenges they face.

Maddy has been living on the streets in San Francisco for a while now, generally living around Golden Gate Park. She and her friends have their routines—they know when to wake up so they don’t get rousted by the cops, they know where to find food, where they can go for shelter or peace and quiet, and they know whom to avoid. Her closest companion is her dog, Root, who protects her.

One morning when trying to pull Root out of some bushes she finds a homeless boy who has been stabbed to death. The perpetrator sees her and threatens her, and it sends Maddy into a whirlwind of fear. Does she tell the police what she saw and invite scrutiny and danger into her life and the lives of her friends, or can she go along pretending nothing happened?

But gossip travels, even on the streets, and it’s not long before the boy’s parents want to talk to her to understand their son, and the police want her help in catching the murderer. What does Maddy want? Does she want someone to save her, like the boy’s parents would like to do, or does she want to continue the life she’s living? Is there middle ground?

I found this book to be very compelling, and what I enjoyed most is it didn’t seem to fall into so many of the clichés about homelessness that I expected. Maddy is complex and flawed, but not yet cynical, and her story is very compelling. You can understand her indecisiveness given what she’s been through. Not all of the characters are as appealing, but the story hooked me.

This was a thought-provoking read given the number of homeless you see all over—particularly in the San Francisco area. Seligman really did a great job making me feel and making me think.

I was fortunate to be part of the blog tour for At the Edge of the Haight. Algonquin Books provided me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Book Review: "The Tourist Attraction" by Sarah Morgenthaler

You can’t trust tourists not to do anything...like make you fall in love with them.⁣ This is the moral of sorts in The Tourist Attraction, Sarah Morgenthaler's new rom-com.

⁣ FYI: I’m a sucker for sappy rom-coms, books set in Alaska, and dogs wearing outfits, so I was a goner here. There's also a moose in love with the smell of freshly baked bread. I mean, I was SUNK with this book before I started.

⁣ ⁣ Graham runs the Tourist Trap, a small diner in Moose Springs, Alaska that has become a huge tourist stop despite its limited menu and his less-than-stellar customer service. He’s one of many in his town who makes money off the tourists but doesn’t like the chaos and demands they bring.⁣

⁣ When he first meets Zoey, she’s nearly passed-out drunk in the diner and suffering from jet lag since she just arrived in Alaska. Since her friend abandoned her at the diner, Graham drives her back to the ultra-fancy resort where she’s staying, and it’s not long before he can’t get her out of his mind—despite the fact she’s a tourist.⁣

⁣ For Zoey, the trip to Alaska has been the dream of a lifetime. She’s spent all of her savings and planned everything down to the last detail—but she didn’t count on the sexy but grumpy local to get under her skin.⁣ Is she crazy to let him get to her? Should they start something that is sure to end when she leaves Alaska, if not before?

⁣ The Tourist Attraction was such a sweet, fun, sappy, slightly melodramatic book that I devoured. I loved the quirky and memorable cast of characters that Morgenthaler created (both human and animal) and hope to see them again in her next book, Mistletoe and Mr. Right, scheduled for release in October. (There's even a third book planned for January 2021!)⁣

Book Review: "The Liar and Other Stories" by Alison Ragsdale

Alison Ragsdale's new short story collection, The Liar and Other Stories, is full of emotion-tinged short stories with notes of hope.

A grieving woman whose day is waylaid by a bridal veil flying out of someone’s car. A former flight attendant flying to her 30-year high school reunion. A once-wealthy man who is now homeless. A man who is on the trip of a lifetime with his wife, but he has a secret. A woman who makes an impulsive purchase on the way to the reading of her father's will. A compulsive liar trying to determine if she can stop.

These are just some of the characters in the stories in Ragsdale's new collection. Each of these stories is very short—some a little more than a page or two—but they’re tremendously fulfilling and, in many cases, emotionally rich. The characters are often at a crossroads of some sort or in the midst of a crisis, and Ragsdale leaves you with a glimmer of hope for them.

I’m a huge fan of short stories. For me, the measure of a great story is the question of whether I’d want to read more about the characters. In almost every case, I would love to see these stories expanded because I’d be fascinated to know more about the characters and their lives, as well as what happened to them when the story ended.

I know not everyone loves short stories, but if you do, or have been thinking you need to give them a whirl, here’s a good collection for you!!

I’m so lucky to be part of the blog tour for this book. Kate Rock Book Tours and Alison Ragsdale provided me with a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "We Love Anderson Cooper: Short Stories" by R.L. Maizes

I'm a big fan of short stories, but it doesn't seem like there have been many collections this year that have caught my eye. I'll need to remedy that, because every time I read a collection of stories I'm reminded of how much I like this format, and how incredibly writers can create compelling scenarios in just a small number of pages.

I was drawn to R.L. Maizes' debut collection, We Love Anderson Cooper, because of the title, first and foremost. (I do love him, honestly.) But I stayed for the stories. While not all of the 11 stories clicked for me—and one was so short that it seemed like I was missing something—I was so impressed by Maizes' writing, her imagery, and her creativity.

My favorites in the collection included: "Tattoo," about a talented yet struggling artist who turns to tattooing and begins to create designs which become reality; "Couch," which tells of a therapist whose practice—and life—are upended by the purchase of a new couch for her office; "The Infidelity of Judah Macabee," where a man feels betrayed by his cat; "Collections," about an older woman left behind when her companion, whom she cared for, left her with nothing even though she thought of him as her husband; and the title story, which tells of a young man planning to out himself at his bar mitzvah, but isn't sure of the consequences.

Some of the characters in these stories are memorable, some of them are very twisted and even cruel. There are a few stories which might trigger those uncomfortable with animal cruelty, descriptions of animals dying (accidentally and on purpose), murder, and blood. (It's funny, I didn't realize how crazy some of the stories were until I started writing this list!)

The stories I loved in this collection will definitely linger on in my mind. There's no doubt that Maizes is a talented writer with a very bright future, and I look forward to seeing what comes next for her. For those of you who enjoy short stories, you might want to check this collection out!

Book Review: "You've Been So Lucky Already: A Memoir" by Alethea Black

One of my favorite quotes is, "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind." It's certainly a good philosophy to have in life, but I've also begun applying it when I read memoirs.

I don't read a lot of nonfiction, although I've definitely read more of it over the last few years, mainly memoirs of one sort or another. At times I am utterly amazed at what the individuals recounting their lives have gone through, and overwhelmed not only at their ability to face their challenges, but their generosity in sharing those struggles with the world. Some memoirs are more harrowing than others, but that doesn't mean that every person hasn't had to pull themselves up from their rock bottom.

In her new memoir, You've Been So Lucky Already, Alethea Black recounts not only the unknown-to-her reserves of strength she needed to tap into when dealing with a long struggle with a mysterious illness, but she also touches on her life leading up to that struggle, from her relationship with her father when she was younger to feeling unmoored, unmotivated, and unsure of what path her life should take following his death.

"In some ways it's a comforting thought. All your frustrations, all your joys, all the moments when everything went wrong, when it was hard to believe anything would ever feel normal again, when you actually split off from yourself and observed from a slight distance, which seemed safer, especially when your life exploded right at its midpoint, affording you a crystal-clear view of the heartbreak you caused, the love you absorbed, the deaths that unmoored you, the illness that razed your existence to a pile of terrifyingly beautiful rubble—it's comforting to feel that, somehow, you've borne them all before. And you have this shadowy memory that it was worth it, so you'll do it again. You'll do it all again and again."

This is an emotional read, but it is gorgeously written. Even when Black recounts her lowest moments, visiting specialist after specialist who cannot find anything wrong with her and do not heed her requests to be tested for parasites, experiencing unbelievable pain, fatigue, memory loss, and crushing despair, she uses words so vivid you can almost feel twinges of what she did. There is such a "you are there" feel to this memoir, which leads you to wonder how you would react if you were a friend or family member trying to help her during this period of time.

I read Black's debut story collection, I Knew You'd Be Lovely (see my review) several years ago, and it was one of the best books I read that year. Her storytelling ability, even if it is her own story, has only gotten stronger since then. This was difficult to read at times, but I kept marveling at her generosity in sharing so much of her vulnerability with us.

This is a book about the strength, humor, and intelligence it takes not only to survive one of the most physically debilitating times of your life, but the wisdom of simply surviving and thriving every day. I read this as part of Amazon's First Reads program, and the editor who selected this book said, "This is essential reading for anyone who has struggled in life, who has been ill, who has been labeled a hysteric, or who has loved someone who has sought, fruitlessly, for relief from their pain." Doesn't that apply to almost everyone in some way or another?

Amazon First Reads and Little A provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Faithful" by Alice Hoffman

"Shelby knows what's wrong with her. She is paying her penance. She is stopping her life, matching her breathing so that it has become a counterpart of the slow intake of air of a girl in a coma."

Shelby and Helene were inseparable best friends from the moment they met in childhood. Helene was always known to be the prettier one, and Shelby was fine with that—she was just happy to be part of Helene's orbit. But as often happens with childhood friendships, as high school drew to a close, Shelby became more and more frustrated with Helene's superior attitude, her habit of treating people (including Shelby) with disdain, simply telling them what they want to hear in order to get what she wants.

One night, while driving to a party Shelby doesn't want to go to, but afraid to lose Helene's friendship, there is an accident. Shelby is able to essentially walk away from the accident mostly unharmed (at least physically); Helene is left in an irreversible coma. From that moment on, Shelby knows her life is destined to go nowhere—she must pay the price for destroying her best friend's life. She lives in the basement of her parents' suburban Long Island home, college, and life, for that matter are no longer an option. She burns with anger and guilt, not allowing anyone to get close to her, except the former high school classmate who sells her drugs to numb her pain.

But as Shelby lives every day as if it is her punishment, she has occasional glimmers of hope. She receives anonymous postcards from a shadowy man who she thinks of as her guardian angel, a man who has been watching over her since the night of the accident. But she doesn't know whether this person is real or if someone is playing a joke on her, hoping she'll let her guard down enough to wound her. She moves to New York City and slowly, unexpectedly, starts to eke out traces of a life for herself, although she never allows herself to feel truly happy with anyone or comfortable anywhere, because how would that be fair?

Faithful is an exquisitely beautiful book about feeling unworthy of happiness or success because you believe you must pay the price for a costly misstep. It's a book about being surprised when the people who matter don't walk away no matter how hard you push them to, and realizing that one accident doesn't mean you are damaged goods forever. But more than that it's a book about learning to give yourself to other people again, learning to let yourself experience the joys of friendship, love, and having people depend on you—and realize that you can't punish yourself forever.

This book started off a little slow, and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it, because at the beginning, Shelby is a miserable character. (Rightfully so, but still...) The tone and the subject matter reminded me a little bit of Susan Perabo's The Fall of Lisa Bellow (which I just read), in that one girl wonders why she was able to evade the disaster which befell another. But little by little, as Shelby's tough, angry, hurting exterior started to give way, I fell in love with this incredible story and these characters.

Not everything in this book works perfectly, but the emotion and the heart of the plot are just amazing. There were times I worried that Alice Hoffman was going to veer the plot into truly bleak territory and I think I might have given up on the book if she did, but she just kept letting the reader discover the kind of person Shelby was, at just about the same time Shelby was rediscovering that. Shelby is a fascinating, well-drawn character I just loved reading about.

I've read so many of Hoffman's books over the years, and I've always been a huge fan. (Here on Earth, while perhaps a little melodramatic, is one of my all-time favorites.) But because the subjects of her last few books didn't appeal to me, I had nearly forgotten how much I love the way she writes. I'm so happy to have "found" her again, because despite its faults, I really loved Faithful. I just don't think you can go wrong with a book that gives you a little bit of hope, you know?

NetGalley and Simon & Schuster provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "You Should Pity Us Instead" by Amy Gustine

The characters in You Should Pity Us Instead, Amy Gustine's powerfully moving story collection find themselves in the midst of all kinds of challenges or emotional crises. But while reading 11 stories about people at emotional crossroads may sound harrowing, many of these stories also have a little bit of suspense, some have traces of sly humor, and all are tremendously compelling.

I had never heard of Amy Gustine before finding a mention of this collection in one of Book Riot's weekly emails highlighting new releases. I love finding story collections by new authors, and find that some of the best writers out there are generating such power and emotion within the confines of short stories. Gustine now has a fan in me, that's for sure.

The characters in these stories deal with both everyday and unusual problems. I honestly liked every story in the collection, but my favorites included:

• "Prisoners Do," in which a radiologist is torn between his loyalty to his wife, who lives with the aftereffects of a stroke, and his lover, who is also a doctor;
• "AKA Juan," which follows a young man whose adoptive siblings want him to be their ailing mother's caregiver, but he wants to live his own life;
• "When We're Innocent," in which a man travels to pack up his daughter's apartment after her death, and meets one of her neighbors, who is dealing with his own crisis;
• "All the Sons of Cain," the story of the mother of a kidnapped Jewish soldier who travels to Gaza to try and find her son;
• "Half-Life," which follows a young nanny as she cares for a couple's children and navigates the memories of her own troubled childhood; and
• the title story, about a woman whose life is affected by her husband's book about the hypocrisies of religion and her children's desire to understand what religion is.

Gustine's ear for dialogue, characterization, and language really shows through in these stories. Not all of the stories are perfect, but they do pack a punch, and leave you thinking about them long after you're finished. Not everyone is a fan of short stories, I know, but this is a collection worth reading and savoring.

Book Review: "Why They Run the Way They Do" by Susan Perabo

Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for making it available!

I choose to read a book for many different reasons—it's written by an author whose I work I enjoy, it was recommended by a friend or critic, it's one of the "buzzier" books out there at a current time, or it was recently adapted into a movie I missed. But other times my decision to read a book is purely a visual one—first I get intrigued by the cover design, then I pick it up (or look it up online) and see if the plot description draws me in. So while you can't judge a book by its cover, I do often select a book because of it.

All that babble to explain that it was the cover of Susan Perabo's soon-to-be-released story collection, Why They Run the Way They Do, that piqued my interest first. However, after devouring all 12 stories fairly quickly, I'm so thankful the cover design was so intriguing, because otherwise I might have missed an affecting, well-written, memorable collection by an author whose work I'm going to need to keep reading.

The characters in these stories face emotional crossroads of all kinds—spending time with their terminally ill mother, dealing with a serious infatuation with a childhood best friend, being confronted with evidence of an extramarital affair in an unusual way, or trying to help a friend escape a mental hospital so she can commit suicide, for starters. But so many of these stories are more complex than that, even surprising at times. (There's even one story called, of all things, "This is Not That Story," which opens up a number of intriguing plot twists but then cuts them off by saying, "But that is not this story.")

Perabo's voice is so deft; while the majority of her main characters are female, she is equally talented with male protagonists as well. She packs a tremendous amount of heart, character development, and plot into fairly short stories, but they don't ever feel confusing or unfinished. I've always said that for me, the sign of a great story collection is if I am interested and invested enough in the characters to wish that they were part of a full-length novel; I could see that with many of these.

Among my favorites in this collection (and it was hard to narrow it down to just a few to mention in this review) were: "Story Goes," which follows two young female residents of a mental hospital, when one asks the other to help her escape so she can commit suicide; the title story, in which a receptionist must deal with the affair she is having as well as the imminent departure of her best friend and companion; "The Payoff," about two eight graders who witness two teachers in a sexual act—and they make an interesting decision about how to handle it; "Michael the Armadillo," in which a couple must deal with an unusual reminder of one's infidelity; and "A Proper Burial," when a woman spends a weekend with her terminally ill mother before her condition starts to decline.

I've been so blown away by the quality of the short story collections I've read this year, and Why They Run the Way They Do is an excellent addition to that continuously growing list. Fans of short stories: here's another one for you to hopefully enjoy as much as I did!