Book Review: "If You Love It, Let It Kill You" by Hannah Pittard

I really had high hopes for this one, but what can you do?

A novelist and writing professor has her life turned a bit topsy-turvy when she learns that her ex-husband has created an unflattering version of her in his upcoming book. Although not many people will know it’s her—and he’s the one who ruined their marriage in the first place—she has trouble focusing.

Currently living in Kentucky with her boyfriend (and occasionally his stepdaughter), the news about her ex throws her into an emotional tailspin. Should she tell her boyfriend, knowing he might get angry with her ex? And worse, what if he doesn’t?

Meanwhile, she’s trying to deal with the foibles of her aging parents—her mother who wants to date again and her father who very well might be losing his mind. Can she just run away?

I’ve been a fan of some of Hannah Pittard’s books but this one never quite drew me into the story. It felt like there were lots of separate elements of the story that never quite came together, and the story moved very slowly.

Book Review: "Battle of the Bookstores" by Ali Brady

“For better or worse, my library has always grown faster than my social circle.” (Do you not feel that quote in your soul?)

Josie is the manager of a Boston bookstore that specializes in “serious” literature. She loves a good chunky book and loves recommending books to her customers.

Ryan manages a romance bookstore just down the street from Josie. He hates it when people denigrate romance as a genre or dismiss the books as frivolous.

Both bookstores are owned by the same person. Josie and Ryan are thrown when their boss tells them he wants to combine both of their stores into one—and only one of them will run the new store. He’ll decide after a three-month period in which the two stores will compete against each other for the highest sales.

The idea of competing with one another turns Ryan and Josie into enemies, and it seems as if neither can say anything to the other without sparking animosity. Of course, the chemistry between the two is so intense—but they’re too busy fighting one another to notice.

The more they get to know each other, they realize how good they are at running their stores and each has secret wounds they’re keeping from one another. Who will win the competition? Will enemies turn to lovers? Ali Brady knows how to weave a story with romance, steam, emotion, and humor. I absolutely loved this!!

Book Review: "Moody's Grumpy Holiday" by Lane Hayes

Yes, I know that the holidays are over. That doesn’t mean I’m done with my holiday reads! There’s still snow on the ground here, so I’m good.

Hudson’s engagement ended and he’s honestly not that heartbroken. After spending some time at the fancy California beach resort where his honeymoon was supposed to be, he’s ready for a fresh start. And investing in the Oak Ridge Ranch seems to be the solution.

On the way to the ranch, Hudson decides to do a little sightseeing in nearby Christmas Town, known for their year-round tree and apparently some of the best chicken noodle soup you’ve ever tasted.

While waiting for some soup, Hudson visits Moody’s Marvelous Bah Humbug Bookshop and is immediately intrigued by Moody, the store’s adorable, nerdy owner. Moody is no dummy; he can’t take his eyes off the handsome cowboy that walked into his store. But there’s no way he could be interested in someone like him, right?

Not only is Hudson attracted to Moody, who uses phrases like “two shakes of a lamb’s tale,” but the more he gets to know him, the more he realizes what his heart has been missing. But strangely enough, even though Moody lives and works in Christmas Town, the month of December is his least favorite. He truly embodies the “bah humbug” in his store’s name. Can Hudson help change that?

This was sweet, funny, and romantic, and boy howdy, it was super HOT!! I love how both characters grew through the book and the way they interacted with the supporting characters. All in all, quite a festive story!

The Best Books I Read in 2024...

Happy first day of 2025! Can't believe we're at the start of another year. I'm excited about what the next year will hold, and truthfully, I'm not sad that 2024 is gone. It was an up and down year for me—I had some health issues early on, plus I got laid off from my job and was out of work for a few months, and because of that I struggled with my depression. But through that difficult time, I kept reading.

Despite not having any real goal for reading in 2024, I wound up surpassing my highest number of books read. In 2024, I read 375 books (three more than I've ever read since I've been tracking this), so needless to say, whittling that list down was tremendously difficult. At first pass, I identified 68 books I really loved, but I knew that wouldn't fly. So I narrowed it to a top 25 and then 15 more that were still too good to leave out.

As always, I'd love to know your thoughts on this list as well as your favorite reads of 2024!

The Top 25

1. Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune: As difficult as narrowing my list down, there was no contest for my favorite book of the year. I never thought Klune would write a sequel to one of my most favorite books, The House in the Cerulean Sea, but it was an absolute home run. It’s a book about love, courage, overcoming trauma, the power of family and friends, and it is populated with some of the most incredible characters.

2. Funny Story by Emily Henry: Emily Henry is an absolute auto-buy author for me. Her books have an incredible way of making me feel multiple emotions simultaneously. They fill my heart (and often fill my eyes with tears) and they definitely make me smile, if not all out laugh. Her most recent book is no exception.

3. The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison: I tend to love Sliding Doors-type books, and this one really wowed me. It's a book about friendship, love, found family, loss, guilt, and second chances, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I read it. To be released 6/3/2025.

4. The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean: Tension-filled and twisty, this is fantastic. The characters were really complex and will stick in my head. It’s quite dark, and it may be triggering for some, but Emiko Jean has written a thriller with a heart, a book which makes you think.

5. Four Squares by Bobby Finger: What an absolutely fantastic, moving, hopeful book this was. It’s the story of friendship, love, loss, chosen family, fear, and hope, as well as the power of connection. The book shifts back and forth between the 1990s and 2022-23. It’s sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and just absolutely beautiful.

6. What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan: This was one of my most anticipated books in the first quarter of 2024, and it blew my expectations out of the water. McTiernan ratchets up the suspense and tension little by little until you need to race through the book to see how everything gets resolved. It’ll make you sad and angry, and keep you on edge.

7. Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker: Clove (which may or may not be her real name) has some secrets about her life that she has kept hidden from nearly everyone. But when she receives a letter from a woman’s prison in California, her carefully built façade starts to crack. What will she do if her secrets are revealed?

8. Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa: As many of you know, I love a good retelling, and boy, did I absolutely love this one! Elizabeth Bennet chafes under the expectations of society and her mother, who want her to choose a suitable man to marry. But Elizabeth would rather live her life as Oliver, and cannot imagine life married to someone who wants to suppress his true identity and his spirit. This "remix" hit all the right notes!

9. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer: This had everything I love in a rom-com: emotional depth, banter, terrific supporting characters, even a little steam. It had me laughing at times and crying at others, and having lost one of my best friends nearly 3 years ago, it hit close to home in parts. What a fantastic book.

10. You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian: Much like her last book We Could Be So Good, I love how Cat Sebastian built a slow-burn romance between two men despite the fears and possible repercussions of the 1960s. This was such a fantastically moving story, full of emotion, hope, fear, and far more acceptance than I would’ve imagined.

Book Review: "Rough Pages" by Lev AC Rosen

This series, which began with Lavender House, is so excellent. The three books in the series are historical crime novels and mysteries, but they go so much deeper than that.⁣

⁣ In 1950s San Francisco, Andy is a gay former policeman who works as a PI ever since the discovery of his sexuality led to his being fired. Andy works out of and lives at The Ruby, a queer nightclub. Given that office location, most of his cases involve a queer person who has been wronged in some way.⁣

⁣ He is asked to look into the disappearance of Howard, the co-owner of a bookstore. The store has a secret book service that publishes and mails queer books to its customers, even though mailing them is illegal and dangerous. Howard said he was just about to publish a big bestseller, but then he disappeared, and so did the books.⁣

⁣ While Andy is concerned about the books and Howard being missing, he’s gravely concerned that the list of customers could have fallen into the wrong hands. That could mean blackmail, or worse, with his closest friends (including Elsie, his boss) being at risk.⁣

⁣ As Andy investigates, he crosses paths with his ex-boss, a determined reporter, even the Mob. Can he solve all of the mysteries before harm comes to him or those he cares about?⁣

⁣ This is such a great book, and although you should read the whole series from the beginning, you could read this one first. It’s amazingly ironic to be reading a book about the government’s desire to control what people read and publish on the eve of an election that could determine whether that control could exist again. I hope Rosen will continue this series, because I can’t get enough!⁣

Book Review: "How to Read a Book" by Monica Wood

I’ll admit this book was a bit different than I was expecting given the title but it was very special all the same.

“We are a continuum of human experience, neither the worst nor the best thing we have ever done. Or, more exactly, we are both the best thing and the worst thing we’ve ever done. We are all of it, all at once, all the time.”

Harriet is a retired teacher who volunteers to lead a book club for female inmates. It is there she meets Violet, a 22-year-old woman serving a nearly two-year term for killing a woman while driving drunk. The inmates all love Harriet (whom they call “Bookie”) and love the books she has them read, as well as the discussion that follows.

After Violet’s early release, she finds herself living in Portland, Maine. One day she goes to a bookstore to buy the book they were reading when she was released, and she not only encounters Harriet, but also Frank, the widower of the woman Violet killed. The encounter shakes all three of them in different ways.

This is a story about second chances. It’s about taking the next step in your life, whether it’s being released from prison, dealing with an empty nest, recovering from grief, even finding love. And of course, this is a story about how books affect us and change us, and help us find our own words.

I thought this was beautifully written and moving. There were a lot of moving parts, and some threads were introduced and never fully explored, but I really enjoyed the relationships at the book’s core. I’ve read one of Monica Wood’s previous books and loved it, so she’s definitely a storyteller I admire.

Book Review: "Book of the Month" by Jennifer Probst

This was a fun summer read as the season ends, meteorologically, at least. My thanks to Jennifer Probst, Get Red PR Books, and Blue Box Press for the complimentary advance copy.

Aspen’s first novel was an overnight success. But after writing two more books, all readers can still talk about is her first. Is she washed up already? Destined to be a one-book wonder?

What made her first book so good and so meaningful was that it was based on her own heartbreak and anguish and rage. But since she has barely dated since the breakup that inspired her to write, her subsequent books haven’t connected emotionally with her readers. She needs to write another hit. Fast.

Hoping a change of scenery will help, she travels to the Outer Banks to stay with her sister for the summer. Aspen believes that if she can find a man to romance her and then break her heart, she’ll tap into her literary mojo once again. And she finds the perfect man: Brick Babel, a handsome local with a reputation for hot sex and then emotional destruction. (There’s even a support group for women dealing with the aftereffects of dating him.)

Despite the fact that everyone—including her sister—warns her about Brick, she’s determined. It doesn’t help that he rejects her every advance. But when she offers him money to save the tour business he inherited, in exchange for some love and heartbreak, he reluctantly agrees. Yet when the sparks start flying for real, it becomes more difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

I love fake dating romances, so this hit the spot. I didn’t always love Aspen’s character, but Brick and the supporting characters were so good, even Dug the dog. Crazily enough, I’ve yet to read any other of Jennifer Probst’s books, so I’m ready for more.

The book publishes 10/22.

Book Review: "A Novel Summer" by Jamie Brenner

I have a number of authors I can count on to deliver feel-good books. Jamie Brenner is definitely one of those; her books are always full of smiles and tears, romance and fun. And her newest book is no exception.

Shelby, Hunter, and Colleen became best friends one summer, and during college, Shelby spent every summer with them in Provincetown, working at Colleen’s family’s bookstore. When they graduated, they went their separate ways. Shelby went to New York to become a writer, Hunter to Boston to work for a publisher, and Colleen stayed put to manage the bookstore.

Three years later, Shelby’s first novel, celebrating her love of Provincetown, is released and quickly becomes a bestseller. But when she returns to the island to celebrate, there are some people, including Hunter, who feel like Shelby used their lives and secrets to sell a book. Shelby can’t escape quickly enough.

But a few months later, Colleen calls Shelby and asks for a favor: can she run the bookstore for the summer? She ultimately agrees and tries to do all she can to keep the store afloat. At the same time, she tries rebuilding her relationship with Hunter, as well as her ex-boyfriend and his family, who weren’t happy with the way Shelby left so easily years before.

The road to success—and forgiveness—never runs smoothly. There are lots of obstacles to conquer on the store’s behalf, and Shelby must make a crucial decision about her second book. Can she write a book she loves and have the relationships she so cherishes?

There’s lots of drama and emotion in this book, but there’s also humor and heart. And much like Nantucket, Provincetown has become another literary setting I can’t get enough of.

Book Review: "A Novel Love Story" by Ashley Poston

Emotionally undone by another Ashley Poston book…it must be that time of year! Her upcoming book has the beautiful mix of romance and magical realism I’ve come to love in her writing, and at the same time, it’s a paean to books and stories and the feelings they gives us, and it was so lovely.

Eileen is an English professor at a college. And while she’s more than happy talking about classic works, she’s a huge romance reader. Even when her life goes wrong, her favorite books, her best friend, and her book club bring her joy. Although everyone else is unable to make the book club’s annual retreat this year, she’s determined to go to the cabin in the Catskills, to read and drink wine.

On the way, she gets lost in a rainstorm and winds up in a charming small town. And then her car won’t start. But the people seem so nice and the town seems so familiar…and then Eileen realizes that somehow she has wound up in Eloraton, the setting of her absolute favorite romance series. In Eloraton, the burgers are always a little burnt, the honey taffy is always sweet, and it always rains in the afternoon. What a perfect place to wait for your car to get fixed.

The more time she spends in Eloraton, the more Eileen realizes that the characters are stuck, because the author died before the fifth book could be finished. The characters don’t realize why they’re stuck, but Eileen inadvertently creates some ripples that actually move things forward, much to everyone’s pleasure. Everyone’s except a handsome yet grumpy bookstore owner, who doesn’t want Eileen to ruin things.

Eileen realizes that she hasn’t been happy in some time, not until she arrived in town. Can’t she just stay in Eloraton, with these characters who have become her friends? How tempting it is to lose yourself in a place you love.

At first I worried this would be silly, but it’s so richly told, so vibrant. As with all of Poston’s books, this isn’t for everyone, but it filled my heart so much. I am an absolute fan of hers.

Many thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy! The book will publish 6/25.

The Best Books I Read in 2023...

Happy New Year! Here's wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2024, full of joy, laughter, and lots of great books.

This past year was a tough one for me. As some of you may know, over the summer I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Luckily it was caught early and we're enthusiastic that it won't recur, but I did have surgery in late October to remove part of one kidney. All this to say, this wasn't a typical year for me where reading was concerned. I didn't do a great job of recording (or reviewing) what I read, so I don't have an exact count of how many books I did read in 2023—I'd say it's around 200, but we'll never know. LOL

This year I put together a list of my 20 favorites with an additional 10 books which were too good not to mention.

As always, I'd love your thoughts on what you loved reading this year!

The Top 20

1. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett: One of my favorite authors at the top of her game. This is such a gorgeously told story of family, love, memory, motherhood, and recognizing that happiness can come from a path other than the one you dreamed of. It's a quiet but utterly beautiful book.

2. Shark Heart by Emily Habeck: Lewis and Wren fall in love and get married. Not long after, Lewis learns he has a rare mutation which will turn him (rapidly) into a great white shark. As crazy as this sounds, this book is an unforgettable, powerfully emotional look at love, loss, and creating a meaningful life.

3. The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston: The author of one of my top three favorite books of 2022 makes the top three again! If you’re not a fan of magical realism and weird time loop-ish storylines, you may not enjoy this. But this left me a puddle of emotions.

4. Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez: Another home run from Jimenez, who deftly meshes romance, quirky characters, and more serious topics (this one deals with social anxiety) into a book that made me smile and cry, sometimes simultaneously.

5. Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane: A tense (and intense), sometimes sad, and tremendously thought-provoking book set in Boston in the summer of 1974, in the midst of the forced desegregation of schools. This one will make one heck of a movie.

6. Search by Michelle Huneven: This is a quietly compelling and dramatic story of a church searching for its new minister. (Plus recipes!!) It’s gorgeously written, a fantastic study of human dynamics, and I found the conversations about theology and philosophy to be fascinating and never heavy-handed.

7. In Memoriam by Alice Winn: Two young men, close friends at an English boarding school at the start of World War I, deal with their attraction to one another and the horrors of war, as Henry, who is part German, feels the need to enlist, but wants Sidney to stay safe. This feels like a more emotional E.M. Forster classic.

8. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters: A four-year-old Mi’kmaq girl goes missing from the blueberry fields of Maine, sparking a mystery that will haunt the survivors, unravel a family, and remain unsolved for nearly 50 years. It's such a beautiful book and unbelievably, it's a debut.

9. Glitterland by Alexis Hall: How do you convince yourself that you’re worthy of love? Hall delivers a powerful story of love, heartbreak, and emotional turmoil, which had some incredible moments of beauty.

10. We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian: I feel like this book made my heart grow two sizes larger. It was full of self-discovery, romance, tension, and a good dash of history. I couldn’t get enough of these characters!!

Book Review: "The Invisible Hour" by Alice Hoffman

Sometimes a book starts out so strongly, then veers into a strange and unexpected direction that completely takes you out of the narrative. Sadly, that happened to me when I read Alice Hoffman’s newest novel, The Invisible Hour.

Mia is a young woman who has spent her entire life in the Community, a cult in Western Massachusetts that forbids nearly all contact with the public, considers books to be evil, and punishes transgressors with unorthodox methods. Her mother died just before Mia was able to convince her to try and escape, leaving her under the harsh and watchful eye of Joel, her mother’s husband and the mercurial leader of the Community.

Although books are forbidden, Mia’s first time in a library changed her life. She started reading every chance she got, stealing books from the library and hiding them wherever she could. But her secret was discovered, and after several warnings, she is told to await her punishment the next morning.

That night she discovers The Scarlet Letter, and the book speaks to her in a way that no other has. So much of this book mirrors her life and that of her mother. But how could a book written several centuries before so perfectly capture the hell she is living in?

The book helps fuel her courage to escape, and she begins a new life, where she experiences the freedom to pursue her dreams without fear of reprisal, and is raised with love. But Joel is constantly able to track her down and let her know he is watching her, so she is often afraid to be out in public.

She also grows more obsessed with learning about Nathaniel Hawthorne, the man whose words continue to speak to her soul even after she is able to flee the Community. And then, through the magic and elasticity of time, she travels to the past, where she is both inspired and inspires, loves and is loved.

I enjoyed the early parts of the story, and felt the poignancy and desperation. I also really enjoyed Mia’s life once she escaped the Community. However, I felt that Joel was a very one-dimensional character, and his ability to constantly find Mia (even through time travel) was ludicrous.

And as much as I love a good time travel story, this portion of the book absolutely didn’t work for me. Sure, I had to suspend my disbelief, which wasn’t a problem, but the whole storyline felt very disjointed. I’m an enormous Alice Hoffman fan, but this book was sadly disappointing for me.

Book Review: "The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer

Friends, I think I’ve found one of my favorite books of the year!! When my dear friend Amy Clark raved about this book several months ago, I had to read it. And honestly, it was so incredible on every level—it’s a beautiful exploration of chosen family, the power of wishes and dreams, and what comfort books can provide.

Jack Masterson was the reclusive, prolific author of a bestselling fantasy/adventure series, the Clock Island books. It’s been years since he’s published anything, but suddenly the world is taken by storm when he announces he’s written a new book. Not only that, but he’s invited four fans to his home on the actual Clock Island to compete and win the one and only copy of the book.

Lucy is one of those fans. Now a teacher’s aide, her dream is to adopt Christopher, a foster child she tutors. But adoption requires money and stability, much more than Lucy has. She refuses to give up, and she knows winning the book could set her and Christopher on the right path.

There’s so much more to this book than meets the eye, so I'm keeping this review deliberately vague. It really resonated for me in more ways than I’d care to admit. I won’t stop thinking about this anytime soon!!

Book Review: "Bookworm" by Robin Yeatman

Sometimes, the best stories are the ones in your head.

Do you ever feel out of step with other readers, in that you don’t like books that many seem to love, and you love some that have gotten mixed reviews? It seems like that’s been happening a lot lately for me, but I guess that’s one of the amazing things about reading!

Victoria would love her entire life to change. Her husband is a demanding boor who repulses her, her parents are constantly critical of her, she hates her job, and her one friend doesn’t seem to get her. She loves to lose herself in reading. (Same, girl. Same.)

One day she stops in her favorite cafe to read and relax and she spots the man of her dreams. Not only is he handsome, but he’s also a reader—in fact, he’s reading the same book she is! She definitely sees that as a sign that they’re meant to be together.

More and more she fantasizes about being with her dream lover; in fact, she envisions visiting him at night and their trysts. At the same time, she keeps envisioning scenarios in which her husband meets his end, inspired by some of her favorite books. And then one night, her fantasies and reality collide.

This is a dark book, and I’ll admit the line between fantasy and reality confused me at times. I also didn’t like that the characters hated A Little Life and liked Eileen, as I felt the opposite about those!!

Still, this is a unique story and I know it appealed to others, so maybe I'm not the person you should listen to about this one.

Book Review: "Eileen" by Ottessa Moshfegh

Ottessa Moshfegh's debut novel is blunt and a little creepy, but it packs an unexpected emotional punch.

Are there authors you’ve been meaning to read for a while, authors you’ve heard a ton about and always wondered whether their writing was for you? I have many of those, and one of them is Moshfegh. This book has been on my shelf for a few years so I thought I’d give it a try.

Eileen is a dissatisfied, lonely young woman. She spends her days working in the office at a juvenile detention facility, where she feels total disdain for her two female coworkers, and often fantasizes about Randy, a handsome young guard. By night she lives with her alcoholic father, buying his liquor and keeping him from killing himself and others, and she dreams of running away, of ending her life, of getting out of the dilapidated house and its perpetual state of decay.

Into this miserable existence comes Rebecca, the prison’s new education director. Rebecca is everything Eileen wishes she could be—confident, beautiful, one who commands attention. Eileen dreams of building a friendship with Rebecca, one that could perhaps change her life. And before she knows it, she becomes a willing accomplice to a crime.

The book is narrated by a much-older Eileen looking back on that time of her life. The story is an interesting one and I read with a great deal of trepidation, worrying about what would happen. But Moshfegh’s style is very in-your-face; there’s a lot of detail about bodily functions, decay, body parts, etc.

I definitely recognize Moshfegh’s talent but I’m not sure if I’ll read another of her books unless someone can tell me they’re not as graphically detailed.

Book Review: "Endpapers" by Jennifer Savran Kelly

It’s 2003. New York City is just starting to move forward after 9/11. Dawn works as a bookbinder at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, repairing old books while hoping to find the spark to reignite her own artistic efforts.

At the same time, she is struggling with her sexual identity. She is dating Lukas, who wishes she were a man, while there are days she isn’t sure what or who she really is. In a time before people generally understood the concept of nonbinary or genderqueer, Dawn’s exploration serves to complicate her relationship with Lukas, her colleagues, and her family.

One day while repairing a book she finds the cover of a pulp novel from the 1950s bound inside the back cover. She cannot figure out how it would’ve gotten there. But that’s only the start of the mystery. The cover features a woman dressed as a man, and on the back is a love letter from one woman to another, written in German.

Who were these women? What happened to them and their relationship? And why does this book cover speak to Dawn so much? Solving this mystery becomes an obsession for her, as well as an opportunity to avoid dealing with her concerns about her creative block, her relationship with Lukas, and the violence that always threatens the LGBTQ community. It's sad that many of the issues addressed in the book haven't changed much in 20 years.

This was so good. Thanks so much to Algonquin Books for inviting me on the tour for this. I found it so compelling, and I cannot get it out of my mind.

The Best Books I Read in 2022...

Well, Happy New Year! I'm actually a little in shock that it's 2023 already, although I'm more than happy to kick 2022 out the door. This was a really difficult year, emotionally, professionally (for the first quarter of the year), and personally, but thanks to 4 months of unemployment and 2 bouts of COVID, I got lots and lots of reading done: in fact, I read 372 books for the second year in a row! (That was on purpose—as I got closer to reaching my total from last year, I pulled out all of the stops to match that.)

Every year I pull together a list of the best books I read. It's really difficult to look back on a year of reading and narrow it down, especially when you've read as much I have. So I've put together a top 25, followed by a list of 20 books that were still too good not to mention. The title of each book is linked to my original review.

As always, I'd love your thoughts on what you loved reading this year!

The Top 25

1. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus: A beautiful story about love and family and standing up for what is right, but also about the unfairness of society towards anyone who doesn’t fit a specific mold, particularly in the 1960s.

2. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt: An absolutely fantastic, beautiful story about friendship, family, and second chances which will make me look at aquatic creatures a little closer the next time I’m at the aquarium!

3. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston: Take a love story, add friendship, grief, and self-discovery, and throw in some ghosts, and you’ll get this amazing book that totally stole my heart.

4. Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore: The Great Gatsby, but make it queer and YA. (And this is one of two Gatsby retellings on my list!)

5. Book Lovers by Emily Henry: This is a terrific rom-com but there’s so much more to it, as two people realize they don’t have to sacrifice their own happiness to be someone’s hero.⁣

6. A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella: Like the title says, it’s a quiet story, about love, about overcoming grief and taking tentative steps toward something new, and about our desperate need for connection, especially in times of trouble.

7. One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle: Rebecca Serle’s books hit me in a place that few others do. She deals with grief and love and choices and desires, and bends the concept of reality slightly, which might not work for everyone, but it definitely works for me.

8. Look Closer by David Ellis: A twisty thriller that hooked me from the very start and never let go. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Ellis flipped the script time and again. If you love twisty thrillers that keep you guessing, pick this one up!!

9. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna: I wasn’t expecting a book to fill my heart so much. This book is so full of joy and love, of chosen family, diversity, and the feeling of being totally yourself for the first time, and it feels like a gigantic hug.

10. When You Call My Name by Tucker Shaw: This is such a beautiful book, one that so accurately captures the mood of 1990, the sadness, defiance, anger, and fear that pervaded the LGBTQ community at that time. It’s about the power of friendship, love, chosen and blood family, and finally finding yourself.

Book Review: "Book Lovers" by Emily Henry

They always were helping others—at the expense of themselves.

Good lord, I loved this book. This is a terrific rom-com but like all of Emily Henry’s books there’s so much more to it, as two people realize they don’t have to sacrifice their own happiness to be someone’s hero.

Nora is a literary agent extraordinaire. She fights for her clients and puts work above everything—except her sister, Libby. For as long as she can remember, she’s taken care of Libby, dropping everything to ensure her happiness and safety, even now that they’re adults.

That is why she agrees to accompany her sister on a month-long jaunt to the small town of Sunshine Falls, North Carolina—the setting of one of Nora’s client’s most-famous books and a favorite of Libby’s. Libby has prepared a checklist of adventures they’re going to have and things she wants her sister to do, to transform her life of all work and no play.

But the town isn’t quite what Nora—who loves living in NYC—pictured. And instead of embarking on a relationship with a local farmer or carpenter, she is inexplicably drawn to Charlie Lastra, an editor from New York, who seems to be hanging around in Sunshine Falls, too. Charlie is sarcastic, hard-to-please, and Nora can’t seem to get him out of her system, especially when they start working together on her client’s book.

But everyone has issues they’re dealing with and secrets they’re keeping close to themselves. Will Nora be willing to risk it all for Charlie, or will her happiness take a back seat again? Will Charlie let his guard down for Nora? And what hurdles stand in their way?

This was just excellent.

Book Review: "Must Love Books" by Shauna Robinson

The title says Must Love Books, well, lucky for me, I do love books!!

Nora used to dream of a job in publishing, of finding the next great book and connecting with authors to make their dreams come true. But after five years at Parsons, she realizes how far her dreams are from the reality of her job.

After corporate restructuring, she’s now taken on many other people’s administrative tasks in addition to her own. And they just cut her salary on top of everything, so she’s doing triple the work for less money. So when she hears of a part-time freelance job at a rival publisher, she takes it—while continuing to work her job at Parsons. She intends to quit but she just never gets around to it. Nothing could go wrong, right?

But when she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Andrew, one of Parsons’ most successful authors, whom she’s supposed to be convincing to re-sign his contract, she’s suddenly conflicted. Should she do her actual job and get him back with Parsons, the freelance job and try to attract him to the other publisher, or be honest with Andrew? And what would that mean for her future—work-wise or even romance-wise?

I love books about publishing, bookstores, libraries, booksellers, etc., so I had a lot of hope for this one. It’s definitely cute but it just never really clicked for me. Maybe I was expecting more of a rom-com, but that really wasn't the core of this story. Even the cover design of the book and the blurb felt a little misleading. In the end, though, I thought this one was just ok.

You can’t win ‘em all!!

The Best Books I Read in 2021...

Happy New Year! The less said about 2021 the better (at least for me, professionally and personally), but the one thing that worked well was my reading. Amazingly, I read a record 372 books this past year. I didn't sleep much, and I didn't watch much television, but what else was I supposed to do when you never know whether you should stay inside or not?

As I've done every year since 2010, I put together a list of the best books I read in the last year. As the number of books I read increases, it gets more and more difficult to narrow the list down. So this year I came up with a top 26 (one was a two-book series) followed by an additional 24 books which were still too good not to mention. The title of each book is linked to my original review.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, either about these books or other books you loved this year!

The Top 26

1. Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune: It's the second year in a row that my favorite book of the year is by Klune. This gorgeous, life-affirming, romantic book teaches you that it’s never too late to make your life the way you wanted it to be. Even after you’re dead.

2. We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker: Can your heart be broken and be filled with love simultaneously? This is an unforgettable, emotional story about chosen family vs. blood, loyalty, love, the difficult decision about whether to trust people, friendship, secrets, and love.

3. The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun: I couldn’t have loved this book more if I tried. I was expecting a sweet gay love story—and boy, was this great—but I wasn’t expecting the deeper conversations about mental health, sexual identity, and self-esteem. I cried like a baby and smiled like a lunatic.

4. A Little Hope by Ethan Joella: A beautifully written, thought-provoking, and moving story about love, despair, and second chances. The lives of a number of residents of the small town of Wharton, Connecticut intersect in myriad ways over a period of time.

5. The Guncle by Steven Rowley: I loved this book so much. I didn’t want it to end, and I wanted to hug it when I was done.⁣ The story of a flamboyant, caftan-wearing gay man who suddenly becomes the temporary caregiver for his niece and nephew when their mother (and his best friend) dies. Ah-ma-zing.

6. In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead: One of the best, most addicting books I read all year. Five friends return to college for their 10-year reunion despite the fact that one of their original group was murdered, and another was accused. And someone wants to unmask the real killer from among the remaining friends.

7. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner: A moving, thought-provoking look at grief and the complicated relationship between mother and daughter. A writer and indie musician recounts losing her Korean mother to cancer in 2014 and discusses how their relationship was best celebrated through food, such a vital part of so many cultures.

8. The Push by Ashley Audrain: This is such a tremendously powerful, suspenseful, slightly creepy book I stayed up until nearly 1:30 a.m. to finish because I couldn’t put it down. It's a story about motherhood, the beautiful and the difficult moments. I won’t forget this anytime soon!

9. Catch Us When We Fall by Juliette Fay: This is a beautiful, emotional story about embracing your vulnerability and finding the possibility of a future when you never thought there was one. A woman tries to make a new life for herself after her long-time boyfriend dies, leaving her pregnant, broke, and alcoholic.

10. Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby: A fantastically gripping story of revenge, regret, and transformation by a thriller writer who should be a household name. Powerful, sad, gritty, and utterly searing, it's also very violent, so those of you who don't enjoy that should steer clear of this book, but you'll miss a masterpiece.

Book Review: "The Christmas Bookshop" by Jenny Colgan

Jenny Colgan's The Christmas Bookshop proves I’m all about the books about bookshops this season, but how can you resist?

Carmen’s life is falling apart—again. When she’s laid off from her department store job, her mother wants her to spend Christmas with her sister Sofia, but Carmen wants no part of it.

Sofia has her life together. She’s a successful attorney, has a beautiful house, a solid marriage, and three gorgeous children (with one on the way). She’s tired of bailing her sister out, but she can’t stand to hear their mother beg, so she gets Carmen a job helping a client with his struggling bookshop.

For the first time, Carmen feels a sense of purpose at Mr. McCredie’s bookshop. As she tries to help him get the store ready for perhaps its last Christmas season, she realizes how much she loves the store and the charm of historic Edinburgh. She also gets a chance for romance, but is torn between two men, although there really is only one right decision.

Colgan’s books are so charming. I love her protagonists and the way they fall in love with their surroundings. Edinburgh is on my bucket list (Scottish accents make me melt) so this book definitely made me want to travel there even more.

Is it predictable? Sure. Did I care? Not at all. The Christmas Bookshop was just a sweet, fun read for the holidays or anytime! Thanks to William Morrow Books for the complimentary advance copy of the book!!