Book Review: "The Retirement Plan" by Sue Hincenbergs

This book was a darkly funny and twisty caper, one I really enjoyed. I hope this gets adapted into a movie of some sort, because it’s too fun of a story to miss out on.

The four couples—Pam and Hank, Shalisa and Andre, Nancy and Larry, and Marlene and Dave—have been friends for years. But as they’ve hit their 60s, each of their marriages has deteriorated, ever since an investment scheme all four men contributed to crashed, badly.

When Dave dies in an accident, the wives discover that each of their husbands has a million-dollar life insurance policy. This discovery, coupled with their unhappiness, inspires an idea: they’ll hire a hitman to kill their husbands, and they can start new lives with the money.

Another thing they don’t know is that their husbands have found a way to amass a multimillion-dollar retirement scheme. But when Dave dies, they’re convinced that their scheme has been discovered, and they’re in danger. (And they don’t even know what their wives are up to.) Hijinks ensue.

“I shouldn’t be hiring hitmen and dodging threats. I should be scrapbooking and playing pickleball.”

There’s a lot going on in the book—there’s another whole subplot involving the casino boss—but the chemistry between the friends, as well as the hitman and his wife—really worked. Chalk this up to another amazing 2025 debut!

Book Review: "Who Loves You Best" by Marilyn Simon Rothstein

This book was so sweet and enjoyable on so many levels. It also made me miss my grandmothers, and the characteristics that made them so special.

Jodi is a podiatrist in Boca Raton, Florida. She’s thrilled that her daughter Lisa has asked her to come up to the Berkshires to babysit her granddaughter Macallan. (Yes, like the Scotch.) Jodi doesn’t spend nearly as much time with Macallan than Di, Lisa’s mother-in-law, does, so she jumps at the chance for one-on-on time.

Yet when Jodi arrives, she’s shocked to find that she’s going to have to share Macallan after all. Not only is Di going to be staying at Lisa’s as well, but she also has to contend with “Grannie Annie,” the girlfriend of Lisa’s father-in-law. (She’s only 27.)

After some tense moments, the women start to get along and care for Macallan together. At the same time, Jodi has to deal with Jake, her husband, who has been unceremoniously let go from his job, so he’s falling apart a bit.

When Lisa shares that her marriage is in trouble, Jodi has to decide how she should help her daughter. But that decision could upend everything in Jodi’s life, so she’ll need to truly think things through. What can she change and what must stay the same?

This was such a warm, funny, and heartfelt book. These characters—especially Jodi and Jake—definitely seemed familiar to me, and that just enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

Book Review: "Heavy Hitter" by Katie Cotugno

It’s a measure of pop culture that Heavy Hitter is the second book I’ve read that is (very) loosely based on Taylor Swift. (The first was The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka.) This book parallels Taylor’s relationship with Travis Kelce. I definitely enjoyed this one a bit more.

Lacey Logan is an international megastar of the music world. Every move she makes is followed by paparazzi and her fans, who overanalyze everything she does. She was dating a comedian for two years, only to discover he was a cocaine addict and had a secret girlfriend who was pregnant. So now, when she isn’t performing, she’s pretty lonely.

One night while at a club with a friend, she meets Jimmy Hodges, a baseball player in his last season before retirement. He’s a mountain of a man, totally unlike anyone Lacey has been interested in before, and a few years older than her. But they click right away, and their banter lights a fire in both of them.

After a brief encounter leaves them both breathless, neither expects anything to happen again. But their nightly phone conversations blossom into something more, and they’re both interested in and afraid of seeing what would happen if they got together again.

Even though Jimmy has dealt with the press throughout his career, he’s totally unprepared for what comes with even being near Lacey. And as they try to navigate their lives separately and together, questions arise about each other’s intentions and if they ultimately want to move forward anyway.

I’ve become a real fan of Katie Cotugno’s, having read all three of her adult novels. I thought this was fun and steamy, and it even had some raw emotion, so while at times I wanted to scream at Lacey and Jimmy, I was rooting for them all the same.

Book Review: "The Deal Goes Down" by Larry Beinhart

In Larry Beinhart's new book, a retired detective finds chaos after a random meeting on a train.

“The woman on the train asked me to kill someone. I liked the train. I didn’t especially like the woman.”

Tony is an ex-private eye living a fairly solitary life in the Catskills. His house is about to be foreclosed upon, and it seems like more of his friends are dying than he'd care to think about.

He meets a young woman on a train to New York City. She proceeds to drink a few cocktails and then she tells him how her wealthy husband is abusive and cruel. As they progress further on the trip, she offers him money—a lot of money—to get rid of her husband.

Tony knows he shouldn’t have anything to do with this, and figures when the woman sobers up she’ll forget they even had the conversation. But she doesn’t, and the money she’s offering could help him get control of his life.

Of course, he has no idea what a web he’ll wind up getting tangled in, including an attorney who wants to hire Tony to “take care” of other abusive husbands of wealthy women, a former business associate who wants a cut of the money, and federal agents. And that’s even before he has to travel overseas to rescue a woman.

I picked up this book because I liked the cover and the description. I didn’t realize that this was the fourth book in a series, so I definitely felt I was missing some pieces. And I felt like the plot took some strange tangents every now and again. But Tony is a fascinating, complex, flawed character, and I’d be interested in starting the series from the beginning.

Book Review: "Everything for You" by Chloe Liese

It’s like this book was written for me, I loved it so much.

Chloe Liese, I don’t know what took me so long to read one of your books, but now you’ve hooked me. I need to go back and read about all of the Bergmans!!

Oliver Bergman is the youngest of five brothers and the sixth of seven children, so he’s tried to excel at everything he does. An excellent soccer player, he left college to turn pro and join the LA Galaxy.

When he first joins the team, he’s beyond excited to be playing with Gavin Hayes, a soccer legend who was Oliver’s teenage obsession. He also admired that Gavin is openly gay, which gave him the courage to be open in his own life. But for the last two years, Gavin has rebuffed him at every turn, treating him with outright disdain.

When their coach makes them both co-captains, Oliver hopes it will be the start of a friendship. But Gavin isn’t willing to budge, no matter what Oliver tries—kindness, pranks, outright hostility. So their coach gives them an ultimatum: get along or lose their co-captaincy.

The two vow to be civil to one another, but the more they work together, the more they are forced to acknowledge their intense feelings for one another. Gavin, in particular, knows his career is nearing the end, and he worries if he gives into his feelings for Oliver, will he resent all that Oliver has left in his career? Or worse, will Oliver leave him behind?

This book had it all—enemies to lovers, family dynamics, emotional and physical challenges, and steamy sex. I was hooked completely—I’m a sucker for a sports romance!