A young man is called back from the overwhelming, limitless city to his rural Scottish hometown, which is ruled by piety and inflexibility. His claustrophobic community and rigid father gradually give way to glimmers of hope for new beginnings and self-actualization. Cal is fresh out of art school, deeply in debt, and desperately poor, staying on acquaintances' couches, cleaning buildings (and being cheated out of most of his modest pay), and dipping in and out of soulless tr

I love historical fiction about female physicians before this was common; Nora is a willful, clever woman fighting against prejudice in 1849 London and aiming for better healthcare for women--until cases of cholera emerge and all rules must be reimagined. Blake includes wonderful scientific detail and details of life in that time. In Audrey Blake's historical fiction title All in Her Hands, it's 1849 in London, and Nora Gibson is a female surgeon (the only female surgeon in t

Taylor Brown offers up a suspenseful, adventure-filled story in Wolvers. Trace is an angry young man who sets out on an ill-advised, illegal revenge journey, but he's not the only wolf tracker in the New Mexico forest. He's starting to rethink his mission and be headed toward a fresh start--if he can survive that long. Trace Temple is a disillusioned, angry young man whose family lost its ranch after hard times. Then Trace, a gifted tracker who knows the woods better than alm

Nguyen offers a novel inspired by real life about the loss of a child and the deep, paralyzing grief that follows; this tragicomedy has dark humor and messy, realistic-feeling paths toward finding greater peace without minimizing sorrow. Cleo and her best friend since childhood, Paloma, live down the street from each other and are ecstatic to be pregnant with their first children at the same time. They have a joint baby shower, discuss all of their pregnancy woes, compare bab

At once a book within a book and a real-life dive into a fantasy story, the novel offers adventure and a quest; an everyday person in an extraordinary situation; secret identities; a ragtag, loyal group of friends; twists; and a forbidden romance with No Swooning. Maggie has long leaned on rereading her favorite fantasy series for comfort and security. She eagerly awaits the final book in the series, and by now she feels like she personally knows the characters and world of K

Quindlen's key characters find themselves in messy situations whose resolutions are all but assured. The small moments between characters bring them to life (and link them inextricably together), and while their heartwarming, heartbreaking paths are not all smooth, More Than Enough offers a version of a happy ending. I loved this. Polly is a high school English teacher who leans on her close-knit, longtime book club for support, reason, venting, and laughter. Along with her

Abby Jimenez knows how to layer difficult situations and messy complications into her rom-coms, and her main protagonists must confront and overcome past and present difficulties in order to banter their way through the story and build a sweet life together. I was hooked on the chemistry and fascinated by the significant, heartbreaking obstacles and how they might possibly be addressed to allow for love. Larissa made a split-second decision one night after a concert, when she

Count me in for Irish-set novels--and for suspenseful, mysterious-past stories that hint at darkness, dangerous secrets, and the destructive power of the truth. But Hurtubise builds the true heart of this story around the development of its characters and relationships. This is a fast, intriguing read that I loved. When she was old enough, Sarah ran from an emotionally cold childhood in Michigan and mysterious circumstances to the rugged coast of Donegal, Ireland, where she n

Ridzén's beautiful, poignant novel centers around Bo, an elderly Swedish man living out his last days in his woodland cabin as the past becomes more vivid to him than his present. This is lovely, heartbreaking, and practical while offering hope. Bo is an elderly Swedish man living in the woodland cabin where he grew up. He exists in somewhat of a haze between naps, frequent carer visits, calls and check-ins from his son Hans, short walks with his beloved elkhound Sixten, and

This classic memoir is told through letters between Hanff, living a passionate reader and writer's life in New York City, and a group of booksellers across the ocean who are struggling in postwar Great Britain. The structure allows for poignancy and wonderfully frank self-reflection. In interviews about her wonderful book The Correspondent , Virginia Evans mentioned another epistolary book, the 1970 classic memoir 84, Charing Cross Road , and I hadn't ever read it so I decide

A medieval setting, time travel, a quest, and intriguing complications--did Paula Lafferty write this book especially for me? She wrapped some of my favorite elements in funny banter, poignant (non-swooning) romance, and enough plot complexity to keep the whole thing chugging along and keep me riveted. I loved this. Twenty-two-year-old Vera is the beloved only child of two dear parents, but the rest of her life is a shambles. Her love Vincent died in an accident, her father i

Bovalino's story hooked me with a main protagonist who's a female knight, her best-friend mage, intriguing magic, a terrifying destiny, showstopping secrets, danger and adventure, and a deep romantic connection. I loved every bit of the first book in Bovalino's Hand and the Heart series. Captain Grey Flynn is a knight pledged to protect the mage Kier, who she has known since she was a child. She is not only a blade but a source of magic, a well. Unbeknownst to others, she and

The initial installment of John McMahon's police procedural series follows a genius, socially awkward leader and a special team of FBI investigators who reinvent methods of finding their culprit in a smart, intriguing, and satisfying mystery. Head Cases tracks FBI agent Gardner Camden (who has a brilliant analytical mind but is interpersonally awkward) and his group of agents in the Patterns and Recognitions (PAR) unit. A recent murder victim's DNA matches a long-dead serial

This debut cozy novel showcases many of my favorite elements--magic, banter, a grumpy-sunshine hard-won romance, and a quest--within a charming, surprising story that I loved. The powerful dark lord Shadowfade is dead, and Violet Thistlewaite is determined to shed her identity as the Thornwitch, Shadowfade's right-hand woman, and start anew. She decides to settle in the nearby town of Dragon's Rest and open a flower shop, attempting to use her magical powers for good and to c

Charlotte Wood's literary fiction is quiet and meditative but packs a punch. Stone Yard Devotional concerns a woman who leaves her Sydney life behind to live among nuns as an unbeliever committed to the community. The past crops up in significant ways, and external judgment seems to be cast upon them all. The main protagonist (who is not named) in Charlotte Wood's literary fiction Stone Yard Devotional is a middle-aged woman who leaves Sydney for some respite in her rural Au

Powers's novel is an exploration of the wonders of the ocean and also of the capacity of the human mind and imagination. The marching toward destruction of both of these makes for a nerve-racking, heartbreaking story. Playground 's final section held surprises I did not anticipate, and their exposure colors the entirety of the story that precedes them. We make things that we hope will be bigger than us, and then we’re desolate when that’s what they become. Four people are con

This bighearted novel holds a mystery, but its main focus is neurodivergent main protagonist Denny and his dogged persistence, ambitious acts, decisiveness, wisdom, and loving kindness as he gets into increasing trouble, touches lives, faces loss, and establishes just who he is and wants to be. “I guess that’s just how life works. Some days it’s like a fast-moving TV show and some days it’s not, and when things go sideways—like they usually do for me—you might find yourself

I can't stop thinking about this fascinating near-future climate-change story of desperation, loyalty, and determination in Kolkata, India, and how a tiny bit of empathy might have unraveled the increasingly devastating whirlwind of conflict between the two main protagonists, who are each both hero and villain. It was her duty, as a guardian, to put into action the beautiful ideal of hope. Ma thought harshly: This was what it looked like. Hope for the future was no shy bloom

The Everlasting involves jaunts through multiple versions of the same story, as our fantastic main protagonists shift and change, bravely outsmart those who would control them, dare to hope for a future together, and fight dark forces until the bitter end. This is adventure-heavy, sometimes tender, and always intriguing. I loved it. Sir Una Everlasting was a legendary knight in the kingdom of Dominion, an orphan who rose to greatness and died in service to her queen. Her bra

Ian McEwan's new literary fiction looks back upon our present with a cutting 2119 eye. An enthused future academic and a contemporary...