Three Books I'm Reading Now, 8/18/25 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm reading A Marriage at Sea, Sophie Elmhirst's nonfiction that reads like a novel, about a couple whose sailboat capsizes in the middle of the ocean when a whale breaches beneath it; I'm reading Claire Lynch's family story of secrets and everyday life told in two timelines, A Family Matter; and I'm listening to Sangu Mandanna's cozy, magical novel A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping.

What are you reading, bookworms?

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01 A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst

Sophie Elmhirst revisits a decades-old true story that she crafts like fiction, skillfully using dry firsthand accounts and subsequent interviews to build a fascinating, fluid (pun!), compelling nonfiction book about a couple whose ambitious sailing trip from England to New Zealand is abruptly halted when a whale breaches beneath their sailboat, capsizing it.

Elmhirst manages to shape a suspenseful nonfiction work despite the couple's significant periods of isolation, struggle, and repetitive tasks. She delves into their inner lives, exploring the workings of their relationship and fleshing out an intriguing dynamic against the unforgiving backdrop of the endless-seeming expanse of ocean and 118 days of clawing for survival.

A Marriage at Sea is nonfiction that reads like fiction.

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02 A Family Matter by Claire Lynch

In Claire Lynch's novel, we track a British family along two timelines. In 1982, a young mother in a loveless marriage finds happiness in a socially unacceptable relationship, and the legal backlash causes her to lose custody of her beloved young daughter.

In 2022, Heron, Maggie's father, has just received terrible news about his health, and he works to come to terms with it within his carefully prescribed daily routine.

It becomes clear that Maggie is unaware of the particular circumstances around her parents' divorce and the reason for her mother's subsequent disappearance--until a clean-out of her childhood home reveals long-held secrets.

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03 A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sandu Mandanna

Sera Swan was one of Britain's most powerful young witches. She showed so much promise, her skill threatened to overtake that of her belittling, greedy mentor.

But then she resurrected her (barely) dead aunt and adored guardian Jasmine, and the spell required to do so diminished Sera's powers to almost nothing. Because of the forbidden spell, she is exiled from the magical Guild. Much of this mess is due to the dubious abilities and motives of a talking fox/former witch who moves into the inn.

Sera's former mentor is wreaking havoc, grasping at ever-increasing power, and frightening other witches into doing his bidding. Meanwhile, Sera realizes there is a very old spell that could restore her powers. Then a handsome, magical historian and his young sister come to stay at Jasmine and Sera's inn, and suddenly Sera and her messy, oddball chosen family are forced to consider their collective futures.

Sangu Mandanna is also the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. You might also want to check out more cozy stories I've reviewed.