between details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after Marguerite is heir to a fortune, but after she is orphaned, she grows into a young lady while her guardian At the very least it becomes clear that he will pay no dowry in order to make another match for her. have felt over the top, but as usual, I was putty in Taylor Jenkins Reid's hands, ready to embrace every different boy, a significantly shaped sister Maia, drastically different paths for mother Cora, and altered

The Books I'm Reading Now Please don't ever let me read such disturbing nonfiction again--I'm reading And after a series of unlikely, unfortunate events, bookworm Neema becomes one of them--the least threatening As nefarious plotting and crimes are uncovered and the stakes of the competition become ever heightened , characters must forge previously unthinkable loyalties and use every bit of knowledge and craftiness

Michelle Huneven Bug Hollow tracks the Samuelson family from an idyllic mid-1970s Northern California summer When Sally Samuelson was eight, her idolized golden-boy older brother Ellis went missing after his high After pushing him to return home before heading to college, he headed to campus and died in a freak accident between details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after Marguerite is heir to a fortune, but after she is orphaned, she grows into a young lady while her guardian

evil" stepmother, who is here actually a savvy, strong woman determined to provide for her household after respectability of her deceased husband's title to secure invitations for her daughters (who are not, after After Elin attracts the attention of royalty, Lady Tremaine discovers a destructive secret in the noble

Annie was created to please her owner, Doug, in every way. She was made to offer pleasure without challenge or conflict, after all. But Annie is full of surprises, and her will is stronger than Doug ever dreamed.

It's a fast read, and after my love of Blacktop Wasteland last year, I'm in for any of Cosby's writing Derek and Isiah were estranged from their ex-con fathers, each of whom now regret every moment they didn't year's gritty, character-driven mystery-thriller Blacktop Wasteland so much that it made my Six Favorite Summer

“Nobody else is ever going to care as much as you do about the things that you want, Gwendoline. It's hundreds of years after King Arthur's reign, and his descendant and namesake Arthur, a future lord And when they're forced to spend the summer together at Camelot to prepare for their upcoming nuptials

01 Moss'd in Space by Rebecca Thorne In Rebecca Thorne's cozy sci-fi adventure, it's sometime after the But after she failed her school's mandatory hearing test, she feared being labeled deaf, treated differently After she could no longer pretend that she could hear, she learned American Sign Language, met other

reading Foster, Claire Keegan's slim Irish novel about a young girl sent to live with relatives for a hot summer Claire Keegan's slim novel Foster, a young girl in Ireland is taken by her father to spend the hot summer Summer is ending, and there's a mysterious, unspoken, disturbing undercurrent at the Kinsellas'. After all, the Vanguards, giant, deadly AI robots, are headed from deep space to destroy Earth at any

I felt as though each of the titles here made pretty good use of a Maine setting, which, after all, is and community in a crisis and in common suffering, and figuring out the impossible: how to move on after Maggie just can't figure out who's still alive and who would suddenly be after revenge. She also suspects that she can't trust the Agency after a data breach revealed the names of the Malta Now they operate as a team to try to determine who is after Maggie and why.

It's a fast read, and after my love of Blacktop Wasteland last year, I'm in for any of Cosby's writing For my full review of this book, please see Razorblade Tears. 04 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson Ursula In Life After Life, Atkinson focuses on the character of Ursula, her relationships with members of her I mentioned Life After Life in the Greedy Reading List Six Fascinating Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life For my full review of this book, please see Life After Life. 05 Blush by Jamie Brenner Blush centers

see Sociopath. 03 Awake by Jen Hatmaker Jen Hatmaker's memoir explores her shock, grief, then growth after Three years after his death, she traveled to a remote Australian island--where she had once considered Her voice is a striking, uniquely nasal Southern drawl, and her Netflix special "I'm Every Woman" features Garg offers an honest, funny account of overcoming sobering challenges and determining her own destiny after At the very beginning the pacing felt a little uneven to me, but then Garg hit her stride.

becomes clear that the Moynihans plan to change the area's landscape by building an enormous factory--after resulting hubbub) illustrate the generations of patterns, expectations, claustrophobic rules, and long-simmering After a time the mystery is no longer a mystery; the main unknown is which form the community's renegade

moment of simple winter joy leads to renewed hope that they may be able to share their love with a child after I really liked this story and I still think about this book, years after reading it. This is magical realism, folklore, and historical fiction wrapped up in one very interesting read. 05 but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every She considers every desperate plan she can to try to save Kasia from this horrible fate, knowing all

For my full review of The Skylark's Secret, please click here. 02 The Light After the War by Anita Abriel Please click here for my full review of The Light After the War. 03 The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman review of this book, please see The World That We Knew. 04 Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave After --as we are startled at the end of every winter. We shall think: oh, I had quite forgotten.... the factual basis for the story: the transport of over 600 brides from Australia to England in 1946, after

After a devastating earthquake, nine-months-pregnant Annie desperately searches the city of Portland, in a coffee shop, and now she's facing life with a baby and a more uncertain financial future than ever post-apocalyptic setting for a story, and the earthquake in the story is so disruptive, so destructive, it alters

It is about seeing yourself as the main character in a very interesting—or maybe even quiet—life that after.” This was a wonderful summer read for me and I loved it. You might also be interested in the books on my Greedy Reading Lists Six Rom-Coms Perfect for Summer Reading, Six Great Light Fiction Stories Perfect for Summer Reading, and Six More Great Light Fiction

Every child a wanted child, every mother a willing mother. The trip lasts seven weeks and involves challenge after challenge.

In this perfect summer read, Harrison explores 1950s life for three women facing complicated personal I recently gave a talk about newish books I recommend for spring and summer reading (stay tuned for the Luckily, The Island Club stood up to its entertaining, immersive start and turned out to be a great summer issues, and there are some dark periods within the story, but the tone of The Island Club is that of a summer

The premise of Missing Sam was a slam dunk for me, and I appreciated the couple's strengthened bonds after After married couple Sam and Ali have a silly jealousy-spawned fight after a party, Sam wakes up for Meanwhile, Sam is in her own personal hell, with dwindling hopes of ever being reunited with her love The aftermath of the kidnaping and abuse is fraught with what feel like Sam's realistic trauma, nightmares The heart of the story is not, after all, Sam's sensational disappearance, Sam and Ali's unspeakable

intrigued and also deeply irritated by her academic rival, Peter Murdoch, who seems to be showing her up at every spring, but it slipped through the cracks until two friends shared their rave reviews of the title this summer

sister for financial assistance for the family; and young Meg, who suffers cruelty in an orphanage after did what her mama told her to, and sometimes I thought if people didn't die, that cycle might never, ever After the women in the novel develop an audacious plan to make money and thereby gain the power to shift But by the time key matters are resolved, after so much page time, the resolutions feel somewhat abrupt

03 Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher It's hundreds of years after King Arthur's reign, and his When they're forced to spend the summer together at Camelot to prepare for their upcoming nuptials, it

We read an array of types of books--often lighter titles in the summer, a nonfiction doorstop in the (These are elements I used to try to shoehorn into every list, until my friends rightfully began to resist I loved every bit of this and felt it was even stronger than the original novel that introduced Olive Edward tries on the mantle of taking responsibility for every life lost; he wallows in the despair of Nothing is too easy here, nor is it ever melodramatic in Napolitano’s hands.

Marcellus the octopus is the very deserving star of the show here, and being able to predict much of After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at her local aquarium as a custodian the anthropomorphism in the story (he needed to understand English in order for the story to work, after He was my absolute favorite element, and I adored every scene that involved him.

After being involved in multiple disasters in only her first day of classes, she fears college may become And there's an interesting boy she keeps running into, regardless of which paths and options she alters Click here for my full review of In a Holidaze. 04 One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle Rebecca Serle's For my full review, check out One Italian Summer. 05 Chosen Ones (Chosen Ones #1) by Veronica Roth Sloane Teenage Andra finally wakes up after being cryogenically preserved for a century-long journey to a new

reading Heather Webb's historical fiction novel about a female gang and a female police officer clashing after may never be the same. 03 Annie Bot by Sierra Greer Annie was created to please her owner, Doug, in every

escaping his financial struggles in the city is a relief to Cal (who is named John-Calum--John of John--after gifted at identifying nuances of color, creatively drawn to designing clothing, and seemingly at the very The only person who truly sees him is his spunky grandmother Ella--who, it turns out, is not ill after double-cross, and in which, like a shuffled deck, various injustices are resolved and fall into place one after

Burning Kingdoms trilogy, The Books of Ambha duology, and other books. 02 Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar After married couple Sam and Ali have a silly jealousy-spawned fight after a party, Sam wakes up for a solo Meanwhile, Sam is in her own personal hell, with dwindling hopes of ever being reunited with her love After Nina Swann's husband is killed, she receives a condolence card from one of his former colleagues

But after Sciona blasts the competition at her entrance exam and is admitted, she finds that not all The misogyny and contempt of her peers means she faces a lack of respect and resources at every turn.

pollution, the Ruston smelter, pumped 25 pounds of lead dust and 58 pounds of arsenic into the air every asides, giving the book somewhat of a jumpy feel--not inappropriate to the fear-inducing topic at hand, after

Maddalena is sent to the Pietà temporarily after scandal threatens to ruin her family's longstanding Nevertheless, Luisa and Maddalena become fast friends, and their link grows every deeper. Maddalena and the Dark has a distinct gothic tone, and the story treads ever deeper into seedy, suspect

Jess and Storey are childhood friends who spend their summer adventures exploring striking, remote areas This summer they head to Maine to camp, fish, and hike. After weeks in the wild, they're shocked to come upon a town that's been blown apart. irresistible character of 19-year-old Margo discovers her strength, drive, creativity, and vulnerability after Lila has planned her million-dollar wedding down to the last detail, and Phoebe's depression and her very

Masks bestow upon the wearers the instincts, abilities, and reaction times of the animals after which But the mask Wylla is after also turns out to be sentient, and if she's going to wear the mask, she'll

on Duolingo and its AI character; recounts his unwilling, unreliable, and abandoned caregiver role after lines of the essays felt at times a little bit sentimental or cute, but he does have to wrap these up, after

Painter is also the author of a rom-com I adored, Better Than the Movies, as well as Happily Never After And inside the enigmatic pages are the words Any door is every door. Why don’t we ever get that movie?” India Allwood always knew she wanted to act.

Lisa Jewell In Lisa Jewell's psychological thriller None of This Is True, successful podcaster Alix Summer This means that sought-after DNA specimen sources such as celebrities are in potential danger of having

I thought about this one long after I finished it. Disturbing and a mind churner. and its many dangers; suffers grave wounds; and saves each other's skin countless times--including after elements to feel real. 06 News of the World by Paulette Jiles Captain Kidd has fought in three wars, and after Not all of the members of my book club felt as strongly about this one as I did, but I adored every bit

Razorblade Tears is a brutally violent story shadowed with heartbreaking regret and a fast read, and after Derek and Isiah were estranged from their ex-con fathers, each of whom now regret every moment they didn't his gritty, character-driven mystery-thriller Blacktop Wasteland so much that it made my Six Favorite Summer I still think of this book from time to time, long after reading it.

hasn't killed anyone, he hasn't been arrested, and in fact, none of last night's events have happened after I loved watching every building block slot into place as we wound our way back through time toward the Time-Travel Stories to Explore and Six Second-Chance, Do-Over, Reliving-Life Stories highlight some of my very

Kill for You , or the most recent in Tess Gerritsen's retired-spies-in-Maine Martini Club series, The Summer between details of a life of moneyed ease and an abandonment on an unforgiving, uninhabited island after different boy, a significantly shaped sister Maia, drastically different paths for mother Cora, and altered

I loved every bit of the first book in Bovalino's Hand and the Heart series . death and then a feud (the impetus of the bitter rift is the making of a family-favorite apple cake after the most powerful to me, as I was able to witness interactions and dynamics among the larger group (after

Every heart-stopping moment; every exquisite detail; the characters' growth, emotional distance, and Beatriz Williams is also the author of The Summer Wives, The Wicked City, A Hundred Summers, The Secret

girls begin to disappear, and Sybil doubts for the first time whether their purpose is holy and noble after But search parties, flyovers, and rescue dogs come up empty day after day. witness to 76-year-old, wheelchair-bound Lena's retirement-community existence and her rigid existence after

on my to-read list for years; I'm reading a decades-spanning story of a Northern California family after Michelle Huneven When Sally Samuelson was eight, her idolized golden-boy older brother Ellis went missing after After pushing him to return home and head to college, he died in a freak accident.

is over and the knaffea is just a pleasant memory—like a lovely dream that you forget a few seconds after Bourdain does have sordid tales to tell, but he seems less puffed up over his kitchen war stories after I pledged after reading this book I wasn't going to eat fish on Sunday or Monday because of supply and delivery patterns (I did forget this, but now after rereading my original review I'm reminded again) written a memoir about marriage, unexpected yearnings, and the messy process of finding herself again after

Siblings Joe, Cathy, and Frannie work together (at the vet practice their mother started), they live very After youngest sibling Frannie makes a frantic late-night call to her brother and her sister, they arrive I was puzzled by the issues that made the characters feel indignant and wronged, particularly after their

Blue Sisters explores three surviving sisters' messy paths into and out of grief after the loss of their Avery, the oldest, ten years sober, is a married lawyer (her wife is her former therapist, eek) making Bonnie, Avery, and Lucky come together and push each other away throughout the story. I stayed very nervous while the three survivors made destructive decisions that seemed destined to cause

After a canceled flight, a carload of people head on a cross-country journey to the "poppy fields," as One had their application to the fields rejected, one is a hopeful participant, one lost a brother after loss is part of acknowledging how much someone has meant to them and is a necessary part of living after

Ari Waker is out after serving a decades-long jail sentence, and she emerges to a nation in turmoil where two books in this series, Ninth House and Hell Bent, we met Alex Stern, who was offered a new start after