Casey Peabody is an aspiring writer struggling with her novel, her mother's recent death, crushing financial painful age and stage of shifting from young adulthood to being a grown-up, with all of the conflicting pushes Yet King offers enough glimpses of joy and growth and promise to help you hold on.

It's winter, it's cold, and it's tough enough to simply survive. physically present), has a lot to figure out and responsibilities weighing her down, meanwhile Veronica is pushing

friends dramatically diverge in their life goals--marriage for one, activism for the other--and life pushes And if Del wakes up, he's going to be as shocked as the sponsors that the rest of the Newmans are pushing I feel like I'm in good hands when I read them, and I'm in for all of her books. Jennifer Niven is also the author of All the Bright Places, a young adult novel I adored, Holding Up When powerful, religious and political figures get hold of Barton, they encourage her to speak about

But June is more concerned with her crush on her lab partner, Rhys, and on getting to girlfriend-boyfriend

Lovers by Lily King Casey is an aspiring writer struggling with her novel, her mother's recent death, crushing painful age and stage of shifting from young adulthood to being a grown-up, with all of the complicating pushes

The first time she repeatedly found herself short on time so that she wouldn't be able to brush her teeth

After pushing him to return home before heading to college, he headed to campus and died in a freak accident

A good woman. How odd that the phrase has such a particular meaning. One might say “a good man” and mean anything — there are as many ways of being a good man, it seems, But there is only one way to be a good woman. But a young, half-feral female student and a shockingly unorthodox widow both seem to hold mysterious Magical realism allows the force that haunts, challenges, and pushes them to take the form of a beast

think it's for the same reason I'm captivated by wartime stories: the books are about characters being pushed sections glossed over some major issues (consorting with the gruesomely brutal enemy; the prospect of folding He must decide if he'll risk a one-way journey to seek out the good, bad, and ugly that may be awaiting When the people change, the palace cannot hold. Naomi Alderman offers a dark and fascinating look at a world where the traditional male-female and old-young

single-parenting life and career after the tragedy, Luke's disappearance, and the surrounding scandal that pushes

learned from her father how to be self-sufficient--to hunt, to camp, to stay tough, and to never drive Cold Meanwhile, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek to try to figure out what happened to her sister Amber Stevens's fictional Cold Creek Highway setting is based on the real-life "Highway of Tears" in British

When the story moved out of the woods, it felt more fractured to me and didn't hold together as well. But when Jane becomes a teenager and starts to push her father for freedom--and for answers--she begins I appreciated the complicated feelings Jane felt around holding her father accountable, as he plausibly

The characters in Autoboyography are thoughtful and young and funny and defiant but good, and they make my full review, please see When We Were the Kennedys. 04 Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano Twelve-year-old For my full review, please see Dear Edward. 05 The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati In The Gilded Hour, Donati The Gilded Hour explores how these women's abilities and constraints intersect with women's rights of For my full review, please see The Gilded Hour. 06 Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb

We've got the strong, gruff Hanni with a heart of gold; young Ettie, who is idealistic, tough as nails Who Save Us by Jenna Blum Most of us are drawn to this time period thinking it was a war of absolute good I had trouble with the convenience of the ending, but the story was so darn good, the weight of the ending

This is a zany romp, as Libby's determination to push on to an ending for her series combines with her Libby Lost and Found holds a tragic illness at its center, with lots of heart and redemption softening

mysterious, whimsical appearance, they embrace Brendan, as he is ultimately named, as one of their own, yet hold The surrounding community is so essential to the novel, the story is told in an omniscient point of view the main protagonist, despite the novel's title, yet he is central to the story in that his presence pushes

But her meek and mild manner invites only cold shoulders and contempt from her fellow students. So many of the girls she grew up with have already been given to old widowers--no one says a word if the girls she grew up with die in childbirth, to be replaced by fresh blood, ad infinitum, until the old

families shape the story (with a supporting cast made up of an older generation steeped in habit and old-fashioned first installment of this series of stories about sharp, disparate septuagenarians who meet to resolve cold Joyce is their newest member, and the four put their wits to the test to try to resolve cold cases.

Solid Mystery and Suspense Reads These six four-star mysteries are all so good and so different--they 01 The Witch Elm by Tana French A Tana French mystery is usually a pretty good bet for me, and I plowed The rural Siberian settings are exquisitely wrought, with stark, rugged, lush landscapes serving as the Hart has written many other books, including The Hush, which is the second in the Johnny Merrimon series

But Alexei's parents have always pushed him so ruthlessly, he never made friends or developed a life

The Huntress by Kate Quinn The character-driven post-WWII story was wonderful, with compelling and lush Quinn's character-driven post-World War II story was wonderful, with compelling and lush detail about Phoenix Crown and The Briar Club. 03 Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein I am no longer afraid of getting old I desperately want to grow old.

Emma's mother shows up, will the potentially serious feelings between them stand a chance against the push

unofficial mentor, zigzagging his way through life, embracing adventure, and bridging the gap between the old undeniable loyalty to each other), and witnessing the change in the community forever as modernity pushes

getting engaged, moving back to Peter's hometown, buying a house, and in Daphne's case, seamlessly folding

technology-driven attempt at survival--and at maybe just changing the world for the better, and for good visions for a year now, and she believes they're linked to the curse that the community believes has its hold But when Eugene rushes into the house, bloody and alone, Mia realizes something terrible has happened

Her home life is hectic, hardscrabble, and emotionally cold, but she has never known life to be any other Each of his small choices build to a crescendo of spilled secrets and an upended decades-old system of

nuptials, it doesn't take long for them to realize that Art has been kissing a boy and that Gwen has a crush

01 Swift the Storm, Fierce the Flame by Meg Long Meg Long's first novel was Cold the Night, Fast the

"For family you must fight like a tiger," Misha once told him. Wilf, whose wife is losing her memories at the same time vivid memories of past events come rushing back

Six Books with Cold, Wintry Settings to Read by the Fire. Emmett's planning to pick up his eight-year-old brother Billy and head west to start a new life. The mystery skips back and forth in time, and four years later, Iris's twin sister Ruth finally receives Ruth is soon on her way to Russia to try to extricate Iris from danger--but the truth about Iris's marriage and past is more complicated and fraught than Ruth could have imagined.

first installment of this series of stories about sharp, disparate septuagenarians who meet to resolve cold Joyce is their newest member, and the four put their wits to the test to try to resolve cold cases. Ruth, a young married woman living elsewhere in the city, is brutally attacked in her own home--and the intruder, who has piercing blue eyes but remains unidentified, is on the loose as Ruth reels from disastrous

visions for a year now, and she believes they're linked to the curse that the community believes has its hold Late in the book, June begins to understand the "folding of time" and intuits how timelines may have

Yet the necessary vigilance required to survive in the bush was so ingrained, years later she instinctively When the AIDS crisis decimates the Botswanan population; farming and development begin to push animals

I've been reading more rom-coms lately--which always seems like a good idea during the summer--and my I loved the fake marriage, the push and pull of career and love, and the second-chance romance.

The Second-Chance Books I love a good second-chance book in which the main character gets the opportunity in-between state that is not life and not death, in the form of a library that exists outside of time and holds buoyed or hindered by a feeling of déjà vu, and occasionally she feels compelled to take another path, rush The characters' feelings of anger, crushing grief, and hope feel real in both realities she's created

She's tried not to make emotional connections and she keeps to herself--old habits from her former life dogged local acting sheriff, Jo Thibodeau (a great and legit Maine last name), is complicating things, pushing

Called America by Tom Coyne Coyne spent a year traveling the United States in search of the greatest golf himself the goal of determining which of these many contenders deserves the title of the Great American Golf Along the way, Coyne connects with people across the country, all of whom share a love for golf--and

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading John Boyne's novel told in two timelines, World War II and present-day 01 All the Broken Places by John Boyne Ninety-one-year-old Gretel Fernsby is living out her days in a Gretel had been doing just fine skating through her days pushing down her guilt and her complicated past

She has always pushed down her grief, but she wants the girls to be able to lean on her.

And I'm listening to The Blood of the Old Kings , the first in Sung-Il Kim's fantasy series in which Nonie and her group carry a book holding precious history, and on their journey they encounter various All the Water in the World is slated for publication January 7, 2025. 02 Blood of the Old Kings (Bleeding I'm listening to The Blood of the Old Kings as an audiobook. 03 Hum by Helen Phillips After years working heard of a lush, past world), her lack of control over her family's fate is shown to be terrifyingly

When a documentary shines a light on Margot again, Billy's longtime crush on the musician is renewed.

Raine was a wealthy orphan sent from India to England at age 6 and grew up in the cold, strict Manor the established characters of Maeve, Nate, Phoebe, Bronwyn, and Knox from book one--along with other old someone unexpected comes to town, our sleuths realize that not everyone is who they say they are; that old

opens up friendship, competition, and a new path forward through a recreational tennis league, new and old friends, a supportive brother, and an old crush. A run-in with her old school crush Sam, her daughter's move from home, and stress and uncertainty at Daphne's sister Leda and Daphne's husband Jonathan, but most often alone, Eddie and Daphne revisit old

When Ursa was a child she was horribly abused by her father, and while she feels that she's pushed beyond A precious few in the story have the ability, and the power can be used for good (reminiscing, reliving

mystery aficionado Stevie Bell arrives as a new student at Ellingham Academy, determined to crack the cold might also like the young adult mysteries One of Us Is Lying, One of Us Is Next, and the stellar A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and its sequels Good Girl, Bad Blood and As Good As Dead (I haven't yet read

Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre ​ The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War is a wonderfully paced and skillfully recounted Cold War-era story of spy intrigue, paranoia, bravery double agent for Britain’s MI6, to be appointed Resident in the KGB—and to ultimately help end the Cold He does an excellent job of immersing the reader in Cold War-era mindsets, priorities, and sometimes

The wartime mud, endless slog, relentless death, and mostly pointless-seeming pushing onward toward mutual But a young, half-feral female student and a shockingly unorthodox widow both seem to hold mysterious

Aaron Falk #3) by Jane Harper The third in Jane Harper's Aaron Falk series offers procedural detail, a lush everyday brutality, corruption, and the general neglect of people and possessions and reveals imperfect goodness one brother makes justifications for his actions and feels no remorse, while the other brother feels crushed

She always imagined that she'd write a book of her own, and she imagined opening a bookshop in her old and its jumps from topic to topic feel like a reflection of the author's nonstop mind and relentless push

I think it's time for me to read more Alex White books--I've heard that the alien novels The Cold Forge