Strout is truly a marvel in the way she crafts full, complicated lives through sharing small moments. I loved every bit of this. Oh, Olive! In Olive, Again, she ambles through town and reflects on aging, on her life, and especially on memories of moments that shaped her life’s direction, her attitude, her viewpoint—and those of the people close to her. Because this is the character of Olive from Olive Kitteridge, these are not saccharine snippets of wisdom from an warm, cozy grandmother. The moments are sometimes sour, sometimes regretful, sometimes heartbreaking, but often lovely in their rough honesty. I could spend days reading about her introspection and her gruff and straightforward ways. Through Olive and other connected characters in Crosby, Maine, we see secrets, pain, and disappointments laid bare—and we also often get to witness true joy emerge during guileless and unexpected connections with others, although thankfully Strout doesn’t make any of it too easy or perfect. I love that Olive, in what seems to be a combination of unintentional and intentional acts, alienates anyone relying on interactions built around small talk or any discussion of the weather. Yet she is strong enough to cut to the heart of tough situations and to sit within the pain of them--alone or with others--without shying away. I worried that a book revisiting Olive might feel indulgent or unnecessary, but this is a deep look at aging, intimacy, love, disappointment, renewed hope, betrayal, and redemption. Strout is truly a marvel in the way she crafts full, complicated lives through sharing small moments. I just love it all! I received an advanced copy of this book from Random House through NetGalley. Any Bossy thoughts about this book? If you've read this one, what did you think? I'd suggest reading Strout's Olive Kitteridge for context before picking up this book, but I liked this one even more. She's also the author of Anything Is Possible, My Name Is Lucy Barton, The Burgess Boys, and Amy and Isabelle--a book I've had on my to-read list since stumbling upon it in a bookstore when it was first published in 1998, forgetting the title, remembering that it was two women's names, and then a few years ago realizing that this was it. Time to get to that one, I think! This book is part of the Greedy Reading List Six Book Club Books I Loved Last Year.

of a close-knit network of community members) and a successful city doctor with expensive taste and very alternating points of view from Daniel and Alexis, Part of Your World is romantic, often funny, sometimes sexy

Greatest Hits ; I'm listening to Miranda July's All Fours ; and I'm reading Christina Lynch's bighearted mystery Then their run abruptly ended, and for the public, the reasons for their breakup were a mystery. Music . 02 All Fours by Miranda July Miranda July offers an unexpected midlife journey, in which a semi-famous So far this is a cute--at times a little too cute for my taste--mystery that seems sure to be headed

Ava Wilder's rom-com takes us behind the scenes of a hit teen TV show whose lead characters once liked each other in real life but now can't stand each other. This was funny, sweet, steamy, and poignant--a fantastic summer light-fiction read that I loved. Maybe she was just as confused as he was about what they were to each other: unsure what she wanted, what was attainable, what was worth hoping for. Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are the stars of the popular paranormal television show Intangible, and for multiple seasons they've yearned for each other on screen, but their characters have never gotten together. Lilah has dreams of directing and of breaking into movies, but she's back for the sixth and final season of the show, in which her character and Shane's will finally get together. But in real life, Shane and Lilah detest each other. Their secret tryst at the end of season one ended badly, and they've been far from friendly ever since. In order to get through their final season, they'll have to play nice--and get more intimate on screen than either of them ever wanted to again. I LOVED this. The premise sounded like a slam dunk for me, and the reality of the book was a funny, poignant, banter-filled, behind-the-scenes, realistically complicated, wonderful story. The difficulties keeping Shane and Lilah apart felt realistic rather than manufactured--miscommunication and habitual defensiveness, the foolishness of youth, fear of vulnerability--so I happily bought into the will-they-won't-they tensions. There's a ton of steaminess as Lilah and Shane at times can't deny their attraction and act upon it. I smiled a lot, I teared up, and I loved this perfect summer read! Do you have any Bossy thoughts about this book? I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine Dell. If this book sounds intriguing, 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 Stories.

(Jennings has also authored a series of Junior Genius Guides to U.S. presidents, the human body, dinosaurs Rowling I'm just finishing the Harry Potter series for the third time (I read it once on my own before found I've been resisting reading this year's Troubled Blood, the newest book in the Cormoran Strike mystery series that Rowling writes under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. In our house, recipes for semi-beginner cooks need to balance independent tasks and confidence-boosting

I'm listening to The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, the first installment in Shannon Chakraborty's series But one by one, the Osage began to be killed under mysterious circumstances. Edgar Hoover turning to a former Texas Ranger, Tom White, to head up the group trying to figure out the mystery Chakraborty I'm listening to the first wonderful installment in Shannon Chakraborty's Amina al-Sirafi fantasy series Then a mysterious, wealthy matriarch preys upon Amina's need for funds--and her desire for one final,

Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger The first in the author's young adult steampunk Finishing School series I loved the first book in Gail Carriger's five-book (plus a prequel short) Parasol Protectorate series Power , Vengeful , and the wonderful Invisible Life of Addie LaRue , as well as the Shades of Magic series (The first two books in that series are A Darker Shade of Magic  and A Gathering of Shadows , each of This is the first in a series and I'm really looking forward to reading the next installment.

Schwab's Shades of Magic series. after crisis erupts, situations require ingenuity, teamwork, selflessness, and a more sophisticated mastery The series is adult fantasy but would be appropriate for a young adult reader--if not averse to Lila's The first two books in the Shades of Magic series are A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows The first book in that series is Vicious and the most recent is Vengeful, with a third not yet published

upon a real-life figure; I'm listening to the third installment in Karen McManus's One of Us Is Lying series McManus I'm listening to this third installment in Karen McManus's One of Us Is Lying series. Over the course of the past two books, the Bayview Four solved mysteries and established that they were unexpected comes to town, our sleuths realize that not everyone is who they say they are; that old mysteries The first two books in the One Of Us Is Lying series are One of Us Is Lying and One of Us Is Next.

Here are just six of my favorite reads--some of which cross genres into mystery, science fiction (time aftermath of World War I in this irresistible first installment of Winspear's 18-book historical fiction series Maisie Dobbs begins Winspear's series as a thirteen-year-old servant in a Belgravia mansion, but Maisie Check out this Greedy Reading List for Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You . The beginning of the book moves quite slowly, which is fitting for the decadent, ongoing series of lavish

#timetravel, #mystery, #fantasyscifi, #fourstarbookreview 02 Here and Now and Then ​ Kin Stewart was Very very happy. Serle's In Five Years totally hit the spot for me, and it also wasn’t exactly what I expected. When she finds a mysterious book her father had acquired, it shows January unlikely possibilities about She disappears from her family and leaves behind a tragic mystery, while in her forays through new worlds

San Francisco; I'm listening to The Knight and the Moth , the first in Rachel Gillig's rich fantasy series with a slight romantic storyline; and I'm reading Amity Gaige's Heartwood , a missing-persons mystery But when a series of vindictive, one-star reviews threaten their business, they must figure out who has and the Moth (Stonewater Kingdom #1) by Rachel Gillig The first in Rachel Gillig's Stonewater Kingdom series Sybil Delling and a group of five other foundling girls who have given up ten years of their lives to serve

In this second book in the series, Amina is obliged to seek a magical artifact on behalf of a powerful reader into Amina's frustrating reality as she discovers the emerging truths about her situation and the mysterious More Adventure Stories Shannon Chakraborty wrote the first book in this series, The Adventures of Amina

Very very happy. Serle's In Five Years totally hit the spot for me, and it also wasn’t exactly what I expected.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Tochi Onyebuchi's dark, broody fantasy mystery, Harmattan 01 Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi In Tochi Onyebuchi's newest fantasy mystery novel, main protagonist But when a young woman shows up bleeding at his home, then mysteriously disappears, he is shocked into Harmattan Season is a dark, broody, mysterious fantasy story that takes place in post-colonial West

Graham's Cold War Cookbook . 02 Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams Williams's historical fiction mystery In Williams's historical fiction mystery, which skips back and forth in time, four years later, Iris's I also enjoyed the second book in this series, A Course of All Treasons . I looove a historical fiction mystery. you do too, you might want to check out the titles on the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Mysteries

French is the author of six books in the Dublin Murder Squad series: In the Woods, The Likeness (my absolute In this first book in the One of Us Is Lying series, McManus takes us through each of the suspects in

different names bestowed upon a baby boy; I'm reading the first in Dani Francis's dystopian romance series This is the first in a series. 03 The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr In a seaside Irish town in the As the community wonders at his mysterious appearance, they embrace Brandon, as he is ultimately named

their family move to rural Vermont, Country People; and I'm listening to Amy Bloom's first foray into mystery In Blunt Instrument, she dives into mysteries, offering a private investigator whose father's past association a prepublication electronic version of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Penzler Publishers: The Mysterious

reading: The Summer Guests , Tess Gerritsen's newest Martini Club offering, which centers around a mystery The Summer Guests (Martini Club #2) by Tess Gerritsen In book one of Tess Gerritsen's Martini Club series This is the second book in Tess Gerritsen's Martini Club series. Power , Vengeful , and the wonderful Invisible Life of Addie LaRue , as well as the Shades of Magic series (The first two books in that series are A Darker Shade of Magic  and A Gathering of Shadows , each of

playful tone and clever main protagonist in Olivia Waite's science-fiction novella make for an appealing mystery In Olivia Waite's slim science-fiction mystery, Dorothy wakes up...in a body that's not her own. In this outer-space-set mystery, Dorothy must figure out who's behind the destruction and how to save When a series of vindictive, one-star reviews threaten their business, they must figure out who has it When she catches wind of a valuable, mysterious piece of technology on another planet, she banks on her

wife writing team of Collette Lyons and Paul Vlitos) offers a gorgeously wrought historical fiction mystery The mysterious appearance of what seems to be a Juliette Willoughby original, followed by a tragic death O'Keefe's first space opera in the Devoured Worlds series presents failing worlds filled with conflict O'Keefe's Devoured Worlds series, The Blighted Stars , studious Tarquin Mercator is the unlikely heir universe-spanning drama in The Blighted Stars , and it sets up complexities for the books to come in this series

subjects, a main protagonist's surprisingly believable entrée into body snatching, a forbidden love, and serial dark, twisty, gothic, and it's set in 19th-century Scotland as fictionalized versions of real-life serial affected by the complication of societal intolerance for gay relationships in this period), plus the mystery

I loved Pobi's mystery; the character of Page, a retired detective who is pulled back onto a case; and This was a really compelling mystery/thriller—with a smart underlying commentary about gun ownership, I haven't yet read the second in this Lucas Page series, Under Pressure--and when I read City of Windows I didn't even realize it was part of a series, it stands so well on its own. I mentioned this book in the Greedy Reading List The Six Best Mysteries I Read Last Year.

This bighearted novel holds a mystery, but its main focus is  neurodivergent main protagonist Denny and Trying to do the right thing seems to not work out very well for Denny. A mystery buiilt upon a neurodivergent main protagonist's challenges with the surrounding world and thriving Voss is a bighearted novel with an irresistible main protagonist and surrounding players, and the mystery

The Books I'm Reading Now This week I'm listening to a mystery about writers tasked with competing to are invited to the private Scottish island and castle where the reclusive Arthur Fletch, bestselling mystery But when they arrive, they find that Fletch, who had been working on a new mystery, is dead.

found myself wanting more worldbuilding and more depth for our main character in this first book in the series so, which seems oddly convenient for the story; he also seems to almost certainly be the purportedly mysterious of the book feels designed to set up for later books, but I felt that this first installment in the series The next installment in this series is scheduled for publication in March under the title Beneath .

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm listening to Tasha Suri's rich story-within-a-story fantasy novel The Isle in the Silver Sea ; I'm reading Thrity Umrigar's recently published mystery about a missing woman, our climate, the power of love, and the strength of assumptions, Missing Sam ; and I'm continuing my recent mystery 01 The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri In an alternate England, an island lives on stories. Algonquin Books and NetGalley. 03 Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell I've been continuing my cold-weather mystery-reading

VenCo offers feminist, hard-drinking, foul-mouthed witches bound together by mysterious forces who undergo a quest to secure their survival by fighting a sexy, evil, legendary enemy out to destroy them. Then a mysterious power begins calling to her. Through a series of unexpected events, she is offered a mysterious job at a publishing company...but I was excited about the premise of a sleek, powerful company serving as a front for a coven of witches

Elaborate mythology swirls around the mysterious author of the blockbuster fantasy series The Falling self-esteem--and when she was starting out, she naively signed away most of her rights to the millions the series She's months late delivering the newest installment of the series, and her publisher and fans are losing This is a zany romp, as Libby's determination to push on to an ending for her series combines with her

The relationship is one to root for, and I really liked the minor mystery, supporting characters, and A minor mystery runs through the story (was Luca targeted, by whom, and why?)

mentioned the great Folk of the Air trilogy in the Greedy Reading List Six Royally Magical Young Adult Series panic, she makes a magical deal in which she lives on...in the world of her sister's favorite fantasy series Long Live Evil . 05 A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal The first installment in Faizal's Blood and Tea series In the first book of Hafsah Faizal's Blood and Tea series, A Tempest of Tea , Arthie Casimir collects cared about, funny gems, tantalizing moments, and an intriguing build-up to the books to come in this series

with family drama and dating again, Definitely Better Now ; and I'm listening to Jacqueline Harpman's eerie , mysterious, slim post-apocalyptic-feeling novel, I Who Have Never Known Men . Harpman's slim novel is mysterious, eerie, and strange.

And I was disappointed to have easily guessed the facts at the heart of the minor mystery. And I guessed the facts surrounding the minor mystery surrounding those events early on, which was disappointing

Deanna Raybourn While Veronica and Stoker stay close to home while entering into danger and solving the mysteries in book six of this series, Raybourn repeatedly evokes images of the fictional European country Alpenwald While Veronica and Stoker stick close to home for their adventures in this installment of the series, (There are currently nine books in the series, with a tenth scheduled for publication in 2026.) A mystery surrounds a deadly moment, and the book ends with a hopeful, imperfect, heartbreaking way forward

Reading Now I'm reading A Restless Truth, the second book in Freya Marske's historical fiction fantasy mystery Truth (Last Binding #2) by Freya Marske A Restless Truth is the second in Freya Marske's queer fantasy mystery Last Binding series that began with A Marvellous Light. A Marvellous Light was full of Edwardian England detail, gay love, mystery, magic, wonderful dialogue to an elderly woman on an ocean liner (so she can help her beloved older brother resolve a magical mystery

The Villa is gothic suspense told in two timelines, both at the same Italian villa, where dark mysteries flighty Chess is a popular, single self-help author and influencer, while Emily, who is emerging from a mysterious long-term illness and in the middle of a contentious divorce, is the author of a successful series of cozy mysteries--but she just can't get her tenth book going. Hawkins takes us back and forth from the decades-old mystery and deaths at the villa to the growing unease

01 London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden , and I can't wait. 03 All in Her Hands (Nora Beady #3) by Audrey Blake This is the third book in a series

Mysteries abound within McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore , but the story is largely an atmospheric story of When a mysterious woman washes up half-dead on the remote island of Shearwater, home of the world's largest There are mysteries at the center of the story, but for me this was a captivating, atmospheric dive into

inspiration follow--along with danger and and uncertain implications for the future in this atmospheric, eerie the foggy coast with its literal deadly pitfalls hidden throughout the sand perfectly reflects the mysterious This slim story (the book is 176 pages) is eerie and unforgettable.

and The Winter of the Witch are the others, and I think Arden's stories get even stronger as the series The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo The Night Tiger is a wonderful historical fiction mystery and love I also listed this book in the Greedy Reading List Six Historical Fiction Mysteries to Intrigue You . Novik is also the author of the Scholomance series: A Deadly Education , The Last Graduate , and The I feel compelled to also mention that Novik has a series of nine books about dragons, the Temeraire series

boy, a respectable citizen, and a disgraced police officer are intertwined through connections to a series of mysterious deaths. an enigmatic note written in a copy of the novel, a seeming suicide, a disappeared body, and other mysterious unexplained behavior, who seem untrustworthy and whose accounts feel unreliable, and in a grim, twisted, mysterious Adam Hamdy is also the author of the Scott Pearce series, the Pendulum trilogy, Battalion, and Out of

her complicated family and in the world, Vera, or Faith ; I'm reading Steve Cavanagh's twisty revenge mystery Publishing Group and NetGalley. 02 Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh In Steve Cavanagh's twisty mystery This is the first mystery I've read by Steve Cavanagh.

The man, who reveals that he was called Good Stab by his family and friends, appears mysteriously in insists on confessing to the pastor, and his story grows increasingly haunting as he recounts a harrowing series

Hell Bent (Alex Stern #2) by Leigh Bardugo In the second installment in Leigh Bardugo's Alex Stern series Ninth House was the first in Bardugo's Alex Stern series. Reading Lists, Six Spooky, Gothic Tales and Six Historical Fiction Mysteries Sure to Intrigue You. But I'm fully invested in this series. Novik has also written a wonderful series of nine books about dragons, the Temeraire series.

Ali Hazelwood brings her wonderful banter and an intriguing mystery to this steamy interspecies romance Misery Lark is the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre in the region, and she'd prefer to literally As a child, Misery was given up by her family and community as collateral to keep the peace. But Misery has her own reasons for willingly entering into this marriage--her best friend's safety may , check out Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, which includes Soulless and Changeless.

For the Tween Mystery Fan 04 The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls by Judith Rossell Along with The chance, I'll be giving a certain someone this 2025 title, described as " a whimsical, adventure-filled mystery But the place is filled with young ladies solving mysteries, protecting the city, and fighting bad guys Judith Rossell is also the author of the Stella Montgomery series.

The Books I'm Reading Now I'm reading Anatomy: A Love Story, a gothic young adult historical fiction mystery in a series by K. Eason's science fiction mystery, a templar, Iari, and a spy, Gaer, band together to solve the mystery Eason is also the author of the On the Bones of Gods fantasy series. This is the first book in The Weep series.

wonders if he and she might find their way to each other again--at least in order to understand the mystery Up to this point, I was completely hooked on the story and the mystery of the Arc as well as the past

full review of The Names. 05 The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr Carr's newest novel is a captivating series As the community wonders at his mysterious, whimsical appearance, they embrace Brendan, as he is ultimately Click here   for my full review of The Boy from the Sea . 06 Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy Mysteries When a mysterious woman washes up half-dead on the remote island of Shearwater, home of the world's largest There are mysteries at the center of the story, but for me this was a captivating, atmospheric dive into