Author: OnMyNightstand

November 2025–Part Two:

November 30, 2025

Book #81:

The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony (335 pages).  This is historical fiction set in 1969 Dublin and is about their fight for women’s rights, broadly speaking. This is really well-told, through the lens of a woman named Maura who has married a well-respected doctor, and said doctor is not respectful of Maura. The right to contraception plays a big role here. I enjoyed how the tale is told here too. Maura, in the future, is on an annual memorial train ride from Dublin to Belfast where she’s telling her story to a young woman in 2023. This is totally immersive, well-written and the plot never drags. Very memorable and a perfect gift for any woman in your life. 5 stars.

Book #82:

Writers & Lovers by Lily King (Length: 333 pages). This novel is a bit polarizing–readers either enjoy it or they don’t. I’m firmly in the former camp here as I love this book! The premise is a young woman living in Boston in 1997 is trying to finish her first novel (6 years in the making), while waitressing at a high-end restaurant. Her mother died the year prior and she’s still working through her grief, while also dealing with a recent failed relationship and a few new relationships are on the horizon. This isn’t as navel-gazing as I worried it might be, and while I am well beyond this stage of life, I found points of commonality with the main character. I also really enjoyed the author’s writing style, and the ending is perfect. A memorable, well-written read, with depth and heart. 5 stars from me.

Book #83:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol 6 by Beth Brower (Length: 249 pages).   If you haven’t yet checked out this series, what are you waiting for? This volume is delightful, particularly because Emma has finally arrived at the age of her majority and is now the rightful owner of the Lapis Lazuli house. There is forward movement in Emma’s relationship with one of her best male friends, and she has her first job, which is as the personal secretary to a newly wealthy society lady. There are some hysterically funny scenes here. This series just gets better and better. It’s a thinking girl’s fun read. 5 stars, of course.

Book #84:

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer (507 pages).  This highly recommended fantasy is book 1 of the Cursebreaker series but absolutely can be read alone. I was so excited to finally read this (dark) Beauty and the Beast retelling, and it lived up to the hype for me. The author jumps right into the plot and then never lets up. The world-building is minimal so it’s very easy to follow and the romance is not the main focus here. The character “Beauty” is from present day and the “Beast” and the world of Emberfall is in another dimension and time, and I really enjoyed that juxtaposition. This is billed as being for 14 years of age and up but it didn’t read young adult to me at all. I’m totally fine ending the series here but there’s enough in this first book that may make me pick up the next in the series. A full 5 stars from me.

Book #85:

With Friends Like These by Alissa Lee (Length: 240 pages). This novel is part psychological thriller and part campus novel with a unique premise: the main characters are all grown up and are still playing an annual game they started playing in college called Circus (similar to the assassin game many high school students play). Their senior year of college one of their friends died and a few people 20 years later think they’ve spotted her prior and during their final round of this game. This is a quick, fun read with a propulsive plot. I figured out the twist a bit early on but there was enough going on that I wanted to read the resolution. I really enjoyed this one. 4 stars.

November 2025–Part One:

November 12, 2025

Book #76:

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh (351 pages).  This mystery author comes highly recommended by sources I trust, and I was excited to finally read this novel (of perfect length!). Well-constructed with an interesting premise, this novel is about two women who each want some killed, and who agree to kill the other’s target, giving the other a perfect alibi. This is a such a fun read! It’s propulsive, well-written (because bad writing is distracting in mysteries, let’s be honest) with people to root for. There are some great twists I didn’t see coming–the final twist really floored me, given a particular detail the author hid. A solid 5 stars from me and I’ll be recommending this in person from now on for a good, well-written mystery. (For true literary mysteries, my go-to recommendation is Louise Penny’s Three Pines series of course).

Book #77:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (Length: 265 pages). Yes, Emma is back. These wonderful novels are entirely addicting, and it takes great willpower for me not to read them all in order. (There are 8 so far in the series–25 total are expected–and I have the next 3 waiting in the wings on my Kindle). This particular installment is set in the fall through to New Year’s Eve. The focus is still on Emma’s deepening platonic friendships with 3 men: Pierce, the boarder in her attached guesthouse, Duke Islington and the young Vicar Hawkes. I loved Emma’s handmade Christmas gifts she gave to these three, and again, so many clever bits of conversation and laugh-out-loud turns of phrase here. Emma isn’t a perfect character or human being but she’s a total delight and her resilience is admirable. 5 stars from me. Once again.

Book #78:

What the Dead Know by Barbara Butcher (Length: 289 pages).   This is a non-fiction account written by a medico-legal investigator with New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The author’s job is to determine the cause and manner of deaths at scenes of fatal accidents, suicides and homicides. These accounts are disturbing, graphic, depressing and scary but are also well-worth a read as the dead deserve our attention to their stories. The author has personal battle scars of her own and is honest about her past addiction. Her background colors her accounts of how she handles the crime scenes and her clients and the writing is top-notch here. These stories are memorable, and this is honestly difficult to put down. I absolutely recommend this one. 4.5 stars.

Book #79:

The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham (428 pages).  Boarding school and campus novels are my jam so I had to pick up this new novel written by Elin Hilderbrand and her adult daughter which is set in the imaginary Tiffin Academy in New England. Rich kids behaving badly plus faculty making questionable life decisions set in a gorgeous stereotypical boarding school experience (with gourmet meals to boot) make this a really fun read. This novel is told from various perspectives: the female headmaster, the new girl (a junior), a few teachers and the student body itself. Nothing too serious happens but there is a bit of a plot and book two (about senior year) is en route. I do want to read about what happens to these students and I’ll definitely check it out. 4 stars.

Book #80:

Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden (Length: 327 pages). I listened to this one as this is one of my favorite authors to listen to when I want an easy-to-follow, psychological mystery/thriller. This particular novel (as is the case with most of this author’s novels) is not well-written. The premise here is interesting on its face: a woman kills her abusive husband and then hides out in an out-of the-way dilapidated motel, named the Bates Motel. There’s a profile of a woman sitting in the window of the house behind the motel, surprise, surprise. The plot IS propulsive, and I kept picking this one back up, so there’s that. The resolution of the story is pretty straightforward, but apparently the author isn’t sure we understood it so she has a character walk us through the resolution step by step, in case we didn’t get it. The twists are fun here, if not a bit obvious. Don’t expect too much with this one but I’ll give it 3 stars for its entertainment value.

October 2025–Part Two:

November 2, 2025

Book #73:

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (341 pages).  I love TJRs writing. My favorite novel of hers is still One True Loves but this is officially my second favorite (with my third being The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo). I grew up loving learning about space and the astronauts, so this novel about the space shuttle in the early 1980s, featuring some of the first female astronauts is a perfect fit for my interests. The love story at the center of this book is the focus here and it’s very well-done. The dialogue and chemistry between the two female astronauts are well-drawn, and the romantic scenes are closed door. I’d say this book is 80% romance, 20% space (NASA, flight training, flight to space), and I do wish there was a bit more about space and the flight at the center of the novel, but even given that, this is a solid 5 stars from me. So memorable and TJR’s vivid writing puts the reader right there in the novel. Please read!

Book #74

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams (Length: 368 pages). This is the third novel in the 4-novel When in Rome romance series. This is a popular closed-door romance series so if that’s up your alley, definitely check out these books. I adore Sarah Adams’ writing so much and this novel is my favorite so far. Focusing on Walker sibling #3, Emily, as well as her nemesis Jack Bennett, her second grade teacher teammate. Their chemistry is off the charts here, with a sweetness to the enemy to lovers trope that I really enjoyed. Witty banter feels organic and everything works. I adore the small-town setting of Rome, Kentucky and really enjoyed seeing the siblings from the first two books. This is cute but well-written and a must-read! 5 stars.

Book #75:

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell (Length: 576 pages).   One of my favorite TV series is HBO’s The Gilded Age and this well-written non-fiction narrative account of Huguette Clark is a perfect complement to that series. Huguette’s father was W.A. Clark, the copper mining magnate who rubbed elbows with the Astors and the Rockefellers, and who built the largest house in New York City (121 rooms for a family of 4). Huguette lived to 104 years of age, with the last 20 years of her life living in a small hospital room, by her choice, while owning three empty mansions. This is a fantastic story with so many vivid details of the wild west mining towns, the uber-wealthy families and the sad tale of Huguette, a lonely heiress. A long read but well worth the effort here. 4.5 stars.

October 2025–Part One:

October 15, 2025

Book #70:

The Tell by Amy Griffin (275 pages).  I heard about this memoir due to it being an Oprah Book Club pick. A mother of 4 can’t stop running or pushing her body beyond the point of just being healthy. Amy Griffin has been like this her entire life; well, at least since middle school. This is very well-written and is excellent on audio. There are some pretty graphic flashbacks about some traumatic events in Amy’s life, so trigger warnings apply here. These scenes are not gratuitous but are very vividly drawn, so it’s a stressful read/listen in that regard. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the connections between trauma and our bodies, as well as the psychology and science of repressed memories. A solid 4 stars from me.

Book #71:

My Friends by Fredrik Backman (Length: 448 pages). I’ve read that readers either adore Backman’s writing style, or they find it very annoying. I’m firmly a Backman fan, and his novel Beartown is on my top 10 books of all-time list. This novel, his most recent, is most like the Beartown style of writing than some of his other novels in that it focuses on youth and trauma they experience at the hands of trusted adults in their lives. Here, the central theme is art, or more specifically a painting by a young man, painted in a rough part of a town, with his friends who are experiencing very tough childhoods. (Trigger warnings for abuse here: child and spousal). I adored the friendship story at the center of this novel, told in flashbacks, and the present-day account, in equal measure. This is a memorable story, well-told, per usual. 5 stars from me.

Book #72:

This is Happiness by Niall Williams (Length: 390 pages).   This work of literary fiction is the first I’ve read by this award-winning author. I love novels set in Ireland so that’s why I picked this one up. Read this one for its beautiful writing and not for the plot as there isn’t much of one. This gorgeous novel is about the small town of Faha, County Clare, on the western seaboard of Ireland, told from the perspective of 17-year-old Noel who is sent to live with his grandparents in 1958, after his mother falls ill. Noel is writing this book as a 78-year-old man, looking back. In this story, electricity is being brought to Faha for the very first time, and 60-year-old Christy, hired to help talk the townspeople into signing up to wire their homes and connect into grid, lodges with Noel’s grandparents. Noel then becomes friends with Christy and learns that Christy is in Faha primarily to apologize to his first love, whom he left at the altar years ago. This is so beautifully told and brought me to tears in the end. It’s slow going at first but once you lose yourself in the language, you’ll want to keep reading. 5 stars.

September 2025 Part Two:

September 30, 2025

Book #64:

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand (Length: 433 pages).  I really enjoyed this one! Set in both Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, the two main characters are identical twin sisters: Harper and Tabitha Frost. They are estranged, due in part to Parent Trap-style machinations years ago and part due to emotional traumas. This is a very fun read, with Hilderbrand’s strong writing per usual; it is a bit cheesy in parts but the propulsive plot and writing style makes this one more memorable than most of her books. 4.5 stars from me.

Book #65:

The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan (Length: 336 pages). I’m OBSESSED with this non-fiction book! I listened to this one on audio, and it’s definitely the way to go here. At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, four stay at home moms investigated a cold case murder of a couple whose car had gone over the guardrail into a deep ravine outside of Santa Monica, California. Because it was COVID lockdown, everyone who was a potential witness (including the case detectives) were at home and the women just cold-called them, starting to break this complex case open. This is so well-written and reads like a murder novel. It’s propulsive and you won’t be able to stop reading or listening. The audio was excellent here, with the reading of the group chats adding extra interest. This is absolutely a five-star book. Let me know if you pick this one up!

Book #66:

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods (Length: 448 pages).   There seem to be so many fiction books with the words “Bookshop” or “Bookstore” in them and apparently, I’m on a quest to read all of them. This particular novel has a blend of magical realism and romance and is set in two time periods: the 1920s through 1950s and present day. Opaline Carlisle is a woman in Ireland who opens a bookshop in the 1920s, which was very unusual for the time period. And in present day, Martha and Henry are two young people in Ireland who are connected to and are looking for this bookshop which has mysteriously vanished. This is a sweet story with likeable characters, but it’s a bit over-dramatic in parts. I enjoyed the focus on books here, especially those written by the Bronte sisters. This is a memorable, fun read. 4 stars.

Book #67:

Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens (Length: 367 pages). Romantic comedies with older protagonists are rare, and I’m so happy when I pick one up that’s actually really well written, as this one is. Anna Appleby is 38, freshly divorced with two kids, and works as a journalist for a local magazine called Bath Living, about the goings on in Bath, England. To save her job, Anna agrees to write a dating column with the premise of her kids choosing who she dates and what they are to do on the date. There is of course, a separate love interest, and the chemistry between Anna and this person is fantastic. The dialogue is witty and charming, and I thought about these characters even when I wasn’t reading this. 5 stars.

Book #68:

A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst (Length: 251 pages). This non-fiction account of an English couple, Maralyn and Maurice, who were lost at sea in 1973 after their boat capsized en route to New Zealand, thanks to a breaching whale. Forced to survive on an inflatable raft and small dinghy, this is partially an adventure story but it’s mostly about them as people and as a couple. This is a riveting, fast read and well-paced (although it does slow down a bit in the last third). 4 stars from me.

Book #69:

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower (Length: 208 pages). This volume is the best volume so far! Emma is trying to figure out options for her financial future, but this takes a backseat as her friendship with a trio of 3 different men continues to deepen. This quartet recognizes they have a unique chemistry together and it’s fun to see this develop. Emma, of course, gets into more hilarious adventures and her witty repartee shines even more here. These are so well-written and just so funny. I find myself smiling as I read them. 5 stars, of course.