April 2025–Part One

April 28, 2025

Book #21:

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski (Length: 267 pages).  This is a sweet, feel-good novel about a group of elderly Catholic church ladies in the small town of Northwoods, who cook massive feasts of casseroles and desserts for every funeral in their town. Esther, one of the afore-mentioned ladies, who is facing losing her family home (due to an embarrassing circumstance) and her granddaughter Iris, are the focus of this book. Both love men who suffer from PTSD and part of this story is about the dynamics that occur in romantic relationships. Those parts aren’t easy to read but the overall story arc is really sweet (yet not saccharine) and this is well-written, with perfect pacing. I raced through it. 4 solid stars from me.

Book #22

Jane and Dan At the End of the World by Colleen Oakley (Length: 368 pages). This is the third novel by this author I’ve read so far, and it’s my favorite. Jane and Dan go to an uber-exclusive restaurant (courtesy of a raffle they randomly won) where a hostage situation develops exactly as Jane tells Jan she wants a divorce after almost 2 decades of marriage. The kicker? The developing situation mirrors her first novel she got published (with lackluster numbers). This is laugh-out-loud funny, very well-written, and fast-paced. The premise is memorable because it’s so unusual. I was smiling during most of the novel. Five stars from me.

Book #23:

You Like it Darker by Stephen King (Length: 510 pages).  King has collated a diverse collection of short stories here. Some are much longer and some are very short, but each is well-written, and I enjoyed each one. My favorites in the bunch are “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream” which is about a psychic dream Danny (a high school janitor) has which results in him being accused of a murder, “Rattlesnakes” which is about yes, rattlesnakes, and dead twin boys who won’t go away and “The Answer Man” who is a modern-day genie who answers questions about your life, if you ask them the correct way. King, as always, is such a solid writer, and I enjoyed every minute I spent with this collection. 5 stars!

Book #24:

How to Have a Happy Birthday by Tamar Hurwitz-Fleming (Length: 148 pages).  I was gifted this book (along with its companion workbook) by the publisher. I enjoyed this easy-to-read volume full of ideas on how to reframe how to think of your birthday once you are an adult. The author skillfully helps you to figure out the basis for any negative feelings you may be harboring about this special day via various anecdotes and stories. She parcels out concrete tips on how to “have a happy birthday”. This would be a fun gift idea to a birthday grinch in your life . . . just be sure to gift it to them a month or so before, so they maximize their enjoyment based on these tips.

March 2025

March 31, 2025

Book #15:

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson (Length: 340 pages).  I’ve read a few mysteries by this author, so I was excited to get my hands on this one. This is loosely based on the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None in that nine people receive a list of names in the mail with their name on it, and one by one they are killed off by a nameless murderer who remains unknown until the very end. The resolution is interesting but ultimately a bit disappointing after the suspenseful build-up. The changing points of view of the various characters aren’t difficult to keep track of (although I can’t imagine it would be easy to do so in an audiobook version). Overall, I’ll give this mystery 4 stars because I enjoyed the ride.

Book #16:

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson (Length: 433 pages). This is a quirky post-WWI novel set in a town in England on the sea. The focus of this novel is the eponymous club and Constance, a young woman who needs to work to support herself, but who is mingling with female members of society who don’t. This was pretty slow to start (and I almost DNF’d) but my desire to find out what happened to Constance made me pick it back up and I’m so glad I did as the action picks up about halfway through and then I couldn’t put it down. This is a fascination examination of the plight of women who are left jobless and without purpose after their wartime jobs are taken back by the soldiers returning home. The writing is strong and often lyrical and overall, I enjoyed this look at a very specific slice of life and time period in England’s history. 4.5 stars.

Book #17:

A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko (Length: 505 pages).  This non-fiction account of author and his photographer friend hiking the entire length of the Grand Canyon National Park (700 miles!) had me literally gasping in shock the first few pages. What a read!! I adored The Emerald Mile (Kevin’s historical account of the fastest rafting trip down the Grand Canyon) and his skillful writing in on full display once again in this entertaining, harrowing, frustrating and humorous book. I came away from this fully inspired to tackle my annual (and much shorter) hike in the Grand Canyon this month, and I found some fellow readers along the trail who also enjoyed this as much as I did. This would be a fantastic gift for anyone who enjoys adventure tales or books about hiking and nature. 5 stars!

Book #18:

Plainsong by Kent Haruf (Length: 320 pages).  Finding myself in the mood for some solid literary fiction, I finally picked up this National Book Award Finalist (book 1 of 3) featuring a community in the small town of Holt, Colorado. The author skillfully weaves various members of the community together and does it so beautifully here. Characters such as Tom Guthrie, the American History teacher at the local high school and his young sons Bobby and Ike, who have a paper route, causing them to interact with everyone in town. Victoria Robideaux is a young, pregnant high school student, and her teacher Maggie Jones is Tom’s co-worker and Victoria’s savior. My favorite characters, however, are the elderly bachelor farmers, the McPheron brothers, who immediately stole my heart. This novel is memorable, never saccharine and truly is a work of great literature. 5 solid stars from me.

Book #19:

The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn (Length: 385 pages).  This is the fourth or fifth novel I’ve read by this author. I believe I got this one as part of the Amazon Prime free books and just hadn’t gotten around to it. This author is known for writing rom-coms with emotional depth and this novel is no exception, Jessie, her 18 year old half-sister Tegan, along with a podcasting duo of Salem Durant (think “Serial” level fame) and her assistant/partner Adam Hawkins set off on a trip to find the young women‘s mother who is believed to have run off with a notorious con man (the subject of Salem’s hit podcast). The plot is a bit confusing in the beginning, but it’s worth sticking with it, if only for the central romance. The chemistry is believable, the romantic developments are realistic, and the novel is really beautifully written. 4 stars from me. (Deducting one star for the slower start).

Book #20:

Tilt by Emma Pattee (Length: 240 pages). This book seems to be everywhere right now. Billed as psychological literary fiction, this short novel features Annie, a 37-week pregnant woman shopping for a baby crib in IKEA when the “Big One” (the Cascadia earthquake–a real-life pending 9.0 earthquake that will decimate the West Coast) hits. Set entirely over the course of one day, Annie tries to walk across the devastated city to find her husband, while alternating chapters flash back to Annie’s life. I am not a fan of Annie at all. I found her to be entirely too whiny and navel-gazing, but I was able to empathize with her and her situation thanks to the very vivid and skillful writing of the author. I literally read this book start to finish in a few hours because I had to find out what happens to Annie and her baby. I found the ending to be unsatisfying initially, but then after a few hours, thought that it had to end this way based on everything that came before. A solid 4 stars from me.

February 2025–Part Two

March 30, 2025

Book #12:

The Undercurrent by Sarah Sawyer (Length: 279 pages).  This is a literary mystery, with the emphasis on literary. This is about Bee and Gus, twins in a Texas town, and when they are 15 years old, a neighborhood girl goes missing. Slow-moving, but beautifully told, this novel features alternating timelines as well as various points of view. Bee is a new mother in the present-day timeline, and the other viewpoints are in the past, including Bee, her mother and Leo (the twins’ best friend’s) mother. This is very well-written, and I enjoyed the resolution. Trigger warning for miscarriage, and there are other tough themes but those are all off the page. A solid 4 stars from me.

Book #13:

The Off Limits Rule by Sarah Adams (Length: 322 pages). This is a cute rom-com (the first in a duology) featuring a single mom who moves back home and stays with her older, very protective brother. And of course, her brother’s best friend is known as a player, so he’s “off limits” to Lucy. But of course Cooper is impossibly hot, and charming, and kind to Lucy’s son, so a secret romance occurs. The chemistry between Lucy and Cooper is believable on the page, the 4 year old son is adorable and the writing is solid. Nothing special but a fun way to spend an afternoon. 3.5 stars.

Book #14:

The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak (Length: 352 pages).  I enjoyed this author’s previous mystery Hidden Pictures, so I was excited to pick this one up. The protagonist is a middle-class UPS driver dad who is contacted by his adult daughter, Maggie, after a 3 yearlong estrangement, and Maggie surprises her dad with the news that she’s marrying the uber-wealthy Aidan Gardner, the son of the founder of the mysterious company where Maggie works: Capaciti. So, Frank heads to a palatial private estate in New Hampshire to join the festivities. The foreshadowing is a bit aggressive here and I figured it out way too early for my liking. But it’s an enjoyable, FAST read (I read it in one sitting) and I will remember the central mystery and plot. A solid 4 stars from me.

February 2025–Part One

February 17, 2025

Book #9:

The Hop by Diana Clarke (Length: 526 pages).  This unique novel is a fun take set first in New Zealand and then in Nevada and features sex workers as the protagonists. Kate Burns leaves New Zealand and becomes Lady Lane at the Bunny Hop Ranch. Her tale is told via a series of interviews of various people in Kate’s life, a la Daisy Jones and the Six. The writing style here is so engaging and vivid; I felt like I was there with Kate, and I found this novel so difficult to put down. The subject matter here is difficult but I think it’s an important perspective and should be read. 4.5 stars from me.

Book #10:

The Unlikely Thru-Hiker by Derick Lugo (Length: 320 pages). Continuing with my obsession with the Appalachian Trail and reading all of the accounts of hiking this trail, I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of this particular account. (It’s not available at my local library or my local bookstores; I had to order a used copy via Thriftbooks). Derick Lugo is a black man living in New York City and he decided to hike the entire AT in one go, with zero training and only an upbeat, positive attitude. I LOVED this book! The author’s joy in being on the trails is evident on every page. He describes some of the racism he experienced (ie, black hikers are evidently a rare sight on the AT) and I learned so much from him. I adored his encounters with all of the people he met who became instant trail friends. Derick, or “Mr Fabulous” (his trail name), is a gem and I now count this as one of my favorite accounts of hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Book #11:

Act Like It by Lucy Parker (Length: 284 pages).  This romance has been on my TBR for a while as I see it mentioned by people whose tastes trend in a more literary direction, but they love this novel. British stage actors face off in a few tropes here: enemies to lovers and fake dating, but both are well-executed here. The writing quality IS more literary in this pick (the first in a series of 5) but the chemistry is believable, and I wanted to keep reading to the predictable happy ending. I will say it’s a bit slow to start, but it does pick up so hang in there. 4 stars from me.

January 2025–Part Two

February 2, 2025

Book #5:

The North Line by Matt Riordan (Length: 294 pages).  This off the radar book is a very tense, fast-paced fictional account of a few months on a fishing boat in Alaska. Perfect for fans of adventure novels, this shorter book features the protagonist, Adam, who loses his scholarship to a private college just before his senior year and joins the crew of a fishing boat having zero experience, in a last-dash effort to make $26K. This almost reads as narrative non-fiction as it’s very descriptive (and stressful!) and the details are so interesting. The author spent his 20s on fishing boats and you can tell here. The ending is wild!! 4 stars.

Book #6

Scorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (Length: 457 pages). This standalone YA fantasy novel is set in the Great Libraries of a magical world. Featuring a fierce heroine (with perfect tone in her depiction), this almost-perfect novel has excellent world-building (that’s not too complex), decent character development and a propulsive plot. There is a bit of closed-door romance but the focus of the plot is books (or here, grimoires) and magical creatures. I adore this book and I think it’s in my top 3 of fantasy novels for sure! 5 solid stars.

Book #7:

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage (Length: 356 pages).  This is a cowboy romance set in a huge family ranch in Wyoming. The first in a series (of 4), here, barrel racing champion Emmy Ryder abruptly leaves the racing circuit, breaks up with her boyfriend and returns home to Rebel Blue Ranch after years away. Sparks fly when she runs into Luke Brooks, the town Lothario who also happens to be the best friend of Emmy’s protective big brother. This is cheesy but overall, it’s decently written. (There are a few typos and grammatical errors which are super annoying but more common in these types of books I’m noticing.) I enjoyed the details of the ranch and barrel racing and also, meeting the secondary characters who are featured in the remaining books of this series. Also, this is very open door so keep that in mind if those books aren’t for you. 3.5 stars from me.

Book #8:

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera (Length: 338 pages).  I listened to this uber-popular mystery as I’ve heard that’s the way to go, and I agree–this is PHENOMENAL on audio. The chapters here alternate between the episodes of a popular true crime podcast and the perspective of the protagonist, Lucy, who (suspected of killing her BFF Savvy 5 years earlier) returns to the small Texas town where the murder occurred. This mystery is perfectly paced, very well-written and features some strong side characters (such as Lucy’s grandmother–my favorite). I enjoyed the resolution of the mystery here as well. A full 5 stars from me!