Tag: fiction

October 2026–Part One:

October 16, 2026

Book #74:

The Small and the Mighty by Sharon McMahon (339 pages).  I am a big fan of this author as I’ve followed her on Instagram beginning during the pandemic. A former government teacher, the author here has several vignettes on lesser-known historical figures. For example, while most of us are familiar with Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who refused to give up her seat on a city bus, many of us aren’t aware of her 15-year-old predecessor, Claudette Colvin, who also refused to vacate her bus seat for a white person. These stories are simply fascinating to read, and I especially loved Sharon’s tone of voice here, modern and so familiar to those of us who follow her online. I’m so glad I learned about these (often forgotten) people in our nation’s history. 4 stars.

Book #75:

Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain (Length: 411 pages). This was this month’s book club pick for my local club, and while most attendees didn’t care for this historical novel, I enjoyed it. I listened to this on audio and the narrator does a great job. The author alternates between two female protagonists, Anna, a young muralist in 1940 North Carolina and Morgan, a young woman in modern day, who was convicted of a DUI collision which resulted in a paralyzed victim. Morgan wasn’t driving but took the rap for her boyfriend who was heading off to law school. Morgan is paroled early, with the agreement that she is to restore a mural, originally painted by Anna (who won a contest run by the federal government). Anna mysteriously disappears and the mural she left behind seems to have been strangely altered from its original plan. There are indeed some unbelievable coincidences that occur in this novel (which is why many of my book club members disliked this novel) but I found it to be well-written, and very easy to listen too. The author ties the two protagonists together very skillfully and I kept wanting to turn the audiobook back on, always a good sign. 3 stars.

Book #76:

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai (Length: 448 pages). This novel has been on my TBR for a few years so I finally picked it up. This is a contemporary mystery featuring Bodie Kane, a podcaster who is looking back at her time at Granby, a boarding school where Bodie’s roommate was brutally murdered. Told in the form of letters (or emails) to someone who was at Granby at the same time the murder occurred, the author slowly reveals to the reader what likely happened that day. I found this to be very well-written, sufficiently literary, with a propulsive plot that I couldn’t stop reading. I did enjoy the flashback scenes much more than I did present-day, but I am so glad I finally gave this one a go. 4 stars from me.

Book #77:

The Wave by Susan Casey(Length: 434 pages). I don’t recall where I first heard about this non-fiction account, but I put a hold on it with my local library and after a month or so, I was able to read it. The author’s initial focus here is on Laird Hamilton, the world-class surfer who is known for his big wave surfing but very quickly she pans further outward and discusses the history of big waves, the science behind them as well as how climate change may be causing even more of these behemoths. This is a bit stressful to read as the author breathlessly details how large and how destructive these waves are. One almost 1,800-foot wave in Alaska is one that will appear in my nightmares. Definitely read this in print or on a Kindle as the author includes photographs mid-way through. 4.5 stars from me!

September 2026–Part Two:

September 30, 2026

Book #69:

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown (678 pages).  I listened to this novel on audio, narrated by Paul Michael, and it’s a fantastic listen! I haven’t read Dan Brown since his first novel in this series of 6 books: The Da Vinci Code. I was inspired by a friend to pick this one up, specifically on audio, and I really enjoyed it. This one, I’m told, is more closely aligned with the first book, in terms of how well-written it is. Just as with The Da Vinci Code, this mystery thriller is fast paced has lots of interesting history packed within and here, the plot focuses on cognition and consciousness. Set in the gorgeous setting of Prague, Robert Langdon and Dr Katherine Solomon work together to solve the mystery and save humanity, or at least some people in Prague. This is a great read/listen with several fun twists and turns. 5 stars.

Book #70:

When You Loved Me by Beatriz Williams(Length: 433 pages). I adore this author’s One Hundred Summers, so when I heard her newest contemporary fiction offering is found to be just as good, I had to pick it up. This novel is set on Winthrop Island in New England and alternates between modern-day and 1717, jumping between a modern day and a pirate romance. The author skillfully ties the island the estate in which both timelines are set together, with a through-line about buried treasure. My favorite character here is the precocious Punkin as well as the characters of Lucy and Ben, the modern-day couple. This is a fun, fast-paced read and would be perfect for a long airplane ride. 4 stars from me.

Book #71:

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood (Length: 363 pages).   This is the third Ali Hazelwood novel I’ve read and this rom-com focuses on an NIH neuroscientist (Bee) and her long-time enemy, a NASA engineer (Levi). This enemies-to-lovers trope features the same clever banter and electric chemistry on the page that the other two novels I’ve read by this author, but in this book, there’s a miscommunication subplot that is not my favorite. I also became annoyed with how angsty and in her head Bee is throughout the novel, especially as we are led to believe she’s an incredibly smart woman. Having said all of that, this was hard to put down and I did enjoy my experience reading this. 3.5 stars from me

Book #72:

1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Length: 591 pages). I’m a fan of narrative non-fiction on audio, so that’s how I read this chunky book. The author explores the year of the stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression in this expansive book by focusing on specific people who had a stake in the stock market, or who were titans of industry and controlled the stock market as well as various historical figures in this time period. The audio is fantastic, the narrator does a fantastic job of keeping the listener’s attention, the narrative is very skillfully drawn out and even given its length is perfectly-paced. 4 stars from me!

Book #73:

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey (284 pages). I’ve had this paperback sitting on my bookshelves for a while, so I decided to finally pick it up, and once I did, I just never put it down. This cute romance is set in Columbus, Ohio, and features Annie Cassidy (an aspiring screenwriter) who scores a temporary job on a movie set in her town, a romantic comedy featuring the very hot Drew Danforth. Annie has been waiting to meet a Tom Hanks movie lead, like in her favorite rom-coms she watched with her now-departed mom, and in this quick-read, similar rom-com hijinks ensue. There are cute supporting characters (2 of them appear in the second novel in this duology), there is solid writing and lots of fun banter (my favorite). I give this closed-door romance with a cute premise 3 stars.

September 2026–Part One:

September 15, 2026

Book #65:

The Last Letters of Sally and Walter by Jamie McGovern (379 pages).  This charming novel features two residents of Garden Grove retirement home who become friends while playing Scrabble. Their games lead to Walter teaching Sally how to play competitively in local tournaments. This is a sweet novel with some deeper themes such as unhappy marriages, worries over adult children and Parkinson’s disease. The Scrabble games are a delightful thru-line and the author excels at writing witty dialogue. This is a fun, quick yet memorable read. 4 stars.

Book #66:

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas (Length: 807 pages). This is Book #2 in the Crescent City series and it’s another behemoth of a book with the same main characters as the first installment yet is a much fast read now that the world-building has been established. I loved the ride in this one and couldn’t wait to pick it up again to read even more. The pacing is fantastic, the romantasy is much more open-door in this one, and the character arcs are developed even further. The ending of this fantasy novel has revealed a major plot point plus a wild cliffhanger (if you’ve read the author’s ACOTAR- A Court of Thorns & Roses series) so the reader faces yet ANOTHER 800 pages for more resolution. 5 stars again from me.

Book #67:

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie (Length: 433 pages).   This book has been on so many “best of summer” lists so I was happy to finally pick it up, and WOW. I love this romance! It’s more literary than most and is set in the world of theater/improv/SNL but is very accessible to the layperson who isn’t super familiar with these worlds. The two romantic leads here are AJ and Noah, who we meet when they are 17 and 21 respectively, and we check in with them again through the years. There is a (valid?) issue keeping these star-crossed lovers apart, making it truly a right people, wrong time scenario. The writing is so smart here and I loved all of it (even with a bit of a mid-novel lag). 5 stars and I’m guessing it makes my top 10 list for this year.

Book #68:

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan (Length: 345 pages). I finally got around to reading one of the “it” books of the summer of 2024 and I adore it! This very charming and well-written contemporary romance features a soon-to-be divorced 45-year-old professional organizer with three kids who finds romance with someone she grew up with in her small town. He happens to be an attorney, so they barter their services, her to help him clean out his parents’ inn and him to help her negotiate the final terms of her pending divorce. I love the witty banter, the cute dogs, the small-town details of it all and the professional organization fun (my jam!). This romance is closed door and it reads like it would be great on audio! 4.5 stars from me.

August 2026–Part Two:

August 31, 2026

Book #63:

American Fantasy by Emma Straub (Length: 294 pages). I was a bit hesitant to pick up this contemporary novel given its mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed this one. I did listen to it and the narrator is great. The premise here is a middle-aged, divorced woman, Annie, takes a boy band themed cruise solo, as her sister (a bigger fan of this particular boy band) has to drop out last minute. This boy band was popular in the 1990s (so think Backstreet Boys or New Kids on the Block) and I’m not of that generation (Duran Duran is the band I loved as a teenager). However, I really enjoyed this story, told from three different points of view: Annie, Sarah (employee of talent management company) and Keith (one of the boy band members). The format here is a lot of fun, mimicking a cruise ship hourly itinerary (10 am, Lido Deck, pool party). I like Straub’s writing style, and I really enjoyed all three voices and the ending was perfect for what it is. 4 stars.

Book #64:

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (Length: 807 pages). This fantasy novel is SO FREAKING GOOD! I’ve waited awhile to pick it up given its page count, but since this author’s announcement that there will be a book 4, I have enjoyed seeing a few book podcasters and bookstagrammers start this series and thought, there’s no time like the present! The world building in this hefty book DOES take quite a long time to set up before the reader gets the lay of the land–almost 300 pages. So it was a bit of a slow and confusing start for me. But I stuck with it and I’m so glad I did as once the action starts up, it never stops. And it’s quite a fun (if violent) ride. I adore the supporting characters here (fae and animal) but Bryce and Hunt, the romantic leads, are the true stars here. I will definitely be picking up book #2 (from my daughter’s bookshelf) when I have the room in my TBR to tackle another hefty page count book, and I can’t wait to return to the magic of Crescent City. Five BIG stars from me.

August 2026–Part One:

August 18, 2026

Book #60:

Burn by Peter Heller (386 pages).  This dystopian adventure novel was my book club’s pick for August. Set in 2048 backwoods Maine, in a civil war where Maine secedes from the United States, two childhood friends Jess and Storey are on their annual moose-hunting trip and after two weeks, they emerge into burned-down small towns with few to zero survivors. This novel is violent, tense and un-putdownable. The author (of The River–excellent read!) tells this story in a mix of present day and flashbacks, so the reader really learns about the two protagonists, all from Jess’s point of view. The ending is pretty abrupt, but I was totally fine with it as it’s consistent with the novel’s story. One of my book club’s members actually lived in the backwoods area where this novel occurred and we were delighted to hear that the author’s account of these small towns and their culture is consistent with what she experienced. 4 stars.

Book #61:

Love Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood (Length: 400 pages). This is a favorite book of many romance readers, so I finally picked it up. This perfect novel features Jack, a renowned experimental physicist at MIT and Elsie, an up-and-coming theoretical physicist, stuck working as an adjunct professor at multiple universities to make rent and pay for medical expenses associated with her Type 1 diabetes. I ADORED this book. The characters’ dialogue rings authentic, their chemistry is totally believable and there are truly funny moments written throughout (ie, Elsie detesting her roommate’s angry hedgehog). I get the hype and I’m so glad I finally picked this one up. 5 stars.

Book #62:

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Length: 640 pages).   I am calling it–this will be my favorite book of this year. This epic novel (peep the page count!) is written by the author of The Help and is set in 1933 Oxford, Mississippi. This totally immersive story is told from two points of view: Birdie, a “spinster” who is helping her family try to save their family farm and travels to Oxford to beg for money from her sister’s rich new husband, and Meg, an 11-year-old who is recently orphaned and is trying to escape a dreadful orphanage via adoption. This is so easy to read, even with its tougher themes (given the time in history in which this novel takes place), because the writing is absolutely fantastic. The reader is able to empathize with both Birdie and Meg from the jump, and there are multiple supporting characters who you end up rooting for as well. This memorable story is sure to stick with you forever, a sign of a great book. I hear the audiobook is absolutely fantastic if that’s the way you prefer to take in your fiction. Five huge stars from me.