thoughts on books

Book Reviews

  • missed connections by aimie runyan

    For fans of magical realism and the fine dining industry- it is like a mixture of Aftertaste and your favorite Ashley Poston. Who hasn’t wanted a magical remote control that could allow you to return to certain points in your life and do something differently? Sabrina Sorensen is at a point in her life where she wants to be a Michelin guide, but her career in the restaurant industry has gone sideways. From the chef’s assistant to lots of kitchen roles, sauce person and General manager and front of the house roles, she has a culinary degree and many connection across the globe. She gets into a special airport lounge that gets her a flight to a certain point in the past.

    At times romantic, I see this as much more of a contemporary light-fantasy-magical realism book than a traditional romance. I liked the storyline and the idea that in our 30’s we are much less insecure and able to speak up for ourselves. Most of our regrets become in being braver, speaking up and taking more risks rather than playing it safe.

    The big surprise and win here is the level of detail and setting of fine dining, not just in running a kitchen, but the career path of someone in this field. Everyone eats at restaurants, but very few have the level of detail and experience in knowing how cut throat and political this can be. I loved the setting and hearing more about what this is like and the interpersonal relationships involved. I loved Sabrina’s character arc and the variety of people who changed based on her path back as a cosmic re-do.

    I definitely recommend this unique story. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC. Book to be published May 26, 2026.

  • that night by gillian mccallister

    How far would you be willing to go to help out a sibling? Specifically, would you bury a body for them?

    Joe, Kathy and Frannie are vacationing in Italy when she makes a frantic call to her siblings, she has hit a man and he is dead. They bury the body and promise never to tell anyone. Over the next few weeks, they become a cat and mouse- all are afraid of being caught and Joe starts to realize that there are things that Frannie hasn’t told them. Over time, we learn more and more of the truth about the dead body, and also follow the siblings as they run from the truth.

    At its core, this is a story about loyalty, secrets and family. It is a great thriller, less about the mystery of whodunit and more if they will be caught. A side story is that as a veterinarian we learn a little about that industry and the medical background. From a setting perspective it could have been elsewhere besides Italy, it did not impact the setting that much. I found a lot of the story to be unbelievable but I was able to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. I enjoyed reading this and found it to be a good story to get lost in.

    Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC. Book to be published August 18, 2026

  • the top of the world by ethan joella

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    A dual timeline story of 1975, when Maggie is heading to a resort in the Poconos to work and discover what her brother did when he was there the previous summer prior to his untimely death from leukemia.  Maggie is grieving the loss of her older brother and remembering him at his best.  She wonders why he chose to leave in the midst of being a cancer patient and didn’t tell his family where he was.  She soon learns they were like a camp family and mostly didn’t know he was sick. 

    The timeline jumps back and forth from 1975 Maggie to 1974 Chip, when he is living the last few months of his life and working at the resort. 

    I knew this would be a book about grief and moments of human connection, I knew it would be sad.  This is purely devastating, it’s 50% grieving (Maggie) and 50% dying and dealing with dying (Chip).  This is written with so much personal wisdom and raw emotion.  It was so sad to think of Chip wanting to feel alive by hiding his treatment.  There are also some lovely small town minor characters that rounded out the lovely setting.  

    Do I recommend it? Definitely, if you are in the mood for a good mournful cry.  

    Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.  Book to be published June 29, 2026. 

  • flighless birds of new hope by farah naz rishi

    A sweet and heartwarming story about a family- the parents die in an accident and the 3 kids are navigating life without them. There is some toxic family situations as growing up the parents are all about their show cockatoo, Coco. Aden is executor of the estate and his younger sister has been holding things together. Their youngest brother is 13 and still navigating through life and his place in the family. Aden opens the cage and asks Coco to go, then they try to catch her as they monitor her ID chip, like a collar, as she flies across the country.

    The symbolism is pretty in your face here- flying the coop, working together towards a common goal, finding their freedom in their family connection. It isn’t sad as I thought it would be, the narrative mostly revolves around their common mission to bring Coco home.

    the polarizing part is going to be the chapters (these are short/small) that are from the birds POV. On the audiobook she uses a child-like voice for Coco, some people really hate animal POV, but these are heartwarming and charming if you like this kind of thing.

    Audiobook review- easy to follow, sweet and charming audiobook performance.

    Thanks to netGalley and Brilliance Audio for the ALC. Book available now.

  • lost lambs by Madeline cash

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    A happily chaotic family drama about the home at the center of a strange small town conspiracy.

    This promising debut centers around Bud and Catherine, who after 19 years together have decided to have an open marriage. Their 3 daughters all have secrets and challenges of their own. There is a large cast of characters, the one-liners are zingers and the situational comedy is top notch. At times I was a bit turned off by the overtly sexual scenes, (not love scenes) but the family communication and absurd plot really kept me turning the pages. I am really glad I picked this one up. The ending took kind of a turn.

    It’s funny, addictive and just plain quirky.

    Audiobook review: great performance by Christine Lakin. She has great skill in voice acting, giving each member of the Flynn family their own unique voice. I found her performance to be lovely and endearing.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC. Book to be published 1/13/26

  • japanese gothic by kylie lee baker

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    Unbelievably haunting and the creepiest, craziest horror I have read. My best advice to horror fans that are going to read this— clear your schedule. No calls, no chores, not even a conversation. Once you pick this up, settle in because you aren’t going to want to be disturbed until you are done with this highly engrossing book.

    In 2026, Lee has fled to Japan after murdering his college roommate. He is in his father’s house and claims to be taking time off for stress. The house is hundreds of years old, and it is also the 8 year anniversary of his mother’s disappearance.

    In 1877, Sen is the eldest daughter of a Samurai and training with her father to protect their family at all costs. But when she sees Lee in her house, she doesn’t understand why there is a foreign ghost.

    With interwoven timelines and a connection across centuries, this is a story with two unreliable narrators, a breadth of history and a plot that builds like a sandstorm.

    I can’t even express how engaging this story is. What a skilled writer and storyteller! I went in with high expectations having loved her previous novel and WOW I was not disappointed. My mind is just racing.

    a best horror of 2026

    Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC. Book to be published April 20, 2026.

  • alan opts out by courtney maum

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    Wow, what a really unique voice in suburban fiction. Alan and Vivian are living the dream, the ad agency that he founded manages keep them in the most luxurious suburb of New York, modeled on Greenwich, Connecticut. Vivian has a chance to join the Queen Anne Society, which is an elitist ladies group for entertaining.

    Then Alan loses the bid for the latest milk campaign. He has sort of a lightning bolt moment, and decides that his entire industry, the idea of capitalism in general, and over consumption, to be lacking. He stops showering, starts eating off the land, and sleeping in their backyard.

    “Mom come home. Dad is having a menty b.”

    This book is well written and wildly entertaining, even if at times it is heavy-handed in the messaging. I truly enjoyed the family characters and found myself relating heavily to Alan’s dilemma. Not long ago, I went with my high school aged son to visit the top university for creative writing in the country. When we were in the breakout session with other students and parents interested in the writing major, one of the parents asked about job rates post graduation. And most of us parents were also thinking the same, am I going to spend all this money for my child to become educated, and then they can’t get a job? The head of the department said something that stayed with me. She said, without really answering the question, “well, 60% of all jobs in the United States are marketing.“

    I think it was her way of saying that, although our children may spend for a year studying writing at the best college in America, they would probably end up selling. Alan’s advertising firm and really his whole existence is driven by the prospect of getting people to over consume. This book could almost be a companion piece to Pixar’s Wall-E. It’s helping the reader think about that same lesson.

    Thanks to Netgy and Little Brown for the ARC- Book to be published June 3, 2026.

  • the anniversary by alex finlay

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    A missing persons, serial killer thriller from two POV- starting in the mid-90’s the popular girl Jules and the brooder Quinn – we follow them until 2011.

    Big on nostalgia, I appreciated the pop culture and current event references to set the tone with each time jump.

    They are in Nebraska and each May 1, a girl is abducted and killed. It takes them a very long time to solve this mystery, but as the time jumps it is a really fast paced novel. Alex Finlay is a master of storytelling, spending just the right amount of time in character building, plot reveals, and building suspense.

    It was creative and clever to see things from both Quinn and Jules’ POV and how they came together at the end. The ending was also very satisfying.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC. Book to be published May 11, 2026.

  • superfan by jenny tinghui zhang

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    Minnie is a truly intriguing character. She is from the only Asian family in Colorado Springs but then at college is struggling to find her place. She is a pretty typical talented but insecure teenager and she licks in on the new boy band HOURglass. They are a k-pop inspired band who shoots to stardom and inspires a message board culture and community of fans.

    Alternating POE chapters go to Eason, whose stage name is Halo. Similarly insecure, he isn’t a good dancer he’s running from a difficult family situation. Many chapters were by far better, and I found Eason‘s chapters to be a little bit lacking. It all comes together in a dramatic moment when many finally is able to meet the band. It’s definitely a book that explores fandoms and obsession with celebrity. The content is mildly dark, and definitely intriguing in terms of setting. I would’ve liked a little bit more character building on the part of the band members. That said, it was definitely well written and worth reading if you like YA and books about celebrity culture.

    Audiobook review- there are some parts of the narrative that are messages and message board material. This has a lot of depth and can be difficult to follow on audio. The performance for Minnie is great and really captures her voice. I was fortune to have a digital copy as well and I enjoyed reading along with audio in an immersive read.

    Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan audio for the ALC and Flatiron Books for the ARC.

  • beach thriller by jamie day

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    Holly is a successful author, but it has been a while since she has had a hit. She also has writers’ block, so she is leaving Manhattan for the small beach town that she spent summers in as a kid. Because she is the last surviving member of her family, she is going to inherit the home. What she finds there is a teenage squatter named Jade, who ends up being a very intriguing character as well. What is Jade‘s backstory? I loved Holly and found her to be very relatable, and I found Jade to be very spunky and intriguing as well. I trusted them both and was really surprised by the ending.

    And what happened to Hollie‘s sister Anna? After working at the rich family the Carmichaels estate, she ends up dead in a gas explosion in their guest cottage. But was this an accident?

    This is my favorite Jamie Day thriller so far, while technically it takes place in a beach town, that isn’t very important to the setting. However, I do think it would be the perfect popcorn thriller to read on the beach! I read the entire book on a flight, and was very engrossed in the story. I could have done without Ethan, I thought that Holly‘s character was intriguing enough without a romantic arc. I was shocked at the ending, and didn’t see that coming at all! If you like a twisty, popcorn thriller, add this one to your TBR.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Saint Martin’s press for the arc. Booked to be published June 8, 2026

    SMPEarlyReaders