A twisty thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Fast paced and tense, this book has perhaps the perfect amount of characters and side quests. I was shocked by the ending.
Two families go to the lake for some time away, Courtney and Elliott, and also her brother and sister-in-law, Emily and Nolan. The POV alternates between Courtney and Reese, her niece. After a sleepover with the two littlest cousins, Emily and Nolan are brutally murdered. Their son Wyatt is fast asleep upstairs, and their teenage daughter Reese is missing.
Several mysteries are presented simultaneously, and with the alternating viewpoints between Courtney solving the mystery and Reese (starting a week in the past) you are gradually learning more players and your head is turned to several secrets.
I read a lot of mysteries, this one is a stand out. You will be turning pages late into the night.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC. Book to be published 2/3/26
A lively MM romcom set in modern day Hollywood. Charlie and Simon are starring in the nerd space show “Out There,” and the discord servers think their characters are queer coded. Charlie came up as an influencer, and Simon is thinking of leaving the show. He doesn’t think much of Charlie, despite he is a mid-20’s beautiful actor that takes a lot of gym selfies.
The best thing about this book is the banter- it is truly elite. Some people are sort of bothered by enemies-to-lovers banter, as sometimes it is mean and passive aggressive, but I found this to be really clever. I wouldn’t say the leads are exactly “enemies” just two co-workers that are more like rivals.
Cat Sebastian has written so many classic historical fiction novels, and has established herself as a voice that gives authenticity to the LGBTQ experience while closeted and living in a time that was not safe for queer people. In this novel, we have a current day experience but still one of the leads is closeted and questioning. The setting was intriguing as we had a little behind the scenes of how TV shows are produced, the show runners, the social media presence. The interstitial chapters are a discord of fans of the show, and these were some of my favorite parts of the book. It explores celeb worship and how sometimes we think we are entitled to the details of their lives.
4.5/5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC. Book to be published 3/3/2026
I am a big fan of Shari Lapena so I jumped at the chance to early read this thriller coming out in July 2026. Jill and Ted are greedy, selfish, really unlikable people. When teaching writing, they say, “Show the reader, don’t tell them.” For me the first 30% of this book was a lot of telling instead of showing. Not a lot of dialogue. An action-packed prologue with a murder, but then it turned into getting the reader to dislike Jill and Ted, and wonder if they were going to get caught. Which we absolutely wanted to happen. More and more characters introduced, which was easy to get them straight, because they were introduced at different times in the story.
This particular story didn’t grab me… but you know what? I definitely kept reading until the very last page. And I preordered it anyway. Ha. I will re-read it when it is published in 9 months.
Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the ARC. Book to be published July 28, 2026
59 minutes is a suspenseful, short thriller with an ensemble cast. In the opening scene, London gets notice that a nuclear bomb will destroy their city in 59 minutes. Panic ensues. Over the rest of the narrative we follow several interconnected stories. For me, I was very hooked at the beginning. A frenetic pace and escalating tensions. It reminded me of a cross between Tilt by Emma Pattee and Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen. However, because of the extended cast and some of the twisty reveals, it fell a little short for me. I would say on this book- it is a like, not a love. I did very much enjoy the writing style, if not where the plot went, so I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC. Book to be published Nov 18, 2025
Absolutely romantic, heartwarming, an unforgettable blend of sweetness and spice. How many books do you know of that are both 10/10 for sweet AND 10/10 for spice??
It is the last in the “Teachers in Love” series, and although it can be read as a standalone, do yourself a favor and read them all. In Husband of the Year, we return to the original couple, Marvin and Olin. They are planning their wedding and settling into their family dynamic with Olin’s daughter Ilona, Marvin’s future step-daughter. When Olin’s family of origin goes through a crisis in Chicago, he goes to stay with them to help just a few months before the wedding. How will Marvin and Ilona cope as a pair?
There are so many wonderful things to talk about here— -Minor characters made famous from the rest of the series taking on the community role -The evolution of Marvin and Ilona’s relationship (from her kindergarten teacher in book 1 to her stepdad) -SARAH BLOCK the ideal and perfect Jewish mom and her Fanny Brice references -The found family is STRONG on this one -Scenes of Marvin teaching his kindergarten class are incredibly authentic (the author taught early elementary for 15 years)– seriously my favorite scenes in the book -Motown fun facts -THE EPILOGUE- girl I am still in tears
I have used this word already a few times, but if I can give you one word for this book, it is authentic. I loved it from beginning to end. Although I am a “closed door” reader and I typically skip/skim all open door scenes, I can tell based on other reviews that the spice is strong and excellent in this one. So see other reviews on that.
Audiobook review- the same narrator for Marvin from the first book. I liked the frenetic pace he used during Marvin’s “anxiety overthinking” moments and how calm and happy he was when talking or texting with Olin. I also appreciate that Hachette used a black narrator for Olin. Sometimes it was duet in the text messages but other times the Marvin narrator did both parts. But not to the point it was distracting.
I also bought the finished copy and I LOVE the little cartoon heads at the start of every chapter so YAY on the physical version.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ALC, and to Hachette Audio, Forever, and author MA Wardell. Book published 11/18/2025
Marigold is getting married- if she can fly to Canada and get a quick divorce without anyone knowing. Olivia is her corporate lawyer sister, who is crushing on a guy there (the wrong one). She is keeping it as secret from Marigold that their mom Lulu has stopped her cancer treatment and won’t be around much longer. Natalie is the maid of honor, who has loved the groom Jonathan for 10 years in secret.
There is a lot to love about this book- I genuinely liked reading it and laughed out loud at several lines. The banter is elite and I did love the setting. The premise reminded me a lot of The wedding People as it was a very high luxury wedding at a resort and several characters.
What I didn’t like was the utter selfishness of all the characters- which I completely get was the point- but at the end it got a little harder to root for them. Except Lulu, who was a delight. This book could have used a precocious child or a dog.
That said, I very much enjoyed the pacing and consistency. I will go back and read more by this new-to-me author.
3.75/5
Thanks to NetGalley and atria for the ARC! Book to be published April 13, 2026.
Classic Alice Feeney- twists and turns and exquisite pacing that draws you in and leads to an explosive conclusion. Eden Fox returns home from a run one day to find that her key doesn’t work. The door is answered by her husband Harrison’s wife, also introducing herself as Eden Fox. Eden doesn’t have her phone or any identification- she has to go on the run. The cops are after her. They are in a small beach town called Hope Glass and her home was sold 6 months earlier.
The alternating chapter is Birdy, a woman diagnosed with terminal cancer who inherited the home, spyglass, from her family. There is a rich tradition and also deep secrets within.
As the narrative unfolds, I was riveted by the characters and how they interact with each other. The first twist to show how the narratives connect was a shock to me. I was really engaged in this story to the very last page.
Audiobook review/ good performance and accent by the narrator. I always appreciate the sound effects/ feet running on a beach, church bells, not so much as to be distracting but enough to make the listener feel engaged in the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ALC. book to be published Jan 19, 2026.
This time Ern is in a bank with Juliette his fiancée and a bunch of hostages. There are several heists and thefts and then the murders begin. Everyone has a secret and Ernest is naturally smarter than everyone else involved.
I liked this one. I didn’t like it as much as the previous Ernest Cunningham books as I missed the “breaking the fourth wall” and more commentary from Ern when he is addressing the reader directly. In an attempt to make the story bigger and brighter there were more characters and a whole lot going on, which was harder to follow. Still, I got the unique flavor that is Specific to this series.
The author references how golden age detective stories came at a time when the world really wanted to see justice being done and the bad guy being caught and thrown away the key. Interesting to learn how our story preferences go along with current events and culture.
Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC. Ook to be published March 16, 2026
An enemies-to-lovers “You’ve Got Mail” type romcom. Yael is a school librarian with a secret podcast, she reviews classic literature. She hires Kevin to be her audio producer, and they have a good relationship. Over time they bond over more than just work. In real life, Ravi is a volunteer at her school. At first they don’t like each other, because of a meet-disaster. Over time they connect. Professionally they are using different names so they don’t discover they are the same person.
I liked the representation and the feeling of not being lovable with bipolar and difficult issues. I thought the characters had good chemistry. The story did drag a little in the middle and I found the ending to be rushed. Other than that, I found it to be a pretty enjoyable read.
Audiobook review: Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC. I appreciated the performance from Tamika Katon-Donegal and Leon Nixon. The book uses both narrators in the same chapter, so the POV changes although it is not duet narration within conversations. I went back to re-listen several times at the beginning because a lot of the book is exchanged emails and text messages, so it was difficult to distinguish these. However, once I received my copy in the mail from Aardvark Book Club, I transitioned to doing a “tandem” read, alternating between reading my physical copy while listening when I put my book down. In the physical copy there are different fonts and easy ways to determine where you are in the narrative. I liked this much better!
“Blessings don’t look like blessings until you look through the right lens.”
We love a messy family drama, especially one that crosses generations and inherited trauma! Everyone is gonna read this. Trust. This one is special for 3 reasons.
It’s solely focused on the women. BethAnn and Joni. Their daughters Sydney and Mae. Finally Sydney and Mae’s daughters in the 3rd act.
It is incredibly well written. The paragraphs that you’ll re-read. An adult debut, this is a skilled writer tackling deeper issues. Secrets will be uncovered, and our characters are flawed while likable and relatable. These women will sometimes make the reader angry, sometimes heartwarming, always becoming more real by the minute.
The nuances of characterization through scenes that are about connection and disconnection. Traditions and family values that don’t always serve us.
Here is an example;
“Whoever ordered first ordered the least caloric thing she could find, and the one who ordered next would find a way to make her dish even more spare, even less filling. Sydney found herself doing it with other people too, but they didn’t play the game like Beth Ann did. So the other woman would order a burger and Sydney would order leek soup and feel incensed.”
Relatable.
Lastly, I do love to hate on MLM culture, so we get some of that too.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and company for the ARC. Book to be published March 30, 2026.
