thoughts on books

Category: Best of 2026

  • yesteryear by caro claire burke

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    Everyone’s gonna read this book.

    I didn’t say everyone’s gonna love this book, I said everyone’s gonna read it. Because it’s explosive, it’s surprising, it might even be triggering for some of you. And EVERYONE is going to be talking about it.

    What about me? I loved it. I was absolutely INVESTED in this highly original story. If you like an unlikable, unreliable narrator you will want to add this to your TBR immediately.

    It’s about a tradwife influencer, her husband Caleb is from an influential, rich, political republican family. Natalie comes from a humble single mother and grows up evangelical, but still ends up at Harvard. Her ambition and fierce controlling personality is a recipe for becoming a success. She is manipulative and driven and it’s so easy to be drawn into her mind.

    The story is set up when we are aware of her success and farm life, although she employs a producer and two nannies. The farm is designed to look like an authentic old farm but if you peel back the curtain you will see “made in China” stickers and top of the line appliances. Natalie is selling a lifestyle.

    One day she wakes up and her house is like her house but different- her husband and kids are similar to her kids but just a bit different. And the year is 1805. Now she has to try to live the lifestyle without the modern conveniences and the performance.

    The ending was creative and hit me between the eyes like a two by four. Let’s just say it was not what I was expecting and I think a lot of people are gonna be mad about the ending. And other people are going to love it as much as I did.

    Every year I call a title “the book everyone is going to read”- last year I called it Broken Country and the year before The Measure. In 2026 that book is Yesteryear.

    Can’t wait for the movie. Oooh I loved to hate Natalie!

    Thanks to NetGalley and AA Knopf for the ARC. Book to be published April 6, 2026.

  • first and forever by lynn painter

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    A fake dating, mid 20’s couple, sports romance. He’s a famous football player and she’s the team’s biggest fan. This book is everything I love about Lynn Painter- an upper midwest setting, extremely funny banter and all the chemistry. This is my favorite adult romcom from Lynn Painter yet! I love the meet cute, the misophonia representation, and a fantastic dad character. I loved the roller coaster of Connor and Duffy’s relationship. Duffy was very likable but funny. I just love the way she writes dialogue.

    a best romance of 2026 you heard it here first!

    Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC. Book to be published 5/12/2026.

  • dolly all the time by annabelle monaghan

    A warm-hearted fake dating rom-com that finds us with a “knight in shining armor” type workaholic handsome man that buys a roof and helps a struggling single mom kindergarten teacher. Absolutely classic Annabelle Monaghan- there are few romance authors that can blend fade-to-black romance with deeply developed characters and wildly funny dialogue. I loved the family dynamics with Dolly and her family, her son and father, and the way she changes over the course of the story. It is a beautiful character arc for Dolly, from being fiercely and stubbornly independent to learning to be a part of a community and allow herself to be helped. Stewart is so driven by working, not being seen as weak, and controlling how his family views his place in the company and in the family.

    Dolly is a real spit fire. She is flawed but very likable. I also appreciated the incorporation of the gig economy since she is a single mom and teacher she needs to supplement her income in all kinds of ways. Dolly and Stewart are in different economic brackets- but both of them don’t have a lot of room in their life for a partner because they work so much.

    I was pretty angry with Stewart in the third act, Dolly is a bit more forgiving than myself. I enjoyed her son being a young teenager (13), his voice was authentic and loving towards his mom. I can certainly relate to Dolly’s independence and desire to do anything to make her kid happy.

    One of the top romances of 2026!

    Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the ARC. Book to be published May 26, 2026.

  • it’s not her by mary kubica

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    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

  • star shipped by cat sebastian

    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

  • mothers and other strangers by corey ann haydu

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    “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.

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.

  • whidbey by t kira madden

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    When I tell you this book will build your empathy as much as it did your righteous anger, I mean this in the darkest way. The author says this book is about the commodification of suffering, and this is a sweeping theme across the novel and the years. This book sucked me in so thoroughly and absolutely gutted me from the beginning. The writing style is like Allie Larkin (The People We Keep, Home of the American Circus) along with a murder mystery and along with disturbing subject matter.

    The book follows Birdie, a victim of sexual abuse, as she flees to Whidbey, a remote island off the Washington coast. In alternating chapters, we read the POV of Mary Beth, the mother of the convicted pedophile Calvin Boyer. I think I found Mary Beth’s chapters the most heartbreaking. She somehow has to grieve her son, while making sense of his lifetime as an abuser. In act two, Linzie’s POV is added as well, one of Calvin’s later victims who wrote a memoir about her experiences and ended up on a reality show similar to The Bachelor.

    It is truly haunting that the author manages to make Calvin a tragic empathetic character, considering she is a survivor of sexual abuse from a young age.

    If you are in the mood for something extremely engaging and deep, I know this book will be one people are talking about.

    Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC. Book to be published March 9, 2025.

  • the book witch by meg schaffer

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    Instant love of this one. This is a story for those who love stories. For everyone that ever had a book boyfriend, who wanted to dive into the pages of a book, or to have a cup of coffee with Sherlock Holmes. It makes me want to go to the library and check out Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, and several Nancy Drew novels.

    I kept thinking of the scene in the Barbie movie when Barbie goes to talk to the creator of the doll, played by Rhea Perlman.

    It’s so so good. I am grateful to NetGalley and Ballantine for the ARC. Book to be published 4/6/26. I have already pre-preordered a trophy copy.

  • in her defense by philippa malicka

    WHOA. What a book. I just finished and I am totally shook. It is both suspenseful and terribly sad. Mood readers beware- it is hard to find a character to root for but it dives really deep into themes of identity and desire for acceptance. I was absolutely riveted and my mouth dropped open several times. Perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Laura Dave.

    SYNOPSIS
    Gussie is lovesick over Mary, her former friend and sometimes hookup. She is the key witness in a trial. Mary’s mother, Anna, is a beloved TV actor and Mary her estranged only daughter. Anna is suing Mary’s therapist, Jean Guest. Jean says that Mary’s parents are toxic and supports Mary in cutting off all contact. Anna says that Mary has been manipulated for money and Jean has inserted false memories into Mary’s mind. Gus is the one that brings the two together- a former client of Jean, Mary has cut her off too. But Gus is the one that brought Jean and Mary together.

    THEMES- heavy!
    Very bad therapy
    therapist as cult leader
    Art school setting
    The roles we play to each other- how our friends see us
    Unrequited love
    Estrangement of family
    Sexual promiscuity as a search for acceptance
    We are all simultaneously the groomer and the groomed, the villain and the victim, the unreliable and fiercely loyal.

    I have read so many books where I came away saying, “Sheesh, these people all need therapy. This book is practically an advertisement for therapy.” WHOA. NOT SO FAST. Did you know that in the UK anyone can register as a therapist online, like registering as a “life coach” it appears that this doesn’t have the level of regulation that it does in the states. Or at least it doesn’t in this universe.

    the characters are so sad and over time they appear to see themselves in both ways. The characters, particularly Gus and Mary, grow over time and begin to have a maturity to understand their past insecurities. Jean gave them hope, then made them dependent on her for this hope, but at least she gave them hope.

    There is a reason why people join cults- there are wonderful things about it that make one feel finally understood, feel like there is a story to their pain. If it was all isolation and hopelessness then no one would join a cult. But there is a desperation for identity that becomes fulfilled and feels wonderfully validating.

    this book is so suspenseful it practically feels like horror. Unbelievable story.

    Thank you to Netgalley and scribner for the ARC. Book to be published 2/24/26

  • cherry baby by rainbow rowell

    I am blown away by how truly wonderful this book is. I think it’s Rainbow Rowell’s best book. I rarely rate an ARC with five stars, because my rule is that if I rate it five stars I am committing to re-read it upon pub date. And I can’t wait to re-read this one. I’ve already preordered it. It is ultimately a pretty sad book, but it’s also beautiful, strikingly original, and very original.

    This book is the perfect example of creating such slot-on realistic characters and then just letting them be. Not forcing the characters into situations. This book is not at all formulaic— we are much more used to a well-defined “first act/ second act/ third act” and this book does not follow that. The characters and the descriptions of their internal thoughts are the real star of the book.

    The book tackles what it means to be a plus size woman today, it approaches the issue of GLP1 medications with a lot of raw emotion. I haven’t seen a book yet that tackles the dynamic of how fat people view the widespread use of weight loss medications. I can’t tell you how much I related to Cherry and I just sobbed at some of her experiences. I also loved how her family was legalistic from a religious standpoint but she still lived them and they still had great relationships. The sister group text thread chapters were some of my favorite parts of the book.

    If you aren’t yet where Cherry is in her journey of fat acceptance, the experience of her fat phobia may bother some. For me, it was incredibly validating and timely. I will also say this book has much more sexytime parts than Rainbow Rowell’s other books.

    Also- there is a dog in it that I loved. Her name is Stevie and she is a Newfoundland-Pyrenees mix.

    Situational divorce drama was really creative and original. For example, Cherry and Tom trying to separate their belongings, and mostly arguing about wanting the other one to take the item, and not wanting to take it themselves. Not wanting to give it to the goodwill because they like it but they don’t want to have it. So they try to make the other one take it. I can totally see that happening!! I don’t want to give away anything, but Cherry arguing with her sister Hope about Hope taking Monjauro and lying about it. Wow I just sobbed at that scene. They were both so hurt and I could completely see where they were both coming from.

    This book is unapologetically itself. I absolutely loved the ending.

    Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins William Morrow for the ARC. Book to be published 4/13/26