Aftertaste is a brilliant, heartwarming concept. A man can taste, in his mouth, the best meals a ghost ate while alive. It allows them to share a meal that he prepared with a loved one. He lost his dear father and discovered his superpower after tasting a meal his father had as a boy in Kyiv Ukraine. It takes you down the path of several departed people and their unfinished business.
Read if you like -stories about Ukrainian immigrants -culinary business, running a restaurant and chef language, like The Bear –Before the Coffee Gets Cold
The writing style seemed pretty “stream of consciousness” and the character development was almost poetry-like. I did find much of it a bit hard to follow, I don’t know much about chef lingo although I liked the main character and how he chose to use his gift. My favorite was about a nun who had recently lost a fellow-nun and will give bonus points for reference to Ghostbusters “There is no Dana only Zuul.”
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC. Book to be published May 20, 2025.
10/10 one of my best books of 2025 – contemporary literary fiction.
Sandy hasn’t had the best luck in love. A ten year relationship with a man who wouldn’t commit, another man she really didn’t love but still made her feel insecure. She finds herself pregnant with a guy who she doesn’t like all that much that she met on a dating app. She has a beautiful baby girl then finds out her child’s father has another child to a different woman.
Because we have way too much information available to us all the time, she cyber stalks the other woman, Stephanie. As she is pumping her breast milk, she accidentally hits follow. Steph sees the follow request right away, which changes both of their lives forever.
This is 2025’s heartwarming message fiction of the year. Like Margo’s Got Money Troubles, we find ourselves empathetic and fiercely protective of a single mom, and cheer on her best efforts. The men in this book are disappointing, particularly Justin, her baby’s father. But for all his faults, Justin does bring together a family despite himself and his weird codependent relationship with his mom. Sandy’s pre-mom friends also are caricatures of an unsupportive “friend” who is more self-centered.
But over the course of the book Sandy discovers the real meaning of love, connection, and family.
These CHARACTERS. They are so well fleshed out, so complicated and compelling.
Thanks to NetGalley and Madison at Random House Marketing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was unfamiliar with the author and hadn’t seen any marketing for this book, special thank you to the team who made this book available to me. Book to be published May 6, 2025. This review is uncompensated.
I was given an ARC of this novella in exchange for an honest review, thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Putnam. A sweet yet sad redemptive story, this is a character study of a man who goes on a romantic Christmas trip solo to Venice. His husband asked for a divorce and he was in denial, but decided to go on his own. Paul seems like a lost soul, and he does a lot of soul searching and seeking connection on his trip.
Obviously this is a shorter story, I can’t help but want to know more about Paul. It is almost a creative writing challenge to tell a story in this short of a format. It has sweet dialogue and I found Paul to be relatable. Although he is heartbroken, he is not pathetic and grows over time.
If you have the chance to read this, it is worth the hour it will take to read.
I can hardly believe this is a debut, this is a wonderful and enriching story set in the pre civil war South. The Good Morning America pick, I bet Jenna and Oprah and Reese wanted it as well. It checks all the boxes- strong female main character, tragedy, hope, a lesson for all of us and cross-genre. With beautiful sweeping descriptions, readable internal dialogue, this novel invests time into character development and a solid plot. It reads almost like a mystery, although there are elements of magical realism, romance, and literary fiction. I would shelve it under historical fiction, as the setting is necessary to the history of the time.
This doesn’t whitewash the horrors of enslaved people in the American south, it covers the time in a respectful yet haunting way. The splitting up of families is heartbreaking and a warning siren for our dark days today.
Junie is a 16 year old maid to Violet McQueen, the daughter of the plantation. They are living with debt and the way out is to marry Violet off to Mr. Taylor. It never occurred to me that when a girl was married her maid would leave the farm and go to the new home, away from her family. Junie’s sister Minnie died suddenly, leaving a hole in her heart and family. June blames herself for her death, and cannot come to terms with her present circumstances and future hope. There is also a heartwrenching theme of colorism, or the racism even within the community of enslaved people with a preference for
lighter color skin rather than a darker complexion.
I loved the complicated relationship between Violet and Junie, who taught Junie to read. Other characters; Minnie, Bess, Caleb, were all such strong voices and rounded out her community.
If you enjoy historical fiction about female friendships, this is not one to miss.
Wow. I will be thinking about this book for a long time. Literary Fiction and Speculative Dystopian fiction, this book speaks to our deepest fears about our changing society. In a future not so far away, you can buy a dreamsaver, a device that saves and records your dreams, but also shares this data with the government. In fact, the algorithm can apparently detect when you are about to commit a crime. You are assessed with a “risk score” by which the government can retain you at a retention center. Idea being, you stay for 21 days until the risk of you committing a crime goes down. However, most of the women there have been there much, much longer, Sara Hussein has been retained over 300 days. She misses her husband and her young twins terribly. Sara was an archivist, and now spends her meager commissary account on shampoo, snacks and internet time to read the news and email back home.
How was we reconcile the freedoms we hold most dear with changing technology and culture? What does “freedom of speech” mean when millions can be at risk if someone shares viral misinformation? Do I have the same freedom of speech as celebrities and influencers with millions of followers? What does the second amendment really mean when we have guns that can shoot 700 rounds per minute? What responsibility does the government have to keep its citizens safe?
This book extends that to our fear about our privacy and data collection. What can be done with the collection of our data? Over time, our habits, our searches, our DNA are all collected in an effort to sell us more things and to keep increasing the wealth of a handful of citizens. Many people, myself included, would like to see common sense gun laws to keep dangerous guns away from those that shouldn’t have them. And what if we had even more data? Could we save lives by eliminating the crimes in the first place?
This book is a 1984 for our time. While the people of 1948 feared dictators when that classic was published, we fear our freedom being lost in the name of safety. Our privacy being taken and misinterpreted.
It reminds me of a friend of mine who kept seeing ads for diabetes medicine in her social media feeds. For months she saw this and couldn’t understand it. At her blood draw at her annual physical she found out… you guessed it… she has diabetes. I have 1600 books read and reviewed on Goodreads, and I have entered COUNTLESS giveaways. I am happy to disclose that I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. And now I am sure that I won because the algorithm knew I would rate this 5 stars.
It comes out March 4, 2025. I can’t wait to talk to other people about it, it’s going to drive me nuts. I LOVED THE ENDING. Based on that pub date, I just know it will be picked for one of the celebrity book clubs. Tons of people are going to read this, although many will hate it, it’s not a feel good book. But it will inspire great discussions at your book club!
19 year old Maddy Banks is like any other pampered college student… except that she has a diagnosis of Bipolar Personality Disorder- Type I. She dreams of having a comedy special on Netflix and writing Taylor Swift’s biography, but in periods of mania she is careless with both her mind and body. And she has delusions of grandeur. Maddy comes from a well off country club Connecticut family where she is the youngest of 3. Her oldest sister Emily is engaged to be married and will marry her college sweetheart from Vanderbilt. Maddy has a somewhat strained relationship with her mother, who she thinks infantilizes her, and who doesn’t quite know how to control her disorder.
Lisa Genova is famous for having well researched character studies of neurodiverse people; she has really zeroed in on this micro-genre, having written about dementia, Huntington’s, autism, and more. This is perhaps her most ambitious and best work yet…. getting inside the mind of Maddy in a way that helps the reader truly empathize. To a loved one of someone with this mental illness, the helplessness and anger is understandable. This book follows Maddy through a blue period in her freshman year to several periods of mania. It touches upon the way Maddy suffers and tries to understand, the people in her life and how they cope with how to be the best support.
No spoilers here, but the ending is realistic while being hopeful. It is heartwarming, although not Polly-Anna-ish. Bipolar Disorder is not something that can be cured, but something Maddy must take responsibility for managing. The journey is not an easy one, and it is not a cookie cutter solution.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a contemporary character study; but for those that love someone with a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder, I must insist you read this. No one is saying every journey is the same, but it helps us to accept and celebrate our differences.
I was gifted a free copy of this book from Simon and Schuster in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.
A character study that spans an entire lifetime, it hooks you from the start with vivid, surprising and lyrical prose. From the first page, the narrative is incredibly intriguing. From page one; “Joan had not thought she would stab her husband. It had been an accident (sort of).” I mean, wow. What a sentence! How could you not be hooked?
At 25% of the way through I thought this might be one of my favorite books of the year. The set up is downright enchanting, with anecdotes that teach us who the characters are and how they are motivated. It is hard to think of Joan as a character in a novel, it is almost as if this entire book is a very very long obituary. It centers around Joan and why she is who she is, with all of the detail in her family. If you like the family drama like Long Island Compromise, Claire Lombardo or The Celebrants; this is a version of those that you will certainly savor.
The book is a long character study, but you will be disappointed if you are expecting a story with a beginning, middle and end. This has several plot points that don’t go anywhere or return, highly symbolic but it can be frustrating at times. The title, The Satisfaction Cafe, comes from an enterprise that is not introduced until 60% of the way through the novel. It is about connecting with others, how we create family, how others see us and who we are at the core.
Thanks to @Netgalley and @scribnerbooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own. Book to be published July 1, 2025.
Leah is ten years into a marriage with 3 children. Her husband, who comes from a comfortably wealthy family, sees her as the center of the universe, but she is fueled by resentments and a self-pity that will not be quieted. Her life was upended and her art took a backseat when she became pregnant with her first child, and somehow she ended up drinking more and more each night. Leah is close with her sister in law, Amy, who has had a difficult upbringing. A well written book that feels like falling into quicksand, which is a apt analogy for how sometimes alcoholism sneaks up on us as our lives get smaller and smaller.
I likely would not have picked up this book had I not read the blurb, which says it is critical of “mommy wine culture,” which is something I am passionate about. There are plenty of “sober curious” quit lit memoirs out there, and many women find a lot to relate to about them. However, I find that it works here better in a fiction rather than memoir format. I like the challenge of writing a story of acceptance and coming to realization that something has to change in your life.
This is a perfect read for those who liked [b:Same As It Ever Was|199344873|Same As It Ever Was|Claire Lombardo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1701715475l/199344873.SX50.jpg|203772114] and [b:Sandwich|200028726|Sandwich|Catherine Newman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699631079l/200028726.SY75.jpg|201706043], the inner dialogue and unraveling of a mother in her midst of her life, the story picking up when life seems boring, it doesn’t seem that things are changing often, but you are reaching for substances to get you through your days. If I have a criticism of the book it is just that the main character will be seen as unlikable for most of the book, it is hard to root for her. It is hard to feel connected to someone that is self-pitying and resentful, these are things we often miss in ourselves in our self-awareness.
This debut novelist is one to watch.
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpermuse for the ARC. Thank you not only for the ARC itself but for reaching out to me and recommending it for me specifically. Book to be published May 13, 2025.
Contemporary fiction; documentary narrative style. The world partner ice skating stage, competitive and fanatic. A lengthy drama filled raucous romp through the early 2000’s skating federation. If this is on your list and you’re wondering if a 16+ hour audiobook is for you? Let me sway you. This is GREAT on audio, easy to follow, ten narrators (including Johnny Weir in the IDEAL side character role) and is just SO much fun. I’ve been seeing this book all over #bookstagram and #booktok and I’m not one to be let out of the conversation. You’ll see a lot of comps to Daisy Jones and the Six, which is obvious, except ice dance instead of the music industry. A documentary narrative that follows a climb from obscurity to super stardom.
That said, one of the main criticisms we see about Daisy Jones is that nothing really happens. It’s a book big on the format and short on plot. Well let me tell you this— a LOT happens in The Favorites. Soap operatic, if you will. Some of the actions the characters take are out of the blue, super melodramatic, but you have to love the campiness and just go with it. This book is a lot of fun. 🤩 also, it’s inspired by Wuthering Heights. (!?)
Literary fiction with a tremendous amount of suspense. This is a book you won’t be able to put down. 13 year old Nora shoots her 14 year old brother Nico in Lodgepole, Colorado. Her parents, David and Angie, are devastated.
I can’t imagine a worse scenario.
Will she be tried as an adult or a juvenile? Is it second or first degree murder? Nora’s defense attorney will be Julian, who was Angie’s first love.
Alternating chapters go back to the late 90’s, when Angie and Julian were together and starting their careers in New York City. Julian turns to alcohol to deal with the terrible stress of being a young g lawyer. I thought this was going to be a mystery of why Nora shot her beloved brother,but it is such an expansive and engaging story. The characters are imperfect and interesting. They have a hard time forgiving themselves but an easy time forgiving others.
This is good on audio, the narrator is excellent.
Thanks to NetGalley and @macmillan.audio for the ARC. Book will be published January 28, 2025.
