thoughts on books

Category: Recommendations

  • 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. 

  • 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

  • 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

  • the underachiever by david a price

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    A delightful YA Dystopian satire that will warm your heart and make you laugh. This speculative fiction read is about AI taking over in the not-too-distant future. Our hero is Wyoming, a dumb yet lovable prep school kid in Washington, DC. He comes from money and doesn’t see the need to try too hard at life. He figures he should interview for Harvard, since that’s where his parents would want him to go. And he would like to “lie in the grass” there, he mentions this several times. However, he crosses paths with Kayleigh, who has been ostracized for seeing that AI may be sentient. Soon Kayleigh and Wyoming need to team up and save the world.

    I stumbled across this funny book offered on NetGalley, it was a delightful surprise. As someone concerns about the rise of AI and the problems it could cause, I also find the teenage boy endearing. Because I am a mom to a teenage boy, who is as smart as he is dumb. The book gave me a lot to think about but plenty of opportunities to laugh. I loved the idea that the AI started putting extra fingers in our art as a way to give humanity “the finger.” Kayleigh was a great foil. The book has a great message without being too heavy handed.

    Also- the acknowledgements are written from the PoV of the main character, who thanks the author, which was creative and really cute.

    Thank you to NetGalley and Houston Street Press for the ARC. Book out now! Congratulations Houston Street on your debut title!

  • the good mothers by caitlin weaver

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    Exactly the kind of heart wrenching drama and thriller I always expect from Caitlin Weaver. She is absolutely an auto-buy author for me and for good reason. Her books are often on kindle unlimited, and they always have strong female leads and always shitty dudes. I gotta say, I love this formula.

    In this case we follow Lacey, who is down on her luck- going through a divorce from her awful ex husband Judd (the perfect name for him)- he is vile and won’t pay for their son Elliott’s ADHD medication or even administer it to him when he is with him. Judd is fighting Lacey for custody. She is fired from a job and accidentally hits a parked car. Life is hard. Then she finds a group of moms in communal living who share living expenses and child care and offer a loving environment for their kids.

    Elliott is a dollface 8 year old, but parenting a child with an ADHD diagnosis is always challenging even in the best of circumstances. I really was so sucked in and wanted to throw my kindle across the room at Lacey’s custody issues. The moms get her the opportunity to be an executive assistant and get a job better than the one she has before— but are they hiding something?

    If you love a thriller but you aren’t interested in the higher stakes- bloody murdering or random type thrillers, Caitlin Weaver proves you can have a beachy-popcorn thriller that is just as much of a page turner without all that.

    Thanks to @netgalley and storm publishing for the ARC. Book to be published January 15, 2026

  • ideal life by evelyn skye

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    Lightly magical, this is a romcom tech industry with a wristwatch that works exactly like the time turners from the Harry Potter universe. A few different POV, ideal life is a company owned by Talia Morgan, a Stanford grad with the ability to quickly rewind time. Her lifelong best friend Sam is in love with her. He makes Talia promise to only use it in case of an emergency. As time goes on, she finds herself becoming perfectionists and controlling.

    A blend of magical realism, romance and tech boom culture, I would have liked a bit more character development and a
    Deeper dive into the Ideal Life products and how they work. I saw infinite possibilities and I wish it had been explored a bit more. A clever premise! For me, this one was a like, not necessarily a “love.”

    Recommend? Sure. It was harmless and cute.

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