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Lynn Painter has done it again. She continues to prove that she’s the undisputed queen of the cute YA rom-com, and Trust Fall was an absolute delight.

Julia has spent her whole life in Springfield, Nebraska, where her family owns the local grocery store. Then, completely out of the blue, they learn that their late neighbor, Lou, has left them his enormous mansion on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. If the family lives there for six months, they’ll inherit not only the mansion but also Lou’s hundreds of millions of dollars.

Once they’re in New York, Julia is suddenly trying to navigate prep school, high society, and a lifestyle that’s about as far from small-town Nebraska as you can get. She meets Damion, Lou’s nephew, who knew him as Uncle Remi and is convinced there has to be some mistake. After all, why would his uncle leave everything to strangers? As Damion tries to figure out what’s really going on, he ends up helping Julia adjust to her new life—tutoring her in math, showing her how to survive the subway, and, of course, spending a lot more time with her than either of them expected.

This book is basically every small-town girl’s daydream. It’s such a fun wish-fulfillment story, and I couldn’t help smiling while I read it. Julia’s introduction to Manhattan society gave me The Princess Diaries vibes, while some of the glamorous social events reminded me a little of Bridgerton. It was so much fun watching her figure out this completely different world.

One thing I really appreciated was the setting. Most of Lynn Painter’s books are set in Nebraska, so it was fun to see her take readers to Manhattan while still keeping the warmth and charm that I always associate with her books.

The banter between Julia and Damion is exactly what I’ve come to expect from Lynn Painter—funny, sweet, and full of chemistry. I also loved that Julia quickly found good people in New York. There really isn’t a “mean girl” element here, which made the whole story feel refreshingly cozy and easy to settle into. Even Julia’s parents were just genuinely kind people, and I found myself rooting for this whole family.

Is the story a little formulaic? Sure. But honestly, that’s part of the charm. Lynn Painter knows exactly how to write a feel-good YA romance, and this is another reminder that this is where she shines.

If you’ve loved Better Than the Movies, The Do-Over, or Fake Skating, I think you’ll have a great time with this one. It’s sweet, completely closed-door, and just a wonderfully escapist read that’s perfect for fall.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

Publication date: September 29, 2026.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the advance reading copy. As soon as I finished, I was happy I’d already preordered a copy to round out my Lynn Painter shelf.

3.5 ⭐️ | Don’t Blame the Wife by Darby Kane

Darby Kane has become one of those thriller authors I can count on for an entertaining, twist-filled ride, and Don’t Blame the Wife delivers exactly that. If you love wealthy families, locked-room mysteries, long-buried secrets, and plenty of soap-opera-worthy scandals, this one is worth adding to your TBR.

The story centers on Amery Aberdeen Benedict, the formidable matriarch of a powerful family living in a $28 million estate. Ten years ago, her husband Walter was found floating dead in the swimming pool, and many believed Amery got away with murder. She has always maintained her innocence.

To mark the tenth anniversary of Walter’s death, Amery summons her children, their partners, and everyone who was present that fateful night back to the mansion. When another guest winds up dead, no one is allowed to leave until the mystery is solved. As an added incentive, Amery announces that whoever uncovers the truth will inherit her entire estate.

From there, the novel becomes a fast-paced, locked-room mystery filled with shifting timelines, multiple points of view, family betrayals, secret affairs, and enough drama to rival Knives Out by way of The Young and the Restless. Everyone seems to fear Amery, and she easily became the most compelling character in the book. Every time she was on the page, she commanded attention.

As always, Darby Kane excels at pacing. The chapters fly by, the twists keep coming, and the story constantly gives you new suspects and motivations to consider. I never felt bored, and I was eager to see how everything would come together.

What kept this from being a four-star read for me was the characterization. While there are several points of view, many of the voices blend together, making it difficult to become invested in anyone besides Amery. Gena, Cooper’s fiancée and the story’s primary outsider, feels like the character readers are meant to root for, but she never develops enough of a distinct personality to truly stand out. As a result, the emotional stakes never landed quite as strongly as I hoped.

Even so, this is another solid thriller from Darby Kane. It follows a formula similar to some of her previous novels, but it’s a formula that works. If you’re a fan of locked-room mysteries, dysfunctional wealthy families, and page-turning suspense with plenty of shocking reveals, I think you’ll have a great time with this one.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC. Don’t Blame the Wife is expected to be published on January 12, 2027.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Could this be my favorite Riley Sager novel? It’s certainly in contention.

I had sky-high expectations going into The Unknown, and somehow it still exceeded them. This is exactly the kind of mystery I love: eerie, atmospheric, packed with theories, and impossible to stop thinking about. I stayed up far later than I should have because every chapter convinced me I was this close to figuring it out… and every chapter proved me wrong.

The story unfolds across two timelines. In the present day, struggling actress Maren Keane lands the opportunity of a lifetime when she’s unexpectedly cast in a major film directed by Hollywood legend Ronan Peters. Filming takes place on the isolated island of New Avalon, off the coast of Vermont, alongside an iconic actress and a talented ensemble cast. Once production begins, the island is cut off from the mainland—and things start to unravel fast.

The film they’re making tells the story of five women who vanished from the island in 1926, disappearing one by one until only abandoned dresses hanging high in the trees remained. A single diary survived, along with decades of speculation. Was it a tragedy? A crime? Something supernatural? No one knows… until now.

The dual timelines are brilliantly woven together, and I loved slowly uncovering the truth alongside Maren. One of my favorite parts of the novel is how she constantly works through different theories, almost inviting the reader to investigate with her. It creates this wonderfully interactive feeling where you’re solving the mystery right alongside the protagonist. It reminded me of watching an old Scooby-Doo mystery—except much creepier.

Speaking of creepy… the atmosphere is phenomenal. The isolated island, the abandoned history, the ghost-story energy—it felt like sitting around a campfire listening to someone tell the scariest story they’ve ever heard, flashlight pointed under their chin. Sager keeps you questioning whether there’s something truly supernatural at work or whether there’s a perfectly rational explanation waiting beneath the surface, and I loved every minute of that uncertainty.

The dialogue feels natural, the characters are memorable, and Maren is easy to root for. Watching an unknown actress suddenly get plucked from obscurity into the glamorous (and dangerous) world of Hollywood made the mystery even more compelling because you desperately want this dream to work out for her.

If you loved The Last Time I Lied, The Only One Left, or the haunting atmosphere of The Haunting of Hill House, I think you’ll have an absolute blast with this one.

One of my favorite mysteries of the year, and one I’ll be recommending to everyone. If you pick it up, please message me while you’re reading—I need people to theorize with!

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for the advance reading copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Publication Date: August 4, 2026

A story isn’t the what, it’s the why and the how.”

Kate Fagan’s Instant Classic is subtitled A Love Story, and I initially assumed I was picking up a romance. Instead, it’s something much more expansive. This is a story about the love of basketball, the bonds between women across generations, the friendships that shape our lives, and the power of telling stories that deserve to be told.

The novel weaves together several timelines centered on the legendary Hanes Hosiery women’s basketball program. Harper Kidd dreams of escaping her small-town life through basketball before eventually becoming both a coach and a mentor to future WNBA superstar Jaz Jones. As Jaz’s remarkable career attracts the attention of a filmmaker hoping to bring her story to the screen, the novel shifts beyond the court into a thoughtful exploration of legacy, representation, and whose stories Hollywood chooses to tell.

One of the themes that resonated with me most was Fagan’s commentary on women’s sports—both on and off the screen. She points out how few films center female athletes, and even fewer celebrate queer women. That absence gives this novel an added layer of purpose. One quote in particular stayed with me: “The number of men holding back women’s sports while telling themselves they were its protectors was infuriating.” Fagan makes a compelling case that these stories matter, not simply because they’re about sports, but because they’re about people whose lives have too often been overlooked.

You don’t need to know anything about basketball to appreciate this novel. While sports provide the backdrop, the emotional heart lies in the relationships, the mentorships, and the determination to preserve history before it’s forgotten.

For me, the book truly came alive in its third act as the characters fought the Hollywood machine to get this story made. Those chapters were deeply moving and highlighted the importance of authentic representation in film. I also appreciated how Fagan explored the many different ways love can manifest outside of traditional romance.

My biggest reservation was the structure. While I enjoyed each timeline individually, I found myself wishing for a stronger thread connecting them throughout the novel. I also would have loved a bit more time spent developing the characters, as I occasionally felt at a slight emotional distance from them.

Even so, Kate Fagan continues to be one of the strongest voices writing about women, sports, and identity today. I still prefer her memoirs to her fiction, but her compassion, insight, and passion for these subjects shine through on every page. If you enjoyed Carrie Soto Is Back but are looking for something less about competition and more about legacy, storytelling, friendship, and the enduring love of the game, Instant Classic is well worth picking up.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance electronic copy. Instant Classic publishes January 26, 2027.

If your favorite thrillers are the kind that whisk you away on vacation before pulling the rug out from under you, Bad Honeymoon is a fun, fast-paced mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Jessie Garcia has quickly developed a signature style, and fans of The Business Trip and Fair Weather Friend will feel right at home here. Once again, she delivers a story told through multiple points of view, creating a twisty mystery that keeps the pages flying.

Television reporter Becca is desperate for a story that will boost ratings during sweeps week when she’s contacted by a woman named Eve. Eve claims that what should have been a romantic honeymoon in Florida has turned into a nightmare, complete with mold-infested hotel rooms, dead mice in the closet, and a resort refusing to make things right. It sounds like the perfect consumer investigation, so Josie flies to Florida to meet her source.

Only Eve never shows up.

Her phone turns out to be a burner, the hotel insists there was never a guest by that name, and there is no record that the wedding Eve described ever happened. Suddenly, Josie finds herself chasing a mystery that is far stranger than a bad honeymoon. Who is Eve? What is she trying to accomplish? And why choose Becca?

One of the things I continue to enjoy about Garcia’s books is her cast of characters. Her female leads are intelligent, resourceful, and easy to root for, while the male characters are equally well-rounded with motivations and personalities of their own. No one feels like a caricature, which gives the story a balanced, believable dynamic.

The twists aren’t designed to leave your jaw on the floor, and experienced thriller readers will probably predict a few of them. The premise also requires a healthy suspension of disbelief. But honestly, that’s part of the charm. This is the kind of thriller you read for the entertainment value, not because every detail is perfectly realistic. It’s an engaging, escapist mystery that’s simply a lot of fun.

While there is a murder, this isn’t an especially dark or graphic thriller. The body count stays low, the violence remains in the background, and the emphasis is on uncovering the truth rather than shocking the reader. It lands much more firmly in the psychological suspense category than horror.

I also have a feeling this will make an excellent audiobook. Garcia’s multiple-POV format has translated well to audio in the past, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this one receives another strong multi-narrator production.

Who should read this?

• Fans of Liv Constantine, Jeneva Rose, and Robyn Harding.
• Readers who enjoyed Jessie Garcia’s The Business Trip and Fair Weather Friend.
• Thriller readers looking for an entertaining, fast-paced mystery with multiple POVs, vacation vibes, and enough twists to keep the pages turning—even if you guess a few along the way.

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted electronic ARC. Publication date: January 27, 2027.

Some thrillers make you think. Others make you stay up far too late promising yourself “just one more chapter.” Drowning in Paper Flowers is firmly in the second category.

If you enjoy twist-filled domestic thrillers from authors like Mary Kubica, Alice Feeney, or Lucinda Berry, this one delivers plenty of scandal, secrets, and over-the-top drama. It’s a true popcorn thriller—campy in all the best ways and incredibly difficult to put down.

Ruby appears to have the picture-perfect life in suburban Dallas: a beautiful home, two children, and a husband with a successful career. But behind closed doors, everything is falling apart. Her husband, Jack, has been carrying on a long-term affair, her young son has never fully recovered after being kidnapped several years earlier, and the seemingly ordinary world of PTA meetings and youth soccer is overflowing with gossip, betrayal, and hidden agendas. As more secrets come to light, the twists just keep coming.

Were some of the reveals outrageous? Absolutely. But that’s part of this novel’s charm. Rather than striving for gritty realism, it embraces the melodrama and keeps the surprises coming. I never found myself bored because there was always another scandal waiting around the corner.

This isn’t a deeply emotional thriller or one with profound commentary on life. Instead, it’s pure entertainment—a compulsively readable, soap-operatic psychological thriller that reminds us how much fun reading can be. Sometimes that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Content warnings: child kidnapping, infidelity, and child endangerment.

Thank you to Atria Books for the advance reading copy. The book is available now.

If you’re looking for a popcorn thriller set behind the scenes of the music industry, Famous Last Lies delivers enough twists to keep the pages turning, even if it never quite reaches the emotional highs it aims for.

The story follows two sisters whose lives take dramatically different paths after winning a singing competition in the UK. Charismatic music mogul Julian discovers Haley, whisks her away to Los Angeles, and transforms her into a solo star, while her older sister, Anna—a gifted songwriter—finds herself left behind. The novel opens eight years after Julian’s disappearance when his body is finally discovered in the desert, then unfolds through multiple timelines that revisit his rise, his disappearance, and the fallout that follows. Interspersed throughout are chapters from the killer’s point of view, with their identity remaining a mystery until the end.

The music industry setting was easily my favorite part of the novel. Between recording contracts, celebrity mentors, rivalries, and life behind the scenes in Los Angeles, it offers a fun backdrop that helps distinguish it from more traditional domestic thrillers. The dual timelines also worked well, gradually revealing what happened while maintaining plenty of suspense.

Where the book fell a little flat for me was in its characters. Considering the story is built around two sisters, I expected their relationship to carry much more emotional weight. Instead, they spend so much of the novel on separate paths that I never felt particularly invested in either of them or their bond. The characterization overall is fairly light—I didn’t actively like or dislike anyone, which made some of the bigger reveals land with less impact than they could have.

The pacing was also uneven. The middle section slowed considerably before the ending accelerated through a series of twists that mostly worked for me, even if everything wrapped up a bit too quickly. Fans of authors like Jeneva Rose will probably appreciate the emphasis on plot over deep character development.

One unexpectedly funny observation: if you’ve ever seen the Saturday Night Live sketch The Californians, you’ll know the running joke about everyone obsessively discussing which freeway they’re taking. This book had me thinking about that sketch more than once because there is an awful lot of conversation about Los Angeles freeways, traffic, and driving routes. It isn’t necessarily a criticism—just something I couldn’t help noticing!

Overall, this was a perfectly solid, but ultimately forgettable thriller. If your TBR is already towering, this probably isn’t one I’d move to the top of the pile. But if you enjoy female-driven mysteries, entertainment industry settings, dual timelines, and plenty of twists, it’s an entertaining way to spend a few hours.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing an advance reader copy. Famous Last Lies publishes February 23, 2027.

If there’s one thing I’ll always pick up, it’s a messy family drama. Give me siblings carrying old resentments, parents with impossible expectations, and adults who still haven’t quite figured life out, and I’m usually all in. Make Nice has all of those ingredients, but for me it never quite reached the emotional payoff I was hoping for.

Set on Michigan’s beautiful Mackinac Island, this debut novel follows three adult siblings who are summoned home by their controlling father 100 days after their mother’s death. Each of them is grieving in a different way, but their father seems determined to dictate not only how the family should mourn, but how quickly they should move on. As the siblings reconnect, old wounds resurface and each must confront the direction their own life has taken.

The setting was easily one of my favorite aspects of the novel. Ryan Effgen captures the unique atmosphere of Mackinac Island so vividly that I felt transported there. The island’s car-free streets, slower pace of life, and distinctive charm become almost another character in the story.

The characterization is another strength. Each sibling has a distinct voice and set of struggles. Pete, the overlooked middle child whose career studying snails adds a wonderfully quirky touch, was my favorite of the three. I also really enjoyed Viv’s teenage daughter, Ash, and especially Oliver, the precocious young boy who steals nearly every scene he’s appears in. The supporting cast often brought the warmth and humor that kept me turning the pages.

Where the novel fell a little short for me was the plot itself. The family dynamics are compelling, but I kept waiting for the emotional tension to build into something messier and more transformative. Instead, the story remains fairly quiet and introspective throughout. I appreciated the thoughtful writing and the authentic portrait of people floundering through midlife, but I wanted a bit more momentum and emotional payoff.

The publisher compares this novel to Sandwich and The Wedding People. While I understand the comparison in terms of genre and tone, those are exceptionally high bars to clear. For me, Make Nice didn’t quite deliver the same emotional depth or memorable storytelling, and I wonder if those comparisons unintentionally set expectations that were difficult for a debut to meet.

Even so, I think Ryan Effgen is a writer worth watching. His prose is confident, his characters feel lived in, and he has a clear gift for creating a strong sense of place. While this particular story didn’t fully come together for me, I’d happily pick up whatever he writes next.

I would especially recommend Make Nice to readers who enjoy quieter, character-driven literary fiction, multigenerational family stories, and novels that prioritize atmosphere and relationships over plot twists or high drama.

Rating: ★★★¼☆ (3.25/5)

Make Nice publishes July 14, 2026.

Thank you to Ryan Effgen, Knopf and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. And thank you to my friend Anna for buddy reading this with me and sharing your thoughtful insights along the way. I hope we have many more buddy reads in our future!

Like so many readers, I was swept up in the phenomenon of The Push. While I don’t think The Things You’ll Never Know will reach quite the same level of cultural buzz, I do think it will find a devoted audience. Ashley Audrain has once again written a novel that is less interested in providing easy answers than in sparking difficult conversations.

Fiona is a 45-year-old mother of two whose husband, Adam, struggles with clinical depression. While Adam and their teenage daughter are away on a camping trip, Fiona remains home with their six-year-old son, Pepper. By the time her family returns, Fiona is dead. From there, the story unfolds through Fiona’s perspective as a ghost watching the aftermath of her death, while her daughter discovers and begins reading her mother’s diary—uncovering secrets that dramatically reshape how she views the woman she thought she knew.

The mystery itself kept me engaged, but it wasn’t the biggest draw for me. What impressed me most was Audrain’s exploration of motherhood, the impossible expectations placed on women, and the quiet ways many women become invisible as they age. She examines people-pleasing, self-sacrifice, and the emotional labor that so often goes unnoticed, asking readers to consider how much of a woman’s identity is shaped by the roles others expect her to play.

The novel is exquisitely paced, although there are several emotionally uncomfortable moments that may be challenging for some readers. The characters make frustrating choices at times, but those decisions feel purposeful rather than sensational, inviting readers to wrestle with complicated questions instead of offering simple moral judgments. Audrain has a gift for creating characters who feel authentic in all their contradictions, and Fiona and her family are especially well realized despite the relatively small cast.

I found myself more invested in the emotional and thematic journey than in solving the mystery. While I anticipated where the story was heading fairly early on, that ultimately mattered very little. The novel succeeds because of the conversations it inspires about family, identity, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves about the people we love.

This would make an outstanding book club selection. There is so much to unpack—from motherhood and marriage to guilt, perception, and the feminine ideal—that I could easily imagine an hour-long discussion after finishing the final page.

If you enjoy domestic suspense that prioritizes character development and thought-provoking themes over constant twists, this is one to add to your TBR. It may not become an all-time favorite for me, but I have a feeling many readers will connect deeply with its emotional complexity and the questions it leaves lingering long after the final chapter.

★★★★☆ (4/5)

Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader copy. The Things You’ll Never Know will be published in January 2027.

If you’re the kind of thriller reader who constantly says, “Give me more twists!” then I have the book for you.

My biggest piece of advice? Go in blind. I skipped the synopsis before I started, and that first chapter absolutely floored me. The final line had me doing a double take, and from there I couldn’t stop reading.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC. Missing Molly will be published in the U.S. on October 20, although it was previously released in the UK.

Rachel has a partner, a daughter, and a job at the local newspaper. When the paper decides to launch a true crime podcast investigating the disappearance of a 12-year-old girl who vanished years earlier, Rachel is horrified. She knows exactly what happened because she is Molly—and she’s spent the last twelve years hiding both her identity and the truth from the person she believes is still out there.

This is an incredibly bingeable, popcorn thriller that packs twist after twist into a relatively short novel. By the end, I was almost dizzy from all the revelations! Some of the twists genuinely surprised me, while others felt like they came a little out of left field. There’s also a touch of unreliable narrator, which kept me second-guessing everything.

Rachel’s best friend, who also works at the newspaper, is convinced the wrong man was convicted, adding another compelling layer to an already twist-filled mystery. I was invested from beginning to end and flew through the pages.

My one criticism is that the plot occasionally relies on convenience to keep the story moving, which made a few reveals feel slightly less earned. At times the narrative also felt a bit disjointed. Even so, I had a great time with this one and never wanted to put it down.

If you’re a fan of Shari Lapena or Freida McFadden, I think you’ll have a lot of fun with Missing Molly.

Read this if you enjoy:

• Twist-heavy mysteries
• Fast-paced, bingeable thrillers
• Unreliable narrators
• True crime podcast storylines
• Popcorn thrillers that keep you guessing