Author: Kim

(May 2026)

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1. Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead

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SUMMARY

Finlay Donovan is―once again―struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she’s dealt with lately is that of her daughter’s pet goldfish.

On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he’s a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she’d like.

Meanwhile, Vero’s keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay’s first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes… and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book’s deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn’t a noose at the end of it…

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MY REVIEW

This was the third book that my husband and I purchased to read over spring break, and it was the only one I didn’t get to in the course of the week. When we got home, I decided I would save it to enjoy as the perfect kickoff-to-summer book in late May or early June. But then I found myself smack at the beginning of grading week, and I knew this easy fast-paced read would complement my other required reading and grading well.

Finlay #2 was so much of what I predicted. I appreciated–as one can with a series book–that there was no introduction necessary to allow me to become familiar with characters of understand what was going on with the plot. We just jumped right in with the second plot.
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For me Cosimano wavers between predictability and surprise. Just when I find myself getting tired of Finlay and her “I’m not supposed to be dragged into this plot but here I am,” Cosimano throws in a twist–an unexpected character or plot surprise–that kept me reading.
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As she did with her first book, she left book number two hanging just enough to make the reader want to plunge into book 3. I’m not going to say I won’t ever read the next book in her series, but I also feel I’ve had my fun with Finlay Donovan, stay-at-home-mom/hitwoman.

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If you’re looking for an easy read with a quick-moving plot, I definitely recommend Finlay #1 and possibly even Finlay #2 to you. What you choose to do with Finlay #3 and beyond it up to you.

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2. The Wedding People

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SUMMARY

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, without luggage, alone. Everyone in the lobby mistakes her for one of the wedding people at an impending wedding on the site, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t there for the big event.

Phoebe is there because she’s dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe’s plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

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MY REVIEW

May was a busy month with very little free time for reading. This one came highly recommended as a “light read” with a “comical twist” so I thought it would be the perfect choice for my limited breaks.

I was wrong.

I was about halfway through when a colleague of mine posted that she had just finished reading this same book. The coincidence! Unfortunately, she did not enjoy it. I should have taken my clue there and stopped reading it, but I was convinced to finish it before beginning something else.

Before I entirely mislead you, it’s not that bad of a book. I’m quite sure I’ve read worse this year. It could actually make for a decent beach read on vacation. It was just not a good fit for my Maycember the way that Finlay Donovan was.

My colleague did not appreciate how the author used the topic of suicide as a main plot, and used it quite playfully. I simply did not care for any of the characters; Espach intentionally created characters who appeared shallow and typical, spearheaded by a bride who is the textbook definition of “Bridezilla.” As a result, I found no connection with any of them and as the book progressed I realized I had no interest in what happened to them. I am not the world’s greatest plot predictor, but I knew exactly how the book was going to wrap up about ⅔ of the way through; I continued to read and finished out of obligation. ​
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Again, not the world’s best book. There are just better characters out there, and I believe we deserve to read about them.

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3. Margot’s Got Money Troubles

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SUMMARY

As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet’s always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.

Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?

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MY REVIEW

Folks, I do not know who or where this book was recommended to me. But it came on hold at the library and I was excited to follow up after a blasé read with The Wedding People. A solid recommendation on the cover from Kevin Wilson, an author I have enjoyed on multiple occasions, gave me high hopes for this “wildly funny” if “ unpredictable” read.

I have hit an all-time low.

I’m not sure at what point I should have given up. When single-mother Margot decides to go into the porn business, I could have set the book aside at that point, but somehow I decided people should not be judged by their professions and continued on. I believed wholeheartedly there would be something belovedly redeemable about Margot and her single-mom life. ​
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After reading the last word and closing the book cover for the final time, here is my literary analysis of Margot’s Got Money Troubles: it was just weird.

Fans of Theo of Golden, this book is NOT for you.

I’m not sure who it is for, although there are readers who have even greater tolerance for the peculiar, the off-color.

This one is a hard pass on any form of recommendation. And after two disappointments, I am desperately hoping my next book is a gold-star winner.

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(April 2026)

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1. Daisy Jones and the Six

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SUMMARY

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.A

lso getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.
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Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

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MY REVIEW

I specifically saved this title for one of my Spring Break reads. Previously I had read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Atmosphere by Reid and loved both of them. I was hoping that Reid was one of those authors who never disappoints, no matter what the book topic.
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This one took a bit of getting used to as it was written in interview format. It takes the reader a chapter or two to begin to understand who the characters are and how they might contribute to the plot. But then the format actually allows the book to read more quickly as there are not as many words on the page. And similar to Atmosphere, the characters that I couldn’t even distinguish in the first pages became people I deeply cared about in the last few pages.

I loved this almost historical fiction look at the 1970s world of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. It was fascinating to read about the fickle nature of bands who climb from nothing to fame, providing both the benefits and the costs.
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One of the great benefits to reading this particular book of Taylor Jenkins Reid is that it has one season of a show based upon its plot. While I never believe that movies or shows are better than the books, I do appreciate watching a director and producer bringing text to the screen.

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2. The Road to Tender Hearts

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SUMMARY

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.B

ut when PJ reads an obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.
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Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also figures he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter, adrift in her 20s, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a second shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.

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MY REVIEW

I finally read this long-awaited and highly recommended book (by multiple trusted sources) on my spring break. It was only available in hardcover, and it was clear that I was not going to magically gain possession of it via a library hold anytime in the next few months; thankfully I was able to use a bookstore gift card I had received for my birthday to purchase this expensive read.

I was told this book had a similar vibe to the 2006 movie “Little Miss Sunshine,” which featured a dysfunctional cast of characters on a wild car trip out west. And it was true. PJ Halliday is mostly dysfunctional, a divorced father who never got over the loss of his daughter. His ex-wife still takes care of him, as his raging alcoholism does not allow him to be accountable to anyone at any time.

But then. A strange twist of turns–and perhaps a bit of fate–places two new people in his life and forces him to face his bleak future. Together, the three of them (and his other daughter–mostly because she doesn’t trust him)–venture off on a car trip which the reader can only expect will end in disaster and broken hearts.

I did enjoy this as my spring break read. I always believe warm weather, sunshine, and reading by a pool because there are no tasks or responsibilities in my day always help make a good book even better. It is a worthwhile read that I would recommend to others. But days, even weeks later, I’m still left wrestling with the character of PJ Halliday. While he’s definitely broken, and as complex as they come, I’m just not sure if deep down he’s a good person.

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​Go ahead and put this on your read list. Even better if you can read it by a pool in warm weather and sunshine with no other tasks or responsibilities in your day.

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3. Stiff

SUMMARY

Stiff an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science’s boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. In this fascinating account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them.

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MY REVIEW

I had wanted to listen to this audiobook for much of the winter, but it kept alluding me. After spending hours listening to all-things related to a global disease, why not spend a few more learning about what things are done to dead bodies?

It was a fascinating listen. I was absolutely amazed with the multiple uses for cadavers and how they are “superheroes” who help us learn more about how to help and protect the living. Throughout the book, Roach weaves in ethical debates about what cadavers may and may not be used for. There’s even a point when we as the reader/listener are forced to ask when a body is no longer living and may therefore be used for research purposes. Is it when someone is brain dead? Does their heart have to stop beating? Do they have to turn cold?

I loved and appreciated her approach to the research of cadaver use. She was kind and always respectful, although I was amazed how even she could find moments of humor to sprinkle throughout (if we don’t laugh about the absurd and horrifying, what else can we do?).

I will warn any reader/listener that she is raw and descriptive in her explanations; she holds nothing back. Those with weaker stomachs might want to stay clear of this one. But for the rest of you that have a morbid curiosity, go ahead and indulge. You will be a wiser living body for it…and I guarantee you will appreciate the work the dead do to keep our bodies living longer and better lives.

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4. Lloyd McNeil’s Last Ride

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SUMMARY

Lloyd McNeil has served as an officer with the Atlanta Police Department for 20 years while being a devoted father to his teenage son. But then he learns the worst possible. He has learned he has an inoperable brain tumor, and he has only months left to live.

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Lloyd begins throwing himself into a series of increasingly dangerous situations, but things don’t go according to plan. Instead of dying, he becomes a civic hero. Meanwhile, a malevolent force from his past shadows Lloyd as he tries to get his affairs in order, teach his son the lessons he needs to be a good person, and to say goodbye.

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MY REVIEW

I have no idea when or how this book was recommended to me. I can only imagine an algorithm somewhere marked me as someone who enjoys to read stories about death and dying people. And while it’s not wrong, I don’t necessarily need to read EVERY story about someone who is dying.

The plot of this one works out well on paper. A divorced police officer is given a terminal cancer diagnosis early on in the story and has to come to terms with knowing when he is going to die. It’s the “how” he’s going to die that he wants control over. And so the book ensues.

Overall, for me it just missed the mark. I didn’t care about the characters as much as I wanted to. And I couldn’t find myself appreciating the “words of wisdom” chapters sprinkled through the book that are meant to be read someday by Officer McNeil’s son, Bishop. I found myself skimming more as I continued through the book, not slowing down and taking in every word, wondering what was going to happen next. Because I simply didn’t care. I knew, like every other reader, that he was going to die. And I realized it didn’t matter to me how he died.

Readers, you can thank me for reading this one for you and recommending that you (and perhaps your entire book club) can pass on this one. There are much better books in the genre of “characters who are facing death.”

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(March 2026)

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1. Everything is Tuberculosis

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SUMMARY

Tuberculosis has been entwined with humanity for millennia. Once romanticized as a malady of poets, today tuberculosis is seen as a disease of poverty that walks the trails of injustice and inequity we blazed for it.

In 2019, author John Green met Henry Reider, a young tuberculosis patient at Lakka Government Hospital in Sierra Leone. John became fast friends with Henry, a boy with spindly legs and a big, goofy smile. In the years since that first visit to Lakka, Green has become a vocal advocate for increased access to treatment and wider awareness of the healthcare inequities that allow this curable, preventable infectious disease to also be the deadliest, killing over a million people every year.

In Everything Is Tuberculosis, John tells Henry’s story, woven through with the scientific and social histories of how tuberculosis has shaped our world—and how our choices will shape the future of tuberculosis.

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MY REVIEW

When this book became available on my audio feed, I was so excited. The timing was perfect, as I had just wrapped up my last audio nonfiction, and this one was highly touted. And then I stopped, and laughed. Who gets excited about an entire book devoted to tuberculosis? But I figured my network of readers couldn’t all be wrong, so I downloaded it and began my journey into the world of TB. And what a world it is.T

o begin with, I was shocked to learn that tuberculosis SHOULD be on the forefront of everyone’s minds and conversations. WIth the exception of Covid for 2 years from 2020-2022, TB remains the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent at almost 1.25 million deaths annually.
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Some may recognize John Green as a popular author within the young adult genre, and so he naturally has a storytelling voice even within this deep scientific topic. He tells stories of places in our history where TB has played an impactful role, from the cowboy hat and the adirondack chair to places such as Pasadena, CA, Colorado Springs CO, and even to the assisination which began World War I. Tuberculous has is tentacles spread throughout our global history, and it is making a bigger impact than I ever realized.
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More than learning about the history and impact of this specific disease, Green uses the opportunity to use TB as a representation for other global diseases. His quote which he repeats is that “the disease is where the cure is not, and the cure is where the disease is not.” His book spends time bringing awareness to the reader that global diseases, either their spread or their inoculation, are greater issues of social justice and racism. There are those who have the answer and the cure and therefore the ability to slow or stop diseases, but for a variety of political, financial and other reasons, do not.

I enjoyed this book, especially as an audiobook. Through it I was able to hear Green’s passion for this topic; you can hear him “geek out” in moments through his research and hear his heart through his stories, particularly about Henry.

(While I’m on the topic of John Green, he mentions in this book that he suffers from OCD. It reminded of his fiction novel Turtles All the Way Down, which I recommended in a previous newsletter but would be remiss if I did not do so again.)

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2. Theo of Golden

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SUMMARY

Who is he, and why is he here?

He arrives early one spring and by chance – or is it? – he visits a coffee shop where 92 framed pencil portraits are on display. Inspired, Theo sets out on a mission of purchasing all the portraits one at a time and quietly bestowing them on their ‘rightful owners.’

Stories are told; friendships are born; and lives are changed.

Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted story about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the far-reaching possibilities of anonymous kindness.

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MY REVIEW

This title repeatedly kept popping up in my worlds and news feeds as a “must read.” Words such as “heartfelt” and “uplifting” made me think that this would be a good book for my soul in the dreary and heavy days of winter. But alas, as is with most popular books, there was a significant hold line for it at my library, so I entered my name into the queue and patiently waited.

When it finally arrived in early March, I was excited with anticipation and began reading it as often as I could. Which turned out to be a necessary thing, because this book starts on a slow roll. During one particular course in my MFA, I was challenged by a professor about “what was at stake” in my own novel. There has to be a problem of sorts, and even better if there is a specific timeframe in which the problem needs to be solved. Theo of Golden never presented a problem to me, and Theo himself was in no rush or had any apparent deadline. ​

But I continued with it and I did enjoy the “good in human nature” aspect of it. Theo himself is good, and as a result, the goodness spread to those around him. Even though nothing was actually happening of great significance, I continued to read each chapter for the positivity it provided.

It was somewhere around 50 pages remaining that I began to wonder (as I often like to do) about how the book was going to end. Was it just going to be stories of positivity all the way to the end? It was at this point that my opinion of the book changed. Something happened–an unexpected plot twist–and the story began to resolve itself quite quickly and clearly. Too cleanly in my opinion. I believe that life is messy and people are complicated, and I appreciate novels which are willing to address it.

My greatest critique of this book (and it may well be other readers’ favorite aspect) is the character of Theo himself. He doesn’t have any character flaws. He is squeaky clean, just shy of being perfect. A small wondering began to buzz in my head wondering if Theo was being portrayed as a Christ-like figure–until at one point near the end of the novel a preacher said just as much.

Personally, I was disappointed in this book. It didn’t have the depth I wanted, and Levi did not offer me the high stakes writing nor the complex ending I so enjoy. However, having said that, if you are looking for a feel-good book from beginning to end, something with a closely tied religious theme, and a book which I can all but guarantee will soon be a Hallmark movie, then you will enjoy this read.

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3. The Correspondent

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SUMMARY

“Imagine, the letters one has sent out into the world, the letters received back in turn, are like the pieces of a magnificent puzzle. . . . Isn’t there something wonderful in that, to think that a story of one’s life is preserved in some way, that this very letter may one day mean something, even if it is a very small thing, to someone?

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel about the power of finding solace in literature and connection with people we might never meet in person. It is about the hubris of youth and the wisdom of old age, and the mistakes and acts of kindness that occur during a lifetime.

Sybil Van Antwerp has throughout her life used letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter.
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​Sybil expects her world to go on as it always has—a mother, grandmother, wife, divorcee, distinguished lawyer, she has lived a very full life. But when letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life, she realizes that the letter she has been writing over the years needs to be read and that she cannot move forward until she finds it in her heart to offer forgiveness.

Sybil Van Antwerp’s life of letters might be “a very small thing,” but she also might be one of the most memorable characters you will ever read.

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MY REVIEW

The story of how I came into possession of this book is as good as my feelings toward this book. Early this year a trusted book recommender told me this was her first 5 star read of 2026. So I put it on hold and waited. Finally, near the end of February, it became available. I rushed to the library, checked it out, took a picture of it and texted my friend, “Look what came up on hold today!” Her response? “That looks good!”

That looks good? That is not the response I was anticipating. I was thinking of something more along the lines of “Enjoy!”

I had put the wrong book on hold. I possessed “The Correspondants” (plural) not “The Correspondent” (singular).

And so my new search began. Because this book is so popular, there are a number of copies that are available but not holdable. You just have to be at the right library and the right time.

For two weeks the book eluded me. I was not where I needed to be when I needed to be there. But then. I was filling up at a gas station and on instinct/boredom, I checked my phone. A copy of the highly anticipated book was a 2 minute drive from where I was!

Readers, it was worth it. The entire book is written in the form of letters (with a few diary-type entries thrown in), so it does take quite a few pages to get into the rhythm of it and understanding who the multiple characters are in the story. But Evans does a worthy job of tackling the complexity of being a septuagenarian: kids and grandkids, marriages and spouses, past regrets and deep hopes. And on top of it all is a reminder of the importance of letter writing. My only personal criticism was that I personally did not love how Evans chose to end the book, but I have to admit my own dislike for many endings; it is most likely nothing more than a healthy conversation over coffee or at a book club meeting,

I never did read The Correspondents, so I cannot offer a recommendation on it, but I would agree with my friend that The Correspondent (Evans) is worth the read.

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4. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

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SUMMARY:

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck – impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

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In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door – not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

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MY REVIEW

When one finishes a book on Tuberculosis, what is the next audio book to follow? For me, it was a complete pendulum swing. Kaling was funny and lighthearted and honestly never made me think too much about any one particular topic. It was fascinating to listen to her life story and to find out exactly how she ended up as a writer and actress on The Office. And, as the summary states, she offers plenty of “unscientific observations” about a variety of topics on life; what I love and appreciated about Kaling was that she spoke on topics near and dear to her life as well as things she knew absolutely nothing about but simply wanted to voice her opinion.

For four-and-a-half hours, I listened, I enjoyed, and I never once pulled a brain muscle thinking too hard about any one topic in particular. I am not a better, more knowledgeable person for having listened to it, but I am not worse for it either. I have no regrets, and perhaps at another point in my life when I need a whip cream level book for my brain, I will download another one of hers.

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(February 2026)

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1. All the Colors of the Dark

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SUMMARY

1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the smalltown of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.

When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

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MY REVIEW

On an early Friday in February, I was able to live out my best life: I had nothing important on my to-do list, and so I indulged: I read for six straight hours until I finished this book.

This book is a beast, don’t get me wrong. Not only is it a whopping 600 pages, but it is heavy. Like “missing teenage girls presumed to be dead” kind of psychological thriller. Which is not something I typically choose at the library, but for me it was the characters within this tale that made this entire story worthwhile.

Other reviews complained this story was too long, that a solid 100-200 pages could have been cut in the middle. I didn’t feel that way, but perhaps that’s due to my privilege of reading most of it in one sitting opposed to over the course of many, many days. And I was drawn more to the characters than the plot, so I actually enjoyed the middle section where it turned down the volume on the plot and focused on the characters for a while.

If you choose to read this book, be prepared that you will be brought down into the deep dark on the first page and released only upon reaching page 600. It will require patience and commitment. But there is light and love and all the good, uplifting things that humans want. For me, Patch, and especially Saint, are beautifully complex characters; I enjoyed them individually and loved their evolving relationship.

While this would certainly not be categorized by me as a “beach read,” I would encourage you to find a date when you can escape all of your adulting in order to curl up and read as much of this book as you can in one sitting.

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2. The Cuban Heiress

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SUMMARY

In 1934, a luxury cruise becomes a fight for survival as two women’s pasts collide on a round-trip voyage from New York to Havana in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s page-turning new novel inspired by the true story of the SS Morro Castle.

New York heiress Catherine Dohan seemingly has it all. There’s only one problem. It’s a lie. As soon as the Morro Castle leaves port, Catherine’s past returns with a vengeance and threatens her life. Joining forces with a charismatic jewel thief, Catherine must discover who wants her dead—and why.

Elena Palacio is a dead woman. Or so everyone thinks. After a devastating betrayal left her penniless and on the run, Elena’s journey on the Morro Castle is her last hope. Steeped in secrecy and a burning desire for revenge, her return to Havana is a chance to right the wrong that has been done to her—and her prey is on the ship.

As danger swirls aboard the Morro Castle and their fates intertwine, Elena and Catherine must risk everything to see justice served once and for all.

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MY REVIEW

I read Chanel Cleeton’s first book in this series, Next Year in Havana back in 2018. My husband and I had the unforgettable opportunity to visit Cuba in 2016, and I have been fascinated by this complicated country since. Since 2018, I have sporadically picked up the next book in her series, finally finishing with The Cuban Heiress.

While a few of the six books in the series overlap with characters (she offers a complex family tree to help explain the connection), none of them offer similar plots. Each tells its own story, which allows the reader to take time off without feeling the need to read the entire series back-to-back (to-back…). Additionally, Cleeton offers these historical fiction stories at a very readable level. Each one had a plot that kept me motivated to read, and in the end I felt as if I learned more about another piece of history.

I enjoyed all six books, and The Cuban Heiress was no different. The plot was just enough to keep me turning pages; I would classify it one step above a beach read. It is nothing so difficult or thought-provoking to weigh a reader down, but with each book I felt at the end that it was a worthwhile read.

You could read The Cuban Heiress on its own without having to read other books written by her. Or you could begin with Next Year in Havana and enjoy Cleeton for the author she is.

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3. Sit, Stay, Heal: What Dogs Can Teach Us About Living Well

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SUMMARY

For more than two decades, esteemed veterinary oncologist Dr. Renee Alsarraf treated cancer in her beloved canine patients. Then, at age fifty-one, she was diagnosed with cancer herself.

Sit, Stay, What Dogs Can Teach Us About Living Well is Dr. Renee’s unforgettable testament to the extraordinary healing nature of dogs. Every day in her veterinary practice, she bears witness to the undeniable bond between pets and their people. However, while we are busy teaching them to “sit” and “stay,” they have their own, more profound, lessons to impart. In Sit, Stay, Heal, we meet Cosmo, the golden retriever who arrives at Renee’s office just before his fourteenth family vacation to the beach; Daisy, the cocker spaniel, an emotional support dog for a special needs child; and Franny, the bloodhound, a police dog who wasn’t ready to retire from the force. Then there’s Dr. Renee’s own dog Newtie, who falls ill when she needs him most.

Our dogs are wise in ways humans are not. For Dr. Renee, it was her patients—those furry, four-legged, slobbering animals—who seemed to uniquely understand her difficult journey and who showed her the true power of positivity and unconditional love. Full of life lessons and healing metaphors, perfect dogs and their imperfect humans, Sit, Stay, Heal is a captivating, heartwarming story for dog lovers far and wide.

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MY REVIEW

This is my second audiobook of the year that I listened to during my walks/commute. I believe this simply came up as an option in my search for a possible audiobook. At this point I’m not wanting to take on anything over 8 hours; this came in at just over 6 hours and covered a topic I love: dogs.

This would have not ever been a possibility to me before 2020. Back then we were not a dog family, or even a dog appreciator, for that matter. But then our daughter challenged our family to own a pet–any pet–and after research, we decided to own a puppy. My husband and I quickly turned from not-dog-people to “we’ll drive 7 hours down to Ohio to pick up a puppy” people. Our dog is now a 6th member to our family, and as a result, I have much more love and appreciation for dogs in general.

The topic of this book is not an easy one: Alsaraaf is a veterinary oncologist, so each chapter tells of a dog who has been diagnosed with cancer and their (and their family’s) journey post-diagnosis. But Alsaraaf delivers on her title: when faced with a terminal diagnosis, she appreciates what dogs can teach us about living life, and living it to the fullest. As she ironically battles cancer in her own life, she looks to the dogs to take life lessons from them.

All in all it was an uplifting book. I continued to ask myself why I wanted to keep listening to a book about dogs with cancer, and yet I didn’t want to abandon it, didn’t want it to be done. It was not a complex listen, which perhaps I enjoyed. But I must offer a slight spoiler alert about “Newtie part 3”; I was ugly crying in the DSW parking lot and had to wear sunglasses inside for my pickup order lest I terrify the salesperson that something deeply traumatic was happening in my own life.

I’m not sure how this would read as a book, but I did enjoy it as an audiobook; if someone wanted a shorter, easier listen and loves dogs, I would say this is a worthwhile choice.

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4. When Cranes Fly South

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SUMMARY

Bo is running out of time. Yet time is one of the few things he’s got left. These days, his quiet existence is broken up only by daily visits from his home care team. Fortunately, he still has his beloved elkhound Sixten to keep him company … though now his son, with whom Bo has had a rocky relationship, insists upon taking the dog away, claiming that Bo has grown too old to properly care for him. The threat of losing Sixten stirs up a whirlwind of emotion, leading Bo to take stock of his life, his relationships, and the imperfect way he’s expressed his love over the years.

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MY REVIEW

This book was recommended to me because…well, it deals with the topic of death, and my reputation as the “death lady” lives strong.

This is a slower, quieter book, best read with a cup of tea rather than a caffeinated mug of coffee. Yes, there is death, but before that is life, and this book deeply evaluates the quality of life if death is impending.

As a reader, I could not help but empathize with Bo, who is forced daily to come to terms with the loss of his own body, his memory, his bladder control. He must now be stripped and bathed by home care nurses, allowing them to trim his beard and his nails. He fights a losing battle with his son Hugh, who only sees what his father cannot do; he feels the responsibility to take over for his father, and to make decisions for him, even if they appear against Bo’s will. But as I read, I feared how much I empathized with Hugh as well. Who should make decisions when a loved one is not yet dead but not fully capable of living? How do we deal with their stubbornness if they refuse to go “gentle into the good night,” while still keeping their humanity and decency during their time while they are still alive? I felt the tug between the two and I wonder where I will land when I am forced to play the character of Hugh, and even more so, if I am ever to play the role of Bo.

The plot is slower, but the characters are deep, and there’s a dog in the main list of characters, which is always a plus for me.

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January 2025

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1. Not Nothing

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SUMMARY:

To say Alex has had it rough is an understatement. His father’s gone, his mother is struggling with mental health issues, and he’s now living with an aunt and uncle who are less than excited to have him. Almost everyone treats him as though he doesn’t matter at all, like he’s nothing. So when a kid at school actually tells him he’s nothing, Alex snaps, and gets violent. Fortunately, his social worker pulls some strings and gets him a job at a nursing home for the summer rather than being sent to juvie. There, he meets Josey, the 107-year-old Holocaust survivor who stopped bothering to talk years ago, and Maya-Jade, the granddaughter of one of the residents with an overblown sense of importance. Unlike Alex, Maya-Jade believes that people care about what she thinks, and that she can make a difference. And when Alex and Josey form an unlikely bond, with Josey confiding in him, Alex starts to believe he can make a difference—a good difference—in the world. If he can truly feel he matters, Alex may be able to finally rise to the occasion of his own life.

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MY REVIEW:

This book first came to my attention when I met the author during a roundtable discussion at the NCTE (National Council for the Teachers of English) Conference in November. As I have mentioned before, I’m a sucker for a middle grade novel, and the concept of this plot was enough to hook me. I bought a copy and took it with me on vacation; however, my other book to me longer to finish than I anticipated, and so I ended up taking it back home to read first thing in January.

Overall it was a lovely book. The plot was enough to keep me motivated to read it, and I found myself cheering for the main character. Upon finishing, I had to reflect that it did not change my life in any way (as some other important middle grade reads have done), but I did appreciate how it could offer students a soft exposure to the Holocaust through a survivor telling his story.

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2. Finlay Donovan is Killing It

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SUMMARY:

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

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MY REVIEW:

In one of my appointments with a medical professional, we began discussing books (I try to bring a book with me to all my appointments to avoid being on my phone. Sitting in waiting rooms, I realize what a rarity this is anymore. Everyone in waiting rooms is on their phones). I recommended a few to her, and she suggested this one for me. She was very clear to explain it was more of a “beach read” in terms of lightness. But in the cold, dreary, dark days of January, I find I am not in a place for a deep, difficult read, so I picked up Finlay at the library.

This was a quick, joyful read for me–exactly what I needed in January. I immediately recommended it to a handful of people who are similar readers to me. To me, this book is just a solid read. I found myself picking it up when I had five minutes to spare. I learned that it’s the first book in a series; while I’m not sure if I’ll read the entire series, she left book #1 with enough of a hook to catch me for book #2.

This book is an easy recommendation for me. Pick it up and I promise you won’t want to put it down.

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3. We Can Do Hard Things

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SUMMARY:

Every day, Glennon Doyle spirals around the same questions: Why am I like this? How do I figure out what I want? How do I know what to do? Why can’t I be happy? Am I doing this right? The harder life gets, the less likely she is to remember the answers she’s spent her life learning. She wonders: I’m almost fifty years old. I’ve overcome a hell of a lot. Why do I wake up every day having forgotten everything I know?

Glennon’s compasses are her sister, Amanda, and her wife, Abby. Recently, in the span of a single year, Glennon was diagnosed with anorexia, Amanda was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Abby’s beloved brother died. For the first time, they were all lost at the same time. So they turned toward the only thing that’s ever helped them find their way: deep, honest conversations with other brave, kind, wise people. They asked each other, their dearest friends, and 118 of the world’s most brilliant wayfinders: As you’ve traveled these roads—marriage, parenting, work, recovery, heartbreak, aging, new beginnings—have you collected any wisdom that might help us find our way?

As Glennon, Abby, and Amanda wrote down every life-saving answer, they discovered two things: 1. No matter what road we are walking down, someone else has traveled the same terrain. 2. The wisdom of our fellow travelers will light our way. They put all of that wisdom in one place: We Can Do Hard Things—a place to turn when you feel clueless and alone, when you need clarity in the chaos, or when you want wise company on the path of life. We are all life travelers. We don’t have to travel alone. We Can Do Hard Things is our guidebook.

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MY REVIEW:

As I now find myself commuting two days each week, I decided to add an audiobook to my reading repertoire. I have friends (superhumans, actually) who can juggle multiple books at the same time. This has never been me. So I decided to continue reading fiction in the physical form and listening to a nonfiction book.

I had heard good things about Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and this other (newer) book was available immediately through audiobook checkout at my library, so I decided to give it a whirl.

I appreciated the fact that this book was not based upon a heavy, difficult, intellectual subject. I’m not sure my brain wanted to tackle anything like that in January. Each time I listened to it, it felt like a mini-therapy session. It was like, “go you!” “love yourself!” “set those boundaries!” I felt encouraged and empowered. I cannot say that the book changed my life or even provided me with brand new information, but it was not a laborious task to listen to it or did it leave me feeling weighted or heavy after.

I will note this: the book is full of words of wisdom from a host of people. In order to give credit to their thoughts, their name is read. It’s at the end of quotes and at the beginning of dialogue, and it can get very confusing. I did wonder how it would read as a book when the reader has visual cues for all of this.

If you’re looking for an inspiring guidebook for your life, I would recommend it. If you’re looking for something to change your current path or offer you a brand new perspective on a topic, this one could take a backseat to others.

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4. Atmosphere

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SUMMARY:

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.A

s the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

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MY REVIEW:

You know when a book appears too many times in your world to be ignored? This was my situation with Atmosphere. I don’t know when I first heard about it, but like many recommendations, it went onto “My Shelves” in my library app. And there it stayed.

But it kept popping up. Pictures of it. Reviews. People I knew were talking about it. So I finally moved it to a hold request, and surprisingly it came into my possession a few days later.

I have to confess I didn’t even recognize the author’s name. I was a huge fan of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo when I read it a few years ago. And her other book, Daisy Jones and the Six, is also on my shelves list in my library app. I think that alone says something about Taylor Jenkins Reid as an author.

I absolutely loved this read. I was captivated by the instant drama unfolding in the first few chapters; it was enough to make me want to read the chapters on the backstories. I thought her style of writing was brilliant, giving me the story first and then making me care about the characters in the story (which did remind me of Evelyn Hugo).

The book carries a strong LGBTQ theme throughout the entire novel, so that might interest or sway some of you. But I thought it was brilliantly written; I am not much of a crier and I found tears flowing down my cheeks in the last pages. In short, this book is simply beautiful.

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5. The Trouble with Heroes

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SUMMARY:

One summer.

46 mountain peaks.

A second chance to make things right.

Finn Connelly is nothing like his dad, a star athlete and firefighter hero who always ran toward danger until he died two years ago. Finn’s about to fail seventh grade and has never made headlines . . . until now.

Caught on camera vandalizing a cemetery, he’s in big trouble for kicking down some dead old lady’s headstone. But it turns out that grave belongs to a legendary local mountain climber, and her daughter makes Finn an unusual offer…climb all forty-six Adirondack High Peaks with her dead mother’s dog, and they can call it even.

In a wild three months of misadventures, mountain mud, and unexpected mentors, Finn begins to find his way on the trails. At the top of each peak, he can see for miles and slowly begins to understand more about himself and his dad. But the mountains don’t care about any of that, and as the clock ticks down to September, they have more surprises in store. Finn’s final summit challenge may be more than even a hero can face.

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MY REVIEW:

When a beloved and well-trusted ELA teacher recommends a book AND gives you a copy to read…well, I just cannot pass up the offer. And I’m so glad I didn’t. What a read!

I have fallen in love with verse fiction. (I am so jealous of those who can write this genre and would love for the talent to write it myself, but that is another topic for a different newsletter). It’s so accessible, well-thought out, and honestly, a quicker read. In addition, I am absolutely LOVING what middle grade and young adult authors are doing in terms of including other pieces of text within their story: newspaper articles, recipes, etc. It’s simply creativity at its best.

This middle grade fiction novel in verse hits the mark. The story is worthwhile, we grow to care deeply about the character, and the setting was informative. Informative, you ask? Messner sets her story in Lake Placid, New York where her character must climb all 46 Adirondack mountains. As a result, we as the reader must climb all 46 alongside him. For me, while I had been to Lake Placid on a family vacation and had fallen in love with this quaint yet historically important location in our nation’s history (research both the 1930 and 1980 winter Olympic games), I know very little about the Adirondack mountains other than what I had seen from a distance, but after reading this novel, I told my husband (confidently) that we must add “becoming a 46er” to our bucket list.

Read this book. And when you’re done, bake one of the cookie recipes included and make place to become a 46er.