Recent Reads

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager (2024)

Thirty years after his best friend disappeared from their backyard tent, never to be seen again, Ethan is back in his childhood home, and when strange things start happening, he hopes that the police can find out what happened to Billy once and for all.  This was a mixed bag for me.  I enjoyed what appeared to be the supernatural elements - was Billy really leaving messages for Ethan?  And the mysterious nearby Hawthorne Institute - what was going on there, and did it have something to do with Billy's disappearance?  The story felt a bit repetitive, though, and the final reveal felt really lacking to me, considering all the side tangents that Sager took with the plot.  3.5 stars

So This Is Love by Elizabeth Lim (2020)

This installment of the Twisted Tales series focuses on Cinderella and imagines what might have happened to her had she never had the opportunity to try on the glass slipper after the ball where she meets the prince.  She eventually gains a position in the castle, serving as a maid to the prince's aunt, and she and the prince do find their way back to each other, while trying to stop a plot to overthrow the king.  I thought this was an interesting addition to the Cinderella story - there's political intrigue, romance, and, of course, magic.  It's always fun to see where the authors in this series take the stories, away from the known and beloved plots.  4 stars

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Can't-Wait Wednesday: Slow Burn Summer

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

Slow Burn Summer

Josie Silver

Expected publication date: June 10, 2025

A talent agent hires an actress to play the part of “novelist” on a book tour for his agency’s publicity-shy client

She’s playing the part of romance author, but has she found her own real life love story?

Talent agent Charlie Francisco has three problems: a divorce that ended his screenwriting career, a business he never planned to inherit, and a take-your-breath-away romance novel whose author wants nothing to do with its publication. The book is a surefire hit, if only his agency can find someone to “play” author on its summer book tour.

Enter Kate Elliott, a former soap actress who’s miraculously right for the part at the very moment her life seems to be going all wrong. Kate is still recovering from her own divorce and Charlie’s job offer is a lifeline. She agrees to the pretense for all interviews, signings, and appearances surrounding the novel’s publication. But she can’t know who really wrote the remarkable story—the one so beautiful it’s made her believe in love again.

When Kate and Charlie meet they’re all friction and sparks—the one thing they have in common is they’re determined to play their respective parts. But as the summer heat ups and the lies get bigger and bigger, can they stick to their lines . . . or will they go off-script? - from Goodreads

Michele's Monday Picks #71

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my little series, Michele’s Monday Picks!  I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you.  Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

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The Beautiful Maddening

By Shea Ernshaw

Expected Publication: June 3, 2025

From Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw comes a haunting romantic contemporary fantasy about a teen navigating her family’s love curse that blooms with their enchanted tulips every year.

Seventeen year-old Lark Goode wants only one to escape her small town of Cutwater and the history of her family name. It’s a history that began during the Dutch tulip mania of 1636, when Lark’s ancestor stole the last remaining tulip bulbs and fled to America. But when the tulips bloomed on American soil, madness sprouted from their snowy white petals.

The madness was love. 

Now, generations later, the Goodes remain cursed—the unnatural flowers outside their home causing locals to fall helplessly in love with anyone carrying Goode blood in their veins. While her brother embraces the strange power, Lark wants nothing more than to be free from it. 

But when she meets a boy who seems unaffected by the family curse, Lark finds herself falling headlong into a feeling she’s spent her whole life trying to avoid. Yet, all curses and magic come with a price, and the town of Cutwater soon sinks into a dangerous sickness tied to Lark and the ill-fated tulips.

To save the town, Lark will need to sacrifice everything—even true love—to break the spell. Because in the Goode family, love has a way of destroying everything.

This premise sounds so unique! Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Indie Bookstore Spotlight: The Lahaska Bookshop

We recently took a trip to Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA, for the Strawberry Festival, and of course we had to stop at the Lahaska Bookshop while we were there!  The original store opened in Doylestown in 1998 and this sister store opened in 2017.  They are currently owned by local residents.

Two entrances flank a large picture window.  

When you enter the store, you're greeted by a light, bright, inviting space.  There are lots of display tables for special collections and items.

The store is actually quite large, and this room extends down a couple stairs.

I couldn't explore as much as I wanted because I had my little tornado with me, but we had fun!  He picked out a book about Spiderman, so he was happy.  Besides books, they also have some toys, games, puzzles, and gift items.  If you ever find yourself in Peddler's Village, I highly recommend stopping by!

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Atmosphere

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

Atmosphere
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Expected publication date: June 3, 2025

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

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 easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted 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.

As 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, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars. - from Goodreads

Michele's Monday Picks #70

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my little series, Michele’s Monday Picks!  I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you.  Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

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The Whisperwood Legacy

By Jo Schulte

Expected Publication: May 27, 2025

From Goodreads:

Knives Out meets The Hazel Wood in this twisty contemporary fantasy about an amusement park shrouded in dark secrets—and the family desperate to inherit it at any cost.

Welcome to Whisperwood, a sprawling theme park nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where thrilling rides and picture-perfect scenery bring cult-classic fairy tales to life. Or at least they did until eighteen months ago, when the family matriarch, Virginia Strauss, suddenly shut Whisperwood’s gates and the beloved park was left to wither away along with the family’s dwindling fortune.

  

For seventeen-year-old Frankie Strauss, Whisperwood's closure has been a blessing in disguise. After seeing three generations of wealth’s corrupting influence, she is more than ready to shed the Strauss-family's gilded handcuffs.

  

But when Virginia goes missing, Frankie realizes that her family might be guilty of something much worse than mere dysfunction. With the help of the mysterious and handsome groundskeeper, Jem, Frankie sifts through a web of near truths and outright lies, uncovering a reality where nothing is as it seems and fairy tales aren’t just real—they’re deadly.

Anything being compared to Knives Out is going to catch my interest. Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Recent Reads

 How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (2024)

Frances spent her entire life anxiously waiting for her fortune to come true - that she would someday be murdered.  Now, in order to inherit her great-aunt's estate, Annie must figure out who killed Frances.  This was a fun, cozy little mystery.  I liked how we got to know Frances through her old diary entries, and Annie is a great amateur detective, being a writer herself.  The small-town setting leaves the suspect pool small, but I was still surprised.  It did take some time to keep all the characters straight, especially since there are multiple generations of each family.  4 stars

Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage (2025)

When Cam is left at the altar, her high school ex-boyfriend is there to help her pick up the pieces - but as friends or something more?  I've enjoyed the Rebel Blue Ranch series and this was a nice ending to it.  I admit, I was a bit surprised that Cam got a story, as she's not technically a Ryder, but this finale definitely brought everything and everyone together.  I liked the flashbacks to Cam and Dusty in high school and how they first fell in love, and their reasons for eventually breaking up felt so real and deep.  I'm not always the biggest fan of second-chance romances, but I make an exception for Cam and Dusty, because they really did need to grow and mature, and when they finally come back together, it makes sense.  Although there's some spice, I thought this had less than the previous installments - it really was more about their feelings.  I also really enjoyed Cam's journey to being self-sufficient and content - her parents were pretty infuriating, though!  4 stars

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Michele's Monday Picks #69

Angela is so generous to let me pop in with my little series, Michele’s Monday Picks!  I’m not a blogger or bookstagrammer, but I love getting excited about new releases with the rest of you.  Here I’ll be sharing new books I’m really looking forward to!

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Lessons in Heartbreak

By Karla Sorensen

Expected Publication: May 20, 2025

From Goodreads:

A playboy football player. A shy librarian. When old friends reunite, opposites attract in a witty and lighthearted romance about taking chances and falling in love against the odds.

It’s an unwritten rule somewhere: small-town librarians shall not commit spontaneous acts, for fear of mortal embarrassment. I’d certainly just proved it true, though hiring an escort was perfectly logical. How else should I overcome my fear of intimacy without risking heartbreak?

Unfortunately, what came next wasn’t so logical.

Instead of a dating coach, Griffin King showed up. Yes, that Griffin King: my childhood neighbor and now, to my dismay, an obscenely handsome pro football player. He’s not actually an escort, but how was I supposed to know that?

Avoiding him after the mix-up is impossible. The man is everywhere—put in time-out by his agent after a PR snafu. Griffin might be an outrageous flirt determined to torment me until I snap, but he’s also the perfect man to help me.

The lessons aren’t what I thought they’d be. Neither is Griffin. Every time we touch, every time he shows me a different side to myself—and to him—I can’t help but wonder if we’re about to break another rule: the playboy and the good girl aren’t supposed to fall in love.

Karla Sorensen is one of my go-to authors for contemporary romance. Do you think you’ll be picking this one up?

Recent Reads

 The Crash by Freida McFadden (2025)

Tegan, pregnant and stranded after crashing her car during a blizzard, is taken in by Hank and Polly.  At first she is grateful to them, but after more time goes on and they refuse to let her leave, Tegan becomes increasingly worried.  Will she ever escape their basement?  And what do they want with her?  This was a short audiobook and an intriguing premise, although unfortunately the writing became very bogged down with repetition.  I liked how McFadden told the story from both Tegan and Polly's points of view; it was interesting to see how they completely misjudged each other.  There were some twists at the end that were pretty surprising, but not necessarily in a good way, and I was kind of disappointed.  3 stars

Spring Fling by Annie England Noblin (2025)

Mylie loves her life in her small town, and now Ben, her childhood best friend and crush, is coming back to sell his family's home.  Even though he's planning on leaving soon, could there be something between them?  This book such an odd little duck - the cover is adorable and the blurb was catchy enough to make me grab this at the library.  But the more I got into the story, the more "meh" I felt about it.  The pacing is terrible - Mylie and Ben go from former friends to lovers in what feels like a matter of minutes, and the overall timeline seems so condensed and therefore a bit unbelievable.  We at least get some flashbacks to establish some sort of connection between the two.  There's a side character whose main job it is to add some tension, but it felt very out of place and too dark for the rest of the book.  3 stars

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Month in Review: April 2025

 

April flew by!  My sister and I celebrated our birthdays, with a slightly belated family dinner.  Work was super crazy up until April 15 (I work at an accounting firm, but I'm not an accountant - this year, though, they got me involved in filing returns).  After the deadline passed, we had a little get-together and then the firm gave us all a day off!  Tom and I had to buy a new refrigerator, so that wasn't fun.  Finding one that would actually fit was a nightmare!  We had my in-laws over for Easter, and Henry had a good time.  He loved hunting for eggs so much that we had to do it a couple times!  He has been enjoying the spring weather and particularly loves seeing all the flowers blooming!  He is obsessed with dandelions (shh, don't tell him they're actually weeds!).

The Books

Ladies of the House // Is She Really Going Out With Him? // Force of Nature // A Novel Summer

White House by the Sea // What If... Loki Was Worthy? // Sunrise on the Reaping // Spring Fling

The Crash // How To Solve Your Own Murder

The Posts and Reviews

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Wild and Wrangled

Recent Reads

Michele's Monday Picks #67

Recent Reads

Can't-Wait Wednesday: What Happens in Amsterdam

Recent Reads

Michele's Monday Picks #68

Musing on Nine Years

Top Ten Tuesday: All You Need is Love

How are you doing?

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.