In Spinning Silver author Naomi Novak takes the components of the fairytale Rumpelstiltskin and separates them in the same way the heroine in that story had to separate the straw to weave into gold. From seemingly unimportant, innocuous bits of chaff, Novak spins an entire storyline and then brings it all together for mesmerizing reading. The kind that jumps between characters ... Read More...
Workhorse: A Novel
Clo Harmon is a 25-year-old assistant at a fashion magazine. She’s a workhorse—eager, bright, hardworking, but with no fashion pedigree. Meaning she will never achieve her dream of being an editor because those jobs only go to the show horses—wealthy, skinny girls with Ivy League degrees and all the right connections. What’s an ambitious, but unconnected woman to do? In ... Read More...
The No-Show by Beth O’Leary
I’m keeping it simple with another rom-com winner for post-holiday enjoyment reading. Valentine’s Day is supposed to be one of the most romantic days of the year, but for Jane, Miranda, and Siobhan it’s been a big disappointment. Three strangers, each stood up at a different place, but… by the same man. In The No-Show by Beth O’Leary, we follow these women and the one man who ... Read More...
Don’t You Forget About Me
Georgina is not having a great day. She’s been fired from another job and she walked in on her boyfriend having ice cream covered sex with his personal assistant. Now she’s unemployed and will never be able to look at a bowl of ice cream again without gagging. These are just two of the harsh realities facing Georgie when Don’t You Forget About Me begins. The trajectory of ... Read More...
The Names by Florence Knapp
It feels odd to say that a book that left me so saddened and troubled was a favorite, but it’s the case with author Florence Knapp’s debut, The Names. This is an alternate realities story about an infant boy whose mother, Cora, in three scenarios, chooses a different name for him. The story follows the boy, his mother, and his older sister through the three lives they would ... Read More...
Serial Killers: Mini-Reviews
Happy Halloween Eve! I thought I’d pre-game tomorrow night’s creepy mood by sharing two reviews of novels about serial killers. You know, the kind of books you want to read with the lights on. In the middle of the day. And not alone. Marie Tierney’s Deadly Animals is set in a small town near Birmingham, England. Ava is a teenage girl with a troubled family, ... Read More...
