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The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon

September 9, 2026

pirate

Hello, fall! It may not be here officially, but in the book world this week is one of the busiest for new releases. And this year looks to be huge with fall novels coming from popular authors like Hernan Diaz, Barbara Kingsolver, Jodi Picoult, Elin Hilderbrand, Emily St. John-Mandel, Bonnie Garmus, and Kate Atkinson. I’m happy to add Ariel Lawhon to the list.  I was late to the ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 16th century, book clubs, historical, Ireland, women

The Top of the World by Ethan Joella

August 20, 2026

top of the world

When Maggie’s older brother, Chip disappears for the summer after the end of his senior year in high school it’s a big deal. Because it’s probably the last summer he’ll ever have and she and her parents are left alone and wondering if they’ll ever see him again. They do, but he never says anything about his time away. A year later Maggie seeks some kind of closure around his ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: book clubs, coming-of-age, family, historical fiction, vacation reading

City of Widows

August 14, 2026

widows

Nadia Hashimi’s novel, City of Widows is set in Kabul in 2021 as America is in the final stages of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan. Despite all the promises made by the Taliban to honor the changes made in the country they are already targeting women for harassment and are arresting and/or killing anyone who aided the Afghan government against them. For two strangers, ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction

This Book Made Me Think of You

August 6, 2026

this book

Sometimes I have to stop being a critic and simply lean into what I’m reading. Such was the case with This Book Made Me Think of You. A trusted friend recommended it so I decided to give it a try, despite knowing it was a full-on romance. Period. If you don’t know what means: a book classified as true romance must have a happily ever after ending. I often like a bit more ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction

A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot

July 16, 2026

hymn

Gisèle Pelicot is the French woman whose husband of 50 years spent the last decade drugging and raping her and inviting strangers to repeatedly do the same while he recorded it. All of which she recounts in her memoir A Hymn to Life because this woman, who survived years of degradation and brutality without any memory of it, had the strength to confront it in graphic detail via ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Non-fiction Tagged: book clubs, France, memoir, true crime, women

Land by Maggie O’Farrell

July 13, 2026

land

One family and a country wiped out by famine are the heart and soul of Land, Maggie O’Farrell’s sweeping new novel. The lives of Tomás, Phina, and their children, Liam, Enda, Rose, and Eugene play out on the page with all the verdant vibrancy of the land they love. It's a decade after the Great Hunger in Ireland and Tomás has found much needed work as a cartographer for the ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: historical fiction, Ireland, literary

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