Queen Mab: A Novel
by Emily McBride
what is madness? (7/2/2026)
This is story about motherhood and the impact of postpartum depression told through a young academic struggling for understanding of the possibilities her daughter is a changeling.
Madeleine “Maddie” Brodeur is a raising academic who answers to the name Mads, Queen Mab or Queenie. When she becomes pregnant, she is watched during pregnancy, has a horrific labor followed by an unscheduled C-Section before her daughter, Maud, is born. At first Maddie delights in her daughter but soon she believes something is wrong as she becomes obsessed with the belief her daughter is a changing.
The book is an exploration of madness and imagination. Maddie’s postpartum depression- something I never experienced - is filled with fairy tale illusions and literary quotations (don’t miss the Source section at the end, it’s impressive). I really felt sorry for Maddie - what an awful postpartum experience! And her husband, Tom, was a douche (what every woman doesn’t need at any time). The use of fairy tales and literary quotes as part of the premise of the book was interesting. But I also felt the craziness associated with postpartum in the fairy tale trope being offered was overstated and a bit too much.
My thanks to NetGalley and Farrer, Straus, and Giroux for allowing me access to this ARC.
Soft Spots: A Novel
by Leila Renee
Dark family drama (7/2/2026)
Darkly comedic coming-of-age story about two siblings attempting to make sense of their lives as well as exploring themes of trauma and forgiveness.
Robin Clarke is running away from abusive parents to take a teaching job in South Bend, Indiana.Her new roommate, Naomi, is confident and posed - everything Robin wants to be but because her parents never allowed her to have friends, Robin is afraid of intimacy. Meanwhile her brother, Will, attempts to be the dutiful son but when his father falls ill, he must reexamine their relationship and the meaning of loyalty. When Robin learns of her father’s illness she too must face her past.
This is a character-driven novel. It’s a compelling sibling story. Robin and Will are very close but there is trauma and resentment underneath it. This is also an emotionally intense novel which is balanced by humor and snark. Forgiveness is huge in this book. Robin’s trauma is deep so she struggles with that and her sense of family.
This is a book for readers who enjoy exploring intense family estrangements and their consequences.
My thanks to NetGalley and Amistad for granting me access to this ARC.
Japanese Gothic: A Novel
by Kylie Lee Baker
Gothic horror at its best (7/1/2026)
A dual line folklore gothic horror novel with two protagonists separated by hundred of years.
Lee Turner shows up at his father’s house in Japan running from terrible memories he’s trying to suppress and searching for his missing mother. Lee has survived on drugs his entire life and as he slowly weans himself off them, he must deal with a reality that is terrifying but safe. He meets Sen of Shinwazu, a samurai-in-training with her father. But she lives in 1877 not when Lee does in the present and in the house and same room that Lee also lives in. Lee and Sen develop a rapport but that brings out their darker sides. Sen senses Lee’s past need to be buried while she grapples with her own dark fate.
The book is a juggernaut of ghost story, a Japanese fairy tale and a cosmic world where reality shifts and turns. The author interjects a Japanese folk/ fairy tale, The Legend of Urashima Tar? which tells of a magical world beneath the sea allows humans to live there but they eventually leave - leaving the Queen who welcomed them unhappy. This somewhat mirrors Lee and Sen in their worlds, forced to leave because life’s not forever. Frankly after a while, the hints like stains and the gore get a bit overwhelming.
I think I was a bit disappointed by this book. While I certainly got horror, gore, ghosts, strange noises in the night, I really felt the story was a bit overwhelmingly over the top, especially near the end when most of the action occurs. The themes of grief, honor, family duty resonate though. And the intertwining of the two story lines was interesting at times.
This is definitely a book for lovers of gothic horror thrillers.
Plant Lady
by Kang Minyoung
Calming psychological thriller (7/1/2026)
Psychological thriller about a South Korean nursery owner meting out justice for the voiceless.
Yoohee has left her office job to start a nursery in the Dosan-gu district of Seoul. She has created a lush, peaceful environment filled with her favorite plants and offering customers solid advice on gardening and plants and maybe a little extra help for their personal lives. Interest in Yoohee’s shop comes to the attention of Detective Cha Dokyung when three men disappear in the vicinity of the shop. Yoohee and Dokyung play deft a cat and mouse game and you definitely side with Yoohee.
This is as one review stated “an exquisite female rage” book. The Author’s Note at the end is important to this book because so many women suffer from misogyny (with or without abuse) and painful discrimination. And it’s not just in South Korea, it’s everywhere. This book in its terse but strangely calming prose tells a story that while maybe not moral in the sense of right and wrong is definitely worthy of understanding.
Yoohee is a fascinating protagonist. I instantly felt her calmness - she loves and lives for her plants and is incredibly nurturing. I loved how she loved her shop, her customers and really only wanted the best for everyone. But betrayal and abuse are bitter seeds and being taken advantage of or ridiculed is a human crime of unkindness and inhumanity. Maybe vigilantism is warranted? Yoohee is just such a soothing character you cannot but appreciate her.
The book is told by an omniscient narrator who looks from afar and contrasts Yoohee’s warmth and tenderness with selfishness and wickedness of the men who invade her shop, her life and the life of others. The narrator’s distance helps the reader make up his/her/their mind. In this morally grey world of Yoohee, you cannot help but root for her.
I gave this book five stars for its theme of gender violence, for the calming way the story is told - little to no gore but horrific in its unique way, and for being such a delight read - and I liked the cover.
My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for granting me access to this ARC.
Beginning Middle End: A Novel
by Valeria Luiselli
Poignant mother-daughter road trip (7/1/2026)
A poignant mother and daughter road trip that becomes a story of recapturing the past, defining the future and creating a new story.
A divorced mother and her twelve year old daughter take off on the mother’s European book tour eventually coming to Sicily to visit places where the author’s grandmother lived. This woman worked on an archeological dig and pocketed a tile with a picture of the shape-shifting Greek god Proteus. The tile has been passed down to the women for generations but the daughter believes it should be returned to the Villa Romana del Casale. While on Sicily, Mount Etna is erupting and wildfires emerge. They meet Middle Eastern refugees who are being scorned by the locals. The beauty of the land and sea - even the wind - is captured in the journey’s story. But in telling their story the mother and daughter use ancient classics like the Odyssey, voices from the past like Pliny, and ancient myths. These all blend into a lovely story.
The book has three parts: Levante (The First Part), Ponente (The Other Part), and Scirocco (The Last Part). The first two parts are told from the mother’s perspectives and the last from the daughter’s. The naming convention for the chapters relate to terms frequently used in the Mediterranean area either directionally or for weather. I found this interesting given the book is about a journey and the characters are seeking destinations for home - they want to visit the grandmother’s home in Philosophiana. There is a final chapter filled with pictures and postcards and while there is a reference to these all coming from the author’s personal collection, but which author?
It’s hard to describe this book or the story. The first two parts are told almost in vignettes around a named topic of theme. For instance there are whole section dedicated to different types of wind and storms and to the sea or geological elements of the island. In part three the story is more of an essay. This is my first novel by this author so her writing style I found most intriguing.
I concluded this was a multifaceted story. It’s about reinventing one’s self, reestablishing roots, devoting that we are all immigrants and that love binds us all.
My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for granting me access to this ARC.
The Cloak and Dagger Club: Cloak and Dagger Club Mysteries #1
by Jackie McMahon
Great detective story (7/1/2026)
A mystery writer's club made up of six elite crime writers experience a death of one of their members in the 1930s historical mystery based on Agatha Christie's real-life detection club.
Lucy Hubbard has been invited by Horace Hazelmoor, probably Britain's most famous detective novelist and leader of the elite Cloak and Dagger Club. She'd make the seventh member and she's coming off a huge success with her first book but she's really nervous.
Unbeknownst to the other members of the club is Lucy's arrival, especially Frank Murray, Lucy's former fiancé, and Countess Andrassy, Christine Wong and Graham Lockhart and his secretary, Jonathan Kraus.
Hazelmoor is a Machiavellian character - so his death while shocking is not a surprise. When Inspector Naughton arrives to take charge of the case Frank and Lucy are at the crosshairs for being the prime suspects.
While having a small group of suspects, the book offers a fair amount of motives. Hazelmoor's "dirt" on each of the club members lends itself to giving background on the members. The romantic element of former lovers, Frank and Lucy, gives motivation for them to forgive and to work together, adding another dimension to the book, though it probably for me was the least interesting part of the story.
This was a charming mystery in the manner of the great detective stories of the 30s. I liked Lucy - she's no push over, loves her dad and is resilient. The author did a great job with six suspects - but I was really surprised by that ending! The book is worth the read just for that!
My thanks to BookBrowse and Berkeley Publishing for granting me a Hardcopy ARC to this book. I enjoyed the hard copy read.
When Mikan Road Was Ours: A Novel
by D.K. Furutani
Important historical fiction (6/26/2026)
Historical fiction dealing with four generations of a Japanese American family but focusing on the impact of the Japanese interment camps in WWII.
The book starts with an unassuming teacher, Murano, inheriting an unpublished journal from his great uncle, Benjiro. Murano (only identified by his last name) is of mixed race and knows little to nothing of his father’s side. The journal opens a lot of things unknown to him about his family like the Muranos were successful farmers in Southern California and a great grandfather pioneered a multiracial labor union. But after Pearl Harbor the family was forced to give up their farm on Mikan Road and were then interned in a concentration camp. Benjiro escaped the camp because he said he was enrolled in college. As Murano reads he learns important information on why his family silenced their past.
The book is told in alternating chapters of past and present. It exposes the cruelty and hardships the Japanese who were American citizens endured - shades of present day America. Overall this is a very poignant read. Like all good historical fiction, it tells an important story in our history that should be remembered. The Japanese American who came to this country pre WWII made significant contributions and should never have been treated so inhumanly.
My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for granting me access to this fine ARC.
The Obsessed
by Lizzie Buehler
The price of obsession (6/26/2026)
A “lightweight” coming-of-age story about relationships and obsession.
Astrid Duffy is pursuing a PhD in Russian literature at Harvard obsessed by the Russian writer, Sofiya Sova, whose life seems “to parallel” Astrid’s and whose writing seems to”to encompass every anxious thought” of Astrid’s. Astrid’s sole desire is to “embody the ethos” of Sofiya’s novel. Astrid has long believed that parallels between the Russian novelist and herself gave some deep intrinsic meaning for her. When her boyfriend, Charlie, breaks up with her, Astrid is thrown into a panic as her love life was supposed to be following Sofiya’s. Astrid, however, finds Elijah, a Sofiya Sova obsessor himself, and feels likes back on track until that relationship crumbles. Where is she going?
The book posits that relationships have to be grounded on two sides - that is, parasocial relationships offer little in terms of emotional reciprocity and connection to the individual seeking to be loved. Astrid’s obsession is one-sided - even her relationships with Charlie and Elijah because they fulfill Sofiya’s book. I think this was the best part of the story; that is, obsession gains nothing for the obsessor.
I was a bit underwhelmed in the read. As noted above, writing about one-sided relationships was a great theme. I just felt Astrid could have been developed more and the story be a little deeper. But the writing is very good.
My thanks to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for allowing me access to this ARC.
The Half Life: A Novel
by Rachel Beanland
Exploring nuclear pollution in historical fiction (6/26/2026)
Exploring loyalty and love, a young housewife’s coming-of-age becomes a confrontation with the harmful effects of America’s entry into the Atomic Age in this fine historical fiction novel.
After her brother’s death in Vietnam, Eileen O’Malley is sweep up in a whirlwind romance with Paul Archer, a dashing young man on a trajectory for success in the US Navy. In 1974 Paul is stationed in Italy and they move to La Maddalena, an island in the Mediterranean near Sardinia, where Paul is in charge of a submarine’s nuclear containment. Eileen is having a hard time fitting into her new role as a naval wife plus she’s aligned herself with the residents of the island who are angered by the presence of nuclear pollution. And then she meets Teo, a journalist investigating the Navy’s clandestine operations. Eileen’s romantic entanglement with Teo may not bode well for her marriage.
This was such a fascinating story and the exploration of America’s beginnings with nuclear submarines and nuclear contamination were most interesting topics for a novel - this is why I so firmly believe in the importance of books that give insights into history we may know nothing about. I loved the descriptions of the island, they are magical - who cannot love the beauty of the Mediterranean. This is part due to book reflecting the author’s actual experiences on the island growing up when her own father was stationed there.
I enjoyed Beanland’s previous book, Florence Adler Swims Forever. She knows how to capture emotions so well as she did in this book.
My thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me access to this ARC.
The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin's Greatest Enemy
by Josh Ireland
An examination of the hunt for Trotsky (6/24/2026)
Propulsive nonfiction book that read like a spy thriller. While all the details of Trotsky’s assassination are known, the details behind it may not be as it was the culmination of a major intelligence operation that took years of planning and spanned the globe to complete.
I listened to this fascinating and well narrated book. It’s not an exploration of motivation - no analysis of Stalin’s craziness - or examination of the power struggle after Lenin’s death. It’s not about Trotsky’s worldview on communism either. Younger flavors of these rather it’s straightforward look into what it took to kill Trotsky and about those who killed him. Most of the background preceding Trotsky’s expulsion from the party and his trial as an enemy of the state details the instant visceral dislike the two men had upon meeting in 1907 in London, Stalin’s eradication of the Trotsky family and others who opposed him - if you think Hitler was bad, think again. Stalin was psycho. At one point in the book, the author notes that Russian NJVD agents knew they would be killed by Stalin but felt there was little they could do to it.
The main part of the story is the ten year period from 1929 when Trotsky left Russia through the years Stalin’s men searched for him and ultimately found him in Mexico City and then to the men and women who played a part in planning and executing the murder in 1940. Ramón Mercader, the assassin, gets heavy focus in explaining his character and motivation in the book. Mercader spent years infiltrating Trotsky’s world. The book painstakingly documents this and other players in Trotsky’s world - pro and cons.
The book is well researched and provides glimpses into Trotsky’s life in exile. For instance it also details Trotsky’s friendship with Freda Kahlo and Diego Rivera. The friendship turned into a revenge love affair. For Trotsky is was an escape from the tension and isolation of his exile. Trotsky cared for rabbits and he was a stickler for rules. Vain and selfish, he was also beloved by many of his followers.
I gave this book five stars for providing a well researched exploration of the assassination of Leon Trotsky, for telling the story of this assassination through the eyes of the people involved, and for being a finely paced read that held my attention throughout .
Merry-Go-Round Broke Down: A Novel of Guilt, Greed & Globalization
by David Woo, Margalit Shinar
Excellent read about the impact of globalization (6/24/2026)
Contemporary fiction that reads like a propulsive thriller! Tackling the topic of the “butterfly effect” of globalization through nine linked “parables,” the book entertains while it educates the reader on how the financial world works.
The book starts and finishes with a hostage takeover at a globalization conference in New York. Each of the hostages has a story to tell of their part in the 2000s boom and bust era that crossed borders and affected ordinary lives. The parables are a series of handoffs. It starts with a Chinese factory needing a miracle for an American company to shift manufacturing to their plant. It then crosses to America where an American plant will close down because those jobs will go to China. The handoffs continue down to a Norwegian fishing village buying mortgages. Each parable is a separate story - all showing the real world people live in. There are the greedy people who are in for the money and there are the simple people from a Japanese woman trying not to be subservient and forging her own financial independence or the illegal immigrant being taken by scam or to a woman fighting to keep the Amazon safe. Regardless of where the person fits, everyone is a part of globalization.
This is a fascinating way to tell an important story. We are all bound together in the search for profit. Some are more rapacious than others - and the authors get that through in clear, simple language without having to use adjectives to get the message across that these characters are not the nice guys. Tomoko Watanabe’s story is perhaps the best in my opinion. Her reasons for profit are not so much greed as to get her family out of its financial crisis due to her husband losing his pension. And then there is the stunning irony of the ending - you have to read this book to find out what I mean; you will not be disappointed.
My thanks to BookBrowse and the publisher, Regalo Press for granting me access to this marvelous book. Highly recommend.
I Made You Up Inside My Head: A Novel
by Marta Pérez-Carbonell
Magical realism tells a story (6/24/2026)
A provocative exploration into the meaning of the stories we tell showing who we are and what we choose to believe.
Alicia, a Spanish woman living and working as a translator for a company called WorldTrans is required to work one week a month in Edinburgh. Boarding a train for her monthly trip, she meets Terence Milton, an American professor traveling with his student, Mick “Bo” Boulder, to Edinburgh to speak about his recently published book, Rocco, a fictionalized version of his friendship with a Swiss actor, Hans Haig. The critics have panned the book in America which is devastating to Milton. As he shares his story with Alicia and Bo, Alicia shares one as well about a haunting and cruel breakup with Daniel, her botanist boyfriend.
While the novel is written as a book within a book, the author has a concern about the reality we live and the reality we share with others. Alicia identifies with Hans Haig who feels betrayed by what Milton wrote about him. She feels there is more to Milton’s story than he is telling. The book ends with Alicia trying to find out what happened to Hans and his version of events.
This was a strangely beautiful read - that is, the author blends Milton’s fictional story of Hans with Alicia’s story. They sort of alternate in the telling but you sense there is a lack of honesty in one - Milton’s takes long to tell but Alicia’s is terse. In the structure the author has created - almost a stream of consciousness - I found myself getting confused at times. I think that’s my biggest criticism of the book. But the mystery surrounding Rocco’s terrible critical reception takes hold and as the reader you want to understand what happened.
My thanks to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for allowing me access to this ARC.
The Winds of Maracaibo: A Novel
by María Elena Morán
Propulsive family story set in Venezuela (6/24/2026)
A propulsive story of family set in 2018 amid the collapse of the Chavez government in Venezuela and Maduro’s takeover.
First, this book is the first English translation for this authors - kudos too to the translator, Madeleine Jones (I always forget to give recognition to the translator who is probably the most instrumental in my reading life for translated book) is a short but complex novel because of its brevity - lyrical but precise language - and structure. That is, the story is narrated from multiple points of view all interwoven as the story is told - no chapters with the heading of whose POV it is.
Nina has left her mother, Graciela, and daughter, Elisa, to work in Brazil (4500 miles from her home in Maracaibo) where she experiences homeliness and discrimination. Meanwhile Graciela talks to her dead husband, Raul, as she grieves his death ( and it would appear he likes talking g to her). Then Camilo, Nina’s ex-husband and the father of Elisa, sweeps in to take Elisa to Houston to live with him and his rich parents. Nina is determined to bring her daughter home - a reversal to the dubious American dream. Note: There are untranslated Spanish and Portuguese words which I learned were left this way to emphasis I believe the cultural differences that underpin this novel.
The book offers insight into politics of Venezuela, its immigration crisis and the desperation that drives people to survive. I admit at times I got lost in the narration but what rang through clearly to me at least was that immigrants are so devalued - it’s the zero sum equation. Camilo represents this the best in the novel. Nina’s love for her daughter is intense and deep - very moving.
Whenever I read a novel that deals with the ferocity of separation, the will to reconnect and the resiliency of those in these situations, I’m struck with the reality that this has never happened to me. This is why novels like this are so important. We need to remember our humanity in these times of thinking “as long as it doesn’t affect me”and this book does that. Bravo to Morán and Jones.
My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for allowing me to read this ARC.
Everything to the Sea: A Novel
by Alicia Upano
Grief and romance collide (6/15/2026)
As the author writes in her notes at the end of this book: this is romance story but also a story of grief. Indeed, in this coming-of-age story, the budding romance of two young Hawaiians comes apart when a devastating tsunami strikes Hilo, separates them as they deal with the grief and loss, but in restoring their home, the two are reunited.
Jane Ito is an architectural student when she meets Kenji Lee. A summer romance ensues but Jane is determined to return to school when a tsunami strikes Hilo causing death and destruction. In sour if this Jane leaves and Benji stays to help rebuild his home. Seven years later Jane is an architect at a prestigious San Francisco firm that’s invoked with Hilo’s rebirth. Thrown together again, Jane and Benji delicately work together to renew themselves, their live, their home and their identity.
The both is divided into four parts. Part I focuses on Jane and how she sees herself and deals with the impact of the tsunami on herself and her family. Part II focuses on Benji and his reaction to the tsunami and his determination to stay and help his community rebuild. Parts III and IV deal with Jane and Benji’s reunion and renewal told in alternating POVs.
This is really a very simple story - and a character-driven one. It focuses on an eight year period in the lives of two young people and how they handle loss. There is such poignancy but intense resilience that emerges in the telling of how two young lovers are able to find their inner selves, forgive the other and renew not only their home but their love for each other.
This is a perfect book for people interested in a coming-of-age second chance romance that’s more about the love of home and community than the passion love engenders. Such a deeply moving book.
My thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for granting me access to this ARC.
Summer's Never Over
by Darby Bozeman
Thriller read for the beach (6/15/2026)
This was my June BOTM selection. I was in the mood for a thriller/mystery when I chose it and got that when I read it. It’s a highly addictive story and when it stormed as I read it, I had the added magic of Mother Nature to get me into the mood.
Greer Olsen is mourning her mother, Anita’s death, just days before the grand reopening of Dread’s Cove, five years after a tragic fire destroyed it and killed Stephanie “Steph” Bennet. A summer camp for middle school kids, the camp was a legend in Georgia for its beautiful setting and great camp experience. Greer left after the fire vowing never to return but because of Anita’s death and the grand reopening she’s returned - after all the place is now hers. Among the guests and mourners are a number of exes (childhood sweetheart, Wes; boyfriend, Trevor; and girlfriend, Chelsea) as well as a frenemy, Margo Porter, who wants answers on what happened five years ago. As the grand opening and memorial service play out, Greer finds things that cause her to want answers too. What really happened that last summer and what about that fire?
The book toggles between “now” and the past or “so many days before the fire.” The “now” chapters explore Greer’s grief and her survivor’s guilt as the camp reopens and makes her question all over again what happened that summer, especially when she learns about a mysterious woman who had befriended her mother and then disappeared. The “days before the fire” detail Greer’s enchantment with Steph and the strange happenings that were going on at the camp - spooky sightings, lost campers, near drownings. When answers start emerging, tensions rise with a really surprising ending.
I enjoyed most of the book. I felt at times it dragged a bit and Greer got a little weird. But overall the book kept me on task to find out the answers that were so troubling Greer. I think you will find that too if you read this debut book.
This is ideal for a beach read - the title alone hints at that.
The Renoir Girls: A Hidden History of Art, War, and Betrayal
by Catherine Ostler
Exciting historical read (6/14/2026)
An exploration of Renoir’s society portraits of Alice (pink dress) and Elizabeth (blue dress) Cahen d’Anvers, the youngest daughters of one of France’s wealthiest bankers (the year before Renoir had painted their elder sister, Irene) providing a history of the portraits - personal, family, and historical context - that emerges in a captivating book.
The three Cahen d’Anvers sisters lived in that splendid Parisian Belle Époque period - glam, glitter, balls, yachts, architecture and, art. This is splendidly brought to life by the author, especially with the addition of references to Marcel Proust’s book which capture this period so well. Then in 1894 the infamous Dreyfus case divided France into Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards and moved Hews to the lowest on the social ladders. Many concerted to Catholicism as did the Cahen d’Anvers sisters. The sisters were decorated for their nursing efforts in WWI but by then antisemitism was a creeping evil. In spite of this and more because of their love of Paris that the the sisters stayed during WWII. The sad fate of Elizabeth, betrayed by a countryman, she died in Auschwitz. As to the paintings by luck they survived and decorate museums in Switzerland and Brazil.
This is such an interesting history as it sweeps to the heights and then sinks to depth of history but the resilience of people lies in the way to total defeat. Loved that. I found the structure though a bit unwieldy and confusing when reading . That’s my only criticism of the book. But the book’s spotlight on the evils of antisemitism is the real winner in this remarkable book.
My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read this ARC.
Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic
by Syou Ishida
Wonderful cozy hopeful read (6/14/2026)
This is the third book in the “We’ll Prescribe You A Cat” series, a Japanese awarding series, and my first read in it. You definitely don’t need to read the previous two books to enjoy this one. This is a book to savor as you read of its transformative themes of compassion and self-discovery.
First, I’m a dog lover - mostly because I’m so allergic to cats. But I can successfully say I suffered no allergic reaction in reading this delightful book and grew to appreciate cats in the process of reading.
The Kokoro Clinic for the Soul is tucked away in a very hidden spot in Kyoto. It’s difficult to find unless you are meant to find it. The treatment is most unusual: no medicine, no exams, no therapy. The solution to your life’s problem is a cat or a cat connection. Dr. Nikké will guide you. This book is divided into four stories: three titled for the names of the cats being given to the main character in the story: Benia - for a woman suffering anxiety before an important presentation: Tangerine - for a young artist questioning her career; and Shiro - for a woman troubled by guilt: the fourth is entitled “To Cat or Not Cat” features an interesting treatment Dr. Nikké offers to a young father overwhelmed by parenthood. In each section the cat or cat connection offers the gift of connection and insight into compassion.
The simplicity of these stories is so powerful yet so relaxing in the read. You are willing to suspend belief for the beauty of the magical realism that enchants each story. The descriptions of the cats and their actions is well done. Each cat teaches the human something that’s been missing in awareness about themselves and their lives.
I think reading this book is more of an experience than a plot or character driven novel is about. That is, each story is an opportunity to experience the healing properties of cats in the lives of the humans they engage with. It’s also just a super way to defuse, to disengage and just experience a really good novel.
My thanks to NetGalley/ BookBrowse and Berkley Publishing Group for allowing me access to this ARC.
Make Nice: A Novel
by Ryan Effgen
Family vacation reveals a family (6/12/2026)
One of my favorite Michigan vacations is Mackinac Island - my children have treated me to these visits and I come away more enchanted each time. While I’ve never stayed at the Grand Hotel (I have paid admission to sit on their magnificent veranda and enjoy the view), Make Nice was such a sweet and rare find (thank you NetGalley and Knopf for granting me access to this ARC) to recapture that wonderful island.
The Pickford siblings are on a weekend vacation at the Grand Hotel on nostalgic Mackinac Island to “make nice” to one another. Their mother had just died and their father had brought them together. Pete, an expert on mollusks, is looking forward to seeing if a rare mollusk may be found on the shores of either Lake Michigan or Lake Huron. Viv is trying to pretend the shocking news her husband is gay is not affecting her for the sake of her daughter. Corey, the charmer and vagabond, has snared five lbs of coke that he plans to sell to the first dumb rich guy he finds. But “making nice” goes out the window when unforeseen events take over upsetting the apple cart - Pete finds himself attracted to the mother of a local boy making up for some crushing professional news; Viv meets her former boyfriend and feelings emerge; Corey finds the rich are more interested in golf and tennis. But why were they brought to Mackinac by their father - of course: secrets.
I really enjoyed the book. It’s funny but filled with realistic family drama. I enjoyed the descriptions of Mackinac - though I’d have enjoyed more about Grand Hotel decor. This is a character driven novel and I enjoyed them, especially Pete. What emerges from this delightful read is that no matter how crazy your family is, they are there for you.
Great read especially for lovers of family vacation scenarios. And a great summer beach read - visit Mackinac and spend the day reading it.
The Parisian Heist: A Novel
by Jo Piazza
Wonderful historical fiction combines with a mystery (6/12/2026)
Another Jo Piazza hit! Historical fiction meets art mystery in a dual timeline story.
Two women separated by one hundred years come together to tell a tale of stolen art and artistic legacy. In 1990, Emma is in Paris studying art on a scholarship when that ends presumptively leaving Emma having to find ways to pay for school and room/board. She becomes a housekeeper for Stella Swanson whose husband, Maxwell, ran a $10 billion dollars art empire. Stella comes to trust Emma and plots revenge on her stepson. In 1891 a woman named Claire befriends Jo Van Gogh, the wife of Theo. Theo is deceased and Jo has all of Vincent’s paintings which she can’t sell but which she remained dedicated throughout her life promoting. How these two interesting and fascinating stories come together is so artfully done.
The choice of topics - art and Vincent Van Gogh - was exceptional. Learning about Jo Van Gogh and how she brought him to prominence made such good a good story - the woman behind the man as Piazza points out in her notes at the end. I also loved Emma’s story, her friendship with Stella and her roommates. The ending was so good.
This is a book for historical fiction lovers whether they like mysteries included or not. It’s a super read. Highly recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley and Dutton for grating me access to this ARC.
Should the Waters Take Us: A Novel
by Stephanie Soileau
Epic story (6/12/2026)
An epic story of Louisiana told from the perspective of a French Acadian clan who have eked out a living in Pelerin Parish where hurricanes, oil spills, the encroaching Gulf of Mexico and other disasters make life challenging. While a character driven story, the environment is the main character giving meaning and purpose to this hardy group of people.
The novel centers around Boy Boussard, a squatter on land managed by Jacot Terrebonne, his uncle, but owned by Rosalie Terrebonne. Boy makes do by hunting alligators. When Rosalie is dying of cancer, she leaves the land to Boy upsetting Jacot who believes it should be his. The other characters who bring complications to the clan include Boy’s daughter, Lee, and his sullen nephew, Jamie and Father Fabian Dakolo from Nigeria who knows all about oil spills. When Hurricane Nestor arrives the world changes in violence and resentment.
This is a grim story - I’m not sure how these people can could endure a life in this place except for their family being grounded there and their identity etched on the land. I think that was beautifully portrayed in the book. But I found it very hard at times to know where the story was going as the book goes from character to character and then back in time and then to a character - I have no problem reading nonlinear stories but I often felt i was in a short story collection. It got confusing. But the writing is very nice. And the story itself in the whole was a good read.
My thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for granting me access to this ARC.
Power Reviewer
