The Astral Library: A Novel
by Kate Quinn
A Marvelously Fantastical Book (2/16/2026)
This is a story with a magic door, a magical library, and the possibility to make dreams come true. The Astral Library is a place where fantasy and reality collide. It is a story of fantasy and magical realism that reads like a fairytale, and I was hooked from beginning to end. There are uniquely beautiful characters, adversarial villains, and a touching relationship to round things out. This story has it all. It is a book that is filled with magic, fashion, and artistry. I highly recommend this to readers who can't resist a fairytale for adults or are still a child at heart.
The Future Saints: A Novel
by Ashley Winstead
A Fascinating Story About Musicians and the Music Industry (2/16/2026)
I loved this book! I was immediately drawn into the story and glued to its pages. It is about fame, love, and overcoming grief. The author tackles the topics of alcohol dependency, drug use, depression and mental health with delicacy and finesse. I found myself cheering for the characters at every turn. I would highly recommend this book to fiction lovers and readers who loved stories about the music industry and musicians, such as Daisy Jones and the Six, Mary Jane, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev, or Songs in Ursa Major.
Everything Lost Returns: A Novel
by Sarah Domet
Interesting premise with subpar delivery (1/17/2026)
This dual timeline book connects the lives of two brave women through their jobs at a soap factory and by the appearance of Haley's Comet seventy-six years apart. It is a story of feminism, strength, and sisterhood. A narration of events surrounding women who are looking for answers, answers to their heartbreak, loneliness, and unfulfilled dreams.
I was intrigued by the premise of this book but struggled with the delivery. There was almost too much going on. It became cumbersome at times and didn't hold my interest. It was a confusing and ponderous dissertation on women's perceived frailties, their subjugation by men, and their attempts at breaking free from the secretive lives in both timelines. It may have been meant to be mysterious, but it failed to hit the mark for me. Ultimately, the narrative mostly felt disjointed and uninteresting, and I found the characters to be boring.
Too Old for This
by Samantha Downing
Original and Entertaining (8/9/2025)
A book about a female geriatric serial killer. A septuagenarian Dexter! I wouldn't have guessed that there was any way to make a character like this so likeable, but this author does just that. Putting aside the grisly murders and body dismemberments, I found this book to be original and very entertaining. I loved it and would definitely recommend it to readers (who aren't squeamish).
The Day Tripper: A Novel
by James Goodhand
The Day Tripper is a Treat! (1/5/2024)
I've always been fascinated by time travel stories, from the original Back to the Future movies to the TV series Quantum Leap, and the books The Time Traveler's Wife, The Midnight Library, and Oona Out of Order. Each of these stories have their own plots, problems, and solutions. The thing that they all have in common is that you are unsure how it will all work out until the end.
This book, The Day Tripper, is ingenious and thought-provoking and kept me entranced. It started out slow, but once the main character, Alex, became caught up in his daily time switch, I was reeled in. I could feel his frantic confusion and his frustration while he was trying to figure out what was happening to him.
This story ultimately becomes a testament to the power of love and leaves the reader asking themselves, If I could change something in MY past, would I do it and what would it be?
This book is a "must read" for fans of time travel stories, but I would also recommend it to just about everyone. This could possibly be a good discussion book for book clubs also.
Wild and Distant Seas: A Novel
by Tara Karr Roberts
Impressive Historical Fiction Debut (10/18/2023)
This is an impressive debut novel by a very talented writer. I quickly became immersed in the stories of the characters and the times they lived in. The author does a superb job of threading together the lives of four generations of headstrong women, with special unique abilities, as they are joined through the years by their connection to the sea and their quest to find a man named Ishmael. I felt that I was there with each of them on their separate journeys from Nantucket to Boston to Brazil to Florence and to Idaho. Fans of historical fiction and women's fiction, with just the right added touch of magical realism, are sure to enjoy this book.
My sincere thanks to BookBrowse and W.W. Norton & Co. for the ARC of this fascinating book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Paper Names: A Novel
by Susie Luo
Disappointing Read (3/8/2023)
It's always so much harder to write an unfavorable review about a book than it is to write a good one. I had a lot of trouble getting through this book. I was ready to quit after 50 pages, but to be fair, and to give an honest review, I knew that I needed to finish it. The bigger problem was that I also wanted to give up on it at 100 pages and many pages thereafter.
In my honest opinion, this literary fiction debut novel had many shortcomings in the delivery of its message. To begin with, there was not a good introduction to the characters, and I was lost as soon as I started. Then, the dating of the chapters jumped around and the story didn't flow easily. I found the narrative to be boring, unstructured, convoluted, and confusing at times. I eventually came to appreciate the theme of the novel, the importance of family, but feel that the execution failed. Overall, this book just didn't resonate with me.
Once We Were Home
by Jennifer Rosner
Incredibly moving story (11/20/2022)
I was incredibly moved by this story. This author does a wondrous job of opening our hearts and minds to a little remembered tragedy of war. During WWII, an untold number of Jewish children were ousted from their homes and hidden within Christian families or sent to orphanages, with some of them having little understanding of what was happening to them. Seen through the eyes of several of these children, the ones who lost their homes, their parents, and their heritage, the reader is taken on a journey of discovery with them to find themselves and where they will ultimately call home and who they will call family. This book and its characters are going to stay with me for a very long time.
Antoinette's Sister
by Diana Giovinazzo
For historical fiction lovers (11/20/2022)
As a lover of historical fiction, I thought this was a really great read, The story transports you to the eighteenth century and gives you a seat at the tables of the Kings and Queens of Austria, Naples, and France. The lives and loves of strong women spill onto the pages and immerse the reader into a different time and place. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy anything royal or who are looking for an escape.
