Contemporary, Fiction, Romance

The Summer Seaside Kitchen by Jenny Colgan

Mure #1 (The Café by the Sea in the USA) It's not summer without a Jenny Colgan book! This year I'm making my way through the Mure series, set on a fictional Scottish island based on my favorite place in the world, the Orkney Islands (and the Shetlands, which I also want to visit!). Synopsis… Continue reading The Summer Seaside Kitchen by Jenny Colgan

Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult

Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean

Tokyo Ever After #2 In continuing my efforts to only read new books that I'm fairly certain I'll enjoy, I'm turning once more to a sequel. I really enjoyed Tokyo Ever After last year and was doubly excited to get a physical advance copy from our publisher rep at the store back in December. Synopsis… Continue reading Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean

Fantasy, Fiction, Historical

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

I love all things pertaining to dragons and I was immediately sucked in by the description of When Women Were Dragons. I'd heard wonderful things about Kelly's middle grade novels and her first adult novel certainly did not disappoint. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours,… Continue reading When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Biography, Nonfiction

The Kennedy Heirs by J. Randy Taraborrelli

John, Caroline, and the New Generation: A Legacy of Triumph and Tragedy In addition to being an Anglophile royalist, I also enjoy keeping up with our own "American Royalty," the Kennedys. While I've learned quite a bit about Joe Jr., JFK, RFK, Kick, Ted, Eunice, Pat, Jean, and Rosemary, I wanted to learn more about… Continue reading The Kennedy Heirs by J. Randy Taraborrelli

Contemporary, Fiction, Social Themes

Home or Away by Kathleen West

Every season I peruse thousands upon thousands of titles from all the major publishers, and some smaller ones, to decide which books to bring into the store. In the 6 years that I've been the adult book buyer, I have never come across an adult book featuring women hockey players. Not once. Never. And if… Continue reading Home or Away by Kathleen West

Fiction, Historical, Young Adult

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

I love Ruta Sepetys books so much and when I found out her latest book would be set in Romania during the fall of communism, I was immediately intrigued - once again she would be introducing me to a time and a place I knew very little about. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Romania, 1989. Communist… Continue reading I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

Biography, Nonfiction, True Crime

Catch the Sparrow by Rachel Rear

A Search for a Sister and the Truth of Her Murder Another manuscript read, I finished Catch the Sparrow in May of 2021. I'm still not a big true crime reader, but reading this book, followed by the disappearance of Gabby Petito, I've been thinking more and more about our culture's fascination with missing young… Continue reading Catch the Sparrow by Rachel Rear

Biography, Nonfiction

Bourdain edited by Laurie Woolever

The Definitive Oral Biography If you've followed this blog for even a short amount of time, you know what huge fans Laura and I are of Tony. Naturally, when this was announced, I knew I was going to read it as soon as I could. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:An unprecedented behind-the-scenes view into the… Continue reading Bourdain edited by Laurie Woolever

Contemporary, Fiction, Romance, Young Adult

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

Tokyo Ever After #1 It's hard to believe it was twenty years ago that I first read The Princess Diaries and my love of royalist fiction was born. I first read it after the movie came out and my friends and I became obsessed with the movie. And then I was a bit disappointed that… Continue reading Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

History, Nonfiction, True Crime

We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper

A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence In my continuing efforts to read a book in every section of the store, I realized that the book I called true crime had a week argument at best. When I came across We Keep the Dead Close as an advance copy, I figured it… Continue reading We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper