I loved this smart, funny peek inside the high stakes world of San Francisco private schools. It has everything: social satire, family drama, friendship, a lot of laughs, a touch of romance, and lots to think about after. If you’ve been looking for that Where’d You Go, Bernadette feeling, try this. Bonus: The co-authors live in …
This rom-com had me up most of tonight to finish it. It’s about Bea, a plus-sized fashion blogger reeling from a massive douche of an ex. So she basically becomes the Bachelorette, as a way of proving to herself and the world that she deserves love. It was funny as hell, and sweet, and romantic, …
This summer a highly anticipated title is the YA debut by the author of the adult title Mem. Morrow sets her story in a contemporary alternative world where portions of the population have various mythical abilities and identities. Inherent in these identities are built in assumptions and prejudices, the most heightened of which are towards “sirens,” …
This book was recommended to me by a trusted source. The source was right. I was not familiar with the writings of Chris Pavone, but now I am a fan. The Expats is set in Luxembourg, primarily, but takes the reader to Paris, Geneva, New York City and Washington, D.C. The primary “good guys” are …
It’s midsummer and high time to celebrate the publication of a new thriller by Seattle writer Kevin O’Brien. While he ventured to Lopez Island for his last novel, They Won’t Be Hurt, many of the twists and turns of his new book, The Betrayed Wife, take place in Seattle, including a key scene at the Century Ballroom, …
This British cozy mystery series focuses on a talented but deeply flawed detective. Agatha Raisin smokes, drinks, and is incredibly vain–on the other hand, she sure loves her cats! She doesn’t do much investigating in this one, focusing mostly on her always messy love life, but as a fan I enjoyed spending time in Agatha’s …
A classic of European literature unavailable in English for decades, Three Summers is perfectly timeless and perfectly seasonal. Set in the countryside of prewar Greece, it traces the doings and developing identities of a trio of sisters growing into adulthood, each of whom finds a different way to balance her desires for love and freedom. …
Of course the book with the word “conversations” in the title offers both compelling dialogue and characters that don’t know how to talk to each other. Rooney’s made something modern and cool of that oldest narrative plot– the extramarital affair. Usually I can’t stand such stories but this one hooked me and the ending made …
What a treat to have not just one fun book, but a whole trilogy to dive into this summer! I am so happy that I finally got around to reading the first of this sassy, compulsive series set in modern Singapore. The “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” elements combine with skewering social commentary and …
A woman crosses a London street, walks into a funeral parlor and plans her own service. Six hours later she is strangled to death in her home. Did she know she was going to die? Did she plan her own murder? Was it suicide? Was it merely fate? Bad luck? Horowitz (Magpie Murders, PBS’s Midsomer Murders) has written himself as narrator into his latest …
