Category: General Fiction

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (Happy Magic Fiction)

I loved this light, uplifting, quirky and unashamedly magic book, just as I did her previous book “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.” Sera Swan is a young and powerful witch who resurrects her recently dead great aunt (a big no-no) and is stripped of her magic and guild membership. Reduced to managing the highly and eccentrically enchanted Inn, she tries to find her magic again with the help of an oddball collection of Inn denizens — a scheming witch trapped in a fox body, a geriatric oddball and part time Hobbit, a would-be knight in somewhat shiny armor, some undead rooster bones to name a few. It’s really about family, doing the right thing even when it hurts, understanding your own vulnerabilities and shifting life goals. I was very impressed with that last bit — there aren’t many real happy ever afters in the world, but by understanding what is actually important you can be awfully darn happy (A Rolling Stones song comes to mind…)

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 15th, 2025.

Austen at Sea by Natalie Jenner — Read by Rupert Graves (Historical Fiction)

An enthusiastic five stars for this marvelously fulfilling piece of historical fiction. The story manages to be both intellectually rich and emotionally pleasing. My perfect blend! In 1865, two daughters of the long-widowed Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice pen a daring request to the only surviving brother of their favorite author — Jane Austen. Meanwhile, two Philadelphia book collectors have similarly engaged with Admiral Austen about Austen memorabilia and editions. On the side, the Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Court have elected to read and discuss the entire Austen oeuvre over the very summer break that sees the four correspondents heading off to England. Their discussions are completely engrossing, putting into dialog multiple well crafted opinions and surprising me with their depth. The story itself takes the reader from Boston, across to the sea to Hampshire, and concludes with a courtroom drama spectacular spanning both countries.

On the surface, this could pleasurably be read as an engaging comedy of manners a la Austen herself, with the delightful development of surprising relationships etc. But under the tip of the romantic iceberg lies the depth, thoroughness, and insight of the literary, political, legal, and economic contexts of the time period. Equality, justice, freedom — these are topics on everyone’s tongues during the post-Civil War recovery period, the still relative newness of the United States, and the current battles in both locations for various forms of women’s rights (including, but not limited to, women’s suffrage). These issues are brought out with a number of different techniques. Those discussing Austen’s works have literary discussions about her characters, their roles, purposes, desires, and life lessons. Women’s rights are addressed (and argued) through a fascinating panoply of laws, Acts, and jurisdictions — exemplified by the situations and experiences of the various characters. It’s obvious to us today (I hope!) that women should have rights equal to those of men, but to hear the completely sensical arguments and rebuttals on both sides of the issue during that time period by people who were not inherently “evil,” was deeply interesting.

I both read and listened to this book. I actually preferred the audio in this case. It slowed me down enough to actually listen to different viewpoints and consider them carefully — I usually read too fast and often miss important details. Rupert Graves is the reader — a wonderful actor with a beautiful reading voice. I learned a lot about Austen’s life and her works (despite the fact that I’ve read each multiple times) and enjoyed a wide array of references from that time period — including Louisa May Alcott who appeared in a delightful cameo role. The cast of characters at the start of the book is quite helpful.

Highly recommended.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 6th, 2025.

The Winds from Further West by Alexander McCall Smith (Literary Fiction)

In this new, standalone novel, McCall Smith takes on the ethics and responsibilities of those caught up in cancel culture — including the perspectives and calculations of those willing to play along (on either side) for personal gain. We follow Neil, a University of Edinburgh public health lecturer and researcher, as he is accused of making an “insensitive” comment and is asked by an unscrupulous dean to apologize regardless of guilt. I’ll hasten to say that McCall Smith does not allow the book to slide into a Kafkaesque nightmare from which our hero cannot emerge unscathed (I almost stopped reading when I thought it was going in that direction). Instead, he focuses on how people react to “life experiences” such as these and how they can be used to further self (and world-at-large) awareness and growth. I found it insightful and inspiring.

I love that McCall Smith always brings the ethics of big social trends into how they play out in individuals. The book is full of pithy commentary as to the state of the world (or one’s university!) and one’s role within it. His characters are always interesting — one is caught reading a book called “A Brief History of the Smile.” Others contemplate and discuss such random (but IMO engaging) topics such as a recent theory about Neanderthals, people vs. microbes, the use of shaming in society, and as always, a lovely collection of quotations from (mostly Scottish) poets (my favorite is Auden’s line: “If equally affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.” It made me cry. I also loved the discussion (minor argument?) about the democratization of science — while Neil’s girlfriend feels teachers should be less didactic, Neil points out that Bernoullis equation is not an opinion.

Honestly, I have loved almost all of McCall Smith’s books and really can’t believe he hasn’t run out of philosophical musings and expositions after all this time. Every book seems to cleanly dissect complex problems into clear and concise points to help you thread through them.

Some of my favorite quotes:
“One had to become indifferent to the things you could not do anything about, unless you were prepared to let them hurt you indefinitely.”

“He, and people like him, might do a little to change the basic rules of engagement between human beings and microbes, but here and there, in small corners of the battlefield, they achieve their largely unsung victories. And in the background, their research, sometimes painfully slow and seemingly entirely theoretical, built up the human armory against microbial defeat.”

“People say that the thing about poetry is its power to haunt.“

“The world’s in a sorry mess. People put so much energy into finding fault with others, with attacking them, with calculating personal advantage, with … with all of those things. We’ve broken the bonds that exist between us, with the result that we are all potential enemies of one another, locked in mutual suspicion and distrust. And do you know what? I’ve had enough of it, I can’t bear to be part of that any longer.”

Thank you to Pantheon and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this audio book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 29th, 2025.

The Eights by Joanna Miller (Historical Fiction)

Historical fiction at its best! Four women are part of the historic 1920 matriculation of women to Oxford — the first in over 1,000 years. Roomed together in “corridor eight,” this is the story of their first year, with several flashbacks to flesh out their personal context. Beatrice Sparks — almost 6 feet tall, daughter of a famous (and vigorous!) suffragette, with an appetite for politics; Marianne Gray — the motherless daughter of an English vicar; Dora Greenwood — beautiful and still grieving for the brother and fiancee who died in the war; and Ottoline Wallace-Kerr — wealthy and at odds with her family’s expectations, who keeps herself calm with mathematics. There are some secrets and some surprises — all quite realistic and perfectly embedded in the well-drawn context of the time. And for the girls, a discovery of unexpected, but deeply felt, friendship.

I say this is historical fiction at its best because it finds the right balance between the extremes of dull, historic, facts and overly sensationalized (and manipulatively emotional) story telling with a minimum of historic accuracy. There are no modern sensibilities sneaking in — but plenty of individual reactions and experiences nestled in the very real context of the day. The country had just emerged from WWI, (some) women had just gotten the vote, and now — Oxford was open to women who wanted to pursue a more intellectual path through life. I loved the many small details that peppered the prose: a new mystery author — Agatha Christie — who was set the challenge to write a novel where it was impossible to guess who did it — and succeeded; the introduction of ouija boards; stories of the Bodlein library and how the rare books were protected during the war; the second wave of influenza; the origin of Chequers (home to Britain’s prime ministers); practice trenches in the countryside; suffragette pennies, etc. A pretty interesting Oxford-style debate on whether or not women should be at Oxford at all. I loved the bits of discussions on various studied subjects. The secondary impact of the war on various people after the war was over was equally interesting — more personal, individualized, and detailed. Philosophical and ethical issues pervaded the experiences because how could they not?

I like historical fiction because, when done well, you learn about what history might have meant to the people who lived through it. The author’s note delineates fact from fiction as well as describes inspirations — with a nice bibliography on relevant sources. Also — there is a glossary at the end that I really wish I had known about before I finished! Plenty of period specific slang was used that I had to constantly look up or guess at. Now you know!

Thank you to G. P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 15th, 2025.

The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes (Historical Fiction)

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 5/5 Characters: 5/5

Loved this historical fiction centered in Montana in the early 1900s. Three timelines for three characters that slowly converge: Millie Lang (1936), exiled to Missoula to “fix” the state’s contribution to the depression era American Guide Series, sponsored by the Federal Writers Project of the WPA. Alice Monroe (1924), small town Missoula librarian born to wealth, who works to get more books into more hands via rural visits. Colette Durand (1914), daughter of a Shakespeare loving union organizer for the miners employed by the Anaconda Mining Company.

An excellent cast of supporting characters, lots of action and surprising plot twists, well-researched details of the time period, and plenty of interesting locations (e.g. Glacier National Park, Wild Horse Island in Flathead Lakes, Missoula mining camps) — all vividly brought to life. Lots of literary references, both in terms of very apt quotes and individual books for an assortment of characters and the real impact they had. Really demolished the stereotype of the “lower classes” being uninteresting in learning and mind expansion. She handled themes of vengeance, injustice, and restrictions on and expectations of women adroitly with real reflection on how to know what “doing the right thing” means, and what it might cost. Loved the Boxcar library itself (apparently you can see the Lumberman’s library box car in Fort Missoula — I may take a trip!)

A great read!

Some quotes:

“Everyone had a story, and most people were just trying to get by. They didn’t deserve to become empty vessels to hold other people’s anger and insecurities.“

“So did writers. They saw the extremes in life as appealing – tear courage, fear, and strength, love and hate. They were what made humans human. But Millie didn’t think of herself as a writer. She thought of herself as a journalist. She was there to tell other people’s stories.”

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book was published on March 4th, 2025.

Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite Clayton (Historical Fiction)

I really warmed up to this book — it started off a little slowly and then became more and more intriguing with every chapter, ending with a lovely last line to cap it all off.

Dual timelines — an isolated set of cottages on the beach at Carmel in 1957. During the darkest times of McCarthy’s blacklists and the slow strangulation of Hollywood, a young starlet on the verge of being the next Grace Kelly is sent to wait in one of these cottages by the studio manager and all around fixer. Told to stay indoors and not be seen, she nevertheless meets her neighbor, the enigmatic Leo — a black listed scriptwriter with a haunted past. In 2018 we follow Gemma, whose beloved grandfather has just died and left her his cottage.

The story slowly unfolds, past to present, and while I often thought I knew what was happening, I was often quite wrong. The writing style is rich with thought provoking commentary and reflections. Hollywood — the deals, the norms, the restrictions, the cheats — is on display with all of the detail that I love — not just a description of events, but a description of the people living through those events and how they are changed, what they do to survive, what decisions they make (and sometimes regret, and often don’t). It’s the full experience and incredibly well-researched. I learned a lot about the different ways people dealt with the blacklist and (of course) the very different ways men and women had to deal with opportunities, threats, and restrictions.

Along with this spectacular depiction of the times and contexts is a lovely and often surprising story of love, family, parenthood, and friendship. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are multiple lovely stories of people finding love and family in a world not inclined to make it easy for them. Plenty of stories of people living in an environment not of their choosing and not in their control — and yet … finding their happiness.

Lots of intriguing details on Carmel and Hollywood — late credits for blacklisted screenwriters, a form of “me too” throughout the ages, morals clauses (for women only). I enjoyed every minute of it.

Thank you to Harper and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book was published on July 1st, 2025.

Rental House by Weike Wang (Literary Fiction)

Two vacations five years apart. A married couple from (very) different backgrounds invite their parents to join them for vacation number one.. Keru’s Chinese immigrant parents are post-Covid germaphobes with a suffering-suffused view of life, while Nate’s are outwardly friendly xenophobes from rural Appalachia. On vacation number two, nobody is invited … but some interesting people show up anyway. The whole thing is an incredibly perceptive description of what happens when people of multiple (and often conflicting) worldviews come together.

I read this shortly after reading Tamim Ansary’s “The Invention of Yesterday,” a book blaming most of history on the clashing of misunderstood worldviews (he’s not wrong). Rental House looks at this same problem at the personal level — clashing individual worldviews and the resulting problems and miscommunications. Keru’s observations and incisive analysis gets to the root of how we understand (or don’t) each other — what each person values, perceives, prioritizes and feels entitled to — things people often don’t take the time to understand even about themselves.

I found this to be a remarkably non judgmental book. The clashes developed across the board — political affiliations, race, socioeconomic class, choice of profession, and family expectations — but each person had both different opinions and different levels of investment in those opinions. Did the clash cause mild irritation or offend deeply held principles? Did one person try to understand another, or just get upset at how stubborn the other person was? Keru applied her analytic blade to herself just as often, noting when she may have overreacted to perceived slights, as an example. I appreciated the analytic vs emotional drive for understanding. Reading through someone’s pain allows an empathetic connection for the reader, but doesn’t teach anything about understanding why that someone is in pain, or how he or she (or the reader) might prevent similar pain in the future.

I like Wang’s writing style — clear, insightful, wry, and thought provoking. I also appreciate how thoroughly drawn her characters are — I feel I understand these people in ways that would take years in real life.

Just a few quotes — don’t want to give too many away :
“… An exercise that was like, shoving a square peg into a round hole, but with enough force, and with every neuron dedicated to the problem, he could smash the square peg through.”

“and this led to a heated discussion that characterized the early years of their dating – the aggressive comparison of their worldviews, which ultimately led to clarifications in their basic English vocabularies. Expats left wealthy nations to humble themselves at the altar of the world, immigrants escaped poorer nations to be the workforce of the rich. “

“…because suffering is required. To suffer is to strive and to set a bar so high that one never becomes an obstacle a a complacent. to become complacent is to become lazy and to lose one’s spirit to fight, and to lose one’s spirit to fight is to die. So, to suffer is to live. “

“Then his father chirped back a safe retort, next his mother, and Keru wondered if all white families in public acted like a set of affable birds.”

Thank you to Riverhead Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book was published on December 3rd, 2024.

Thus with a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd (Fiction)

Such a witty, clever, rom-com / adventure story / alternative Shakespearean fan fiction … not sure what to call it but it is thoroughly enjoyable. This is the second book starring Rosaline, the eldest daughter of the very much alive (as explained in book one and reiterated here) Romeo and Juliet. She is a very strong female character — much aware of her expected place in society (the focus on her virtue aka virginity is endlessly irritating), but not terribly affected by it. The Montague home is full of love (and the offspring of love — plenty of children) while Romeo is still one of the best swordsmen in Verona. As the story opens, Rosaline has been tricked into a betrothal with a scarred Prince (don’t let the scarring worry you — he’s a good guy) and while at the castle visiting her betrothed with the whole passel of Montagues, she is treated to a visitation from the Ghost of the murdered King who needs to know the identity of his murderer.

Whip-smart dialog, appealing and saucy characters, a twisted plot, and a pretty decent interleaving of romance, whodunit, and thriller style adventure scenes (featuring parapets!). For those Shakespeare purists who wince at the idea of the mauling of the master, I’ll hasten to say that the Shakespearean characters ring true to their initial depiction, with the only shift being their trickery of death.

Well done and plenty of fun. I look forward to future episodes!

Thank you to A John Scognamiglio Book and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on June 24th, 2025.

The Satisfaction Cafe by Kathy Wang (Fiction)

Joan’s whole life — from Taiwan to California, through relationships and motherhood, to a late-life plunge into a unique business — surprises her. In this life story, told in a blunt manner free from the kind of artifice that filters most of the stories we read and hear (dare I say personal branding?), we follow her as she learns what is important, accepts what she needs to, and continues in her search for satisfaction and meaning. I love her voice and the honesty with which she contemplates the life she is leading — it is remarkably free of hand-wringing, self-flagellation, and other neuroses which seem to plague a lot of modern novels (IMHO).

I enjoyed the variety of ways opportunities (the surprises) arose. Some were serendipitous; some were created by Joan herself, through personal will; some were the roads not taken, which gave rise to regret, but also reflection and growth. In many ways, I felt that this book followed a whole life arc, rather than a narrative one. I really liked the concept behind the Satisfaction Cafe — a place where people go to be heard and understood — and I equally enjoyed the full process that took her there. But mostly, I liked it for the reason specified by the last line of the marketing blurb: “Vivid, comic, and intensely moving, The Satisfaction Café is a novel about found family, the joy and loneliness that come with age, and how we can give ourselves permission to seek satisfaction and connection at any stage of life.”

Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 1st, 2025.

The Busybody Book Club by Freya Sampson (Fiction)

A light, funny, and heartwarming story of a small village’s beleaguered community center and the small book club of troubled souls that transforms into an effective investigative group solving a convoluted mystery consisting of a large amount of missing money and a dead body (or two). A cranky old bat that nevertheless is quite relatable (what does that say about me, I wonder?); a gentle, older man, caring for his badly ailing, adored wife; a shy teenager who has the confidence of a peanut; and the chair of the group — a lovely woman just days away from her wedding who suddenly seems to be making a lot of memory related mistakes. Plenty of good book references — both about loving them and the life lessons that can be gleaned from them. A pretty amusing diatribe about the superiority of Miss Marple as compared to Poirot. Overall an uplifting, if somewhat predictable, read for the season.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 7th, 2025.