Category: literary fiction

The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E Smith (Literary Fiction / Audio Book)

A rock star (Greta James) reluctantly takes her recently deceased (and greatly beloved) mother’s place on an Alaskan Cruise — accompanying her father and two other senior couples. On board she meets nerdy author and Jack London fanatic Ben, who recently published a surprise best seller. You might expect a cute love story or even humorous rom-com wit hin a scenic setting, but I was happily surprised to find myself engrossed in a simultaneously moving and humorous story full of evolving insight. I found it beautiful and — I never thought I would say this — it actually put me in the mood to take an Alaskan Cruise.

All aspects of the story had the kind of depth that makes me pay attention — the story a mixture of processing unexpected depths of grief, healing relationships, and evolving self-knowledge including all the messy bits of life — hopes, dreams, doubts, longings, contentment, curiosity, and confusion. I loved the dialog — both the external and the internal kind. I liked all of the individual characters — each of whom played a role — and how badly they adhered to the traditional tropes of fiction. I found the ending (just before the epilog) to be one of the most perfect I have read, and while it did not tie everything off in a happily-ever-after bow, I found it uplifting in a more genuine way. Also, none of the characters was adorably stupid and / or airheady, nor were they mean spirited or down right bad guys. This is the kind of fiction I enjoy — people who feel real to me making their way through the joys and vicissitudes of life.

That Last Carolina Summer by Karen White (Literary Fiction)

Phoebe Manigault is called home to the South Carolina Low Country when her none-too-stable sister says she can’t handle their aging mother on her own. Phoebe has moved as far away as she can (Bend, Oregon) and is none too thrilled to be drawn back to a place that holds quite a few bad memories for her, including the fact that she barely survived being struck by lightning 20 years earlier, and has “enjoyed” strange premonitions ever since. What follows is a story of finding love, dealing with your demons, charting the narrows of dementia, and the Power of Place. And discovering the dark secret that underlies most of the pain of the last decades.

What could have been a simple (and pleasant) piece of women’s fiction quickly reveals itself to be a wonderfully insightful piece of literary fiction. The characters are deeply drawn with realistic confusions, longings, protections and vulnerabilities. They make mistakes, lose their way (and sometimes their cool), and general act like people, but they also push through bad habits, fears, and habitual suspicions and make their way forward — which is critical for me. The story was dramatic without going overboard into melodrama — I was gripped from page one yet never felt manipulated, never cringed from ridiculous coincidences, and could find myself relating to situations that were alien to me. The writing was so good that I even enjoyed the descriptions of the place (which I usually skip over, not being a great visualizer). She brought it to life for me by describing the place through the narrator’s eyes (and other senses and emotions). I should add that while the book dives deep into topics that can be very painful, I found it uplifting overall as intentional resolution led to closure. Lastly, lots of fascinating bits about birds — I’m no twitcher (love the word!), but I loved the bird facts peppered about and the ornithological epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter that often related bird behavior to aspects of people — all spot on.

I’m a big fan of Karen White’s Charleston-based Tradd Street series (and her newer New Orleans-based Royal Street series), but for me this book is in a class of its own.

Thank you to Park Row and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book was published on July 22nd, 2025.

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (speculative fiction)

An Academic, a Hero, and a Wicked, Wicked, Queen who must be overcome — tumbled about via a magical book and a unique and somewhat poetic instantiation of time travel. Nobody can write like Alix E. Harrow and (most of) her characters are compellingly relatable as they come to terms with the barrenness and often hopelessness of their lives when closely examined. There is an insistent love story, which is both sweet and determined in the face of some pretty intense road blocks, and there is a very satisfying conclusion (thank goodness). The characters have real depth, and there is plenty of the reflection that I like. There is also plenty of action (the Hero is a fighter par excellence — demonstrated frequently lest we forget it!) and some nice twisty gender bending as your unconscious biases are challenged by the fact that the Academic is a man and the Hero a very strong and very believable woman. The story was well-paced with twists and explanations doled out to a curious and hungry reader brain.

I’m a long time fan of Harrow and have read (and mostly loved) everything she has written. This book is just as well-written as my favorites but I do have a few issues which make it not one of my favorites. It starts quite slowly — I almost gave up but read a few reviews which insisted that I get to the 35% mark before stopping and they were right — things got much more interesting at that point. My real complaint, however, is how bad the “bad guy” was — no complexity, just complete selfish evil — and how depressing and dystopic lives were across all of time. It’s a familiar and somewhat comforting (assuming a good ending) trope about the High Stakes, good vs evil, outcome, but I didn’t enjoy all the sadness, weariness, and hopelessness that comprised most of the pages. It may be that my tastes and needs are changing, but I prefer to read about people having the agency to improve their own lives, rather than the no-other-option need for rescue from the larger-than-life oppressor. Still — masterfully done by Ms. Harrow, as always.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 28th, 2025.

Writers and Liars by Carol Goodman (Mystery / Thriller)

A completely gripping, classics based, mystery/thriller set in a classic Golden Age of Mysteries setting: a secluded Greek island, a group of invitees with a not-completely-positive history, a missing host, and … the first dead body. From there it’s one surprise after another and the reader is completely immersed in the whodunnit / who can I trust suspicion-laden head of the narrator, Maia. Why is this book so much more appealing (to me) than a typical mystery / thriller? It was engaging on an emotional, psychological, intellectual, and philosophical level — that doesn’t happen too often. As with almost all of Goodman’s books (I believe this is number 21), it was completely steeped in Greek mythology — the stories, the archeological remnants, the world of antiquity trading (and theft), and some compelling new (to me) interpretations of the myths as conveyed in the (almost too) vivid depictions of a physical (and mental) labyrinth. The imagery was captivating, and I don’t usually go for written imagery. The plot was perfectly paced, with a tug of war between confusion and epiphany, and the closure was smooth, clever, and completely satisfying.

I’m pretty sure I have read most, if not all, of Goodman’s 21 novels, but this is the first one I listened to. The reader was very good, though a little over the top (IMHO) with voice snottiness for certain unpleasant characters; however she kept my interest and did get me to slow down from rapid reading pace to take in some of the details I might otherwise have missed.

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

Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer (Literary Fiction)

I can’t say this is a happy or uplifting book, but it is a strong, powerful, complex, and very, very real book about a strong marriage and the intricacies of how it weathers the derailers of life. On page two, Eliot and Claire say goodbye to the oncologist who has treated her breast cancer for nine years. The end is near and there is nothing more that he can do. The book takes us from this point until the end, actually, has been reached. But while I think we all feel as though we’ve read this “story” a million times, I found this version quite different.

This story is told from Eliot’s perspective. After a surprising, and somewhat heartbreaking, last request, we see Eliot’s struggle with isolation, communication, understanding, and retrospective introspection. While it is easy to read and make judgements about what people think, say, and do, I don’t think that is really the point. This is life and a marriage and a family and a circle of friends, and there is no “correct” behavior, no hard and fast guidelines to what is right. But it is all exquisitely detailed — the conflicting thoughts, the desires, the dears, the selfishness and simultaneous generosity. I’m not surprised by the quality of the writing (this book could not have been an easy thing to pull off) because it is Ann Packer — I’m pretty sure I’ve read and loved all of her books. Hard to read such a story without having a heavy heart, but it relates to a part of life that we will all experience in one way or another. The depth of insight was worth the trip.

Thank you to Harper and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on January 13th, 2026.

The Lady on Esplanade by Karen White (Mystery / Ghost story)

The third installment (not necessary to read the first two, but they are good!) of the New Orleans-based Nola Trenholm mystery / romance/ dear-departed-spirits series — itself a spinoff from the similar Charleston-based series starring Melanie Trenholm — Nola’s relatively new stepmother. Nola and best friend Jolene (unrelenting fashionista and all-around force-to-be-reckoned-with) tackle two mysteries centered around the haunting spirits of two old houses under renovation: Nola’s Creole cottage (a lovely money sink of renovation needs) and a new house that will be the first project for the Murder Flip Business Nola is starting with reluctant psychic Beau, with whom she has an undesired (from both sides) strangely strong connection. A few new characters, wickedly tangled stories from the past, and a pretty creepy Madame Alexander doll that manages to appear inopportunely where she isn’t wanted without any external help.

The whole series is entertaining — fun writing, plenty of colorful characters and great banter (both inside people’s own heads and in dialog exchanges). The spirit-augmented mysteries are interesting and always somewhat historical, the action well paced and full of humor, and despite the fact that this is book is number ten for me, none of the stories feel repetitive or in any way dull. They grab my interest on page one and continue through the end. For those who enjoy architectural marvels and renovation stories, plenty of that, too. Not my thing but the descriptions never get in my way.

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 Nov. 4th, 2025.

Absolution by Alice McDermott

Officer wives stationed in Vietnam at the beginning of the War. I expected garden parties, sucking up to the wives of the senior officers, etc, but instead was thrown into the tumultuous era with confusion, secrecy, courage and multiple complex and interwoven ethical issues — all within the expectations and social mores of the time and place. Tricia is a young wife, married to an up and coming lawyer on loan to Navy intelligence; Charlene is a practiced corporate wife who takes charge with abandon and scoops Tricia up in her personal whirlwind. But the whirlwind is focused on “doing good” in the middle of an environment in which any good is extremely hard to find, and the ethical and socio-political questions that triggers are worth the price of admission to me.

I was so impressed by the descriptions of not only the (exotic) setting, but the interactions between wives and their husbands, other wives, native staff, and the local population. Each character was introduced with real depth, not to mention plenty of opinions. Mc Dermott did a great job of articulating the many different views of the war (at the time) through different mouths — all as perceived by Tricia, the young and naive wife who had never been encouraged to have opinions of her own.

The story was told through the unusual format of three long, saga-length letters between Trish and Charlene’s daughter Rainey (who was quite young when they met in Vietnam). The epistolary format was interesting because Tricia is recalling events from decades before, so there is introspection and retrospection layered on top of the memories. It is full of events, regrets, analysis, and the perspective that comes with time — all masterfully done.

To be honest, the start was quite slow, and I probably would have given up if I hadn’t been reading it for a book club. The topics, while intellectually interesting, were relatively depressing — after all, there is nothing about the Vietnam War that could be considered uplifting or even instructive. Still — beautifully written with an attention to the kind of detail that tells an entire (mini) story with just a sentence or two, and a different perspective and insight into a period of history that added much to my understanding.

Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith (Literary Fiction)

Four currently non-communicating siblings (who used to be closer than close), three big secrets, and a sudden trip to North Dakota bring to a head the lives of the four Endicotts: Gemma, Connor, and twins Jude and Roddy — all in their 50s by the time the story takes place. Gemma — the “normal” one, currently fighting IVF battles; Connor — author of a “tell all” book on the family (while claiming it is fiction with “emotional truth” rather than “literal truth”); Jude — a megastar with constant nightmares; and Roddy — an almost has-been soccer star on the verge of marrying his partner, Winston, while trying to make a comeback.

They had a fairly non-traditional childhood — going for long and extremely disorganized annual summer road trips with the mother who left the family when the youngest was eight. With flashbacks to fill in the blanks and the highly itinerized trip to the wilds of North Dakota to propel the action, the story grabs you from multiple angles and just won’t let you go.

I liked the characters a great deal — they each had a principled core, with frank reflection and sincere longing to reconnect. I’d be happy to be their friends (my ultimate positive assessment!). While there was plenty of drama — as there is in every life — it was (to me) more of a “real” drama, rather than a manufactured and overly manipulative one. The pacing was excellent, and I found the story heartwarming — not because good things necessarily happened, but because of the honest understanding and connection that occurred.

Heart the Lover by Lily King (Literary Fiction)

Lily King is a beautiful writer with clear, succinct, and poetic prose that puts you squarely in the head of the narrator. Starting in college where she meets two brilliant men in her 17th-century Lit class (Sam and Yash) and continuing through relationships and family to a surprising ending, our narrator’s perceptions, reactions, feelings, and actions (or inactions) are bluntly on display as friendships, love, passion, loss, and eventual reckoning twirl around in the procession that becomes a lived life.

I can’t quite put my finger on why I like her writing so much — it isn’t overly emotional, and yet it feels so real. Even while telling us what is in our narrator’s mind (I’m not sure we ever get her real name, though the guys nickname her Jordan), it feels like she herself is not really sure of what is happening, or even what she wants to have happen. I guess I like that she captures the (constant) confusion of real living in a way that most authors don’t. She also thinks about and discusses things that I find interesting — philosophical musings, literary analyses, human moral behavior, even some speculative fiction style ruminations. The story was poignant, beautiful, essential, sad, and unpredictable.

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

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Literary Fiction)

This book is so beautiful, so elegant, and so full of depth I’m finding it almost impossible to write a meaningful review. Sybil Van Antwerp — a woman in her 70s — has lived a full life as a distinguished lawyer, wife, mother, and friend but over the five years of this epistolary novel, she has cause to reflect on her choices, her options, and her very real regrets. Through letters to (and from) friends, relatives, neighbors, stubborn academic deans, a precocious (and somewhat troubled) child of a colleague, a disgruntled (with reason) person from her past, and yes, the tech support person who helps her with the DNA test kit gifted her by her son — we are able to know Sybil with a depth difficult to reach even with those we are closest to.

Sybil (and Evans obviously) turns letter writing into an art form — these letters were simultaneously beautiful to read (clear, to the point, brimming with essentialness) and a piece of a puzzle as the archivist in me sought to piece it all together. I found myself in a constant state of intellectually stimulation while simultaneously moved to wonder or tears. I loved her letters to authors — Joan Didion, Larry McMurtry, and Ann Patchett to name a few — and their letters in return (I’m quite curious about how the author did that). I loved her taste in books as depicted by the exchanges with her sister-in-law — Ishiguro, Verghese, Patchett, Sue Miller, Stegner — so many of my favorites.

The writing, pacing, closure — all incredibly well-done. I wish I could remember how I even found this book — it wasn’t through my regular channels. For me, this was one of my top reads — I’m having trouble thinking of a book I liked more.