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I really enjoyed listening to the newest book by Sally Hepworth, The Soulmate (2023), because it had many elements of a great audiobook.

Grave Mercy is full of action, adventure and secrecy. The main character Ismae escapes an arranged marriage to become a trained assassin, a handmaiden to Death. She is trained by nuns at the St. Mortain convent under the guise of being a nun herself. In this new life Ismae finds freedom, traveling the world and learning new skills to become independent.

Ocean’s Echo (2022), a sci-fi/romance by Everina Maxwell, puts a military sci-fi spin on the classic fake dating trope. In this novel, scientific experiments have created Readers, who can read other people’s minds, and Architects, who can influence thoughts.

Everyone knows Michael Jordan, the “Be Like Mike” ad, and his Air Jordan shoes. But how many know the story of how the latter came into existence? Based on a true story and set in 1984, Air (2023, rated R) goes behind the scenes at a struggling Nike to show how salesman Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) courted the Jordan family and how the deal revolutionized brand-athlete partnerships.

I've now read the book and also listened to the audio book of I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. I scarcely had a break between my reading of, and listening to, this novel. When it became available, I seized the day, as it had been on hold for some time and, I knew, would probably go back on hold again.

“Where She Went” is the sequel to “If I Stay.” “Where She Went” is told from the P.O.V. of Adam Wilde, the boyfriend to Mia Hall in “If I Stay.” After the tragic death of Mia’s parents and younger brother in a car crash that left Mia in a coma. The relationship between Adam and Mia was never the same. In this book we learn more about Adam and his life after the accident. We get an insight to how much he loved Mia and how he also grieved for Mia’s family. I really enjoyed this book because it felt like closure to the first book.

Flipped is a really cute romance book with a strong female protagonist named Juli. In the book Juli talks about her funny and loving family, her dreams and the boy next door her age, Bryce, that she quickly develops a very big crush on when he moves in.

Dr. Henry Marsh, in his book And Finally (2023), addresses issues of life and death as he faces the end of his life due to prostate cancer.  Dr.

The Drift (2023) by C.J. Tudor is an engaging multiple perspectives thriller, following 3 different groups of survivors in a compelling apocalyptic race to save their own lives in 3 deadly situations that may have something in common. The Drift is fast-paced, plot-driven and may be of interest to readers okay with violence, plague, and apocalyptic themes. 

Fans of "queen of the beach read" author Elin Hilderbrand or historical fiction lovers in general will want to read Daughters of Nantucket (2023) by Julie Gerstenblatt, set during the Great Fire of 1846.  Much like Chicago during the time o

What if Alice had never fallen down the rabbit hole? What if the Pevensies had not gone through the wardrobe, or if September had told the Green Wind, "No, I'd much rather keep doing the dishes than visit Fairyland."?

Kaitlyn Greenidge's Libertie (2021) might be called a coming of age novel, given the fact that the book explores the issues and challenges of establishing and sustaining identity against all odds.