Posts

In Swordheart (2025), T. Kingfisher takes readers on a cozy romp through a somewhat medieval land scattered with random vestiges of its magical past. Our middle-aged heroine, Halla, has recently inherited an estate and is struggling to fend off nasty relatives who are intent on marrying her for her wealth.

In Mo Rocca and Jonathan Greenberg’s latest collective biography (after Mobituaries, 2019), Rocca turns his gaze to people (and animals) who accomplished great things after they reached a certain age.

We Would Never (2025) by Tova Mirvis is a dark family drama inspired by an infamous 2014 murder in Tallahassee, Florida involving feuding ex-spouses and toxic family members. In the fictionalized story, Hailey and Jonah Gelman are going through a bitter divorce and fighting constantly over custody of their daughter.

This gothic horror, fairy-tale coming of age story is one of my favorite reads of 2025!  The Lamb (2025) by Lucy Rose is a wonderfully written easy read but not easy to digest.  I rooted for the main character, Little One, telling us her story of living in a cottage in the woods with her mother: a story of neglect, cannibalism, Sapphic love and growing up trying to find love in

Thomas Walsh is used to picking up the occasional odd job. When he accepts a job interpreting for an heiress who is mute by choice and uses sign language to communicate, he thinks it'll be an easy one: he has the experience growing up with a Deaf mother, after all. Sure, Vivienne's father keeps her on a short leash, won't let her out past sunset, and also kind of wants Thomas to follow her wherever she goes, but Thomas doesn't care about the weird family dynamics. He's just there for the money.

In this charming debut, 77-year-old Jenny Quinn does something out of character. Without telling her beloved husband of almost 60 years, she applies to be a contestant on Britain Bakes (think Great British Bake Off). This heartwarming story features multigenerational friendships, delightful characters, and delicious recipes. As Jenny embarks on this new adventure, memories of a long-ago tragic event resurface.

William by Mason Coile is a delightfully short and menacing techno-thriller taking readers through a single day in the life of a brilliant engineer, Henry, and his AI creation, William. Presenting William to guests for the first time goes terribly wrong. 

Meghna and Rani haven't spoken in years, not since Meghna's Bangladeshi family's reputation went unfairly under, causing other in the Irish Bangladeshi community to isolate Meghna's family. When Meghna discovers at a science competition that her secret boyfriend, Zak, is cheating on her with her ex-BFF-now-rival Rani, she feels a mix of emotions. The two girls decide to team up to get revenge on Zak for cheating on them by developing an app for the European Young Scientist Exhibition, Catch A Two-Timer (or, CAT).

Irish poet Seán Hewitt debuts as a novelist with this slim, bittersweet ode to teenage sexual awakening and coming of age. James, recently divorced, attends an open house in the small country town of his childhood. Readers are then swept up in memories of his sixteenth year there, his experiences of coming out in a small rural community and how his life changes when a charismatic boy moves into the neighboring farm.  

Eowyn Ivey’s Black Woods, Blue Sky is a wonderfully written story, a fairy-folk tale of sorts, of a mother and daughter in the Alaskan wilderness.  Emaleen, a chatty five year old girl, gets lost in the Alaskan forest and is reunited with her mother, Birdie, when she is rescued by Arthur, a quiet loner who rarely ventures into town.

The narrator of Lottie Hazell's debut novel, Piglet, is living a charmed life in London, with all her romantic, professional, and financial desires and aspirations rapidly being fulfilled.