8.6.2026 - The Vampire's Cult

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for gifting me a digital ARC of this true crime story by Chet Hardin.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

After a Tinder date, 24-year-old Sydney Loofe disappeared without a trace from Wilber, Nebraska.  Days later, her dismembered body was found scattered across nearby fields.  This is the story of the perpetrators of that horrendous crime and how they lured vulnerable young women into their world, with deadly consequences.

I had not heard of any part of this story before, but it's a wild one.  I felt the investigation, reporting and writing of this book were all very well done.  It does focus almost solely on Aubrey Trail, an aging con man, that somehow convinced women that he was all-knowing and all-being, the head of a coven of witches; and Bailey Boswell, the woman who worked by his side.  It's truly amazing how horrible people like this are able to convince others to go along with what they did, that people are willing to override common sense, especially when this was not a charming, charismatic man as so many cult leaders are but the polar opposite who showed no signs of his apparent wealth.  A sad story indeed and definitely yet another cautionary tale to social media!

8.6.2026 - Homewrecker

Many thanks to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by Becky Mandelbaum - my pick for Camp NetGalley and it was a great choice!  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

When your ex-boyfriend offers to pay you to move in with him and his fiancée, you should definitely say no. Piper says yes.  She picks up her sad life in Kansas and moves to Washington to help his fiancée illustrate her book, putting her own book dreams in the past, along with the rest of her troubles.  But will it all come crashing down?  

I’m sometimes annoyed with characters that cheat on their partners and then wonder why their lives are a mess.  But I absolutely loved this book!  It was written in a light tone, with supernatural elements and deeper themes of grief, loss, and betrayal.  This book pulled me in, and I was so invested in Piper’s story that I couldn’t put it down until I knew the ending.  Which of course I loved.  I’m trying to gush without saying too much to ruin the experience for anyone else.  Just read this book!

8.6.2026 - Sunlight Finds You

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Riverhead Books for gifting me a digital ARC of this wonderful book by Laura Moriarty, this month's Read With Jenna Book Club pick.  All opinions expressed in this book are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

It's 1949 in Florida, when 17-year-old Nora meets Leonard, shy and brilliant, at school.  One incident causes his parents to force Nora to not see Leonard, setting off a chain of secrets and lies that will follow them into adulthood.  

What a beautifully written story set in a time period where women really had so few options on so many fronts.  It was both heartbreaking and beautiful to watch the power of first love between Nora and Leonard, as well as follow them through the years.  It's a story of loss, class differences, and how decisions cause ripple effects throughout our lives, but it's also a story of long-lasting love, forgiveness, and second chances.  The characters felt so real, their journey so emotional, that I didn't want this book to end.  Highly recommended!

8.5.2026 - One of the Family

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Mark Edwards.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

It's the first time that Patrick will meet Holly's family as they head to her family home in Scotland.  Patrick is a true crime documentary filmmaker and becomes intrigued by the case of a man found frozen to death the previous year.  But there's plenty of intrigue going around in the family, as the patriarch brings home a new woman who just happens to look like his deceased first wife, as well as everyone acting very strange indeed.

Mark Edwards always gives his readers a twisty thriller full of secrets and lies.  I liked the remote, small town setting with the family castle on a cliff.  Small towns always have hidden secrets and knowledge that outsiders just aren't privy to.  I always like a dysfunctional family story and this one kept me guessing until the end.

8.4.2026 - The Nightingales

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Avid Reader Press for gifting me a digital ARC of this debut graphic novel by Emil Wilson.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

A gorgeously rendered story of the friendship between a man dying of AIDS in the 1980s and a teenage girl, based on real events.  The beautiful illustrations and unique graphic concept allowed the reader to be transported back to this fraught time period to see the impact that this disease had on just one family, yet also see the far-reaching ripple effects it had on the characters.  Some of my favorite spots were the mother talking to the Virgin Mary, and the dogs brought some comic relief into a heartbreaking yet hopeful story.  Stunning debut.

8.4.2026 - The Amateur

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by a favorite, Chris Bohjalian.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

One moment is all it takes to ruin lives.  In 1978, a young woman golf prodigy, accidentally kills a caddy with a stray ball at the country club.  The investigation of this freak accident reveals a dark and shocking tale of secret affairs, predatory men, and a teenager on trial.

I’m a big fan of Chris Bohjalian, and this one ranks as one of his best in my mind.  I was mesmerized by not only the story but the way it was told.  He was able to inhabit the soul of both a young woman and an older one looking back on the experience and writing it as a memoir.  Our attitudes in the 1970s versus today were made so powerful in this manner.   The story is just so emotional, suspenseful, and gripping that I couldn’t stop reading and you'll feel for these characters.  Long-time readers will also find Easter eggs geared toward his own books and biography.  Bravo! 

8.3.2026 - Breathing Under Water

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this wonderful book by Jacqueline Friedland with Cassandra Campbell and Annalee Scott narrating the audiobook.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

We follow two women - Berry, a school vice principal, and mother to an older son as well as 16-year-old autistic Leo.  McKenna is a college student on scholarship for swimming, with a tough past, who is trying to care for her beloved grandmother with dementia.  These women's paths converge in an unexpected way.

The story opens with Leo missing, then takes us back to alternate POV between Berry and McKenna, each voice so compelling.  McKenna's story is heartbreaking, having lost her mother early, and now dealing with the world on her shoulders.  She's trying so hard but also has a breaking point.  Berry has worked so hard to give Leo all he needs, but she knows he needs more social skills to survive in the real world.  Watching both these women face real struggles while trying to keep all the other balls in their life in the air is both difficult and encouraging.  Leo is the star, of course, and has the biggest heart.  I loved every minute spent with these characters and was sad it was over, and would highly recommend it to everyone.  It would make a great book club pick with so many themes to discuss.  The audiobook was fabulous and I ended up listening to it most of the time.  Reading this treasure is why I so appreciate NetGalley and the publishers who offer these ARCs - this is a new to me author and I'm now desperate to go and read her backlist.