5.3.2026 - Payback

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing | Thomas & Mercer, and Brilliance Publishing for gifting me a physical, digital and audio ARC of the sophomore book by Elizabeth Rose Quinn, author of Follow Me.  The audiobook is narrated by Mozhan Navabi, who does a fabulous job with all of the different voices.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Pay to Stay is LA's premier minimum-security facility where the privileged can serve time just on the weekends, letting them live normal lives during the week.  But this weekend just days after Christmas, the inmates discover their abusive guard dead.  Now they must solve his murder before ending up in maximum security or worse, because someone in this block is a murderer and everyone is a suspect.

I love a locked-room mystery and this one kept me on my toes throughout.  All of the inmates are women except for one male prisoner, and each has a voice and a story.  You'll find yourself rooting for people you might not otherwise do.  It's entertaining from the beginning - and there's even a support iguana named Nacho!  It's also part social commentary of the state of our penal system - be sure to read the author's note.  

5.3.2026 - Good Joy Bad Joy

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the sophomore book by Mikki Brammer, author of The Collected Regrets of Clover, which I also loved.  The audiobook was perfectly narrated by the duo of Kimberly M. Wetherell and Maggi-Meg Reed, who brought Joy and Hazel to life.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Joy and Hazel have been best friends for their whole life.  At age 89, Joy was always the one who played it safe, while Hazel lived a more adventurous life.  But when Hazel reveals that she has cancer, Joy’s world is turned upside down.  Determined to make the most of the time they have left, Joy steps out of her comfort zone and veers into Bad Joy.

I’ve been on a streak of books featuring older women main characters, and I love this trend.  This book was sweet and funny yet brought up serious topics about how best to live your life, and what type of legacy and relationship you want to pass down, as well as pausing on rushing to judgments of others.  My only quibble with this book was that Joy’s walk on the wild side certainly ventured into very questionable behaviors.  But it’s a book that will make you think about your life and relationships.

5.2.2026 - Caller Unknown

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins | William Morrow for gifting me the latest thriller from Gillian McAllister, always a favorite.  This book was picked as this month's Read With Jenna selection.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Simone and her daughter, Lucy, have always been close.  Lucy has been spending time at an acting camp in TX before starting university, so Simone travels from the UK to visit.  They plan on going camping and just spending time together.  But when Simone wakes up on their first morning there, Lucy is gone from their rental cabin.  In her place is a cell phone and a voice issuing a ransom demand - don't tell the police, come to this location, be prepared to do a deal.  Simone will do anything to save her child.

This story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire read, even when things may have veered into improbable territory - I was still all in.   Simone and her husband disagreed about how they should proceed with the kidnappers, bringing even more tension into the situation, and prompting reflection on the differences between parenting styles of mothers and fathers.  The cat-and-mouse hunt for the kidnapper while trying to stay away from law enforcement is gripping, made more so by chapters from the kidnapper's point of view.  Besides being a thrill ride, this is a good reflection on motherhood.  You won't be able to not put yourself in Simone's position, and there are lots of moral and ethical issues here to ponder.

5.2.2026 - Enormous Wings

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest novel by a favorite, Laurie Frankel, with the audiobook wonderfully narrated by Becky Ann Baker.  All opinions in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Pepper Mills is 77, and after a car accident, her children moved her into the Vista View Retirement Community of Austin, TX.  She wasn't thrilled, but eventually she makes wonderful new friends and even falls in love.  Then she starts feeling unwell and learns that she is pregnant.  Pepper has some big decisions to make, and the world is watching.

I’m a huge fan of anything that Laurie Frankel writes.  I appreciate how she takes a relevant issue and makes you think about all the different sides.  While this premise is pretty wild, Frankel gives a reasonable-ish way that it could have occured so that it never felt completely out of the realm of possibility.  Frankel writes characters that feel so relatable and multidimensional.  I listened to the audiobook and loved the narration but also found myself then laughing out loud many times while wearing earbuds – the humor is just spot on.  Pepper was such a fantastic character – trying to live her best life, going along with her children’s wishes within reason, and still living life on her terms.  While it centers around the theme of women’s rights, the exploration of relationships as we age, from partners to friends to children and grandchildren was wonderful.  Highly recommended!

5.1.2026 - Liar's Dice

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House | Thousand Voices for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Juliet Faithfull.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Identical twins Dolores and Mita grow up in rural Brazil in the turbulent 1970s, . But at age seven, they discover that Mita has a degenerative condition eventually becoming debilitating.  Without telling Dolores, their parents send Mita to a hospital in their father’s native London.  The rest of the family moves to Rio, but Dolores is miserable without her twin, and her parents seem to have forgotten her.  Dolores can't even contact Mita because she doesn't know how to read or write.  Then she meets a new friend at school who opens doors for her.

This is a beautiful debut, a very haunting and heartbreaking coming-of-age story.  It's a tale of quiet strength, as Dolores overcomes her lack of education in order to be able to write a letter to her sister, and the wonderful teacher who made that happen, eventually using that talent to make money.  The story also shows the rise of the dictatorship in Brazil, marked by oppression, police torture, and the early sexualization of young girls, all portrayed through Dolores' eyes.  It contains a powerful theme of family secrets, and all the guilt and shame those secrets can invoke.  This one will stay with you.

5.1.2026 - Don't Wait to Light the Candles

 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Park Row, and Harlequin Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of this beautiful collection of poems by Allie Michelle, narrated by the author.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

I'm not always one to pick up a poetry collection, but I've now added Allie Michelle to my list of those poets that I will gladly read anything they write.  This is a slow, soft collection of poems that give a much-needed reminder in this fast-paced world to appreciate all the people, opportunities, and joys that surround us.  So many of them touched me personally, that I am going to order a physical copy of this book to keep on my shelf along with my other favorite poetry collections.  The author did a wonderful job bringing life to her words on the audiobook.  Highly recommended!

4.29.2026 - Ghost Town

 

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster | Scribner for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest novel by Tom Perrotta.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4 stars!

Narrated by a much-older Jimmy, we basically meet Jimmy growing up in 1970s suburban NJ.  After tragedy strikes his family, he finds himself drifting into troubling friendships, searching for answers in an Ouija board, and confronting racism at its worst.  As an adult, Jimmy is invited back to his hometown and is finally able to face his past.

This was a short book with some punch, but not the usual humor that inhabits most of Perrotta's books.  I would have been Jimmy's age in the 1970s and it was a nostalgic look at that era.  It's definitely a coming-of-age book from the male point of view, which I haven't read much about.  The small-town feeling and whiteness/racism felt very on point for that time period.  A look into how the past changes us and our future.