WOW!!! This book is extraordinary. Fredrik Backman never misses. My Friends is a funny, heartbreaking, and deeply human story about friendship, art, grief, and the ties that refuse to let go. From the first page, I was swept into Louisa’s world—a young artist haunted by a mysterious painting and the summer that changed everything. Backman’s gift has always been his ability to make readers laugh one minute and ugly cry the next, and this novel is no exception. The four friends—Louisa, Joar, Ted, and Ali—feel so real it’s like you grew up with them. They fight, forgive, and carry one another through tragedy in ways that are both messy and […]
Read more...Tag Archives: adult fiction
Sherlock Holmes Heads North in a Clever Farewell to Minnesota’s Favorite Sleuth
I hadn’t heard of Larry Millett’s Shadwell Rafferty series before this book—which is funny, considering I live in Minnesota. Rafferty’s Last Case: A Minnesota Mystery Featuring Sherlock Holmes is the ninth and final installment, and it’s a smart, nostalgic sendoff to a beloved local detective. The story kicks off with a shocker: St. Paul saloonkeeper and sleuth Shadwell Rafferty is found murdered just as he’s about to reveal a killer’s name. When word reaches Sherlock Holmes—who happens to be on a lecture tour in Chicago—he and Dr. Watson head north to investigate their friend’s death. Set in 1928, the novel captures the grit and glamour of old St. Paul, from its smoky speakeasies to […]
Read more...
A Killer Wedding Gets Lost in Its Own Drama
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Joan O’Leary’s A Killer Wedding serves up luxury, lies, and lethal secrets at an Irish castle where the elite gather for the society wedding of the year. Christine Russo, a reporter for Bespoke Weddings, thinks she’s landed the assignment of a lifetime covering the nuptials of the Ripton dynasty—until the family matriarch, Gloria Beaufort, turns up dead before the ceremony. Instead of calling the police, the Riptons make the mind-boggling choice to hide her death and let the wedding proceed. It’s a juicy premise, dripping with privilege and dysfunction, and O’Leary’s sharp humor pokes fun at influencer culture and the absurdity of the ultra-rich. But the book gets bogged down by too […]
Read more...
In The Unraveling of Julia Logic Takes a Holiday
⭐️⭐️ (2 stars) I usually enjoy Lisa Scottoline’s work, but The Unraveling of Julia just wasn’t for me. Gothic literature and astrology aren’t my cup of tea, and this novel dives headfirst into both. The story follows Julia Pritzker, a grieving widow who inherits a mysterious Tuscan villa from a stranger. Once she arrives in Italy, strange things start happening—ghostly visions, eerie coincidences, and a possible family link to a Renaissance duchess obsessed with astrology. It sounds intriguing on paper, but the story quickly spirals into something so far-fetched I had trouble suspending disbelief. Scottoline does a lovely job painting the Tuscan landscape—you can almost feel the sun on the vineyards and […]
Read more...
Rumrunners, Code Breakers, and One Wild Chase Down the Florida Coast
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Erika Robuck’s The Last Twelve Miles is a thrilling Prohibition-era showdown between two real women—one a 5’2” code-breaking genius, Elizebeth Smith Friedman, cracking smuggler codes for the U.S. Coast Guard; the other, Marie Waite, a fierce and calculating rumrunner determined to rule the high seas. Both are brilliant, fearless, and driven—just on opposite sides of the law. Robuck captures the grit and glamour of the 1920s beautifully, from smoky D.C. offices to the perilous waters off Florida and Cuba. The alternating perspectives pull readers into the minds of two masterminds—Elizebeth’s quiet intellect and Marie’s ruthless ambition. The tension builds as their paths tighten into a deadly cat-and-mouse chase that feels cinematic […]
Read more...
A Stellar Fifth Entry in Meyer’s Timeless World
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gabrielle Meyer does it again. In Every Hour Until Then, the setup crackles, the stakes sting, and the clock never stops. In Every Hour Until Then, Kathryn Voland lives two lives—Victorian London in 1888 and pre–World War II Washington, D.C. in 1938. Gifted with the ability to time-cross, she’s torn between eras and destinies. In 1938, Kathryn is invited to London to curate a groundbreaking museum exhibit on Jack the Ripper. But as she digs into the Ripper’s reign of terror, she makes a chilling discovery—her own sister is destined to become his final victim decades earlier. Determined to rewrite fate, Kathryn crosses back to 1888 and joins forces […]
Read more...
A Spirited Girl with True Grit of Her Own
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sandra Dallas once again brings the Old West to life in Tough Luck, a rollicking adventure filled with humor, grit, and heart. The story follows fourteen-year-old Haidie Richards, who escapes a dreary Illinois orphanage with her little brother, Boots, to search for their gold-mining father in Colorado. Disguised as a boy, Haidie joins a wagon train and sets off across dangerous territory, armed with more nerve than experience. Along the trail, she meets a colorful cast of characters—a kind freighter, a gambler with a soft spot, two feisty spinster sisters, and one loyal dog who might just steal the show. As Haidie learns to handle mules, men, and misfortune, […]
Read more...
From POW Camps to Code Rooms: Hold Strong Reveals the Brutal Truth of War
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What an unforgettable book! Hold Strong is one of those rare novels that grips your heart from page one and doesn’t let go. Based on true events, it’s both a sweeping love story and a harrowing survival tale set against the darkest days of World War II. Sam Carlson, a small-town Minnesota projectionist turned soldier, endures the unimaginable—from the Bataan Death March to the horrors of Japanese POW camps. Meanwhile, his sweetheart Sarah Haber uses her brilliant math skills to become a wartime codebreaker in Washington, D.C. Their paths are worlds apart, yet fate ties them together in one of the most shocking and tragic episodes of the war. The authors […]
Read more...
Love, Betrayal, and Blades: Drama on Ice in The Favorites
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Layne Fargo trades serial killers for sequins in The Favorites, a deliciously over-the-top drama set in the ruthless world of Olympic ice dancing. The story follows Kat Shaw and her skating partner—and sometimes lover, sometimes rival—Heath Rocha, as they chase gold medals and break each other’s hearts over nearly fifteen years on the ice. Told through Kat’s perspective and juicy “documentary-style” interviews, the novel mixes athletic ambition with soap-opera scandal: rival twins, forbidden love, betrayals, paparazzi meltdowns, and a shocking showdown at the 2014 Sochi Games. It’s fast, dramatic, and loaded with all the spectacle you’d expect from a backstage sports saga. Yes, the melodrama gets a little repetitive, and […]
Read more...
Finding Grace: The Haunting Echo of Choices Made
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (3.5 stars) Loretta Rothschild’s debut, Finding Grace, starts with a shocking twist that pulled me right in. Honor Wharton, her husband Tom, and their daughter Chloe are living an enviable life until tragedy strikes. Tom, left shattered, makes a decision that changes everything, connecting his future with Grace Stone, a widow who bears an uncanny resemblance to his late wife. Narrated by Honor from a limbo state, the story tackles themes of motherhood, grief, and the haunting pull of secrets. The premise is powerful, but the pacing lags after the strong opening, and the romantic angle between Tom and Grace felt unsettling rather than moving. Honestly, I couldn’t stand […]
Read more...