Talk about twists and turns—The Writer is a wild ride from page one. It checked all my boxes: tense, gripping, fast-paced, and flat-out fun for anyone who loves thrillers. The plot is a maze. Just when you think you’ve cracked it—boom—another twist hits. Patterson’s name is everywhere, and let’s be honest—some are hits, some are misses. But teaming up with J.D. Barker? Total win. The story opens with a bloody crime scene, a true-crime author covered in blood, and one big question: did she do it? NYPD Detective Declan Shaw thinks it’s an open-and-shut case. The deeper he digs, the murkier it gets. The pacing is classic Patterson—short chapters, punchy […]
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Wish You Were Here Starts Strong, Then Takes a Hard Left
Jodi Picoult is a smart writer, no doubt about it. Wish You Were Here starts off strong, with Diana O’Toole heading to the Galápagos solo when her surgeon boyfriend Finn stays behind in New York to deal with COVID. Stranded on Isabela Island with no luggage, no Wi-Fi, and no plan, she finds shelter with a local woman and bonds with a troubled teen named Beatriz and her (very available) dad. Diana begins to rethink her carefully plotted future. The first half is beautifully written, full of rich detail and emotional weight. The island setting pops, and the early pandemic backdrop is all too real. Picoult’s research shows—whether she’s describing […]
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Say Yes to This Book: A Sweet Road Trip You’ll Be Glad You Took
Okay, so I rarely fall into the chick-lit camp. But The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh got me good. It’s quirky, heartfelt, and just the kind of book you want to read with your feet up and something fruity in hand. Kelsey Worthington is a junior editor who’s all about routines and playing it safe—until she gets smacked by a car and ends up in the hospital. That’s where she meets Georgina Tate, a powerhouse businesswoman with a terminal illness and more regrets than she’ll admit. Kelsey, fresh off her brush with death, pitches a wild idea: say “yes” to life. Georgina rolls her eyes… then goes along for […]
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A Captivating Time-Travel Tale of Love, Sacrifice, and Destiny
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 stars) Book Three in the Timeless series Two sisters. Two timelines. One impossible choice. I liked this book so much, I actually hit pause and went back to read books one and two. (Totally worth it.) Gabrielle Meyer’s For a Lifetime is the third in her Timeless series, and it’s a wild ride through two very different eras—1692 Salem and 1912 New York City. This one follows twin sisters, Grace and Hope, who time-cross between those two worlds. On their twenty-fifth birthday, they’re faced with a gut-wrenching decision: stay in one timeline forever and leave the other behind. No take-backs. The Salem timeline is intense. Like, witch trial […]
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A Sweeping Equestrian Journey
“You have to know that bigots are unwittingly handing you an edge. By thinking you’re lesser than they are, they underestimate you. Lean on that. Learn to use it, and you’ll get the upper hand.” —Geraldine Brooks, Horse. I’ve been a fan of Pulitzer Prize-winner Geraldine Brooks since reading her first novel, Year of Wonders. She once proves once again why she’s a household name with her novel Horse. Based on a true story, this journey weaves through centuries, tying together the lives of people separated by generations but connected by the legacy of a record-breaking thoroughbred named Lexington. You’ll meet Jarret in the 1850s, bound by the chains of […]
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