title: Love, Naturally author: Sophie Sullivan publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: January 16, 2024 pages: 320 peppers: 2 (on this scale) warnings: none summary: Trying to convince her boyfriend that she can do the activities he likes, Presley buys a surprise vacation for two to an island nature retreat. When he doesn’t want to go…
“Why”…Wednesdays
NetGalley Review of Right on Cue
title: Right on Cue author: Falon Ballard publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons publication date: February 27, 2024 pages: 336 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: binge drinking, dead parent summary: Screenwriter Emmy’s production team can’t find a good female lead for her new rom com, so they rope her into playing the part, which would have been fine if the…
250. Why Sprints
In case you need inspiration, you could read the article linked to the photo above. For those of you who didn’t notice that the title of this post has two S’s in it, I want to clarify that I’m not advocating a method of running really fast from one place to another. Instead, I’m explaining…
NetGalley Review of Second Duke’s the Charm
title: Second Duke’s the Charm author: Kate Bateman publisher: St. Martin’s Paperback publication date: December 26, 2023 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: on-page death, mean people, someone gets drugged to fall asleep, drunkenness, lechery summary: Tess’s greedy father forced her, at nineteen-years-old, to marry an elderly duke, who died on their wedding night. It…
249. Why Pick the Second Best Time
I’ve heard that Olympic athletes who win silver medals are generally the least happy of everyone who makes it to the games. People who win gold: I’m the best in the world. People who win bronze: I got a medal! All of the other people: I made it to the Olympics! People who win silver…
NetGalley Review of Love, Just In
title: Love, Just In author: Natalie Murray publisher: Allen & Unwin publication date: January 3, 2024 pages: ? (It’s not out in paperback yet. My phone said 308, but that doesn’t always seem accurate.) peppers: (on this scale) 219. Why NetGalley warnings: car accidents with fatalities drunk drivers a house fire with fatalities vomit cancer and…
NetGalley Review of Till There Was You
title: Till There Was You author: Lindsay Hameroff publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin publication date: February 20, 2024 pages: 320 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: dead parent (before the book), cut fingers/blood, burns summary: New Yorker Lexi doesn’t have time for dating while she’s in culinary school pursuing her lifelong dream of becoming a chef, but when…
248. Why Yellowface
For many years, I taught a Senior English elective on writers who write about writers. In the class, among other novels, we studied John Irving’s The World According to Garp, Susan Orlean’s The Orchid Thief, Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale. I (and I think the students, too) found the stories authors create about authors fascinating. For the past…
NetGalley Review of Love You, Mean It
title: Love You, Mean It author: Jilly Gagnon publisher: Dell publication date: April 30, 2024 pages: 304 peppers: 3 (on this scale) warnings: dead sibling from violent accident summary: Ellie, who runs her family’s deli, is upset to learn that a rich boy she knew in high school is working to bring a giant Italian food emporium…
247. Why Now is Not the Time to Panic
I thoroughly enjoy and then immediately forget many of the books I read. I don’t mean to condemn the authors of those books because I know that writing a book someone can love reading is a huge accomplishment. Sometimes, however, I read books that are so thought-provoking that they stay with me. Kevin Wilson’s novel…