Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall

 

Set in the bucolic farms of rural England, the story of Beth, her lovely husband Frank, and their small family seem like the cast of a fairy tale. But despite their happiness, the peace is breached first by a gunshot, and then by the re-appearance of Beth’s first love.

As a romantic, I can’t decide who I should root for, the man who was forced to leave Beth, or the one who was always on her side, despite the circumstances. The setting is the perfect background for this heartbreaking story, and I promise, it will not just be the country that is broken, but your own heart, too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this lovely ARC. It was published March 4, 2025, and should not be missed!

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quin

Elinor is the beloved daughter of the highly successful King of the Cotton Mills in England, and she often spends her days with classic Austen novels, or helping her father with his business. Then she meets an Earl who sweeps her off her feet, and quickly marries her. Only after the wedding does she realize that the life of an aristocrat includes none of the things that are important to her.

Then her father surprises her and her new husband and their son with tickets for the maiden voyage of the Titanic!  Another fairy tale for Elinor, but this one ends with heartache. How she and her young son survive not only the icy waters, but their arrival in New York with nothing, and how she decides not even to keep their names is a wonderful story of survival and the things that made New York in the early 1900s wonderful. I won’t spoil the book for you, but there is ample history and plot to keep even the most critical reader engaged! 

The Lost Passenger will be released on February 25, 2025. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the review copy.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

            Katherine Center never disappoints her readers. We know to expect interesting characters, a plot that isn’t simple, humor and kindness. The Love Haters is no exception.

 

Katie is a creative journalist specializing in videography, whose job is threatened by a downsizing organization and AI. Hutch is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who’s made headlines for a daring rescue of a celebrity dog. He also happens to be just the right amount of gorgeous, and private.

Katie has one chance to save her career, by getting Hutch to agree to an extensive video interview. The story of how the two negotiate the assignment, which includes a duplicitous brother, a charming Aunt and her crew, and the true star of the story, George Bailey, a rescued Great Dane.

Another delightful, hopeful story by Katherine Center. Not to be missed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin’s Publishing Group for the advance copy. The Love Haters will be released May 20, 2025.

 

 

 

Show Don’t Tell by Curtis Sittenfeld.

 

I admit that when I began this book, I didn’t realize it was a collection of short stories, While I’m a fan of Sittenfeld’s writing, I struggled with the stories, The center mostly around the romantic relationships of the respective narrators, as well as the financial and professional lives they choose. The writing is lovely, and my sense is that any one of these stories would make a good novel, but often I felt like I’d been left hanging, and that’s not how I like to read. Of the collection, I found Lost But Not Forgotten to be the most satisfying, but that’s probably because I got to see more of the character’s full arc, Other’s may love the opportunity to read in smaller bites!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the review copy, Publication is scheduled for February 25,2025.

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy

 

Kim and Grant are educated, midwestern professionals who are quintessential empty nesters. When given the opportunity to winter in Palm Springs, they have a chance to make different choices, and The Snowbirds is the story of how they make the decisions that will carry them into their third act.

Sounds simple? Not when you learn that Kim and Grant never actually married, that they have lived in separate cities for thirty years, and that they both have exes with whom there are complicating relationships. And then Grant gets lost on the mountain…no spoiler here because the book is framed by this mishap. The book is primarily told in first person from Kim’s point of view until later in the book when we are given Grant’s journal in pieces. The characters are well drawn and fun, and the story moves in a back-and-forth manner, juxtaposing the current crisis to past ones. Some of those flashbacks get tedious (you will get tired of hearing (or not hearing) about the ex-wife,) and there are so many characters, past and present, that at times it is hard to keep track of them. Overall, it’s an enjoyable read that addresses the issues of long-term relationships in an honest and humorous way.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the advance copy. The Snowbirds will be released on February 4, 2025.

Cleavage: Men, Women and the Space Between Us by Jennifer Finney Boylan

            Jennifer Boylan is an expert on the effects of gender on all parts of life. She spent her first forty years as male, and the past 25 as her authentic self, female. Having written four other books dealing with her transgender journey, Cleavage addresses the frightening situations people who’d begun to relax into their authentic selves, that 2025 and the politics of the USA present.

 

            I first encountered Jennifer Boylan’s writing with the book she co-authored with Jodi Picoult, Mad Honey, so wasn’t surprised at the warmth, compassion and humor exhibited in Cleavage. Her intelligence and positive experiences lend authenticity when she speaks with a kindness that isn’t often represented in connection with what is presented about trans people. We don’t suffer through militance, violence or even voyeurism that so often dominates the discussion of transgender rights in the news is present here. Instead, a fact based, friendly accounting of the difficulties and benefits Jennifer has faced is presented.

Jennifer was granted that basic human right of having people who love her support her along her journey, and this book presents that love and acceptance to anyone reading it. It is the kind of book that makes you want to sit down with the author and tell stories. Cleavage does one thing very well… normalizing this segment of our population in a way that is not threatening and allowing the positive contributions of people who are different than we are, to be recognized, valued, and appreciated.

As a bonus, the book had some great writing advice! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Celadon Books, for the opportunity to read Cleavage in advance. The release date is February 4, 2025.

Three Days In June by Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler is a beloved author, consistent in the quality and readability of her work. Somehow her characters always touch a spot in the reader that we can relate to, even if we are vastly different. I think of this as Tyler’s great talent at finding universal emotion.

 

The story isn’t complicated. Gail Baines’ daughter is getting married in three days. Gail struggles with her career, her relationship with her daughter and her ex-husband. While the relationships are amiable, but Gail’s feelings are on edge. Her boss finds Gail’s people skills lacking, despite having depended on her for many years. Her daughter, trying hard to impress her soon to be in-laws, fails to include Gail in her pre-wedding activities. And then her ex-husband, Max shows up to attend the wedding, needing a place to stay. Gail reluctantly agrees, and then Max produces a cat!

The book is simultaneously heartwarming and awkward, endearing and full of suspense. It is, delightfully, another Anne Tyler achievement of excellence.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor, for the review copy. Three Days in June will be released February 11, 2025

How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? By Anna Montague

As Magda approaches her seventieth birthday, she finds she has a lot left to figure out about who she is. Her lifelong best friend, Sara, the charming, creative art curator, who has brought many of Magda’s happiest moments to her life, including planning her birthday parties, has died. Sara’s husband, eager to move on with a new relationship, seeks Magda’s help sorting her possessions, and ultimately, taking possession of the urn containing Sara’s ashes. When Magda decides to take the road trip Sara had planned for Magda’s 70^th, she takes the urn along, which anthropomorphs into Sara in Magda’s mind.

Magda has grieving to do, not only for the person Sara was to her, but what she represented. Discovering that Magda can continue to live, in more open and fulfilling ways, is the journey she takes us on.

Montagues writing is clean and many times lovely, but the telling of this story, primarily through Magda’s mental musings, drags. I struggled to finish, but was glad I did, as I really wanted to know that, as Magda insists at the opening of the book, she is fine.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Ecco/HarperCollins for the review copy. How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund was published October 22, 2024.

A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler

 

We first meet Charlie in the place he is most comfortable, a bar. He has been in contact through text messages and phone calls with his first wife, Vivian. Vivian is nearly broken down by life, and is delighted to reconnect with Charlie, though she doesn't trust him.  They divorced after a few years of marriage, primarily because Charlie couldn’t get his drinking under control.

Forty years have gone by. They’ve both lived lives, married other people, and struggled. Now they meet again.

A Forty Year Kiss is the love story that unfolds when two people who loved each other once reconnect. Charlie’s life has been full of material goods, and wealth, while Vivian is devoted to helping her daughter, who is a single mother, and with whom she shares her impoverished life. The story is beautifully told, through eyes that have learned to appreciate the beauty still present when two people can get out of their own way. The book is filled with emotion and great mid-western characters. It feels like going home. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the review copy. A Forty Year Kiss will be released on February 4, 2025.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

 

All families have characteristics that manifest repetitively in generations. For the Blue family, that characteristic is addiction. While each of the four sisters this novel revolves around, the addiction is obsession with their chosen field with an unhealthy dose if substances. Until one of them dies and they have to face the self-destruction that they each practice alone and realize how much they need each other.

This novel tells the four different stories of the sisters, twining them together to a finish that was not predictable. The sisters are unique and frustrating, but we cheer them on anyway. It is a love letter to family, home and New York City. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for the review copy.