Through an Open Window by Pamela Terry

Through An Open Window by Pamela Terry

I first encountered Pamela Terry when given the opportunity to read her first novel The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, (Random House/2021) fell in love with her characters, setting and beautiful prose, so I was excited to read this new novel, Through an Open Window. To say I was NOT disappointed would be an understatement!

 

This is at heart a family story, the primary story following the life of Margeret Eliot and her three children in small town Georgia. Margaret is recently widowed, and though content with her life in Wesleyan, where she has lived all her life, she wonders what is next for her. Enter her long dead Aunt Edith…her ghost that is, and Margeret begins a journey that expands her life in such ways that she questions her own sanity. She’s the most down-to-earth character I’ve read in a long time, and when her three children and their friends/spouses join the party, you will want the book to go on and on, because you like them all so much.

Anyone who enjoys low country fiction, will love Pamela Terry and especially Through and Open Window. The book was released today, August 19,2025. Thanks to Random House/Ballantine and NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this wonderful book.

The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts

Another exciting conclusion to a Nora Roberts trilogy. Nora is an author generally classified as either a romance writer or a mystery writer. To be sure, she is both, writing under her own name or her nom de plume, J. D. Robb. I can’t say I care how she’s classified; this author knows how to tell a great story. Weaving her plots with charming and interesting characters, both male and female, and sprinkling in more than a dose of magic, I always look forward to reading her books.

 

The Seven Rings is no exception. In this one, the protagonist, Sonya, and her sidekick Cleo, are determined to reclaim the Poole Mansion from the evil witch/ghost Dobbs, who haunts it and is responsible for the deaths of so many of Sonya’s ancestors, simultaneously saving all the people who have been haunted and persecuted by her. To do this, they must reclaim the seven rings that Dobbs has taken from her victims. Along the way, Sonya and Cleo must continue with their careers, learn to cook and maintain their new romantic relationships. It’s a satisfying and fun read. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy. The Seven Rings will be released November 18, 2025.

Full Bloom by Francesca Serritelli

 

This is a lovely novel by an author I’ll keep watching and reading. It is the story of 32-year-old Iris, whose long-time fiancé has suddenly decided their relationship isn’t enough. Iris, who’d been planning her life around Ben, is unmoored. She’s also discovered that she has low fertility and if she ever plans to have her own children, she will have to find the money for treatments.

At the same time, she’s overlooked yet again at work, where her boss is her mentor/father figure, but also a member of the patriarchy, and gives opportunities that should go to Alice to her friend Nate, because…he’s a family man.

Enter Madame Rapacine, a Frenchwoman trained and excellent as a Nose…the creator of exquisite perfumes, and a dear friend of Iris’s. As such, she creates a signature scent for Iris, to complement her unique chemistry.

Then…things begin to happen. I wasn’t as thrilled with the middle of the book when all Iris attributes all the good things happening in her life to the perfume, but it is fun. When reality barges in, Iris doesn’t know what to believe. That struggle was credible and authentic, and I forgave the “magical middle” because it is that good. Well written, well plotted and lots of fabulous characters. Full Bloom was published on August 5, 2025, by Random House/Ballantine. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy!

The Payback by Kahana Cauley

 

 

This is a delightful heist novel. Jada, a young black woman who has a dream of dressing the rich and famous, especially on movie sets, but like many young career women, is sabotaged by an actress who refuses to accept that she has no concept of her own size. As quickly as a seam can rip, Jada is blackballed in the film industry, a career she’s gone deeply in debt for so she can go to film school.

Jada bounces back and finds a job in retail, which she loves. She loves the mall. She loves the vibe at Phoenix, the upscale store she works at for a 20% commission. She can make her rent and chink away at her student loan payments, but a lapse of judgment and a history of lifting goods left behind leaves her unemployed and basically unemployable.

Enter the Debt Police, in their ugly turquoise uniforms and propensity to violently beat anyone behind on their student loans, especially black women. Inspired by the bruises and pain inflicted on her and her friends, Jada masterminds a plan.

You are going to have to read the book to get the scoop, but it’s a quick and entertaining book with a lot to say about culture, race, and the police state that we seem to be flirting with today. The satire drips with authenticity and humor.

The Payback was published on July 15, 2025, by Atria Books. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

 

Overdue by Stephanie Perkins

 

Ingrid is happily employed at the gorgeous library in Ridgetop, North Carolina. She’s also basically happy with her personal life, having lived with her one and only boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years. Then her younger sister announces her engagement, and Ingrid and Cory are stunned. Shouldn’t they be getting married before the younger siblings? But---they’ve neither one ever been with anyone else, and they are afraid they will regret it.

So, they agree to take a break of one month, where they are each free to sow their wild oats as it were, and then fully expect to reunite and get engaged.

The reader gets to follow Ingrid, who has only one person in mind she feels she’ll regret not …trying out. It is her close work friend, Macon, her best friend actually, and when she determines her feelings are not reciprocated, we get to cringe along with Ingrid as she explores the world of other men.

It’s a delightful, classic romance, written with enough old school yearning and new school sizzle to keep the pages flying. Overdue will be released October 7, 2025, by St. Martin’s Press. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

 

These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean

 

Every once in a while, it is great to have a real live romance novel, with complicated protagonists, love interests, and the hurdles they must cross to be together. Add in family rivalries, enormous wealth and just for fun, a gothic mansion on an island accessible only by boat or helicopter. Altogether, the formula for a great summer read.

The Storm family is American royalty. When the patriarch dies in a spectacular accident, the four children and widow gather on the island, they think to pay their respects, but actually, to fulfill the final requirements left by their father. If any of them fail, no one inherits.

To say that these people have issues is the ultimate understatement, but they are all entertaining and have redeeming qualities. Sarah MacLean knows her craft and These Summer Storms proves it. This book was released on July 8,2025 by Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine.