By Domenica Ruta


** Publication Date 6 May 2025 **


4 stars
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I remember what it was like to date. The difficulty in finding the ‘right’ one. The one that wanted  the ‘right’ things. The one that was going to be the happily ever after. As you get older you begin to realize there isn’t a perfect match, there’s the best match for that time in your life. In this novel, the guy does his best to be the right one. For as long as he’s possible.


Sandy is an editor for a food magazine. She is still hanging out with her ‘ride-or-die’ sorority sisters and the other women they’ve picked up along the way. One night she meets Justin. They hit it off. He seems right. They are compatible in many ways, and not in others. He owns his own company and is also a ‘nü metal’ musician. After a bit of time they become exclusive. And then they’re not. 


So when Sandy wakes up puking for several days in a row, she is not thrilled about the chances of being pregnant. But she is, and now she has to figure out being a single mom with an overgrown child as the dad.


In a fit of self-pity, Sandy starts searching social media about Justin. And there she finds it. Another ex-girlfriend with another ex-kid. Can the two moms navigate a relationship better than the father of their children did? 


An often hilarious and touching story about women who make the best of the insanity of their lives raising children alone. In many ways you have to admire the grit and tenacity of these women. Their courage to put their children’s feelings as siblings above their own. It is a really good read. Fast, funny, and heartfelt. 

By Julia Spiro
** Publication Date 29 April 2025 **
​4 stars
Families can be everything. And all too much. Julia Spiro tackles the family dynamic in this novel about a family business, secrets, and the woman trying to unravel it all. It’s a powerful reminder that everything is not always what it seems. 


Brynn married into the Nelson family. Way back when, she and their son Sawyer had a short romance during the summer before college. Once at college they went their separate ways. After all, Sawyer was Martha’s Vineyard royalty, and Brynn was from the other side of the tracks. 


When Brynn came back to the island later, she ran into Sawyer’s older brother Ross. A spark was kindled, and eventually, Ross and Brynn married. The Nelson family was thrilled, and welcomed Brynn as though she had always been one of their own. Especially when Brynn became a mom and made the Nelson’s grandparents.


Brynn, though, was not herself post-pregnancy. Unable to accept or ask for help, Brynn floundered. With Ross gone long hours, and Brynn alone with the baby Lucas, she began to become more angry and distanced from both Ross and Lucas. She begins to wonder things a new mother shouldn’t wonder. She begins to wish she’d never had a baby.


Then tragedy strikes the island when a young waitress is found dead, washed ashore. Worse, Ross becomes the only suspect in what is now a murder. Brynn is devastated and confused.  She believes in her heart that Ross is innocent, but as the evidence begins to mount, Brynn is not only questioning her fitness as a mother, but also her entire marriage.


Such a good mystery. Touches on so many things that a lot of us feel as new parents. The post-partum depression, way more than baby blues, has a way of distorting a new mom’s thinking and functioning. I loved that this was a focus of Brynn’s character and woven into the story so seamlessly. The mystery of the murder and Brynn’s desire to amateur sleuth her husband out of jail was touching. Crazy, but really good. 


Enjoyed this one very much. Great vacay or beach read.

By Chuck Wendig
** Publication Date 29 April 2025 **
5 stars



Gotta say, I am never disappointed by a Chuck Wendig horror/suspense novel. I’ve been looking forward to reading this one since I was approved for it, but there were a few books ahead of it! I loved it.


While the novel focuses on a group of five characters, the story is told from the points of view of only two of the five. 


Lore is a game designer/writer and the only female in the group. She’s successful and likes to spend the rewards of her success. Lore struggles with her mental health. She won’t rely on anyone to help her out. She is what she is.


Owen is probably the least likely to belong to this group. He’s more of an introvert and reckless really isn’t in his vocabulary. At one time, Lore was his best friend. They planned to become game designers together. But something happened along the way, and now he floats from job to job just to stay alive.


Rounding out the group are Hamish, the hippie of the group; Matty, the overachiever; and Nick, the reckless one. 


Back in high school the five took a camping trip. A staircase appeared out of nowhere in the woods. Stoned, drunk, and foolhardy, one of them ascends the staircase and disappears. For the next twenty years the remaining four go their separate ways. Until one of them brings the group back together, at a new staircase. It’s time to try to find their friend.


Truly a horrifying yet epic story about the bonds of friendship and what you are willing to sacrifice. The way this one ended makes me wonder if there is a follow up to this story. I hope there is, because I am dying to know what comes next. 

By Sarah Damoff
** Publication Date 22 April 2025 **
​4.5 stars
This book definitely brought on a few tears. Shocking and touching moments. Sadness and joy. A lot of life and death piled into a handful of chapters. It was good. Really good.


Lillian has lost both her parents. First her mother to cancer. Then her father to a drunk driver. 


Ryan had a father, once. Still does, technically. He’s grown up living alone with his mother Elise. She fled the family home when she’d had one too many nights of her husband’s drunken rages. 


One day Ryan has the courage to approach Lillian at the library. From there it’s lunch at a Greek restaurant. Lunch that rolls into dinner, and eventually into a life together. Together they build a gallery to display Ryan’s work as well as other artists. Together they make a baby and a life together. Everything together, until it isn’t. 


This novel covers an entire lifetime for each of the characters. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. It covers topics from alcoholism and addiction to love and forgiveness. It is probably one of my favorites of the year so far. It touched me deeply. Especially the forgiveness part. 


Worth the read. Along the lines of Hello Beautiful. Hard to believe this is a debut novel.

By Jennifer E. Smith
​** Publication Date 8 April 2025 **
4 stars


Sometimes you need something other than a mystery or thriller to give you chills. This novel does all that, and even shed a tear or two along the way. 


Four siblings, raised almost parentless, become estranged over one sibling’s violation of their privacy. So when a message comes from one of the four, to the other, asking them to join her in North Dakota for a weekend, of course they all agree. It is with trepidation that the family reunites, now with extended family members, to try to pick up the pieces and become one group again.
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This book was amazing. I am an only child, so I cannot imagine what it’s like for a group of siblings, mostly raised by the oldest, to stop speaking to one another. To me, it would have to be mighty big to cause such a rift. Jennifer E. Smith unwinds this spool of thread inch by inch. Gives us current bits and old bits to marinate before unspooling more. It kept me so engaged and looking forward to the hopeful time where these four would no longer feel like strangers. 


I did shed a tear or two several times throughout. Really good.