Reading Lately: Summer 2025 Book Reviews

In the 1980s, Joan Goodwin is an unassuming professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University helping her sister to raise her niece. When she sees an ad for the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle Program, Joan finds herself training to be an astronaut with a colorful cast of characters that teach her about the transformative power of love.

Set amidst the competitive wanderlust of the early space program, Taylor Jenkins Reid presents a love story not only of two astronauts falling in love but also of the immense love of an aunt for her niece. Don’t expect too much action or drama from Reid’s latest novel. Atmosphere veers toward the cerebral, concentrating on the characters’ deep thoughts and reflections. Yet, Reid’s extraordinary ability to create fascinating characters draws you into the era and keeps you glued to the pages.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 3 June 2025
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Raised by a single mother in Maine, Mia and Cricket Lowe have always been close. While Mia has become the academically minded caretaker, Cricket has thrown herself into become a soccer superstar. As the two sisters grow, they must grapple with their mother’s past and how to balance loyalty to each other with their own wishes and desires as they make impossible choices to pursue their dreams.

I have to give all the stars to this sister drama and not just because I’m coach girls soccer. Spectacular Things kicks off with a bang: Cricket wins a gold medal and Mia has a baby but needs a kidney from Cricket. Suddenly you are thrust into a touching story of two sisters and the sacrifices we make for family. Mia’s dedication is admirable yet she martyrs herself too much (haven’t we all been there). Luckily, Dorey-Stein does an excellent job framing Cricket’s ambition as rooted in insecurity and family expectations. I laughed, I cried, and I was hooked from start to finish.

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Publication Date: 1 July 2025
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Beth and Frank live a happy life on a farm until their world takes a turn when Frank’s brother shoots a dog going after their sheep. Turns out the dog belongs to Beth’s teenage love, Gabriel Wolfe. Suddenly Beth is brought back in Gabriel’s life as she babysits his young son who reminds Beth of her own who tragically died. As tensions, rumors, and jealousies mount, Beth must choose between who she was and who she wants to be.

Broken Country reminds you what literature feels like. Hall brilliantly narrates a tale of broken people who love each other very much and yet still manage to hurt each other – a cheating spouse who still loves her husband, a husband torn by guilt, a messy family full of trauma and love. Hall slowly reveals more and more about Beth’s relationships with Gabriel and Frank, adding great twists and turns to keep you engaged. Broken Country is a beautifully written tale of forgiveness and mercy that is easily a front runner for best book of the year.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 4 March 2025
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After her husband’s tragic death, Nina Swann was not looking for love again when she met his old friend Nick Radcliffe. Suddenly she is swept away by the perfect man but her adult daughter Ash feels like there is something dodgy about Nick. Meanwhile, Martha is a florist whose charming husband Alistair has started disappearing for days. As Martha, Nina, and Ash are set on a collision course, they learn the truth that a perfect man can be a perfect liar in this dark twisted thriller.

I was completely hooked to Lisa Jewell’s latest thriller which reminds me of the dark and twisted nature of The Family Upstairs though much slower paced. The constant looming dread as the women continue to fall for this man’s charms kept me gripped to the pages wondering when they will figure out his lies. I was also fascinated at the look inside our con man’s mind as he justifies his actions to himself. Sadly, the consistent tension petered out at the end instead of building to a big finish but I still think Don’t Let Him In is a great summer thriller.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 24 June 2025
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A runaway foster kid, eighteen-year-old Louisa has spent her whole life fascinated by a famous painting of a pier with three barely discernable teens sitting on the end. After a chance run-in with the artist just before her death, Louisa inherits the painting from his best friend, Ted. Together, Ted and Louisa set out on a cross-country train journey where Ted tells her the story of one fateful summer where the best friends avoided their chaotic home lives while encouraging the artist to paint something for a competition.

Fredrik Backman sure does know how to tug at the heartstrings and My Friends delivers his characteristic blend of heartwarming stories with lovable characters. Louisa serves as an excellent foil for Ted to tell his backstory while knowing she has experienced similar traumas. Backman has a tendency to paint characters in sweeping generalization and satire; however, he only did that with side characters. This endearing tale of friendship shows the teenagers in their complex lives without tying everything into a tidy and unrealistic bow like many books would.

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Publication Date: 6 May 2025
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Beckett Bowery never expected to return to Wyatt Valley, the beautiful mountain town where her parents are professors at a small college. Decades earlier, Beckett’s college best friend disappeared after setting a fire that killed two locals and everyone thought Beckett knew more than she let on. When Beckett’s daughter Delilah decides to go to the same college, Beckett is on edge, knowing the town’s memory lasts a very long time.

Megan Miranda returns with another moody atmospheric thriller that didn’t have quite the punch of her other works. As usual, Miranda’s writing is excellent and paints a terrific setting. Unfortunately, the characters in You Belong Here failed to draw me into this slow burn mystery. Although it wasn’t that bad, I just didn’t love the story as much as her previous works and didn’t find her newest release that memorable.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 29 July 2025
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Soon after her son’s birth, Cora and her young daughter Maia set out to officially register the baby’s name. Gordon expects that Cora will name the baby after him like generations of his family have done. Yet, Cora is tempted to name the baby Julian and Maia wants to name her brother Bear. The Names is a thoughtful story that showcases how each potential name – and the abusive father’s reaction to each name – changes the family’s trajectory.

Florence Knapp’s The Names is extremely original and I loved watching the parallel storylines unfold. Knapp cleverly doesn’t make one possibility the best and one the worst. Instead, each story has ups and downs shaped by his personality, his choices, and the randomness of life. The larger message of The Names is the legacy of domestic abuse and the lasting trauma it casts over generations.

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Publication Date: 6 May 2025
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In her 80s, Margaret Ives finally agrees to let an author write her biography about her life as an heiress to one of the most storied and scandalous families in the 20th century. Margaret agrees to fly two authors out for a one-month trial to see which will be her biographer. Eternal optimist Alice knows that this could be her big break. She just has to beat out the grumpy award-winning author Hayden. But Margaret is telling different things to each one of them and with an iron-clad NDA, they can’t collaborate, no matter how much chemistry they feel between them.

Although Great Big Beautiful Life has some steamy romance scenes you expect from a beach read, the novel actually felt more like a thoughtful drama than a romance. Margaret’s backstory was gripping and felt like it could easily have been the subject of a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. The main characters were definitely cute together and really seemed to fit. However, I thought the “anything but intercourse” relationship was odd. I guess it was supposed to build to tension but I just thought they characters were being ridiculous.

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Publication Date: 22 April 2025
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Haven Ambrose travels to Positano, Italy, to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks off the Amalfi Coast. However, Haven is looking for more than just artifacts; her father claimed he spotted a chest of gemstones on his last dive. As Haven digs into the history, she discovers an ancient tale of a woman harnessing the power of the sea to save her lover and her village. Could an ancient Amalfi Curse be causing the latest wave of unnatural storms that threaten to ruin the region?

As much as I loved The Lost Apothecary, I hated The London Séance Society in equal measure so Sarah Penner has been hit-and-miss for me. Sadly, The Amalfi Curse was another miss. Surprisingly, I did enjoy Haven’s scuba diving story and thought it had interest but once the story combined with the tale of the sea witches, I completely lost interest. I know I’m not the biggest fan of magical realism but the entire historical story felt completely contrived and pointless. 

My Rating:
Publication Date: 29 April 2025
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Sloane Carraway has a tendency to lie; usually just harmless little lies that make her seem a little more interesting. When she sees a hurt little girl at the park, she can’t resist telling the girl’s father she’s a nurse as she pulls out the bee stinger. Soon Sloane finds herself hired as the nanny for the picture perfect New York City power couple. But the deeper Sloane goes into Jay and Violet’s world the more she realizes that she is not the only one lying.

I was rather uncertain about Count My Lies as I was reading it. Sloane is an immature brat and quickly got old listening to her justify her selfish action. Luckily, Stava threw in some nice twists partway through that added intrigue back into the narrative. By the second half, the plot was so complex and twisted that I couldn’t predict where the novel was leading me: to an epic twist that was perfectly satisfying.

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Publication Date: 4 March 2025
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When his father is in a coma after a car accident, Roman Carruthers returns home to help his sister run the family crematorium. After his younger brother confesses their father’s injury is because he is massively in debt to the local drug dealers, Roman sets out to use his skills as a finance whiz to make the problems go away. Except these gangsters aren’t like the wannabes he deals with in the music industry. They have a level of violence that Roman is completely unprepared for.

Having read Razorblade Tears, I knew I needed to expect violence in S. A. Cosby’s latest thriller but, woah! / was much edgier than I am comfortable with. The constant violence made my skin crawl as Roman goes deeper and deeper into his efforts to stop the gang once and for all. The ending was fitting if not the most satisfying.

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Publication Date: 10 June 2025
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Dominic Salt and his three children live together on Shearwater, a remote island near Antarctica. Shearwater used to be full of researchers but now the Salts are the sole caretakers of the world’s largest seed bank. During a fierce storm, a woman washes ashore. As the Salts nurse Rowan back to health, they feel revitalized. Except Rowan is hiding the truth about her journey to Shearwater but the Salts have their own secrets to hide. McConaghy has made a name for herself with her climate fiction books, so I’m curious to see what she has in store with her March release.

McConaghy has made a name for herself in climate fiction and you can viscerally feel the bleakness in Wild Dark Shore. With sea levels rising and massive wildfires, the climate disaster looms over the story especially in Rowan’s pessimism. While McConaghy’s writing shines when focused on climate change, Wild Dark Shore is essentially a poorly done mystery. The enveloping setting can’t overcome the poor character development and lackluster mystery writing.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 4 March 2025
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Beatrice is known for being a fiesty lawyer so when her best friend gets divorced, she has no qualms marching into the opposing lawyer’s office to tell them exactly what she thinks about the situation. Unfortunately, days later that same lawyer turns out to be a new hire at her NYU Law office. Slowly Beatrice’s hatred toward Nathan turns to respect and more until secrets about her friends divorce force her to choose between their happily-ever-after and her own.

I rarely read romances but I gobbled How Freaking Romantic up in one sitting. Frankly, I absolutely adored the characters. Bea had a fiesty hard outer shell that concealed a delicate heart. Nate was a great balance to Bea – pushing her buttons, taking her spikiness in stride, and always compassionate. The acerbic dialogue between them was engaging and the side characters balanced the story just right. Overall, How Freaking Romantic was a fun light-hearted enemies-to-lovers romance.

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Publication Date: 1 July 2025
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After months on maternity leave, Camilla is excited and nervous to drop her new baby off at daycare and return to her job as a literary agent. When she awakes, she finds her husband, Luke, is gone with only a note left behind. The police arrive and tell her that Luke is the gunman in a hostage situation in downtown London. Now Camilla must decide how well she actually knows her husband, considering she is the only one who knows what’s on the note.

From the very first page, McAllister throws you into an impossible scenario with a loyal husband is suddenly a hostage taker. I couldn’t help but ponder what I would do in Camilla’s situation. The point of view switches from Camilla to Niall, the hostage negotiator, kept you engaged with the advancing timeline and plenty of clever twists made it very hard to figure out what really happened.

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Publication Date: 25 February 2025
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Lila Kennedy already feels her stress levels maxed out. If a broken marriage, two wayward daughters, and a crumbling house weren’t enough, her stepfather seems to have managed to move in permanently. Plus her love life and career are becoming increasingly complicated. But when Lila’s estranged father shows up, Lila has really reached her limit. Yet it turns out she might have some lessons to learn from the man whom she’s not sure she can ever forgive. Jojo Moyes is always a solid choice when you are looking for intriguing contemporary fiction books.

I would categorize We All Live Here as “my life is a mess” women’s fiction. Lila’s humorous family story was full of fun characters, especially her father and stepfather, and ended in a heartwarming wrap-up. Occasionally, Lila’s idiotic choices grated but the story was overall enjoyable. I do think the book was much longer than it needed to be and narrative definitely slowed down in spots.

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Publication Date: 11 February 2025
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In his latest science fiction novel, John Scalzi ponders what would happen if the moon suddenly turned into cheese. How do you keep the world running when something absurdly impossible happens? Through the course of a lunar cycle, When the Moon Hits Your Eye showcases humanity’s reaction – the laughs, the tears, the hope, the panic, and the lost and found faith in the face of the fantastic.

The moon suddenly turning to cheese with no explanation: hilarious! I cracked up so many times in the first quarter of the book. But then the story didn’t go anywhere. Instead, Scalzi just kept giving vignettes that never added together to make a larger message. The best thing that came out of this book is my husband finally showed me the Wallace and Gromit cartoon about the moon as cheese that he is always quoting. “We’ve forgotten the crackers!”

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tor Publishing Group through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 25 March 2025
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When their daughter shoots her brother, Angie and David Sheehan turn to Martine, a small-town lawyer to defend her. To make matters complicated, Martine is the mother of Angie’s ex-boyfriend Julian who is now a high-powered defense attorney. As Angie and Julie overcome long buried feelings of guilt from a tragic accident that killed Angie’s little sister, they each must discover the power of true forgiveness for themselves but also for Nora as every tries to figure out why she did it.

Are you more than the worse thing you’ve ever done? Penitence is a thoughtful look at guilt and forgiveness and how you can find a way to press on after horrible events. Although the premise sounds intense, the story is far from dramatic. Koval decided to skip the tension and drama to present a slow-paced work that doesn’t pack an emotional punch or have an satisfying ending, making it an unmemorable novel for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Celadon Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 28 January 2025
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Upset when her beloved brother flees the home of their father who disapproves of his sexuality, Celia curses her brother to never find love only to have it come true. Now Celia must travel to the Summerlands to find him and lift the curse. But her newfound magic as a sorceress has caught the eye of the king and she is soon betrothed to the crown prince.

If I had realized The Summer War was a novella, I would have passed. Given it’s short length, Novik rushes through the plot with little character development. The fantasy world and concept of the Summer War was intriguing and had Novik turned it into a full-length novel, I think I might have enjoyed it. Instead, the plot ended up being overly simplistic and naive.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Del Rey through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 16 September 2025
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When Phoebe Stone turns up at the grand Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, everyone just assumes she is another wedding guest. Yet, Phoebe just happened to book the long-anticipated trip she always dreamed of taking with her husband, which now she plans to use to commit suicide after her divorce. Quickly, the entire bridal party finds themselves confiding in Phoebe, helping Phoebe see her own life in a different light.

The Wedding People is a great read full of thought-provoking messages about how often we lie to ourselves and how people pleasing and wishful thinking can destroy our lives. Phoebe’s candor was refreshing and her relationship with the bride was intriguing. I loved how Phoebe connected with each character, transforming them from a one-dimensional caricature (e.g, drunk mother, cheating sister-in-law, immature groomsman) to a fully fleshed out individual.

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Publication Date: 30 July 2024
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When her father unexpectedly dies, seven-year-old Ellie and her mother are thrust from the 1950s upper class in Tehran to live in a tiny home downtown. Ellie soon befriends Homa and the two girls are inseparable, sharing dreams of becoming “lion women” someday. After her family fortunes change, Ellie rejoins the wealthy ranks of society, becoming the most popular girl at her elite high school. Just as Iran is reaching a political breaking point, politically active Homa reappears in Ellie’s life causing a disruption that will change them both forever.

Marjan Kamali paints a story of fierce female friendship set against three decades of the women’s movement in Iran. From the start, you are swept up in Homa and Ellie’s coming-of-age story in Iran. With rich characters and a fascinating setting, The Lion Women of Tehran ponders the cost of standing up for what you believe and the fierceness from within not to let anyone break you.

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Publication Date: 2 July 2024
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For the first time in three years, Frank Szatowski receives a call from his estranged daughter Maggie inviting him to her wedding. Maggie fails to mention she is marrying Aidan Gardner, the son of a tech billionaire, at a swanky private estate. As Frank tries to reconnect with Maggie he becomes alarmed at the local hostility toward Aidan’s family. Can Frank discover the truth without driving Maggie away forever?

After the success of Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures, I was disappointed to find his latest thriller lackluster with no likeable characters. Every character felt undeveloped and one-dimensional and there was no one you want to root for (or against). Although The Last One at the Wedding was an easy read, the plot didn’t have enough good twists and the main twist was easy to spot a mile away. 

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Publication Date: 8 October 2024
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Cristina Henríquez, the author of The Book of Unknown Americans, tells a tale of the building of the Panama Canal from the perspective of fishmongers, laborers, doctors, and journalists. Local fisherman Francisco isn’t happy about the foreigners wanting to carve a canal through Panama but his son Omar sees it as a means for escape. When Omar collapses after a grueling shift, Ada, a teenage immigrant from Barbados, rushes to his aid.  Moved by her act, John Oswald, a researcher studying malaria, hires Ada to care for his sick wife, an action that will set into motion a tale of loyalty and ambition.

If you want to learn about the Panama Canal, The Great Divide is definitely a well-researched. Unfortunately, if you want a good novel, I would suggest looking elsewhere. Henriquez uses so many characters that everyone feels likes a side character. The constant focus on backstories drags the pace and the lack of drama leaves you without a compelling narrative.

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Publication Date: 5 March 2024
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In 1742, a patched-together vessel washed up on the shores of Brazil with thirty emaciated men. They told an astounding tale of surviving after the HMS Wager was shipwrecked chasing a Spanish treasure galleon. After cobbling together a raft, they floated for 100 days and traveled 3,000 miles. The sailors were lauded as heroes until six months later when three more castaways washed ashore accusing the first men of mutiny. With accusations of treachery and murder, a court-martial is convened to find the truth, with the guilty party likely to be hung.

With an excellently narrated audiobook, The Wager is a captivating tale that reads like a novel in the vain of The Caine Mutiny. David Grann makes the ins and outs of 18th century exploration fascinating and really put the treacherousness of Cape Horn in perspective. I found the first two-thirds of The Wager riveting but the pace slowed down once the crew returned to the real world. Unlike in a novel, no one gets a happily ever after.

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Publication Date: 18 April 2023
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In their first year of marriage, Wren and Lewis are shocked when Lewis is given a rare diagnosis. Over the next few months, Lewis will gradually transform into a great white shark. As Lewis struggles to mark peace with his unfulfilled dreams, Wren desperately wants to find a way to stay together. Yet Lewis’s changes into a predatory creature trigger her long-repressed memories of trauma of her mother. 

Shark Heart is the most odd book I have ever read. Lewis’s transformation into a shark is handled in the most nonchalant way as if this is just one of those things. Habeck uses extremely short chapters, sometimes only a sentence, to give peeks at Wren and Lewis’s love story for the first half and then tell the story of Wren’s mother in the second half. With a bizarre but completely unique premise, Shark Heart is an literary work that I didn’t love (many will) but I’m glad I read.

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Publication Date: 8 August 2023
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In 19th-century Buenos Aires, Inez Olivera dreams of leaving her sheltered upper-class life to explore the world like her parents. When her parents die tragically, Inez inherits a fortune and a mysterious guardian who is an archaeologist who works with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Sailing for Egypt, Inez learns there is more to her parents’ deaths than she realized. Thwarted by her guardian’s handsome assistant, Inez relies on old world magic to discover the truth.

After months of not touching a book, What the River Knows was the perfect book to hook me back into reading again. The quick pacing, light romance, and historical setting were fun to dive into. Inez made for a plucky heroine and magical elements weren’t heavy-handed. Perfect for a quick fun young adult read, What the River Knows ends with a twist that will make you desperate to read the next book right away.

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Publication Date: 31 October 2023
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In a sequel to What the River Knows, Inez Olivera is reeling from her cousin’s murder and mother’s betrayal. Then Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance and Inez’s only option might be to marry Whitford Hayes. Will marrying her one time nemesis be her saving grace or will his secret plans ruin everything she has worked for? 

As is common with sequels, Where the Library Hides isn’t quite as good as the first book but still delivers a satisfactory quick fun read. Inez spends most of the novel debating how much she can trust Whitford Hayes will blindly trusting everyone else around her. I do feel like she should have wised up a little more. The overarching plot was more convoluted and Ibanez insists on wrapping up storylines with every character even though I think a few side characters could have been left out. Yet, all in all, I was happy with the novel and enjoyed it immensely.

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Publication Date: 5 November 2024
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Growing up in the community of Jewish refugees on St. Thomas, Rachel has always dreamed of adventure. Married off to a widower with three children, Rachel feels trapped in her small life. When her husband dies, his handsome nephew Fréderick arrives from Paris to settle the estate. Thus begins a passionate love affair that will shock the Jewish community and lead to the birth of the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro.

The Marriage of Opposites has been on my to-read list for probably a decade and so I think my expectations were too high. I really wanted to love it more than I did. Hoffman uses the longest chapters ever written which never goes well with an audiobook. While Rachel’s childhood and marriages were interesting and the setting was fantastic, once the story shifted to Camille, I completely lost interest. Camille seemed a lackluster character to me but, worse, Rachel’s character became entirely unlikable matter in life and the end of the novel became a complete slog.

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Publication Date: 4 August 2015
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In her super popular series, Sarah J Maas introduces you to Feyre, a teenage girl turned huntress doing all she can to provide for her poor yet ungrateful family. After she kills a faerie disguised as a wolf, Feyre is taken to an enchanted land run by her captor, a powerful man who can turn into a beast. Maas starts the story as a typical “Beauty and the Beast” retelling but transforms it into her own original work.

I hated this book when I first read it years ago but given its immense popularity I knew I needed to give the series another chance. Reading it again, I remembered why I hated the first book – I despise the love story between Feyre and Tamlin. And I should! When you think about it, the Stockholm syndrome love story in Beauty and the Beast isn’t romantic. However, this time around, I knew that Tamlin wasn’t Feyre’s endgame and so I actually liked the book a lot better.

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Publication Date: 5 May 2015
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Feyre survived her time Under the Mountain but it still haunts her in nightmares. With her wedding to Tamlin approaching, Feyre seems to be losing herself more and more even as she starts gaining other abilities. When Rhysand shows up to demand Feyre uphold her bargain, she must travel to the dreaded Night Court. Yet, things in the Night Court aren’t as she expected and a greater threat looms that changes Feyre’s whole perspective.

Finally, I see what all the fuss is about. Now that I have characters I love and want to root for, this sexy romantasy feels much more engaging than the first book. Maas does a great job building a fun cast of characters that you can’t help fall in love with. Their easy camaraderie is disarming and makes the book an easy read. Add in plenty of action and a steamy romance and you have all the elements for an addicting read.

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Publication Date: 3 May 2016
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To spy on Tamlin and stop the expected invasion, Feyre returns to the Night Court pretending to still be in love with Tamlin. Yet with war coming, her ruse cannot last long before she’s found out. Soon Feyre must take her place among the High Fae balancing her magical and political powers with her love of family and the court.

Just as fun as the second book, A Court of Wings and Ruin continues with the coloful cast of characters whose friendship you can’t help but love. While I loved the second book, it only slightly expanded into the larger fantasy world. In the third book, Feyre and Rhysand interact with all the courts and you get to see the bigger political picture.

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Publication Date: 2 May 2017
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With Winter Solstice approaching, Feyre realizes all of her friends in the Night Court are still traumatized by the events of the last few years. The group struggles to enjoy the holiday while also trying to find ways to help each other heal from recent events even with larger forces still pressing upon them.

A Court of Frost and Starlight is a completely unnecessarily novella that should not have cost me as much as the other books in the series given that it’s a third of the length and very unsatisfying. The plot hinges on Feyre and Rhysand’s merry band celebrating their version of Christmas as Nesta pulls farther and farther away. I guess Maas wanted to lay the groundwork for having Nesta be the main character in the next book. If you are going to read the series, you might as well read this one too. Just lower you expectations and maybe borrow it from the library.

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Publication Date: 21 May 2019
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Haunted by the horrors of the previous war, Nesta’s temper is constantly on edge, and no one seems to bother her more than Cassian. When the human queens threaten the fragile peace, she must work with Cassian to save the kingdom. But can Cassian, or anyone, find a way to soften Nesta’s heart and help her learn to use her abilities? 

If you thought the first few books were steamy, A Court of Silver Flames takes the romance to a whole new level. The story is basically a lot of hot sex, enemies-to-lovers style, interspersed with a fantasy story. Feyre and Rhysand step to the side as A Court of Silver Flames so Nesta and Cassian can take center stage. Luckily they are great characters with a great story arc and the book continues with the same fun from the earlier book. Maas has announced she has finished the first draft of the next book, and I’m guessing it might focus on Feyre and Nesta’s sister Elain.

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Publication Date: 16 February 2021
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Between politics, climate change, and social media trolls, modern life seems to be a hot mess. Craig and Devon Hase use six rules from the Buddhist teachings to help you feel grounded amidst in the chaos. A mix of self-help and guided mediations, How Not to Be a Hot Mess is a guide for you on how to practice mindfulness.

My sister-in-law recommended this self-help book to me; she particularly enjoyed the meditations. I could use a little more balance in helping center myself amid the current political climate. However, I listened to the audiobook at double speed which wasn’t very zen of me. In all, How Not to Be a Hot Mess is a fairly innocuous self-help book: It will speak to some while others will get nothing from it. While I fell in the latter category, I didn’t think the advice was terrible, just not anything that connected to me.

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Publication Date: 21 April 2020
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