Here are some of the novels I have read in the past couple of months. Many of them might appeal more to women, but anyone might enjoy them. I didn’t like any one of them enough to rate it 5 stars on Goodreads, but I did have some 4 stars.
I’m Fine Neither Are You by Camille Pagan (****) – Friends, jobs, marriage, loss, and wanting to be able to do it all in this novel about a married couple and a good friend.
The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu (****) – A death at a school and a good look into the lives of teachers and administrators and what they face. Great if you have been a teacher like me.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors (****) – Three estranged sisters return to their family home after the death of the fourth sister. We see each sister’s own addictions and griefs.
The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster by Shauna Robinson (***) A black woman married to a white man has dreams of connecting with her family, whom she thinks don’t accept her. She travels to her Southern home longing to find family that looks like her. Her efforts to be accepted by the family bring out some family secrets including a special recipe of her grandmother’s. I thought the behavior of the main character was a little unrealistic and off the charts.
The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani (****) – A friend of mine has read it twice and said it was her favorite book, so she lent it to me. It sat on my bookshelf for a while while I finished up some books I had out of the library. I did enjoy the book. It takes place in two Italian villages and then in New York City. Two teens who grow up in nearby Italian villages fall in love and later run into each other in New York, where they are driven for different reasons. It is a historical novel.
Everything’s Fine by Cecelia Rabess (***) – A couple meets in college: She is often the only black girl in class, and he is an entitled rich kid. They end up working together years later as their bickering blooms into romance.
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn (****) – Who doesn’t love Kate Quinn? This is a really fascinating story of the women who live in a Washington, DC, boarding house in the 1950s. Friendships, secrets, and an act of violence.
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera (****) – When her friend is murdered, a woman is not sure if she might have done it, and she vows to find out who did — even if it was her.
