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Agatha of Little Neon By Claire Luchette--Book review Jun 18, 2022

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Agatha of Little Neon is the story of four nuns living and working together. Told by Agatha, their story follows how the sisters met, their daily routines, and their connection and devotion to Mother Roberta.

Yet, when the Parish goes broke and the daycare the sisters oversee becomes empty, the sisters are forced into a new mission. Both scared and excited at the possibility of something new, the four sisters leave Mother Roberta and travel to Rhode Island, where they are tested with a new responsibility: taking care of the charges in a halfway house.

Knowing nothing about recovering addicts, the sisters jump into their duties with enthusiasm. That is, everyone except Agatha. Agatha is given the job of teaching math at the local school, where she is on her own in the first time in years. Struggling to find her identity without her sisters, Agatha has to learn what it’s like to be independent again.

Agatha of Little Neon is a story of sisterhood, friendship, and devotion. With unexpected friends and stories readers won’t soon forget, this novel is an excellent example of finding our truest selves in unlikely places.

Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin--Book Review Jun 11, 2022

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Ayesha Shamsi is in her mid-twenties, un-married, and lives with her family. Though her community would have expected her married by her age, Ayesha is more worried about her career. She’s an aspiring poet, but works a modest teaching job to pay back her uncle, who funded her education. She’s often reminded by her family that she’s running out of time to meet someone, unlike her gorgeous younger cousin, Hafsa, who is rejecting her hundredth marriage proposal. Ayesha and her cousin are nothing alike. Hafsa’s family hopes Ayesha’s maturity will rub off on Hafsa a bit, so they ask Ayesha to help keep an eye on her. Yet, when Hafsa doesn’t show up for a planning meeting at the mosque, Ayesha finds herself covering for her cousin and in turn, meeting a handsome stranger with some curious eccentricities.

When a surprise engagement is announced between the ever-elusive Hafsa and Ayesha’s love interest, Ayesha has to try to be the mature, nurturing cousin she’s always been, even though all she wants is to steal Hafsa’s new fiancé for herself.

Review: Book Lovers by Emily Henry Jun 04, 2022

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It’s August, which is the slow season for cutthroat literary agent Nora Stephens. She spends every day around books, from reading her client’s work to cutting them enormous deals. Yet, when her younger sister, Libby, begs her to take a month off in a town she thought her biggest client had made up, she follows her sister into what she hopes will be the literary meet-cute of her dreams.

When Nora and Libby get to Sunshine Falls, it’s not exactly what they expected. With oddly named restaurants and small town characters, Nora thought it would be a little….more. Yet, she’s determined to have the Hallmark movie meet cute she deserves, so the two sisters make a vacation to-do list pact to achieve their goals, including #6—go on two dates with local men. The only problem? Instead of run-ins with a cute country doctor or picnics in a meadow, she keeps running into her long-time work nemesis Charlie Lastra, a book editor from back in the city.

While Nora’s not the typically heroine, and Charlie’s not the ideal hero, the two are thrown together again and again proving that maybe a meet-cute isn’t what Nora needs after all.

Review: Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez Jun 03, 2022

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TW: Talk of Sterilization of Minors

Inspired by true events, Take My Hand is the story of Civil Townsend, a young woman working for a family planning clinic in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1970s. Shortly after receiving her nursing degree, Civil goes to work for a local clinic, which specializes in reaching the impoverished women in the community. Civil comes from a middle-class background and she is often shocked by the conditions of her home visits. She has big plans to make a difference, but when Civil is given the case of 11- and 13-year-old India and Erica, she is shocked to learn that she is required to inject them with a birth control drug that has not been regulated by the FDA.

Stuck between her ethics as a nurse and keeping her hard-to-find job at the clinic, Civil begins a journey to help the Williams sisters on a journey to receive better welfare and government help. Hoping to better their lives, Civil is shocked when one day she arrives at the family’s apartment to find the unthinkable has happened to the girls—they have been sterilized without their consent.

Review: If The Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy May 28, 2022

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A recent graduate from a prestigious fashion school, Cindy is ready to start her career as a shoe designer. The only problem? She’s out of design ideas and she has no job in sight. Not sure where to go with her new degree, Cindy moves back in with her famous stepmother, Erica Tremaine, a reality dating show exec. Her stepmother gives her the very fashion-free job of nannying her younger siblings for the summer (or until she can find a job). That is, until Erica and her protégé realize they are two candidates short for the latest season of the show.

As a plus size woman, Cindy never expected to be on a show like Before Midnight, where pretty skinny girls compete for a suitor’s attention until one of them wins a ring and some big bucks. But, the opportunity to compete could help Cindy find a designer job, and if she wins, she would have enough cash to start her own line. Though Cindy could use the bump in publicity, she will be the first ever plus-size contestant on the show and that can come with some very real challenges.

Best-selling author Julie Murphy’s reimagining of a beloved fairy tale is an enchanting story of self-love and of believing in the happy ending each and every one of us deserves.

Review: Darling Girl May 24, 2022

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In this dark retelling of Peter Pan, Liz Michalski crafts the story of Holly Darling, granddaughter of the famous Wendy Darling. Holly is a scientist and runs a successful skin care company in the US. Hailing from the UK, Holly has left much of her past behind other than her accent and her son, Jack, of course. Jack has health issues that Holly has hidden from everyone, including her own son, and the secret remedy keeping him alive? Blood donations from her daughter, Eden.

No one knows about Eden. After all, she’s been in a coma for a decade and why cause more gossip for the tabloids? Holly is certain that no one knows Eden’s alive. In fact, she’s taken great care to hide her at the family estate under the 24-hour care of specialty nurses. But, when Eden mysteriously disappears from her bed, Holly’s life begins to fall apart and the past she’s taken so much care to avoid begins to unfold right in front of her and Jack—who knows nothing about his family’s tragic history.

Desperate to find Eden, keep her son alive, and continue to hold the secret of her family, Holly sets on a journey to finding the only man who could have caused this mess—the infamous Peter Pan. The only problem? Peter is nothing like the stories portray him. He’s dark and dangerous.

Darling Girl brings all the magic of the classic Peter Pan story to the present, while also exploring the dark underpinnings of fairy tales, grief, aging, sacrifice, motherhood, and just how far we will go to protect those we love.

Review: Remarkably Bright Creatures May 21, 2022

Show notes

Tova Sullivan has been living alone since her husband died. She takes comfort in her routine, from meeting up with her group of friends, the Knit-Wits, to working night shift cleaning the Sowell Bay aquarium. Keeping busy has always helped her cope with her emotions, and after mysteriously losing her 18-year-old son, and then her husband, coping is all Tova is left with.

Cameron Cassmore has lost his way—or, I suppose, he would have if he had ever found it in the first place. Abandoned by his mother at a young age and never knowing his father, Cameron has never been a family man. That is, until his Aunt Jeanne gives him a box of his mother’s things and he finds a mysterious ring that leads him right to Sowell Bay and hopefully, an inheritance that will make his lonely childhood worth the pain.

Brought together by Sowell Bay Aquarium’s Giant Pacific Octopus, Remarkably Bright Creatures is the story of both Tova and Cameron and the important lessons they have yet to learn. Ever the detective, Marcellus the octopus is determined to unearth the truth to both characters before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

Review: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover May 14, 2022

Show notes

TW: THIS REVIEW FEATURES DISCUSSION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ASSAULT

Lily has spent her life trying to leave the small town she grew up in. Coming from a broken family that has somehow stuck together more years than they should have, she wishes to leave everything behind and start over. Graduating college and moving to Boston sounds like just the way to do that.

When Lily has a meet-cute with a drop-dead-gorgeous neurosurgeon resident on the roof-top of a building, she’s ready for a one-night-stand and that’s it—after all, the last thing she needs is to end up like her mother. But, for some reason, she can’t get the man she meets off her mind. When a hookup moves into something more, Lily is reminded of her first love and links to the past that she’s long tried to forget, but can’t seem to escape.

When Lily’s first love comes back into the picture, it threatens her current relationship and the life she’s created away from where she grew up. With themes of love, loss, family, and domestic disputes, It Ends With Us is a heavy story that readers won’t forget any time soon.

Review: When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown May 07, 2022

Show notes

TW: TALK OF RACE, RACIAL INEQUITIES

Angela Jackson-Brown’s second novel, When Stars Rain Down, is the story of 18-year-old Opal Pruitt living in Parsons, Georgia in 1936.

Opal knows that the world is more separated than it should be, and in 1936 skin color has more to do with it than anyone would like. Though slavery has long been abolished, African Americans are still doing laborious work for whites and the town of Parsons is as segregated as it comes.

Opal has lived a quiet life, tucked away in “Colored Town” with her Granny Birdie. She hopes to live up to her grandmother’s expectations and that means working hard and keeping her head down. But, when the Ku Klux Klan unexpectedly descends on Opal’s neighborhood, the entire community is shaken. The entire town finds it hard to ignore the complicated racial inequities Parsons is home to, with Opal at the center of the story.

Review: Dark Horses by Susan Mihalic May 01, 2022

Show notes

TW: THIS REVIEW FEATURES MENTION OF S/A AND VIOLENCE

Roan Montgomery has spent her entire life surrounded by horses. A 15-year old equestrian prodigy from a long line of Olympic equestrians, Roan has to live up to a certain level of expectation. After all, it’s her job to carry on the family legacy and the future of Rosemont Farms. Coached by her father, Olympic champion Monty Montgomery, Roan has the ability to make her mark—should she follow his rules. Governed by strict obedience, Roan has no choice but to see the multiple sides of her father she will never escape. Though her relationship with her father is strained, and inappropriate, she has no choice but to follow his rules or she risks losing the legacy and her beloved animals.

Compartmentalizing the difficult aspects of her life and her father-daughter relationship, Roan takes on the path to Olympic Gold. Roan is forced to separate her school life, her childhood, and her sport in order to succeed. Ruthlessly focusing on her ambitions as a rider, Roan is certain that she can keep going if she just holds on a little longer—until she meets Will Howard, a boy from school who teaches her to question just how much of her childhood is truly normal.

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