Sanctuary

 If you are needing a good binge watching experience, Ive got a suggestion... James Cleary's debut thriller, Sanctuary! I can't remember when I last read a book that literally read like a video series on a streaming service.  

Now it might sound crazy to compare a book to a show, but the effect for me when I read the first page was the same as when I have sat down to an addictive season of a show. I was hooked from the first page and sat glued to the book, turning pages in a binge worthy fashion, simply unable to walk away until the last page was finished.  Cleary's writing was so vivid and action packed that the scenes played out right in front of me as I tore through the story. 

In a post apocalyptic United States, climate disasters have completely changed the viability of the environment.  The seasides are flooding and the great plains have become desserts with farmland in such extreme drought that the soil has become the enemy. Dust storms burying the lands and causing physical danger to all who are exposed to it. No water, no vegetation, no game to hunt. Survival now depends on foraging and ingenuity, unless...

Unless you are a mega-billionaire who can build a fortress. John Brandt, a man with money and power prepared. He used millions building a veritable fortress in an abandoned nuclear missile silo. Under the Nebraska soil,  Brandt takes his family along with a command security force and workers necessary for survival. These include a cook, her daughter, a botanist specializing in aquaponics and a medical doctor, just enough personnel to stay alive. The fortress is a luxury bunker that includes every amenity arranged to simulate life before and enough food and water for 50 people to last three years. Brandt's family and workers could very probably have enough for 10 years. The only problem is, others have found them.

The world outside the bunker is a war zone. rioting and killing to survive.  Some workers employed by Brandt's firm to build his underground fortress have returned in hope of aid. He has everything and they are dying. They have been surviving as raiders. Now they will do anything to stay alive. In this world, no one wins, not even those who think they hold all the cards.

I was completely immersed in Cleary's world. It made me uncomfortable to look around my home and town and see the waste and abundance we all take for granted.  I felt convicted when I read about Brandt's family and their waste, knowing I am guilty of excess myself. The story made me think.  The possible realism was frightening yet overwhelmingly compelling. His characters were so well developed that I felt what they felt, saw what they saw, and loved and abhorred them all at the same time. That is the finesse of an awe inspiring author. 

I am hungry for more books from Cleary in the future. He definitely has infinite talent.  

Sanctuary will be published April 28, 2026 from Penguin Random House.  I hope you grab a copy and read it too.  Sanctuary is well worth your time.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy of Sanctuary by James Cleary in exchange for an honest review. 

#Sanctuary #NetGalley

When The Wolves Are Silent

     As an avid reader and reviewer, finding a previously unknown author that has multiple books published in a series is like opening a treasure chest! Not just one story to enjoy, but once you get to know and fall in love with the characters, you can continue to enjoy them through their other adventures.  This was my experience this week when asked to participate in the blog tour for C.S. Harris's new historical fiction, When the Wolves Are Silent, published April 14, 2026 by Penguin Random House. 

    Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin is set to investigate another mystery when his nephew, Bayard is involved in the burning death of his friend. Bayard is associated with a group of men notorious for bullying and tormenting others. One night after overindulging in drink at a seedy tavern, Bayard and his friend Marcus Toole decide to hike up a nearby hill to spy on possible Druid rituals as a "lark".  Once on the crest of the hill, Bayard wanders off to relieve himself and subsequently passes out, only to wake to the sight of his friend burning on a pit of fire as a human sacrifice.  Traumatized, Bayard goes to his uncle for help. In the course of a couple weeks, two more of Bayard's friends are killed in what looks to be methods of Celtic sacrificial means. Now with three dead friends Bayard fears he will be the next if Sebastian, Viscount Devlin, isn't able to solve the mystery first. In the process of the investigation, Viscount Devlin, learns that Bayard's group of friends have accumulated many possible suspects through their poor treatments of others. Viscount Devlin also finds himself  wondering if Bayard could be involved in the murders of his friends. Along with the help of his wife, Hero, he solves the mystery and even deals with a radical political movement  that threatens the government. 

Harris introduces a multitude of characters to support and enhance her storyline, creating both intrigue and suspense as Viscount Devlin works to solve the crimes. I am so excited to have been asked to participate in this blog tour for Harris's exciting new mystery.  To also discover such a talented historical fiction author in the process is a gift that will continue to bring me exciting adventures for a long while.

I sincerely encourage my readers to delve into When The Wolves Are Silent, by C.S. Harris. and continue to enjoy her previous novels that are prequels to this one.  I am thoroughly enjoying the entire series and can't wait to read some more! 

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of C.S. Harris's novel, When The Wolves Are Silent from NetGalley and Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #WhentheWolvesAreSilent

Winter Song

     Sometimes a book is just a good story. That is my opinion of Rebeca Lee Morales's book, Winter Song,  to be published December 1, 2026 from Harper Collins Publishers.  Morales, a fresh literary voice, writes a compelling story about a small town in Minnesota and the close knit ties of community, the good and the bad. 

   Byron Lugo has just been released from prison for a hit and run murder he was convicted of, but Byron swears that he did not commit.  His one focus, ultimate goal, is to get the life that he feels was stolen from him back. He is bound and determined that the town will see that he is innocent of the hit and run death of a teenage boy.  

    Life has moved on since his incarceration.  His fiancee has married a man that Byron considers a brute. His friends still have his back, but not everyone in town feels the same way. Gordon Trent, the town's chief of police advises Byron to move on with his life, stop looking back. He has paid his debt to society, get busy living again. Yet forgetting his wrongful conviction is not part of his plan, redeeming himself is his goal.

    The story poses the questions, can you ever relive the past? Once the general opinion of a community is formed, whether a person is guilty or innocent, can that consensus be corrected? Even when a court rules the person innocent of a crime...or guilty.  

    Morales's writing is well thought out and plainly powerful. Her characters speak for themselves with voices that feel as though the reader is sitting next to them as part of their conversations.  I was simply part of the story as I experienced the book. Which is exactly what I am looking for in this form of literary fiction.  Winter Song was not a thriller, nor a complex murder mystery. Winter Song was a good story.  I encourage you to read it for yourself December 2026. 

I received an advanced reader's copy of Winter Song from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

#NetGalley #WinterSong

Lords of Serendipity

   Having just finished the book, Lords of Serendipity by Randy Boyagoda, I have more questions than I have answers.  I feel confused.  The story is centered in academia, dealing with both sides of classroom dynamics.  It begins with a SrI Lankan girl, Devi, who dreams of attending a prestigious college in the United States or the United Kingdom.  She wants to make her family and country proud of her. We meet her family, and the poverty and struggle they face to help her reach her goals. She continues to face struggles and road blocks to her dreams.

Next we meet professors and deans of  global colleges. Some struggling themselves to make their mark on the world of higher education.  The reader is introduced to corruption in the academic system. The foreign students are sold grades by an enterprising graduate teaching assistant.  Devi, the Sri Lankan is scammed by an online tutor whom she is paying to get help with her college applications.  Professors are asked to overlook cheating. The Moral compass is broken.  The book is a roller coaster ride of collegiate drama.

The most endearing characters are two college students, one a migrant orphan from Sri Lanka, another a United States citizen whose father is a statistics professor.  The girls find friendship amongst the mayhem. 

So, my problem with this book is there was little continuity. I found the plot disjointed and the scenes did not flow from one to the other.  The characters were memorable, but without a tight well moving plot, I had a hard time feeling truly invested in their stories. At the end of the book I still felt lost. Not left hanging, like a cliffhanger, but rather unsatisfied. I felt like the author had many plot lines that needed to be tied together, and he did this as he ended the story, but it didn't feel like it fit, more like it just needed to end.

I really struggle when I read a book I don't enjoy.  I truly look for positives in each one. In my opinion the positive in this book is the glimpse of Sri Lankan culture. Seeing struggles of an international student culture was enlightening. 

The negatives were the plot and overall depressing look at corruption in the academic settings.  I chose to read Lords of Serendipity because of the preview comments that said it was lively and hilarious.  The story just made me disheartened.  

I rated it with two stars. Lords of Serendipity will be published on September 8, 2026 by Mariner Books. 

Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's copy of Lords of Serendipity by Randy Boyagoda in exchange for this honest review. 

#LordsofSerendipity #NetGalley

The Girl Who Rode the White Lion

     A literary fiction based on a true story deepens the involvement a reader has with the characters and overall outcome of the book.  I found this to be especially true when reading the novel, The Girl Who Rode the White Lion, by Yishay Ishi Ron.  

    Yishay Ishi Ron is the son of a Holocaust survivor and an Israeli writer. His story is based on the true story  of the Althoff family who ran a circus and used their unique opportunity to safeguard Jews during the Holocaust.  Yishay Ishi Ron took the reality of the horror of war and  created a story of love, survival and well served justice.  True heroes chose to protect the persecuted through "Moral Charity" (as stated in the acknowledgements portion of his book). 

    Set in Germany, 1938, Sarah Frank a young Jewish girl and her family are routed from their home through the obsession of an SS. officer, Hauptsturmfűhrer Hubert Zimmer of the Third Reich they had thought was a friend.  Separated from her husband, Ruth Frank is on the run with her young daughter to hide from the evil.  Needing refuge and respite for a few hours Ruth finds that Adolf Frei's Magical Circus is in town and a perfect location to hide from the Nazi's while giving her young daughter a bit of joy.  Ruth finds her persecutor in the crowd and sends Sarah to the circus manager, Adolf Frei for refuge.  Thus sets the stage for a life of hiding as a part of the circus.  Next we meet Dr. Mark Spencer,  a veterinarian for the New York Central Park Zoo in 1957. Dr. Spencer is called in to perform an autopsy on an aged white lion, named Christmas. While teaching a younger veterinarian, Dr. Spencer discovers an odd item within the white lion's intestines.  A Nazi SS officer's silver skull ring.  From this time forth, the reader is taken on a journey of survival for Sarah Frank and a mystery to solve for Dr. Mark Spencer.  

    Yishay Ishi Ron does a masterful job of weaving the two timelines together to create both intrigue in the mystery as well as fear for the life of young Sarah.  War is ugly and the reader feels this truth within the book, The Girl Who Rode the White Lion. I began reading the story assuming it was a purely fiction based tale.  It wasn't until the end of the book that I found in the acknowledgement section that the story was based on truth. This made it so much more powerful. 

    I sincerely hope that  Yishay Ishi Ron's book soars in popularity so many may revisit the tragedy of evil and how it effects many.  We must remember and not repeat.  I have included a web source below to further educate the source of the story. 

The Girl Who Rode the White Lion by  Yishay Ishi Ron  and translated from the Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan will publish June 16, 2026 through Soncata Press. Please take the time to read this wonderful novel.  I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Girl Who Rode the White Lion through NetGalley in exchange for an honest reivew.  Thank you again NetGalley for the opportunity to discover diverse voices in literature. 

 https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/stories/althoff.html

#NetGalley #TheGirlWhoRoadtheWhiteLion 

The Memory Bookshop

Life is full of difficult memories and some we visit often, but do we remember the memories accurately? Do we harbor regrets when we should focus on relationships and joys? The Memory Bookshop is such a story.  It is a story about the interconnectedness of human life and relationships.  

The Memory Bookshop is a story about a young woman who has been grieving the loss of her mother for a very long time. She  even considers suicide as she gets lost in the void of missing her mother and feeling guilty for the time she did not spend with her.                  Kim Jiwon-nim seeks help with a doctor to deal with her debilitating grief of her mother, seven years prior. The doctor's answer was to prescribe a medication. She leaves the clinic with her prescription and runs into a man yelling, "Help! Help!, Someone's dying!" The encounter upsets her and she feels her 5 minute encounter with the doctor and his prescription accompanied by the frantic man is a sign that she needs to throw away the medicine. She does, but she can't get the man out of her mind. She knows his existence must be important, he had acted as if he was in a dream...or a memory. 

Three weeks later she wonders whether she has made the right move with the medicine as her grief and insomnia continues. She goes out for a walk when she gets caught in a sudden rainstorm. She seeks shelter in a tattered building called the Giyeok Bookshop. Giyeok is the Korean word for memory. Everything begins to become clear as she peruses the store to find her favorite childhood books with well worn pages and other books with pristine pages that are catalogues of all  her memories throughout her entire lifespan. She meets Manager K, proprietor of the shop and finds that indeed the bookstore is filled completely  with books containing all of her life's memories. Manager K tells her that  she may revisit three moments of memories from her life.  If she makes a change then she will get to live with that new change, but each memory may shorten the time she has left on earth. And she may only travel further back each time, not forward in time.  She takes the opportunity and begins her journey back through some of her memories with her mother.  It is difficult, but she learns and grows, and each encounter does affect change.  

 Ki Jiwon-nim  finds healing for her grief, leaving the guilt and regrets behind and enjoying the positive memories and her future ahead of her.

The Memory Bookshop by Song Yu-jeong was first published in 2024 in Korea and will be released July 7, 2026 in its English translation by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.  I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. 

I wasn't certain exactly What to expect when I chose this book from NetGalley, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  The story is a great reminder to revisit past memories but be careful to not dwell on the negative events and regrets for things that can not be changed.  Focus on the joy and love you remember from a lost loved one, and take that joy forth into your future.  

I give The Memory Bookshop four stars. 

#NetGalley #TheMemoryBookshop

Picky by Julie T. Kinn

 With a title like Picky, I didn't know what to expect the book to be about.  Julie Kinn  surprised and enchanted me with her characters in her book Picky being published July 1, 2026 from Kennedy Creek Press.  

Zillah, a twenty-three year old woman lives with her mother in Chicago.  Zillah feels trapped in her life.  She desparately wants to get out on her own, but her mother must approve her decision and declare her ready before she is "allowed" to move.  Zillah is picky.  She is a young woman who only eats 10 basic foods. Much like a young child.  She follows her mother's edicts and lives in an anxiety filled state. As the story progresses, the reader learns that it may not be Zillah who is truly the culprit to the life she is living. Her mother is troubled as well.  With spunk and bravery, Zillah faces her challenges to come out stronger and more independent in the end. 

Not wanting to include any spoilers to the book, I left out MUCH in the synopsis.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Picky for many reasons. It is filled with humor.  Humor in how Zillah  struggles with mental illness and finds ways to live a fuller life. She is virtually betrayed and or abandoned by all the adults in her young life, which allows her world to be one of pleasing others by meeting their expectations in lieu of creating her own. 

Kinn's book gives a "real" picture of what living with generalized anxiety can look like.  Zillah lives it in a smaller dose, her mother lives it with all it's manifestations. I could relate to the story.  I have always lived with anxiety, from a small child onward. I could relate to the characters. Thankfully I connected more with Zillah than her mother.  It is a heavy burden to bear, and can rule your life if it is allowed to take hold.  Finding healthy coping mechanisms are important. It is very easy to create unhealthy habits to deal with the illness.  The story includes some therapy techniques that are presented through a friend also battling mental illness. I an thankful that those are woven into the text.  I have sought help and I could recognize the interventions and appreciate how helpful they are.  

After reading Picky, and looking up Kinn's biography, I found out that she is a licensed therapist with a P.H.D, specializing in multiple disorders such as OCD, GAD, panic disorder and many others.  Here is her website.  https://www.juliekinn.com/

I did not know what to expect when I requested an advanced reader's copy of the novel Picky, by Julie T. Kinn from NetGalley.com in return for an honest review.  I liked the cover and it sounded intriguing.  Having read the book, I am so thankful I did.  Through Kinn's engaging sense of humor I took a peek at my own anxiety as I read and learned about her character Zillow's.  I related to her overcoming some of her fears and learning to live with her other ones.  I grew up with a parent who also struggled with anxiety, and multiple other family members do as well.  I am hopeful that others might read the book and find help and encouragement through doing so.  

Look for Picky to be available July 1st, 2026, from Kennedy Creek Press!

#NetGalley. #Picky

Everything to the Sea

 Loss is a concept that every human can understand.  It essentially is the essence of being human.  The mortality of man and living with that eventuality.  Everything to the Sea, by Alicia Upano is a new novel centered around the lives of many Hawaiian Islanders following the wake of a large tsunami. In the course of mere minutes, the people on the island of Hilo lose everything to the sea and must learn to live with the ultimate loss of family and home. Though the story is fiction, the fact that the island of Hilo Hawaii did suffer tsunamis in 1946 and 1960 makes the story real for the reader .

Two main characters, Jane and Kenji are young adults, enjoying a summer fling and staying on Oahu  when a tsunami caught their home island of Hilo unawares, killing their families and destroying much of their island.  Each deals with the tragedy and their grief in completely different ways. Kenji returns to face the devastation and rebuild, while Jane runs away to save her sanity and her remorse over not answering her mother's final phone call. The novel follows their lives as they weave together new worlds both together and apart and find forgiveness and love in the process. 

I was first drawn to Upano's novel by the setting and situation.  I have always harbored a fascination with earth processes and have found tsunamis compelling.  The extreme force of nature and the water is unfathomable to a land-locked Kansas girl.  The oceans and beaches along with the Hawaiian culture provides a rich basis for Upano's story telling and she does an outstanding job of making the story come to life for the reader.  I personally could connect to the book because I have recently faced loss of family members and feel the sting of the separation from them.  I have also been fortunate to visit Hawaii and experience some of the culture, so the story felt very authentic and real to me.  

Due to Upano's strong character development and her voice in her writing, I was drawn into the world she created from the first page and I rushed through the  story to learn what would happen to the characters, simply not able to put the story down until I had finished it. 

I strongly suggest reading Everything to the Sea, Alicia Upano's debut novel being published July 14th through William Morrow Publishers.  

  I want to thank NetGalley for the advance reader's copy of Everything to the Sea, in exchange for an honest review. 

#EverythingtotheSea #NetGalley

Dangerland by Erin Singer.

 I generally like most books that I read. In fact there must be considerable reasons for me to not give a positive review,  and even then I can't persuade myself to give lower that three stars even on books I do not enjoy because I hold the opinion that even though it doesn't fit my tastes , others may have different feelings.  That is the rationalization for my three star rating for Dangerland, a novel by Erin Singer.  I received the advanced reader's copy of Dangerland through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest opinion, which is the reason for the following review.

I tried desperately to  "get into" the book, Dangerland, but it never captured my attention, even though I slogged through it.  Although it was advertised as a funny rom-com like "When Harry Met Sally,"  I do not agree.  I found the book disjointed and confusing.  The chapters did not flow with each other.  I understand when jumping between past and present scenes, the reader can feel in a tug of war of storylines, but Dangerland never seemed to connect from one scenerio to the next.  

Overall, the book features two star-crossed individuals who are attracted to each other, yet fate never allows them to form more than an awkward friendship. The main characters live in Las Vegas and meet in adolescences then remain interconnected throughout their lives. (That's the only similarity I found to "When Harry Met Sally"). Various other characters are included throughout the story.  The inclusion of the additional characters felt like cameos in the overall story.  I was looking forward to a light-hearted read with quirky chuckles along the way.  The stories and characters just made me feel sad for their circumstances.  I didn't find a time when I was invested in the overall outcome of the story.  

I did read some positive reviews, yet I didn't have the same experience these other reviewers had.  I hope there are others who do enjoy Dangerland as I wish Singer the best of luck. The novel just wasn't what I had hoped for when requesting it. 

#NetGalley #Dangerland

A Nantucket Fling by Kathryn Freeman

 With unseasonably warm weather this week and Valentines Day  just a few days away, I treated myself to reading a fun little romcom by Kathryn Freeman.  A Nantucket Fling, being published June 9, 2026, by HarperCollins Publishers, is just the thing for an enjoyable virtual getaway.  

    Olivia Davies is a career driven woman, with no time or patience for pursuing a man or a marriage. She is on the fast track to being CIO for a well known London company. Olivia is competing against Stuart for the promotion she has worked 15 years toward. Fighting the "gold ole' boys club" all the way up the ladder.  A few weeks before her interview process begins she must attend a family wedding across the pond in the United States, Nantucket, Massachusetts to be exact.  As the single younger sister, accompanied by her two older sisters and the wedding party, she is challenged to enjoy a little harmless fling while on vacation.  Nothing serious, just some outings with the hot young chef , Connor, helping to cater the "hen party," and wedding dinner.  What could it hurt to let her hair down and enjoy the attention of a younger man?

Back home in England, she finds herself back in the grind, pursuing her promotion when she reconnects with Connor once again.  The relationship rekindles, but Connor hasn't shared everything about his life with Olivia. His world is more complicated than he has led her to believe.

 Olivia is guarded with her own doubts. How could a virile younger man fancy a career driven woman ten years older than him, and is that man worth changing her plans for? She doesn't want marriage, or a family...her only desire is to meet her goal.  Is the cost too high?

I thoroughly enjoyed the story.  As a light read to chase off the winter doldrums or perhaps a summer read by the pool, A Nantucket Fling by Kathryn Freeman is just perfect.  I am so appreciative of HarperCollins Publishers for the advance e-proof copy distributed by NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.  I give A Nantucket Fling  four stars, and hope to see it fly off the shelves this coming June.

#ANantucketFling #NetGalley