The Library

I picked up this book as it was a 2022 National Book Award Finalist and I had seen it highly recommended all over the place and compared to (a queer version of) Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. The writing is beautiful, at times it is funny, but at other times it is very hard to read and upsetting. It starts as a love story and becomes a story about friendship and community. Our protagonist, Sneha, graduates college into the Obama era recession. She is queer, Indian, and holding a lot of family secrets. She manages to get an entry-level consulting job where she is earning enough money to send money back to her family. She makes a new friend Tig via a dating app. She dates… eventually meeting and falling for a beautiful dancer called Marina. All the while, despite desperately craving closeness she keeps everyone at arms length… and her family life separate from her personal life (even going so far to tell Marina that her very much alive parents are dead). When things go belly up (her boss stops paying her, her friends are laid off, she must move out of her apartment), the book grows tender as Sneha and her friend group become the glue that holds each other together. This book is really sad at times (I found the last few pages particularly heartbreaking) but it’s extremely touching. My biggest takeaway from it is that no matter how hard things get, they’ll always be okay if you have your friends and people to lean on.

This is a very good book. I think it would be a great movie. The story is equal parts heartwarming, funny, and sad. It’s a family story, a coming of age story, a coming out story. It’s about identity, both in a culture and sexuality sort of sense. The book alternates between the perspective of mother and son, a year after the father’s death. Renu Amin has had a charmed life – married to a wealthy doctor who adored her. A year after his death she finds herself a bit lost. binge watching soap operas and pining for an old love. Meanwhile, her son Akash is struggling. He drinks too much, he’s broke, he’s gay — but afraid to come out to his family for fear of losing their love. Now, they are all back in the family house (with Akash’s brother Bijal) which has been sold as Renu is picking up and moving back to be with her family in London. As they pack up the house, secrets come out and resentments brew. Akash compares himself constantly to his golden, seemingly perfect older brother. Renu fantasizes about what her life could have been like if she’d married her first love. Akash resorts to destructive behavior. I won’t tell you how it ends but I loved this book and found myself in tears at the end.

Okay, I mostly loved this book but admittedly, found myself a little irritated at it at some points. I think that the author’s sense of humor (relentlessly snarky) may just not be for me. I listened to it via audiobook and her tone was… a lot! I feel like if I had just read it as a paper book, I would have enjoyed it more. Of course, so many of the films we loved in the nineties just don’t hold up. I personally think it is okay to evolve and grow and learn but still have a nostalgic soft spot for the films we loved when we were younger (and less evolved). I liked the book but found the author’s tone to be condescending! But, that might not come through so much, just reading it in print I think if I read it myself (vs listening to the author), it would seem more silly than snarky. That critique aside, I netted out positive overall and found it very funny most of the time. She systematically (and smartly) takes down all of our favorite films. Love, Actually. The Lion King. Harry Potter. Forrest Gum. The Notebook. Twilight. Garden State. Nothing is safe. I particularly enjoyed her thoughts on American Pie, (wow that really was a terrible movie!). I did notice that she didn’t go after Nancy Meyers and for that, I’m thankful. I found myself a little burnt out by the book by the end but ultimately enjoyed it. It is nostalgic and made me rewatch The Fugitive! Not the most convincing of reviews, but an honest one?

Okay do I have a new favorite author? Potentially! I had to read this after loving A Flicker in the Dark so much. And you know what? This was even better. But be forewarned, there are trigger warnings for postpartum depression and child abuse. Exactly a year ago, Isabelle Drake’s life drastically changed when her 18 month old son Mason was taken from his crib in the middle of the night as her and her husband slept. Since then, Isabelle has dedicated her life to finding her son. But also: she literally cannot sleep. Besides the occasional catnap or temporary blackout, Isabelle hasn’t slept in a year. The loss of her son and lack of sleep has caused her to appear manic and paranoid at times (ultimately causing the demise of her marriage) but she is relentless… she’ll do anything to find Mason. After speaking at a conference, she meets a true crime podcaster on her flight home. When she learns that his podcast has actually helped to solve cases, she agrees to go on. But as Waylon (podcaster) asks more and more questions (especially about Isabel’s past), she becomes uncomfortable, starting to question herself. This book has it all. So many great twists and turns, an unreliable narrator, and other things I can’t tell you about. I absolutely loved it. A++++!

This book had come so highly recommended by so many of you — I am so glad that I finally read it, as I could not put it down! Chloe Davis is 32 years old and a psychologist living in Baton Rouge. She owns her own cute home and and is planning her wedding with her dreamy husband. But Chloe has a past. Twenty years ago, her father pled guilty to brutally murdering six teenage girls in her home town. When two local girls go missing all these years later, Chloe begins to worry that it’s all happening again and that a copycat killer is on the loose. She begins to spiral (and thanks to her own substance abuse issues can’t always tell if she is paranoid and delusional or on the verge of helping to solve a series of murders). This is unputdownable! Once I started, I just wanted to stay up all night reading. If you love a good thriller as much as I do, you’re going to want to read this one.

I’m going to preface my review by saying that maybe I am just too lowbrow to enjoy this work of literature. It is beautifully written and a National Book Award finalist (amongst other accolades) but it was not my cup of tea. So it gets an A+ for the writing, but a B- for (personal!) enjoyability. So take this review for what it is… the review of someone who loves great writing but values plot over writing. This was just a little too literary for me. The book takes place primarily on the island of Ibiza. Amanda is a writer (with a past of her own). Her best friend Catherine is a talented sculptor, but Catherine can’t stop trying to kill her husband. Because of this, she is repeatedly institutionalized. Meanwhile, her husband will never leave her! There’s an interesting cast of characters… all mostly artists and writers. There are Amanda’s different lovers (including a Black man whose entire lower body has turned white), a (potentially murderous) painter called Gillette (like the razor), and more. It’s a weird little book but the writing is incredible. While it wasn’t my favorite, I’m still very glad I read it.

This book is a wild ride. It is not out til February (Valentine’s Day, ha!) but well worth the pre-order. It’s one of those up all night thrillers you won’t be able to put down! It has everything I love in a domestic thriller. A conniving and gold digging con-artist. Old money. Scandal! It is perfect for fans of Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen, Julie Clarke, or Liv Constantine. Bea has a traumatic past: being carted around the country by her scammer mother. They never stay in one place too long; she doesn’t even know her real name (or her mother’s real name for that matter!). But Bea is smart and beautiful, has learned the art of swindling men from her mother. Now, years later, she is determined to marry rich. Not just rich… wealthy, old money. When she sets her eyes on Collin Case (the heir to a giant family company, I thought of Johnson & Johnson), she knows that he is the one. Collin is smitten, but she encounters resistance from his family. Her biggest opponent is his childhood best friend (who is also in love with Collin): Gale Wallace Leicester. Gale quickly proves herself a worthy opponent; smarter and more wily than Bea had expected. Bea has to decide what she really wants and how far she is willing to go to get (and keep) it!

I ordered this book after reading this piece in the New York Times and wound up finishing the book in just a day. It’s haunting, to say the least. Anna is a former influencer who started at 19… moving to LA to become an Instagram mode. Now she is 35 years old, working for Sephora (they just say “the black and white store”) and having one big surgery (called Aesthetica) to reverse all the plastic surgery she had when she was young. This is a major surgery, she is essentially risking her life to return to her former self. Alternating between her 19 year old self in 2017 and her 35 year old self in the future, we visit Anna’s past trauma and her relationship with her former manager/boss Jake. We see her slippery slope of plastic surgery and changing herself to fit a certain aesthetic (the book opens with her getting a bikini wax). We meet her mother and examine that relationship (these parts were especially heartbreaking). The book is very dark and moving (and fortunately completely, drastically different from my own “influencer” experience). I couldn’t put it down. It was unsettling and a train wreck at some parts, but ultimately very good.

I ordered this immediately when I saw that it had won the National Book Award for Fiction but wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it. I ended up loving it – it’s creative, sad, and funny all at once. It’s set over the course of one hot summer week in the town of Vacca Vale, Indiana in a low income housing complex, known as The Rabbit Hutch. The town was once a bustling industrial center but now that’s dried up — though the factories may become the homes for new startups, giving Vacca Vale a second chance that not everyone wants. The book introduces us to its many residents. Three teenage boys who have gotten into animal sacrifice. A new mother who is afraid of her son’s eyes. An obituary writer. Plus, the son of a beloved actress (who maybe shouldn’t have been as beloved, after all). The real star of the book is Blandine, a young woman (living with the three teenage boys who she can’t stand). The four of them met in a foster care rehab program (after aging out of the system) and decided to live together on a whim. Blandine has secrets. Why did she drop out of her prestigious high school? I will say no more than that but I couldn’t put this one down. The writing is intoxicating and the way that each character’s story weaves together is incredible.

Emily Henry is one of those authors who makes me think… “hmm, maybe I do like romance novels!?” And then I read something by someone am else and am back to murders the next day. Her books are just.. such treats. I loved this one because it poked fun of romance novels a bit, and also: the characters were so likable and relatable. You probably know this by now but one of the reasons I tend to stay away from reading romance is that the female characters are always a little bit pathetic/messy… and/or younger which is fine but I am 41 and just don’t want to read about a messy twenty-something who needs to be rescued. Our leading lady, Nora, is a book agent and a bit of a workaholic in her thirties. In her words, “the one who gets dumped” by her boyfriends who leave her to marry an innkeeper’s daughter or trade city living for the country. She is, as she puts it, the Christmas movie villain on the Peloton bike. When her younger sister Libby (who Nora has always watched out for after their mother died when they were younger) suggests they take a break to spend a month in Sunshine Falls (just outside of Asheville), all bets are off. Especially when Nora runs into her nemesis Charlie Lastra (an equally workaholic book editor). Maybe he’s not as bad as he seems. This book is the perfect romance. It was cheesy at times but in an enjoyable way. I got choked up at the end which is not something that usually happens. I couldn’t love it more!

If you are a fan of the DeuxMoi account (who isn’t!) I think you will gobble this book right up! It’s such a fun read. It is a fictional telling of how the account may or may not have been founded, and I couldn’t put it down! Cricket Lopez is the assistant to one of the most notorious (mean, abusive) celebrity stylists. One night, she is a bit tipsy and decides to turn her old instagram account into a source for celebrity gossip. What happens next is amazing. The account takes off, nearly overnight. The account turns into a giant success and everyone is trying to figure out.. “Who exactly is DeuxMoi!?” She’s approached by investors who want to buy the account, she is terrified of losing her anonymity (as are her friends: they’re all in the same industry and if she’s “outed,” their jobs are at stake too!). Meanwhile, she’s spreading herself thin, disappearing at work, etc. I really enjoyed the book. It made me nostalgic for being young in New York… it was fun and fast paced and reminded me a bit of a Devil Wears Prada for the digital age!

An older book (from 2011) but a good one. This had been sitting in my TBR pile for ages. I picked it up during the move because Elin Hilderbrand’s novels never disappoint, they are also always just so extremely satisfying! And heartwarming: I wanted heartwarming. This one surrounds a Ruth Madoff type of character. Meredith Delinn is the most hated woman in America. Her husband, Freddy, has been caught running a massive Ponzi scheme and thousands of people have lost everything because of him. Now, Meredith has absolutely nothing.. just one box of belongings. She heads to Nantucket to hide out at her childhood best friend Connie’s home in Nantucket. This book has everything. There is a redemption angle for Meredith as she works to prove that she didn’t know about her husband’s antics, there’s Connie and Meredith’s friendship, there’s a mother daughter thing, there is two romances, and so much more. I really loved this book. The ending felt like a warm hug. It’s up there with The Blue Bistro in terms of favorite Elin Hilderbrand books.

I really loved this book… utterly unputdownable! Ellice Littlejohn has pulled herself up from a rough childhood (she grew up poor, in a small Georgia town with an alcoholic mother and an abusive stepfather). Now, she seemingly has it all: a gorgeous condo and a well-paying job as a corporate attorney. A bit complicated as she’s sleeping with her (married) boss Michael, but doing well overall. When she finds Michael shot dead in his office (and walks away like nothing has happened), her life is upended. First, she is promoted to his role. The dream… except it feels icky and too fast. Things continue to get weirder. The entire executive team misses Michael’s funeral for a party. The cops are investigating his death as a homicide. And Ellice’s secrets start to come out. (Like her brother Sam – who has done time in jail – what was he doing in Ellice’s office building the morning of Michael’s murder!?) This book is fast paced and twisty, but also an exploration of race + racist behavior in the workplace. I couldn’t put it down and would highly recommend it. I also can’t believe it is Wanda M. Morris’s debut novel – she just released her second book and I ordered it on the spot!

This is a really important book but the annoying thing is that if I told you the secondary (and possibly most important) thing this book is about, it would ruin a big twist. This is exactly what my mom told me, which was annoying but I’m glad she didn’t tell me! There is a trigger warning for domestic abuse. Olivia McAfee is a beekeeper living in New Hampshire with her high school age son, Asher. They live a small but idyllic life. Asher is madly in love with his girlfriend Lily, Olivia has found happiness (after an abusive marriage) with her bees and small town life. Asher’s girlfriend Lily has secrets of her own. When the unthinkable happens (Lily has been found dead) and Asher is brought in for questioning, more secrets come out. The book alternates between the perspective of Olivia and Lily and is utterly unputdownable. Alternating between past and present and taking us through Asher’s court trial and the verdict, I was on the edge of my seat. I really loved it. I cried a few times… it’s very sad, but also suspenseful. As with everything Jodi Picoult writes, it’s impeccably researched, too. Highly recommend this one!

I love Sally Hepworth’s books and was so excited when I received an an advance copy in the mail. Pippa is married to Gabe, the love of her life. Their marriage has had its ups and downs but they are happy, living in a beautiful coastal town, nestled atop the cliffs. Unfortunately, the cliffs have become a popular place for people to come to end their life. Gabe has developed something of a reputation for being a rescuer… literally, talking people off of a ledge. Then one day, it doesn’t work and a woman falls to her death. When Pippa realizes that Gabe actually knew the victim, questions arise and secrets come out. Pippa begins to wonder if she has been just turning a blind eye to her husband’s bad behavior… questioning if she ever really knew him at all. The book is told from both the perspective of Pippa and the dead woman. I enjoyed this but I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending. But still, worth reading. Everything Sally Hepworth writes is excellent. (If you were curious/wondering, The Mother-in-Law and The Good Sister remain two of my favorites!!!)

This book was torture to read at times as it felt like the story would/could never be resolved! This one is very complex, so be prepared to have to pay very good attention at all times. I had some bad airplane delays and was grateful to have this with me as it totally captured every ounce of my attention. Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi cab. She has blacked out and has no idea where she is. STAY AWAKE is written on her skin. She looks for her phone and that’s gone — replaced by a bloody knife. When she asks the taxi driver to take her home, a stranger answers and tells her that she no longer lives there. She’s disoriented and can’t remember anything. She knows she is a good person, but all signs point to her being the murderer. The book alternates between the present and two years ago where Liv was a successful magazine writer living with her good friend. But now she is on the run and can’t remember anything. This was really stressful to read but also so satisfying. I definitely recommend it.

This is one of those thrillers that you think about for weeks after finishing it. It had me on the edge of my seat with my stomach tied in knots until the very last page. Here is the premise: two women at a glamorous New York fashion behemoth are in an elevator that gets stuck together. Only one walks out alive. Was it murder or was it suicide? The book then alternates between the perspective of the general counsel at the firm they work together and Shea: the women who got out alive. We get to know Shea and how down on her luck she is. In the 2008 recession both she and her husband lost their high-paying jobs and with that lost everything: their credit, their home, their wardrobes… their dignity. There is also a big mystery and a scandal at the company. I don’t want to say too much but this is definitely worth picking up… I really loved it!

I am so conflicted on this one! On the one hand, it took me about a hundred and fifty pages to get into it (I came so close to DNFing it but had heard such rave reviews). On the other hand, once I got into it I really enjoyed it. I thought the plot and structure of the novel were both really creative and unique; it had some great twists and I LOVED the ending. Here is the premise. Kelly and Jen have a teenage son (Todd) together. Todd is, by all accounts, very sweet and a total rule follower/do-gooder. One night, Todd commits a terrible murder, which Kelly and Jen witness. It is gruesome and awful, and the end of the beautiful life their family has built together. The next day, Jen wakes up and it is the day before. The next day, it’s the day before that. She is stuck in some sort of wild time loop. Can she stop the murder? Can she figure out what happened to unravel her family’s secrets? Is anyone who she thought they were? I would definitely recommend this but just be prepared for it to take a bit to get into. Once you’re in, you’ll be hooked.

I had been eagerly anticipating this one as I worked in the startup world during Bonobos’ peak era – we were watching everything they did. I had seen Andy Dunn speak a few times and knew quite a bit about him from mutual friends, and was really curious what his book would be like. This is his memoir – of founding (and building Bonobos) and his experiences as a person living with bipolar disorder. Entrepreneurship and mental health. I have to be honest, I like him more after reading this. It’s really vulnerable, raw, and honest — I think a lot of people will benefit from his experience. He isn’t afraid to admit where he makes mistakes and we also see the prevalence of mental health in the startup community. (It takes a very specific personality both when it comes to creativity, performance, drive, etc. to found a startup.) The book follows him from college where he had a scary manic episode through graduate school (where he sweeps it under the rug, seeing his diagnosis as an unspeakable shame) through founding and ultimately selling Bonobos. I enjoyed it. The startup/entrepreneurship parts and bits about living in New York were nostalgic for me and I appreciated his vulnerability.

I cannot for the life of me remember who told me to read this but it sounded right up my alley: a woman (wife and mother Kate Bennett) vanishes into thin air one day; leaving behind her husband and 5 year old daughter. There are no signs of struggle, even her purse is just neatly left on the passenger seat of her car in a parking lot. Eleven years later she shows up at a Montana gas station: haggard, with scars all over her body, clutching a baby. Meanwhile, her husband Scott has moved on and remarried… and her daughter Abbi barely remembers her mother. The story alternates between then (told by Kate) and now (told by Abbi and Meredith – the new wife). As the family takes Kate in and attempts to reintegrate her into society, we learn more and more about what happened to Kate. Sinister secrets, abuse, etc. I felt that this started really strong but kind of fell apart. There are holes in the story and the ending felt a little bit lazy / off the rails to me. I still enjoyed it but was let down by the last twenty percent of the book. I would still recommend it (especially if you love thrillers about cults) but I only netted out medium on this one!

My mom read this and told me that I had to read it because she knew I would love it. (She was right, as always!) Set between New York City and Cape Cod (my two homes/favorite places besides Charleston), it was just so good! The Pavlin family has built a jewelry empire based on love but (all thanks to a PR stunt years ago), its family is divided. Two sisters aren’t speaking to each other, one is dead, and the one grandchild is estranged from everyone and living in poverty. When Gemma Maybrook graduates from college she has one goal: to track down her mother’s famous engagement ring, the Electric Rose (a 30 karat pink diamond). Orphaned after a tragic accident, it is all she has left of her mother. Meanwhile, her aunt Elodie is trying to auction off the family’s most precious jewels and her other aunt, Celeste has escaped to Cape Cod. A series of events bring them together and secrets come out. This book is packed with twists and turns and a very satisfying ending. I loved it. It’s the perfect feel good read.

This came recommended to me (actually in a funny way, a bookstagrammer tagged me saying thank you for the recommendation but I had not read or recommended it) and I only netted out medium. Kate O’Brien is a scholarship student at an elite New York City girls’ school with a singular goal: getting into Yale. She works two jobs and lives in a basement room in Chinatown. With a secretive past and no one to support her but herself, she has learned to take care of herself no matter what she has to do. She will lie and charm her way to the top. When she meets wealthy, damaged Olivia Sumner, she’s found her mark. Pretty soon, she is living with Olivia in her Upper East Side penthouse and the two are best friends… sisters they never had. Enter Mark Redkin, the handsome new head of fund-raising for their school. Olivia becomes smitten (and very fixated on Redkin) in a dangerous way. Redkin has the power to destroy everything that Kate has worked for, and that is when things get very dark (and start to go off the rails). I enjoyed reading this but I felt it went a little too far. It was entertaining but with so many great books out there, I’d say that you can probably skip this one!

I absolutely loved this book. I read it in a single Sunday because I could not stop reading. If you are not familiar with Danielle Prescod, she has held some amazing jobs in fashion media and now runs her own consulting practice 2BG alongside Chrissy Rutherford. This is her memoir: of growing up Black in an all white environment, working in fashion (you know I gobble up a fashion girl memoir), tokenism, disordered eating, being too Black, not being Black enough, racism, sexism, and size-ism. It is heartbreaking and difficult to read at times, bitingly funny at others… and ultimately: extremely honest and vulnerable. She takes us all the way through her childhood (where so much of her identity is whitewashed as she tries to fit in with her white peers), through school where she felt that she had to make herself “perfect” by starving herself and getting painful chemical hair treatments every two months, through college (and finding herself turning into a mean girl), through her career in beauty and fashion. I really think that every person in fashion and media should read this book. Or any white person, really. I loved that besides being personal, it was also educational. I am not the best at keeping up with pop culture and there was some really racist shit I definitely missed. I loved this book. I will add that there is one trigger warning for eating disorders: Danielle is very honest about her eating disorder and the recovery process and know that can be triggering for some. (On a personal note, years and years ago I went to the same nutritionist that she did and I am still impacted by my experience: although rather than triggering I found a lot of comfort knowing that it wasn’t just me.)

I really loved Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris (and sadly haven’t loved anything else she’s written quite as much The Therapist was good, The Dilemma was not). And then this came along. This is a true “read it in a day” thriller. And if you liked Behind Closed Doors as much as I did, I think you will really like this! I started it on my flight from Charleston to Atlanta, and finished it on the second flight from Atlanta to LA. I couldn’t put it down. It’s fast-paced and not very long. Amelie has had a hard life but through determination and grit, pulled herself up from poverty into a comfortable life. Orphaned at age 17, she moves to London, determined to make it on her own and eventually go to college and study law. When she finds herself down on her luck and homeless, she meets a wealthy woman who takes her in and gives her a job and friendship. Four years later, she has a tight-knit group of friends and is working for a popular magazine. She’s also married to a handsome billionaire. A true rags to riches story. Until she is kidnapped. Kept in a pitch-black room, uncertain of who captured her (or why?). And maybe most perplexing: why does she feel safer there than with her husband? This is a fun, fast read. Not out til November but well worth the pre-order… just be sure to clear a whole day to read it!