Summer reading means something a bit different to everyone, but I’ve got you covered in my 2025 Summer Reading Guide. Some of you like to put their brains completely on vacation with fun, easy reads. Some of you like an action-packed page turner. Some of you want something with a bit more substance. And, some of you might like something a little different.
Personally, I like books you can fly through, books you don’t have to work too hard on, and books you can get easily immersed in. And, I love a dark book for summer. This doesn’t mean I avoid hard topics in my summer reading, I just typically avoid books that require lots of concentration.
I’ve read every book that appears on this list and, as always, will add a new mini-crop of selections around mid-July.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s episode of the Sarah’s Bookshelves Live Podcast…where Susie from Novel Visits and I talk about our summer reading journeys, books that missed last year’s Summer Reading Guide, and our #1 2025 summer picks!
As usual, we have a Printable Cheatsheet for this year’s Guide:
- Available to anyone who signs up for a FREE TRIAL of our Patreon Community (sign up here) OR our Substack Paid Membership (sign up here).
- The Cheatsheet is a PDF (for easy printing) of the Summer Reading Guide in quick recommendations (great for taking to the bookstore or library!). Plus:
- Summer Reading recommendations from our Sarah’s Bookshelves Live team (Catherine from Gilmore Guide to Books, Susie from Novel Visits, and Chrissie Whitley from @chrissiewhitley).
- Summer Reading recommendations from my Top Recommendation Sources from last year.
- Access to the Summer Reading Guide Cheatsheet and sign-ups for our Free Trials of our Patreon Community and PAID Substack Membership will close on Friday, May 23 (right before Memorial Day weekend).
- When you sign up for a Free Trial, you’ll receive a Welcome Letter with a link to the Summer Reading Guide Cheatsheet (and a Starter Roadmap of bonus content to make sure you try during your Trial window).
- As a participant in our Free Trials, you’ll also get access to our entire back catalog of bonus podcast episodes and my Rock Your Reading Tracker.
Previous Summer Reading Guides: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
This post contains affiliate links through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
2025 Summer Reading Guide
Something Light / Fun
This year, I’m thrilled that I could find a good selection of light / fun books that aren’t romances (although, we do have some romances in here as well).
My #1 Pick
The Road to Tender Hearts
Brain Candy (Released April 29, 2025)
384 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: The premise for this story sounds ridiculous and probably would’ve been in any other author’s hands. But, not Annie Hartnett’s. PJ Halliday is a 63 year old unemployed alcoholic who won 1.5M in the lottery years before. He’s recovering from the tragic death of his oldest daughter and his ex-wife is still more or less taking care of him even though she now lives with her boyfriend in a house down the street. He’s planning a road trip when he’s contacted by Child Services asking to become the guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren after they lost both their parents. So, the kids and PJ’s younger daughter join him on this road trip.
My Thoughts: This might be my first ever 5 star road trip book (because they don’t typically work for me)! I adore Hartnett’s entirely singular, voice-y writing style. She confronts serious issues in her books, but layers them with dark, sometimes morbid humor and a heart-warming feeling. Every main character in this story is dealing with some sort of trauma in their lives (loss, grief, addiction) and this road trip is a healing mechanism for them all. Of course, ridiculous stuff happens to them along the way. This book felt like a warm bath. Characters I adored and was rooting for, chuckle funny humor, and themes of healing and resilience.
How to End A Love Story by Yulin Kuang
Romance (Released April 9, 2024)
384 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Helen and Grant went to high school together and their lives were bound together by a tragic accident. Years later, Helen has written a successful YA series that’s being adapted for TV and Grant has become a television screenwriter in LA. Of course, Grant is hired as a screenwriter on the adaptation of Helen’s books and Helen is also working in the writer’s room.
My Thoughts: This Reese’s Book Club pick has everything I always look for in a romance novel: great writing, depth, and a behind the scenes look at a particular industry (in this case, book to screen adaptation screenwriting). The author is a screenwriter herself working on adapting Emily Henry’s books for the screen, so the depiction of the writer’s room is authentic. And, in this case, the depth comes from Helen and Grant dealing with grief, healing, family attachments, and Helen is dealing with generational and cultural differences with her Chinese immigrant parents. This enemies to lovers romance is SUPER steamy and is one of the best romances I’ve read in awhile.
I Might Be in Trouble
Genre Mash-Up (Released December 3, 2024)
352 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Our main character, David Alvarez, is a gay writer living in NYC. After a smash hit debut novel, his sophomore novel bombed and his bank account is running dangerously low as he anxiously awaits to hear if his publisher will buy his third novel. During this period, David meets a man on Grindr and, after a fantastic date with him, David wakes up to this man DEAD next to him in bed. Fearing that he’ll be under suspicion for his death and that this will impact his writing career, he calls a trusted friend instead of the police.
My Thoughts: This dark comedy of errors was such a pleasant surprise…and, it was so much more than the funny book I was expecting. I Might Be in Trouble mixes the ridiculous with the heartfelt and the funny with the gravely serious. The story starts out like an LGBTQ romance, then turns into more of a Jesse Q. Sutanto novel, then ends up with a bit of cat and mouse thriller mixed with character driven literary fiction. So much…but it works. The plot gets zany at times, but roll with it! And, I got emotional by the end as I was rooting for Daniel to get his life in order and feel good about himself again, which was shocking given I expected a darkly funny satire-ish story going in.
Lucky Loser: Adventures in Tennis and Comedy
Nonfiction – Memoir (Released March 11, 2025)
304 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Michael Kosta is a stand-up comic and host of The Daily Show. But, he is also a former pro tennis player (career high world ranking of 864). In his memoir, he shares his experience on the junior tennis circuit, playing NCAA Division 1 tennis, and as a “journeyman” (which is VERY different than the experience of players like Federer, Nadal, or even others not as well known outside the tennis world who may be ranked in the Top 20 in the world) on the pro tennis circuit.
My Thoughts: Humor is hard for me in reading and I’ve historically had trouble with memoirs by professional comedians because it feels like they’re trying too hard. But, I loved Kosta’s humor…he’s self-deprecating and skewered the junior tennis circuit (which does have a lot worthy of skewering). I lot of the skills Kosta acquired clawing his way into a pro tennis career served him well when he broke into comedy and I enjoyed seeing the connections he made between tennis and comedy. I don’t think you need to be an avid tennis fan to love this book (though I am), as his funny stories from his tennis days and his behind the scenes look at breaking into comedy are highly entertaining.
The Family Recipe by Carolyn Huynh
Brain Candy (Release Date: April 1, 2025)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Duc Tran runs a national Vietnamese sandwich chain in the U.S. In order to decide which of his estranged adult children will inherit his estate, he creates a competition: each of his four daughters needs to revitalize a rundown store in areas of Little Saigon within the next year. And, his son beats all his sisters to the inheritance if he can get married within the year. But, there are more layers to this sadistic game pitting siblings against each other than initially meet the eye.
My Thoughts: Based on the plot summary and the first few pages, I expected a funny, somewhat outlandish story. But, I was pleasantly surprised to also find depth and a bit of Vietnamese history. The sadistic game is more of a catalyst for these siblings to get to know their family better (they begin the book fairly estranged from each other) and understand themselves better through knowing their family. The Vietnamese history element involves tensions between the KKK and Vietnamese fishermen in the 80’s in Seadrift, TX, culminating in the shooting of a white man that the KKK blamed on the Vietnamese population. Huynh did a great job weaving this element into the story of the Tran family in a way that made sense. Though this is a more serious book than I expected, there are still bits of humor and a heart-warming feeling.
The Flatshare
Romance (Released May 28, 2019)
336 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: This British friends to lovers romance has such a fun premise. Tiffy and Leon are flatmates in a unique way. Leon works nights and spends weekends at his girlfriend’s place. To bring in some extra money, he rented out his bedroom (including his actual bed) to Tiffy, who is coming off a bad breakup and works days. They go months without meeting, just communicating with each other via notes left all over the flat. Some are transactional and others are intimate and personal.
My Thoughts: The characters in this book are quintessentially British quirky with that kind of humor. Everyone in this book is so likable. I love depth in my romances and the depth in The Flatshare comes from the focus on emotional abuse and recovery from emotional abuse.
The No Show by Beth O’Leary
Romance (Released April 12, 2022)
337 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Plot Summary: Usually a romance features one couple, but The No Show features three. Three women are all stood up on Valentine’s Day by the same man (one for breakfast, one for lunch, and one for an evening event) and we follow these three relationships as they progress through ups and downs.
My Thoughts: It’s rare that I find a romance novel that surprises me and Beth O’Leary delivered one with The No Show! It feels a bit like the movie Love Actually – there are connections between all the characters that they’re not all initially aware of (but the reader is). True romance readers might need to stay patient with this one given the male lead is juggling three women, it departs from many traditional romance tropes, and O’Leary deals with some serious issues (including mental illness, grief, and workplace harassment). But, this departure is what made me love it – way to go Beth O’Leary for doing something different in a genre that can get highly formulaic. And, there is a payoff at the end!
Yours, Eventually by Nura Maznavi
Fiction (Released February 18, 2025)
400 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The story takes place in a Pakistani American community and our main character, Asma, is a successful doctor. Years ago, Asma’s college sweetheart was planning to propose, but her aunt and father rejected his proposal. Now, he’s back on the scene after making it big in Silicon Valley.
My Thoughts: Yours, Eventually is a drama about a Pakistani American family that I really enjoyed being immersed in. There is the question of “will they be able to re-connect?”, but it’s sort of in the background of this family drama about a sprawling Pakistani family living in Northern California. The publisher says this is a “comedy of manners” and that Maznavi was inspired by similarities between Jane Austen’s Persuasion and her own Pakistani American community. But, you don’t need to have read Persuasion to enjoy this. Asma struggles with making choices that her parents would approve of vs. what she actually thinks is right for her. And, the romance elements are VERY closed door, but I still felt the emotional connection between Asma and her college sweetheart.
Something Fast Paced / Intense
This section is full of fast-paced books that aren’t domestic thrillers!
My #1 Picks
Dead Money by Jakob Kerr
Thriller (Released January 28, 2025)
416 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Mackenzie is an investigator for bigtime Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Roger Hammersmith. When the CEO of one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups is murdered, he leaves behind a bunch of “dead money” in his will (money that’s been left to a beneficiary who has already passed away, so needs to be distributed based on the will’s contingency plans or state law). The chief investor in the CEO’s company is Mackenzie’s boss, so she’s tasked with unravelling the situation.
My Thoughts: Financial thrillers have become recovery reads for me and work SO much better for me than domestic thrillers. I find the business scenarios fascinating…much like legal dramas. Kerr was one of the first employees of Airbnb, so there is a roman-a-clef element to this book – so, I enjoyed trying to match major tech world characters and companies to their real life counterparts. This story had so many layers to it, the early ones of which I guessed, and the deeper ones that took me completely by surprise. I also loved the look into Silicon Valley tech bro culture and the girl power element that Kerr included as a counterpoint to it.
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
Intense Love Story (Released January 14, 2025)
464 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The Favorites is a dark, intense love story set in the very messed up world of Olympic level ice dancing, inspired by Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Our main characters, Heath and Kat, are enmeshed with each other their entire lives – sometimes through red hot love and sometimes through white hot rage.
My Thoughts: This is a scandalous, dramatic (sometimes crossing into melodramatic), cutthroat, hot, immersive, horrifying, but most importantly, addictive and riveting story. Pretty much all the characters in this story are dislikable, but there’s massive growth for them by the end. I loved the oral history-esque structural element of this story…chapters from Kat’s perspective are interspersed with transcript segments from a “1o years later” documentary about the Heath / Kat partnership. The Favorites is perfect for fans of the cult hit movie The Cutting Edge (with Moira Kelly), but it’s 10x more scandalous and dramatic. PS – the writing isn’t amazing and the melodrama is over the top, but I didn’t care. I was furiously turning those pages.
Hunted
Thriller (Released May 7, 2024)
400 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: The story begins with the perspective of a woman (Yasmin) who, along with her partner (Jack), are getting ready to commit an act of violence. What follows is a 7 day race to prevent a dangerous organization from terrorizing America in the lead-up to its Presidential election.
My Thoughts: Elizabeth Barnhill (@wacoreads) of Fabled Bookshop picked out this action thriller with a bit of a political angle for me when we visited an indie bookstore together. I was intrigued from the beginning about what was going on here because nothing that was happening seemed like your average politically motivated violence. And, some of the perspectives we hear are from the parents of two of the people rumored to be involved with the violence. They’re just as thrown off by their children’s activities as everyone else is and they’re trying to look out for the wellbeing of their children. The fact that these two parents are of different nationalities and different races provides excellent perspective on race in an organic way. Hunted is a fast paced story with lots of layers…what felt like should be happening at the end of the book happens far earlier than that, so I couldn’t wait to find out what additional surprises lurked behind the curtain.
The Last One at the Wedding
Genre-Mash-Up / Thriller (Released October 8, 2024)
352 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Frank gets a call from his estranged adult daughter (Maggie) inviting him to her upcoming wedding. She’s marrying Aiden Gardner, the son of a tech billionaire, on their family’s extremely fancy, but remote New Hampshire compound. When Frank begins to meet the Gardner family, he becomes convinced that something isn’t right and that Maggie is about to make a huge mistake by marrying Aiden. So, he sets out to get to the bottom of the situation.
My Thoughts: The Last One at the Wedding reminded me of a less literary version of The God of the Woods. Like The God of the Woods, The Last One at the Wedding is being marketed as a thriller, but to me, it’s a genre mash-up of a dysfunctional family story, wealthy people behaving badly, and suspense. The story is set in the lead-up to the big wedding and everyone is dealing with their own secrets. Frank is “salt of the earth” and is someone you root for as he comes up against the norms of extremely rich people. Try to ignore Frank’s annoying sister and this is a great beach read.
The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special Forces Operation That Shocked the World by Ben Macintyre
Police Procedural (Released September 10, 2024)
400 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The Siege tells the story of how 6 gunmen attacked the Iranian Embassy in London during the 7th month of the 1980 Iranian Hostage crisis involving the U.S., taking 26 hostages. Macintyre takes us play by play through the 6 day siege, the negotiations to free the hostages and how that turned out, and the history behind why the 6 gunmen attacked the Embassy.
My Thoughts: Ben Macintyre is a master of keeping readers on the edge of their seats with historical nonfiction that reads like high octane action thrillers. In the first part of the book, we learn about the political history that led to the attack, while the second part reads like a fast-paced thriller. This story has everything: Stockholm syndrome, the hostages trying to advise the terrorists, intelligence gathering, hostage negotiation, military tactics, political intrigue, and the media. And, Macintyre’s research was extensive, including exclusive interviews, never before released files, and real time diaries kept by multiple involved parties including one of the hostages.
Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
Thriller (Released March 25, 2025)
416 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Witness 8 is the 8th book in the Eddie Flynn legal drama series (which you do not need to read in order!). Ruby Johnson’s family used to live on a swanky block of the Upper West Side of NYC until her father’s fall from grace. Now, Ruby is a maid and nanny for multiple families on her old block. One night, she witnesses a murder and decides to use it to her advantage. When Eddie is brought in to defend the person charged with the crime, his path crosses with Ruby’s.
My Thoughts: If you’re not familiar with the Eddie Flynn series, he is a former con man turned defense attorney and his con man background informs his “unique” legal practices. Mixed with Eddie’s typical legal shenanigans is a Desperate Housewives vibe in this swanky NYC neighborhood where the social scene is insular (and gossipy!) and everyone is speculating about who killed their neighbor. The suspense in this story surrounds HOW Ruby is using this murder to her advantage and who the real killer is. I love these books as a palate cleanser that feels different from your average domestic thriller.
Worst Case Scenario by TJ Newman
Thriller (Released August 13, 2024)
336 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: TJ Newman writes high octane airplane centric action thrillers. Her third novel begins when the pilot of a commercial jetliner has a “widow-maker” heart attack while the plane is in the air and the co-pilot is in the bathroom, becoming stuck once the plane begins flying erratically. The plane crashes into a nuclear power plant in a small Minnesota town.
My Thoughts: In a slight departure from her earlier novels, Worst Case Scenario is ultimately more of a nuclear power plant novel than an airplane focused novel. It’s a bit slower paced than other previous two books, but pace is relative for Newman (i.e. it’s still fast paced compared to most other novels). While this story is filled with heart-wrenching choices where there is no good answer, there are bigger feel-good and hopeful elements to this book.
Slow-Burn Suspense
My favorite type of suspense…
My #1 Pick
The Death of Us by Abigail Dean
Family Drama / Crime Fiction (Release Date: April 15, 2025)
336 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Isabel and Edward are surviving victims of a serial rapist and murderer called the South London Invader (modeled on the real life Golden State Killer). The attack irreparably changed their relationship. Years later, Isabel and Edward are now preparing to speak at the South London Invader’s sentencing hearing.
My Thoughts: The Death of Us is the story of the victims, not the story of the South London Intruder. It’s dark and sad and absolutely riveting. It’s the love story of Edward and Isabel, but it’s also about what surviving an attack like this can do to a marriage. The Death of Us explores the impact on the male that was present for the attack, but couldn’t stop it, something I’ve never seen depicted in crime fiction before. While this story is character-driven, there were multiple plot developments that had me saying “oh, dang.” Though The Death of Us is darker than your average beach read, it’s the best combination of plot and character and highly immersive (the most important quality for me in my summer reading). Great for fans of Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (which was on last year’s Summer Reading Guide).
Guide Me Home by Attica Locke
Mystery (Released September 3, 2024)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Texas Ranger Darren Mathews has retired early following an indictment that’s still following him. But, he’s called back to investigate the disappearance of a Black student from an all-white sorority.
My Thoughts: The third book in the Highway 59 series is an interesting one…and it has a different feeling than the first two (Bluebird, Bluebird and Heaven, My Home). It’s much more about Darren, his personal life, his family, and his future than either of the previous two books in the series. The mystery of the missing sorority girl leads Darren down an intriguing path, but that’s not the entire crux of this book. Guide Me Home is more character-driven and less of a mystery than slow burn suspense. Caveat: the Prologue was hard for me to get into but, it doesn’t read like the rest of the book. Keep going. If you like more literary crime fiction / police procedurals, this series is for you.
Heartwood by Amity Gaige
Literary Police Procedural (Released April 1, 2025)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Inspired by a real missing hiker from 2013, Heartwood centers around Valerie Gillis, a 42 year old nurse, who is hiking the Appalachian Trail. 200 miles from her final destination in Maine, she goes missing and a full scale search is launched. The story is told from the perspectives of Lieutenant Bev (one of the few female Maine State Game Wardens and the person in charge of the search for Valerie), Valerie’s journal entries to her mother during her AT hike, a woman in her 70’s in a retirement home, and occasional epistolary segments like interview transcripts, news items, etc.
My Thoughts: I loved Gaige’s last novel, Sea Wife, and Heartwood has some similarities to that book. Both books use some epistolary elements, which I always love, and both show a love for nature (Sea Wife for the ocean and Heartwood for the woods). Heartwood is suspenseful given this is a missing persons story, but it’s HIGHLY literary and has a slower pace than your run-of-the-mill missing persons book. THIS IS NOT A THRILLER. Gaige’s writing about the woods is enchanting. She did a beautiful job creating the Maine portion of the AT, making it seem sort of magical, but also showing the danger that lurks there. While Heartwood is about a physically lost person on the surface, what it’s truly about is becoming lost in your own life and within relationships (particularly mother / daughter relationships).
Penitence by Kristin Koval
Family Drama / Crime Fiction (Release Date: January 28, 2025)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: This story opens with a 13 year old Nora Sheehan sitting in a jail cell and her parents (Angie and David) need to figure out how to defend her for what she’s done in a VERY complicated situation. They call in Martine, a local attorney and the mother of Angie’s high school boyfriend, to help with Nora’s defense. Martine doesn’t specialize in criminal law, so she enlists the help of her son and Angie’s ex-boyfriend. Further complicating the situation is that Angie and her ex are forced to revisit a tragedy that happened in their younger years.
My Thoughts: I love a family drama / legal drama mash-up and William Landay (Defending Jacob) and Angie Kim (Miracle Creek) have been the master of those for me. I’m thrilled to add Kristin Koval to that line-up with her 5 star debut novel! This story is about blame and forgiveness, what you would do to protect your child, and what happens to a marriage when crisis hits your family. And, what Angie and David are dealing with here is the most emotionally complicated of the emotionally complicated. This is also a story of the why…we know the what and who right out of the gates and the suspense lies in how they ended up in this spot and what the aftermath will look like. Despite guessing a major twist VERY early on, I was completely engrossed in this tumultuous journey with this family. This one has a great shot at being one of my favorite books of 2025.
The Dark Maestro by Brendan Slocumb
Fiction (Release Date: May 13, 2025)
416 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The publisher starts off with this, which I love: His cello made him famous. His father made him a target. Curtis Wilson is the son of Zippy, a mid-level drug dealer, living in the projects of the DC area. His dad’s girlfriend, Larissa, is a mother figure to him and fosters his musical talent on the cello. Curtis’ career in music has started to skyrocket when his Dad gets himself into some trouble with the law and the leaders of the drug cartel he works for, which turns the whole family’s lives upside down.
My Thoughts: Slocumb was a podcast guest in 2023 for his sophomore novel, Symphony of Secrets. He is a talented musician in his own right and specializes in writing suspense set in the world of classical music. He’s sort of like the TJ Newman of the classical music world. And, you DON’T have to be interested in classical music to love his books. He doesn’t focus on the X’s and O’s of it…he writes more about how music makes the listener and the person playing the music FEEL. The Dark Maestro feels different from his previous two books – it’s more character-driven (though the end does read more like a traditional thriller) and I felt deeply for these characters, even when they made mistakes. There are a couple very intriguing elements in the story that I’m not going to reveal because I loved discovering them on my own. But, both elements are drawn from Slocumb’s real life. There is also a heart-warming element to this story with the father / son relationship between Zippy and Curtis and the mother figure relationship Curtis has with Larissa.
The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Slow Burn Thriller (Released October 1, 2024)
304 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The Sequel features Anna Williams – Bonner, the widow of the famed novelist, Jacob Finch Bonner from The Plot. She’s been protecting her husband’s legacy since he died by suicide and has now written her own book, called The Afterward. While on tour promoting her book, she starts to receive some cryptic messages that alert her to the fact that her true past isn’t buried like she thought.
My Thoughts: It’s rare that a sequel is as good as the original, but I think The Sequel rivals The Plot. The beginning of The Sequel is a lot of funny and biting commentary about the publishing industry. The back half of the story reads more like the thriller the publisher is marketing it as (although I think it’s more of a slow burn). Korelitz did a great job plotting this one out. She covered the details of how everything went down and they all made logical sense, but they were also unexpected. The Sequel asks the question of who a story belongs to: the person who lived it or the person who told it, which is interesting to think about. Note: You should read The Plot before reading The Sequel.
Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea
Crime Fiction (Release Date: December 28, 2021)
357 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The book opens with a crime scene where a man’s naked body is hanging off the balcony of a massive mansion in the Catskills…with what appear to be whip marks across his butt. We then skip to 20 years later, when new DNA technology enables authorities to identify their first 9/11 victim based solely off of tiny bone fragments…and, that victim is the person who was accused of murdering the man hanging from the balcony 20 years ago. Avery Mason, the new host of a hit TV newsmagazine show, decides to pursue this story for her show…and uncovers far more than she expected.
My Thoughts: There is a LOT going on in this book (particularly with character introduction at the beginning) and it takes a bit of patience to get into, but it is TOTALLY worth it! The beginning is a slow burn, but the last quarter or so reads like a true thriller. The 9/11 DNA technology element was fascinating and used really well in this story. It made me feel like I was learning something about history while reading a thriller. Finally, I absolutely loved the ending and stayed up past midnight to finish the last 25%, something I rarely do.
Vantage Point by Sara Sligar
Fiction – Genre Mash-Up (Release Date: January 14, 2025)
357 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The story features the Weilands (think the Kennedys) whose family compound on a small island off the coast of Maine is called Vantage Point. They’re nationally known for being cursed…and the curse relates to the month of April. Following the tragic death of their parents, the son (Teddy) is running for Senate when a graphic video of his sister (Clara) is leaked online, sending her spiraling into paranoia that either the family curse or someone is coming for her.
My Thoughts: Vantage Point is a genre mash-up of family drama, wealthy people behaving badly, a bit of Gothic, a classic retelling (of Weiland by Charles Brockden Brown), and slow burn suspense. The story blends together a lot of disparate themes, but it works. Technology and social media, a political campaign (and what it’s like to be the spouse dragged along for the campaign), eating disorders, and class disparities. There’s a present day timeline that takes place over the month of April, which adds to the tension of the story…is something going to happen? If so, to whom and when? And, then there are flashbacks to Clara and Teddy’s childhood, Clara and Jess’s friendship, and how Teddy and Jess got together. The first half of the book reads more like a family drama and the pace picks up in the second half, leaning more into the suspense element. And, the last lines left me questioning everything I’d just read.
Something with a Bit More Substance
You might notice there are some dark books in this section…that may not seem like your average summer reading picks. But, y’all know my taste leans super dark sometimes, so…
My #1 Pick
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall
Genre Mash-Up (Released: March 4, 2025)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The publisher says this is “a forbidden love affair with catastrophic repercussions” set in England. That’s all I knew going in and I’m glad I didn’t read the publisher’s blurb until after I finished the book.
My Thoughts: Broken Country is quite possibly the biggest breakout novel of 2025 and it was an easy 5 star read for me! The story opens, in the first line, telling you a farmer is dead and all anyone wants to know is who killed him. From there, the story jumps around between 1955, 1968, and a court trial. Early on, you know a man who our main character, Beth, loves is testifying in a trial. But, you don’t know who this is and it could be multiple people. There are multiple points in the story like this – where the person in question could be multiple people. Broken Country is a love story (an intense one that’s not a romance) / crime fiction / legal drama mash-up, but I would NOT say it’s a thriller. It’s intense, emotional, and hot. I loved the way Hall wrote this to leave open many possibilities for what actually happened and make all of them feel plausible. Overall, this is a heartbreaking book about different kinds of guilt and it just snowballs. I think readers of The Paper Palace will love it and it’s likely to be one of my favorite books of 2025.
Bitter Sweet 
Contemporary Fiction (Release Date: July 8, 2025)
304 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Set in London, this story is about a young book publicist named Charlie (short for Charlotte) who gets into a steamy, illicit affair with the older and married Richard Aveling, her literary idol and her company’s biggest author. That’s all I knew going into this book.
My Thoughts: I was expecting Bitter Sweet to be an Intense Love Story That’s Not a Romance…and it KIND OF is that, but not really. Bitter Sweet is much more Charlie’s story and the love story is a smaller piece to a bigger puzzle about the lasting impacts of trauma…and the situations it can cause that “healthy” people would avoid or can’t understand. This love story is dark – it’s not the kind where you’re rooting for the protagonists to be together. Actually, quite the opposite. Charlie is self-aware about the unhealthiness of her situation, but doesn’t have the strength to do anything about it. It was hard to watch Charlie and to hear some of the rationalizations she was making to herself about why she continued to stay in a relationship with Richard. And, this will be a deal breaker for some readers. Instead of rooting for Charlie and Richard to be together, I was really rooting for Charlie to save herself. Great for fans of The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue & Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler.
Colored Television
Literary Fiction (Released September 3, 2024)
277 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Colored Television is the story of a married couple where both spouses do creative work. Jane is a bi-racial novelist – her debut published 10 years ago to moderate acclaim and she’s been struggling with her sophomore novel ever since. Jane’s husband, Lenny, is an artist whose work does not sell. So, they’re both in teaching roles to scrape to pay the bills and they live in a series of short term sublets and house sitting situations so they can stay in LA. Jane has taken a sabbatical from her teaching job to FINALLY finish her novel, which leads her into the world of writing “diverse content” for a TV streaming network…where she lands in hot water.
My Thoughts: Colored Television is “satire lite.” It feels slightly like satire, but not the really outlandish kind and is a great pick if you loved Yellowface or Victim. Colored Television is darkly funny and Senna’s commentary about race is mostly in this vein. There is delightfully snarky commentary about publishing, writing in general, and literary fiction in particular, but the publishing snark is not the overwhelming center of this book. Jane and Lenny are struggling in their marriage and with parenting a neurodivergent child. Beneath all the snarky satire-ish commentary, this story is about struggling to make ends meet while trying to pursue careers that don’t pay well, but that these characters are passionate about. And, about what it’s like to be not just a person of color, but of mixed race, which comes with its own set of considerations. Fun sidenote: Danzy Senna is married to Percival Everett (author of James).
Didn’t You Use to Be Queenie B?
Contemporary Fiction (Released April 15, 2025)
336 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Queenie B was a famous celebrity chef who went into hiding after embarrassing herself one too many times with her substance fueled antics. She opens a soup kitchen in a struggling neighborhood in New Haven, CT under the name Regina. Gale Carmichael is a line cook with talent who is struggling financially and trying to stay sober. When he visits Regina’s soup kitchen for a meal, it kicks off a mentor / protege relationship, which culminates when Gale applies to be a contestant on Cut! (a cooking competition show based on Chopped).
My Thoughts: Don’t be fooled by the hot pink cover, this novel is NOT a romance! I was so pleasantly surprised by what it is, which is the story of a disgraced celebrity chef and her protege. This story has a lot more depth and sadness than you would think, but it also has love, tenderness, hope, healing, and is overall a heart-warming story. It’s about fame, found family, addiction, mentor relationships, and getting a second chance at life. A lot of the action takes place in Regina’s soup kitchen and the restaurant where Gale works his paying job. So, there is a lots of behind the scenes of cooking and restaurant life (especially for a struggling chef just starting his career). Though I haven’t seen the TV show The Bear, the publisher says this is a perfect book for its fans.
Dream State by Eric Puchner
Literary Fiction (Release Date: February 18, 2025)
448 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Plot Summary: Dream State is the story of Charlie and Cece, their friend Garrett, and the long-term implications of what spiraled out of control at Charlie and Cece’s wedding. We follow this trio of main characters (and their children) for the next 50 years.
My Thoughts: I was immediately hooked when I started this 2025 Oprah’s Book Club pick set in Salish, MT. Dream State isn’t for everyone. It’s character-driven and a complete vibes book. The writing is fantastic and I loved the subtle humor. I loved the focus on male friendship, which I think is underrepresented in fiction. And, there’s a nature and climate fiction element that makes the Montana mountain setting incredibly vivid. Overall, I’d say Dream State is a bit The Paper Palace, a bit Shotgun Lovesongs with some climate fiction thrown in.
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
Contemporary Fiction (Released September 10, 2024)
512 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: On a routine domestic flight to Sydney, Australia, an older woman (Cherry) walks down the aisle of the plane telling passengers their date and manner of death. Some people laugh her off as a kook, but others can’t get their predictions out of their heads. And, all this comes to a head when some of the “Death Lady’s” predictions come true.
My Thoughts: If you listen to the podcast, you might remember me saying that Liane Morarity is an Auto-Avoid Author for me. I have to eat my words on this because I loved her latest novel, Here One Moment! I picked up Here One Moment because I’d heard it compared to Nikki Erlick’s The Measure. While there are similarities, The Measure looked at the broad Macro impacts of many people having the choice to find out their date of death, while Here One Moment takes a more Micro perspective – it focuses on a few of the plane’s passengers who received predictions and the ripple effects these predictions had on their lives rather than society as a whole. And, we get the perspective of the “Death Lady,” which was fascinating. We hear her life story, how she ended up where she did and how / why she walked down the aisle of a plane telling people their dates and manners of death. The voice, particularly in Cherry’s chapters, had the sort of snarky humor and little asides that added personality. Here One Moment is definitely a bit ramble-y and could’ve used more editing, but I found most of the rambles entertaining and I didn’t feel like the book was a slog at all.
Home Stretch by Graham Norton
Literary Fiction (Released June 22, 2021)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Home Stretch is an Irish novel about a tragic car crash that happened the day before a wedding in a small town in Ireland. The crash included the bride, the groom, and some of their friends and three of the passengers died while three survived. The story follows the ripple effects of this crash on all six families involved, as well as this small Irish town in general.
My Thoughts: When the story kicks off the year of the crash, we don’t get all the details of what happened. Once we see a lot of the aftermath, we flash back to the crash and fill in more details from different characters’ perspectives. It feels like an onion you’re peeling back and you get to connect more and more threads as you go. It reveals themes of grief, shame, family dynamics, and secrets. This is a book you need to be patient with. There was a point where I got bored and wondered where the story was going…then, my jaw was on the floor when the direction became clear. I did guess one particular surprise fairly early on, but that didn’t really bother me.
One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter
Historical Fiction (Released March 4, 2025)
432 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Plot Summary: One Good Thing focuses on the plight of Jewish people in Italy beginning in 1941, told through the eyes of two young women, Lili and Esti. They’re best friends and, along with Esti’s son (Theo), navigating Mussolini’s Racial Laws in Italy. When Esti’s husband returns to Greece to try to get his family out, Lili and Esti are on their own and running for their lives trying to find a destination that is safer for Jews.
My Thoughts: Georgia Hunter might be the only author who can get me to love traditional WWII historical fiction. And, she’s done with twice now, first with her debut (We Were the Lucky Ones) and again with One Good Thing. One Good Thing is earnest and uplifting. And, like We Were the Lucky Ones, this story highlights resilience and resourcefulness in the face of great danger. I felt for these people and I was rooting so hard for these characters to make it through this war. One Good Thing reads like a VERY serious, high stakes road trip book…except Esti, Lili, and Theo are moving on foot, by bicycle, and via the kindness of strangers. I normally don’t love road trip books, but this one felt meaningful. The story is propulsive and the chapters are often short, which probably propelled me to read this 430+ page book in just a few days. And, even though One Good Thing isn’t fully based on a true story, there are particular events and characters in it that are.
Rental House
Literary Fiction (Released December 3, 2024)
224 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: Keru (who is the child of Chinese immigrants) and Nate (who is white and comes from a rural working class family) are a young married couple. They rent a vacation home in Cape Cod and invite each of their families to come visit for part of their vacation, but not at the same time. These two in-law families couldn’t be more different and Keru and Nate have to navigate these differences and the impact on their marriage.
My Thoughts: Rental House is a short, VERY character-driven novel of interesting family dynamics. The in-law visits take place in the first half of the book, while the second half focuses more on Keru and Nate’s marriage. In addition to the in-laws, Keru and Nate navigate an interracial marriage, Keru being the breadwinner, being childless, and the fact that neither of them quite fit in with their own families because of their adult choices. I loved the slyly funny humor, which is very subtle. Caveat: Rental House isn’t for everyone – avoid if a somewhat detached narrative tone, bleakness, and / an abrupt ending bothers you.
Same As It Ever Was
Family Drama (Release Date: June 18, 2024)
498 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: This family drama centers around Julia, a woman in her mid-50’s who is married with an adult son and a teenage daughter. Her life is mostly stable, but she runs into an old friend (Helen) at the grocery store who reminds her of her past, a time when she felt extremely unmoored in her marriage, the kind of life she was living, and in her role as a mother to her young son.
My Thoughts: I absolutely loved Same As It Ever Was from the very first page and it was my favorite book of 2024! Lombardo captured both the struggles of early and teenage motherhood in a really affecting and humorous way. This story comes full circle in a way that hit me like a ton of bricks. It perfectly encapsulated the frustrations of women being in the weeds and longing for peace and solitude, but then progressing through life and realizing that, without all these people that put you in the weeds, what is your life? It made me stop and take stock of my own life. This is a perfect book for women in mid-life (which I am). Caveat that many readers find Julia unlikable but, for me, it was clear that her childhood had shaped a lot of her insecurities and caused her to feel like she didn’t deserve the life and love she had, which made her more sympathetic.
Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner
Literary Fiction (Released October 1, 2024)
272 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org
Plot Summary: The Shred family is rocked when Olivia, their daughter who suffers from mental illness and has always gotten the limelight, starts to behave erratically. Her younger sister, Amy, who is super smart and quieter, butts up against Olivia for much of her life.
My Thoughts: Shred Sisters is a story about what happens when there’s one person in the family who sucks all the air out of the room. One incredibly complicated, damaging, toxic person who permeates everyone and everything around them. The story opens with a literal bang, but not a gunshot-type bang. You’re pulled right into the story and I read it in a couple days. Shred Sisters will be deeply relatable to anyone who has lived in close proximity to and/or been responsible for an extremely chaotic person, whether a family member or not.
Something Different
I couldn’t decide between two VERY different books as my #1 pick, so I have two #1 picks! One is a short story collection and the other is a debut novel about a reality TV show.
My #1 Picks
Show Don’t Tell: Stories
Short Stories (Release Date: February 25, 2025)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Sittenfeld pitched this collection to her publisher by saying it’s about “women who are wrong about the most essential facts of their own lives.” And, I think that’s a great description of this collection as a whole.
My Thoughts: I don’t read many short story collections, but Curtis Sittenfeld is the only author whose short stories are Auto-Buy for me! I would say the STYLE of every story is Curtis Sittenfeld through and through. The settings / backgrounds mirror Sittenfeld’s real life (Midwestern, multiple stories in campus settings) and the stories are very character driven. There are no fancy devices or “shock and awe” moments. Just good solid writing, characters, and life observations. There wasn’t a single dud in this bunch, which is rare for a short story collection! My two favorite stories are The Richest Babysitter in the World and Giraffe and Flamingo and Lee Fiora from Sittenfeld’s blockbuster hit Prep makes an appearance in the final story in the collection.
The Compound
Literary Fiction (Release Date: June 24, 2025)
304 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: The Compound is a large house and grounds in the middle of an isolated desert in an unnamed country. And, it’s the center of a reality show that is a cross between Love Island and Survivor. Our main character is Lily and she’s a contestant on this reality show.
My Thoughts: The Compound is unlike any reality TV novel I’ve ever read. It’s dark, thoughtful, creepy at times, and more literary than other reality TV novels. It took me about 10% (when she’s world building) to get into the story, but I was obsessed after that. The concept for this reality show is fantastic and I’d actually love to watch it play out for real on TV. The structure of the show facilitates commentary on materialism, status, power, and group dynamics. There’s a bit of a Lord of the Flies element and the study of group dynamics was my favorite part of this story. The publisher is calling this novel dystopian, but that is very subtly in the background.
Be Ready When the Luck Happens
Nonfiction – Memoir (Released October 1, 2024)
320 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Ina Garten is the author of 13 bestselling cookbooks and is the host and star of Be My Guest and Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network.
My Thoughts: I’ve been a big fan of Ina Garten’s cooking shows and cookbooks for years, so I knew I’d like her memoir, but she went to some unexpected places, which pushed it into 5 star territory. She is a savvy businesswoman and her memoir is just as much a book about entrepreneurship as it is about food and cooking. This is also a book about taking risks. Ina rarely followed the rules and was always doing things in an out of the box way that fit her style and personality, many times against the advice of “the experts.” She delved deep into her unhappy childhood, her marriage, and how she was an early feminist in her life choices. Ina is a warm, comforting presence on TV (and narrating her audiobook) and that feeling comes through in this book, but she also allows the meat behind the warmth to shine through.
Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum
Nonfiction – Hollywood (Released June 25, 2024)
464 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: If, like me, you’re fascinated by the behind the scenes of reality TV, Cue the Sun is for you! Emily Nussbam is a staff writer at The New Yorker and she first started there in 2011 as a television critic. She’s also a Pulitzer Prize winner.
My Thoughts: But, despite her status as a professional television critic, she also writes about reality TV as a fan of the genre, which brought this book down to earth. I thought I would be bored by the older history of reality TV, but I wasn’t. I was interested to see how the “tricks” of reality TV that we take for granted today evolved LONG ago. And, one of the older shows she covered sounds riveting (1970’s documentary style show called An American Family). The chapters on Survivor and the Big Brother season that was being filmed when 9/11 happened were particularly fascinating. Cue the Sun is well researched, but also accessible. I loved this on audio!
Hot Air
Literary Fiction (Released March 18, 2025)
208 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Joannie is a single mother who is on her first date in seven years, which is (weirdly) at her date’s house with her daughter hanging out in the basement with her date’s son. The date is going well enough (despite a lack of fireworks), but things get interesting when a hot air balloon carrying Joannie’s teenage crush, who has now become a billionaire, and his wife crashes into the backyard pool. And, part of the fun is seeing what the hell is going to happen next.
My Thoughts: Hot Air is a tiny book (just over 200 pages) that is NOT going to be for everyone. But, it’s unique and the right reader will love it (i.e. you like something zany, fun, and purely entertaining, but it may not have a deep point to it). This is a fairly outrageous premise and you just have to roll with it throughout the story. What happens after the hot air balloon crash is like watching a slow motion car crash…I knew this wasn’t going to end well, but I couldn’t stop watching to see what more weird stuff was going to happen along the way. The situation Demansky created is incredibly awkward and chock full of eyebrow-raising dynamics. If you have a hard time watching awkwardness that ventures into cringy, this is not the book for you. And, all 4 of the main characters are highly dislikable AND highly dysfunctional. Every one of them makes questionable decisions and does things for selfish reasons. But, I loved the “women in mid-life” element to this story and I highlighted a lot of “yes, that’s exactly how it is” observations. A fun, “out there” break from my usual reading!
I’m That Girl
Memoir – Sports (Release Date: March 4, 2025)
288 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Jordan Chiles is a two-time Olympic gymnast (2021 and 2024) and Simone Biles’ best friend and training partner. Jordan was also the gymnast at the center of the judging controversy at the Paris Olympics and was ultimately stripped of her bronze medal for the individual floor exercise.
My Thoughts: Sports memoirs are hit and miss from a quality perspective, but I’m That Girl was a pleasant surprise for me. I’m That Girl had more depth than I expected, covering Jordan’s traumatic coaching situation through age 15, how political (and a bit corrupt) gymnastics can be, and the racism she experienced competing in a very white sport. I loved her portrayal of her friendship with Biles and Jordan emphasized how big of an influence Biles has had on making gymnastics a healthier place for women. And, of course, behind the scenes of Olympic gymnastics!
JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by RoseMarie Terenzio and Liz McNeil
Nonfiction – Oral History (Release Date: July 16, 2024)
432 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Co-Author RoseMarie Terenzio, JFK, Jr’s Executive Assistant and Chief of Staff at George Magazine, compiles interviews from lots of JFK Jr.’s friends from all stages of his life (and he had many), co-workers at George, family members, and other celebrities.
My Thoughts: I love an oral history AND I love reading about the Kennedy family (they bring all the drama!)…and, these two thing came together for a 5 star read. This book was definitely juicy, but not in a distasteful way. RoseMarie was good friends with both John and his wife, Carolyn, beyond work and you can feel the love shining through. She addresses John’s tendency towards reckless behavior, his and Carolyn’s marital issues towards the end of their lives, John’s issues with his sister Caroline and, even more, with her husband Ed Schlossberg. Recommended for fans of Spare by Prince Harry and the oral history format – Harry and JFK, Jr. have a lot of similarities.
The Boys of Riverside: A Deaf Football Team and a Quest for Glory
Nonfiction – Sports (Release Date: August 6, 2024)
256 Pages
Buy from: Amazon
Plot Summary: The Boys of Riverside was Amazon’s total surprise of a #1 Book of 2024! It’s the true story of the championship winning eight man football team at the California School for the Deaf.
My Thoughts: I’m a sports fan and I do love football, but you don’t have to love football to love this book. I learned a lot about deaf culture, ASL culture, and how the deaf brain works. It’s also a celebration of the advantages being deaf brought to the football field rather than the players viewing their deafness as a disadvantage. A highly inspiring story with a side of sports!
The Last Days of Night
Historical Fiction (Released April 16, 2016)
371 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: The Last Days of Night tells the real story of the invention of the lightbulb and the right to light America in a fictional format (Moore uses real names and events, but plays with the timeline for the sake of the story).
My Thoughts: I had no idea this late 1800’s battle between Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla was such a suspenseful soap opera (even for someone who is not particularly interested in the invention of the lightbulb). It reads like a thriller. This story has legal drama, larger than life characters, New York high society, media manipulation, a ruthless business chess game, romance, and danger. Don’t skip Moore’s chapter by chapter Author’s Note laying out what’s true and where he took fictional liberties with the story.
The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy
Nonfiction – True Crime (Released February 4, 2025)
305 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: You might’ve heard of Andrea Dunlop before. She’s the author of a couple novels I’ve loved and have shared either on the show or on my blog prior to the podcast: We Came Here to Forget and Women Are the Fiercest Creatures. While she’s out there being a successful author, her family is falling apart behind the scenes because of Munchausen by Proxy (her sister was investigated for it). In this book, she teams up with Mike Weber, a crimes against children investigator from Texas who has worked on many Munchausen by Proxy cases, to shine a light on MBP through 3 specific cases.
My Thoughts: If you’re not familiar, Munchausen by Proxy is a form of mental illness and child abuse where a caregiver (often a mother) fabricates illnesses for their child and/or creates real symptoms using false means. I had some basic, pretty surface level knowledge of MBP, but listening to this book was incredibly eye-opening. I loved this pairing of Dunlop and Weber – melding her very personal perspective and experience (and writing chops) with his experience coming at these cases from the law enforcement side.
The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis
Nonfiction – Government (Released May 14, 2024)
368 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: The Situation Room is a literal space in the White House that has been the “epicenter of crisis management” for Presidents starting with Kennedy. Every Presidential crisis that’s happened since the Bay of Pigs (when Kennedy ordered the Sit Room to be constructed) has predominantly been handled in and by the Sit Room. And, this book goes behind the scenes not only of how the Sit Room looks and works, but how each President since Kennedy operates in a crisis and makes critical decisions.
My Thoughts: While I don’t love reading political books, I do love politically adjacent books. The Situation Room is a “how the sausage gets made” book that goes behind the scenes of the White House and presidential history. Stephanopoulos wanted this story to be told predominantly by the people on the ground – i.e. the Situation Room Duty Officers, who are apolitical. He does not interview any living Presidents themselves, though we do hear from important people surrounding the Presidents, like Condaleeza Rice. The chapters on 9/11 and the bin Laden raid are highlights. Highly recommend the audio as it contains actual recordings of the phone call Pierre Salinger received alerting him of JFK’s assassination as well as other phone calls and interviews with some of the sources for this book.
The Strange Case of Jane O.
Literary Fiction (Released February 25, 2025)
288 Pages
Buy from: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Libro.fm (Audio)
Plot Summary: Jane is a young mother who, in the first year after her child is born, begins to experience strange symptoms like amnesia, hallucinations, and premonitions. After meeting with a psychiatrist for the first time, Jane goes missing for a day. When she turns back up, she has no memory of what happened and Jane and her psychiatrist go on a mission to figure out what’s going on with her.
My Thoughts: Karen Thompson Walker writes my favorite kind of Speculative Fiction – slightly Sci-Fi stories that feel literary and grounded in reality other than the one Sci-Fi wrinkle. I was advised to go into this book blind and I recommend that! The Strange Case of Jane O reads like a medical mystery – told from the perspective of Jane’s psychiatrist – mixed in with chapters told from Jane’s perspective in the form of a journal / letter to her young son. Walker was inspired by the real life psychiatrist Oliver Sacks, and she drew on his case notes to add authenticity to her fictional story. The vibe is unsettling and, even at 50% the mark, I had no idea where this was going, but I was totally into it. The story delves deep into psychiatry and how the human brain works. There’s a curiosity here to push beyond the limits of what’s currently known and accepted. I will say this story feels different from Walker’s previous two books – those were more straight up Slightly Sci-Fi. This one isn’t quite that and I think it’s one of those books that’s very hard to categorize.
Happy Summer Reading!
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