Monthly Book Review: May 2026

The last day of May always feels like a turning point, the unofficial start of summer, but this year it hits different. I’ve been counting down to this stretch of time for what feels like forever. After months of long days, late nights, and both of us running on fumes, hubby and I are finally stepping out of the grind and into something brighter. Vacation is officially on the horizon—almost two weeks in Europe. But first, a little detour: 48 hours in Vegas to see No Doubt at the Sphere. It struck me recently that I haven’t taken a weekday off for a real vacation since October 1st. Not a single one. Never again will we skip a winter getaway. Lesson learned. Between my 10–12 hour workdays and my husband being out of town for months, we’ve been in survival mode far too long. Now it’s time to slow down. To breathe. To look up and remember there’s a whole world out there waiting to be experienced.

Here’s to beauty, rest, adventure—and the start of something good.

As I mentioned in last month’s far-too-short post, I’m completely hooked on The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower. I devoured eight books in just two and a half months. I want to be Emma (my favorite name of all time, by the way) – she’s deep, empathetic, defiant, curious, beguiling, and mischievous. I won’t give too much away because I’m selfish and believe it’s best experienced without bias, but I will share three things: the “alchemy” of the core four – Emma, Young Hawkes, St. Crispian’s poet vicar, Niall Pierce, the brooding American photographer/tenant, and the Duke of Islington – is pure magic; “Emma, I despair of you” is my favorite Lady Eugenia Spencer quote; and the handling of the sweet pea arc is sheer genius. I already miss them all and am anxiously awaiting volume nine.

Monthly Book Review: April 2026

I am completely addicted to The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion. I breezed through volumes 2 - 6 this month. It's gotten a bit juicy with a budding romance - beyond Emma's unintended intended. I've even fallen down the Emma M. Lion Wiki | Fandom. What will I do when I finish the last volume? Only two more to go.

Monthly Book Review: Feb/Mar 2026

If January was a slog (it was!), then February and March were bullet trains. How is it already April?! And par for the course in the frozen tundra, 1-3" of snow is predicted for tomorrow.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir was February's book club pick. I knew nothing going into it other than it was about "space" so I was very skeptical. I absolutely loved it! Then I learned it was being made into a movie starring Ryan Gosling (our book club saw it last night). Ryland Grace wakes up from a coma not knowing who or where he is. The book alternates chapters of Grace dealing with the trials of being on a ship careening through space lightyears from Earth while regaining his memory of how he got there. He must figure out how to stop an alien life from stealing the sun's energy. No biggie. There's lots of science and math, but the real magic is his meeting another alien and figuring out how to work together. Ultimately the story is about what kind of person Grace wants to be. Is he brave? Is he selfless? Or is he an ordinary person with skills and smarts that when faced with extraordinary circumstances figures out how to make it work and does the right thing?

I saw The Correspondent by Virginia Evans on a lot of recommendation lists so decided to follow the crowd. Again, I knew nothing about it. This chronicles rigid, no frills Sybil Van Antwerp's emails and letters over a 10-year period. There's no other narration outside of the correspondence. Sybil is a retired lawyer with a storied career of being the woman behind the man. She is difficult to love and formidable. Over the years, she is contacted by three people that change her life. And the mystery of an unknown recipient of some of her correspondence. I loved this as well - a slow burn that shows it's never too late to change.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 is Bridgerton without the sex, in a good way. Emma is an orphan living in Victorian London. She is bright, witty, forthright and lives in her beloved Lapis Lazuli House with her "odious" cousin's widower, Archibald. She has a rich benefactor aunt that tries to make her a proper society lady and a collection of interesting friends and nemeses. Oh, to have the time to read Shakespeare all day, save for a mandatory tea or occasional ball. I'm addicted and have already started volume 2.

The Mad Wife by Meagan Church was my book club pick for the month. Lulu is a 1950's dutiful housewife. She makes a mean gelatin salad and has a seemingly perfect suburban wife. But she bottles all her true thoughts and feelings inside, not even her husband or best friend truly know her. A new baby and a new neighbor turn her world upside down. This is another slow burn, and I loved Lulu's detailed inner dialogue and the reminiscence of her childhood. How many women were "lost" inside themselves without a voice or opportunities before the 1970's? Makes me grateful to live in a time where I have agency, choices and freedom. For now, anyways.

Monthly Book Review: January 2026

Last day of the longest month - I felt ALL 31 days of January and I'm ready to move on. We have a busy February with birthdays, Valentine's Day, the beginning of Lent, and two dates with our besties. It's Sassy's birthday month and we have a cookie decorating class and other activities planned to celebrate, so I predict February will fly by. Also, I need to start cold weather seeds like sweet peas, poppies, lupine, feverfew and calendula. I'm going to attempt dahlias again after two years of epic failures - last time so if they don't succeed, I'm off dahlias for good.

Only one book this month and it was really good. A member of my book club selected Table for Two by Amor Towles and I gave a thumbs-up since I loved A Gentleman in Moscow, Rules of Civility and The Lincoln Highway. This is a collection of short stories plus a "novella" picking up Evelyn Ross' storyline from Rules of Civility. Note: no need to have read Rules in order to enjoy this. Towles' writing is languid and evocative, detailing the thoughts and actions of each character so the reader understands the choices at hand and related consequences. I especially loved The Ballad of Timothy Touchett, about an aspiring writer with no experience who begins working at a rare bookstore thanks to the attention of the bookstore's owner while he scribbles Ernest Hemmingway's name in a library. Another I loved was The Bootlegger about a rule following investment banker with an obsession for exposing an elderly man recording opera in Carnegie Hall. 

Another book club member selected The Hail Mary Project and I'm over halfway through that. Spoiler: I love it! It's being made into a movie starring Ryan Gosling which I did not know until after I began listening (highly recommend the audio version!). The movie comes out in March so perfect timing - here's the trailer.

2025 Year in Review

Two final reads to close out December. I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Jenny Bayliss came recommended by a blogger I follow as a cozy, Christmas‑y pick. Frederica "Fred" begrudgingly returns to her childhood home in the Scottish Highlands as she seeks to reset her life following the loss of her job and long-term relationship. Her quirky mother and elderly aunts run a Christmas cracker business, and her childhood best friend Ryan is a local legend. Fred is not returning home, rather she's "perching" while she figures things out. It was a bit long and somewhat predictable, but ultimately charming — exactly the kind of comforting story that feels just right for this time of year. I felt like I knew every corner of Pine Bluff and it sounded like the perfect little hamlet - complete with a town nice/naughty list - sadly it's fictional.

Awake by Jen Hatmaker was the book I wish I’d had during my own divorce nine years ago. Hatmaker, a well‑known evangelical pastor’s wife, faced a very public unraveling of her marriage after discovering her husband’s affair. In the aftermath, she examines the forces that shaped her—evangelical purity culture, patriarchal expectations, and the relentless pressure to be the “perfect” Christian woman—sorting through what still serves her and what she’s ready to release. The a-ha moment for me was when she identified as co-dependent (when you let others affect your feelings and actions). Awake is ultimately a story of returning to oneself, identifying your true beloveds, and to the possibility of a life imagined beyond the rules and roadblocks we’ve been taught to accept.

2025 didn’t go quite as planned, but it was full of moments I’ll never forget.

It was supposed to be my hot girl summer, but hip pain had other ideas. That unexpected total hip replacement became a defining plot twist—one that taught me patience, grit, and how to accept help even when I’d rather power through.

Still, there was so much good. We took the trip of a lifetime to Italy, spent quality time with friends and family, celebrated two beautiful weddings, attended my 40th high school reunion, remodeled our main bath, and squeezed in a quick, restorative getaway to Door County. We also welcomed Pipper, our new-to-us cat with a big personality, while our beloved Lulu is still with us—slowing down, but very much part of our world.

And through every high and low, I read. 25 in '25 kept me company, kept me curious, and kept me grounded. My top 4 reads:

Honorable mentions:

• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna 
• The Briar Club by Kate Quinn 
• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini 
• Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy 

Here’s to 2026—may it bring more joy, more ease, and maybe, finally, that hot girl summer energy.

Monthly Book Review: November 2025

November was quite eventful—I underwent a full hip replacement on the 12th. Years of severe osteoarthritis had left the socket with no cartilage at all (bone on bone), compounded by a labral tear. Everyday movements like walking, bending, getting in and out of the car, or even rising from the commode had become excruciating.

The first ten days after surgery were tough, but now, three weeks later, I’m feeling strong and optimistic. I’m confident that by Valentine’s Day I’ll be pain-free and moving with ease once again. Hip, hip, hooray!

And I managed to fit two good reads/listens in this month!

Heartwood by Amity Gaige chronicles three women: Valerie, a missing Appalachian Trail hiker, Beverly, the Maine game warden leading her search, and Lena, an elderly. disabled forager playing armchair detective. The story explores mother-daughter dynamics and what it means to be lost. This is on the New York Times 100 most notable books list for the year and billed as a thriller. I don't know that I'd call it a thriller but there's definite suspense as each woman feels more desperate as time passes without locating Valerie. Lots of trail subculture references and Valerie's trail partner, Santos, is a hoot. 

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles brings me back to my favorite WWII genre. Lily is a Montana teen writing a school report on France in the 1980s and decides to ask her elderly French neighbor, Odile, for help. Turns out Odile worked at the famed American Library in Paris. Odile takes Lily under her wing, teaching her French and sharing her love of books. Lily confides in Odile as she navigates coming of age in a small town with an absentee father, new stepmother and two new little brothers. Odile and Lily have parallel experiences as young women making sacrifices, finding their voice and learning how the choices we make can have grave consequences. This was so heartwarming and fresh.

Monthly Book Review: October 2025

Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan is Hallmark Movie Channel meets Nancy Meyers rom-com, sort of modern-day Gilmore Girls vibes. Nora is a sarcastic single mom and TV romance screenwriter whose heartbreak fuels a hit script. When a film crew—and a famous actor—descend on her home, her life takes a turn. Though pretty predictable, the journey is fun, and the writing is witty and sharp.

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is a romantic thriller (is that a thing? if not, it should be) about survival and resilience. A woman washes up on the shore of Shearwater Island - the remote home between Australia and Antarctica of the world's largest seed bank. A small family comprised of a widowed father, and his three children are the only ones there, but that wasn't always the case. I loved the slow unraveling of secrets told from multiple perspectives. Though significant creative license was taken with some of the events (a beach reclaimed by the sea in less than six weeks), the references to climate change  are powerful. 

“But here is the nature of life. That we must love things with our whole selves, knowing they will die.”

“Maybe we will drown or burn or starve one day, but until then we get to choose if we’ll add to that destruction or if we will care for each other.” 

This one really stuck with me - one of the rare books I may re-read. Would definitely make a good Netflix show - it's a Reese's Book Club Pick so you never know.