Yesteryear

 

This was 100% a Bookstagram FOMO read for me. And I get the hype now.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'd seen this one everywhere, so I finally caved and listened to the audiobook. Verdict: unhinged in the best way.

If you somehow missed it: Natalie is a tradwife influencer with millions of followers selling the homestead dream of raw milk, farm-fresh eggs, and homeschooled babies. Then she wakes up in 1855. No explanation. No electricity. No nannies hiding behind the curtain. Just the brutal version of the life she's been peddling online.

What worked for me was the writing. Sharp, sarcastic, satirical — Caro Claire Burke absolutely nails the tradwife performance. On camera Natalie is baking the bread, feeding the chickens, doing the homeschooling. Off camera? She married into serious money and there's a whole team running that "simple little homestead." The peek behind the curtain is brutal and very, very funny.

The 1855 sections are a different kind of brutal. Natalie is not handling it. Her 1855 family resents her for not being the wife and mother she's supposed to be, and they're pretty sure she's lost her mind.

What didn't fully land for me was the ending. I had questions. Specifically — why did people wait so long to get her help?? That's all I'll say because I know some of you haven't read it yet.

Rebecca Lowman narrates the audio and she's so good. Natalie is calculating and often deeply unlikable, and Lowman somehow keeps you invested in her the whole way through.

Anne Hathaway bought the rights and honestly? This could be a phenomenal movie. For a debut, Burke knocked it out of the park.

Liked it. Didn't love it. Would absolutely recommend it.

If you're drawn to stories about influencers whose perfect lives are built on lies, go read my review of Julie Chan Is Dead next,

About the Author

Caro Claire Burke received her Master’s in Fine Arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is the co-host of Diabolical Lies, a politics and culture podcast. Yesteryear is her first novel.

For more news and information about Caro, visit her webiste.

Road Trip

This was my first Mary Kay Andrews book and she did NOT phone it in.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted early listen.

Road Trip by Mary Kay Andrews was a blast, and I think a lot of you will feel the same.

Sisters Maeve and Therese Dunigan are nothing alike. Maeve is practical and by the book. Therese is an actress and free spirit who hasn't been back to Savannah in years.

When their mother dies, they inherit the painting that's been hanging over the fireplace their whole lives. Their mother always swore it was valuable, with roots going back generations to Ireland. They never really believed her.

Until Therese sees a news article about an identical painting that just sold for over a million dollars. And both sisters happen to have wolves at their door.

So off to Ireland they go. Two sisters who can barely stand each other, chasing a family mystery that turns out to be way more complicated than either of them expected. There are family secrets, a murder to solve, a charming whiskey maker, an atmospheric Irish village, and a dog with an important role in the story.

I listened to this on audio and Kathleen McInerney's narration was spot-on. She kept every character distinct and handled the timeline shifts without ever losing me. This is the kind of book that makes a long drive or a beach afternoon feel too short. No notes. Pure fun.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 📅 Pub date: June 2

If you enjoyed this, you might also be interested in The Other Sis of Now.

About the Author

Mary Kay Andrews is The New York Times bestselling author of Bright Lights, Big Christmas, The Homewreckers, The Santa Suit, The Newcomer, Hello, Summer, Sunset Beach. The High Tide Club, The Beach House Cookbook, The Weekenders, Beach Town, Save the Date, Ladies’ Night, Christmas Bliss, Spring Fever, Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former journalist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Visit Mary Kay's website for more news and information about her book.

The Long Con

 

Two rival con artists.

One Miami heist.

Ocean's 8, but make it sapphic. Chloe Bly has been quietly stealing from Miami's rich and careless to pay off her late mother's medical debt by using her hotel catering job as cover. It's a solid system until she gets caught. And the person who catches her? Her longtime rival, Harper Parisi.

But instead of turning Chloe in, the hotel owner coerces both women into teaming up to pull off a much bigger job. What follows is a slow-burn heist with a Miami backdrop, sharp writing, and enemies-to-lovers tension that absolutely simmers.

This is Jenna Voris's adult debut, and it shows real range. The rivalry between Chloe and Harper crackles. You know they hate each other, but you also know something else is going on underneath all of it. The supporting characters, Priya and Logan, round things out nicely and give the story some breathing room from all that charged energy between the leads. The Miami setting is a great fit for the story's vibe.

This one is a slow burn. If you want nonstop action from page one, you might feel the setup phase dragging a little. But once it gets going, it delivers.

If you love a good heist, strong female characters, sapphic romance, and the general vibe of "be gay, do crime" then this one's for you. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

Thank you to Dial Press Trade Paperback and NetGalley for the digital ARC. Out June 2.

If you enjoyed this review, you might like Count My Lies.

About the Author

Jenna Voris writes books about ambitious girls and galaxy-traversing adventures. She was born and raised in Indiana—where she learned to love roundabouts and the art of college basketball—and now calls Washington, DC, home. When she’s not writing, she can be found perfecting her road trip playlists and desperately trying to keep her houseplants alive. She is also the author of Made of Stars and Every Time You Hear That Song. 

For news and information about Jenna and her books, visit her website.

The Kindness of Strangers

 

A dead body on page one and I still couldn’t guess how we got there.

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted listen!

Five housemates, one mysterious stranger, and a 1950s London boarding house where everyone has a secret. 

The Kindness of Strangers by Emma Garman is going on my list of books to recommend when someone says they want something like an Agatha Christie. This is slow burning, character driven, atmospheric, and absolutely packed with secrets. It pulled me right in. 

The setting is London, 1953 and the city is still pulling itself out of the war. Honor Wilson runs a boarding house, and she’s picky about who gets a room. We’ve got George, the society girl trying to escape her debutante life. Mina, the small-village girl who came to London to be more than she was. Robbie, the would-be writer haunted by the war. And Saul, the refugee who lost his entire family in the Holocaust. 

Then Jimmy Sullivan turns up at the door one foggy night and Honor lets him stay even though she clearly doesn’t want to. Everyone can feel something is off about him, but no one can put their finger on what. Mina and Saul end up teaming up like an unlikely detective duo to figure out who he actually is, and that’s where the book really gets its hooks in you.

Olivia Dowd’s narration is wonderful. She gave every character their own distinct voice and I never once got lost in the house full of people.

If you like Christie’s group-of-strangers-with-secrets setup or the cozy-with-edge feel of The Thursday Murder Club, grab this one. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

If you enjoyed this, you might be interested in The Thursday Murder Club.

About the Author

Emma Garman, a Brighton-based writer and critic, has been a columnist for The Paris Review and a contributor to Literary Review, The Daily Beast, Lapham’s Quarterly, and History News Network. She has an MA in creative writing from the City College of New York and an MA in literature from Queen Mary University of London. The Kindness of Strangers is her debut novel.

IG Live | a conversation with Amy Mass

 

I had such a great time chatting with author Amy Mass about her debut novel 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀. It's a fun and heartfelt romcom that comes out tomorrow. It features Grace, a scientist, who goes on a reality dating show to help save her lab if she can win the prize money. But can Grace find love too? 

Reality Bites is out May 12. 

Watch the replay of our conversation here. You can read my full review of Reality Bites here. For more information and news about Amy, visit her website.

Marion

 

Norman picked the wrong woman to mess with.

What if Marion had fought back?

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the gifted early listen.

I watched Psycho right before listening to this one. My timing is impeccable. 🎬🔪

Marion by Leah Rowan takes the bones of Hitchcock’s classic: a woman on the run with stolen money, a desolate roadside motel, a creepy innkeeper. And blows up the ending you know. In this retelling, creepy innkeeper Norm Billings attacks Marion, but she doesn’t die in that shower. She fights back. And then things get very interesting.

What I loved most is that Rowan doesn’t just swap out the ending and call it a day. She builds a completely new story around a woman fueled by fierce love for her sister and pent-up female rage. The dual narrators, Natalie Naudus and Tawny Platis, handle the two POVs beautifully. Their narrations convey the book's creepiness and rage. 

Fair warning: Hannah’s backstory slows things down a bit in the middle, but it’s necessary scaffolding. Stick with it.

This is Leah Rowan’s debut, and if she keeps writing books that reimagine classic Hitchcock through a modern feminist lens, I’m in for every single one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — A tension filled, girl-power thriller that Hitchcock himself would have to respect. Marion releases June 2.

if you're looking for another thriller with a feminist angle, you might be interested in Killer Potential.

About the Author

Leah Rowan is an author living in Brooklyn and the Catskills. Marion is her forthcoming thriller.

For more news and information about Leah, visit her website.

IG Live | a conversation with Ilona Bannister

 

I had such a wonderful time chatting with Ilona Bannister on an IG Live today about her new book Five. We had a spoiler-free discussion about the inspiration for it, the characters, and her writing process. 

This is a tense and taught thriller that takes place in five minutes as a train rushed towards the platform. If you're looking for a tense and taught thriller, this one's for you. It's a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me. Thank you Crown Publishing for the gifted finished copy!

Many thanks to Ilona for taking the time during this busy pub week to chat! I appreciate it! 

You can watch the replay of our discussion here. You can read my full review of Five here.

For more news and information about Ilona, visit her website.