“This book took me on an unexpected journey. It is both heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud FUNNY. The protagonist Phoebe is intelligent, witty, and realistically flawed. A layered woman that you will fall in love with and root for. Narrator Helen Laser knocks it out of the park voicing a wide cast of diverse and humorous ’wedding people’. A five star book for me!”

“With the profundity of Middlemarch and the simplicity of The Catcher in the Rye, Tell Me Everything is a meditation on loss, loneliness, and love. Strout’s restrained tone and sympathetic characterization captivate. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath.”

“This is a wonderful book about community, friendship and humanity. The audiobook Narrator is fantastic. The protagonist is an 86 yr old male, Theo who goes to live in the fictional town of Golden, GA. One of our customers actually said hearing this book she wants to be a better person. Enjoy !”

“This was SO GOOD! The story is told through the POVs of several interesting characters, whose journeys and fates intertwine. There’s also a humbling message at the heart of it all that reminds us how precious life is and to live each day as if it’s our last. I loved every moment and look forward to more from this author.”

“I like very few short story collections. I can literally count them on one hand. This maybe completes the hand, as the fifth. And honestly I think it’s because Towles is SUCH a talented writer. I bookmarked numerous places in my audiobook that I want to transfer to my print copy because I loved how he wrote something and want to be able to look back at it.

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I am glad to have given this a shot and trusted his ability to write something magical.”

“One thing I love about being a bookseller and getting sent so many books to review is that I often read things I might not otherwise pick up. While I’m likely not the target reader for this as a 45 year old hetero cis white man, it has really stuck with me and made me think about topics I don’t often spend much time considering, such as the identity crises that can accompany menopause, the complexity of middle aged desire and sexuality, and autonomy in romantic intimacy.

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Overall I found All Fours to be a funny, weird, wild, boundary-pushing romp of a novel and I’m so glad I read it!”

“Our Books & Wine Book Club made this our choice for May and everyone loved it, but everyone wept. Because we had all read Margaret Atwood’s "A Handmaid’s Tale," and realized that many in our society have not learned from that, we could only feel that perhaps no one was going to learn from this magnificent book either the dangers that are inherent in systemic racism.

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A lot of our discussion revolved around the question of, " What is an American?" Fabulous book.”

“This is one of those stories that you politely DEMAND people read! The jokes landed each and every time! As always, there was much needed commentary that makes you want to talk about this story with anyone who will listen. This should be an Instant buy for any book club, because you are going to want to discuss this!”

“Real Americans is a novel about people doing their best for the people they love, the vast spectrum of what that can mean, and how anyone lives with the impossible choices they make in pursuit of that noble goal. This is also a novel about what makes a person who they are – their experiences, genetics, community, environment, place in history, inheritances, and decisions.

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It’s unexpected and beautiful and heartbreaking, and I will think about this book for my entire life.”

“A mother goes to register her baby son’s name on the birth certificate. Three choices: Bear, the name that his nine-year-old sister has chosen; Julian, which means “sky father,” his mother’s choice; and Gordon, the family name that his father wants.

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Florence Knapp, in her novel The Names, has taken each of the three names and given us three distinct stories of how life played out in this family living with domestic violence. Brilliant, a compulsive read. I could not put this book down.”

“This is a really good pick if you want something fast, emotional, and suspenseful without being too dark. Hannah’s husband disappears, leaving behind only a note that says, “Protect her.” The “her” is his teenage daughter, Bailey, who barely wants anything to do with Hannah.

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So now Hannah has to figure out what her husband was hiding, while also trying to protect a girl who does not fully trust her. It’s part mystery, part family drama, and part “what would I do?” kind of story. It has secrets, tension, and a really strong stepmother/stepdaughter relationship at the centre, which gives it more heart than a typical thriller. Good for readers who like: domestic suspense, family secrets, missing husband stories, Reese’s Book Club picks, and books that are easy to get completely sucked into.”

“Elle and her family gather each summer at the ‘Paper Palace’ family cabins; but this one day will be anything but a relaxing vacation retreat. This will be the buzz of book clubs and a perfect traveling companion for summers by the seaside.”

“WOW. Just, wow. Bear was so thrilling and unsettling. You’ll find yourself yelling at the audiobook during some of the most difficult to read, cringeworthy, and terrifying parts of the book. It’s a great look into small-town life run by the tourist industry, where every hard-earned paycheck seems to disappear into a never ending need for money to support Sam and Elena’s family.”

“Small Mercies is not f****** around. It hits with the force of a sledgehammer in all respects, and it succeeds resoundingly. It lays bare what Boston was in August 1974, and often still is. While it never strays far from hope, that hope remains largely abstract and unrealized, and what’s left is a cold world where the poor are ground to dust no matter their race.

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Lehane draws you in, and doesn’t let go. I finished the book in two sittings.”

“This book centers on Lexington, often considered the greatest horse in history. But this book is much more than the story of a horse. Brooks writes of slavery, the Civil War, academia, art and publishing, love and loyalty, and racism in history and today. I loved the bond between Jarret, an enslaved boy, and Lexington. I will be thinking of this book for quite some time.”

“Wandering Stars left me breathless. Relentless in its truth and pain, this family saga takes us from the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 through the years of forced assimilation in government-run Indian schools to present-day Oakland after a shooting at a pow-wow.

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Told through the lens of one family, this is a painful history lesson of attempted erasure and a close-up look at generational trauma. It is also more than that: intimate testimonies of individuals told with compassion and deep understanding. Once again Tommy Orange has proven himself a master storyteller.”

“One of my all-time favorites, this is a gut-wrenching story of hope, survival, bravery, and community, set during the 1980s Chicago AIDS crisis. This novel is brilliantly constructed, filled with precise prose, and driven by rich, dynamic characters. Amid this grand story, The Great Believers grapples with what to do with the love and legacy of those we have lost. A spectacular book.”

“Historical fiction of the kind we don’t get enough in the US. Rich with See’s meticulous research, we are taken on an intimate journey to one remarkable woman’s life during the Ming Dynasty. Beautiful writing of complicated women’s relationships, women’s health, class, and the politics of the day. A book to savor, especially with the stunning narration on Libro.fm!”

“Kate Quinn is one of my favorite authors and she has outdone herself with this one. The Briar Club has it all, strong female characters, dynamic relationships, mystery, a twist, and so much more. This story centers around six women living in an all-female DC boarding house during the 1950’s.

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Each woman has their own struggles and secrets, but they create a found family through their Thursday night potlucks in the mysterious Grace March’s attic room. These relationships are put to the test one Thanksgiving when a double homicide forces the women to decide what matters most and what lengths they are willing to go to protect it. I loved listening to this book. Kate Quinn paints pictures with words in a way that evokes a movie in the listener’s mind. Her characters are nuanced and diverse in a way that keeps us wanting to know more and the house itself looms throughout as a benevolent and lovable character overseeing it all. I didn’t want it to end.”

“This lovely short novel about a vicar told to clear the last tenant farmer from an island in Scotland, and how things go sweetly awry, is a breath of fresh air. Davies tells the story simply yet full of atmosphere. It will delight fans of Claire Keegan! I listened to the audiobook and reveled in narrator Russ Bain’s accent. It really is just a lovely book.”

“The Anthropologists is a slim, impactful novella that cuts to the heart of human experience. In simple beautiful prose Aysegül Savas conveys the complex vagaries and bone deep loneliness of adulthood. This is a stunning and unique novel that I look forward to reading again and again.”

“It reads like a conversation with your best friend where you get the raw and unfiltered details of a life, this one menopausal, with adult children in transition, parents aging, marriage adjusting and all woven into one week at a beach house.

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It’s the small things that Newman deftly weaves into our larger life canvas, making it relatable for women of middle age, and a roadmap for younger women who might want a view of what’s to come. Straightforward, emotional, and sometimes laugh out loud funny. Listening to this was a sweet treat for my heart.”

“Hidden Valley Road is a gripping and unforgettable book. Robert Kolker masterfully tells the story of the Galvin family and their twelve children, six of whom (all boys) were eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. Through deeply empathetic interviews with the younger Galvin sisters, and pages upon pages of research, Kolker describes how one family’s mid-century American dream could turn into such a nightmare.

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He probes into why and how one family could have such a high rate of diagnosis, following the evolving landscape for schizophrenia research and care from the 1960s through today. It’s a page-turning, thrilling book—I started reading it and didn’t stop until I finished eight hours later.”

“Science journalism at its finest! Schlanger reports to us on the current state of research into plant behavior and intelligence with clarity, curiosity and no small amount of wonder. This book changed how I conceive of plants on an essential level.”

“Kathryn Schulz lost her father to the illness at the same time as meeting her would-be wife. Part poetry, part philosophy, part linguistics, part psychology, part memoir, Schulz’s take on our experience of love and loss is cathartic, emotional and profound.”