Tag: book recommendations

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Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 2

This sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea was good, but not as good for me as the first book. I loved being introduced to the world Klune created, meeting the magical children, and seeing things unfold between Linus and Arthur. In this book, the story focuses on the fight the inhabitants of the island wage against the Department in Charge of Magical Youth to be able to live in peace. It was clever and had some really touching moments, and I appreciated the social commentary. I just didn’t feel that it drew me in the way book one did.

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All the Broken Places

I haven’t read a Christian fiction book in quite a while, not since my favorite Christian writer Jamie Langston Turner had a new book out. But I have been following M. Jean Pike’s blog for a while now and decided to read one of her books and really enjoyed it!

In All the Broken Places, we meet Monica Humphrey, who is a schoolteacher living with her cat Ginger. She is lonely and overweight. A fall in the grocery store leads her into a relationship with the store’s manager, Barry, as well as into a weight-loss journey. As both of these storylines unfold, we learn about Monica’s history, especially with her father and the female relatives who raised her after her mother died.

I was quickly drawn into this book and connected with Monica right away. As someone who is overweight myself, I really appreciated that Monica was portrayed as a complex human being with a range of emotions and abilities.I loved seeing her emotional growth alongside her physical transformation as she reflects on the past and how it has affected her.

Unlike many Christian fiction books, the story was not predictable, and I enjoyed the twists and turns that it took, especially at the end. I definitely recommend checking out this or one of her other books!

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The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know is a chick lit/romance by Freida McFadden. It is a sequel to The Devil Wears Scrubs, which I read back in 2023. I must not have realized there was a second book, but when I saw this one on Kindle Unlimited, I grabbed it to read right away.

The story centers on Dr. Jane McGill, who has a husband, a daughter, and a job at a VA hospital. At work, she runs into Dr. Ryan Reilly, who she had previously dated, and starts to wonder if she made the wrong choice back then.

I liked the first book better and would recommend starting with that one if you decide to read these, but this was a fun read and I’m glad I read it. I think it’s kind of funny that McFadden is known for her thrillers but I haven’t read any of them yet!

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The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 1

Linus Baker is a solitary man who lives with his cat and enjoys old records. He works at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth and is sent to observe and report on one of the orphanages run by the department. This classified assignment is unique because this orphanage is home to six dangerous children and an enigmatic caretaker named Arthur Parnassus.What follows is a delightful tale of discovery and understanding.

This book is just the sort of thing I would have loved as a child, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a 50-something adult. I especially identified with Linus and his longing for beauty and connection, but all of the characters were wonderfully drawn and the story is enchanting. The social commentary is on point but not overdone as well.

I highly recommend this book and am already reading the sequel.

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Author Spotlight: Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg is an author who never disappoints. I always enjoy her books – they are full of colorful characters and heartwarming stories with both humor and a bit of social commentary mixed in. Her Southern charm shines through all of her work.

She is most famous for her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and for writing the award-winning screenplay for the film adaptation, “Fried Green Tomatoes.” I can’t actually remember whether I read the book or saw the movie first; either way, I am glad I came across her and have been able to enjoy her books over the years. I have read all of them except the short stories published last year.

Flagg has written eleven books to date:

Whistle Stop Series

  • Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987)
  • The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop (2020)

Elmwood Springs Series

  • Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! (1998)
  • Standing in the Rainbow (2002)
  • Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven (2006)
  • The Whole Town’s Talking (2016)

Standalone Novels

  • Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man (1981)
  • A Redbird Christmas (2004)
  • I Still Dream About You (2010)
  • The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion (2013)

Short Stories

  • Something to Look Forward To: Fictions (2025)
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ICYMI: Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig

ICYMI: my quest to highlight books you may have missed

The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig contains twelve books, which were published between 2004 and 2015. I learned about the series in 2013 from my former college roommate and quickly became enamored with them.

The series starts out with present day doctoral student Eloise Kelly, who travels from America to England to study the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, two spies from the Napoleonic Wars. As she digs into her research, she discovers the secret history of the Pink Carnation, an elusive spy who saved England from Napoleon. From there, the story focuses on the intrigues of the Pink Carnation, occasionally coming back to the present to follow Eloise’s journey. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this series with its mix of mystery and romance. Highly recommend checking it out!

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Butterfly Inn

Butterfly Inn by Kate Wentworth is the first book in her new series, Butterfly Lane. It is set in the same location as the Bella Beach series she just wrapped up and includes many of the same characters as that series. 

I enjoyed the book; it was a fun, quick read. I did feel that she spent a lot of time setting things up and explaining who everyone was, but that’s not unexpected when starting a series.

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Sheepfarmer’s Daughter

Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon is book 1 of The Deed of Paksenarrion and was published in 1988. I originally read this as a teenager shortly after it first came out, so this was a reread for me, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

If you enjoy high fantasy, this book would be a great choice for you. Moon wrote it after playing Dungeons & Dragons, and it reads like the best D&D campaign you could want to be involved with. 

One thing that really caught my attention was that the main character, who goes by Paks for short, is asexual and aromantic. I don’t remember hearing those terms back then, but her orientation is very clear in the book and is understood and accepted by the other characters.

I am so glad I decided to reread this one, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

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The Dandelion & The Thistle

The Dandelion & The Thistle by Pip Dolyn

Most of the time these days I read in short bursts, usually while I am having a meal, but I could not put this book down. I was so invested in the friendship and possible romance between Addison and Colin that I just had to keep reading until I got to the end.

Addison and Colin meet at Makers Market, a monthly market for local artists. Addison has been there forever and is the go-to person for anyone who needs anything, and Colin is a new vendor who is trying to make ceramics his full time job. Over time, they become friends and explore the potential for a romantic relationship.

This book has its share of lighthearted fun, but there are also a lot of serious topics raised as the two share their stories with each other and learn how to navigate around each other’s unique characteristics and past trauma. The author has a note at the beginning of the book listing the sensitive topics so you can decide whether you are comfortable reading it. It is also an open-door romance.

I felt like Addison was autistic-coded, but I don’t want to read anything into the story that wasn’t there, so I will just say I could relate to them in a lot of ways.

One neat thing about the ebook is the inclusion of several song playlists Colin makes for Addison. There are links to them for both Apple Music and Spotify so you can listen to them yourself, which is really cool.

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The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted

Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers, and I really enjoy her short stories. She has a way of telling (mostly) women’s stories that brings out the deeper truths behind our mundane lives. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation is a collection of thirteen stories, with one bonus story in the edition I read. Several of them, as you might guess from the title of the book, are about our relationship with food.

My favorite story was “How to Make An Apple Pie,” which is a letter from an older woman named Flo to Ruthie, a neighbor’s daughter who has moved away. Ruthie’s mother has asked Flo to send her recipe for apple pie, and Flo does so in the form of a meandering letter filled with memories of their times together and a lot of exposition on the making of the recipe. I would love to have Flo as my neighbor lady. The bonus story was another letter from Flo to Ruthie entitled “P.S.” where she talks about how to have a dinner party without being a nervous wreck. So good!

One of the quotes that really spoke to me was from “Sin City,” about a woman named Rita who takes a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas: 

“But time does not hold still, and Rita thinks now that it’s a blessing, she thinks that what it means is that your life is free to make or unmake every day.”

To go along with that quote, Berg shares this in the Reader’s Guide: “I like to celebrate the things in life that make it worth plowing through each day.”

I love books like this that allow me to reflect on my life in comparison to what is going on in each of the characters’ lives and that affirm the choice to keep pushing forward and make new decisions when we need to. Highly recommend!