Tag: fiction

Posted on

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!

Posted on

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)
Posted on

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.

Posted on

Get Lucky

Get Lucky by Katherine Center

This is a fun book. I enjoyed getting to know Sarah Harper as she finds her way after making a dumb mistake and losing her job in New York City. She goes home to Houston to visit her sister Mackie, who is dealing with infertility issues, and ends up offering to be her surrogate! On top of all that, she also runs into Everett, the sweet guy she dumped in high school.

There were a lot of humorous moments between the pregnancy, her old boyfriend, and her new job. Center also does a good job exploring the ups and downs of the sister relationship, and I really liked how things ended up with them.

Posted on

The Half of It

The Half of It by Juliette Fay

This may be a weird take, but I had trouble enjoying the first half of this book because we are told early on that the two main characters (Cal and Helen) have been estranged for 40 years, but it takes many chapters and several jumps between the past and the present before we find out what the event that broke them apart was. I have a hard time relaxing into a story when I know there is something coming but have to keep waiting for it.

Once we had the whole story of what happened, it was easier for me to care about the characters and enjoy letting the story unfold. I especially liked Helen’s colorful friend Francie; she was a lot of fun.

Posted on

Top Books from the Second Half of 2025

I love looking back over my reading log to see what books rise to the top. A few months ago, I posted my top books from the first half of 2025, and now I am sharing my top books from the second half of the year.

These were all 5 star reads for me:

  • Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
  • Catch Us When We Fall by Juliette Fay
  • This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  • Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory
  • How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Woodworking by Emily St. James
Posted on

Catch Us When We Fall

Catch Us When We Fall by Juliette Fay is the story of Cass Macklin, who finds herself broke, homeless, and pregnant after losing her boyfriend Ben. Ben & Cass had spent most of their twenties drunk, and now Cass is faced with the challenge of sobering up for the sake of her baby. She turns to Ben’s brother Scott, who plays for the Boston Red Sox, for help. Scott takes her in despite his longstanding issues with his brother and his lack of faith in Cass’s ability to stay clean.

Even though this book deals with the heavy subjects of alcoholism and dysfunctional families, I found it very uplifting. I really enjoyed the relationships in this book, and I found the characters very realistic and relatable. It was good to see both Cass and Scott grow and heal as they face their childhood trauma. Fay does a good job of showing how much a support system means in the struggle to overcome addiction while also revealing how necessary it is for a person to get and stay sober for themselves rather than for someone else.

I highly recommend this book!

Posted on

Wherever the Wind Takes Us

In Wherever the Wind Takes Us by Kelly Harms, Becca Larkin is fresh out of a twenty-two year marriage and all she has to show for it is an expensive sailboat. Selling it will give her enough to make a new start, so she and her daughter Liv decide to sail it from Maine to Miami to meet a buyer. After a rough first leg, Liv calls handsome sailing instructor Grant Murphy for help and abruptly leaves the boat. For the rest of the journey, Becca learns how to sail while trying to resist her attraction to the much younger man.

I could relate to both Becca and Liv, having seen divorce from both sides. Liv is struggling with trying to understand what has happened and how to relate to her parents separately, while Becca is trying to maintain a good relationship with her daughter without revealing too much sensitive information. I also thought Harms did a really good job of explaining the intricacies of sailing in an interesting way, and I enjoyed the romance between Becca and Grant.

Posted on

The Seven Year Slip

The Seven Year Slip is my first Ashley Poston novel, and I was drawn to it for the magical realism aspect of the story. I have enjoyed several books in this genre over the last couple of years, and this was no exception.

Clementine is an overworked book publicist who has just moved into her deceased aunt’s apartment on New York’s upper east side. Her aunt had claimed that the apartment was magical, and, now that Clementine is living there, it is time for her to experience it for herself. She falls asleep on the couch one night only to awaken seven years in the past. Her aunt is still alive but is abroad for the summer, and the apartment has been sublet to a young man named Iwan.

What follows is an engaging story of love and loss across time. I thoroughly enjoyed the love story and was moved by how Clementine deals with the grief surrounding her aunt’s passing. I thought the supporting characters were very well done and liked the message about following your passion in life. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

Posted on

The Bright Side of Going Dark

The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms, which was published in 2020, reads like a modern morality tale. Mia Bell is an influencer who lives her life on a social media site called Pictey. When her fiance breaks up with her just days before their wedding, she fakes the event to satisfy her followers and sponsors. Then her mother confronts her with her reliance on social media, and Mia responds by throwing her phone off a cliff. 

Meanwhile, Paige Miller is a techie loner who notices Mia’s absence, hacks into her Pictey account, and begins ghost posting on her feed. Paige is dealing with her own issues, including job stress and her sister Jessica’s mental health crisis, but she convinces herself this will be a good thing somehow. Of course, it all comes to a head when Mia finds out what Paige has been doing.

This was a fun read, although slightly heavy-handed in its message. My favorite part was seeing how Mia adjusted to being offline and made connections in real life.