Tag: fiction

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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.

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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.

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What you are looking for is in the library

What you are looking for is in the library, written by Michiko Aoyama and translated by Alison Watts

I love the idea that a wise librarian could point you in a direction you had not thought of, which would turn out to be the perfect answer to what you were struggling with. In this book, we meet five different people, each of whom is unhappy with their life in some way:

  • Tomoka, 21 womenswear sales assistant
  • Ryo, 35, accounts department of a furniture manufacturer
  • Natsumi, 40, former magazine editor
  • Hiroya, 30, NEET (not in employment, education or training)
  • Masao, 65, retired

Somehow, each of them ends up at the community library and meets Sayuri Komachi, a librarian who asks them what they are looking for and gives them a list of books that includes one unrelated book as well as a bonus gift, a small felted object. The seemingly unrelated book ends up leading them to the answer they need to find happiness in their lives.

One thing that I found jarring was the reaction each of the characters had to the librarian when they first saw her. She is a large woman, and the descriptions of her appearance are quite derogatory. They each assume that she is an angry, unapproachable person and are surprised when she is friendly and helpful.

Putting that aside, I found the conclusions that each person reached to be very satisfying and thought-provoking. I am glad that I read this book.

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Woodworking

Woodworking by Emily St. James

I had to wait a long time for my hold of Woodworking to come up, but it was well worth the wait. This is the story of Erica Skyberg, a trans woman who hasn’t told anyone yet. Erica is a recently divorced high school English teacher, and she befriends Abigail, who is one of her students and a trans girl.

There is a lot to like about this book. It is very well written with interesting characters and good pacing. I also learned a lot about the trans experience from characters at different points of their transition. It was a pleasure to read, and I look forward to more from this new author.

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A December to Remember

A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss

This is the second book I have read by Jenny Bayliss.  The first was The Twelve Dates of Christmas, which I enjoyed so much I gave it 5 stars. She has six holiday novels out so far, and I plan to read them all at some point.

In this book, we meet three half sisters – Maggie, Simone, and Star – just after their father Augustus has passed away. They have not been close for quite a while, not since they spent their summers together with their father growing up. Now they have been given special tasks they must do together to receive their inheritance.

The time spent together jumping through the hoops their father has set up offers them the opportunity to acknowledge the things that had pushed them apart and to decide if they want to take a chance on reconciling their relationships with each other. 

This book was such a fun read. I enjoyed getting to know the sisters, who each have their own personalities, histories, and love interests, and I found the small-town setting charming, especially during the lead-up to the winter solstice celebration.

Highly recommend!

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Tell Me Everything

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout is book 5 in the Amgash series.

Summary

It’s autumn in Maine, and the town lawyer Bob Burgess has become enmeshed in an unfolding murder investigation, defending a lonely, isolated man accused of killing his mother. He has also fallen into a deep and abiding friendship with the acclaimed writer, Lucy Barton, who lives nearby in a house next to the sea. Together, Lucy and Bob talk about their lives, their hopes and regrets, and what might have been.

Lucy, meanwhile, befriends one of Crosby’s longest inhabitants, Olive Kitteridge, now living in a retirement community on the edge of town. They spend afternoons together in Olive’s apartment, telling each other stories. Stories about people they have known – “unrecorded lives,” Olive calls them – reanimating them, and, in the process, imbuing their lives with meaning.

My Thoughts

Simple yet profound – that is the best way I can describe Elizabeth Strout’s writing. On the surface, this book follows the lives of Bob Burgess and Lucy Barton as they experience their friendship and deal with the everyday situations in their lives. Ultimately, however, it explores the meaning of life, especially that of the “unrecorded life.”

If you are interested in reading Elizabeth Strout, I would recommend starting with Olive Kitteredge and the first book in the Amgash series, My Name is Lucy Barton.

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The Paris Cooking School

The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont

Summary

There’s nothing quite so beautiful as Paris in the spring; and when you add in the chance to learn the French way of food, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, who can resist? Not Gabi Picabea or Kate Evans who have come from Australia to Sylvie Morel’s Paris Cooking School.

Both are at a crossroads, and learning to cook the French way in Paris, far away from all their troubles, seems like the perfect escape. Meanwhile, Sylvie herself is facing challenges of her own – a mysterious harassment campaign against the School and a reassessment of her relationship with her commitment-shy lover Claude. 

For each of the women, that extraordinary April in Paris will bring unexpected twists and transformations that will change the course of their lives.

My Thoughts

This is a lovely book. Gabi and Kate are likeable characters who are trying to find their way despite various difficulties in their lives. I enjoyed their interaction with the rest of the class as well as with the people they meet in Paris. I also liked the storyline with Sylvie, who runs the school, as she deals with her own challenges.

My favorite part was how descriptive Beaumont is, showing us an intimate view of Paris and tantalizing us with mouthwatering descriptions of food, both around the city and in the cooking school. I am such a picky eater, but it made me want to try all of the dishes they encountered.

I am definitely putting her second book, A Secret Garden in Paris, on my list!

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How to Stop Time

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

📚Summary

Tom Hazard has just moved back to London, his old home, to settle down and become a high school history teacher. And on his first day at school, he meets a captivating French teacher at his school who seems fascinated by him. 

But Tom has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he’s been alive for centuries. Tom has lived history–performing with Shakespeare, exploring the high seas with Captain Cook, and sharing cocktails with Fitzgerald. Now, he just wants an ordinary life.

📃My Thoughts

Simply put, I loved this book! I love the idea of someone living for so long and all the challenges it would bring. Having to move around so people don’t get suspicious, falling in love knowing your loved one will age much more quickly than you, not being able to share your life story with people. 

Add to that a society of people like you with their own rules and motivations and you get a gripping story with exciting twists and turns. Highly recommend!

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Ten Before the End

Ten Before the End

An account I follow on Instagram shared a list of ten books they want to read by the end of the year and my first thought was that’s what I need to get my reading mojo back. I have only read two books so far this month, which is pretty low for me.

Here are the ten books I want to read before the end of this year:

  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
  • What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
  • The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman

Have you read any of these? Do you have books you want to get in before the end of 2025?

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Smells Like Tween Spirit

I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire Class Mom series by Laurie Gelman, and this one was no exception.This first three books were about Jen Dixon’s adventures as class mom for her son Max during his elementary school years, and this one covers her involvement as he moves into middle school and gets into wrestling.

She is also juggling helping her parents as they get older and her adult daughters as they are finding their way in the world, in addition to teaching spin classes and spending time with her adorable granddaughter, all while facing symptoms of perimenopause.

I love Jen’s character so much; she is snarky and fun and truly cares about the people in her life. The situations she finds herself in vary from serious to comical, but she always comes through. I devoured this book in one sitting and found it just as good as the first one.

I would recommend starting with the first book in the series so that you get to know the characters and their stories before getting to this one.