Tag: fiction

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Recent Reads from Sonali Dev

Sonali Dev has become one of my favorite authors, and I have recently read a novel and a short story of hers. The novel, Lies and Other Love Languages, is the story of Vandy Guru and her daughter Mallika. Vandy Guru is an advice columnist who is struggling with grief after the loss of her husband, and her daughter Mallika is an aspiring choreographer who is struggling to find her niche. The story also involves Vandy’s estranged childhood friend Rani Parekh and the secrets that tore them apart.

The book moves back and forth between the past and the present day until finally the story merges near the end of the book. Sometimes all that switching is difficult for me to follow or engage with, but I didn’t have any trouble with this one and was interested in both storylines. I was most invested in Vandy and Rani but gradually connected with Mallika as her character was fleshed out more and more. I also really liked the ending.

The Wedding Setup is a short story about Ayesha Shetty, a young woman who has thrown herself into the family business after the death of her brother. At her best friend’s wedding, she runs into an old flame while trying to avoid a doctor her mother is trying to set her up with. It was cute but mostly predictable, but I did enjoy the little twist at the end.

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School by the Sea Series (Maggie Adair)

The School by the Sea, aka Maggie Adair, is a charming series about an English boarding school for girls. Jenny Colgan tells the story of how she loved books about boarding schools but realized there weren’t very many for adults, so she wrote the first two books of the series and published them under the name Jane Beaton. A few years later, she republished them under Jenny Colgan and wrote the last two books to finish out the story.

I read the first two books back in 2022 and just read the last two books this year. The main character is Maggie Adair, a Scottish literature teacher who comes to teach at the school, and we see how she adjusts to this new situation and how it affects her personal and romantic life. The story also follows several of the girls in the school and explores their different backgrounds and experiences.

I am a big fan of Jenny Colgan and really enjoyed this series. I especially liked that we got to see things from the perspectives of both the teachers and the students, and I liked the interactions they had with the nearby boys’ school. Overall, this is a charming series that I would highly recommend!

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The March Sisters

I have read many adaptations and retellings of books by Jane Austen, but it’s not that often that I come across books based on 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 by Louisa May Alcott. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 is a two-book series that was published in 2019 and 2020. The first book focuses on Meg & Jo, while the second book focuses on Beth & Amy. We also get a glimpse into their parents’ relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this modern take on a beloved classic. Each sister faces different challenges in her life and in her relationships, and I appreciated the way Kantra shows how their childhood experiences mix with their personalities to contribute to their current issues.

Highly recommended!

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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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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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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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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.

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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.

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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
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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!