Sunlight Finds You

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by Laura Moriarty
First sentence: “I’m named Eleanor because I was born a week after Eleanor Roosevelt came to Kansas City to campaign for her husband.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: August 4, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some mild swearing, talk of extra-marital sex, as well as some off- page sex, and some spousal abuse. It will be in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

Nora is an outgoing teenager. Leonard is a shy one. He’s an only child from a wealthy family in St. Petersburg; she’s from a working-class blended family. It’s an instant attraction. But that’s just the beginning. As they get older, both Nora and Leonard get trapped in lies that their parents tell them, discraces that they did nothing to earn, and choices that they made with the best of their knowledge they had at the time.

It’s really hard to describe the plot of a book that covers 16 years.

My coworker tried to sell me on this one by saying it’s a romance. Except that it’s not. Sure, there’s a love story – Nora and Leonard have a Passion, and yet Well=Meaning Adults tell them NO, and yet they defy them to live their passion (sort of) (but throw in the Korean War) (and an abusive husband). It was… fine. It was well-written; Moriarty knows how to tell a story. The problem was I didn’t care. (Well, I cared enough to finish.) I wanted to feel something for Nora and Leonard. I wanted to feel the tragedy of their situation, the heartbreak of so many lies being told to them, the joy when they eventually found a way to live together. But it all felt so impassive. So distant. Even though it was told from a first-person perspective (Nora’s). Maybe it was because she was reflecting on things when she was older, and there was distance between the events and the narration. But whatever it was, I didn’t feel anything when reading this.

So, in the end, it was just fine. Which is sad because it could have been more.

Young World

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by Soman Chainani
First sentence: “Dear Miss Escobedo, I know our weekly journals are supposed to be about current events and things that matter in the world, but right now the only thing that matters to me is a girl.”
Review copy provided by the publisher
Content: There’s some swearing (maybe f-bombs? I can’t remember), and violence. It’s in the Young Adult section of the bookstore.

All Benton Young wanted to do was impress a girl. So, he uploaded a video to YouTube with plans for a revolution, with demands that the young people of the world take over and change things. What he didn’t expect was for his video to go viral, for him to be written in as a presidential campaign, and for him – a 17-year-old black kid from St. Louis – to be elected as president. Suddenly, things aren’t quite as easy as he thought it would be. And he still didn’t get the girl.

I was honestly excited about this one. It sounded unique. The book itself is a fascinating mix of journals and “found” documents – graphs, newspaper clippings, etc. I liked the idea of a revolution and even though my husband was skeptical (“How do they get around the Constitution?”), I was game. Until I hit the halfway point. I hate to say it, but Benton isn’t a smart character. Maybe that’s the point, but he kept turning to his friends – both back in St. Louis and one he made in the White House – for information and help. And he never remembered what they said. He couldn’t make decisions – partially because of the way the adults were trying to handicap him, but mostly because he was just Obsessing about The Girl. So, we hit halfway, we find out who the girl was, and then he’s in Sweden for a G-8 conference, and there’s a whole made-up resource of oil and minerals the world is fighting over, and when the polar bear showed up, I bailed. I thought this would be a book for me, and I just didn’t have the patience.

I’m sure there will be readers out there who love it. Maybe they will even find it “empowering” as Chainani hoped. But this wasn’t for me.

Encore

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by Miles Toriko Burks
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: June 2, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some swearing and talking about sex. It will be in the Teen Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

It’s senior year, and Clay is determined to have a good year, surrounded by friends. But when his ex-best friend, Aron, suddenly appears in Clay’s theater class and (gasp) they are paired together, Clay isn’t sure where he stands. Especially since Aron is acting like nothing happened between them (and that he didn’t ghost Clay). As Clay and Aron spend more time together, Clay starts neglecting his current friends, and things spiral out of control. Can Clay save his friendships before it’s too late? (And what ARE those feelings he’s been having for Aron?)

The thing I kept thinking while reading this was that it was very much an American Heartstopper. Which is a compliment! I liked the characters, I liked their friendships, and I liked Aron’s journey to realizing his feelings for Clay and who he is as a person. I liked Clay’s journey to get past old hurt and to trust Aron again. I liked that it was effortlessly queer, and I liked the theater setting. It was all just joyful and fun.

I hope that Burke writes more, either with these characters or with new ones, because he is a talented artist, and I’d love to see more!

The Future is Peace

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by Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon
First sentence: “Once, there were two brothers who lived on opposite sides of a hill.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some mild swearing, descriptions of murder and torture, and talk of the genocide of Palestinians. It’s in the History section of the bookstore.

I picked this up becuase I was intrigued by the premise: Aziz, a Palestinian whose brother was kidnapped by the IDF and tortured, eventually dying of his wounds; and Maoz, an Israeli whose parents were murdred by Hamas on October 7th, traveled around Israel and the West Bank (as much as they could) together. They heard each other’s stories, they held each other’s grief, and they wrote a book, demonstrating that it’s the connection with the Other that helps build peace.

I can’t argue with their conclusion, because I agree: learning the stories, hearing the trials, and respecting those who are not like you is fundamental for building peace and connection in this world. And I appreciated that Aziz and Maoz respected each other to work for that connection. In fact, I respect that this book is trying to show the world that there is a way forward without war, if one will only Listen.

I just wish I liked the book better. I wish their stories, their journey together moved me. It obviously moved them. But, for whatever reason, that really didn’t come through on the page. Which is too bad, becuase I think what they’re trying to do is important.

Monthly Round-Up: April 2026

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The problem this month, if you can call it that, is that I had a really good reading month, and there are three excellent books to choose from. How does one choose? Maybe I shouldn’t and I should just pick three favorites. Two are the next in series that I adore, so maybe I should focus on the stand-alone. Except that one is currently getting a lot of buzz, and maybe it’s over-hyped (it’s still good, though.) Maybe I should just leave you guessing which three I really adored.

I think I’ll just pick all three:

A Kingfisher, Murderbot, and the One everyone is talking about. I loved them all.

Daggerbound
Platform Decay
Yesteryear (audiobook)

As for the rest:

Adult Fiction:

The Rally
Take Me With You
The Deal
How to Fake It in Society (audiobook)

Graphic Novel:

Midsummer Sisters
The Dream Thieves

Non-Fiction:

The Secret History of Wonder Woman
The Universe in Verse

What was your favorite this month?

Audiobook: How to Fake it in Society

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by KJ Charles
Read by Will Watt
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen on Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some fade-to-black sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Titus Pilcrow is the fifth son of a wealthy (now dead) English landowner, and so has had to make his own way in the world. He was given an apprenticeship in making paints for artists, something he has come to love, and even has his own ship. Except that his landlord (a former lover) is raising the rent. Titus is pretty despondent, and when he goes to collect a bill from a wealthy customer, he is roped into her dying wish: marry her, inherit her fortune, so she can cut her despicable nephew off.

The problem was: she was going to marry Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte. So when Nico comes back from a business trip to find the woman dead and another man in his place, he’s a bit… upset. Especially since he and his cousin owe a money lender 2,000 pounds. So, of course, he’s going to find his way into Titus’s good graces. What he didn’t expect was to fall in love.

There was so much silliness in this one, and I found it absolutely delightful. Titus goes from a beleaguered and battered man – a terrible father and older brother as well as a cruel lover will do that to a man – to a more confident person because of Nico’s influence. And Nico learns to trust. And in between there are fabulous clothes, art, outrageous French accents, and a whole lot of delight. I really enjoyed this one a lot. It was silly, yet there was an undercurrent of seriousness (especially when Titus’s former lover was trying to blackmail him) and the reminder that not even wealthy people are exempt from people taking advantage of them.

An absolute delight of a book.

The Deal

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by Elle Kennedy
First sentence: “He doesn’t know I’m alive.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some on-page sex, lots of swearing including f-bombs, and mention of rape and emotional and physical abuse. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

After two years at Briar University, Hannah Wells has a crush: on a football player of all things. She hasn’t talked to him, but he’s amazing to look at, so of course she’s infatuated. He’s even in her Ethics class. Then again, so is Garrett Graham, star hockey player of Briar’s winning team. And he’s discovered that Hannah is brilliant at Ethics (she got an A when everyone else failed) and he needs her help getting his grades up. She needs someone to help her get the football player’s attention. It’s a match. And it works fine until they realize they’ve caught Feelings for one another.

I picked this up because my co-worker (who is Very Knowledgeable in all things Romance) told me I needed to read it before I read next month’s Romance Book Club Book (Love Song, by the same author). She said I need the backstory (we’ll see if I agree when I get around to reading that one!). And even though it’s so very 2015-coded, I enjoyed this. Hannah was raped when she was 15, so she’s dealing with issues surrounding trust and vulnerability, and Garrett, bless him, was super mature (for a 21-year-old). Especially since he’s dealing with his own trauma surrounding the emotional and physical abuse from his father. Either way, these two “broken” people are able to find something in each other that is healing, and I can’t fault that.

There were some humorous parts, and I think Kennedy got the whole college experience – especially at an elite private school – down. Am I going to read the others in the series (all surrounding Garrett’s best friends)? Probably not. But I did have fun with this one.

Take Me With You

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by Steven Rowley
First sentence: “Two men sit in the shade of a blue lifeguard tower staring out at the Pacific.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: May 19, 2026
Review copy provided by the author
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It will be in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

Jesse and Norman have been together for 30 years, married for 10. They have recently rennovated a house out in Josua Tree and moved out there. And, on the surface, everything seems okay. Until one night, a huge light appears in the sky and Norman walks out into it and disappears, leaving Jesse behind. The ultimate question: what do you do when your spouse, someone you have tethered your life to, disappears?

Yes, the book is founded on a silly premise: are alien abuctions real? Was it aliens? Jesse does everything he can to look for Norman – who is just not there. And it’s not just Jesse; Norman’s sister, Lally, is obsessed with finding him as well, and hires a private investigator to help her search. But at its heart, the book is more about remembering why long-term partners got together in the first place, and then finding reasons to stay together even when life feels mundane. It’s about choosing – and re-choosing – the people you love. While it was often silly, and very chaotic, it was also very touching and, in the end, reaffirming that life is worth living, even with all the bad things going on.

Bonus points, too, for the use of U2 song titles as section headings. That absoutely tickled me.

A remarkably good read.

Audiobook: Yesteryear

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by Caro Claire Burke
Read by Rebecca Lowman
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is a lot of swearing, including multiple f-bombs, talk of sex (and some on-page). It’s in the fiction section of the bookstore.

Since the best way to approach this novel is to know as little as possible about this book, I’m just going to give you the pitch we’ve been using at the bookstore: a trad wife influencer wakes up one day to find herself in 1855.

I’ve had coworkers talking about this for months, since they first got a galley. I resisted – mostly – until the audiobook came out. And then, I thought, why not give it a try? A couple of things: it’s worth the hype. And you will need someone to talk about it to when you finish. The characters are all terrible people, and yet the book is utterly compelling. And the narrator? Lowman is FANTASTIC. Absolutely fantastic. It got to a point with about 3 hours left that I ended up staying up until 1:30 am to finish it, and then lay awake for a while to think about it.

Not sure it’ll make my best-of list this year, but it’s a really good book.

The Dream Thieves: The Graphic Novel

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by Maggie Stiefvater
Illustrated by Sas Milledge
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: August 4, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher
Others in the series: The Raven Boys
Content: There is violence, drug use, and some swearing, including f-bombs. It will be in the Teen Graphic Novel section.

This follows the novel pretty closely; there are some scenes that are cut, some that are collapsed, but the highlights are there (I do miss my “furiously red tie” though). I think this one lends itself to graphic novel adaptation really well – there are a couple of serious antagonists and the plot is fairly straightforward. And the art, like before, is gorgeous. (Though I’m not sure Kavinsky looks like what I thought Kavinsky should look like.) I enjoyed this one more than I liked Raven Boys; it just felt more cohesive as a graphic novel (which does leave me a bit concerned for Blue Lilly and Raven King, though).

I really enjoyed it.