Adult Fiction

Audiobook: Christmas Fling

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

Laura is in her medical residency to be a neurosurgeon and she has one rule: no relationships. But when she accidentally sees her new landlord, Callum, naked (she didn’t know he was home, let alone getting out of the shower) and then is ambushed by his parents who assume she’s his (nonexistent) girlfriend, she’s pulled into a fake dating scheme: go to Scotland, pretend to be Callum’s girlfriend for Christmas, don’t catch feelings, and get a free month’s rent. Of course, things don’t go smoothly – there is an ex-fiance, and an angry sister to deal with after all – but maybe it was all for the best in the end.

On the one hand, this was so chock-full of secondhand embarrassment, it was hard to listen to. Laura kept getting into some terrible embarrassing situations, and it was just super awkward. And Callum’s family was just the Worst! I wanted to throttle his sister and his dad for being stubborn and not listening, and completely understood why Callum acted the way he did. The third-act breakup was a bit sudden, but resolved quickly (which was nice) and I appreciated the way the ending was a compromise between Laura and Callum and not one sacrificing their dreams for the other.

In short, I enjoyed this enough to hunt down another Kelk book and put it immediately on hold at the library. A fun Christmas romp.

This Book Made Me Think of You

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by Libby Page
First sentence: “The right book in the hands of the right person at exactly the right moment can change their life forever.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: February 3, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is swearing, including a few f-bombs, and talk of death and dying. It will be in the Romance section (though it could go in general fiction) of the bookstore.

Tilly Nightingale has been going through the motions of life in the six months since her husband passed. Then, out of the blue, she gets a call from a local bookshop: her dead husband left her a present. One book per month for the next year. Thus begins a year of grief and healing, of learning to live again, and of figuring out how to hold space for grief and joy at the same time. And the catalyst? Books, of course. All the books you need to learn and grow and heal and experience life.

Of course, there is a charming bookseller – Alfie – and a best friend and a sister who are part of Tilly’s life. There are misunderstandings and fights, and joyful and silly moments. It’s a sweeping book, covering Tilly’s life over the year.

And while I adore bookish books about books and book people, this one felt, well, surface. I wanted something deeper. I wanted more emotion. I wanted to want to cry when Tilly finally spread her husband’s ashes. I wanted to rejoice when she and Alfie got together. I wanted to feel, and I just never did. Maybe it was because I was exhausted, reading this on the plane, but I’m thinking that Page just told more than showed the emotions of the characters. So, I never really connected. I liked this book on an intellectual level, but emotionally, it just wasn’t there.

Which is too bad, because it’s a charming idea for a book.

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

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by Heather Fawcett
First sentence: “I paused on the threshold of the shop to stamp the frost from my boots.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: February 17. 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher
Content: There are some dangerous situations, including murders. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Agnes is a widow who has had one dream: to run a cat shelter for the feral cats of Montreal, Quebec. She and her husband operated the struggling shelter until his death, and she’s been attempting to keep it going. But after a magical disaster (two magicians were dueling in the street and her shop was in the crossfire), she’s been forced to find a new home for her store (and cats). It proves difficult until she stumbles on a really cheap place for rent. It’s perfect, until she realizes that it’s a front for possibly the most notorious magician in Montreal, and his dealings in magical artifacts. Things get even more complicated when his nemesis finds him, breaks through the wards, and attacks Agnes (and the cats!). How is she supposed to deal with this? Even better: how is she supposed to deal with his clutter?

This has the same tone and whimsy as the Emily Wilde books, and I did like it, just not as much as I adored Emily Wilde. Maybe it was the cats (so many cats!), or maybe it was that Agnes was a widow mourning the loss of her husband. I do like the human and magical being pull, and Agnes was feisty enough to keep me entertained. I guess it just wasn’t everything I was hoping it would be.

Still worth reading, though.

We Burned So Bright

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by TJ Klune
First sentence: “Don switched off the television.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: April 28, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs. There is also discussion of suicide, murder, and violence. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy bookstore.

The world is ending. A black hole is coming, and there is no way to stop it. So, it’s just acceptance. Except everyone is facing it differently. For Don and Rodney, this means driving from Maine to the Pacific Coast to fulfill their obligations. Along the way, they meet a myriad of people, all dealing with the end of the world in their own way.

This was such a depressing book, especially for Klune. I suppose it’s because I’m used to end-of-the-world stories where humanity has hope of surviving. But, when faced with a black hole? Nothing. It’s nihilistic, in many ways. And yet, because it’s Klune, this was hopeful and touching, Don and Rodney had a beautiful life together, despite the challenges they faced being gay. They loved each other, supported each other and they were ready to face the end together. And Klune is a very astute observer of humanity, and every character, no matter how long we interacted with them, felt real.

So, no, it won’t be my favorite Klune book, but it’s absolutely worth reading.

Good Spirits

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by B. K. Borison
First sentence: “On the first day of December, the universe gave to me –“
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some swearing, including f-bombs, and on-page sexytimes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Harriet York is a decent person who absolutely adores Christmas. So, she’s incredibly surprised when Nolan, a Ghost of Christmas Past, shows up at her house, saying that she is due for a reckoning. However, things don’t go as usual: Harriet’s not a bad person, though she has some regrets, and Nolan is finding that being with Harriet is more important than doing his afterlife job. Though the deadline of Christmas Eve is quickly approaching, and they need to figure out why it’s Harriet being haunted.

Ok, the premise of this one is so silly: she falls in love with the Ghost of Christmas Past. I mean, c’mon. However, Borison does it well. She makes it work. She’s developed a whole Department of Hauntings and Spirits, that I definitely want to know more about, and made the magic part of this book actually work. Harriet was a delightful character – quirky but not that girl – to spend time with, and she made some tough decisions, standing up for herself to her (admittedly rotten) parents. While it was a bit slow to start, I found myself enjoying this one enormously.

So yeah, silly but worth it. And I’m hooked on Borison’s books now.

First-Time Caller

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by B. K .Borison
First sentence: “Love is a lie.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some on-page sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Aiden is the host of a local call-in Romance advice show in Baltimore, but he’s lost his way. He’s gotten snippy with the callers, lost his will to care about their problems, and – possibly worst of all – has lost his faith in love.

Lucie is a single mom who’s not unhappy with her life. She’s co-parenting with her child’s dad and his husband, she’s got a good job as a mechanic. Except her 12-year-old daughter thinks differently. So, when her daughter calls in to Aiden’s show asking for help with her mom’s love life, he’s intrigued. And, after getting annoyed/upset/frustrated, Lucie is also intrigued. And what if, in the middle of trying to find someone for Lucie, they discover that maybe they don’t want to find someone else?

I haven’t read Borison’s work before, but I loved the cover of this one (yes, I do judge a book by it’s cover sometimes), and so I picked it up when it was on sale at the store. And I wasn’t disappointed! It’s such a delightful romance, with everything I want: fun characters, snappy dialogue, and a romance worth having (plus some spicy scenes!). It’s a good thing I liked this, because I have her other two books on my pile to read as well!

The Unselected Journals of Emma Lion, Vols 2 and 3

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by Beth Brower
First sentence (vol 2): “Aunt Eugenia’s mandate was waiting with a degree of importance when I awoke this morning.”
First sentence (vol 3): “A noise woke me from my dreams this morning.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy them there!
Others in the series: Vol 1
Content: There is nothing untoward in the books (maybe a bit of drunkenness). They are in the Fiction section of the bookstore.

One of the nice things about the journals is the next one picks up right where the last one left off. Which is why I ended up buying them all; I didn’t want to wait! Volume two is May and June – in which Emma goes on an Adventure and rescues Jane Eyre (the book) from the clutches of the strict headmistress of the school for girls she used to go to. We also learn a bit more about her relationship with Maxwell (who has been killed in Afghanistan). There are increasing connections (which continue in volume 3) with The Tennant (Mr. Pierce) the Duke of Islington, Roland, and Young Hawkes (the parish rector). Of course, there is Aunt Eugenia compelling Emma to be the foil for the lovely Arabella, /money woes, and always Cousin Archibald being his usual nasty self.

I think Volume 3 delighted me more – there was a ridiculous scavenger hunt for tickets to an impromptu Julias Cesar (so silly!) in mid-July, and a couple of delightful parties. Emma deepened her relationship with Mr. Pierce (going back the early 2000s – which team am I on?), and Cousin Archibald hilariously falls down the stairs and breaks a leg.

The most delightful thing about these is that, even though there is not much plot, the characters are SO delightful, Emma is such a charming narrator, the setting – St. Crispain’s – is such a quirky, fun, silly place that I can’t help but be charmed on every page. I know I will be sad when I reach the end of the eight volumes, but for now, I’m thoroughly enjoying this!

Audiobook: The Scorpio Races

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by Maggie Stiefvater
Read by Steve West & Fiona Hardingham
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: It’s violent. But, if there’s a kid, say, 11 years old or so, who is interested in dark fairy-type tales, I’d give it to them. It’s in the Young Adult Bestsellers section of the bookstore.

Because this story isn’t this story without the first sentence: “It is the first day of November, and so, today, someone will die.”

I haven’t reread this in a handful of years, but I seem to be on a Stiefvater kick this year (seven of her books and counting!) and I couldn’t pass up the chance to listen to this one. And, like it always is, it’s an excellent story. The narrators did a wonderful job with the story, and I loved being back on Thisby in the thick of things again.

I adore Stiefvater’s work, and this is absolutely no exception.

Audiobook: Every Step She Takes

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by Alison Cochran
Read by: Cindy Kay & Jeremy Carlisle Parker
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and on-page sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Sadie Wells needs a change. She’s been running her grandmother’s antique store (which was left to her when grandma died) since she was 21, and at 35, she feels stuck. So, when her travel-influencer younger sister gets a broken foot, Sadie jumps at the chance to take her place walking Portugal’s Camino de Santiago as part of a tour.

Mal, who had a falling out with her father 20 years ago, is back in Portugal on the heels of a breakup with her girlfriend, and is avoiding the aftermath of her father’s death (and his leaving his wine company to her). She has sworn off falling for yet another girl, and yet there is Sadie, who is having a gay awakening, and Mal can’t seem to resist the pull.

Can Sadie find herself and maybe help Mal make a change along the way?

I have decided that it really doesn’t matter what Cochran writes. I will read it. This was delightful – found family, discovering oneself, and travel in a gorgeous country, coupled with Cochran’s trademark wit and depth. I adored everything about this, from the delightful narrators to the story. Here’s to late bloomers and people discovering their authentic selves.

I loved it.

Wolf Worm

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by T. Kingfisher
First sentence: “The rail station was very new, the paint still bright on the lettering that read Siler Station.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: March 24, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There are some pretty gross moments, so it’s not for the squeamish stomach. I will be in the Horror section of the bookstore.

Sonia Wilson is a naturalist and an artist, but since it’s 1880 and she doesn’t have a husband, and her father recently passed, she doesn’t have many options for work. She grew tired of teaching at a girls’ boarding school, and so when a job opened up in rural western North Carolina with a naturalist looking for an artist to complete his book, she took the job. What she got, however, was much more than she bargained for.

(Read: There’s something very creepy going on in the woods.)

I don’t read horror. I don’t like being creeped out, I don’t like being grossed out. And yet, I adore Kingfisher. I haven’t read any of her horror before (maybe I will after this one), but when this one came across my desk, I couldn’t say no.

On the one hand, it was very creepy, and VERY gross. A lot of that gross was natural grossness; if you are made squeamish by bugs, this may not be for you. But it did get pretty disgusting. On the other hand, Kingfisher (like always) gave us a heroine who was smart, practical, independent, and a critical thinker. Sure, she was probably too curious for her own good, but she was a delight. And it was shot through with Kingfisher’s wit and the way she is able to create a sense of place. It’s not a delightful read, but it is a compelling one.

Just don’t read it at night.