Monthly rundown vol. 27

Spies, love, technology, and family drama

Hello, hello! I’m fresh off of Spring Break (Big Bend was a lot of fun!) and getting back into the swing of things. I’m a few chapters deep into writing a new story, and it’s good to be writing fresh again.

Speaking of writing…I’m going to try something new this year, and maybe it will involve you! I loved doing my Meet the Author series, but sometimes I want to talk about books with people who aren’t writers, or maybe talk to writers about books in a different way. So I’m going to try out a guest post series that I’m calling One Book. Guests will write about one book that changed their life or (if that’s too much pressure!) one book they can’t stop thinking or talking about. If YOU are interested in participating in One Book, let me know! I’d love to start this series with readers of the newsletter. Click the button below to leave a comment and let me know, or send me an email!

Reviews:

And Then There Was Us by Kern Carter. I really liked this older young adult novel about a girl and her complicated relationship with her mother, the meaning of family, and forgiveness. It’s compassionate and nuanced, and the writing is sharp and insightful.

Touch by Courtney Maum. This backlist title is a provocative story about the modern addiction to technology, and a woman’s conviction that people are hungry for real, tactile human connection. As she manages the fallout from this conviction, she also navigates the broken relationship with her mother and sister, un-dealt with grief over the death of her father, and what she’s willing to let go of to have the life she’s finally realized that she really wants.

Here Be Dragons by Melanie Shankle. This memoir is funny, heartbreaking, encouraging, and compulsively readable. It reminds us about the power of letting the hardest parts of our lives shape our character for good.

If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane. Another fantastic story with endearing, compelling characters. Unlike the other McFarlane novels I’ve read so far, this one leans a little more heavily into the romance which crackles with delightful chemistry.

Slow Horses by Mick Herron. The Slow Horses television show on AppleTV+ is one of my favorites. I’d heard the books they’re based on are equally as good, and I’d been wanting to try the books out for myself. Well, if the first book is any indication, the rumors were true. I absolutely loved it–the detailed plot, the rich characters, the grounded world-building–all of it. I loved all of it. If you’re in the mood for a spy thriller, definitely give Slow Horses a try.

That’s it for now! Remember to let me know if you want to write a guest post for the One Book series.

Thanks for reading!