My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.
Life.
It’s been mainly a quiet week. Work was hectic as always, but there was a nice get-together for a former colleague who was visiting the area for the first time in years, and I got to reconnect with a few people I hadn’t seen in a long time — always a treat.
Beyond that, I caught up on odds and ends over the weekend, and pampered myself with a soothing pedicure! Aaah. Sometimes, it’s the little things that make a difference.
What did I read during the last week?
Shift (Silo, #2) by Hugh Howey: This big, chunky sci-fi book took me nearly all week to read, but was worth the effort! I’m already looking forward to starting the 3rd and final book in the series. My review is here.
Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot: Engaging romance about two childhood best friends who reconnect over yearly Hanukkah get-togethers. My review is here.
Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters by assorted authors: This was a fun read — a collection of short stories by various well-known authors, each focusing on an Austen side character and inventing a new version of her life. I enjoyed some stories more than others, but overall, I’m glad to have read this book!
Pop culture & TV:
I watched season 3 of Nobody Wants This this week — I thought it was pretty uneven, but liked the final moments. I’m glad they’ve announced another season!
North of North is back! I started the 2nd season last night, and definitely recommend checking it out.
Sadly, Julie Stiles was eliminated from Dancing with the Stars last week. She had a great run, and I was sorry to see her go. In tribute, here’s her final dance:
Fresh Catch:
One new book this week:
A new John Scalzi book is always a reason to celebrate! And although I have a hard copy, I’ve decided to read this one via audiobook (see below).
What will I be reading during the coming week?
Currently in my hands:
The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann: I started this book over the weekend, and it’s bonkers. Premise: Anne Boleyn sews her head back on after her execution and goes out looking for revenge. I’m into it!
Now playing via audiobook:
Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi: Off to a great start! And I always enjoy Wil Wheaton’s narration.
Ongoing reads:
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot: My book group’s newest classic read. We’re starting this week, reading and discussing two chapters per week. Looking forward to it!
Title: Eight Ways to Say I Love You Author: Amanda Elliot Narrators: Dara Rosenberg & Eli Schiff Publisher: Berkley Publication date: October 27, 2026 Length: 384 pages Audio length: 10 hours 18 minutes Genre: Contemporary romance Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley; audiobook via Audible Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
A spark of attraction burns brighter each year between childhood friends in this sweeping Hanukkah romance by USA Today bestselling author Amanda Elliot.
This Hanukkah, Shira Levinson is returning home to New Jersey riding the high of achieving major milestones. Though she only just graduated from college, she’s got her dream job and a perfect Los Angeles apartment—an actual miracle in the city of dreams.
Life has not been quite as kind to Leo David. Not only did he fail out of college, he was forced to move in with his estranged dad, who he still hates for cheating on his mom years ago. The only silver lining? Getting to see Shira, his childhood friend (and crush, though he’ll never tell her that) while she’s home for her family’s holiday party.
But that’s just the beginning. Over the next eight years, Shira’s and Leo’s lives spin them in all sorts of directions as they grow and change, taking them places they never imagined going. Sometimes those paths take them farther away from each other, and other times closer together. If they can only time it right, they might uncover a love that burns forever.
It’s fall, the holiday season is racing toward us… and it’s the perfect time for a Hanukkah romance! After really enjoying Amanda Elliot’s 2024 novel, Love You a Latke, I was eager to get my hands (ears) on this new release.. and I’m happy to report that Eight Ways to Say I Love You does not disappoint.
Shira and Leo were best friends, inseparable throughout their childhoods — so close that they were constantly running in and out of one another’s houses, no need to knock. But their time together came to a crashing halt when Leo’s dad cheated and Leo’s mom decided to get a fresh start, moving with Leo from their New Jersey home to be with her family in Michigan. At age 14, both Shira and Leo were devastated and promised to stay in touch — but teen life and high school pressures got in the way, and suddenly, eight years went by with no contact at all.
As the story opens, Shira is twenty-two, working tirelessly toward her goal of a thriving art career. Living in LA, she has an impressive job at a gallery and has also secured representation for her own first exhibit. Shira has devoted her high school and college years to making the right impressions — joining clubs, taking on leadership roles, and checking all the boxes — and it’s paid off. She’s firmly on the road to success.
Not so for Leo. Dropping out of college due to burn-out and lack of funds, he’s been forced to move back in with his dad, with whom he’s barely spoken all these years, still feeling furious about how he destroyed their family. Leo works in a warehouse, plays video games, and has no idea what to do with himself. But when Shira shows up for her annual Hanukkah visit and Leo sees her for the first time in eight years, the old crush comes back to life. As the two friends reconnect, it’s clear that they’re in very different places in their lives… and a major misunderstanding seems like it might put an end to their rekindled friendship before it truly gets a chance.
And yet… over the following years, during each Hanukkah visit, Leo and Shira spend more time together, and slowly work their way back toward friendship, connection, and possibly something more. As their lives and careers and families cycle through ups and downs, we see how Leo and Shira each grow and change, in many ways inspired by one another. Shira is forced to reassess her life and her constant need to perform, and to take stock of what truly matters to her. Leo finds new meaning and purpose, and even manages to start to engage with his father again, realizing that past hurts don’t mean that rebuilding isn’t possible.
Along the way, Shira and Leo’s lives are each informed by their connection to Jewish traditions and community. The sense of Jewish joy is pervasive throughout this lovely story, and feels heartening and wonderful to witness.
I appreciated the challenges of Leo and Shira’s growth over the years. This isn’t an insta-love story. Sure, their happiness at reconnecting after so many years apart is evident right from the start, but it takes years and lots of effort for them to rebuild trust, open up to one another, and start putting aside the assumptions and roadblocks that get in their way. It’s not easy, but they value one another enough to make the effort.
Narrators Dara Rosenberg and Eli Schiff alternate chapters as they voice Shira and Leo, and their voices provide warmth, personality, and emotion. It’s a lovely listen, with humor lightening the mood yet with space for the more serious moments to play out as well.
Eight Ways to Say I Love You feels like a great way to get in the Hanukkah mood! Highly recommended.
Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
In this second volume in the New York Times best-selling Silo series, Hugh Howey describes the catastrophic events that led to the creation of the silo— and the beginning of the end
In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platforms that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. The technology has an almost limitless capacity for good—but in the wrong hands, it could have an equally boundless capacity for evil.
In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event.
At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall, and the ability to forget it ever happened. With this godlike power at their fingertips, can humanity be trusted to create a new—and better—world? Or is it doomed to bring about its own destruction?
After years of having the Silo trilogy on my TBR list, I finally read the first book, Wool, this fall. It’s a fascinating, mind-boggling science fiction story set several hundred years in the future, in which the last remnants of humanity live in an underground silo 144 stories deep. The world outside is barren and toxic; to exit the silo means instant death. And so, Wool explores the shifting social dynamics of this claustrophobic world, where generations are born and die with no actual memory of the silo’s origin, and where cyclical uprisings against the silo’s power structure could spell the end of all life.
Book #2, Shift, takes us back before the beginning. Structured similarly to Wool, Shift was originally published as three stories, now bundled together in one large but compelling volume. Several storylines blend together in alternating timelines. In one, we meet a young Congressman, Donald, helped into office by a powerful older Senator who has a project for him. Donald was once an aspiring architect, and the Senator asks him to work on a new construction plan inspired by one of Donald’s early designs.
In another storyline, it’s about 100 years later, and inside a silo, there’s trouble brewing. Some people seem to have memories of a world before, and the silo’s leaders can’t allow that to continue. There are secrets that should never be revealed, and the powers-that-be see destruction as preferable to the truth coming out.
Later in the book, we see what’s become of Donald’s project, what the Senator brought about, and how that all leads to the world of the silos. Elsewhere, and in another timeline, we also get to know Jimmy, a character important in Wool, and learn more about his background and how he’s survived.
Shift is complicated and confusing, yet also quite powerful. There’s a lot to keep track of — multiple timelines, silos identified by number (making it difficult to remember which events happen in which silo at which point in time), and many characters, some of whom appear over the course of centuries thanks to the cryotechnology that enables workers to remain frozen for decades and then be woken for their next shift.
I found the first section of Shift especially powerful, seeing a representation of our world and how it ends thanks to a combination of unrestrained technology and ruthless people in charge. In the later two sections, life and death inside the silos are dramatic and often quite dismal, and some sections left me a little disconnected, as the tangled story arcs can be challenging to follow. Because the overarching story is rooted in people guarding explosive secrets and tampering with memory, readers are left to sort through narratives that often feel incomplete. This is likely by design, but it can feel frustrating to devote so much time to this lengthy, complicated book and still feel like answers are missing by the end.
Overall, Shift is compelling and disturbing and hard to put down. Despite the rotating characters throughout, there are plenty to care about and connect with. Getting to understand the origins of the world introduced in Wool deepens the overarching sense of doom and chaos in these books. I’m intrigued enough to want to see what happens next.
With one book left, I hope to finish this trilogy before the end of the year. Next up: Book #3, Dust.
Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
First Lines Friday is a weekly feature for book lovers created by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here’s how to join in:
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page.
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first.
Finally… reveal the book!
Today’s lines are from a 2026 fantasy that’s been on my TBR for a few months now:
Today is the tenth anniversary of the worst day of my life. As if I could forget, when millions of strangers have been so eager to remind me. I’m sure you’ve seen the news stories, the magazine covers, the social media posts. Maybe you’re planning to snuggle up on your sofa tonight with a bowl of popcorn and binge the documentary series released to commemorate the occasion. Schadenfreude and chill.
So what’s the book?
The Favorites by Layne Fargo Published: January 14, 2025 475 pages
Synopsis:
She might not have a famous name, funding, or her family’s support, but Katarina Shaw has always known that she was destined to become an Olympic skater. When she meets Heath Rocha, a lonely kid stuck in the foster care system, their instant connection makes them a formidable duo on the ice. Clinging to skating—and each other—to escape their turbulent lives, Kat and Heath go from childhood sweethearts to champion ice dancers, captivating the world with their scorching chemistry, rebellious style, and roller-coaster relationship.
Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.
As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public obsession with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.
I don’t remember how I stumbled across this book… but it’s been sitting on my Kindle for a while now, and it sounds so juicy and dramatic! I don’t think I’ve read a book about ice dancers before, and I’m eager to give this one a try.
Have you read The Favorites? Does it sounds like something you’d pick up?
Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. To participate, find a book title that starts with each letter in the month’s name, make a list, share your link, and that’s it! You can share anytime by the end of the month. Some months have additional themes, but feel free to participate however you’d like!
Since Jana isn’t assigning themes for now, I’m inventing my own. With Thanksgiving coming up this month, I’ve decided to go with a very loose theme — books I’m thankful to have in my life!
N:
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazy
One of my first introductions to high fantasy!
O:
The Once and Future Queen by Paula Lafferty I just read this book last month, and absolutely loved it. (review)
V:
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
This book made me laugh — always something to be thankful for. (review)
E:
The Emily Starr books by L. M. Montgomery
Lovely and joyful — I read these books during a stressful time, and they were perfect antidotes to everything I was dealing with. (review)
M:
Mariana by Susanna Kearsley
The first book I ever read by this author… not suspecting how much of a favorite she’d become! (review)
B:
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
Another 2026 read that I adored. Books and magic — what could be better? (review)
E:
Emma by Jane Austen
I love all of Jane Austen’s books… but Emma makes me laugh the most.
R:
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
I had no idea when I picked up this book (the first in the outstanding October Daye series) that I’d be so enchanted by the characters and storytelling that I’d stick with the series through 20 books (and counting!).
Happy November to all! If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is One-Word Reviews for the Last Ten Books I Read — a topic previously features in 2022. Last time around, I couldn’t get very far with the topic (my list would have been basically: scary! funny! sweet! etc… not very enlightening), so I switched it up and went with a word association theme instead. My 2022 post is here… and I’m sticking with the same approach for this week’s post too.
Here’s how it works: Remember playing word association games? Say the first word that comes to mind… Well, in this case, I decided to do the two words that come to mind when I think about the most recent books I’ve read. Here goes!
Pregnancy & Paychecks
Fainting& Castles
Mermaids&Pirates
Confusion&Music
Camelot & Hobbits
Tea & History
Plants & Planets
Cowboys & Trains
Costumes & Swords
Terror & Detours
How did you do with this week’s TTT prompt? Did you have better luck than I did writing one-word reviews?
Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!
My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.
Life.
Happy November! I hope everyone had a good Halloween. I didn’t actually do much to celebrate, other than enjoying seeing all the elaborate lights and decorations around the neighborhood.
On Sunday, the San Francisco Philharmonic gave a sunset performance by the beach, and it was glorious. There were so many people that I couldn’t get close enough to get a great photo… but this gives you a general idea:
Beautiful location, beautiful music! What a great way to wrap up the weekend.
What did I read during the last week?
Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger: Sadly, this was one of my most disappointing books of the year. I had such high expectations for the long-awaited sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife. What a letdown. My review is here.
My Salty Mary (The Marys, #3) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows: On the other hand, this book was just so much fun! Just as silly and entertaining as the rest of the Mary and Jane books. My review is here.
Fallow by Sarah Anderson: Strange, entertaining, and impossible to put down. This debut novel about in-house corporate surrogacy is unlike anything else I’ve read this year. My review is here.
Pop culture & TV:
I just finished the 4th season of The Diplomat last night. Wow, what a powerhouse of a season! Season 5 can’t come soon enough.
And of course, we need a Dancing with the Stars check-in! Last week had a double elimination, but my favorites are all still safe (although I think one and possibly two may not last much longer).
Fresh Catch:
I wandered into a bookstore while waiting for a friend I was meeting for dinner… and of course, did not walk out empty-handed. I hadn’t heard about this book before, and just had to have it!
(Also, three cheers for the local bookstore, which had a display encouraging people to buy a book to donate to a nearby public school. Such a simple and affordable way to encourage young readers! I couldn’t resist… bought a paperback of Angelina Ballerina to add to their collection box.)
What will I be reading during the coming week?
Currently in my hands:
Shift (Silo, #2) by Hugh Howey: I’d like to finish this trilogy before the end of the year, and considering how long each book is, I figured it was time to pick up #2. I’m not that far into the book yet, but I’m hooked already.
Now playing via audiobook:
Eight Ways to Say I Love You by Amanda Elliot: I loved this author’s Hanukkah romance from last year (Love You a Latke), and I’m happy to be starting her newest!
Ongoing reads:
My book group has a two-week breather before we start our next big, long-term classic read — so, I thought I’d take advantage of this short break to spend time with a story collection I bought recently:
Ladies in Waiting: Jane Austen’s Unsung Characters by assorted authors: I’m slowly making my way through this collection of Austen-inspired short stories. I’ve read 4 so far, 4 more to go!
Title: Fallow Author: Sarah Anderson Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publication date: September 15, 2026 Length: 336 pages Genre: Contemporary fiction Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Slyly funny and disarmingly tender, Fallow is the story of a young woman who signs up to be the world’s first in-house corporate surrogate, then finds herself caught up in a social experiment of another kind.
Natalie knows one truth: there is no such thing as a good job.
As the clock ticks away at the call center where she logs complaints of workplace harassment, she tries to ignore the increasing pain in her jaw. She has no dental insurance. She has no skills or ambitions. She has student loans. And, minute by minute, she hears the many ways workers are not just not getting by, but actually getting hustled.
Then, at the blood bank where she sells her plasma, a mysterious flyer leads her to The Company. Natalie turns out to be the perfect candidate for their pilot program, pitched as an opportunity to help women access greater gender equity. She will be their in-house surrogate, delivering seven babies in ten years and enabling their executives to have motherhood without maternity leave. Finally, she will be adequately—generously—compensated.
For years, her every need is met: stacks of healthy meals in the refrigerator of a luxury condo, fitness coaches and nutritionists, around-the-clock health care. Between deliveries, she takes time off— a fallow period, with no obligations or expectations. For the first time in her life, she is good at her job; for the first time, she feels free.
But just as she’s about to fulfill the terms of her contract, a staffing decision upends everything. Natalie is pulled into an entirely different kind of social experiment, one that raises new questions about her future, her freedom, her purpose, what she can expect from the world, and what she can offer to it.
Woundingly funny and genuinely moving, Sarah Anderson’s Fallow is a tender, alarmingly real vision of a woman balancing on the knife-edge of capitalism as she comes to realize who she wants to be.
From the opening lines of this strange yet utterly absorbing book, it’s clear what Natalie doesn’t want: Work.
When we were little, my sisters’ stuffed animals became astronauts and firefighters and chefs. Mine took vacations and naps and watched TV.
Sure, she’s done her time in afterschool jobs during high school, got a college degree (and all the debt that comes with it), and works full-time at a call center processing workplace harassment complaints. But none of it means anything, and none of it pays the bills. Or comes with dental insurance. A dental emergency that she can’t afford leads her to plasma donation, and at the blood center, she finds a flyer for a job with the Company — which we’re told is one of the most ubiquitous tech companies in the world. (I’m thinking Google, Microsoft, Apple… ) The job posting is vague, but promises to pay well… and yes, there’s dental!
After passing in-depth, intrusive screenings and signing intense NDAs (without reading the fine print), Natalie finally learns what she’s been selected for. She’ll be the Company’s first in-house gestational carrier. No longer will top professional women have to step away from their careers for maternity leave! By providing them with a company-paid surrogate, they can truly have it all — the baby they’ve always wanted, without the career disruption that comes with it. Gender equality at last! Sigh.
And so begins Natalie’s strange new life. Her contract is for seven pregnancies within ten years, with bonuses at various milestones and after each birth, a huge completion bonus at the end of the contract, a very nice salary, luxury accommodations provided by the Company, and all medical and health needs provided. It’s quite the sweet deal for someone who hates work.
I knew that being pregnant meant being tired all the time. But it also meant reason to rest. Being pregnant meant people offering to do things for you. Being pregnant was the perfect excuse, in fact, to not do anything at all.
Yes, there’s quite a bit of monitoring (if her biofeedback ring reports a less-than-ideal night’s sleep, she gets an immediate call from her doctor), tons of rules (playing language lessons in two selected languages to her belly everyday, strict dietary and exercise requirements, no artificial anything), and even performance reviews after each pregnancy.
Natalie also gets a “fallow” period after each delivery — a period of months where she’s free (or freer) of the intense rules, before beginning the preparation for the next pregnancy. She interprets her fallow time as time to cut loose — wild nights out, indulging in junk food, alcohol, random sex, and all the things she must deny herself otherwise. It’s an odd life, but it’s hers, and for once, she doesn’t have to worry about money, or much of anything at all.
But midway through the book, things change in a way that Natalie couldn’t have foreseen, and her cozy life of pampered pregnancies and fallow periods is knocked off course. From here, events occur (no spoilers!) that take Fallow out of the realm of corporate culture into something else entirely. It’s quite a transition, and requires a sharp adjustment for readers right alongside Natalie.
In some ways, Fallow reads as a satire of corporate culture. Breaking down barriers, enabling true workplace equality… by eliminating the need for maternity leave, a workplace protection that took years to enshrine into employment rights. The idea of Natalie writing a self-evaluation after each delivery is absurd, yet fits within the skewering of corporate life and the ladder to success.
At the same time, Fallow is an exploration of finding one’s path amidst the untenable reality of mounting bills, housing and health insecurity, and lack of safety nets. Natalie takes the Company job not just for the life of ease it promises, but also because she really has nothing else on the horizon and can’t imagine any job or career that offers a realistic option for her. She’s quite clear that she doesn’t want to work — but would that change if she actually found meaning or joy in any of the work she might be able to find?
The back half of the book goes in a very different direction, as Natalie finds herself in a situation she didn’t expect. Without going into detail, I’ll just say that it’s weird and jarring, but ends up being a fantastic contrast to the first half of the book, and finally gives Natalie the space to think about what she actually wants. I did wish for a bit more resolution at the end. We get a good idea of what Natalie’s life might look like going forward, but I would have liked an epilogue or at least something a bit more concrete to tie it all together. That’s a minor quibble — overall, I was satisfied with the plot and character development, and my attention never flagged.
I read Fallow in about two days — it’s fast-paced, totally engaging, a lot of fun, and hard to put down. The premise sounds off the wall, but the execution is so good that we readers have no choice but to buy into it and go along for the ride.
Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Title: My Salty Mary Series: Mary, #3 Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows Narrator: Nneka Okoye Publisher: HarperTeen Publication date: August 20, 2024 Print length: 448 pages Audiobook length: 10 hours 54 minutes Genre: Young adult Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, New York Times bestselling authors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows are back with a fantastical, romantical, and piratical historical fantasy remix that marries the story of The Little Mermaid with the life and times of infamous lady pirate Mary Read.
Don’t call this mermaid “little”—call her “captain,” unless you want to walk the plank.
Mary is in love with the so-called prince of Charles Town, except he doesn’t love her back. Which is inconvenient. Since she’s a mermaid, being brokenhearted means she’ll—poof!—turn into sea-foam.
But instead, Mary finds herself pulled out of the sea and up onto a pirate ship. To survive, she joins them. But Mary isn’t willing to just sing the yo-ho-hos. She wants the pirate life, all of it, and she’s ready to make a splash . . . by becoming captain. But when Blackbeard dies suddenly, Mary has a chance to become so much more: Pirate King . . . or Queen. She won’t let anyone stop her—not Blackbeard’s cute son, not her best friend from back under the sea who’s having a bit too much fun with his new legs, and certainly not everyone who says she can’t be a pirate just because she’s a girl.
She may not be the best man for the job, but she’ll definitely prove that she’s worth her salt.
Yo ho ho! The talented trio who gave us fresh, funny spins on the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots and Mary Shelley is back with an upside-down, inside-out story of infamous pirates Mary Read, Anne Bonny, Jack Rackham, and more! After loving the Janie series (about Lady Jane Grey, Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre, and Calamity Jane), I couldn’t resist reading the “Marys” this year. My Salty Mary delivers an entertaining retelling of historical figures… as a mash-up with The Little Mermaid! Who could say no to a premise like that?
As the story opens, the Little Mermaid (aka Mary) is heartbroken. She’s given up her tail to gain human legs and a shot at true love, thanks to a potion from the sea witch — but the man she saved from drowning and has sacrificed everything for is marrying someone else. She’s speechless — not because she gave up her voice in addition to her legs, but because she’s stunned. When her sister Karen (who lives up to the name) shows up, it’s to offer her a way out: Kill the guy and his bride and return to the sea as a mermaid once again… or don’t, and become sea foam when the sun rises, because that’s what happens when mermaids die.
Mary opts for sea foam and throws herself overboard… and is shocked to discover that she hasn’t died, but is, unfortunately, drowning. A passing ship pulls her in, where Mary finds herself aboard the Ranger, a pirate ship captained by the cruel Charles Vane. Captain aside, it’s a mighty fine ship and crew, and Mary finds a place to belong and thrive, although since women are considered bad luck on ships, she takes on the name Mark and hides her true identity.
It’s a pirate’s life for Mary! She rises from cabin boy to quartermaster over the next year, leading the crew on successful raids while Vance is too drunk to be of any use, and is fast friends with the ship’s navigator Toby, who just happens to be the youngest son of Blackbeard himself. When Blackbeard is reported dead, the pirate community holds a contest to name the new Pirate King. Mary, fighting for equal rites among pirates, is determined to win — even though Vance wants to expose her true identity as a woman, which would result not only in disqualification from the contest, but likely punishment (death) for “betraying” other pirates.
Side note: It was impossible for me to read this book and not think about the characters from the Black Sails TV series — seen here: Jack Rackham, Charles Vance, Anne Bonny
Mary is joined by her beloved cousin Jack, who also finds a way to shed his mer tail and walk around on human legs, and who loves human clothing and company more than actually, you know, pirating… but he’s willing to be a pirate (arrrgh!) to please his true love Anne Bonny, who is fierce and magnetic and demands to be taken seriously. With Jack (aka Calico Jack, aka Jack Rackham), Toby, and Anne by her side, Mary has staunch allies and stands a fighting chance, despite the steep opposition coming at them from the more traditional (i.e., misogynistic) pirates.
My Salty Mary is a rollicking adventure full of piratical adventure on the high seas — and some very funny scenes at the local tavern, where the elder statesmen of the pirate community (the AARP — Admirable Association of Retired Pirates), headed by Captains Hornigold, Morgan, and Hook, preside over the rowdy Pirate King competition, to the cheers of other notable pirate Captains — including Crunch, Obvious, Ahab, and Penzance. (It really helps to enjoy puns and corny jokes if you’re going to read this book — I personally found them all really endearing)
And they’d gained thirty-six men, among them a new cooper, which was great because they’d really been scraping the bottom of the barrel when they’d hired the old one.
The authors seem to be quite fond of Titanic references (for random examples, see My Contrary Mary… and yes, there really are Titanic references in a book about Mary, Queen of Scots). Here, the references are just as silly and fun:
“I’ll never let go, Jack! I’ll never let go!” Anne sobbed as Mary hauled her away from the rail.
… and …
“Do you remember the necklace we found that one time?” Mary asked out of the blue.
“Necklace?” Jack thought back. “Oh, the pretty, sparkly one with the big blue heart-shaped jewel? The one some idiot just tossed overboard from a ship?”
And if you were thinking it couldn’t get much sillier… well, a Ted Lasso stand-in, a TED Talk, and a shell phone (where you can play Crabby Crush) are just some of the bits and pieces thrown in amidst all the rum, hooks, and parrots.
The authors weave in some social messaging too — nothing too preachy, but we do get some more serious thoughts about equality for women, freedom to choose, and the rights of formerly enslaved people now living within the pirate community. Mary’s pitch to become Pirate Queen even includes a rallying cry for paid parental leave with job protection!
As with the rest of the books in both the Jane and Mary series, My Salty Mary is silly, over the top, very funny, and non-stop entertaining. I was perhaps a smidge less engaged here than with the other books. I didn’t quite connect with Mary as a person as much as I did with the main characters in the other books, and I would have liked a bit more mermaid life mixed in with all the pirate adventures. That’s okay, though — I still had a really good time!
The narration by Nneka Okoye is lively and dynamic, with terrific character voices (and lots of very effective pirate exclamations). She even sings a bit (during one of Captain Penzance’s performances, naturally). The pacing is terrific, and despite being a bit on the long side, the audiobook absolutely zips by.
I’m a bit sad to have reached the end of the Mary books. I haven’t heard anything (yet!) about the authors starting a new series… but we can hope!
Purchase links for My Salty Mary: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
First Lines Friday is a weekly feature for book lovers created by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here’s how to join in:
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page.
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first.
Finally… reveal the book!
Today’s lines are from a 2026 fantasy that’s been on my TBR for a few months now:
Marigold Yuen used to think she had a knack for fixing things. C’s in chemistry, car lockouts, and tangled cassette tapes, even ankle sprains — every aunty north of Ashby Avenue knew to come to her for a miracle repair.
But at twenty-four, she had learned that there were two things beyond her skill: the heart she’d broken, for one. Then there was her mother.
So what’s the book?
Fishbone Cinderella by Elizabeth Lim Release date: July 23, 2026 436 pages
Synopsis:
A mother and daughter must break their family’s curse through trials of war and immigration, love, loss, and redemption in this “enchanting multi-generational tale” (People) with a shimmer of magic, from the #1New York Timesbestselling author ofA Forgery of Fate.
1940s Hong Kong When Japanese soldiers invade her hometown, Ha Yut Ying makes an unlikely escape—by turning invisible. But her miraculous survival is only the beginning. After the war is over, she’s sent to Hong Kong to live with her distant father and glamorous stepmother, who end her dreams of becoming a singer and turn her into the family’s servant. As the years pass, Yut Ying learns the hard truths of betrayal and ambition, of forbidden love and devastating loss, and discovers that sometimes the only way to endure is to disappear.
1960s San Francisco Marigold has always had a knack for uncovering secrets, but nothing prepares her for the day she accidentally witnesses her mother vanish before her eyes. The moment fractures their bond, leaving questions that shadow her entire childhood. But when her mother’s condition suddenly deteriorates, Marigold is convinced she’s the only person who can save her. To do so, she must journey into the secrets her mother never shared and uncover the tragic, fairytale-tinged history their family has fought to forget.
A story of mothers and daughters, the scars they inherit and the magic that binds them, Fishbone Cinderella is a tender and enchanting exploration of what it means, at last, to be seen.
I’ve read such excellent reviews, and I’m eager to dive in! Have you read this book? And if not, does this sound like something that might appeal to you?
