Book Review: Sisters of Fortune by Esther Chehebar

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Sisters of Fortune
Author: Esther Chehebar
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: July 22, 2025
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

In this hilarious, heart-warming debut novel, three Syrian Jewish sisters chase love and grapple with the growing pains of young womanhood as they seek their place within and beyond their Brooklyn community.

The Cohen sisters are at a crossroads. And not just because the middle sister, Fortune, is starting to question her decision to get married in just a few months. Nina, the eldest sister, is single at 26 (and growing cobwebs by her community’s standards) when she runs into an old childhood friend who offers her the chance to leave behind the pressure to follow in her younger sister’s footsteps. Meanwhile, Lucy, the youngest, a senior at her yeshiva high school, has recently started sneaking around with a mysterious older bachelor that has everybody asking themselves, ‘Fortune, who?‘

As Fortune inches ever closer to the chuppah, the three sisters find themselves in a tug of war between tradition and modernity, reckoning with what their community wants and with what they want for themselves—and all while learning how to roll the perfect grape leaf under the tutelage of their charismatic grandmother, Sitto, who fled Syria in 1992, and of their mother Sally, whose anxieties are tangled up in her daughters’ futures.

Sisters of Fortune is a sister story about dating, ambition, and coming-of-age under the scope of an immigrant community whose coded language is endearing, maddening, and never boring. The book reckons with what we dream for ourselves, our daughters, and granddaughters. It is concerned as much with where we come from as where we are going—and, above all, with what we are eating for dinner. (And who is making it).

This book about three Syrian Jewish sisters navigating community expectations and the pull of modern life seemed promising, but doesn’t wholly deliver. The three Cohen sisters — Lucy, Fortune, and Nina — deal with parental and community pressure to conform, marry well, and live up to expectations as exemplary wives and mothers. But with one sister’s wedding looming, an older sister remaining unwed and reluctant to play along, and the youngest sister seeming on the verge of a very successful match, the sisters’ lives are suddenly changing in unexpected ways.

Sisters of Fortune includes POV chapters for each sister, but oddly, there’s very little that shows the relationships between the sisters. Instead, each sister seems focused mainly on marriage prospects and dealing with their parents. Their lives are a mix of tradition — cooking, cleaning, preparing Shabbat meals and creating a nice home for their husbands — and modernity — taking the subway to work or school, wearing jeans, getting manicures. Material from so-called bride classes seems a bit out of place — there isn’t a strong sense that the family values quite the level of religious adherence that this material implies.

Between a somewhat messy writing style, too much emphasis on brand names and material wealth, a tendency to include kind of gross moments in random scenes (bits of food flying from someone’s mouth as they talk, engaging in a make-out scene literally minutes after throwing up) and a plot that just sort of peters out toward the end rather than reaching a strong conclusion, I was left mainly unsatisfied by this book.

I did enjoy the scenes with the grandmother and the descriptions of food (although even this felt like too much after a while). There’s a glossary at the end, which will be essential for readers unfamiliar with this culture and its language. I wish there had been a bit more about the family’s backstory; the bits we get are interesting and add depth, but that’s a small part of the story.

This is a fast read, but by the end, I was frustrated by the pacing and the lack of convincing growth for the main characters.

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.

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30Jul2025

Audiobook Review: Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Totally and Completely Fine
Author: Elissa Sussman
Narrator: Patti Murin
Publisher: Dell
Publication date: July 8, 2025
Print length: 448 pages
Audio length: 11 hours 14 minutes
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

From the bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask comes an inspiring romance novel about honoring the past, living in the present, and loving for the future.

In her small Montana hometown, Lauren Parker has assumed a few different roles: teenage hellraiser; sister of superstar Gabe Parker; and most recently, tragically widowed single mother. She’s never cared much about labels or what people thought about her, but dealing with her grief has slowly revealed that she’s become adrift in her own life.

Then she meets the devilishly handsome actor Ben Walsh on the set of her brother’s new movie. They have instant chemistry, and Lauren realizes that it has been far too long since someone has really and truly seen her. Her rebellious spirit spurs her to dive headfirst into her desire, but when a sexy encounter becomes something more, Lauren finds herself balancing old roles and new possibilities.

There’s still plenty to contend with: small-town rumors, the complications of Ben’s fame, and her daughter’s unpredictable moods. An unexpected fling seemed simple at the time—so when did everything with Ben get so complicated? And is there enough room in her life for the woman Lauren wants to be? Alternating between Lauren’s past with Spencer and her present with Ben, Totally and Completely Fine illuminates what it means to find a life-changing love and be true to oneself in the process.

Lauren Parker is not, actually, Totally and Completely Fine… although she’d very much like it if everyone would act like she is. Three years after her husband’s tragic death, she and her 13-year-old daughter Lena are muddling along, coping with daily life mainly by not talking about the big, gaping hole in their world, and just kind of pretending that everything is okay.

When Lauren’s movie star brother Gabe — a former James Bond! — invites them to spend a week visiting the set of his new movie, it seems like a good chance to get away and take a break from their small town in Montana… where everyone knows everything about everyone else, all the time. Lena seems happy enough to hang out with her uncle and witness the movie magic, and meanwhile, Lauren seems to find an instant spark with actor Ben Walsh, a Hollywood rising star and total hottie (and sweetheart), who just happens to be at least ten years younger than Lauren. But what difference does age make if it’s just a vacation fling?

In this layered look at love, grief, and second chances, Lauren’s connection to Ben is obviously not just a fling… but it takes her a while to figure that out. Meanwhile, she’s starting to realize that as much as she loves her late husband Spencer and misses him every single day, she’s actually lonely. Could she… should she… consider opening herself up to love (or at least, dating)? And if she did, what would that mean for Lena, whose rocky relationship with Lauren can’t take one more blow?

As the story unfolds, the narrative alternates between now — Lauren’s potential romance with Ben, her efforts to support and reach Lena, and her challenges living in the town where she’s grown up — and then — Lena’s history with Spencer, from childhood friendship through her rebellious teens and all the way to the marriage and early parenting years. The two halves of the story weave together effectively, with the past informing Lauren’s approach to motherhood and the possibility of getting involved with someone new.

If you’ve read Elissa Sussman’s previous books, the character names and even some scenes may ring a bell. Gabe Parker was one of the lead characters in Funny You Should Ask, the author’s 2022 novel about Hollywood, scandal, and unlikely love. I loved that book, so it wasn’t a surprise to find myself immediately caught up in Totally and Completely Fine, immersed in the characters’ lives and relationships, and delighted to see Gabe, Lauren, and others once again.

Ben is a complex, interesting love interest, and I enjoyed seeing his sensitivity and intelligence as he navigates spending time with Lauren and dealing with the ups and downs of her family and community. I really appreciated the depth of Lauren’s character development, as we come to understand the beauty of her marriage to Spencer, the pain of her loss and the unending sense of grief, the sparks of hope when it comes to finding moments of unexpected joy, and the challenges she faces in dealing with small-town gossip, preconceived ideas about who she is, and finding a way to parent a grieving child.

I really have only two small quibbles with this book. The first has to do with the sex scenes, which, to my taste, are unnecessarily graphic. Granted, this is strictly a matter of reader preference, but I didn’t need quite that many details in order to understand that there’s excellent chemistry going on here.

My second quibble is not with the plot or writing, but with the audiobook narration. Narrator Patti Murin does a fine job with most of the story, with Lauren and Lena, and — oddly — with the adult male characters with non-American accents. However, her delivery for Gabe does not work, at least not for me. Gabe is a former Bond! (Yes, he used a British accent for the role, but in his real life, he speaks like the native Montanan that he is). Gabe should sound like a leading man… but here, he comes across as kind of nasal and whiny — he’s believable as an annoying younger brother, but not as the awesome, flawed, grown-up Hollywood star that he is.

Those complaints aside, I enjoyed Totally and Completely Fine very much, and once I started, I just didn’t want to stop. I was immersed enough in these characters’ lives that I was left wanting more — and while the story wraps up quite well and has a satisfyingly definitive ending, I’d love a follow-up!

I’m now three for three with Elissa Sussman’s books! If you haven’t read anything by her yet, you really could pick any of the bunch and have a great time. Her books are funny, layered, emotional, and highly entertaining. I can’t wait for whatever she writes next!

Interested in this author? Check out my reviews of her other books:
Funny You Should Ask
Once More With Feeling

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.

29Jul2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Beachy reads

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 Beach/Beachy Reads, with the prompt: Share books you’d take to the beach OR books that take place at the beach.

I love books with a summer vibe, and all of these take place at or near a beach of some sort… or at least include a brief visit! Here are ten of my favorites:

Beach Read by Emily Henry (review)
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune (review)
Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino (review)
The Beach Trap by Ali Brady (review)
The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner (review)
The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (review)
The Love Haters by Katherine Center (review)
Its a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan (review)
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren (review)

What books made your list this week? Please share your TTT links!

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28Jul2025

The Monday Check-In ~ 7/28/2025

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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.

This past week was focused on catching up — it was my first week back after two weeks away from work… and let’s just say, it was a lot!

Apart from that, it was good to be back home, get a little time each evening to chill (and read), and spend time with family. Unfortunately, we’re having a very typical San Francisco July — grey skies and drizzle every day! Nothing can keep me down, though. I’m still squeezing in as much outdoor time as I can, even if that means getting cold and damp.

What did I read during the last week?

A Darkness Absolute (Rockton, #2) by Kelley Armstrong: I finished this while away the previous week, but just posted my review, here. I love this series! Can’t wait to keep going.

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst: This book is sweet and cozy, but light on actual plot. I didn’t love it as much as I’d hoped to. My review is here.

The Auctioneer by Joan Samson: A 1970s horror classic — no gore, but filled with terrible dread that builds and builds. My review is here.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien: Ta-da! My book group’s reading journey through Fellowship wrapped up last week! It was such a treat reading and discussing this book with the group. We’ll be starting The Two Towers in mid-August.

Pop culture & TV:

I’m loving my free trial of AppleTV+! I was skeptical about Ted Lasso — could it really be worth all that buzz? And why would I — someone who really has no interest in sports — even care? Well, I stand corrected. I care! I binged season 1 of Ted Lasso this past week and immediately started season 2.

My son and I also watched the first episode of Murderbot, and it was… okay. We’re very much on the fence about continuing. After Ted Lasso, I think I’ll try Severance next, and meanwhile have some non-Apple catching up to do, including The Summer I Turned Pretty and The Gilded Age.

Fresh Catch:

One new book this week:

A gently used copy of a super cute little book that’s a great gift for booklovers!

As for e-books… I simply couldn’t resist when I saw price drops for Georgette Heyer books, and added a whole bunch more to my Kindle library. Now to find time to read them…

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill: My book group book for July. And yes, I’m late! I made a lot of progress over the weekend, and hope to finish today or tomorrow.

Next up — I haven’t quite decided, but it’s between an ARC, the next in a series, or a recent Kindle addition:

Now playing via audiobook:

Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman: I just need one more hour-long walk — hopefuly today! — and I’ll be done! Watch for my review later this week.

Next up — the final book in a series that’s been terrific so far:

Ongoing reads:

My longer-term reading commitments (current and coming up):

Villette by Charlotte Brontë: Group classic read, two chapters per week. Progress: 23%. Up next: Chapters 13 and 14.
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell: My new Classics Club spin book! I’m putting it here as a reminder to myself to make time for it this summer — the target date to finish this spin challenge is August 24th. This week’s update: Still haven’t started this one! I need to get moving…
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien: My book group’s shared reading journey, coming up in August.

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…

26Jul2025

Book Review: The Auctioneer by Joan Samson

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Auctioneer
Author: Joan Samson
Publisher: Valancourt Books
Publication date: 1976
Length: 235 pages
Genre: Thriller/horror
Source: Purchased
Rating:

One of the finest and best-selling horror novels of the 1970s returns at last to chill a new generation of readers.

In the isolated farming community of Harlowe, New Hampshire, where life has changed little over the past several decades, John Moore and his wife Mim work the land that has been in his family for generations. But from the moment the charismatic Perly Dunsmore arrives in town and starts soliciting donations for his auctions, things begin slowly and insidiously to change in Harlowe. As the auctioneer carries out his terrible, inscrutable plan, the Moores and their neighbors will find themselves gradually but inexorably stripped of their possessions, their freedom, and perhaps even their lives…

A chilling masterpiece of terror whose sense of creeping menace and dread increases page by page, Joan Samson’s The Auctioneer (1975) is a rediscovered classic of 20th-century fiction. With echoes of Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’ and Stephen King’s Needful Things, Samson’s novel returns to print at last in this long-awaited new edition, which features an introduction by Grady Hendrix (Horrorstör, Paperbacks from Hell).

The Auctioneer is a 1970s horror classic — perhaps forgotten by most, but seemingly gaining yet another round of readers thanks to its inclusion in Grady Hendrix’s excellent non-fiction book Paperbacks from Hell. I seem to remember seeing a copy of The Auctioneer in my parents’ house as a child, and though I’d never read it, that sinister cover image has always stayed with me.

Finally, at least partially motivated by my 20th Century Decades Challenge, I decided to pick up The Auctioneer and see why it’s remained a horror touchstone for so many years. And I’m so glad I did.

The Auctioneer is set in the rural New Hampshire town of Harlowe, populated by old-time farming families who collectively exemplify small-town life. Sure, you could go 30 miles or so down the road to find a big-box outlet for your essentials, but why do that when you can visit the local general store, a messy jumble of odds and ends where you can buy what you need and catch up on the local gossip?

Perhaps more tourists from Boston and other cities have shown up in recent years for summer getaways in the country, but life more or less goes on as it always has, until Perly Dunsmore shows up in Harlowe. He’s a charismatic man in his 40s, full of charm and friendliness, who suggests holding a country auction to raise money for the sheriff’s department, a one-man operation that has almost nothing to do most of the time. The town is eager to show support, and Perly and the sheriff make their way from house to house, farm to farm, collecting donations for items to be auctioned.

The auction is a success, with city folk coming from miles away to bid on country collectibles and antiques. With the proceeds of the auction, the town is able to add a deputy. But it doesn’t stop there: Each Thursday, Perly or one of his representatives — a growing number, as Harlowe hires more and more deputies — makes the rounds to collect more items to donate.

Our point-of-view characters are the members of the Moore household, John, Mim, their young daughter Hildie, and Jim’s mother, called Ma by the family. The Moores have farmed their lovely piece of land for generations. At first, it’s easy to part with an unneeded chair or spare wagon wheels collecting dust in the barn. But the collections and auctions keep going, and John and Mim quickly come to dread the Thursday visits. Soon, they’re giving up cookware, furniture, tools — even the water pump eventually goes — and the family is left living in a way reminiscent of earlier days, with no heat, electricity, telephones, or running water.

Why don’t the families refuse? Those who do are threatened. The deputies who show up are armed, and rumors begin to fly about families who’ve left town in the dead of night, or suffered serious injuries, or ended up accidentally shot in a hunting incident. The violence is not explicit: No one physically attacks John or Mim — instead, there’s an insidious undertone of what terrible things could happen to those who oppose the auctions.

Meanwhile, in an almost allegorical thread throughout the book, we see the city dwellers flocking to Harlowe for a taste of country living, yearning to capture something they’ve never had, dreaming of old-time values and quality of life that they imagine a town like Harlowe might provide. These interlopers show up week after week, spending money to buy pieces of this dream, but never stopping to wonder where these wonderful finds are coming from.

The sinister nature of Perly’s auctions creeps up on the reader.

“Just remember this,” he said in a deep voice that cut neatly through the confusion. “Whatever I’ve done, you’ve let me do.”

This isn’t out-and-out horror with blood on the page. Instead, it’s a slowly building dread, fueled by fear and distrust and complacency. John and Mim talk of fleeing, yet never quite bring themselves to do it, even when they have nothing left to lose but the lives of their family members. In a community turned against itself, where neighbors are complicit in the darkness dismantling their town, individuals can’t quite bring themselves to separate from the crowd and take action.

It’s hard to describe why The Auctioneer works as well as it does. Readers may stop and question why the town goes along with Perly so willingly; why no one objects for far too long; why people give up what matters to them rather than fighting back. A sense of isolation and helplessness pervades the story — there’s no place to turn for help, so the entire town becomes easy prey for one man with the power of persuasion.

The Auctioneer is a disturbing read, one that will keep readers awake at night pondering how it all could happen — but the story is built so carefully that we can see it all unfold and believe that it’s all possible. This is a gem from the past that should certainly be read by horror fans today — it’s a fascinating look at an earlier age of the genre, as well as an outstanding story in its own right.

Interested in learning more?

For a fascinating look at how the novel was received back when it was first published, check out this review from the New York Times archive.

About the author:

Joan Samson

Joan Samson (1938-1976) is the author of the bestselling novel, The Auctioneer. It is Samson’s first and only novel, published just before her death in 1976 at the age of 38.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

24Jul2025

Book Review: The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Enchanted Greenhouse
Series: The Spellshop, #2
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Bramble
Publication date: July 15, 2025
Length: 375 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

New York Times bestselling author Sarah Beth Durst invites you to her new standalone novel nestled on a far-away island brimming with singing flowers, honey cakes, and honeyed love. The hardcover edition features beautiful sprayed edges.

Terlu Perna broke the law because she was lonely. She cast a spell and created a magically sentient spider plant. As punishment, she was turned into a wooden statue and tucked away into an alcove in the North Reading Room of the Great Library of Alyssium.

This should have been the end of her story . . . Yet one day, Terlu wakes in the cold of winter on a nearly-deserted island full of hundreds of magical greenhouses. She’s starving and freezing, and the only other human on the island is a grumpy gardener. To her surprise, he offers Terlu a place to sleep, clean clothes, and freshly baked honey cakes—at least until she’s ready to sail home.

But Terlu can’t return home and doesn’t want to—the greenhouses are a dream come true, each more wondrous than the next. When she learns that the magic that sustains them is failing—causing the death of everything within them—Terlu knows she must help. Even if that means breaking the law again.

This time, though, she isn’t alone. Assisted by the gardener and a sentient rose, Terlu must unravel the secrets of a long-dead sorcerer if she wants to save the island—and have a fresh chance at happiness and love.

Funny, kind, and forgiving, The Enchanted Greenhouse is a story about giving second chances—to others and to yourself.

If you’re looking for cozy fantasy with magical, whimsical creatures, sweet treats, and talking roses… have I got a book for you!

The Enchanted Greenhouse is Sarah Beth Durst’s follow up to her 2024 novel The Spellshop. Both books epitomize the cozy fantasy trend — light on plot, but filled with sweetness, moments of delight, and a sense of wonder.

The Enchanted Greenhouse opens with drama and high stakes. Main character Terlu, a librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, breaks the law governing control of magic: Lonely, she casts a spell to grant sentience to a spider plant in order to create a companion for herself. When she’s caught, she’s quickly convicted and condemned to spending the rest of her life as a wooden statue, to serve as a warning to anyone else who might be tempted to commit unsanctioned sorcery.

From this point onward, the story slows way, way down, and we enter the realm of cozy gardening and baking and magical cuteness.

Terlu’s life is saved when she ends up on a remote snow-covered island, where a taciturn gardener, Yarrow, wakes her from her fate as a statue and restores her to living, breathing life. After some confusion, it becomes clear that he thought he was rescuing a sorcerer, who could then work magic to save the vast greenhouses that cover his island. The greenhouses were created and enchanted by a sorcerer many years earlier, but after that sorcerer’s death, some of the greenhouses have started to fail. Yarrow fears that without intervention, they’ll all eventually collapse — and as the sole caretaker and resident of the island, that would utterly destroy all sense of purpose for his life.

Terlu is not a sorcerer, but she does have skill with unraveling unfamiliar language, and commits herself to trying to understand the enchantments on the greenhouses. Meanwhile, Yarrow grudgingly accepts Terlu’s help and introduces her to the wonders of the greenhouses — which include flying cats, singing flowers, and honey-loving miniature dragons. With each new greenhouse she enters, Terlu discovers something else spectacular and delightful, making her more determined than ever to save the greenhouses.

There’s a slow-burn, sweet and chaste romance that simmers between Terlu and Yarrow throughout the book, but meanwhile, they also develop trust and companionship and a shared purpose. Terlu and Yarrow both carry baggage from their pasts and have to overcome their fears in order to imagine any sort of safe and happy future.

Plot-wise, well, The Enchanted Greenhouse is pretty lightweight. A lot of the book depends on introducing readers to new moments of cozy cuteness (I mentioned the talking, singing flowers already, right?) There are big chunks of the book where not much happens at all; your enjoyment of this will depend on how much you like hearing about magical, sparkly decor and delicious baked goods.

I didn’t dislike The Enchanted Greenhouse — but there’s just not much there there. It’s a sweet story, but the actual narrative development could probably have fit into about half as many pages. I enjoyed some of the set pieces, but felt a sense of impatience after a while, having had my fill of descriptions of cakes and flowers and magical creatures.

As with the first book, The Enchanted Greenhouse has positive messages about connection, community, acceptance, and honesty, as well as being emotionally vulnerable, taking chances, and being a good friend. All this is lovely… I just wish there had been more of a plot to keep me interested.

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.

22Jul2025

Book Review: A Darkness Absolute (Rockton, #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: A Darkness Absolute
Series: Rockton, #2
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication date: February 7, 2017
Length: 400 pages
Genre: Thriller/mystery
Source: Library
Rating:

When experienced homicide detective Casey Duncan first moved to the secret town of Rockton, she expected a safe haven for people like her, people running from their past misdeeds and past lives. She knew living in Rockton meant living off-the-grid completely: no cell phones, no Internet, no mail, very little electricity, and no way of getting in or out without the town council’s approval. What she didn’t expect is that Rockton comes with its own set of secrets and dangers.

Now, in A Darkness Absolute, Casey and her fellow Rockton sheriff’s deputy Will chase a cabin-fevered resident into the woods, where they are stranded in a blizzard. Taking shelter in a cave, they discover a former resident who’s been held captive for over a year. When the bodies of two other women turn up, Casey and her colleagues must find out if it’s an outsider behind the killings or if the answer is more complicated than that…before another victim goes missing.

A Darkness Absolute is the 2nd book in Kelley Armstrong’s 7-book Rockton series, and it successfully delivers on the promise of City of the Lost, the first book in the series. To catch up those unfamiliar with the series, the basic premise is as follows: There’s a remote town — Rockton, population 200 — located in the wilds of Canada’s Yukon territory. It’s home to those fleeing danger who need complete isolation from the outside world, but it also offers shelter to some with questionable pasts who need a way to hide out and start over. There are no navigable roads in or out — new residents arrive by bush plane, and can only leave the same way. Relocating to Rockton is a serious commitment, requiring the approval of the elusive and morally questionable town council.

The main character is Casey Duncan (known in Rockton as Casey Butler) — a homicide detective who survived trauma as a teen, and has been living with a dark secret every since: After surviving the assault that left her with lasting physical and psychological scars, she confronted the ex-boyfriend who abandoned her to her attackers, and unintentionally shot and killed him. Now, in Rockton, she has a fresh start, which involves working round the clock to solve the surprisingly high number of crimes that seem to crop up in this small, isolated town.

As A Darkness Absolute opens, Casey has been living in Rockton for about four months. The longer she’s there, the more secrets come to light, including the dirty details about some of Rockton’s sketchier residents. Casey reports to Sheriff Eric Dalton, with whom she also has a romantic relationship. Their dynamics are intense, but it works.

When Casey and deputy Will Anders discover a woman held hostage in a cave for a year — someone who’d been assumed to have left Rockton of her own free will — it opens up a new set of dangers and discoveries. Who took her, and why? And how does this connect to the newly discovered bodies of women who’d disappeared years earlier?

The mystery here is convoluted and tricky, with plenty of clues, misdirections, suspects, and conflicting timelines. There’s plenty of danger, too. The forest around Rockton is full of threats — human, animal, and environmental — and each time Eric, Casey, or anyone else from the town ventures past Rockton’s borders, they’re at immense risk. No one comes out of this case unscathed, and even more disturbing secrets about the town, the town council, and the various residents come to light.

The set-up for the series is terrific, and Casey and Eric have a fascinating chemistry, both on and off the job. I loved seeing their relationship progress — they even get a dog! There’s danger around every corner, and any interaction with a Rockton resident needs to be examined for hidden agendas and threats.

The tension never lets up, and while the ultimate solution definitely works, it takes a mind-boggling effort at times to keep track of the players, the timelines, and the possible motives behind each person’s actions. No one is safe — and Casey in particular ends up in grave peril over and over again. The suspense of it all makes A Darkness Absolute a compelling page-turner, while the characters and their relationships and connections add emotional heft and a sense of deep stakes as the action unfolds.

When I picked up A Darkness Absolute, I realized a refresher on book #1, City of the Lost, might be helpful, so I reread that one as well. I’m glad I did: While A Darkness Absolute would have made sense anyway, it was good to become reacquainted with some of the supporting characters and their backstories.

I can’t wait to continue with the series! With five books still to go, plus a spin-off series, there’s plenty left to read. I don’t think I’ll binge straight through, but I do want to keep going while the details are fresh in my mind. So far, the Rockton series is just as great I’d expected, and I’m eager to see what’s ahead for Casey and Eric.

Next up:

Book #3, This Fallen Prey

21Jul2025

The Monday Check-In ~ 7/21/2025

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life.

I’m back! My husband and I just returned from a two-week, 2500-mile road trip — from home in San Francisco, through Oregon and Washington to Vancouver, Victoria, the Olympic Peninsula, and back home again. It was fantastic — I’ll aim to share more about it later in the week, once I have a chance to catch my breath.

Meanwhile… I’m home, catching up on laundry and household odds and ends, acclimating to being back in the fog, and getting ready to dive back into the usual workweek routines.

But hey! Let’s talk about the important stuff… like what I read and listened to while I was away.

What did I read during the last (two) weeks?

Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston: This story of a songwriter and a former boy band bad-boy who somehow mind-meld and create a song together — while falling in love — just did not work for me. I liked the setting (a charming Outer Banks island) and the main character’s family dynamics, but the love story was a dud. The mind-to-mind connection was awkward, and I know we’re supposed to accept that it’s a special magical gift, but I didn’t buy it, and didn’t buy the two of them as a couple. I loved this author’s previous contemporary romances, but this one did not live up to expectations. Consider this my mini-review! I’d give it 2.5 stars.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Powerful historical fiction focused on women astronauts in the 1980s space shuttle era. Highly recommended! My review is here.

Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong: I was ready to get back to this series, but decided I needed a refresher before continuing, so… I re-read book #1, City of the Lost (here’s my review from last year) and then raced my way through book #2, A Darkness Absolute. Looks for my review of book #2 later this week — it was terrific!

In terms of audio…

My husband is not an audiobook listener, but he said he’d give it a try for the road trip. It was not a particularly successful experiment — he mainly dozed off every time we started listening! After a while, he told me to go ahead and listen as much as I wanted, and he read his own book on his Kindle, and we both ended up happy! Still, I kept it to a minimum (we mostly just chatted, enjoyed the scenery, and listened to random music). Here’s what I did listen to during our trip:

Mercy Thompson: Moon Called (Graphic Audio) by Patricia Briggs: I adore the Mercy Thompson series, and I’d been curious about the graphic audio version, which present the story with a full cast and sound effects. It’s abridged from the original, and some of the sound effects (panting whenever a character runs, lots of snarling from the werewolves) could be a bit over the top. Overall, it was a fun listen, although it could be hard to tell what was going on during action sequences. I enjoyed this as a way to revisit the story, but would absolute recommend reading the full book or listening to the unabridged audiobook if you’re checking out Moon Called for the first time. Listening to this book (the first in the Mercy Thompson series) made me want to keep going — but probably not with the graphic audio versions.

The Skydivers by Chris Bohjalian: This short story (1 hour, 16 minutes) is a tense, suspenseful tale that’s completely engaging, and it absolutely held my attention and kept me guessing. Which isn’t really a surprise — this author is a favorite, and his thrillers are always excellent.

Pop culture & TV:

Nothing! We never turned on a TV during our trip. I’ve only been back one day, and so far, the only viewing I’ve done is a re-watch of the pilot episode of Black Sails. I loved the series back when it aired (2014 – 2017). My son has decided to watch it, and I may join him, so I thought going back to the beginning would be a good idea.

I had to replace my iPhone last month, and the new phone came with an offer for three free months of AppleTV+… so I just signed up, and I’m getting my watching queue in order. So far, I know I want to check out Ted Lasso, Severance, Murderbot, and possibly Shrinking and The Buccaneers. Any other recommendations?

Blogging collaboration:

While I was away, Carol at Reading Ladies Book Club published her annual summer reading collaboration, which I was delighted to participate in. Check it out here!

Fresh Catch:

A few orders I’d placed earlier arrived this week. What fun to come home and get to enjoy a bit of unboxing!

While passing through Portland, I absolutely had to stop by Powell’s (fulfilling a bookish bucket list dream!), and treated myself to a paperback copy of Green Rider, which is the first book in a series I want to start this year.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst: I’m at about 35%. I really enjoyed the first book in this series (The Spellshop), but this book hasn’t quite grabbed me yet. I’m holding out hope that it’ll pick up in the 2nd half.

Now playing via audiobook:

Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman: This author’s previous two books were a lot of fun, and I’m happy to be starting this new one!

Ongoing reads:

My longer-term reading commitments:

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien: My book group’s shared reading journey, two chapters per week. We’ll be finishing this week! Progress: 93%. This week’s chapters: Fellowship, Book 2, Chapters 9 and 10.
Villette by Charlotte Brontë: Group classic read, two chapters per week. Progress: 20%. Up next: Chapters 11 and 12.
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell: My new Classics Club spin book! I’m putting it here as a reminder to myself to make time for it this summer — the target date to finish this spin challenge is August 24th

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…

20Jul2025

Book Review: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Atmosphere
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

Taylor Jenkins Reid is one of my go-to authors; I know I’m in for an emotional, immersive reading experience when I pick up one of her books. And with Atmosphere, her terrific writing and character development are set within a topic that always fascinates me: NASA and the development of America’s space program — and especially, how women are (or are not) included within that program.

Atmosphere‘s main character is Joan Goodwin, an astronomer who looks to the stars for insights into life on Earth and humanity’s role within the universe. It’s the 1980s, and NASA is preparing to develop its new space shuttle program. In a huge departure, NASA is — for the first time — accepting applications for women to join its upcoming astronauts cohorts. Joan doesn’t hesitate: She applies immediately, and eventually, is accepted.

But women in the space program are still rarities, and each of them finds that they represent not just themselves, but all women. As one of Joan’s peers comments as they watch Sally Ride launch into space:

“If Sally so much as sneezes at the wrong time, everyone will blame it on the fact that she’s a woman. And then none of us will go up there for a very long time.”

Joan is very much aware:

There were four men on that shuttle. But every American woman was.

Joan has more in her life than the intense training and commitment required to qualify as an astronaut. She’s a devoted aunt, helping raise the young daughter that her selfish sister seems to resent. Joan’s sister Barbara takes Joan for granted, acting as though Joan’s career is a personal affront when it causes her to be less available for babysitting and school pick-ups.

The heart of Atmosphere is Joan’s romantic life, or rather, her growing understanding of why she’s never experienced true love and why shouldn’t couldn’t bring herself to accept a marriage proposal from her high school boyfriend, despite her family’s pressure. When Joan meets Vanessa Ford, another astronaut candidate in her training group, she’s immediately drawn to her. Joan and Vanessa’s friendship slowly develops into something more, and as the women fall deeply in love, they must balance their relationship with the realities of government service in that era. The need to hide is very real; any hint of their relationship would be enough to permanently end their dreams of making it into space.

Atmosphere is structured with a now/then split timeline: As the book opens, it’s December 1984, and Joan is serving a shift as CAPCOM — the voice of Mission Control — while a crew on the space shuttle prepares for what should be a relatively simple satellite launch. And then things go horribly wrong, and Joan is forced to remain calm and provide guidance while a crew of her close friends — and Vanessa — are at risk of never returning to Earth at all.

Interspersed with the “now” chapters focusing on the unfolding disaster, the “then” chapters go back seven years, and follow Joan from her initial application to acceptance into the astronaut program, through her years of training and up to her first space mission. We follow the incredibly rigorous requirements and grueling training she experiences, and witness the competition and comaraderie among the astronaut candidates, as well as the baked-in sexism that the woman astronauts face on a daily basis.

Beyond that, we see Joan and Vanessa’s love story unfold. It’s sweet and passionate and deeply sincere, yet tinged with the necessity of hiding and living very different lives behind closed doors and in public.

Joan studied the thin blue, hazy circle that surrounded the Earth. The atmosphere was so delicate, nearly inconsequential. But it was the very thing keeping everyone she loved alive.

Atmosphere is beautifully written, and evokes the excitement of the space program as well as the social pressures and prejudices of the era. The characters are sharply drawn and sympathetic, and the chapters showing the backstory leading up to the disaster that frames the book are engrossing and highly engaging.

The shuttle disaster is gut-wrenching to read about. From our modern-day perspective, we readers are naturally all too aware of the real-life Challenger and Columbia disasters; we know all too well that the events unfolding on the page are most likely to end in tragedy. It’s impossible to look away; I found myself holding my breath and on edge whenever this piece of the storyline resumed, and was surprised by how intensely emotional I became by the end.

Overall, Atmosphere is an uplifting, highly compelling read. Truly, my only quibble is that I wanted more at the very end, which I felt wrapped up a little bit too abruptly. I would have loved one more chapter, or perhaps an epilogue, to gain a sense of closure in terms of the characters I’d come to care about so deeply.

Still, that’s really a minor complaint. I loved the book as a whole, and highly recommend Atmosphere for anyone looking for a fascinating, emotional read with unforgettable characters and historical elements that resonate today.

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.

4Jul2025

Happy 4th of July!

Posted in Family & Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Enjoy the fireworks, cookouts, beach day… or whatever you choose to do. How about a rewatch of 1776?

I’m hitting the road — my husband and I leave today for a long, meandering road trip! I’ll be popping in from time to time… perhaps… but don’t expect to hear much from me for the next two weeks!

We have the car packed — snacks and treats, hiking shoes, and of course, our trusty Kindles. Looking forward to time away, seeing new places, relaxing when we can, and reading good books!

Wishing all who are celebrating today a very happy 4th of July!