Book Review: The Children by Melissa Albert

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Children
Author: Melissa Albert
Publisher: Bramble
Publication date: June 2, 2026
Length: 416 pages
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Source: Library
Rating:

An intoxicating, haunting new novel from New York Times bestselling author Melissa Albert, in which the estranged adult children of a legendary author, written into their dead mother’s beloved fantasy series, contend with the vine-like creep of legacy, memory, and magic.

Guinevere Sharpe has two childhoods.

In one, she lives in the wooded shadow of her family’s isolated Vermont farmhouse; in the other, the pages of her mother’s world-famous Ninth City books, where her magical adventures have made her a household name. In reality, Guinevere’s childhood isn’t the enchanted idyll her mother’s readers imagine: she and her older brother are growing up near-feral, unwashed and underfed, escaping each day to the lichen-clotted woods they’ve made their playland. As Edith Sharpe’s books explode into epic popularity, the threats of a rural childhood give way to the escalating perils of fame—until the night it all goes up in flames, leaving Edith’s series unfinished and her children the sole survivors.

Now an adult coasting on her mother’s name, Guinevere is mid-promotion for a ghostwritten memoir when her estranged brother, an artist who has until now spurned his family’s legacy, announces an upcoming installation titled Mother. As rumors swirl around a death connected to his last show, unsettling recollections from Guinevere’s childhood begin to surface. Her public facade starts to crack, forcing her to confront the questions she’s spent the last twenty years running from: What really happened the night of the fire? And what dark history lies behind their mother’s creative genius?

Wise to the mythic weight childhood memories gather over time, The Children whispers to you from the hallway outside your bedroom, lights flickering as you turn the pages of a book that didn’t seem so scary a moment ago. It’s a story for anyone who’s ever revisited an old favorite and found it cast in a darker light, the line separating magic and memory blurring as the gap widens between the authors we imagined and the people they turn out to be.

The Children is a creepy, haunting tale that drew me in practically from page 1 and never let me go. I found myself immersed in this story about the children of a bestselling author — whose childhood was anything but the ideal dream portrayed to the public.

Edith Sharpe writes the children’s fantasy series, The Ninth City, at the family’s rural Vermont home, an isolated place known as the Farmhouse, surrounded by forests and orchards, miles from anywhere. As Edith’s fame grows, so too does the never-ending streams of stars and artists and wannabes who gravitate into Edith’s orbit. Edith’s children, however, never asked for or agreed to the fame that they’re forced into by their mother, who gives her main characters her children’s names. The world thinks they know Ennis and Guinevere Sharpe, the brave, clever brother and sister who star in the series. Only Ennis and Guin know the truth about their childhood — one in which they essentially grew up wild and untended, cared for only by one another while their parents indulged in a life of creative frenzies, dissipated parties, and a general lack of interest about their children’s wellbeing.

As adults, Guin and Ennis have been estranged for twenty years, ever since the horrific night of a fire that destroyed their world and thrust them into very different lives. Now in her early 30s, Guin has been living off her mother’s legacy, in terms of both her inheritance and being part of the publicity machine that keeps Edith Sharpe on the bestseller list year after year. While promoting her own memoir — a whitewashed, ghost-written, surface-level and sunny depiction that bears little resemblance to the truth — Guin learns that Ennis will be opening a new art installation entitled “Mother”, and is immediately consumed by the need to reconnect with him… and to find out whether he’s finally decided to break his silence on Edith Sharpe after all these years.

As Guin goes off the rails, ruining her carefully constructed publicity tour through unpredictable and ill-advised interviews, she’s thrust back into childhood memories she’s worked so hard to ignore or deny.

The story unfolds through modern-day chapters, in which adult Guin spins out of control in her search for meaning and for Ennis, woven among chapters going back to the siblings’ childhood, from arriving at the Farmhouse when Guin was five years old to the final disaster when she was eleven. There’s a certain beauty to some elements of their early years, as they run wild, unhindered in their exploration of the forests, with no rules and little to no guidance about their daily lives. They’re supposedly home-schooled, but they’re not. They’re fed… when someone remembers, or when they fend for themselves. Their father, a gifted actor who was forced out of the spotlight due to scandal, is a shining, glorious creature… until he’s not; until something, somehow causes him to lose bits and pieces of himself and fade into a failed has-been.

And then there’s Edith, a woman who’s never been predictable, married young to an older man, and an uninvolved mother even at the best of times. But something happens at the Farmhouse. Guin loves the house, except for the sinister 3rd floor room where Edith writes. And Edith writes in frenzied bursts, clacking away on her typewriter with no interruptions allowed.

The sense of menace is pervasive throughout The Children. We may not know exactly why, but we know from the start that very bad things have happened. At the same time, we know that the Ninth City books were life-changing for their millions of fans, and that Guin and Ennis are seen as heroes, standing in for Edith and the world she created even as they attempt to live their own lives. The neglect that Guin and Ennis live through is disturbing in and of itself, but add to that the sense that something other is going on, something very much not right, and the chills ratchet up higher and higher.

While I had guesses about the mysteries of The Children, I never did quite manage to figure it all out, and I’d guess that most readers end up in the same boat. The revelations near the end of the book are mind-blowing, yet tie the entire story together in a way that makes a frightening sort of sense. I simply couldn’t put the book down; each chapter is stunning in its own way. I cringed quite a bit over adult Guin’s choices and actions, but there’s no denying that she follows a path that seem practically foreordained. The childhood chapters are more deeply disturbing and impactful, but the entire book works so well together that it’s impossible to point out any moments where the story lags or loses focus.

I’d say that my only complaint about The Children has more to do with my reading experience than with the book itself. I tore through the final third or so in such a mad dash to get to the end that I’m afraid that I may not have absorbed it all as deeply as I might have if I’d taken my time. I can definitely see going back for a reread to savor it more slowly and pick up the themes and hints I might have missed along the way the first time through.

The Children is one of this summer’s biggest, buzziest books… and it’s well worth giving in to the hype and giving it a chance! Creepy, scary, disturbing, and compelling, this story will stick with you long after the final pages.

Want to know more? Check out these great reviews:
Tammy at Books, Bones & Buffy
Krysta at Pages Unbound

Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – 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.

21Jun2026

Audiobook Review: Time Loops & Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Time Loops & Meet Cutes
Author: Jackie Lau
Narrators: Cindy Kay & Raymond J. Lee
Publisher: Atria
Publication date: May 6, 2025
Print length: 339 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 15 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Library
Rating:

The “masterful, inspiring, and full of heart” (Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author) Jackie Lau returns with a thoroughly unique love story about a woman reliving the same Friday over and over again—and the intriguing man who can’t quite remember her.

Noelle Tom really shouldn’t have eaten those dumplings at the night market. But the old lady at the stall said they’d give her what she needed most, and what Noelle desperately needed after another long workweek was food.

Except now she’s reliving the same Friday over and over. Every morning her alarm goes off at 6:45 no matter what, the Wordle answer is always “happy,” and she watches a silly squirrel video go viral day after day. And no matter how much she works on the same proposal, it’s always erased when she wakes up. It seems Monday will never come in this workaholic’s worst nightmare.

Noelle has no idea how being trapped in a time loop is the “thing she needed most,” especially now that everything seems meaningless. Sure, three fancy meals in a row is a fun treat, but it’s getting repetitive. Noelle’s not sure what lesson the old lady was trying to impart. Even a trip to the dumpling stall doesn’t help…because there’s no sign of it.

But then she meets a young woman who also ate the dumplings, and good-looking Cam, who appears in multiple places on her Friday. While he seems to have no memory of their encounters, there are signs he might be the key to getting un-stuck. But Noelle will have to put work aside and live a little in order to make him notice her. As their flirtation progresses, Noelle begins to worry that if she ever gets to turn the calendar page, Cam won’t know who she is and her life may never return to what it was before that fateful Friday…

In Time Loops & Meet Cutes, Noelle’s life revolves around work, even though she never gets the recognition she deserves and seems to constantly be the last to leave the office, staying late to clean up other people’s projects. She lives frugally, despite a decent salary as a mechanical engineer, denying herself any indulgences in order to make sure her savings will see her through whatever the future might hold. After a painful breakup years earlier, she’s also sworn off relationships, and she’s not terribly good at staying in touch with old friends either.

On a Friday in June — June 20th to be exact — Noelle is so hungry after yet another long day at work that she stops at a night market on the way home to grab a bite to eat, and stops at a dumpling stand with a hand-written sign and no line. The charming older woman behind the counter tells her that these dumplings will give her what she needs most — and give how starving she is, their deliciousness seems to do the trick.

The next morning, Noelle’s alarm goes off at 6:45, which is weird since it’s the weekend. And then the Wordle is the same as the previous day’s — huh, an odd glitch? But as the day progresses, Noelle realizes that it’s June 20th again… and so is the next day, and the next, and the next. As hard as it seems to believe, Noelle is forced to accept that she’s stuck in a time loop, and has no idea why or — more importantly — how to get out of it.

It’s amazing how many possibilities there are in a single day. You can quit your job… or not. You can go to Vancouver and feel the rain on your skin. You can eat three types of dumplings and get sprayed by a skunk when you go hunting for ghosts in a cemetery.

On the bright side, she learns that each day is a clean slate, so she can splurge on a fancy meal or new haircut, and all will be reset when she wakes up once again on June 20th — no damage to her bank account or credit card, no long-lasting remorse if she decides the pixie cut really isn’t for her. When she keeps running into a very attractive man named Cam, who seems to recognize her without knowing why, she decides that he might be the key to escaping the time loop. Could it be like a fairy tale, where true love’s kiss has the power to break a spell? But beyond escape, Noelle starts to enjoy these daily first meetings with Cam, especially since there are no consequences that last more than a day — so if she makes a stupid joke or does something especially cringe-worthy, it’ll just get wiped away by the next morning.

But as Noelle continues to “meet” Cam, over and over again, and goes on a series of lovely first dates with him, it starts to feel like not enough. She’s developing feelings, and he seems to respond in a way that shows that something’s pulling him toward her — but she can’t truly connect with someone she has to meet again for the first time every time she sees him.

I was surprised by how utterly charming I found Time Loops & Meet Cutes. The why and how of the time loop is much less important than the fact of it. Noelle meets another woman, Avery, who’s stuck in the same loop, and their friendship offers them both companionship and a sense of normalcy in an incredibly abnormal situation. As Noelle and Avery navigate the ways in which their June 20ths are similar and different, we get a clear-eyed view of why it might be wonderful to experience certain things over and over again for the first time… and how awful it would be to repeat the worst moments too.

The story offers powerful examples of how people can stagnate in safe or predictable lives, and how taking chances can lead to moments that can change the future. Noelle doesn’t become a new person overnight, but over the course of the many months she spends in the loop, she’s able to experience the outcomes of various “what if” moments, which help her see that good things can come from taking chances, as well as the value in being honest and repairing family relationships that she’d once just accepted as being unpleasant.

The romance is sweet and often funny, as Noelle and Cam have first date after first date, each one a bit different. At first, Noelle sticks to a sort of script in her flirting, knowing that Cam responds positively to certain jokes… but as she gains confidence and starts to know him better, she’s able to behave more naturally and enjoy their moments together.

The resolution of the time loop offers fresh problems and dilemmas which are quite interesting. Noelle has to adjust to yet another new reality, one in which she doesn’t get a clean slate each day. Can she still be bold and try new things — and try to connect with Cam — when her actions will carry over to tomorrow?

The audiobook narrators (one for Noelle, one for Cam) do a terrific job bringing the characters to life and showing their personalities and senses of humor. Most chapters are told through Noelle’s perspective, but the Cam chapters are a nice way to break up the sound of the story and add another viewpoint to these decidedly unusual events.

Time Loops & Meet Cutes is a fun, upbeat story with plenty of introspective and sensitive moments too. The big-picture plot points are outlandish, but seeing the time loop play out in relatively ordinary people’s lives makes it all feel relatable… and highly entertaining.

I’ve read several of author Jackie Lau’s previous books, and always enjoy her well-written characters, interesting narratives, and seriously amazing food moments! I recommend Time Loops & Meet Cutes for anyone who appreciates a rom-com with heart — and a very quirky premise.

For more by Jackie Lau:
Donut Fall in Love
The Stand-Up Groomsman
Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie

Purchase links: Amazon – Audible audiobook – 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.

18Jun2026

Book Review: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Lion Women of Tehran
Author: Marjan Kamali
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: July 2, 2024
Length: 352 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

In 1950s Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother’s endless grievances, Ellie dreams for a friend to alleviate her isolation.

Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa’s warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions of becoming “lion women.”

But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. Now a popular student at the best girls’ high school in Iran, Ellie’s memories of Homa begin to fade. Years later, however, her sudden reappearance in Ellie’s privileged world alters the course of both of their lives.

Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.

The Lion Women of Tehran is a powerful, moving look at the lifelong friendship between two remarkable women, set against the political upheavals of 20th century Iran.

“You know what we’ll both become when we grow up?”

“I do not,” I said.

“Shir zan. Lionesses. Us. Can’t you just see it, Ellie? Someday, you and me—we’ll do great things. We’ll live life for ourselves. And we will help others. We are cubs now, maybe. But we will grow to be lionesses. Strong women who make things happen.”

Ellie and Homa meet at age seven, as Ellie attends her first day of school after moving “downtown” — to a poor neighborhood of Tehran — after her father’s death. It’s 1950, the Shah is in power, and Ellie’s station in life has changed dramatically, something her aristocratic mother seems unable to accept. Homa, from a lower class family, is full of life and energy, and immediately befriends Ellie. While Ellie’s mother bans Homa from their home, Ellie is welcomed by Homa’s warm, loving family.

But three years later, Ellie’s life shifts again when her mother remarries and they return to the privileged life they’d once enjoyed, leaving the downtown neighborhood — and Homa — behind. The girls may be best friends, but at age ten, their ability to stay connected is limited, and over time they drift apart and lose touch. Years later, they’re reunited when Homa transfers to Ellie’s elite high school, and their bond is soon reestablished.

Ellie’s mother wants what she considers a good life for her daughter — marriage, children, and high standing in Tehran’s upper class society. But Homa encourages Ellie to think differently. They both excel in school; why not pursue a university education and careers? Homa dreams of attending law school, becoming Iran’s first woman judge, and making a true difference in achieving a fair and equitable society. As the friends move into their college years, they remain tightly bonded even as their goals diverge, but Homa’s political activism becomes dangerous, and leads to an unimaginable consequence.

As Ellie and Homa become estranged in their adult lives, neither can forget their friendship and what they once meant to one another. When revolution and war devastate Iran in the 1980s, Homa reaches out to Ellie once again, and the two must fight to reclaim what they once had and find a way to safeguard the people they love.

The overarching theme of life-long friendship adds sweetness and sorrow to this emotional story, even as Iran’s political and religious upheavals threaten the characters’ lives. We may all know the headlines from this time period; The Lion Women of Tehran provides an opportunity to learn about the lives of people who lived through these events. By focusing on Ellie and Homa, who represent two very different walks of life, readers are allowed into the day-to-day experiences of life in Tehran under the Shah and during the early years of the revolution. Their journeys — together and apart — provide a personal lens through which to view these events and understand the impact on individuals within the larger society.

Despite the seriousness, the story includes lovely moments of joy as well. The tastes and smells of the food the girls share add texture to the narrative. Their adventures as girls and young women also show the more beautiful aspects of life in Tehran, helping readers understand the yearning for home and love of their country even when life there becomes extremely dangerous.

Overall, I was incredibly moved by the richly described friendship between Ellie and Homa, and profoundly affected by the upheavals and tragedies in their lives. The Lion Women of Tehran is a beautifully written book. Once again, I find myself grateful that my book group led me to such a wonderful reading experience. Highly recommended.

The author’s website (https://marjankamali.com/) includes a link to download of recipes from the book. They all look amazing!

I’m eager to check out the author’s previous novel, The Stationery Shop. Learn more about it, here.

14Jun2026

Book Review: Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Swordheart
Author: T. Kingfisher
Publisher: Bramble
Publication date: Originally published November 27, 2018; new hardcover edition released 2025
Length: 448 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Halla has unexpectedly inherited the estate of a wealthy uncle. Unfortunately, she is also saddled with money-hungry relatives full of devious plans for how to wrest the inheritance away from her.

While locked in her bedroom, Halla inspects the ancient sword that’s been collecting dust on the wall since before she moved in. Out of desperation, she unsheathes it—and suddenly a man appears. His name is Sarkis, he tells her, and he is an immortal warrior trapped in a prison of enchanted steel.

Sarkis is sworn to protect whoever wields the sword, and for Halla—a most unusual wielder—he finds himself fending off not grand armies and deadly assassins but instead everything from kindly-seeming bandits to roving inquisitors to her own in-laws. But as Halla and Sarkis grow closer, they overlook the biggest threat of all—the sword itself.

I adore T. Kingfisher’s fantasy novels, so it’s not a surprise that Swordheart seems written just for me! Originally published in 2018, Swordheart was reissued in 2025 with a gorgeous new cover… and call me shallow, but I just cannot resist a pretty book. Although I gifted myself the hardcover edition last year, I hadn’t found the right moment to pick it up and read it… until on a whim, I borrowed the audiobook from the library last week. What a treat! My main complaint… is against myself. Why did I wait so long to indulge in this delicious story?

The main character of Swordheart is Halla, a “respectable widow” (as she defines herself) in her thirties who lost her inept, less-than-charming husband years earlier, and has spent the years since as his kindly great-uncle’s housekeeper. With no other family and no means of support, Halla has been grateful for her place in his home. When Great-uncle Silas dies of old age, Halla is startled to learn that he’s left her his entire estate… but not as startled as his scheming niece and her son, who are positively irate.

Aunt Malva decides that the best solution is for Halla to marry her pathetic son Alver, so that the inheritance will legally belong to Alver. And if Halla meets with an accident soon after, well, who would really mind? This assumes that Halla will agree to the plan, and she most emphatically does not. Halla’s unwillingness doesn’t seem to faze Malva, who locks Halla in her bedroom and plans to leave her there until she complies. Malva doesn’t count on Halla finding an antique sword hanging on the wall. Intending to put herself out of her own misery, Halla unsheaths the sword to see if she can find a way to use it on herself, and instead ends up face to face with the tough, scowling, ancient warrior who appears in a burst of blue light.

Sarkis is the servant of the sword, a man who centuries earlier was magically bound to the weapon, condemned to live forever and serve the sword’s wielder, whoever that might be. Sarkis has served kings and warlords and all sorts of unsavory types, but never a stubborn “respectable widow” with a tendency to stop and chat when she should be running away.

An unlikely pair, Halla and Sarkis are bound together nonetheless, and after making a daring escape from Silas’s house, they set off on the road to seek help in reclaiming Halla’s inheritance. At first, they find one another maddening: Sarkis has a tendency to manhandle Halla into ditches whenever trouble approaches, and Halla asks questions about absolutely everything. But as their spur-of-the-moment road trip progresses, they find a sense of camaraderie they hadn’t expected. Later, joined by Zale, a priest of the order of the White Rat, it’s practically a buddy movie! The travelers get into a crazy amount of adventures and trouble, but somehow manage to keep their quest moving forward… even if it’s at the excruciatingly slow pace of the ox pulling their wagon.

Swordheart is pure delight, there’s just no other way to put it. From the start, Halla is an incredibly entertaining main character. She’s kind, but unwilling to just take orders, especially when it comes to Aunt Malva and Cousin Alver, whose clammy hands are but one of his unpleasant defining features. Halla’s superpower seems to be driving people batty: She’s learned that people in power just can’t deal with women they underestimate, and has perfected the fine art of playing stupid in order to get others to see her as not a threat and therefore not worth questioning too closely.

Sarkis’s tortured past leaves him dour and scowly. He’s utterly fierce, but finds himself continually flabbergasted by Halla’s chatter and tendency to march right into trouble. And yet, he can’t help but soften toward her… and the feelings quickly become mutual.

The adventure aspects of the story zip along quickly, as Halla and Sarkis meet an eclectic assortment of rogues, priests, bandits, and more along the road, not to mention the otherworldly dangers they stumble into when they end up traveling through magical lands. Still, the most menacing people they encounter are the family members and close associates of Silas’s, who pose more of a threat than all the various others who wave weapons at them from time to time.

The dialogue throughout Swordheart is incredibly entertaining, and made me laugh out loud throughout the book. The humor leavens even the tensest of situations, and I adored the chemistry between Halla and Sarkis, as well as their friendship with Zale. The world of Swordheart is fascinating, with a whole host of gods and religions complicating the group’s journey, and Sarkis’s backstory, including the lingering questions about the magic of his sword, adds a magical element with its own rules and complications.

The ending implies that there’s more to come, if not for Halla and Sarkis personally, then certainly within the world of their story… and so it’s wonderful to know that book #2, Daggerbound, will be released in August 2026. I’ve already placed my preorder!

Swordheart is easily one of my favorite reads for 2026. I’m beyond thrilled that I finally experienced this terrific tale. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys fantasy books with a touch of humor and light romance… and of course, a must-read for fans of T. Kingfisher.

A note on the audiobook edition:

Narrator: Jesse Vilinsky
Released: 2021
Audio length: 14 hours 32 minutes

While I own a beautiful hardcover edition of Swordheart, I ended up listening to the audio version when a long-time library hold came in — and I’m so glad I did! Jesse Vilinsky’s narration is perfection! Halla’s personality shines through, and Sarkis’s growly voice (with a bizarrely Scottish-sounding accent — which totally works!) is exactly how I’d want him to sound. The action scenes ring with vibrancy, and the entire delivery is well worth the 14-hour listening time. If you’re thinking of checking out Swordheart and enjoy audiobooks, this is the way to go!

Question for readers: I understand that Swordheart connects to the same world as the author’s Clockwork duology and Paladin series. Has anyone read either or both of these? Any recommendations on which to pick up first?

11Jun2026

Book Review: The Last Lady B by Eloisa James

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Last Lady B
Author: Eloisa James
Publisher: Gallery
Publication date: May 12, 2026
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Historical romance
Source: Library
Rating:

Lady B may have married Bluebeard; she may have fallen in love with a gorgeous, grumpy solicitor; she may have met a ghost and survived to tell the tale! New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Eloisa James delights with witty historical romance with a gothic twist.

In the depths of winter, Lady Genevieve Hughes, her pet piglet, and her septuagenarian husband travel to a haunted abbey in the Scottish Highlands. Evie is excited to meet a ghost (perhaps one of her husband’s three previous wives), but didn’t expect the funny, quirky guests to become the friends she’s never had. And she certainly didn’t imagine meeting Sir Godric Everly, a sardonic, witty solicitor who loathes her husband.

Yet as secrets and lies turn Evie’s world upside down, Sir Godric becomes the one person whom she can trust.

[Note: Redacting part of the synopsis — too spoilery!]

More importantly, she has to figure out whose identity is false, whose vows are dishonorable, whose truths could destroy her reputation—and where her heart belongs.

The Last Lady B is such a fun historical rom-com romp! In this upbeat romance, our main character Genevieve (Evie) goes through twists galore, including ghostly encounters, strange mysteries, and adventures in a possibly cursed castle, before finally arriving at a happy ending.

Perhaps there comes a time in every woman’s life when she discovers that propriety is poppycock. To put it vulgarly, propriety is bollocks.

Or perhaps that only happens to a woman foolish enough to marry a man older than her father.

Evie, at age 25, isn’t much interested in courtship or having a successful season. Her family has a sterling reputation and her father has a title, but their fortunes are in tatters. Evie has seen one too many potential matches dissolved over her lack of a dowry (or new gowns). Then there’s the added fact that the idea of marriage isn’t all that attractive. From what she’s heard, all that bedroom stuff sounds like something to endure, so maybe she’s not missing much.

However, Evie has a beloved younger sister, and she does care very much about her future. And so, she develops a plan: The elderly Lord Burnsby, in his 70s and with three late wives, is looking for wife #4 — someone young, pretty, and a charming companion. Evie isn’t looking for romance, and makes it clear that she expects a platonic relationship — but he’s polite, kind, and willing to sign a contract for a generous dowry for her sister. So yes, call Evie a fortune hunter if you must, but she has a goal and is willing to tolerate scornful sniffs if it ensures a good future for those she loves.

Except things don’t quite work out that way. After an uneventful (boring) half-year of marriage, Evie heads to Lord Burnsby’s estate in the Scottish Highlands for the Christmas holidays — an ancient abbey rumored to be haunted by his three dead wives — and finds that her tolerable husband has secrets and a loathsome side that she never expected. As they’re joined by Lord Burnsby’s heir, his new (lovely) wife, and his best friend, complications abound, including the fact that the best friend, Sir Godric Everly, is attractive and has a wonderful heart hidden beneath a gruff exterior.

It gets even more convoluted, as more unexpected houseguests and residents show up, enormous secrets and scandals come to light, and the chilly, lonesome abbey reveals its own dangers. And is that really a ghost that Evie encounters? Could there be dead wives hovering about? And if they are, what could they possibly want?

The plots twists of The Last Lady B are highly entertaining, with each new reveal leading to yet another secret or misleading clue. Plenty of banter makes for scenes with a certain zing, and Evie’s spirit and willingness to speak her mind make her a delightful lead character.

The storyline offers ups and downs, moments of romantic bliss and erotic tension, while also providing an opportunity for Evie to redefine her own priorities, what she’s willing and not willing to do to achieve her goals, and what a real family might actually look like.

After the various twists concerning Lord B’s shady secrets are finally wrapped up, the book concludes with another couple of chapters focusing on Evie’s love life — and while it’s good to see her finally get the happiness she deserves, I could have done with a bit less detail about her sexual awakening. But that’s a matter of reader preference — your mileage may vary.

This was my first Eloisa James book. I can see from her website (https://eloisajames.com/books/) that she’s an incredibly prolific author. From a glance at all the titles and covers, my impression is that The Last Lady B is a bit of an outlier, with its light, comedic tone, and that most of her other novels are more serious/dramatic romances. Someone correct me if I’m wrong! If she does have other books with more of a similar vibe, I’d love to know about it.

The Last Lady B is a fun, engaging romance with a strong sense of sassy humor and snark. It was just the right book to lighten my mood when I most needed it, and I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended!

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6Jun2026

Book Review: Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier (Classics Club Spin #44)

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Frenchman’s Creek
Author: Daphne du Maurier
Publication date: 1941
Length: 290 pages
Rating:

Bored and restless in London’s Restoration Court, Lady Dona escapes into the British countryside with her restlessness and thirst for adventure as her only guides. Eventually Dona lands in remote Navron, looking for peace of mind in its solitary woods and hidden creeks. She finds the passion her spirit craves in the love of a daring French pirate who is being hunted by all of Cornwall. Together, they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which bestows upon Dona the ultimate choice: sacrifice her lover to certain death or risk her own life to save him.

My newest Classics Club Spin landed on this Daphne du Maurier gem, and I couldn’t be happier. Without the little push of the spin, I’m not sure when I would have picked up this book — and it would be such a shame to have missed it.

In this lush, sweeping novel set during the Restoration era (late 1600s), Lady Dona St. Columb is a pampered aristocrat, a 29-year-old wife and mother of two young children who is both bored and disgusted by the excesses and meaninglessness of her life in London. After too many nights of careless pranks and drinking with her husband’s friends, she abruptly departs with her children to the family estate at Navron on the Cornwall coast. There, she finds isolation and peace, a place to explore the wild beauty of the seaside and natural landscapes, and remove herself from the life that was turning her into someone she didn’t actually like.

Once at Navron, she hears startling rumors about a French pirate terrorizing the area. The nobility of the area are on high alert and desperate to catch this fiend, but Dona herself finds the stories fascinating.

One day, Dona spies a ship approaching the coast, and soon after, follows an unseen trail down to a creek near Navron, where she discovers the secret mooring place of the pirate ship La Mouette. And there, she’s introduced to a man most frequently referred to as “the Frenchman” — handsome, refined, a skilled artist, and captain of La Mouette. He and Dona find common ground immediately, and share a thirst for adventure and danger as a way of feeling alive, breaking out of the roles society expects of them, and experiencing true freedom.

Their connection leads to lazy days of fishing and swimming on the creek, as well as riskier and riskier adventures as Dona disguises herself as a cabin boy and joins the crew for expeditions. But eventually, Dona’s secret life catches up with her, and ultimately, her worlds collide and she is forced into the greatest risk of all, as well as a life-altering decision.

She looked out over the smooth sea towards the land, the smell of it came to her with the evening breeze, warm cliff grass, and moss, and trees, hot sand where the sun had shone all day, and she knew that this was happiness, this was living as she had always wished to live. Soon there would be danger, and excitement, and the reality perhaps of fighting, and through it all and afterwards they would be together, making their own world where nothing mattered but the things they could give to one another, the loveliness, the silence, and the peace.

Frenchman’s Creek is so beautifully written that it took my breath away. The story itself is marvelous. Dona is jaded and disillusioned; she hates what she’s become and the carelessness with which she lived her life in London. Her marriage is dull, and while she has all the jewels and gowns and comforts of a spoiled life, she lacks purpose. We see her transformation even before she meets the Frenchman. In Navron, it’s as if she can breathe again. She experiences peace and natural beauty, and is able to think for herself for what seems like the first time in years.

While we don’t learn much about Dona’s past or how she ended up married to Harry, it’s clear to see that she has a creative and adventurous spirit that’s been beaten down by the stifling life she’d been leading. At first appearance, she’s a beautiful, refined, well-dressed, respectable married woman… but she’s quick to throw off the trappings of Lady St. Columb and run barefoot through the trees, swim in the creek, and lie in the grass just to feel the world around her.

The other Dona was dead too, and this woman who had taken her place was someone who lived with greater intensity, with greater depth, bringing to every thought and every action a new richness of feeling, and an appreciation, half sensuous in its quality, of all the little things that came to make her day.

The overall feel of Frenchman’s Creek is headlong passion — not just in the love story aspects, which are beautifully told and sweep us up in the emotional heights — but in the sense of Dona’s reactions to having her spirit restored and being able to embrace having agency over her own life for the first time in years. The descriptions of the natural beauty of Cornwall, Navron, and the creek are simply gorgeous, and again convey a vibrancy and passion that are remarkably vivid.

Action and emotion tie together so well throughout Frenchman’s Creek. If you pick up a pirate story expecting swashbuckling action… well, there’s plenty here to enjoy! The sense of danger is profound in certain scenes, and I had no idea whether to expect a happy or tragic ending. Meanwhile, the love story is achingly beautiful and passionate; even when complications arise and Dona faces enormous conflicts, it’s impossible not to hope for a perfect solution.

For whatever happens we have had what we have had. No one can take that from us. And I have been alive, who was never alive before.

What a wonderful reading experience! I truly loved Frenchman’s Creek. Before this book, the only Daphne du Maurier book I’d read was Rebecca. Now, I’m very motivated to read more. I have copies of The House on the Strand, My Cousin Rachel, Jamaica Inn, and The King’s General — I’d welcome recommendations on which to try next!

About the author:

Daphne du Maurier (1907-1989) was the daughter of the legendary actor-manager Gerald du Maurier and granddaughter of George du Maurier, the author of the vastly successful late-Victorian novel Trilby and cartoonist for the magazine Punch. She grew up in London and Cornwall, where she would settle as an adult. Du Maurier published her first novel when she was twenty-three and would go on to write seventeen more, many of them best-sellers, including My Cousin Rachel, Jamaica Inn, and Rebecca, one of the most popular novels of the twentieth century. In addition to her fiction, du Maurier wrote several family biographies, a biography of Branwell Brontë, a study of Cornwall, two plays, and a good deal of journalism. She was married to Tommy “Boy” Browning and was the mother of three children.

3Jun2026

Book Review: Take Me with You by Steven Rowley

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Take Me with You
Author: Steven Rowley
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication date: May 19, 2026
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy via NetGalley (audiobook purchased via Audible)
Rating:

A poignant, hilarious, and wholly original love story, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants and winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor.

College professor Jesse del Ruth has been abandoned. Thirty years into their relationship, Jesse witnesses his husband Norman get out of bed late one night, walk into their Joshua Tree backyard, step into a strange beam of light and . . . disappear. How could Norman desert him after a lifetime together? Where did he go? And, most confoundingly . . . will he ever return? Jesse knew they were longing for something, both feeling stuck. But had Norman been so stuck that his only option was to leave Jesse behind?

As Jesse struggles to understand Norman’s disappearance, he tries to piece together his new reality. Is he expected to wait patiently for a partner who may never come back? Or is this an opportunity for reinvention? He is, after all, alone for the first time in his adult life. Should he return to the classroom? Put in a pool? Get a dog? Call his estranged mother? What does it mean to be alone when you’ve always been one half of a whole?

When Norman’s sister Lally lands on Jesse’s doorstep with an urgent request, Norman’s absence becomes even more profound. Add to Jesse’s grief and confusion a conspiracy-theorist neighbor, a strange man following him, and suspicions that he may have had a hand in Norman’s disappearance, and Jesse starts to crack under the pressure. With his husband missing and the world closing in, all eyes are on Jesse. Before he can understand how Norman could leave it all behind, Jesse must confront what it means to stay.

In Take Me With You, Steven Rowley brings his resonant wit and emotional insight to an epic love story – an exploration of the forces that draw two people into the same orbit and the gravity that threatens to pull them apart.

Take Me With You is a sweet, gently humorous look at love, long-term relationships, being left behind… and alien abduction. Yes, that’s correct: In this lovely work of contemporary fiction, a man leaves his partner of 30-something years to soar off in a strange beam of light. And yet… don’t pick up Take Me With You expecting a science fiction adventure. The aliens are just the trappings of the story: The novel is actually about what it takes to stay together, what it means to be left, and how to find ways to move forward.

Jesse and Norman met as young men when their paths collided, literally, during a skating/biking accident. While very different people, they connected instantly and have grown — if not old — then certainly mid-to-late middle aged together. Living in a solitary home in the desert of Joshua Tree, they’ve built a good life together. So yes, their knees may creak, and Jesse is not okay with Norman’s new tongue scraper… but they’ve seen each other through a lot, and expect to always be together.

Until one night, Jesse wakes up to a bright light, and runs to the backyard just in time to see Norman step into a beam of light that draws him up into the sky. It’s not an abduction, really: Norman seems to be a willing participant. And then he’s gone, and Jesse is left behind, and he has no idea what to do with himself.

Jesse is an award-winning author, already committed to teaching a class on humor writing at the local community college. But how is he supposed to teach anyone to be funny, especially when his own life feels particularly tragic?

Much of the novel is told through Jesse’s perspective, until we hit a shift about halfway through. Norman’s sister Lally becomes the point-of-view character at that point, as she seeks answers about Norman’s whereabouts with an agenda of her own.

Because I listened to the audiobook (narrated by actor Michael Urie, who is fabulous), I wasn’t able to highlight great quotes/lines as I went along, which is a shame. The writing in Take Me With You is wonderful — not a surprise, given how terrific the author’s use of language is in previous novels such as The Guncle and The Celebrants. There’s an underlying sadness to so much of what happens here, but there’s joy and plenty of laughter too. Even at his lowest, Jesse can’t help but be funny, and his interactions with the people in his life make the book sing.

Abandonment is an overarching theme of this book. Many characters experience or have experienced abandonment at some point in their lives, whether through deliberate choices or unexpected tragedies — but there’s also the abandonment involved in emotional distance. Jesse and Norman have spent decades together, but are they truly still together the way they once were? Is Norman’s departure the act of abandonment, or have they each removed themselves from one another through inertia and routine and the general erosion of long relationships?

I’m not sure that I entirely understand what happens very near the end of the book… but that’s okay. I can live with some ambiguity, and meanwhile, loved getting to know these richly drawn characters and their quirky lives.

Take Me With You didn’t delight me quite as much as Steven Rowley’s previous books did… but I still enjoyed it very, very much. Upbeat writing adds a needed dose of light to what might otherwise be heavier moments. Memorable characters, an unusual premise, and clever dialogue make this a book to savor.

31May2026

Book Review: The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Marriage Portrait
Author: Maggie O’Farrell
Publisher: Knopf
Publication date: September 6, 2022
Length: 355 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Florence, the 1550s. Lucrezia, third daughter of the grand duke, is comfortable with her obscure place in the palazzo: free to wonder at its treasures, observe its clandestine workings, and devote herself to her own artistic pursuits. But when her older sister dies on the eve of her wedding to the ruler of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio, Lucrezia is thrust unwittingly into the limelight: the duke is quick to request her hand in marriage, and her father just as quick to accept on her behalf.

Having barely left girlhood behind, Lucrezia must now enter an unfamiliar court whose customs are opaque and where her arrival is not universally welcomed. Perhaps most mystifying of all is her new husband himself, Alfonso. Is he the playful sophisticate he appeared to be before their wedding, the aesthete happiest in the company of artists and musicians, or the ruthless politician before whom even his formidable sisters seem to tremble?

As Lucrezia sits in constricting finery for a painting intended to preserve her image for centuries to come, one thing becomes worryingly clear. In the court’s eyes, she has one duty: to provide the heir who will shore up the future of the Ferranese dynasty. Until then, for all of her rank and nobility, the new duchess’s future hangs entirely in the balance.

Full of the beauty and emotion with which she illuminated the Shakespearean canvas of Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell turns her talents to Renaissance Italy in an extraordinary portrait of a resilient young woman’s battle for her very survival.

I hesitated about picking up The Marriage Portrait, despite having loved Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet. I tend to shy away from “literary” fiction, and assumed this book might not be for me. Fortunately, with a book group discussion to motivate me, I went ahead and started… and then couldn’t put it down.

The Marriage Portrait is a taut, beautifully written story about a powerless young girl forced into marriage and a life she never wanted. Set in the mid-1500s, the book starts with a shock: Lucrezia, Duchess of Ferrara, is at dinner with her husband, and realizes with utter certainty that he intends to kill her.

From there, we move back to the beginning of her story. The middle child and youngest daughter of the Duke of Florence, Lucrezia de Medici has always been a bit odd — defiant, artistic, and with her own private passions and flights of fancy. When her oldest sister dies on the eve of her marriage, Lucrezia is expected to wed Maria’s fiance, despite the fact that Lucrezia is only thirteen. The marriage can only be delayed so long, and by age fifteen, she’s wed to Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara.

Alfonso seems at first to be good-hearted, but his kindness is a veneer for a ruthlessness that Lucrezia only uncovers through missteps and dangerous confrontations. Slowly, she comes to see that theirs is not a marriage of companionship or even affection, as her own parents’ marriage is. Instead, she’s firmly under Alfonso’s control, cherished when she behaves, but shown just how badly things could go for her if she doesn’t. As a year passes and Lucrezia does not become pregnant, her situation becomes more dire. Timelines converge, as the chapters where Lucrezia anticipates her own murder are interspersed between longer sections following her earlier life and the timeline of her marriage.

From the historical record, we know that the real Lucrezia died at age fifteen after a year of marriage, supposedly of a sudden, severe illness, and that doubts remained about the true cause of death. In The Marriage Portrait, the author keeps readers on our toes, providing room for doubt and for the possibility of other outcomes while building a sense of growing dread with each passing chapter.

The book shows how devastatingly trapped Lucrezia is, even leaving aside the issue of what a sociopath her seemingly charming husband turns out to be. She wishes for rescue, and wishes that she hadn’t been forced into this marriage — but being forced into a marriage is literally the point of her and her sisters’ existence. A marriage for her family’s political gain was invitable; if she’d been lucky, she may have ended up with a kinder man, but the prospective husband’s character was never going to be a deciding factor. For girls of her status and rank, the power and advantages of a marriage are all that matters.

The theme of being trapped is established early on, as a young Lucrezia is allowed to see the exotic tiger newly added to her father’s menagerie:

The cry again! It was not so much a roar, no, which is what Lucrezia had expected: this had a yearning, desperate rasp to it. The sound, Lucrezia thought, of a creature captured against its will, a creature whose desires have all been disregarded.

There’s a sense of doom in even the most mundane of descriptions. Lucrezia can never escape the signs that her future is full of danger:

In the square room, from a hook in the wall, hangs the skirt of the gown. The bodice and sleeves are separate entities, draped over the credenza and the table. To Lucrezia, as she steps over the threshold, it looks as if a woman has been cut into four pieces and calmly arranged around the furniture.

Once I started The Marriage Portrait, I found myself completely immersed and didn’t want to put the book down. Lucrezia is a fascinating, tragic character, trapped in a world that offers her no safe refuge and no true allies. She possesses an artist’s soul and a fiery will, and neither trait is valued by her husband or his court. As Lucrezia senses her own violent death looming just ahead, there seems to be few options. No one is coming to save her. She’ll have to save herself… or literally die trying.

Once again, this was a terrific book group pick, and I’m so thankful I had that little push that I needed to dive in and read this gorgeous, terrifying, powerful story. Highly recommended.

30May2026

Book Review: Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Obstetrix
Author: Naomi Kritzer
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: June 9, 2026
Length: 208 pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

From the Hugo award-winning author Naomi Kritzer comes a tense portrait of a future we desperately hope to escape.

O Lord, deliver us.

Doctor Liz has just been acquitted for performing the last abortion in North Dakota when she’s kidnapped.

They’re not just any kidnappers, but a fundamentalist cult, deep in the rural west, without respect for law or decency, and in desperate need of an OB/GYN.

Guarded, isolated, without access to the outside world, Liz nevertheless is treated with respect as the only doctor on the compound, but she is very aware of what happened to the last obstetrician they kidnapped.

She must escape, and bring help to the girls trapped at the compound, if it’s the last thing she does.

Dr. Elizabeth Gwinn is a dedicated OB/GYN in desperate need of a fresh start. After facing a harrowing trial for performing an abortion, she’s narrowly managed to avoid prison — but legal fees have left her broke, the arrest and threat of conviction have destroyed her nerves, and she faces the sad truth that despite the critical need, there are now states with absolutely no obstetricians still in practice at all.

After a dismal job interview for yet another hospital job she’s doomed not to get once the hiring committee realizes just who she is, she agrees to meet with a representative of a home birth collective looking for an obstetrician to complement their team of midwives. Although the location of the interview seems unusual, Elizabeth really needs a job and sits down to learn more… only to find herself drugged, kidnapped, and transported in a van to some unknown destination.

Upon arrival, she finds herself held captive by a fundamentalist cult in a remote rural area. There are no phones, no internet, no books, no privacy. Watched every moment, Liz is informed that her role is to care for the cult’s seemingly endless parade of pregnant women. Although the compound has some modern medical supplies — drugs, ultrasound machine, surgical implements — it’s by no means an adequate medical facility, and Liz is disinclined to cooperate… until she hears what came of the last obstetrician who refused to play along. Liz decides to bide her time and look for a chance to escape, and meanwhile, she begins caring for the women, some really just girls, and provides more general medical care to the children and men of the compound as well.

The patriarchal, repressive society is headed by Pastor John, and rules are enforced through corporal punishment. Liz sees women and children with welts and other marks that would absolutely have her contacting the appropriate authorities if she were to see these type of injuries in a clinical setting. Here, in the middle of nowhere, at the mercy of her captors, all she can do is try to relieve pain and mitigate harm where she can.

Meanwhile, to self-soothe, Liz returns in her mind to the favorite fantasy book of her youth, recalling it page by page from memory and using it as a means of centering herself, holding out hope, and looking for any chance of contacting the outside world.

I’ve seen this book shelved as horror, dystopian, thriller, even sci-fi, and while there are bits of many of these (well, not sci-fi), none of these labels feel entirely spot-on. I’d described this book more as a near-future thriller, not to mention being a cautionary tale. Liz’s trial has concluded by the time the novel starts, and yet it’s not at all far-fetched to see this as a possibility not too far off in our own future. Learning that obstetrical care is no longer available in major areas of the country feels chillingly possible.

And in a world where choices are so controlled or outright denied, a religious cult that prizes pregnancy and birth above anything else a woman might represent seems like just one more likely outcome. Particularly painful is the revelation that a bright 13-year-old girl who’s eager to become Liz’s apprentice is scheduled to be married as soon as she turns 14, to an adult man who fully expects to start making babies right away. When Liz points out that the girl isn’t physically mature enough to safely carry a pregnancy, the woman behind her kidnapping who shadows her every move declares that “a woman’s body won’t grow a baby that’s too big for her to deliver”. The casual disregard of medical expertise and the casual expectation that a young girl is ready for childbearing are simply horrifying.

Obstetrix is a fascinating psychological study, a dystopian nightmare, and even an action tale, as Liz desperately struggles to find a way out, even while growing to care more and more for some of her patients, who clearly are victims themselves and just as much in need of rescue as she is. The tension mounts as the story progresses, and it’s a race to the finish to see how Liz will get out of this terrible situation.

Meanwhile, we can’t help but admire Liz’s dedication to her professional ethics and her devotion to patient care. Even without the blatant threats, she can’t refuse to treat those who need her. She may be distressed, she may feel that conditions are hazardous, but she still tends to those who need a physician, because she simply can’t do otherwise.

As Liz informs us:

The word obstetrics comes from the Latin words obstetrix, which means midwife. Literally it means “stands opposite to,” and references the person who stands opposite to the woman giving birth.

As Liz passes weeks at the compound, struggling not to lose hope, she uses her position of slight authority to oppose the system that might further harm the young women and girls in her care — an obstetrix indeed.

Obstetrix is a fast, compelling, chilling read. Highly recommended.

Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
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28May2026

Book Review: Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Dolly All the Time
Author: Annabel Monaghan
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publication date: May 26, 2026
Length: 395 pages
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A hardworking single mom returns to her seaside hometown and stumbles into a fake dating situationship with a wealthy, workaholic scion, from the New York Times bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script.

“This book is like a spicy margarita…sweet and a little salty, tart and hot…I have fallen in love with Dolly and with funny, fizzing Annabel Monaghan!” —Catherine Newman, New York Times bestselling author of Sandwich

If they start by pretending, can they end with something real?

Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.

So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high-society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and kisses that hit her bloodstream like a ghost pepper, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful. She’s never relied on anyone besides herself—can she really start now?

If summer is just around the corner, then it’s time for an Annabel Monaghan novel! Once again, her newest book is a delightful mix of grounded characters, interesting situations, sincere emotions, and fantastic beachy vibes.

Dolly Brick seems to never stop working. A single mom on the verge of 40, Dolly works four (yes, four!) jobs to make ends meet, support her son, make sure her dad and disabled brother have a non-leaky roof over their heads, and basically keeps everyone and everything going through sheer willpower. As Dolly All the Time opens, she’s headed back to her Rhode Island hometown for the summer — not what she’d had planned — to deal with the aftermath of a small electrical fire at her family home.

Once there, she jumps right back in — working at the counter at her father’s fish store during the busy tourist season, making sure her brother Chris gets his meds adjusted, bringing in a contractor to look at the fire damage, and figuring out how much of the needed repairs she can do on her own. Dolly is incredibly adept at fixing and creating — that’s what living on a shoestring budget will do for you! — but when she learns from the fire department that the roof is in such bad shape that the house may be condemned if they don’t replace it, she comes close to despair. Even with all her jobs, there’s no way the family has that kind of money.

Rescue arrives in the form of Stewart Whitfield, son of the town’s extremely wealthy founding family and next in line to be CEO of the family business. Or rather, Dolly starts off by rescuing Stewart, who finds himself in desperate need of help when he gets a flat tire and has a dead cell phone battery. Of course, he’s never changed a tire in his life, and of course, Dolly is a pro. When a passing paparazzo snaps a photo of them, Stewart realizes Dolly may represent more than just roadside assistance. After being very publicly dumped by his fiancée, Stewart needs to show his family that he’s stable and grounded enough for the CEO job. Cue the fake girlfriend trope!

Stewart offers Dolly a deal, complete with NDA. If she’ll pose as his girlfriend for the summer, attending key galas and family events with him, he’ll pay her enough to fix the roof (and then some). It’s a weird offer (which Dolly immediately connects with Pretty Woman), but really too good a chance to save the family home to pass up. Stewart is stiff and seems to be a workaholic, but Dolly detects a glimmer of something more relatable underneath the suits and fancy cars, and she agrees to the deal.

After an adorable makeover outing with Stewart’s younger sister (one of my favorite characters in the book), Dolly begins her role as Stewart’s fake girlfriend. She’s quirky and definitely not trained for high society, and yet there’s something in her non-conforming demeanor that starts to put Stewart at ease. As they spend time together, she challenges him to loosen up, even just a little. Why not take out the sailboat that he hasn’t touched in years? How about a break from working around the clock to enjoy a bit of summer? When Stewart meets Dolly’s family, she gets a chance to see how considerate he can be, and as the weeks pass, Stewart and Dolly begin to connect in ways that no longer feel like it’s all for show.

There’s just so much to love about this book! First, Dolly herself is amazing. While she struggles to allow others to share her burdens, her devotion to her family is incredibly admirable. She doesn’t resent her responsibilities — she’s a deeply committed caregiver, and her 24/7 priority is keeping her family safe and happy. As she learns over the course of the book, she really doesn’t have to take everything on her own shoulders, but learning to let others in is part of her personal journey. She’s a fantastic mother to 13-year-old Gus. I admired the honesty with which she interacts with him — they have a lovely dynamic.

The romance feels real very quickly, and is well-developed. We see Stewart and Dolly opening up to one another, and can track how their appearances-for-show turn into time spent together that means something to them both. The plot may follow key trope milestones in some ways, but it comes across as genuine. There’s no doubt that these two have a connection and understand one another in ways no one else does. They’re wonderful together.

Now, there is a 3rd-act breakup, which I generally dread these days while reading contemporary romances. Here, the events make sense. None of the more common failure-to-communicate or the (awful) I’m-dumping-you-for-your-own-good scenarios! When Dolly and Stewart’s relationship blows up, we know exactly why. We can hate it, but we also understand what went wrong (and fortunately, can be very confident that there will be a happy ending, even if they have to suffer before getting there).

Dolly All the Time conveys heartwarming messages about devotion to family, taking time to care for oneself even while caring for others, and giving thought to what real happiness might look like. The family dynamics are outstanding, and the romantic elements really sing.

I’ll note that this book has plenty of romantic, swoon-worthy moments, but that sex scenes are closed-door / off-the-page… which I, for one, really appreciate!

Dolly All the Time is both a terrific summer read — oh, to be in a little seaside town with salt breezes, ice cream shops, and walks on the beach! — and an engaging love story. There’s deep emotional impact, yet the tone is upbeat, with plenty of humor and whimsy to balance the more serious moments.

He’s in a tuxedo that was woven by angels with tiny hands to the exact specifications of his body. His black shoes have been professionally tied by the royal shoe tyer.

Great plot, wonderful characters, and a seaside, sunny setting all add up to a wonderful start to beach reading season. Highly recommended — for any time of year!