Paradise Alden returns home to Nova Cambridge, Alabama, and steps back into a past laden with broken relationships, loss, and grief. As the new veterinarian for The Sanctuary, a wild animal reserve, she knows she’ll be reacquainted with Blake Lawson, her teenage boyfriend who, in her opinion, betrayed her. She’s also fighting the mental and physical scars of a jaguar attack–one of the big cats she’ll be responsible for taking care of. But, she needs a job and the money . . . and there are unexplained murders to solve and personal attacks to withstand.

Colleen Coble’s Ambush is a romantic suspense, one of the hottest-selling genres in fiction today, and Coble, a prolific, best-selling author, is one of the most successful writers in the genre.

If you’re looking for a clean mystery […]

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, is an imaginative story of Tova, an elderly widow who works as a cleaning lady at Sowell Bay Aquarium, and one of the featured marine animals there–Marcellus, a Pacific octopus. Who would have thought to give an octopus a voice, personality, feelings, and ingenuity? Van Pelt did! It’s a cute story with a sweet ending. In my opinion, the ending was predictable and Van Pelt could have gotten there a little faster. Clearly, the book’s been well received, as it was featured as a “Read with Jenna” book on the Today Show and is a New York Times bestseller.
If you’re looking for a sweet story about growing older, loneliness, friendship, and family relationships that’s told in a creative way, Remarkably Bright Creatures will […]

In Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Suite 11, she returns to the characters Lo Blacklock and her friend/nemesis, Carrie. We met them in The Woman in Cabin 10. After resuming her journalism career following the birth of her second child, Lo gets a plum invitation to the press opening of a luxurious Swiss hotel. Unbeknownst to her, she will meet old colleagues from her earlier career, including Carrie. Thoughts of Lo’s traumatic entrapment in Cabin 10 come to mind as she deals with Carrie, the reason behind her invitation to the featured event, and, ultimately, Carrie’s strange request to assist her in a daring escape from a ruthless, domineering billionaire.
Ware can spin a tale with the best of them. My one complaint is her gratuitous use of the “f bomb,” seemingly present on almost every page and even used in […]

When a gentleman shows up in the southern town of Golden, questions arise and rumors fly. Who is he? Why is he here? What does he want?

Curiously, he makes his way into a coffee shop, where he stumbles upon almost one hundred original works of art. He begins to track down the subject of each portrait, buy the work, and give it to him or her.

No one is quite sure what to think, but Theo’s generosity of spirit begins to win the hearts of Golden’s residents.

Eventually, the reader learns backstory that explains what Theo is up to. As a bonus, the author throws in a twist that you won’t see coming.

Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden is a beautifully written book that will warm your heart. It will be one of the best […]

Percival Everett’s James took the country by storm with its release last year. It has already garnered numerous national book awards.
James is the retelling of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but from the servant Jim’s perspective. As you recall, Jim and Huck both have their reasons for fleeing their home, and end up rafting down the Mississippi River–headed for freedom but encountering difficulty, humorous situatons, and adventure along the way.
Without spoiling the story, I’ll just say there’s a startling dialogue change early in the book and an unexpected reveal near the end.
For maximum enjoyment, I recommend you reread Huckleberry Finn . . . and then hunker down and enjoy James.

reviewed May 2025