It's Either Sadness or Bookphoria...

I’ve been thirsting for a good retelling for a while now, and this book was excellent!! Thanks so much to Sarah Barley Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for the complimentary advance copy!

⁣ The four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth—are household names because their father wrote a book called Little Women. While the book is fiction, much of the plot hews close to reality, so the girls—and the public—accuse their father of exploitation.

On New Year’s Day, Beth is missing. She went to a party with Amy the night before, where they had a brutal argument. When Beth is found murdered, her sisters are determined to find her killer. And each feel like they could have been a contributing factor in her death.

While the remaining sisters console each other, they also go through periods of time where they consider each other as guilty. Yet there are a number of other suspects, too. Could it have been someone looking to punish their father, or perhaps one of the men in the sisters’ lives?

The book is narrated by all four sisters, shifting between past and present. (Beth tells her story from the past.) It’s really a twisty story; while I ultimately guessed whom the killer was, it took me a while to settle on a suspect.

I love the way Katie Bernet gave Little Women a modern twist while still retaining the traits of Louisa May Alcott’s original characters. I thought this really was a brilliant retelling—and you don’t honestly need to have read the original to appreciate this.

The book will publish 1/6/2026.

Prudence used to dream of leaving her small Canadian hometown to see the world. But when her mother is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Prue shelves her dreams in order to help her father. Regardless of what her father thinks, she’s perfectly content to care for her mother, work in her family’s gas station, and write poetry.

Milo comes to town in his ancient van. He and his younger sister have been asked to come help Nik, their older brother, get his brewery ready to open. Milo is a handsome adventurer who tends to go from place to place, leaving relationships as soon as his partners begin catching feelings. He hasn’t seen his siblings in a while, because memories of their traumatic childhood still haunt him.

As her mother’s condition worsens, Prue’s father wants her to consider leaving town and pursuing her future. When she meets Milo, his confidence and swagger, coupled with his sensitivity, disarms her. The chemistry between the two of them is intense, and while they develop a warm friendship, they also spend late nights with Milo tutoring Prue in casual sex lessons.

Milo’s relationship with his siblings and their shared trauma is really compelling, and Prue’s care for her mother and her father’s love is as well. But when the focus moves off of those storylines, the book loses its spark. And there are even storylines that get mentioned and never get brought up again.

This book is one of the spiciest I’ve read in a long while, and there’s also some poignant emotion. But I felt like the book didn’t know what it wanted to be—the sex storyline didn’t really mesh with everything else. I wanted to love this but it just didn’t work for me.

It seems like a typical Tuesday. Bryden is getting her 3-year-old daughter Clara ready for daycare while her husband Sam heads to work. She’s looking forward to working from home after drop-off.

At the end of the day, Sam is surprised to get a call from Clara’s daycare. Bryden didn’t pick Clara up and isn’t responding to calls or texts. When he gets home, he finds Bryden’s phone, keys, and purse are all there, and her car is in their building’s underground parking garage.

Did she just walk away from her life? No one believes that is possible. And by all accounts, Bryden and Sam were a great couple.

But as the police investigate, they discover that the picture-perfect couple might not be quite that perfect. Suspicions begin to fly, secrets are revealed, and suddenly identifying a suspect and a motive becomes much more difficult.

There are lots of twists and turns in this story, and I really wasn’t sure how Shari Lapena would resolve everything. I definitely found some of the characters really fascinating (and I can’t help but wonder if this was the set-up for a new series, which I would absolutely love).

It’s crazy that this is only my second Lapena book, but remember, I’ve really just been getting back into thrillers. I’ll definitely be diving into her backlist—any recommendations?

This was such a wonderfully special book with one of the most memorable narrators I’ve found in a long while. I’m so thankful to my dearest friend Amy for putting this book on my radar!!

“I guess that’s just how life works. Some days it’s like a fast-moving TV show and some days it’s not, and when things go sideways—like they usually do for me—you might find yourself going in a whole new direction, and when you’re doing life, going in that whole new direction, some things will change, but some things will stay a lot the same.”

Thirty-year-old Denny lives in Minnesota with his elderly mother and their deaf and blind dog George. While an issue at birth left him with some developmental challenges, he’s always felt loved, even when he hasn’t made the right choices.

Sometimes Denny has the best of intentions, but things tend to go awry. This has led to his arrest after kidnapping a neighbor’s ornery goose, and another time he unwittingly helped a bank robber. His challenges with finding the right words or expressing his emotions often get him into trouble.

But now, Denny is under arrest for the murder of a businessman in town who is running for mayor. And it certainly didn’t help that he was found with a sled full of guns, including the murder weapon. He swears he’s innocent, but can that be proven?

This book is full of humor, emotion, and charm, and it’s very heartwarming. Denny may cause chaos, but he also can be so empathetic and sweet. Check out the world from his perspective.

Add this powerful and emotional book to the long list of terrific debuts published this year!

Emma is celebrating one year of sobriety, a milestone she’s worked very hard to reach. She’s spent the last year in close contact with her sponsor, attending AA meetings, and doing little more than working, in an effort to keep from backsliding into old habits.

But staying sober isn’t easy when everything around you is going crazy. She’s finally starting to feel comfortable around her colleagues, and has been appointed to her company’s “Fun Team,” which plans the annual holiday party. She allowed her colleagues to set up a profile on a dating app—which leads to an awkward situation with a colleague. She’s even started a bit of a flirtation with Ben, her company’s IT guy.

She’s a little bit thrown when her mother tells her she’s moving in with her boyfriend (whom Emma didn’t even know about). Then her estranged father calls and wants to see her—and as an alcoholic himself, he’s always been dismissive of her journey toward recovery. But he’s not argumentative this time; rather, he’s hiding a secret from her.

This is a book full of humor, emotion, awkward moments and times you wish the characters would say what they mean instead of avoiding the truth. But more than that, this book shows just how hard it is to fight for yourself when everything around you is trying to knock you down.

Ava Robinson is a really talented writer, and this book felt tremendously self-assured for a debut. I’ll be looking forward to the next steps in her career!

“Right, he thought. We live only as long as someone remembers us. Only as long as someone cares.”

A former environmental journalist, Rhys has very little patience for fools. And Shane, his ultra-conservative, religious-nut son-in-law, is definitely a fool. One Thanksgiving, even though Rhys promised his daughter Bethany he’d behave, Shane’s conspiracy theory rants became too much to take. Rhys punched Shane, left dinner, and decided to live off the grid.

It’s been a few years now since Rhys escaped to his family’s dilapidated cabin in the woods of Washington State. Most of his conversations are with himself. So he’s completely surprised to find his grandchildren, Leah and Asher, on his doorstep. Apparently Bethany has gone missing and she had asked a friend to bring the kids to Rhys if anything ever happened to her.

Rhys is worried about his daughter and wants to take care of his grandchildren. But not long after they show up, the kids are kidnapped by members of a violent militia affiliated with Shane’s church. He is determined to rescue the kids and find Bethany, even if he hasn’t used a cellphone or the internet in 4+ years.

With the help of his ex-lover, as well as his best friend and a slightly unhinged ex-cop, Rhys has to confront the kidnappers and a world that has grown even more unhinged. But he also has to deal with the strains that have existed in his relationship with Bethany since she was a teenager, and his regrets about so many things he’s done.

This was a funny, endearing, and satirical read that I really enjoyed. Jess Walter is such a talented writer, and he deftly maneuvered between the emotions of the story, the social commentary, and the wild interactions between characters.

“They don’t understand that time equals loss. It’s a freaking law of nature. If Emma lets the years keep on passing, she’s just going to keep on losing. So is everyone else, even if they can’t bear to admit it. They just walk ignorantly through the world, turning away from anything they don’t want to see. But Emma sees all of it. And she needs them to know how bad things really are.”

It seems like a typical day at Ridgemont Academy, a prestigious New England prep school. Emma Blake, once a star student and class leader, has virtually disengaged from her classes. But an assignment in English class—to write a very descriptive essay—inspires her.

But when Emma reads her essay aloud in class, it provokes very strong reactions from her classmates and her teacher. The essay alarms the school’s headmaster, who views it as a cry for help. Emma doesn’t want help, however; she wants her fellow students to realize the tragic state of our world.

There’s much more that is motivating Emma, however. No one knows whether she’ll carry through with what she’s promising to do, and no one knows exactly why she’s been driven to this.

I’m being vague in my summary because there’s power in going in blind. This is an emotional book and many of the characters’ reactions felt very real. The book is marketed as a thriller but I don’t think that’s accurate. It skewed more YA but I still found it really compelling.

I really had high hopes for this one, but what can you do?

A novelist and writing professor has her life turned a bit topsy-turvy when she learns that her ex-husband has created an unflattering version of her in his upcoming book. Although not many people will know it’s her—and he’s the one who ruined their marriage in the first place—she has trouble focusing.

Currently living in Kentucky with her boyfriend (and occasionally his stepdaughter), the news about her ex throws her into an emotional tailspin. Should she tell her boyfriend, knowing he might get angry with her ex? And worse, what if he doesn’t?

Meanwhile, she’s trying to deal with the foibles of her aging parents—her mother who wants to date again and her father who very well might be losing his mind. Can she just run away?

I’ve been a fan of some of Hannah Pittard’s books but this one never quite drew me into the story. It felt like there were lots of separate elements of the story that never quite came together, and the story moved very slowly.

If all families got along perfectly and there was no drama, the fictional world would be a really dull place. Family dysfunction is one of my favorite fiction subgenres, and Sarah MacLean’s newest book delivered that—and then some.

Franklin Storm was a self-made billionaire and a technology mogul. He was also manipulative, power-hungry, and vindictive, and loved pitting his children against one another. Alice Storm, one of his daughters, learned this the hard way: she’s been estranged from her family for five years, ever since her father disowned her.

Franklin’s death comes as a shock to Alice, almost as much as her mother’s summoning her to Storm Island, the family’s New England compound off the coast of Rhode Island. She dreads confrontation with her mother and three siblings, and plans to stay until the funeral is over.

But Alice and her family discover Franklin has the last laugh once again. He’s created a challenge for his wife and children, each with tasks they must complete. Some are painful and some are physically demanding. If they all don’t complete their tasks, no one will get their inheritance. Alice’s task? She must stay on the island with her family for a week.

Being with her family again opens up old wounds and resentments, and she’d really like to just pack up and leave. But could she forgive herself if that negated everyone’s inheritance? Of course, there are secrets to be revealed, which clarify just how manipulative Franklin was. Alice doesn’t know whom to trust, not even Jack, her father’s handsome fixer.

These characters are pretty awful to one another, and at times I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep immersing myself in their world. But MacLean’s storytelling is so compelling, so melodramatic and twisty, that I couldn’t put it down.

Thanks so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance copy of Alison Cochrun’s latest book! I will admit I might have squealed a little when I got an email offering me an ARC.

Sadie is nearing her 35th birthday and she’s spent most of her life running an antiques store, a family business she inherited from her grandmother. The business has taken so much time and effort that she really hasn’t dated—and while, to be honest, she hasn’t missed it—her sister and mother won’t let her give up on love just yet.

Sadie lets her sister Vi set her up on dates; she agrees to give every man a try, and to kiss them at the end of the date to see if she feels butterflies. But even though Vi insists she’s setting Sadie up with suitable men, none of them appeal to her, which makes Sadie wonder if something is wrong with her.

Wanting to escape the prospect of more dates, Sadie agrees to fill in for an injured Vi, who is a travel influencer, on a two-week trip along Portugal’s Camino de Santiago. When her first flight experienced severe turbulence, Sadie believes she’s going to die. The potent combination of fear, Lexapro, and red wine causes her to tearfully confess she might be a lesbian to her understanding (and beautiful) seatmate, Mal.

Of course, they don’t die, and (surprise!), Mal is on her Camino tour. (Another surprise: the tour is for queer women.) Mal offers to help Sadie experience the queer adolescence she never got to—but of course, the line between help and attraction blurs far too easily. At the same time, Mal has her own serious issues to deal with. Will the end of the tour signify the start of something real for them, or just goodbye?

I’m a fan of Cochrun’s and the journey of self-discovery she often takes her characters on. While there’s little secret about what fake dating often leads to, I loved the way both Mal and Sadie helped each other.

The book will publish 9/2.

I’ve been wanting to read this for a few weeks, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I was today years old when I realized this is a memoir and not a novel! (That realization didn’t affect me; I clearly didn’t pay close attention to the blurbs I read!)

“There are two things in my life that are a constant reminder that pleasure exists: food and sex. And I am learning about the different forms they may come in.”

Anonymous chef and columnist Slutty Cheff quit her marketing job after a workplace relationship went sour. She decided the thing she enjoyed most was cooking, so she went to culinary school and eventually did a trial run at a London restaurant. The energy, the camaraderie, even the stress captivated her, and the trial run turned into a job.

She is quickly enamored of her job and craves more responsibility. While it’s hard to be the only woman working in the kitchen, she more than holds her own. But the 60+-hour workweek, coupled with late nights fueled by alcohol and drugs with her colleagues, exhausts her both physically and emotionally.

The book follows her love/hate relationship with being a chef and the whole restaurant culture. She gets overwhelmed by the pressure and the lifestyle, but misses cooking when she’s not doing it. At the same time, she gets involved with several men over time, and realizes that sex gives her the same high.

You know how much I like books about chefs, cooking, restaurants, etc., so this was definitely right up my alley. This is one of those books you shouldn’t read on an empty stomach, and at times, it’s quite steamy, so be prepared. It’ll make you think twice about staying until a restaurant is nearly empty, too!

It’s 2011. Joan dreams of being a writer. By day, she’s an intern for an ultra-conservative Republican state legislator in Texas. And while her friends and roommate are all fairly liberal, Joan’s beliefs skew conservative.

As Joan struggles with finding inspiration to write about, she decides to pursue a romantic relationship, which hopefully will give her material. And the man she dates, Vince, does just that—he’s an egotistical musician who believes he’s more talented and more intelligent than everyone else. At the same time, she’s drawn to Roberto, a barista at her favorite establishment, who is also a writer.

Growing up wealthy, Joan is fairly rudderless. She drinks a lot, is addicted to Adderall, smokes a lot of weed, and doesn’t want for money. She’s also part owner of her father’s chain of recording schools, but she doesn’t take much responsibility there.

The brightest spot in her life is her cousin Wyatt. He’s tremendously creative and her partner in crime, but he’s also really troubled and struggling to find direction. His family’s solution to Wyatt’s problems is to send him to a Christian treatment facility—which doesn’t prove successful.

Joan’s own family exhausts her. Her father is an entrepreneur with a penchant for getting married to unsuitable women, while her mother is a former addict who disapproves of the way Joan lives her life. She’s caught between her parents, who don’t help her deal with her own issues; instead, they exacerbate them.

You know I love a good dysfunctional family, and this book certainly had that. Joan’s character’s beliefs don’t jibe with mine, and sometimes her flakiness is irritating, but you can’t look away from her. However, this book was billed as Fleabag meets The Royal Tenenbaums, and I didn’t see that at all. But it’s still a well-written debut.

Add this to the rapidly growing list of fantastic debuts in 2025! While bleak at times, this book was tremendously thought-provoking and powerful.

“No matter how many years separate me from that day, there is no new beginning. Nothing changes. Absolution is a myth. Some sins you must pay for again and again and again, as long as you live.”

Providence hasn’t been back to her hometown in 13 years, when she put her car in reverse and inadvertently ran over her mother. Her mother survived, but Providence was sent to jail, guilty of a felony. She was told never to come back to town, but now her mother has disappeared mysteriously, ostensibly on the way home from a Bible study class.

While the last thing Providence wants is to constantly be reminded of her transgressions, she hopes that her return might help bridge the gap between her and her sisters. But of course, it also means confronting Tom, her abusive father, who bullied everyone into turning a blind eye to his faults.

As the search for her mother continues, Providence discovers that in many ways, things have gotten worse since she left town. Her sisters resent her for what she did to their mother, but at the same time, they want her to make their father pay for his abuse. Should she sacrifice herself for the chance to save her sisters?

I love books when there are secrets and resentments uncovered at every turn. This was an emotional exploration of guilt, forgiveness, love, loyalty, and the cycle of violence that preys on us. I couldn’t put this down!

Thanks so much to Knopf and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book! What a powerful and emotional read this was.

In 2008, I stumbled on a story collection called The Theory of Light and Matter by Andrew Porter and I was totally blown away. Porter is such a fantastic writer, and I’ve read everything that he’s written.

In 1984, Steven’s father disappeared. He was a college professor—smart, popular, handsome, and enigmatic. But that summer, his father was awaiting a decision on tenure while he was slowly sabotaging his life. Steven watched the events of that summer through the eyes of a child, and he was insulated by his mother’s need to protect him.

“I’d never held him on a pedestal, never believed him to be a great man. I knew that he was flawed, knew that he had made a lot of mistakes in his life, and besides, I had grown up amidst the collapse of his career, the spurious allegations that ensued, the rumors and hearsay.”

Steven’s life has been defined by feelings of anger, betrayal, and abandonment. In an effort to find some closure, he embarks on a trip all over California, meeting with family members, as well as friends and former colleagues of his father. While he never gets all of the answers he seeks, he gets a fuller picture of the passionate, troubled man his father was.

I really thought this was poignant and thought-provoking. Do we ever really know our parents and understand what made them tick? How different are childhood memories from what we understand as an adult? In Porter’s hands, this is a beautifully told story.

The book will publish 4/15/2025.

Okay, I’m ready to be blown away by a Jojo Moyes book again. I’ve not loved the last few, including this one, so maybe I just need her to write another tearjerker.

Lila’s in a bit of a crisis. Her marriage has ended and her husband’s new girlfriend is everywhere, her daughters are both rebelling, and her widowed stepfather has moved into her house without actually discussing it with her first. Into this maelstrom comes her biological father, who left to pursue an acting career when she was young, and wasn’t particularly good about keeping in touch.

Perhaps Lila’s biggest problem is that her editor is pressuring her for her next book. But given that she writes about relationships—and an article she wrote about her husband was published about two weeks before their divorce was announced—coming up with something new is difficult. Who is she to give advice on successful relationships?

Trying to find the strength to move on, to accept that her marriage has ended and she needs to figure out what’s next is exhausting. How can she keep it together both professionally and emotionally when all she wants to do is fall apart?

The possibility of a new romance illuminates her. As she attempts to play peacemaker between her father and stepfather, she realizes that nearly everyone has some wisdom to share, even those with a bad track record.

I felt like this book was soooo slow and it took a while to become fond of Lila’s character. But I liked what Moyes had to say about forgiveness, and how often forgiving ourselves is the first step to healing.

Powerful and moving, Cynthia Weiner’s debut novel captures the boredom and impatience that occurs in the summer before college. Inspired by her own coming of age, it felt so authentic to its setting, NYC in 1986.

Nina is so ready to leave NYC and attend college at Vanderbilt. Her mother’s manic depression leaves her and her father constantly walking on eggshells, and she can’t wait to be away from not knowing what mood her mother will be in. She’s also Jewish in a sea of blue-eyed blondes.

Before she leaves for college, however, she’s determined to lose her virginity. Her drunken encounters with guys she knows have all been disasters, and she hates feeling like she’s the only one left who hasn’t had sex. She wants to go to college as a totally different person.

She spends the summer after high school graduation cycling in and out of temp jobs, and she and her friends spend most of their time at Flanagan’s, the bar where the preppy kids hang out. Nina starts falling for Gardner—handsome, preppy, and enigmatic—but with a self-destructive edge.

As they grow closer, and Nina discovers cocaine, things become more tumultuous. There are fights with friends, her mother seems to recover thanks to a new drug, and it all culminates with a shocking murder—inspired by the actual “Preppy Murder.”

Having been in high school in 1986, I remember this time all too well. Nina isn’t always the most likable but her story is compelling, and Weiner using her own experiences definitely added weight to the story.

Being on Bookstagram I have lots of friends who love thrillers, including my friend Kim. When she really raves about a book, I listen! This is the second thriller I’ve read recently because of her, and she hasn’t steered me wrong either time!

Hazel and Kagan are sister and brother, and they simultaneously support one another and tear each other down. Even though they’re adults, neither is particularly good with money, so they often turn to their mother for help. But she’s had enough, so when she refuses to keep funding the siblings, it strains her relationship with both.

When their mother dies under mysterious circumstances, they’re understandably sad. It’s not long, however, before their grief turns to greed, and they wonder what their inheritances will be. Imagine their surprise when they learn their mother cut them both out of her will.

Hazel and Kagan were both depending on the money from their mother’s estate, so they’re none too happy to be left empty-handed. They’re convinced that their mother’s second husband is to blame—and they want to make him pay, both literally and figuratively. The siblings find an unlikely partner in this mission, which takes them up and down the East Coast.

This is definitely one of those books that keeps you guessing, where you know not everything is what it seems, but you don’t know what to believe. It’s good to go into this book relatively blind.

The authors have written three books together under the name E.G. Scott. I’ve not read any of those, but I definitely will now, because I thought this was great! I devoured this and still wanted more.

This was such a fun, sweet read! I’m always a sucker for fake dating rom-coms, but when you throw in a high school musical and some gaming, how can I resist?⁣

⁣ Maybe Riley should’ve thought twice about taking her mother’s car and driving her and her best friend a few hours away to see a production of Waitress. She didn’t get a ticket or get into an accident—she just didn’t have her license yet.⁣

⁣ Now she’s grounded for a while, and her parents can’t trust her to stay home alone at all. So as punishment, she has to work at Sword and Board Games, her dad’s game store. She’s not into gaming, and she believes the store was one of the reasons her parents got divorced. Needless to say, this will be torture.⁣

⁣ Her coworker (and classmate) Nathan takes an instant dislike to Riley, and she’s no fan of his either. But when her ex and his new girlfriend show up at the store, she has to pretend she doesn’t care, so she says she has a new boyfriend: Nathan. While at first, Nathan refuses to pretend they’re dating, Riley convinces him that their “relationship” will make the gamer girl he’s crushing on jealous.⁣

⁣ At the same time, Riley’s high school announces they’re canceling the annual musical for budgetary reasons. But Riley sees the musical as an opportunity to develop her skills as student director. How can she convince the school board not to cancel?⁣

⁣ I really flew through this book. The characters were so appealing and enjoyable and the fake dating trope is a favorite of mine. You can bet I’ll be picking up the next book in the series!⁣

This book is one of those slice-of-life novels that is more character-driven than plot-driven. And much like everyday life, it is made up more of quiet moments than overly dramatic ones.

Spanning the course of one year (1995), I’ll Come to You is the story of a family, connected by blood and marriage. Ellen is recently divorced and doesn’t really understand why her marriage ended. She gets set up on a date—which convinces her she’s not ready for another relationship—but it does spark a friendship.

Meanwhile, Ellen’s son Paul and his wife Corrine are expecting a baby, after a long period of trying to get pregnant. They are understandably nervous about what’s to come and how their lives will change.

Corrine’s mother, Janet, is one of those women who is always finding something to complain about, some instance in which she gets less than others. Her husband Bruce is facing a health crisis that she’s been less than forthcoming about with her children.

Corinne’s brother Rob is a car salesman who is navigating a divorce and watching his twin sons grow up differently than he would have raised them. Rob’s penchant for lying, a habit he’s had since childhood, has eroded his relationships with his family, and one person in particular.

I think Kauffman’s storytelling is excellent. She created a web around which all of these characters revolve, and there’s enough nuance to keep it all interesting. I thought this book had an Anne Tyler-esque feel to it, in that Tyler specializes in creating irascible characters who wind up somewhat endearing.

“If some relationships were doomed from the start, why ever put your heart on the line? Why risk it?”

Truly (her actual name) is a bestselling author of queer historical romances. When she is invited to give relationship advice on a popular podcast, she’s reeling: her 6-year relationship just ended when she found her fiancé with another woman.

Her cohost for the podcast is Colin, the incredibly sexy brother of the podcast creator. Colin is a divorce lawyer, and his views on romance completely contradict Truly’s, and infuriate her, too. She’s so irritated by Colin that she walks out on the podcast in the middle of recording.

Imagine her surprise when Colin reaches out to apologize and ask for a second chance. She enjoys making him beg, plus she can’t help but fantasize more than a little about him, so she agrees. As they get to know each other better, their insults turn into playful flirting, and the sexual tension grows more intense.

Truly is attracted to Colin, but she’s not in the right headspace for a relationship, especially when she learns her parents are on a trial separation. But Colin breaks down every argument, and she realizes how good it feels to have someone care about her this strongly, and to feel the same way. Is it too good to be true?

Y’all, this book is S-T-E-A-M-Y!! I really enjoyed the characters—Truly’s parents and her best friend cracked me up—and the banter is both hysterical and hot. I’ve been a fan of Alexandria Bellefleur’s books for a while, and this was another good one.