BOOK REVIEWS
The Ghost of the Cuban Queen Bordello (by Peggy Hicks)
A shopkeeper in Jerome pressed a signed book into my hands: Peggy Hicks’s The Ghost of the Cuban Queen Bordello. I expected a ghost story. I got a harder history—and a madam who was no one’s heroine.
A Secret in the Keys (by Hope Holloway)
Hope Holloway’s A Secret in the Keys showed up in my Audible library after I’d already enjoyed her Asheville Christmas book. The Keys setting was hard to resist. I almost bailed before Beck reached Coconut Key—then the story opened up, and I was glad I kept listening.
Her Last Breath (by Taylor Adams)
After loving No Exit, I grabbed Taylor Adams’s Her Last Breath as soon as it hit Libby. The cave scenes are uniquely frightening—I’ll be sticking to Mammoth Cave—but I could see the ending coming. Well written. I just wished I liked it more.
The Women (by Kristin Hannah)
I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a Vietnam War novel. I’m so glad I did. Kristin Hannah’s The Women doesn’t just tell Frankie’s story—it made me feel it.
Theo of Golden (by Allen Levi)
I was skeptical of the hype around Theo of Golden—and then I started the audiobook. By dinner that first night, I was already telling my husband about Theo.
The Secret Life of Sunflowers (by Marta Molnar)
The sunflowers caught me first. Then I realized the woman on the cover was Jo van Gogh-Bonger—the sister-in-law who made Vincent famous. Dana Marton, writing as Marta Molnar, turns Jo’s fight to save his unsold paintings into a dual-timeline novel I was more than ready to hear.
We Will Be Watching (by Ruth Ware)
Leaving Instagram meant losing author updates—until newsletters. Signing up for Ruth Ware’s list got me a free copy of her unpublished short story “We Will Be Watching,” a tense escape-room thriller I loved. Review + how to read it inside.
Dear Debbie (by Freida McFadden)
I’m such a Freida McFadden fan. Her books reliably deliver the kind of twisty, bingeable entertainment I crave, and I only wish I could catch up on her new releases and dive into the…
Risen from the Ashes (by Patrick O’Brian)
Risen from the Ashes by Patrick O'Brian covers much of the same territory as the first West Baden Springs Hotel book I recently reviewed, West Baden Springs: Legacy of Dreams.
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