Recent Reviews

	The Fiancée Farce	The Fiancée Farce is the sapphic rom com I’ve always wanted. Bookstore manager Tansy gets in over her head when her fake girlfriend, romance cover model Gemma West, shows up as a surprise guest at a family wedding, Tansy is at a loss for words—both from Gemma’s beauty and the weight of her lie. What follows sent me into a squealing fest of joy. This book was not only fun to read, but it also has a cast of characters that are well-developed and quickly tug at your heartstrings. Bellefleur’s writing is clever, sincere, and sexy, and as a young queer, it is a dream come true. Recommended by Nikita
	House of Cotton	Broken by the death of her grandmother, the only person who ever kept her safe, weighed down by childhood traumas, Magnolia accepts a job offer that promises to help her escape her pain. But it follows her, inescapable, and fresh wounds soon follow in the bizarre new world she has entered. Unflinching, this novel reminds the reader of the legacy of slavery and continued racial injustice, of the reality of being black, poor, and female in our society. Just as she is haunted, Magnolia is sure to haunt you. Recommended by Nancy
	Ozark Dogs	Like a sculptor, Eli Cranor knows how to reveal the facets and complexity of people society overlooks. A few pages in to the story about a Vietnam vet and junkyard owner Jeremiah Fitzjurls struggling to raise his granddaughter Joanna, I couldn't put this book down. Can he protect her from a father and son team of local meth dealers nursing a long-buried grudge? Can he protect her from all she will learn about her missing mother and father in the process? Recommended by Kelly
	Panther Gap	For lovers of great nature writing as well as mysteries, has James McLaughlin written a treat for you! Now adults, brother and sister Bowman and Summer realize their unconventional upbringing isolated in the wilds of Colorado had to do with much more than just their father's paranoia. An inheritance from their grandfather has now put them in very real danger from drug runners and other criminals. Fasten your seatbelts. This is quite a ride. Recommended by Kelly
	The Last Cold Place	The Last Cold Place takes readers into Antartica, the frozen world of the penguin through the eyes of born field researcher, Naira De Gracia. Not only is this terrific reading about a little known and increasingly threatened species, it also helps readers understand the importance of the work of people who keep eyes, ears, and boots on the important places the rest of us cannot visit. The work she and her intrepid colleagues do could never be replaced by the cameras increasingly meant to survey species numbers and health. Recommended by Kelly
	Sunshine Nails	A stunning debut about how a Vietnamese-Canadian family run nail salon will do whatever it takes to keep themselves afloat against a multimillion-dollar chain salon that pops up across the street. Told in five points of view the book lets you into exactly what the salon means to this family. Debbie: the Strong matriarch, Phil: the loving but struggling father, Jessica: the Oldest daughter brought in to save the day, Dustin: the youngest son who works in a big tech company and Thuy: the recently immigrated cousin who while being the best nail tech, wants to be a nurse. The siblings and Thuy set up some good old fashioned sabotage, but things fall apart quickly. Begging the question: do they fight for family or for the salon? An amazing debut that deals with trauma, microaggression at the work place, through the lens of a family that would do anything for each other. Recommended by Kahill
	To Have and to Heist	Indie next review for To Have and to Heist by Sara Desai: Iconic new read from the author of The Single's Table. To exonerate her bff, can one woman put on the jewelry heist of the century? Our FMC Simi is in a spot of bad luck, a flooded apartment, student loan debt and a wrongfully accused bestie. Enter Jack, who is just as suave as he is secretive but, when he offers to help Simi find and steal back the necklace that landed her friend in the hot seat, she’s all in. This book lets us follow her as she falls in love and her plan falls into place. Maybe the wedding robbery isn't the heist of the century, maybe it's how too good to be true Jack is stealing her heart. This reads like the warm lovely child of a cozy mystery and swoony romcom, I started out excited and ended fully invested. Like all of Desai's books the Desi representation was incredible, the family antics were hilarious and heartwarming, and the love story was electric. I adore heists, banter and whodonits and Desai delivered. Queue up Ocean's 8 while we wait for the release date? Recommended by Kahill
	In the Lives of Puppets	This book is the feeling of eating Powerpuff Girls popsicles on the sidewalk after a summer afternoon spent at the pool. It’s a little melancholy, a little sweet, with a whole lot of (wooden, mechanical) heart. The story is inspired by The Adventures of Pinocchio with hints of The Wizard of Oz, but it gains a life of its own thanks to the charming found family at its center. Tinkerer and human Victor Lawson lives an isolated life in the forest with his two robot best friends—a goofy vacuum and a sadistic medical machine that loves drilling—and his android father. When Vic finds another android buried in the scrapyards that he decides to fix up, little does he know that his father will recognize this robot; little does he know, his father was not programmed to be the machine Vic knows him to be. When his father’s past literally steals him away, Vic has to fight to reunite his family while confronting their past. But he’s not doing it alone. He’s got a golden retriever Roomba, a kinky robot nurse, and a grumpy, handsome android that makes his heart flutter at his side. In the Lives of Puppets is my first T.J. Klune book and I can count myself as another reader who has been charmed. Recommended by Wulfe
	The Trackers	In Charles Frazier’s The Trackers, it’s postdepression America. As part of a New Deal art program, an artist, Val, has been sent to Wyoming to paint a mural, which he titles Trackers, on the wall of a new a post office. A rich rancher, Long, has given Val the use of a cabin on his ranch, where he meets a tough, laconic ranch hand, Faro. Long’s wife Lucy, a vibrant character who is a former singer, leaves him, so Long sends Val after her, and Val becomes the tracker as he searches for Lucy from Florida to San Francisco. The mystery of where she is and why she left drives the story, but it is also a vivid travelogue and account of a long-gone era. Recommended by Kami
	A Love Catastrophe	An emotional and insightful look into how grief can shape us, along with a incredibly cute and fun romcom featuring cats and a cat whisperer NAMED KITTY? sold. I'm in. This new release from Helena Hunting features the previously mentioned cat whisperer, Kitty who can't quite shake the feeling that maybe her life could be something more and Miles, a new cat dad who doesn't even like cats, especially not the eccentric Sphinx named Prince Francis that his mother left in his care. After a CATastrophic first impression, could their attraction bloom into something purrfect? I loved this book. I am already in the midst of a reread, because these two cool cats in love deserve all the time they can get. Or maybe we deserve more stories like these. Fun & flirty with a side of feelings please. Recommended by Kahill