Staff Choices

A Few Right Thinking Men is the first novel in the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries, the title is also known as A House Divided. It is set in 1931 Australia during a time of political and social tumult. Rowland returns from England to discover his eponymously named uncle has been murdered and he simply can’t let this rest. Rowland belongs to a wealthy family but has an entourage of less monied, artistic friends that is frowned upon by his stuffy older brother. His friends are his soundboard as well as providing a wellspring of opportunities for getting into trouble. This is a character-based story, with plenty of drama, understated humor with a mystery being woven in.

Author Sulari Gentill is also the author of Woman in the Library. I recommend listening to this series as the narrator is excellent in voicing all of the characters. This series is best read in order and is for fans of amateur sleuth novels.

 I had a bit of a wait on a library list for this book--obviously there are quite a few Krueger fans out there waiting to read this latest installment of the Cork O'Connor series. It was worth the wait. Love the character of Wolf; the crossing of paths with the old mide, Henry Meloux, and all the action that follows. The heart of the story is really about a precious resource and the extreme lengths that men will go through to extract it. For some, it becomes a test of character or self-discovery. Fox Creek is a story about that journey.

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is a fictional story wrapped around a real place in Japan. There, on a private residence, in a garden, one can find a telephone booth with a disconnected phone "that carries voices into the wind". It was installed there to help those grieving, to provide an outlet for the living, to perhaps say what you always meant to say to someone who you now mourn.

Yui is a young woman bereft from the tragic loss of both her mother and her daughter. She travels to this wind phone, far from her home, to find out for herself if it can help her find some solace. There, she meets another traveler, Takeshi. Together, they will find themselves visiting the phone booth many times over the course of years, meeting others who use the phone, and finding compassion with the family who tends it. 

Author Laura Imai Messina has written a beautiful, engaging, character-driven story. It is slow-moving, similar to the path of healing from loss. I was so moved and intrigued by this unique tribute, I found out several replicas of the wind phone have been built around the world.
 

If you love big messy family sagas like I do, you will really enjoy this new book by Jennifer Close. The story revolves around the Sullivan family who run a beloved restaurant in Oak Park, and find themselves at a crossroads when the family patriarch passes away.

With failed relationships, and careers on the rocks, sisters Gretchen, Jane and cousin Teddy all turn to the familiarity of the restaurant for comfort. Gretchen leaves the rock band she has been a lead singer with for decades. Jane finds the north shore life stuffy and small minded. Teddy leaves a successful restaurant in Chicago to get away form his love troubles.

JP Sullivan's has always been their foundation. Their place to land, their place to gather. As children the kitchen staff cooked them breakfast as their parents prepped for the lunch and dinner crowds. As teens and grown-ups the restaurant is the place they find comfort in for all the important events in their lives. Reminiscent of The Most Fun We Ever Had, Marrying the Ketchups is a delight.

It's officially that time of year again - time to binge watch Hallmark Christmas romance movies. It is the perfect way to evoke feelings of joy while destressing from the hectic holidays. I recently listened to B.K. Borison's holiday romance book Lovelight Farms and have to say it is gave me the same blissful feeling. This fake-dating, friends-to-lovers story takes place at a delightful small town Christmas tree farm that is struggling lately.  When the owner, Stella, enters a $100,000 contest run by a famed Instagram influencer, she mentions she owns the farm with her boyfriend. After becoming a finalist in the contest and finding out that the influencer is planning to come to the farm, Stella must quickly figure out where she is going to get a boyfriend.

Enter Luka, Stella’s best friend who has agreed to pretend to be her boyfriend. Both of them has harbored feelings for the other for years, but not wanting to ruin their friendship have never tried for more. The towns people and friends help them soon realize that the real thing is so much better than pretend.

I must mention that there is a little bit of steam to this romance, but it doesn't overshadow the story. Lovelight Farms is a cozy, sweet, heartwarming tale that will give you all the giddiness and happy feels this holiday season. I highly recommend listening to this first in a new series with a hot chocolate by the fire.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood was a pure delight. I enjoyed The Love Hypothesis but something about Bee spoke to a deep part of my quirky soul that cannot be denied. While there are certainly similarities, those that might have been put off by the uneven power dynamic between Olive and Adam in the Love Hypothesis, will love the equal footing of Bee and Levi.  

Sticking to several romance tropes, Hazelwood was able to put a unique spin on them that made them much less typical (and quite frankly frustrating). There were a lot of layers to this story and the characters’ developed backstories really upped the enjoyment factor. 

If you’re into quirky, whip smart female women in STEM leads, and respectful (swoon) and dedicated male counterparts, this is the one for you. 

The first Rizzoli and Isles book in a while and it does not disappoint. Told from several points of view and with multiple storylines, Gerritsen does a good job of keeping momentum on all of them and giving satisfying solutions for all of them. Jane is looking into the murder of a nurse that may be connected to events years earlier. Her mom is driving her crazy convinced first a local teen is in trouble and then that something is up with the new neighbors.

Great mystery and great to catch up with our favorite characters. Looking forward to more in the series.
 

In A Map for the Missing, debut author Belinda Huijuan Tang has created a story that provided me with some insight into aspects of Chinese culture. The story begins in 1993 with Tang Yitian, a young math professor working in America who receives a phone call from his mother informing him that his father is missing. His parents still live in the small rural village in Anhui Province in China where Yitian grew up, a place where he hasn’t been in 15 years. 

Once he returns home, he feels out of place. Memories of his youth come roaring back including the estrangement with his father, the man he now is trying to find. He turns to a friend, Hanwen, he once knew during the days of the Cultural Revolution and who is now married to a mid-level bureaucrat for assistance. The story continues with different timelines of his younger days as well as Hanwen’s and how they helped each other once the government reinstated the gaokao in 1977; a national, grueling, university level exam, one that hadn’t been allowed to take place in a decade. Hanwen has her own story of how she was “sent-down” from her life in Shanghai to the rural province where she met Yitian. 

The plot moves slowly, allowing us to see the characters develop, to see the stoicism that gives them a fortitude to go on to create meaningful lives despite hardships they endured. 

Themes of family, forgiveness, loss, adaptation, internal strength, identity, belonging, regret, and hopefulness. How maturity is something that can only be learned through time and experience. Readers who enjoy a different cultural point of view and a story that slowly unfurls might like to pick up A Map for the Missing. I found it beautiful and moving. 

Renaissance Italy is a world resplendent with art and beauty, but it also can be a harsh world for women. Lucrezia de Medici, the daughter of a grand duke is forced into an unwanted marriage at a very young age. The groom, Alfonso, head of a nearby kingdom, seems to have several sides to his sometimes charming, but eventual ruthless personality. On her wedding day, Lucrezia has been warned by his sister about what her husband is capable of, and as time goes on her suspicions are confirmed. As Lucrezia is forced to sit for a formal portrait, the tension is felt by all those around her. Trouble brews in the kingdom as everyone waits for an heir to be born to solidify the Ferranese dynasty. Lucrezia reaches out to her family for help, but they dismiss her fears. 

The award winning Hamnet showed us the brilliant writing style of Maggie O'Farrell. She astounds with her depth of character and her remarkable sense of setting and place. I for one, felt completely transformed to 1550 Florence, and was kept on the edge of my seat as the plot unfolded. It is an unforgettable story of the strength and resilience of the powerless in the face of the powerful. The Marriage Portrait will stay with you long after you put it down.

I originally saw the Plated Prisoner series on TikTok and was swayed when it was touted to cure an A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) hangover. While I wouldn’t say I was suffering from a SJM hangover having finished that series several months ago, I heartily agree with that claim.  For those that love ACOTAR, and the From Blood and Ash series, this is the one for you (there are hints of both here). It did take me a bit to get into this series, the first book was by far the slowest for me, however world building and character development really benefit from the pace to start. 

Gild is written in first person POV from the main character Auren, the gold-touched favored of King Midas, who is kept in a gilded cage within the palace. Midas rules the Sixth Kingdom of Orea, each kingdom only being able to be ruled by those with magical abilities. Keeping in line with the story of Midas, gold touch is his power. Subsequent novels are written from multiple POV which is helpful once things move out of a singular location. 

These books are full of strong female leads, magic, fae, beasts, secrets, betrayals, triumphs, politics and romance. 

This is an adult dark fantasy romance series.