I'm sharing a few notable ones from the past few weeks today.
1. The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin -I've heard this described as a little bit like the television show ER, which is a pretty apt description. Martin is an emergency medicine doctor herself, so she is well qualified to write a story about two women who become best friends in med school. The hospital/medical setting is the backdrop for a story of friendship and betrayal and secrets that kept me turning pages quickly.
2. Ohio by Stephen Markley doesn't come out until next week, but it was one of the novels that was talked about at BEA. This one feels literary to me (not just fluff). It's the story of five classmates - all told in their own chapters - that return to New Canaan, Ohio, their hometown after having left it a few years previously. This book captures what small town America is, how the recession affected people, and the ways in which our stories and pasts are intertwined.
3. If We Had Known by Elise Juska- Maggie Daley is getting ready to help her daughter move in to college and begin another year of teaching English at the junior college when she hears of a shooting at the mall. When she finds out it was a former student she is shaken. And then she is asked by her college to look at the writing samples she has from when this young man was her student. Should Maggie have seen any red flags in his writing sample? Is the shooting something that could have been prevented if she would have spoken up? As a teacher myself, I have lots to say on this topic, and this novel is well written and definitely discussion-worthy.
4. A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo - this is the tenth book in Castillo's Kate Burkholder series set in the Amish community of Painter's Mill. The story begins with a barn fire and the remains of an eighteen year old Amish boy who - at first glance- seems to be the perfect young man. As Kate begins digging though there are plenty of secrets people have been keeping about Daniel and someone doesn't want Kate to expose them. I love this series and appreciate the fact that people who haven't read the previous books can pick this one up and enjoy it as a stand alone book.
5. Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren - I'm not a big romance reader, but every once in a while I enjoy a good love story. This book is one that I absolutely loved. Macy is finishing up med school and planning her wedding when she runs into Elliot, her first love. As the story moves between past and present we watch their love story unfold and slowly find out what happened to them that has caused them to not speak or see each other for eleven years. The whole time my heart was breaking just a little bit for them and hoping they'd find a way to move forward together. This story is predictable, but every now and then I need to read a book like that. I think I might have even sighed out loud as I turned the last page.
All five of these are titles I'd pass on to friends- definitely enjoyable and worth reading. Any recommendations for me?
1 comment:
I recently read Linda Castillo's book. I love that series a lot. This one was quite a good entry into Kate's world. Have you read Julia Keller's Bell Elkins series? Or have you read the Frieda Klein series by Nicci French? Both have recent books, though each of the series has at least 6 books. I recommend both series highly. There are others here that are already on my list. I'll never get to all of them, but I sure like to read about and talk about them. LOL
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