Waiting on Wednesday: Our Last Resort

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released title I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Our Last Resort by Clemence Michallon

Due out: July 8, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

In this propulsive new thriller from the author of the breakout debut The Quiet Tenant, a reunion between estranged siblings is interrupted when a woman is found murdered at their luxury vacation resort, dredging up memories from a shared childhood they’ve tried to keep buried in the past.

Frida and Gabriel arrive seeking a fresh start at the stunning Ara Hotel in the secluded desert of Escalante, Utah. Once so close they were able to finish each other’s sentences, they’ve grown apart in recent years after a sudden, unspeakable tragedy. Now, at the luxe resort, they are ready to reconnect between dips in the pool and hikes on spectacular desert trails. It all feels like paradise—until the dead body of a beautiful young woman who was vacationing at the Ara with her powerful, much older husband is discovered. When the local police arrive and put the resort into lockdown, Gabriel and Frida are forced to revisit memories from their upbringing in a cloistered cult in upstate New York, led by a charismatic and fanatical leader. It was their dramatic, fiery escape from his control fifteen years earlier that bonded them for life—or so Frida thought.

Alternating between past and present timelines, Our Last Resort builds toward a shattering climax that uncovers the fate of the murdered Ara guest and reveals the shocking secrets Gabriel and Frida have been hiding for years. Taut, gripping, and intense, Clémence Michallon’s sophomore suspense novel is a nail-biter until the last page, cementing her status as a major new talent in the genre.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Or More Like a Mini-Review of Spring Break

 Our spring break trip was a nice time away from this whole job situation. I did still text people about work, but I slept better, read some books, and relaxed. 

Most of our days started with a bike ride to a restaurant where we happily indulged - I had nutella crepes three days in a row. 

Although not planned, we did actually do quite a few literary things on this trip.  We visited Ernest Hemingway's house and saw the multitude of cats with six toes that wander about the property.  I also finally visited Judy Blume's bookstore.  While she wasn't there in person, the cardboard cutout was a fun stand-in.  And, on our last day in Key West, we even stopped by the library.

Since we were busy eating so much food, we did also spend time paddleboarding and bike riding. I was prepared to spend most of my time in the water, but actually loved this activity - and I didn't fall in even once.  

Watching the sunset at the southernmost point of the Keys was a huge tourist attraction and it truly was beautiful.

And now it's back to reality.  While we were enjoying beautiful weather, Iowa got a little more snow. And even yesterday there were big, sloppy wet flakes falling during the afternoon.   

Friday Five: The End of March Already

 I had a great spring break trip to Key West (I might even post pictures next week).  But this week was A LOT.  Another school board meeting where they listened to public comments for two hours in support of keeping school librarians.  And despite that, the superintendent was caught on a hot mic during a break saying he couldn't go back on that decision.  Then yesterday we were emailed a new job description that I'm not sure could get any worse.  

So, I guess we will see how this all pans out.  I love my job. I don't have a different dream job, and it's hard to hear that your school district places so little value on what you do.  

But aside from that, things are great.  I've been trying to finish up a book that I'm really enjoying, but I don't have much of an attention span right now.   I did start watching The Pitt and am loving it, and I found a few new cute things for spring that I wouldn't mind adding to my closet. 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

1.  Beach Pointelle Hoodie

2.  Convertible Collar Knit Blazer

3. Hannah Printed Sweatshirt

4.  Blanket Stitch Top

5.  AE Overstriped Sweatshirt

6.  Denim Bomber Jacket

7.  New Classic Denim Jacket in Bianca Wash

8.  Estero Stripe Sweater

9.  Petite Striped Chambray Bow Top

10.  The Pitt

That's all for me this week.  What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: Atmosphere

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released novel I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Due out: June 3, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s Space Shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s Space Shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easy-going even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warm-hearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, everything changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, with complex protagonists, telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love, this time among the stars.

Waiting on Wednesday: Great Big Beautiful Life

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released novel I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Due out: April 25, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years—or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication.

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

Friday Five: Spring Break, Here I Come!

 

This week has been tough.  My school district is having to make huge cuts everywhere - and it was announced at Monday's board meeting that the fifteen of us teacher librarians in the district will be cut to only four.  I could write a book on how wrong this is, how negatively this will impact students, but at this point I still have a job to do.  And I'm going to pray a lot.  I have loved every minute (almost) of my job, which is probably a rarity.  And I just can't imagine not getting to talk to kids every day about books.  

I'm trying to focus on something besides my job, but I haven't been able to read at all.  And I probably better not spend money if I might not have a job.  

And yet, I did find time to endlessly look at Instagram and Facebook and find things I'd love to buy.  Here's what's caught my eye this week:

1.  Gender Inclusive New Balance 9060 Sneaker

2.  Short Shirt Sprightly Stripe

3.  Ariane Slide Sandal

4.  Elan Crochet Zip Up Cardigan

5.  Rachel Denim Short Sleeve Shirt

6.  Belted Denim Jumpsuit

7.  Gabi Sweatshirt

8.  Goldenstar Platform Sandal

9.  USA Graphic Sweatshirt

10.  Everyday Tee

That's it for me this week.  What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Correspondent

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released novel I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Due out: May 6, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

“Subtly told and finely made, The Correspondent is a portrait of a small life expanding. Virginia Evans shows how one woman changes at a point when change had seemed impossible. That change, like this novel, turns out to be a cause for celebration.”—Ann Patchett

A woman tries to heal old wounds and make sense of the world the only way she knows how—through letters—in this charming, laugh out loud debut novel about a life fully lived.

“Dear Ms. Van Antwerp,
There is a movie coming out this month and I saw the trailer and it made me think of you. It’s about an old woman who lives alone like a hermit. She is eccentric and rude….”

Sybil Van Antwerp is a mother and grandmother, divorced, retired from a distinguished career in law, an avid gardener, and a writer of letters. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books.

Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. But as Sybil expects her life to go on as it always has, letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel that is a testament to the power of the written word.

Monday Mini-Reviews: March Madness of The Bookish Kind

 March reading has started off a little slower than the first two months of 2025.  But the quality has been exceptional.  In fact, it's been so good that I fear a reading slump may soon set in.  The bar is high right now, and not every book is going to be five star worthy.

However, this past week THREE books in a row were all so, so good.

I started with Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. I've had this one for a bit, and generally enjoy what she writes. Goodreads rates it at 3.68, which I feel is low overall. But for me, the love story between Shiloh and Carey was just so perfect.  This book moves between Shiloh and Carey's high school years when they were best friends to the present.  The two fell out of touch with each other, so Shiloh's young children and recent divorce are new to Carey who has spent his life in the navy and has remained single.  They both struggle with communication and sometimes that was just so painful to read, but it also seemed so realistic. I loved this one so much, and let myself take my time reading and not just rush through.

After I finished Slow Dance, I next picked up Broken Country a debut novel by Clare Leslie Hall. This one has been all over social media, and the praise it has been getting is well deserved.  I loved this one.  The story begins when Beth's brother-in-law shoots a neighbor's dog after it attacks their sheep.  Gabe Wolf was the dog's owner - and also Beth's first love.  Despite the fact that she is happily married to Frank, this encounter with Gabe brings him back into her life.  Beth and Frank are already grieving the loss of their son, who is close in age to Gabe's boy, Leo. Beth is drawn to Leo and when Gabe asks her to spend time with him, she happily agrees. But this is putting Beth in a precarious position, unable to let the past go.  And when someone is shot during a drunken argument, a murder trial follows.  It isn't until the very end that things are revealed and the wait is well worth it.

I tried a few books after Broken Country, but it's hard to pick up something after two great reads in a row. After starting and stopping some books, I settled into Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.  This has also been everywhere lately and deservedly so.  A remote island close to Antarctica is the home to a father and his three children who are closing things down at a seed vault, a place where they are storing seeds of millions of species of plants in the event of a devastating event on earth ever occurs.  When a woman washes ashore the family take her in and cares for her until she recovers.  She is looking for her husband who had been stationed on the island as the director of the seed vault, but he isn't there and although the family tell her he left on a boat, she feels as though they are hiding things from her. There's suspense with this story as the island is flooding and the group of five people must wait for a boat to come and rescue them. All their communication tools have been sabotaged, and it's hard to know who to trust.  In addition to my interest about seed vaults being piqued, this story is so well written, I'd love to read this with a book club and discuss it.

Next week at this time I'll be in Key West, Florida, for spring break.  I'm excited for the warm weather, but also am hoping I have a lot of good books on my kindle to entertain me. 

Friday Favorites

 I am so excited that it's March, and yet this week we've had a snow day and a delayed start.  My middle daughter is leaving on a road trip tomorrow to Nashville with college friends.  And next week Little Sister and I are going to Key West with another mom and her daughter.  

I don't have a ton of nice (or even somewhat nice enough to wear in public) warm weather clothing so I really need to figure that out this weekend.  

Here are things I found to share this week.  And just like last week, I'm linking up to a new Friday Favorites group.

1.  Gazelle Bold X Liberty London Shoes

2.  Chunky Knit Sweater Vest

3.  The Niki Bubble Sweatshirt by Pilcro

4.  Women's High Rise Sailor Wide Leg Jeans

5.  Modern Rib Cropped T-Shirt

6.   Ribbed Jersey Top

7.  Pilcro Stamp Printed Tee

8.  Linen Blend Belted Jumpsuit

9.  Fate 3/4 Sleeve Smocking Detail Button Down Top

10.  Linen Shirtdress

That's all for me this week.  What's caught your eye?