Waiting on Wednesday: Mean Moms

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:  Mean Moms by Emma Rosenblum

Due out: July 29, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

A deliciously satisfying and suspenseful story about what happens when a clique of wealthy Manhattan private school moms start getting a taste of exactly what they deserve, instead of just what they can pay for.

Meet Frost, Morgan, and Belle―a wealthy, gorgeous group of New York City moms, the queen bees of downtown Manhattan. Their children attend Atherton Seminary, the top private school in the city, and their social lives revolve around elaborate themed parties.

On the first day of school, the arrival of a new mom and mysterious beauty from Miami named Sofia shakes up their world. When Sofia quickly integrates herself into their clique, inexplicably bad things start to happen to the women. Frost is the victim of a hit-and-run electric scooter incident. Nell's dream of launching a fashion line is thwarted when the clothing samples cause people to break out in a rash. Morgan's new sound bath spa is robbed at gunpoint by a moped-driving thief. Morgan declares it all a "negative event cluster," but the other women aren't so sure.

Is someone at school out to get them? Another mom with a vendetta? Let’s not forget to mention the handsome headmaster, Dr. Broker, who every mom has a crush on (and one of them might be sleeping with).

Spanning the course of one eventful Fall in New York, ending with a Surrealist New Year's Eve Ball―and a possible death, Mean Moms is part satire of upper crust mom-ing and part mystery, interrogating the line between friendship and jealousy, and getting at the question of: What would happen if the woman standing next to you at school pick up was actually a sociopath?

Friday Five:

 I have had another busy week.  I interviewed for a job that I am really hoping I am offered, but I also found out that I am one of the four regional librarians in my district.  It's hard to be excited and happy when eleven other people I've worked with for years are having to scramble to find something, be forced into early retirement, or are leaving the district to find something outside of education.  So, things are slightly more resolved this week than they were last week, and once I hear about the job I interviewed for, I'll know for sure what I'm doing in the fall.

I finally finished up a few books since I've had a hard time focusing on reading.  I've stress ordered a few new book themed shirts, and I've finally started sending out invitations for Little Sister's graduation since that is quickly approaching.

I've found plenty I like online as well.  Here's what caught my eye this week:

1.  Single Breasted Blazer

2.  Mica Denim High Rise Wideleg Jean

3.  Vegan Suede Cropped Jacket

4.  Tweed Textured Gilet

5.  Eyelet Embroidery Dress

6.  Open Crewneck Stitch Sweater

8.  Sleeveless Crewneck Bubble Top

9.  Rachel Denim Short Sleeved Shirt

10.  Suzanne Top

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

Waiting on Wednesday: Typewriter Beach

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: Typewriter Beach by Meg Waite Clayton

Due out: July 1, 2025

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

Set in Carmel-by-the-Sea and Hollywood, Typewriter Beach is an unforgettable story of the unlikely friendship between an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and a young actress hoping to be Alfred Hitchcock's new star. 

1957. Isabella Giori is ten months into a standard seven-year studio contract when she auditions with Hitchcock. Just weeks later, she is sequestered by the studio’s “fixer” in a tiny Carmel cottage, waiting and dreading. 

Meanwhile, next door, Léon Chazan is annoyed as hell when Iz interrupts his work on yet another screenplay he won’t be able to sell, because he’s been blacklisted. Soon, they’re together in his roadster, speeding down the fog-shrouded Big Sur coast. 

2018. Twenty-six-year-old screenwriter Gemma Chazan, in Carmel to sell her grandfather’s cottage, finds a hidden safe full of secrets—raising questions about who the screenwriter known simply as Chazan really was, and whether she can live up to his name. 

In graceful prose and with an intimate understanding of human nature, Meg Waite Clayton captures the joys and frustrations of being a writer, being a woman, being a star, and being in love. Typewriter Beach is the story of two women separated by generations—a tale of ideas and ideals, passion and persistence, creativity, politics, and family.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Five Star Read

I'm still not reading a lot, but I feel like if a book is good enough and grabs me, I am able to stick with it.  The Bright Years is a five star read.  

 

In less than three hundred pages, Damoff is able to tell the story of one family who struggles with secrets.  Lillian had a child before she was married, but kept it from her husband.  Ryan is an addict, but tries to keep that from his wife.  And caught in the middle is their daughter, Georgette.  Georgette is there to witness the struggles her parents have and is impacted by it.  

It's hard to believe that this is Damoff's debut novel.  The character development is what made this book perfect.  I loved the complexities that made up each of these people that felt real to me.  

Without spoilers, there was also one event that I was not prepared for and am still thinking about it now.  This could very easily end up on my "Best of 2025" book list.

This would also be a perfect pick for book clubs and anyone who enjoys women's fiction.

Friday Five: Not Feeling Motivated

 

It's been hard to get motivated with the stuff going on at work.  I'm re-interviewing for my job that I've had for nearly two decades.  I've got a lot of feelings about that.  The job I love is not going to exist as it is now.  The job they've created entails being in charge of four buildings (one middle school and three elementaries), traveling, and not hiring enough paras to supervise at each building. I wish there was actual data that shows what happens to reading scores when districts get rid of their librarians.  

My reading has been almost non-existent.  I have too many thoughts running through my head, but I have watched several episodes of The Pitt which is excellent.  

Here is what I found this week to share:

1.  Bailey Stripe Grommet

2.  Cross Earrings

3.  Ruffle Button Down Printed Blouse

4.  Aerie Textured East West Crew Sweatshirt

5.  Flap Pocket Back Mid Waist Crop Pants

6.  Ruffle Denim Shirt

7.  Current Air Punching Lace Button Down MiniDress

8.  Vertical Striped Feminine V-Neck Shirt

9.  Eyelet Puff Sleeve Minidress

10.  Women's OnCloud Surfer Trail Running Shoe

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

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.