THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  When Alex first began posting unscripted family moments and motivational messages online, she had no intention of becoming an influencer. Overnight it seemed she’d amassed a huge following, and her hobby became a full-time job—one that was impossible to manage without her sharp-as-a-tack personal assistant, AC. But all the good-will of her followers turns toxic when one controversial post goes viral in the worst possible way. Alex reaches out to AC for damage control, but her assistant has gone silent. This young woman Alex trusted with all her secrets, who had access to her personal information and front row seats to the pressure points in her marriage and family life, is now missing and the police are looking to Alex and her husband for answers. As Alex digs into AC’s identity – and a woman is found murdered – she’ll find the greatest threat isn’t online, but in her own living room. Written in alternating perspectives between Alex, her husband, and the ...

  A woman expecting to spend the holidays alone finds warmth in the iciest man she knows in this steamy and charming later-in-life romance by  New York Times  bestselling author Jane Porter.   It’s been five years since Andi McDermott lost her husband, and she's finally starting to feel like herself again, ready to live fully—she’s even started dating again. But when her holiday plans with her stepson and his fiancée fall through, she refuses to spend another Christmas alone while everyone is celebrating with their families. Impulsively, she decides to go up to her cabin in Lake Arrowhead, a place she used to love to visit but hadn’t gone to in years, not since the feud started between her husband and their nearest neighbor.   Andi starts to rethink her decision when being alone at the cabin proves to be more challenging than she expected—a heavy snowstorm hits the area, and Andi finds herself trapped there with no one to help ...

Doug is more than a cute pug you want to pick up and hug. In Matt Dunn’s novel, PUG ACTUALLY (MIRA) Doug is one determined sassy four-legged match-maker. Doug the pug loves his owner, Julie, who rescued him with all of his heart. But he doesn’t think much of her boss and lover, Luke. Julie wants to breakup with Luke but she’s afraid she’ll become a lonely cat lady. Can Doug the pug help Julie find love? Everyone in Julie’s orbit knows Luke is bad for her, but she won’t listen to reason so it’s up to Doug the pug to make her realize that love and happiness is possible for her. Her dad hooks her up with divorced neighbor, Tom, who Doug the pug thinks is perfect, but for reasons you’ll read in the book that pairing crashes and burns. Or does it? PUG ACTUALLY is a quick, fun and lighthearted read. It’s a delightful romantic comedy that both romcom fans and dog lovers will find cheerful and charming. I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the other dog narrator book I read and enjoyed,...

Perfect wives, imperfect lives, and upending the rules of behavior in 1960s America. Author, Amy Sue Nathan's new novel, WELL BEHAVED WIVES (LakeUnion) takes us behind the scenes of a picturesque neighborhood filled with drama. Law school graduate and newlywed Ruth Applebaum is acclimating to life and marriage in a posh Philadelphia neighborhood. She’ll do almost anything to endear herself to her mother-in-law, who’s already signed up Ruth for etiquette lessons conducted by the impeccably accessorized tutor Lillian Diamond. But Ruth brings something fresh to the small circle of housewives—sharp wit, honesty, and an independent streak that won’t be compromised. Right away Ruth develops a friendship with the shy Carrie Blum. When Carrie divulges a dark and disturbing secret lurking beneath her seemingly perfect life, Ruth invites Lillian and the Diamond Girls of the etiquette school to finally question the status quo. Together they form an unbreakable bond and stretch well beyond the...

  Frankly Feminist: Short Stories by Jewish Women from Lilith Magazine   (BrandeisUniversityPress)  edited by Susan Weidman Schneider and Yona Zeldis McDonough is the the first-ever anthology from  Lilith  magazine.  Frankly Feminist  is an unique amalgam of fine writing and activism that comes right out of Jewish women’s lives today: transgressive loves, deepening connections, political turmoil, abortion, fear of loss, struggles with fertility, with body and soul, with finding community, with decoding family life.  These fictions offer variegated cultures, contexts and points of view: Persian Jews; a Biblical matriarch; an Ethiopian mother in modern Israel; suburban American teens; Eastern European academics; a sexual questioner; a Jew by choice; a new immigrant escaping her Lower East Side sweatshop; a Black Jewish marcher for justice; a toddler’s mother hiding out in Vichy France; and more. Some of these 44 authors are bests...

  In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris. He is immediately an international hero. In Mariah Frederick's novel, THE LINDBERGH NANNY (Minotaur) Charles Lindbergh, Jr. is kidnapped in 1932, and the eyes of the world are once again on the Lindberg family. Betty Gow, Charles Lindbergh Jr.'s nanny, an immigrant with a troubled past, believes she is so lucky to be taking care of little Charles. But soon, Betty becomes suspect number one for what she did or didn't do.  Her name and photo are slapped across newspapers around the world and she becomes the target of public  scorn. Mariah Fredricks writes a novel true to the tragic story and creates a narrative which is compelling. She  produces a story with human characters, which will hook readers and have them caring. While reading I found myself in Betty's place. It was fabulous until it wasn't. Unlike much historical fiction, there isn't a dual timeline and THE LINDBERGH NANNY...

In DARK RIVERS TO CROSS, Lynne Reeves draws on three decades of expertise as an internationally recognized school and family counselor to write this thriller that explores long-buried family secrets and the deadly reckoning that follows their explosive reveal. For two decades, Lena Blackwell has kept her sons at her side, teaching them everything she knows about running their successful river lodge in Northern Maine. But what she really wants is to keep her boys in the dark about their tragic past. Her son Luke is right where he belongs, working at the family inn sheltered by acres of pine forest that stretch along the Penobscot River. So when his adopted brother, Jonah, threatens to upend their peaceful life by searching for his biological parents, Luke refuses to help. Lena is determined to stop Jonah’s search to uncover his own history. But the unexpected arrival of old friends at the inn for a weekend throws her plans into disarray. Little does she know, Jonah has already learned e...

  Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway  to die for  in this chilling locked-room thriller by   New York Times  bestselling author Lisa Unger. What could be more restful than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s generous brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It'll be three couples on this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R. But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare.  A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep. How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to ...