Hello Sunshine, by Laura Dave, was not a recent favorite. Even though I finished it, I wished I had given the book a pass. Hilariously, the post I wrote about her previous book, Eight Hundred Grapes, could have been the post for this book too. So I will quote myself: “I don’t usually say this, but I didn’t enjoy Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave. It wasn’t believable to me and the characters were too shallow. You knew right from the beginning what was going to happen and the story just felt meh to me. In fact, even writing about it feels meh. Too bad, because the premise had potential: [celebrity chef, Sunshine Mackenzie seems to have it all, and then she gets hacked and all her secrets are revealed to the world. As she falls from grace, her whole life gains perspective, shifts, and becomes more real] and she discovers what’s important in life. I’d give this one a pass if I were you…” Ha. Saved myself some time by copying and pasting that one! I’m not going to be grabbing any more of Laura Dave’s books, I’m afraid.

I read good reviews of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan and generally like books set in bookstores, but this murder mystery didn’t do it for me in the first 1/3 and so I gave up, not really caring what happened at the end. Lots of people liked it, though, so if the idea of a bookselling mystery appeals to you, you might want to give it a go.

Looking for a quick, engaging, suspenseful, and trashy read? The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is it. Drawing you in immediately, Lapena keeps you guessing. Anne and Marco’s babysitter cancels at the last minute, but they decide to go next door to a dinner party anyway, bringing the baby monitor and checking on Cora, their non-mobile six-month old, every 30 minutes. And, of course, when they return home from their evening at 1:30am, the front door is open and the baby is missing. Blame abounds and the suspense keeps you reading. This is an easy and satisfying read, especially if you aren’t expecting much and want a good mystery.

I loved Robin Sloan’s previous book, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore and read lots of positive reviews of Sourdough. And, while Sourdough had an interesting premise and started off strong, it trailed off and lost my interest about 2/3 of the way through. Lois is a software engineer who only eats dinner from a neighborhood dive. When the restaurant-owning brothers take off, they leave Lois with their amazing sourdough starter. It changes her life. The story has an element of fantasy which I didn’t love and requires some suspension of disbelief, which I also didn’t like. Overall, it was disappointing, especially given my love of Sloane’s previous work.

If you, like me, loved Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes (reviewed here – one of my first), you should immediately grab the light we lost by Jill Santopolo. (And, by the way, if you haven’t read Me Before You, grab it immediately and first!) the light we lost grabbed me the moment I started reading, and I couldn’t put it down. In fact, it was one of those rare books that I thought about during the work day when I wasn’t able to keep reading it. Lucy meets Gabe senior year of college. They part ways and meet again a year later and start dating. When Gabe is assigned to the Middle East and decides his career takes precedence over everything else, they each form separate lives that intertwine over the next thirteen years. I don’t want to describe the plot any further and spoil the story. This was one of my favorite books of the year and one of the best I have read in a while. Is it deep? Is it life-changing? No. Just a good story that’s well-told. I highly recommend it and would be surprised if it doesn’t end up a movie as well.

Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber was a disappointment. The story was meh, the characters were unlikeable and underdeveloped, and I kept wanting to abandon ship. I persevered because I had read some positive reviews (including 4.5 stars overall on Amazon), but it didn’t redeem itself. Amazon’s description, “Serial meets Ruth Ware’s In A Dark, Dark Wood in this inventive and twisty psychological thriller about a mega-hit podcast that reopens a murder case—and threatens to unravel the carefully constructed life of the victim’s daughter” certainly seems like something I would want to read, but unfortunately, it didn’t deliver. I’d give it a skip if I were you.

The Leavers, by Lisa Ko, was my book club’s selection for November. I read it quickly and enjoyed it a great deal. In short, it’s about identity, ethnicity, and family ties. One day, Deming’s mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant, goes to work and never comes home. Deming, then eleven, is left upset and mystified. He is eventually adopted by a white family in upstate New York, and renamed Daniel Wilkinson. The story is told alternately from Deming and his mother’s perspective and takes place in New York City, upstate New York and China. I was really taken with the characters and their struggles and think this was a deep and thoughtful read.

How to Find Love in a Bookshop, by Veronica Henry, was a delightful little book, just perfect to curl up with on a cold, rainy day, or to enjoy on a sunlit summer beach. Nightingale Books is a wonderful little bookshop in a tiny English town. The owner, Emilia Nightingale, is having trouble keeping the shop open after her father’s death and the mountain of unpaid bills are discovered. We meet lots of characters from the town, and their stories are woven into the story of Emilia and the bookshop. I highly recommend you pick this one up to enjoy on a cold, fall day or put it on your list as a fun summer gem.

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld was a very quick read. And, while it was disturbing, it was a rather interesting story without much depth. Naomi is a “child finder”  private investigator. She is hired to find Madison Culver, a five-year-old who disappeared three years earlier in the Oregon woods. Naomi is uniquely qualified for these searches for children as she was once lost herself. The story moves back and forth from Naomi’s story to Madison’s. And, while I did read this one quickly, at the end, I was left unsatisfied.