Book Review: You'll Be the Death of Me

By Melissa Amster

Verdella “Dell” Rodgers is at the top of her game. As the chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s hottest new restaurant and on the cusp of marrying the mayor’s son in the social event of the season, her life is perfect. That is until the week before her wedding when she wakes up and finds herself very much dead.

Enter Cole, a charming but bumbling entry-level clerk in the Afterlife Administration who accidentally confuses Dell for a 95-year-old woman in Kansas with the same name, claiming the wrong soul. When Cole tries to fix his mistake, their worlds collide in life- and death-changing ways.

Now walking the city as a ghost only visible to Cole, Dell is frantic to get back to her perfect life but soon learns that it wasn’t what it appeared to be, particularly when it came to the man she was about to marry and his high-profile family.

Meanwhile, Cole has no memory of who he was before working for the Afterlife Administration. As they try to uncover Cole’s past and remedy Dell’s future, they realize the mistake that brought them together might just be a twist of fate. With time running out to bring Dell back to the land of the living, she’ll have to decide if the life she left behind is truly what she wants, or if Cole’s untimely appearance could lead to an unexpected change that she didn’t know she needed. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I had such a great time reading You'll Be the Death of Me! I feel like I breezed through it because it was so captivating and also because I wanted to find out where Dell went wrong in her life.

You'll Be the Death of Me has a lot of elements that made me think of Ghosts, including possession, ghost outfits, hauntings, ghost rules, and even romance. It's entertaining and a nice "snack" while waiting for the next season of the series (or at least the Halloween episode). It also involves cooking/restaurant ownership and there's even a living character named Jay (although that's a nickname).

The novel is mainly about a successful woman in her thirties who shares a name with a much older woman and gets mistakenly deceased by someone who works in the Afterlife Administration. He has to help her figure out where she went wrong in life in order to fix the mistake. 

I just really enjoyed everything about this story. I was worried that they got to the climax too quick, but then there was more happening, so it made sense to get that part out of the way. Holly handles the topic of death in a sensitive and thoughtful way whenever it is approached, while keeping the charm of the story alive. There's a lot of humor that balances the melancholy parts out nicely. You definitely need a suspension of disbelief though! Surreal gets taken to a whole new level.

I also love how San Francisco plays into this novel. I've never been there, but Holly painted such a great picture with her descriptions that I felt like I was visiting every time I opened it.

You'll Be the Death of Me is a charming novel that I think rom-com lovers will enjoy thoroughly! 

Movie casting suggestions:

Dell: Sofia Carson

Cole: Marc Herrmann

Jay: Brandon Flynn

Robbie: Emjay Anthony

Tommy: Pierson Fode

Thanks to Avon for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Also by Holly Michelle: Last Night Was Fun

Holly Michelle also writes rom-coms as Holly James, including The Big Fix and Name Your Price.

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Lisa Roe makes family baggage worth carrying...plus a book giveaway

Credit: Jordan M. Roe

We're excited to have Lisa Roe here today to talk about her latest novel, Big & Lily. It sounds like such an interesting story and it is getting rave reviews from authors we love. We hope you will check out our interview with Lisa, as it was a lot of fun. There's even a tie to our interview from earlier this week, so see if you can find that. Thanks to Harper Perennial, we have THREE copies to give away!

Lisa Roe graduated from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and spent many years as an advertising creative director and copywriter in New York City before she accepted the tougher job of stay-at-home mom and turned to writing fiction—mostly to entertain her kids, but then to tell her own stories. A classic first born, reluctant empty nester, and Dr. Doolittle wannabe, Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband, David and three incorrigible dogs. Big & Lily is her second novel.

Visit Lisa online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram

Synopsis:
The Ackerman sisters couldn’t be more different. Big is the glue to her family – the person everyone depends on – but she’s struggling to keep it all together with her retired husband, senior mother, and adult children all under one roof. Her younger sister Lily seems to have it all – a charming and successful business owner with a loving husband.

But when Lily finds out her husband cheated on her with one of their employees, her “perfect” life falls apart. Shocked and overwhelmed, Lily does the only thing that makes sense to her – she runs away from it all. She signs up for an Alaskan adventure and gives Big no choice but to join her.

Arriving in Alaska alongside a group of strangers, Big and Lily quickly realize they are unprepared for a week in the wilderness as they navigate freezing rivers, unmarked trails, and more than one near-death experience.

A trip that was supposed to be a comforting escape from their lives back home in suburban New Jersey quickly becomes a far more meaningful experience. The defenses they’ve used to protect themselves begin to crumble, and they’re forced to face everything they’ve spent decades avoiding: resentment, regret, envy, and the terrifying possibility that the other one’s life might not be as easy as it looks.

"You will devour this delicious novel like you might a bag of trail mix in the outback. It's sweet. It's salty. It's everything you need as a reader to keep you nourished." 

— Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle

"A heartwarming, fast-paced story, Big & Lily follows two sisters whose thrilling—and at times perilous—adventure in the wilds of Alaska teaches them everything they need to know about what really matters in life." 

— Amy Poeppel, bestselling author of Far And Away

“Big & Lily is a hilarious thrill ride that had me doubling over in stitches. Wildly entertaining, heartfelt, and powerful—this story grabs hold of you and hangs with you well after the last page.”  

— Annie Cathryn, multi-award-winning author of The Friendship Breakup

What is a favorite compliment you've received on your writing?
I’ve been so grateful to have received some lovely comments from readers. It means the world to me when someone says they relate to a specific character in one of my books, because not only are my characters like family to me, but there is a little piece of me in each of them. 

I must say though, I just received the compliment of a lifetime when a reader, who recently discovered my debut novel, Welcome to the Neighborhood wrote, “If Tina Fey doesn’t option this, I’ll be shocked!” It doesn’t get much better than that! 

Which character is more similar to you, Big or Lily?
Let’s just say that Bridget and I have a lot in common. As the eldest of four, I’m the stereotypical Big Sister with all the classic traits: in-charge, organized, goal-oriented, and reliable, with a skosh of perfectionism and a dash of anxiety. While my two younger sisters are nothing like Lily, I do take the responsibility of mother henning them very seriously, whether they like it or not. 

If Big & Lily was made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
Speaking of Tina Fey… 

I always cast my books before I start them. And nine times out of ten, the lead is Tina Fey! (Now you can understand the pure delight I felt in hearing that reader’s comment!) Tina would make the perfect Bridget aka Big (are you listening, Tina?) She could easily handle the Big Sister who wants to kill her younger sib but is still willing to die for her any day of the week (and almost does in the book!) For Lily, I picture Jennifer Lawerence. She’s beautiful, sharp witted and smart—the perfect baby sister. 

What is the last book you read that you would recommend?
I recently read and blurbed Maddie Dawson’s upcoming novel, Set Your Life on Fire. It’s the story of two strangers who take an unplanned trip across the country, with different reasons to reach their destination quickly, and how their lives change during their travels. I’m a huge Maddie fan, always delighted with her engaging voice, her irrepressible characters, and her quirky take on love and romance. Unfortunately, readers are going to have to wait until November 10th—although it is up for preorder now. 

What is a question you would want someone to ask you?
So far, with all the questions I’ve been asked about Big & Lily, surprisingly no one has brought up the fox in the book. I’d love to talk about not only my obsession with woodland creatures, foxes in particular, but about the lore of crossing paths with a fox who can, and I paraphrase, help you make decisions and changes and find your path when you are lost, all important themes in Big & Lily. 

What is something you had a good laugh about recently?

I’m afraid to admit that I’m someone who cracks up at stupid Instagram reels and memes of dogs being weird and people falling down and mom stand-up comics and My Therapist says jokes. I forward them to my bestie and wait for her to respond with a hahahahhaha or LOL or ROFL and then send one back. And so forth, and so on, ad infinitum…

Thanks to Lisa for chatting with us and Harper Perennial for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use KingSumo to enter the giveaway. If you have trouble using KingSumo on our blog, enter the giveaway here. If you are still having issues, please contact us.

Giveaway ends August 18th at midnight EST.

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Book Review: Two Lives with You

By Melissa Amster

When Dana and Nigel got married, they had such promise. After sixteen years, the cracks are showing.

Dana is a burned-out ER nurse, and Nigel is a recently unemployed stay-at-home dad whose professional identity is disappearing. Questioning the directions their lives have taken, Dana and Nigel are each granted a wish from a mysterious stranger. For one week they can escape the pressure of their lives in favor of ones in which they never married.

Waking up in an alternate reality where their youthful, individual dreams have come true is, at first, a marvel. When they meet by chance in Bali, Dana recognizes Nigel instantly, but he feels only an inexplicable connection to this stranger. And they discover there’s a catch to their wishes.

Returning to normal—and to the long-haul love they vowed would be forever—won’t be as easy as they thought. As the clock ticks down, Dana and Nigel face an impossible choice that will test the very foundation of their relationship and alter their lives forever. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I enjoyed Lauren Ho's first two rom-coms, so I was excited to read Two Lives with You, especially because of the surreal aspect. 

I read this whole novel in one day! It was just so absorbing and I had to see how everything would play out. The dual narrative worked well for this story too. Even though it's about a marriage that is on the rocks, there is a lot of romance involved and I know you'll be rooting for Dana and Nigel to work things out, just as I was.

While I loved the surreal aspect, some parts of it got complex and confusing after a while. I was trying to figure out how things could actually work a certain way. 

There was nothing predictable about this novel and I was surprised by how some things played out. Overall, everything felt really genuine, especially the dialogue. Dana was so relatable but I also felt a kinship with Nigel.

If you want a rom-com that's something different from the usual tropes, definitely give this one a try!

(Trigger warnings below. May contain spoilers.)

Movie casting suggestions:

Dana: Olivia Thirlby

Nigel: Henry Golding

Pia: Nichole Sakura

Thanks to Over the River PR for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Lauren Ho:

Last Tang Standing

Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic

Sharpen Your Knives (coming in 2027)

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TW: Job loss. Serious car accident. Possibility of death. Potential for infidelity. PTSD. Talking about bad things happening to children. Depression.

Amanda Sellet gives us something to say “oui” about...plus a book giveaway

We're pleased to welcome Amanda Sellet to CLC today to celebrate the publication of her latest rom-com, My Best French Wedding. We've featured some of her books in the past and are glad we got a chance to chat with her this time. Her answers to our questions were enjoyable to read and we hope you will like them too. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have FIVE copies to give away!

Amanda Sellet is a former journalist and the author of rom-coms for teens and adults, including By the Book, which Booklist described in a starred review as, “impossible to read without laughing out loud.” She loves old movies, baked goods, and embarrassing her teen daughter. Visit Amanda at her website and on Instagram.

Synopsis:

Will it be l’amour the merrier or too haute to handle when rival reporters with a tangled history compete to tell the story of the year at a ritzy destination wedding?

Once upon a time, Walter was Hildy’s favorite person—until he crushed her teenage dreams. A decade later, she has a new beloved: the magazine she built from the ground up. Unfortunately, getting rid of Walter isn’t as easy as shedding her romantic illusions. He’s always around, vying for the juiciest scoops on the elite wedding circuit and provoking her into public displays that don’t scream “mature and sophisticated media maven.”

When Hildy scores exclusive access to the wedding of the season—a week-long parade of luxury in southern France—it’s a chance for her magazine to finally make its mark. Except Walter isn’t sitting at home crying; he’s right there in France, trying to steal Hildy’s story. Again.

Now it’s a head-to-head battle to see whose coverage will make it to print. The problem? Between the champagne and the chateaux, it’s easy to lose sight of the prize. Hildy knows better than to believe in fairy tales, but Walter is doing his best to convince her they could have a part deux.

In this gender-flipped twist on His Girl Friday, Hildy has seven days to prove she is totally over it, living her best life, and definitely not hung up on the past . . . or Walter.

“Sellet is one of the wittiest writers out there.”

―Dahlia Adler, author of Soon by You

“A joyful escape, a loving tribute to a fabulous film, and a perfect fit for armchair travellers who enjoy a lot of push in their push-and-pull love stories, and a lot of “com” in their rom-coms.”

―Jacqueline Firkins, author of The Goode Girls of Maple Lane

“Amanda Sellet is a comic genius.”

―Megan Bannen, author of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

What is a favorite compliment you've received on your writing?
When I was still working for a newspaper full-time, I wrote a story about one of the top restaurants in Chicago. A few days after it ran, I got a call from the very famous chef’s personal assistant, asking me to hold, and then the chef himself got on the line to thank me. He told me that no one had ever written about his food so well, and since he and his restaurants had been featured in media outlets all over the world, that was thrilling to my early career self. Plus I care deeply about food, so I loved the idea that my words might have been able to bring that sublime meal to life for readers. 

How is Hildy similar to or different from you?

On the surface, Hildy is a bold and confident extrovert who acts first, whereas I am much more likely to lurk in the background making snarky comments and second-guessing myself—though I did give her some of my insecurities to balance the bravado. Nor do I share her economic privilege, to put it mildly; my background is closer to Walter’s in that respect. 

Where Hildy and I align most closely is probably our career ambitions. Writing books is a quieter lifestyle than running a magazine, but both pursuits demand a level of persistence that can appear borderline delusional from the outside. You gotta want it, as my middle brother likes to say. 

If My Best French Wedding was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
For Hildy, I’d go with someone curly-haired who has enough of an edge to handle the rapid-fire dialogue, so maybe Zendaya or Odessa A’zion. And for Walter, I think Andrew Garfield has the right slightly shy vibe, and his hair is also on point. 

Which book made you fall in love with reading?
As a very early reader, I couldn’t get enough of Greek mythology and fairy tales and the Arabian Nights, but if we’re talking books in the strictest sense rather than collections of stories it was probably somewhere between The Light Princess by George MacDonald, The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley, whichever Madeleine L’Engle I read first, and Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series. The years between second and fifth grade may have been my peak reading era!  

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it?

Emma Thompson would be my first choice, though Tina Fey might be more fitting. 

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
The first stop would be my local indie, The Raven Book Store, to meet the majestic resident cats, Sammy and Dean, and do a little shopping. Assuming you aren’t gluten-averse, we would follow that up with a Tour de Beurre, as I have dubbed my self-guided downtown bakery crawl. Bougie donuts, a twice-baked croissant, homemade pie—there are so many options, depending on your tastes (and your tolerance for buttery pastries). Plus we might run into a few local author friends and join them for a beverage and a chat, which is one of my other favorite treats.  

Thanks to Amanda for visiting with us and to St. Martin's Press for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use KingSumo to enter the giveaway. If you have trouble using KingSumo on our blog, enter the giveaway here. If you are still having issues, please contact us.

Giveaway ends August 17th at midnight EST.

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Book Review: Breathing Under Water

By Melissa Amster

The current is threatening to pull them under.

Berry thought she had it figured out—juggling her vice principal role while raising her sixteen-year-old autistic son, Leo. But when a promotion opportunity collides with her family's deepest needs, she must confront whether she's been fighting the wrong battles all along.

McKenna is drowning. Between caring for her grandmother with dementia, losing her swimming scholarship, and facing homelessness, the college student's carefully constructed world is crumbling. Her only lifeline? Teaching swim lessons to children with autism—including Leo.

As these two women's paths converge in the most unexpected way, they discover that sometimes the people who need saving the most are the ones who end up saving you. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I'm so glad I got an early opportunity to read Breathing Under Water! It was incredibly good throughout and I had a hard time putting it down. I cared a lot about both of the main characters, as well as Leo. 

This was a fast read for me as it was so engaging that I picked it up every chance I had. Even though Berry and I had more in common, I felt more of a kinship with McKenna. I did like Berry, but after a while, I felt like her energy and focus got transferred to Leo. I really liked Leo's connection with McKenna. There was also a Jewish aspect to the story that I appreciated.

There's a lot happening in this story and a good balance of narrative between Berry and McKenna. I don't want to say too much because I worry about spoiling something and I want it to unfold for you naturally. I will admit that I can relate to McKenna's anger, even though I'm not as likely to act on mine in a drastic way. However, I can understand why she'd make the choices she did, even if they weren't always the wisest. 

My only concern was that one aspect of the story didn't have closure and would have liked it to be resolved more.

If you're looking for a heartfelt and thoughtful read, pick this one up. I can't stop recommending it!

Movie casting suggestions:

Berry: Maggie Siff

McKenna: Lizzy Greene

Phil: Eric Dane

Yvonne: Lindsay Sloane

Coach Cat: Morgan Spector

Glory: Lily Tomlin

(Trigger warnings below. May contain spoilers.)

Thanks to Harper Muse for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Jacqueline Friedland:

Counting Backwards

He Gets That from Me

That's Not a Thing

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TW: Alzheimers, homelessness, child goes missing, loss of job, marital strife.

Book Review: Destination Funeral

By Sara Steven

When Babe—the complicated, magnetic matriarch of their teenage summers—dies, four estranged friends return to sleepy Mercy Island, a storm-swept stretch of coastal Georgia, summoned by the reading of her will.

Didion arrives at the timeworn pink house to find the friends she never thought she’d see again—along with the tensions, attractions, and unfinished business that once bound them together and broke them apart.

What should be a brief weekend of small talk quickly unravels when they wake up and discover...it’s Saturday. Again. And again. And again.

Trapped in a time loop with no end and no instructions, they’re forced to confront the betrayals, breakups, and buried truths that shattered them all those years ago. Because maybe, just maybe, an endless weekend is exactly what they all need to save their own lives. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

Destination Funeral was like the contentious friendship’s version of Groundhog Day. You’ve got Didion, who swore she would never go back to Mercy Island, given the way things ended with not only her mother, Babe, but her friends and once-close sister, Sammie. You’ve got Matt, the happy-go-lucky guy who wants everyone to get along, despite his own detriment. Then there’s Austin, Didion’s ex–who totally wronged her while he worked hard to leave his past behind, and of course, the once-close sister, Sammie, who never wants to grow up. The four used to be inseparable, but now it takes Babe’s death to bring the four together.

And together they will be. What starts off as a quick weekend funeral, turns into the foursome reliving the same day over and over again. Through that, Didion has a chance to work through a lot of the resentment she has towards the people who used to mean the world to her, along with the disconnect she has with Babe. It’s hard not to understand and side with Didion when it comes to her reasons behind the separation. I think the situation that got to me the most is when Didion reflects on Sammie’s horrible ex selling off Didion’s beloved Jeep for money, with no thought to even consult Didion about it. And no one seems to bat an eye. It seemed like there were a lot of scenarios similar to that one, where Didion’s feelings and needs are completely looked over, while everyone coddles Sammie.

It hasn’t been all roses for Sammie, either. Didion learns that–along with finding out what’s been really going on for the others, too. Things haven’t been so happy-go-lucky for Matt, and Austin had to completely shelve the dreams he’d had since childhood. It’s obvious that honesty and transparency was never a driving force before, but through the endless Saturdays they live through, the chance and opportunity for that becomes apparent. The repeat days were cleverly written and a nice touch to the story. 

The biggest relationship to work through is the one Didion had with Babe. All four friends wonder if Babe herself had set some sort of spell over the family home (Birdsong), and maybe she did. I won’t discount that. I think the magic and wonder of childhood that dwelled within the characters might have been the real catalyst, but no matter where it had come from, it was sorely needed. There was strong character evolution for everyone involved, even the deceased, all told in a witty, acerbic way that made me want to keep reading. It was also extremely sweet and touching, making Destination Funeral a much-needed five-star read! 

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Paige Harbison:
The Other Side of Now
Anything to Have You
New Girl

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Spotlight: Tangled Webs

To the outside world, Sage Deverill has it all. In truth, her marriage is a gilded cage.

When Sage flees from her marriage at a crumbling Panamanian estate, she takes her young son to the only place that has ever felt like home: her grandparents’ estate in Newmarket, the beating heart of the racing world in the British countryside. Surrounded by ivy-clad walls, the kindness of her family and the thunder of hooves on the heath, Sage reconnects with the place, people and creatures she loves most.

Riding beneath the wide Suffolk skies, Sage encounters Rafe Dunbarton—an ambitious, intriguing racehorse trainer with a gentle soul. What begins as friendship soon becomes an irresistible pull between two people who never expected to find each other.

But just as Sage rediscovers her freedom, her past returns in a tangle of destruction and lies and she is forced to decide how much she is willing to risk for her future . . . (Synopsis courtesy of Harper Perennial.)

Purchase Tangled Webs

Credit: Oli Tennent

Callie Coles is a British novelist whose love of animals, nature and family life in the countryside infuses her storytelling. Callie balances her life as a mother with her passion for writing and horses, sharing her journey through her Instagram and Substack, where she has a following of over one million. In addition to her work as a novelist, Callie has contributed to various publications and collaborated with several leading British brands. Her writing reflects themes of resilience, connection to the land, and the emotional bonds between people and animals, all set against the vivid backdrop of rural life. Tangled Webs is her first novel and the first installment in the Spinning Silks trilogy.

Visit Callie online:
Substack * Instagram * TikTok * YouTube

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