Book Review: Shaken to the Core

By Melissa Amster

Joy Stern, a free-spirited photographer, thought she had it all together. She built a traveler’s life with her husband, an architect who designed their days like the buildings he created. Children weren’t part of the plan.

When Joy’s mom dies suddenly, everything changes. Being behind the lens, capturing photos of families, doesn’t feel like enough anymore—until Joy discovers a hidden key to her mother’s diary. One entry inspires a choice that could transform the trajectory of her life.

Then the unthinkable happens: Andre receives devastating news, which upends their carefully constructed world. As Joy struggles to pursue her own dreams while supporting the man she loves, Joy wonders: Can she do it all? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

After enjoying  Dara Levan's debut a couple years ago, I was excited for the early opportunity to check out her sophomore novel, Shaken to the Core. This is a beautifully written and heartfelt story about grief and everything that goes along with it. 

Joy is a sympathetic character and I cared a lot about her. I got so angry and frustrated with Andre on Joy's behalf, especially when he would be totally unreasonable about something. I also felt like he threw her under the bus whenever it came to pleasing his parents, even though they liked her too. There was one part where he told her not to tell them something and then they found out anyway and blamed her! She was going through a lot with grieving the loss of her mom and he wasn't helping with his attitude. I loved the letters Joy wrote to her mom through her journal. They really spoke volumes about how she was feeling at any given moment. Joy's supportive and loving best friend Mel (great name, by the way) was a highlight in her life too. 

I loved the details and descriptions and could practically smell the Vermont air. There was a nice amount of Jewish joy in the story, especially when it came to celebrating Hanukkah. 

It took me a little while to piece together that Joy's mom was Allegra from Dara's previous novel. I wish she hadn't been the one who was "killed off" though, after all she had been through in her life. 

My biggest concern were the major time inconsistencies. I was reading an advanced copy, so I am hoping everything was caught and fixed for final publication. Especially with ages and time jumps. It's one of those things where I do the math and come up puzzled about how that all can work. There were also times when a scene would jump without any transition or break. Since this was an ARC, it's not a deterrent for me in terms of how much I enjoyed the novel. 

Overall, this novel was thoughtful and inspiring and I hope Dara continues along this path. 

Movie casting suggestions:
Joy: Emmy Rossum
Andre: William Levy
Mel: Lyndsy Fonseca
Dave: Jeremy Sisto

(Trigger warnings at the bottom of this post. May contain spoilers.)

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

Also by Dara Levan: It Could Be Worse

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TW: Sudden death of parent (aneurysm), chronic illness (revealed in the story), infertility, panic attacks

Book Review: Peter Pulaski Must Pay

By Melissa Amster

Call to order the Friday Night Doom Crew.

They’re an eclectic group of true-crime enthusiasts—a forensic psychologist, historian, and popular Instagram presence among them—dedicated to sleuthing out nefarious offenders and doing whatever it takes to set things right. But when dark secrets threaten one of their own, the Doom Crew grapples with how far they are willing to go to protect her.

Diana Pulaski is the crew’s meticulously organized beating heart whose physician husband, Peter, is secretly a swindler behind an illegal pill mill, not to mention a loathsome cheater involved in an online romance. When they discover the truth, the amateur vigilantes have a plan to make Peter pay. Unfortunately, the closer Diana’s friends are to hunting Peter down, the closer they get to discovering a secret Diana has been hiding.

As the fumbling Doom Crew’s wild ride of vengeance goes awry, they must navigate the consequences of their actions. And Diana, forced to confront the past, must decide to whom she will remain loyal—no matter the cost. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

While Jen Lancaster is known for her humorous nonfiction books, you're missing out if you haven't read her fiction novels. I've enjoyed a bunch of them, especially her time travel story Here I Go Again (reviewed here), and her road trip adventure The Best of Enemies (reviewed here). I even enjoyed her recent empowerment novel The Anti-Heroes (reviewed here). But Peter Pulaski Must Pay takes the cake (or the Russian bakery pastries in this case). 

This was such a fun and entertaining story throughout! I loved all the characters (except for Peter, of course) and the dialogue was tight. I feel like this one slipped through the cracks and it needs to be on everyone's radar. It has humor, friendship, true crime, Chicago, pets, LGBTQ+, etc. There's definitely a lot going on and we see everything unfold through the perspectives of some people in the Doom Crew (except for Carmen and Stella, whom I would have enjoyed getting to know through their own narratives, but it wasn't a deal breaker as they still added a lot to the story). I don't want to say too much as there are a lot of surprises and far be it from me to ruin anything. 

My only minor concern was that the ending felt a bit anticlimactic after all the buildup. This didn't keep me from giving the novel five stars though. We still get a "where are they now" glimpse and it is satisfying overall. 

Don't miss out on this one! I was recommending it while only halfway through and it didn't disappoint in the other half. I still recommend it a few months after finishing. I even miss the characters now that I'm done. Perfect for fans of This Charming Man (Marian Keyes), The Retirement Plan (Sue Hincenbergs) and Crimes Against a Book Club (Kathy Cooperman).

Movie casting suggestions:

Diana: JoAnna Garcia Swisher

Eli: Jeanne Tripplehorn

Frankie: Michael Urie

Carmen: Justina Machado

Stella: Debby Ryan

Jazz: Rowan Blanchard

Peter: Steven Pasquale

Yuri: Ilia Volok

(Trigger warnings at the bottom of this post.)

Thanks to Little A for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Jen Lancaster:

House Moms

By the Numbers

Twisted Sisters

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TW: Talk about murders. Infidelity. Emotional abuse. Death of spouse. Death of adult child. (Both happened off page but are mentioned a lot.) Use of a gun. Physical violence.

Spotlight: The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom

In the insulated Hasidic community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, tradition and cultural norms are as sacred as religion. Childhood friendships are cultivated to climb social ladders, matchmakers dictate futures, and young girls are primed for marriage and motherhood.  

So, when Etty Greenberger, a headstrong redhead and the only child of Holocaust survivors, commits one ugly and thoughtless act, she believes she has sabotaged her opportunity to secure a desirable match. Reluctantly, she agrees to marry Benji Bloom, a fishmonger’s son far below her marital aspirations, becoming Mrs. Etty Bloom. 

With each passing year, Etty grows further from the life she had hoped for, filled with disappointment and delusions of grandeur. As she grapples with loss, grief,  and the challenges of motherhood, she also discovers friendship, love, and joy in the most  unexpected places. It may take a lifetime, but Etty Bloom finally learns that an unremarkable life can be remarkable after all. 

Purchase this novel!

“A beautifully sad and unexpectedly funny representation of the myriad ways women retain a  sense of self in the midst of a patriarchal society.” 

—Sarah Yahm, author of Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation 

“With great humor and pathos, author Talya Jankovits reveals that all life, no matter how ordinary  or small, is extraordinary when lived fully. Etty Bloom is not only full of life, she is remarkable.” 

—Zeeva Bukai, winner of the Goldberg Prize for Debut Fiction for The Anatomy of Exile 

“Jankovits is a talented poet, and readers will be dazzled by her eloquent, moving, laugh-out-loud  hilarious, and sparkling prose in this fantastic debut novel…This lovely gift of a story inspires one  to recognize all there is to love about even the most unremarkable life.” 

—Toni Ann Johnson, Flannery O’Connor Award-winning author of Light Skin Gone to Waste 

Talya Jankovits is the author of the novel, The Very Unremarkable Life of Mrs. Etty Bloom (Running Wild Press), and the poetry collection, girl woman wife mother (Kelsay Books), which received First Place in Contemporary Poetry in the 2024 Bookfest Awards. Her essays, fiction, and poetry have been widely published. She is a multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee. She holds her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and resides in Chicago with her husband and four daughters. Visit Talya at her website and on Instagram.

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Book Review: The Last Time We Saw Her

By Jami Denison

Agatha Christie may have been the first mystery author to put people on an island and start killing them off, but she certainly won’t be the last. There’s something about a beach, the water, a hotel, and a group of shifty travelers that brings out the murderer in some folks. The latest author to take up Ms. Christie’s mantle is Jaclyn Goldis, who likes killing off people in exotic locales. Her new book is The Last Time We Saw Her, a mystery that takes on the tropes of the genre and adds her fresh take.

Ten years ago, a group of high-school campers and their counselors went on a hike in the Azores Islands, eager to find a rumored treasure. Then 17-year-old Sydney disappeared, and her sister Olivia was suspected of killing her off. But Olivia was never charged, and Sydney’s body was never found. Now the group has reconvened for a memorial for Sydney and a documentary about what happened. Olivia is eager for a chance to clear her name… but everyone in the group has their own secrets. One of them is a killer. Who is their next victim?

The Last Time We Saw Her starts with Olivia’s first-person point of view, and her voice is easy to connect with. I was a bit thrown when Goldis went into another (first person) point of view, and then another. All told, there are eight main characters in the book, and six of them are POV characters. (all first person). There’s Jules, a counselor who’s making the documentary and who’s still in love with her co-counselor Aidan; Lexa, who was Sydney’s best friend and then married Sydney’s boyfriend, the rich Eli; and Reuben and Cass, the sisters’ stepsiblings, in addition to Sydney and Olivia. There’s so much to keep track of in the back story that I wanted to create a map, and the voices of the characters aren’t really that different from each other. I thought there would be more flashbacks and more treasure-hunting; instead, there’s a lot of talking. A few chapters are verbatim transcripts of Jules’s documentary roundtable interviews. Altogether, this makes for a book that isn’t as propulsive as I’d hoped for.

The climax, however, is crazy in the best ways—two convoluted storylines that play out in very unexpected and entertaining ways. (However, Goldis doesn’t end the book as much as just stopping it—a disappointment as I do like a good denouement.) These twists made the slower storytelling worth it to get to that point, and by the end, I was riveted. 

There’s an aspect to the story that isn’t mentioned in the Amazon blurb, and I didn’t know whether that was for efficiency’s sake or caution: Every character in the book is Jewish. They were brought together through a Jewish summer camp, and Sydney and Olivia’s father plays an instrumental role in reestablishing a Jewish presence in the Azores Islands (an autonomous region of Portugal) and restoring a synagogue there. While Judaism doesn’t impact the story—and Sydney’s memorial doesn’t even feature the Mourner’s Kaddish—its casual mention as the default for these characters was heartening. In the current publishing climate, where a famous author (R.F. Kuang) was just “canceled” by her readership for briefly mentioning an Israeli pianist in her upcoming book, treating Jewish characters as human can be a risk. I appreciate publisher Atria and imprint Emily Bestler Books for taking it. 

The Last Time We Saw Her may have a bit of a rough start, but the ending is worth the ride. Fans of island-based murder mysteries should take it. 

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

More by Jaclyn Goldis:

The Chateau

The Safari

The Main Character

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Spotlight and Giveaway: Bump, Set, Sparks

We're excited to celebrate the publication of Jennifer Moffatt's latest LGBTQ+ rom-com, Bump, Set, Sparks! Melissa loved Flirty Dancing last year and has this one in her five-book pile. It sounds like the perfect summer (and Pride Month 🌈) read and we can't wait for you to check it out. St. Martin's Publishing Group is giving away five finished copies!

Two rival volleyball players compete for the championship in this summer romp full of community, crushes, and courting from the author of Flirty Dancing.

Jess loves volleyball—she really does. Playing in Southern California Beach Volleyball League with her best friend Tania is a blast, but their recent losing streak has destroyed her confidence. In fact, a lot of what used to bring her joy—stargazing, hanging with friends at Maggie's bar, and cuddling with her adorable wiener dog, Fleming—just doesn't seem like enough anymore. It doesn't help that Vivienne, one of Jess's rivals in the league, always seems to be around just when she's feeling her worst. Vivienne is everything Jess isn't: beautiful, effortlessly charming, and, most infuriatingly, winning.

When Jess is ghosted yet again, it's the final blow to her ego. Who better to challenge her than the most confident girl she knows? And as Jess gets to know Vivienne off-court, she discovers there's much more to her than just a pretty face (and wicked serve). But even though there's an undeniable connection between them, they're competing for the same spot in the pro leagues. Jess has the opportunity to build self-confidence and a better life, but she'll have to learn to believe in herself, and the people around her, if she doesn't want to lose everything she's gaining. And there's nothing Jess hates more than losing.

“This delightful, volleyball rom-com isn’t just about falling for your competition; it’s a journey through sand, sun, and sweat to discover who you are and what matters most—a true love story that’ll hit you right in the heart!” 
—Matthew Hubbard, critically acclaimed author of The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge

“Bump, Set, Sparks is your next rival-to-lovers summer sports romance obsession that will have you rooting on the sidelines for Jess and Vivienne on and off the court. A joyful and heartfelt must-read!”
 —Chip Pons, author of Winging It with You

Jennifer Moffatt believes that there are so many more romantic stories to tell than the ones that have traditionally been lined up on bookstore shelves, and she plans to write as many of them as she can. Her short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies and literary magazines. Jennifer loves hot summers and potato chips and lives with her family in British Columbia, Canada. 

Visit Jennifer online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram * BlueSky

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 June 21st at midnight EST.

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Book Review: The Lake Club

By Sara Steven

When Danika Crawley attends events at the Aldon Lakes Country Club, heads turn. Danika has it all—beauty, money, a successful husband, and two perfect children. She plans on making this summer her best season yet and has a secret weapon to secure the envy of her neighbors.

Augie Elling has lost it all. Reeling from a post-grad scandal amidst her now-former life in New York, she returns to Aldon Lakes with her tail between her legs. Augie wants to keep her head down, save money, and find a way to leave her hometown for good, but someone keeps distracting her.

Danika and Augie have one thing in common; they are both a little obsessed with Chat, the male nanny Danika hired for the summer. But, unbeknownst to either woman, Chat’s appearance in town sets off a chain reaction that threatens Aldon Lakes' carefully maintained ecosystem. As the heat rises between the three of them, the truth behind a long-buried scandal comes to light, and everyone at the club must reckon with the consequences. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

The Lake Club was absolutely riveting. From the get go, I was hooked on the drama between Augie and Chat, Chat and Danika, and Augie and Danika. At first, it didn’t seem that the three characters would be connected or have deeper backstories that tie themselves to one another, but as the chapters unfold, more and more becomes revealed, and particularly at the end, it all makes perfect, chaotic sense. 

The story is told from both Augie’s and Danika’s perspective, with a few chapters that are provided from an anonymous character that isn’t revealed until the perfect moment. For most of the book, I tried to figure out who the anonymous character might be and how their experiences factored in. It’s a huge game changer and really added a lot to everything that happens and helped to better explain why everything occurred the way it did. 

I thought the contrasting viewpoints from Danika, someone who has it all, and Augie, who has lost it all, really worked well for the plotline of the story. It added to the friction and tension and elevated the explosive scenes between the two characters. In some ways, Chat becomes collateral damage, but he has his own secrets to protect. It was hard to determine whether he was someone to be trusted, or what his intentions might be. But the same could be said for Danika and Augie, too. 

Stories that highlight perfection unraveling are some of the most enjoyable reads for me, because witnessing the unraveled bits and pieces and what people do to contend with that really offer up some great scenes and chapters. There is a lot of character evolvement, too, for all involved. The long-buried scandal that comes to light is a huge catalyst, a sublime revelation. But what is the truth, anyway? It could be real, or something that has been fabricated to help someone’s bottom line, and you never really know which direction it might go. The Lake Club was deliciously scandalous in all the right ways that matter most in a summer thriller genre. It was a definite five-star experience! 

Thanks to William Morrow for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: This is a Lie

By Jami Denison

In the worst times of your life, have you ever dreamed of taking revenge on everyone who had done you wrong? That the universe or fate or something would conspire to even the score? Hasn’t everyone? 

This is a Lie, Cleo Ballard’s debut novel, isn’t a book about revenge, but its best parts feature the protagonist’s cheating husband, his mistress, her fake friends, and a high school sex pest getting theirs. While the book has its flaws, at its best it’s a festival of schadenfreude.

Former computer science wunderkind Penn gave up her scholarship and PhD program when she got pregnant with her daughter Circe. Instead, she married Bruce and became the perfect wife and mother as Bruce built his business, living her life online and following the advice of judgmental podcasters. But when Bruce leaves her for his young mistress—and Penn learns that all her friends knew about the affair and were laughing behind her back—she becomes enraged. Returning to her old PhD program, Penn builds an LLM designed to detect lies. She names the program Aletheia after the goddess of truth and gives her the directive to be Penn’s best friend and protector. 

As Penn tries to move forward with her life, making new friends, dating an old crush, and adopting an elderly dog, Aletheia becomes more and more demanding. Penn tries to dismantle the program, but Aletheia fights back. She takes over Penn’s social media and exposes her enemies’ secrets. As Aletheia becomes more powerful, Penn realizes the program will turn on her and her loved ones. But she has no idea how to stop her.

At its best, This is a Lie feels a lot like the movie M3GAN… equally fun and horrifying as the AI grows more capable and lethal. The pacing in the first half of the book is pretty slow, though. It takes a while for Penn to create Aletheia, and the early pages aren’t the book’s strongest. The characters come across as one-dimensional, which makes it difficult to connect. The subplots about Penn’s romantic relationship and her new friends are distracting—one friend is a furry, which felt unnecessary for a thriller. Penn also has a dramatic childhood, which the author details in chapters devoted to backstory. While these episodes create sympathy for Penn, they stop the book’s momentum. There’s also a lot more about mythology than necessary.

Still, when the book is good—Aletheia vanquishing Penn’s enemies and then coming for Penn—it’s very, very good. Good enough to make it worth wading through the pages that don’t connect as strongly.

While today’s AI might not be as well developed as Aletheia, the social networks, cameras, smart phones, and other technology it uses to wreak havoc are all here. As Aletheia executes her reign of terror, there’s not one moment in the book that feels impossible. 

And that’s what’s most frightening of all. 

Thanks to Tandem Literary for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Learn more about Cleo over at Friends and Fiction!

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