I’m a voracious reader, an author, and also a book critic, so hundreds of books cross my desk. What I love the most is the feeling of discovery—reading a book whose likes I haven’t seen on any bestseller list or on a front display in a bookstore. There are so many, many hidden gems—books that have stayed with me long after the publication day, and I always want others to have the same devotion to them that I do!
The love trajectory of a 40-ish couple, practical nurse Stella and fading rocker Simon isn’t easy. After a night of arguing and drinking and pills, Simon wakes up contrite, but Stella is in a coma—and stays there for months. Now Simon must learn the meaning of sacrifice, while Stella’s best friend and doctor, Libby, must make an impossible choice. But when Stella awakens, she suddenly has a striking new talent and new personality—she can paint the inner lives and desires of her subjects, giving her the fame Simon’s been yearning for and which she doesn’t want. “Irresistible!” - People “Compelling!” - San Francisco Chronicle “Fearless with plot!” - Minneapolis Star Tribune “A page[turner about loyalty, friendship, love and life, all set to music.” - Good Morning America
Everyone reveres Grace Paley, but what if you could read a fictionalized account of Paley and the young writer she mentored—and even created a publishing company to publish her?
That’s writer Leora Skolkin-Smith’s story and it’s so gripping, so passionate, so real. Set in the tumultuous 1970s, it’s about female power, trauma, and how mentoring works—and sometimes doesn’t work. Plus it is so gorgeously written, a gripping page-turner about finding our voices, both on the page, and off. I just adored it—so much that I got all of Skolkin-Smith’s other books, too.
Allegra Gordon knew there was much she could learn from Faith Hale. From the moment she met the esteemed writer and feminist icon on the campus of New York's Abigail Stone College, Allegra understood that Faith would be a force in her life, one that would wrench the best work from her and encourage her to lay her soul bare. The relationship that evolved would simultaneously be the most liberating and most shattering Allegra ever encountered. And it would change both women in profound ways.
From political rallies in the early seventies to soaring tributes at the turn of the…
Strangers in Budapest is exotic, gorgeous, and like a beautiful orchestra on paper. It also keeps you turning the pages.
A young American couple move here with their baby son after the fall of the Communists, but they bring their ghosts with them, and assimilating is difficult. especially when they encounter an elderly Jewish-American veteran, who has come to Hungary to exact revenge on someone he is convinced married and then murdered his daughter. Just dazzlingly original.
"Jessica Keener has written a gorgeous, lyrical, and sweeping novel about the tangled web of past and present. Suspenseful, perceptive, fast-paced, and ultimately restorative." -Susan Henderson, author of Up from the Blue Budapest: gorgeous city of secrets, with ties to a shadowy, bloody past. It is to this enigmatic European capital that a young American couple, Annie and Will, move from Boston with their infant son shortly after the fall of the Communist regime. For Annie, it is an effort to escape the ghosts that haunt her past, and Will wants simply to seize the chance to build a new…
A dark, suspenseful, page-turner from acclaimed novelist Clea Simon.
Middle-aged rocker Gal must grapple with memories of the past as she investigates a murder—and as she does so, she has to reexamine her own darker-than-dark past and the mistakes she made. Love. Music. Murder. What more could any lucky reader want? Simon is known for her cozy mysteries about cats—but make no mistake, this isn’t cozy! Instead, you’ll be gripping the pages so hard, they might tear!
A riveting work of dark suspense from acclaimed author Clea Simon
Gal, a middle-aged musician, is back in Boston to play a memorial for her late drummer/best friend, when she finds herself freezing on stage at the sight of a face in the crowd. The next day, she learns that the man she saw has been killed - beaten to death behind the venue - and her friend's widower is being charged in connection with his death. When the friend refuses to defend himself, Gal wonders why and, as the memories of begin to flood back, she starts her own…
Maybe not a hidden gem (it was a Good Morning America Buzz Pick), but this one surely should be in everyone’s book bag.
New York City’s the bustling backdrop of this wildly witty novel about two adult daughters and their meddling advice columnist mother. Clementine struggles with working and bringing up her six-year-old boy, and her one comfort is the beautiful Queens home she thought she owned—right up until she discovers her husband has mortgaged their house for his failing start-up.
Sister Barb has a cheating girlfriend, and advice columnist mom has issues of her own! Can Wendy swoop in to save the day? Or does she? Smart, smart fun.
A Good Morning America Buzz Pick and one of Read With Jenna's Most Anticipated Books of 2022
"I laughed and shook my head in recognition as the three Wise women crashed through love relationships, terrible advice, and delightful moments of connection. The Wise Women is a smart and tender novel about how hard-and vital-it is to find the place where we belong." -Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters and The Lifeguards
A witty and wildly enjoyable novel, set in New York City, about two adult daughters and their meddling advice columnist mother, for readers of…
Henderson’s a prize winner and she should be on the top of every reader’s list! Here, she creates a protagonist like no other: a mortician Mary Crampton, living in a stomach-cramp of a town.
What’s surprising and wonderful is that she loves her work, and treats it as art—and I was so fascinated to learn about it. As her town crumbles away, a young man enters her life—a man whose brother was killed in a grain mill. As the two grow closer, the town becomes angrier, making Gal take new stock of the life she has—and the life she could create. So haunting!
High Plains Book Award Winner for Fiction * Western Writers of America Spur Award Winner for Best Contemporary Western Novel * WILLA Literary Award Winner in Contemporary Fiction * Montana Book Award Honor Book
With the quiet precision of Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres and the technical clarity of Mary Roach's Stiff, this is a novel about a young woman who comes most alive while working in her father's mortuary in a small, forgotten Western town.
"The dead come to me vulnerable, sharing their stories and secrets . . . "
When I joined the Peace Corps in the early nineties, I wasn’t allowed to take much luggage. I decided to bring a Tarot deck, figuring I’d finally have time to learn it while parked in an Estonian forest. That Tarot deck opened up a world of Renaissance mysticism and magic, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Tarot cards and readings feature prominently in many of my cozy mystery novels, not the least of which are the Tea and Tarot mysteries. Now my imaginary Tarot reader from that series, Hyperion Night, has recently written his own Tarot guidebook,The Mysteries of Tarot.
Seeker: As societies grow increasingly fragmented, hopelessness, nihilism, division, and despair are on the rise. But there is another way—a way of mystery and magic, of wholeness and transformation. Do you dare take the first step? Our path is not for the faint-hearted, but for seekers of ancient truths...
Legacy of the Witch is a spellbinding, interactive tale of a woman’s midlife quest to understand the complexities of her own heart. A paranormal women’s fiction murder mystery for anyone who’s wondered if there might be more to their own life than meets the eye…
Seeker: As societies grow increasingly fragmented, hopelessness, nihilism, division and despair are on the rise. But there is another way—a way of mystery and magic, of wholeness and transformation. Do you dare take the first step? Our path is not for the faint-hearted, but for seekers of ancient truths.
All April wants is to start over after her husband’s sudden death. She’s conjuring a new path—finally getting her degree and planning her new business in bucolic Pennsylvania Dutch country. Joining an online mystery school seems like harmless fun.
But when a murdered man leaves her a cryptic message, she catches…
Interested in
Manhattan,
romantic love,
and
New York State?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them.
Browse their picks for the best books about
Manhattan,
romantic love,
and
New York State.
