I enjoy stories about women, their friendships and their lives. This is exactly what Jamie Brenner delivers in A Novel Summer.
Readers meet three young women as the story opens in Provincetown on Cape Cod. They include Colleen who has grown up on the Cape. Her parents own a bookstore (and one that I would like to visit). Shelby grew up moving around as her family was a military one. She dreams of being an author. Hunter has grown up in a family (and a wealthy one) that has deep roots in Boson. Despite not having to work, Hunter wants meaning in her life. The three become good friends.
Soon after the book opens, we move forward with these characters. Shelby has written a best seller; a rival bookstore wants to open; Hunter is at loose ends.
What will happen to each of these women? Will they find happiness? Romance? Will their friendship survive? Find out in this read that will speak to those who enjoy women’s fiction.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb have mastered the art of writing together. This book reads seamlessly and I have no absolute idea of where one author’s voice ends and the other begins. This was also true in their earlier collaboration, Meet Me in Monaco, a book that I very much enjoyed. I loved this one too.
Christmas with the Queen was exactly the kind of read that I was looking for, one that would transport me to another time and place. The story opens in 1952 when London was enveloped in a murky fog. Elizabeth was new to the throne. The novel goes on to cover a five year period (with some back history).
The story principally follows two characters, each of whom has an interesting profession and story. Jack is working in the Sandringham kitchens during the festive period. Olive is a trainee reporter with the BBC. When her boss became ill, she travels to Sandringham to write a seasonal story. These two (re) meet and readers follow them over the years.
There is enough detail to bring Sandringham, the Queen, her corgis and the royal experience to life. It is delightful to observe Elizabeth in the novel. There is a charming scene fairly early in the book when Elizabeth strolls into the room where a star struck Olive is sitting. She will reappear.
This is a lovely book. Readers will want the best for these characters.
If a reader wants to get into the Christmas spirit without the frenetic quality of holiday life, come to this book with a cup of tea and relax. I am very glad that I did just that.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.
The early sixties were a time of nascent change for many, including women. There was restlessness as some felt that being a housewife and mother was not fully satisfying in and of itself. (This may have been true before, of course, but it was at this time that Betty Friedan published a book that spoke to and legitimized these feelings).
In this novel, Marie Bostwick looks at a group of women who are living in a planned, suburban community outside of Washington DC. The group includes Margaret who was a bright, successful college student when she met her husband. Now she is a mother of three. When she gets an opportunity to do a bit more will she take it?
Bitsy married an older man. She loves horses but passed on vet school to marry a vet. Readers will find out why. Bitsy is having trouble with the suburban dream because she hasn’t been able to have a child.
Viv is a mother to many with a husband who seems supportive. But, when she wants more and looks for a job, will she tell Tony?
Then there is artistic, chaotic Charlotte. She challenges Margaret and the others. Will she cross a line too far?
These women meet regularly in a book club with the first book being The Feminine Mystique. Readers follow their lives over the course of this long and satisfying novel that is special to the author (read what she says).
Recommended to those who enjoy (women’s) fiction and would like a look at the 1960s.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus for this title. All opinions are my own.
I think anyone who wants to make pizza and related items in their home kitchen should take a look at this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated title. There is much that will inspire. Even those who do not aspire to making their own pizzas, will enjoy the mouth watering illustrations.
This is a book that pizza makers will, I think, very much enjoy. I like that, before going to recipes, the author sets the cook up for success in the introductory sections. Then, find recipes for so many kinds of pizza (including desserts) as well as focaccia and pita based ones. Seasonal pies, white pies, sauces and so much more are found in these pages.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 24 March 2026
Post first published on 14 January 2026
Description:
from the publisher
From acclaimed baker Tara Jensen: The definitive primer on baking pizza dough, with brilliant color photos, illustrations, and easy-to-follow recipe layouts.
Pizza dough is a gateway for many home bread bakers, allowing them to experiment with different tools, toppings, ingredients, timings, and shapes. This companion guides you step by step from the simplest doughs to artisanal bakes. Here are 89 recipes any baker can perfect, with simple cook-along layouts and ways to explore different ingredients, techniques, flours, and heat sources for perfecting pizza, pita, and focaccia.
Bright and visually rich, with more than 60 color photographs, this baking book provides expert guidance on how to:
Set up your baking space with the right ingredients and tools
Cook over fire or with an outdoor oven, or trick out the oven that came with your apartment to bake an impressive pie
Learn the perfect ratios of toppings to crust
Build classics such as Margherita, Clam, and Pepperoni pizzas, as well as a collection of fancifully delicious takes, including Breakfast pizza; Delicata Squash, Shallot, and Gruyere; and a particularly luscious Pancetta and Brown Butter Pineapple pie
Craft a foolproof focaccia
Discover all you need to know to make pita with kids
And much more!
No book on pizza is complete without simple sauces, dips, and drizzles, such as Lemony Roasted Garlic Cream, Hot Honey, and a simple, fresh Uncooked Tomato Sauce. For after your pizza, Jensen offers dessert: homemade ice cream, cobblers, brownies, simple chocolate chip cookies, and a classic yellow birthday cake with chocolate frosting.
The first pizza bible written by a woman and one of the preeminent bread bakers in the US, Pizza Practice offers a new approach and everything you need to bake your best pizzas.
ACCESSIBLE RECIPES FOR ALL SKILL LEVELS: These are baking recipes that meet you where you are, with the equipment in your kitchen. Step-by-step instructions, timelines, and photography for all the phases of the dough-making process, as well as folding, shaping, stretching, and baking, make this pizza cookbook indispensable for all home cooks.
TO YEAST OR NOT TO YEAST: Many baking books are emphatic in their approach to sourdough, resisting the addition of commercial yeast. Jensen’s dough uses both commercial and instant yeast—each alone or in combination—so bakers can experiment and know what makes the dough of their dreams.
EXPERT AUTHOR: Tara Jensen is one of the country’s most acclaimed bread bakers, instructors, and trusted bread baking cookbook authors. Flour Power was named one of the Washington Post’s top 10 cookbooks of 2022. Her breads, pizzas, pies, and pastry have been featured in Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, and she was named one of Southern Living’s chefs of the year in 2021. She runs her first pizzeria, Dough Baby, in Loudon County, Virginia, and posts daily musings on life and baking to her eager followers on Instagram @bakerhands.
This title is Murrin’s sophomore effort, following on Knife Skills for Beginners. Both feature an amateur sleuth who is also a chef. This means that there is a lot of delightful information about food and meals in the books.
This time Paul is on a sea cruise. He was invited by a wealthy female friend. She has just married Sir Billy. Will their happiness last? What will become of the very, very expensive necklace that Xera was given by him?
This book is peopled with so many characters. They include the crew of the private yacht and the guests. Not all of them are likeable. And, of course, one of them will be murdered, leaving Paul to figure things out.
I liked many things about this book but did find the plot to require significant suspension of disbelief. Still, I believe that Murrin had great fun while writing his tale. His sense of humor is quite evident. For example, the yacht is named the Maldemer (anyone who has studied French knows that this refers to seasickness!).
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 16 December 2025
Post first published on 11 January2026
Description:
from the publisher
For fans of Nita Prose, Benjamin Stevenson, and Jessa Maxwell, this delightfully witty and tightly-written new locked room culinary mystery from the MasterChef semi-finalist, cookbook writer, and bestselling author of Knife Skills for Beginners features a charming chef, delicious original recipes, and a killer cruise aboard a luxurious superyacht.
“If it weren’t for all the terrible things that have been happening, I’d consider myself the luckiest man alive . . .”
While his flooded house undergoes repairs, chef-turned-writer Paul Delamare has been offered an accommodation upgrade—an all-expenses-paid trip aboard a private superyacht in the company of Xéra, one of his dearest friends. Paul will help Xéra work on her memoirs as Maldemer glides its sumptuous way to the Caribbean. The scenery is stunning, the luxury is unparalleled, and the food…well, at least the dishes that Paul is roped into preparing are delicious. The hired chef, meanwhile, seems completely out of her depth.
She’s not the only one. Much as Paul adores Xéra, a Parisian socialite who he was introduced to by his late lover, Marcus, he has little in common with the other guests, a motley crew consisting of Xéra’s new husband and his grasping family.
When Xéra’s priceless new necklace goes missing, Paul falls under suspicion. But there’s far worse in store, as one of the passengers is found dead in mysterious and grisly circumstances. The stormy weather matches the threatening mood onboard, and as Maldemer veers off course, every semblance of order goes with it.
Above and below deck there are secrets and dangerous alliances. And as he untangles the truth, it becomes clear that Paul’s sharing close quarters with a killer eager to make this his final voyage . . .
I read A Darker Domain several years ago and don’t fully remember the plot. I do remember that I loved this novel, which introduced me to Karen Pirie. Inspector Pirie solves historical mysteries that often intersect with the present. After finishing this book, I went on to read every other Karen Pirie novel that I could puts my hands on. These included The Skeleton Room and Out of Bounds, both of which I recommend highly. I do remember that part of A Darker Domain took place during the Miner’s Strike and I learned a lot about how awful that was. Val McDermid is truly a talented author of crime fiction!
I have long been a fan of Val McDermid’s crime fiction. I truly think that she is one of the very best writers of Tartan Noir. This book, though, is something different. It is personal.
In these pages (complete with woodcut illustrations), McDermid muses on winter. The prose is quite evocative. Reading these pages, McDermid may just change a person’s mind about a season that some find cold and bleak.
I read this book in small increments. I wanted to savor it. It is short and I wanted it to last.
Whether or not a person has read this author’s other books, they are in for a treat with this one. So, come to Scotland this winter. The (meditative) journey will be worth it.
Many thanks to Grove Atlantic-Atlantic Books and NetGalley for this title. All thoughts are my own.
Pub date: 13 January 2026
Description:
From the U.S. publisher
In this radiant work of creative nonfiction, internationally beloved novelist Val McDermid delivers a dazzling ode to a lost world, ruminating on a single winter in her life as she journeys into the heart of the season’s ever-evolving community-based traditions
Val McDermid has always had a soft spot for winter: the bitter clarity of a crisp cold day, the crunch of frost on fallen leaves, and the chance to be enveloped in big jumpers and thick socks.
In Winter, McDermid takes us on an adventure through the season, from the frosty streets of Edinburgh to the windblown Scottish coast, from Bonfire Night and Christmas to Burns Night and Up Helly Aa. Recalling in parallel memories from her own childhood—of skating over frozen lakes and carving a “neep” (rutabaga) for Halloween to being taken to see her first real Christmas tree in the town square—McDermid offers a wise and enchanting meditation on winter and its ever-changing, sometimes ephemeral, traditions.
A hygge-filled journey through winter nights, McDermid reminds us that it is a time of rest, retreat and creativity, for scribbling in notebooks and settling in beside the fire. A treat for the hunkering-down, post-holiday reading season, Winter is a charming and cozy celebration of the year’s idle months from one of Scotland’s best-loved writers.
Sometimes the right book just comes along when it is needed. Maybe that is part of the magic of this author’s books. This was a comfort read exactly when I needed one. It is perfect for when a non-stressful read is wanted.
Emmie has returned home from a burgeoning career as a chocolate maker in Europe because her family needs her help. Emmie takes over her parents’ fudge shop, emotionally supports her mother who has a chronic health problem, and does her very best to care for her young son. She literally (and metaphorically) has a lot on her plate.
Emmie is surrounded by many others, perhaps most importantly Jakob whom she dated in high school. Also key is Henry whose TV show Emmie regularly watches. Imagine her surprise when Henry comes to her town for the summer.
Linden usually puts a bit of magic in her books. Here she inserts a special candle that tells the women of Emmie’s family their future. Will what she sees be what Emmie wants? Is there any room for interpretation?
The setting in a small Pacific Coast town with Norwegian roots (that really exists!) is lovingly described. I could so easily picture the Main Street and its’ shops.
Linden very talks about the importance of finding what a person wants in life. This is a very valid message but I think could perhaps have used a tad lighter touch.
Those who enjoy small towns, romance, stories about family and friends, and, of course, chocolate will want to pick up this title.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 19 May 2026
Post first published on 12 January 2026
Description:
A tantalizing novel about a struggling chocolatier who is granted a magical vision of the future of her dreams, only to realize that her heart may desire something else entirely, from the bestselling author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.
Paris trained chocolatier and single mother Emmie Wynne gave up her own dreams six years ago when she returned to her Pacific Northwest coastal tourist town to run her family’s struggling candy store. Now on her thirty-fourth birthday, Emmie has only one wish, to be granted the vision that every Wynne woman is given once in her lifetime—a shimmering glimpse of her true destiny. This year, when she blows out her candles, it finally comes true.
Her vision is more delectable than she could’ve imagined—her very own artisanal chocolate shop filled with decadent truffles and caramels, and her celebrity crush, Henry Summers, down on one knee. And when Henry suddenly arrives in town for the summer, offering Emmie the opportunity of a lifetime, the future in her vision suddenly seems possible.
But a rekindled connection with Jakob, her former high school best friend turned hunky, brooding tattooed baker, forces Emmie to grapple with the bittersweet realization that her destiny may not be what her heart truly longs for. As the culmination of her vision draws nearer, can Emmie find the courage to create a happiness of her own making?
Rachel Linden is a novelist and international aid worker whose adventures in more than fifty countries around the world provide excellent grist for her writing. She is the author of The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake, Recipe for a Charmed Life, The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie, Ascension of Larks, Becoming the Talbot Sisters, and The Enlightenment of Bees. Currently, Rachel lives with her family on a sweet little island in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys creating stories about hope, courage, and connection with a hint of romance and a touch of whimsy
A new release by Marie Benedict is always most welcome. Here is the superb audio of that title. It is narrated by Bessie Carter (who recently played Nancy Mitford in Outrageous) and is the daughter of Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter. While she has well-known parents, she is a talent in her own right. She narrates the sections related to Evelyn Herbert. I loved the parts of the book where she was the reader. Suehyla El-Attar also is a terrific narrator for the sections on Hatshepsut. Together the two work well together.
Those looking for an excellent audio book to listen to won’t go wrong choosing this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this title. All opinions are my own.
Release date: 24 March 2026
Description:
Known for her “delightful blend of historical fiction and suspense” (People), New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict, returns with a sweeping tale of a young woman who unearths the truth about a forgotten Pharaoh—rewriting both of their legacies forever.
In the 1920s, archeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle made headlines around the world with the discovery of the treasure-filled tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun. But behind it all stood Lady Evelyn Herbert—daughter of Lord Carnarvon—whose daring spirit and relentless curiosity made the momentous find possible.
Nearly 3,000 years earlier, another woman defied the expectations of her time: Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost pharaoh. Her reign was bold, visionary—and nearly erased from history.
When Evelyn becomes obsessed with finding Hatshepsut’s secret tomb, she risks everything to uncover the truth about her reign and keep valued artifacts in Egypt, their rightful home. But as danger closes in and political tensions rise, she must make an impossible choice: protect her father’s legacy—or forge her own.
Propelled by high adventure and deadly intrigue, Daughter of Egypt is the story of two ambitious women who lived centuries apart. Both were forced to hide who they were during their lifetimes, yet ultimately changed history forever.
I read A Darker Domain several years ago and don’t fully remember the plot. I do remember that I loved this novel, which introduced me to Karen Pirie. Inspector Pirie solves historical mysteries that often intersect with the present. After finishing this book, I went on to read every other Karen Pirie novel that I could puts my hands on. These included The Skeleton Room and Out of Bounds, both of which I recommend highly. I do remember that part of A Darker Domain took place during the Miner’s Strike and I learned a lot about how awful that was. Val McDermid is truly a talented author of crime fiction!
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 