The Street Where You Live
Roisin Meaney
“He might surprise her though. He might ring tomorrow, when they were in the middle of trying not to ruin the goose.”
Small towns can hide big secrets. The members of the local choir are prepping for their summer concert, but each of them is dealing with their own problems. The house cleaner is convinced she’s found her secret grandchild; the store clerk is falling for the wrong man; the choir director has a new annoying American neighbor. As a heatwave lingers and the concert looms, our characters are faced with choices that may change everything.
This was one of my “blind date with a book” selections from my book club’s Galetine’s Day party, and I’d put it firmly in the “slightly fluffy romance” category. The stakes are semi-high (deadbeat adult kid, infidelity, etc.), but I never felt like things were going to get too serious. I think the cast was a little large, and I didn’t feel compelled to go back to the story once I set the book down. Finished it in two big gulps mainly so I could learn what happened to Molly and Christopher (I’ll always love a reluctant curmudgeon).
A nice read for a rainy day. And if you like the vibe, Meaney has 33 more books to choose from!
Why Does the Stock Market Go Up? Everything You Should Have been Taught About Investing in School, But Weren’t
Brian Feroldi
“If you don’t understand why the stock market goes up, then you won’t know why it crashes sometimes or why it has always bounced back.”
For years, financial “experts” have insisted that investing is too complicated for the everyman (or woman) to handle. But the fact is that most people are investing, even if they don’t realize it — it’s important to understand how it all works so you know how to take care of yourself. Feroldi’s book contains simple answers to over 60 stock market and investing questions everyone should know.
I’ve read a lot about personal finance and investing, and I think this is one of my favorites. Feroldi shares information simply and clearly, covering everything from the basics (“What is a stock?”) to higher-level topics (“What is the P/E ratio?”). I appreciate that he also includes chapters on getting started with investing, how to find a financial advisor, and big mistakes to avoid. I’ll be adding this to my reference shelf!
Pick this up if you’re new to investing and would like to start learning.
The Housekeepers
Alex Hay
Book club
Book Riot 2025 Read Harder Challenge: Read a genre-blending book
“ ‘If you need to make someone feel small, so that you can feel tall…’ Mrs. Bone recited the rest. ‘Then, my goodness, my dear, you’re no person at all.’ ”
On the night of London’s biggest ball, a recently-unemployed housekeeper assembles a crew to pull off an unprecedented heist. Some of the women are in it for the money or fame, but others join for reasons they prefer to keep to themselves. As the operation begins, their secrets — as well as the ones hidden in the mansion they’re targeting — start to unravel, threatening to derail the entire plan.
I think my book club was hoping this would be a great combination of heist and historical fiction — unfortunately we were disappointed. It felt like too many unbelievable plots trying to be held up by mostly two-dimensional characters. This is Hay’s first book, and I wish he’d stuck to a single genre (heist) without also trying to explore feminism, the complex upstairs-downstairs dynamic of the early 1900s, plus an out-of-left-field additional side plot. I never got invested, and probably would have put it down entirely if it wasn’t a book club selection.
I wouldn’t recommend this one.
Cunning Folk: Life in the Era of Practical Magic
Tabitha Stanmore
“…up until the fifteenth century magic is largely portrayed as morally neutral: it is seen primarily as just another practical tool to further people’s desires and ambitions.”
In 1637, Mabel Gray walked across London and paid 11 shillings to find her missing spoons. It wasn’t the police she consulted — it was a magician. For centuries prior to the witch burnings that swept through Europe and the Americas, there was a clear difference between service magic (benevolent, helpful) and witchcraft (malevolent, self-serving). In her book, Stanmore uses primary sources to describe how cunning folk helped their clients find lost objects, win at trial, gain power, or see the future — and how less has changed in the age of enlightenment than we think.
This was such a fascinating read! We think of magical practitioners as old hags cackling over bubbling cauldrons, when the truth is often more mundane. “Folk magic” is the practical actions people have always taken to make their lives safer and happier. I love how Stanmore maps the use of magic and its transition from everyday tactic to something viewed with suspicion. I wish she’d spent a bit more time on how society came to view magical men as educated and intelligent but magical women as frightening or evil, but that’s a well-covered topic that always ends up being depressing. It’s rare to read a non-fiction book about magic that leaves me feeling happy, but this one managed it.
Try this if you’re looking to learn more about magic and culture in the Middle Ages.
A Game of Lies (DC Morgan #2)
Clare Mackintosh
“Reality TV is the modern-day equivalent of taking your knitting to an execution.”
When viewers of the latest hit reality show tune in every week, they’re looking for a bit of drama — not a contestant disappearing from the secluded compound. The show must go on, but behind the scenes Detective Ffion Morgan knows there’s something bigger at play. Seven secrets, seven suspects, and seven alibis — but one of them is lying. Now Ffion has to catch a killer before it’s too late.
We had our first triple-digit temperatures this month; summer is officially here, which means it’s time to break out the brain candy reading! A Game of Lies has all the things my little murderino heart loves: mystery, suspense, a smart but flawed main character, even a furry sidekick. I also appreciated how Mackintosh leaned into the complexities of our feelings about reality TV. This is the second in a series, but it didn’t hurt my enjoyment — in fact, the glimpses of the relationship drama covered in the first book made me glad I didn’t start from the beginning.
This is a perfect summer read if you’re looking for a straightforward mystery/thriller.
The Twilight Garden
Sara Nisha Adams
“Still, at least there’s the garden. Every year it changes, but it always feels as magical as ever.”
The gate for the garden shared by 77 and 79 Eastbourne Road has been rusted shut for years, which is exactly how Winston and Berenice prefer it — they’ve got enough problems without having to worry about weeds or each other. But interesting seeds are planted when faded copies of photos and news clippings from the garden’s heyday began falling through their mail slots. Can these neighbors overcome their own troubles enough to grow something beautiful together?
Sometimes I need to read a novel where the focus is on characters rather than plot, and The Twilight Garden fit the bill perfectly. I gravitated more toward Berenice’s story than Winston’s, but what really stuck with me is the friendship between Maya and Alma. A few too many characters and the heavy-handed gardening metaphor took this down to three stars, but the end got me right in the feels.
Read this if you like “quiet” novels full of character development.
The Husbands
Holly Gramazio
“You can’t stay married to someone forever just because they climb out of your attic one afternoon.”
When Lauren stumbles drunkenly back into her flat after a hen party she’s surprised to see her husband Michael on the landing — because she’s never been married. But based on her text messages, photos, and weird conversations with friends, it looks like they’ve been together for years. Things get even weirder when Michael crawls into the attic to change a light bulb and disappears, only to be replaced by a new man and a slightly altered life for Lauren. The attic’s apparently infinite supply of husbands gives Lauren a chance to explore the possibilities, but soon she begins to wonder if it might be better to stick with just one path.
I have so many feelings about this book. A premise like this needs a deft touch, and I don’t think Gramazio got it right. The beginning needed more setup, and the middle should have been much shorter to make room for the last third when the themes finally began to coalesce. Add to that an unlikable main character and there went my hope of enjoying this one. I kind of wish I’d done this as a buddy/group read so I could have an interesting conversation about marriage and the “what ifs” that everyone deals with.
A more interesting discussion opportunity than an enjoyable read.
The Examiner
Janice Hallett
“Be aware that if my worst fears are true, then one of the students on this course is dead.”
The six participants in Royal Hastings University’s inaugural Multimedia Art course seem more interested in causing chaos than collaborating. Jem is talented but obnoxious; Alyson feels like she’s slumming it; Ludya and Cameron have “personal stuff”; Jonathan has zero actual art skills; Patrick’s a luddite. What could top accusations of theft, art pieces gone up in smoke, and a ruinous road trip? Apparently, murder. Using her trademark mixed media style, author Janice Hallett presents a mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page.
This is my third Hallett novel, and unfortunately maybe my last. I loved The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels, had some quibbles with the logic in The Twyford Code, and now have spent the last several days wondering if I understood The Examiner at all. It took too long to get to the action, and once I got there I didn’t find it all that interesting. The story lacked cohesion and I couldn’t find anyone to root for. Which was a huge bummer because it has so many of the elements I love.
If you’re going to give Hallett a go, I recommend Alperton Angels as the starting — and possibly ending — point.
Sprinkles and Sea Serpents (Sugar Shack Witch Mystery #1)
Danielle Garrett
“…you’re a wildflower, child. Born to grow your own way, in your own time.”
Rosella (Ella) Midnight has big life plans, none of which involve returning to Winterspell; the irony of being a pariah in a community populated entirely by magical beings isn’t lost on her. Her return would be the biggest news item in town if not for the disappearance of three women. Rumor is that a sea serpent has taken up residence in the lake, and a monster hunter has been hired to dispatch the creature. But something about these crimes feels too tidy. Ella knows there’s a bigger story — but can she uncover it in time?
Cupcakes, adorable sea creatures, magic, and a mystery — I was never going to be able to resist! This first in a series introduces us to a plucky heroine, her quite-literally-smoldering potential love interest, and an intriguing magical world I had fun exploring. Yes, it’s got predictable bits. Annoyingly, it also requires a deus ex machina. But there’s also a sassy grandma and hints of a Bigger Bad Guy just around the corner.
A fun introduction to a magical world and a smart heroine.
Autopsy of a Fairytale (Autopsy of a Fairytale #1)
Nicole Scarano
“It was always the teeth that woke her. The way they scraped. The way she bled. The nightmare of the memory that haunted her.”
After surviving a vicious attack in the line of duty, Detective Isobel Emerson has transferred to a small town outside New York City. Her neighbor dotes on her, she likes her partner, and her pitbull rescue Cerberus is finally helping her feel safe. But that nascent happiness is shattered when a local carpenter is discovered fused into the massive chandelier that was his current project. As the bodies pile up, the evidence begins pointing toward Eamon Stone, the reclusive millionaire who recently bought a crumbling mansion in the mountains above the town…
If you go into this fairytale retelling expecting talking furniture and musical interludes, you’re going to be disappointed. The book is probably closer to its original Grimm’s Fairy Tales version: gruesome and weird. It was an interesting listen, but it was too formulaic and predictable for me to continue the series. Additionally, Eamon isn’t “morally gray” so much as “definitely evil,” which makes it impossible for me to see him as a love interest for Bel.
Whoever labeled this as “Beauty & the Beast meets Criminal Minds” got it spot-on.
Oh the Moon
Charlyne Yi
“IMAGINE HOW / BORING LIFE WOULD BE / IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE POWER / OVER YOUR OWN DESTINY. / THIS IS YOUR ADVENTURE, / NOT MINE…”
A collection of loosely connected short stories and illustrations that explores the complexities of love, grief, and growing old.
I don’t normally gravitate toward short stories, but when my non-bookish husband gets me something he thinks I’ll like, it’s my happy obligation to give it a close read. While I didn’t love the entire experience, there were a few moments that stuck out to me — “She’s All Legs” and “Wrinkles” merited a couple re-reads and have kept me thinking. I’ll never be a short story fan girl, but it’s been nice to have conversations with my husband about the stories and why he likes them.
Pick this up if you enjoy Shel Silverstein and are looking for something a little more esoteric.
Photo by roya ann miller on Unsplash
