A woman receives an unexpected gift from the man she loved and lost—a year of books, one for every month—launching a reading-inspired journey to live, dream, and love again in this glimmering and heart-stopping novel.
Twelve books. Twelve months. One chance to heal her heart…
When Tilly Nightingale receives a call telling her there’s a birthday gift from her husband waiting for her at her local bookshop, it couldn’t come as more of a shock. Partly because she can’t remember the last time she read a book for pleasure. But mainly because Joe died five months ago….
When she goes to pick up the present, Alfie, the bookshop owner with kind eyes, explains the gift—twelve carefully chosen books with handwritten letters from Joe, one for each month, to help her turn the page on her first year without him.
At first Tilly can’t imagine sinking into a fictional world, but Joe’s tender words convince her to try, and something remarkable happens—Tilly becomes immersed in the pages, and a new chapter begins to unfold in her own life. Monthly trips to the bookstore—and heartfelt conversations with Alfie—give Tilly the comfort she craves and the courage to set out on a series of reading-inspired adventures that take her around the world. But as she begins to share her journey with others, her story—like a book—becomes more than her own.
Sure to make my best books of the year list! I believe in the power of books to change lives, which this book certainly illustrates.
Following her debut Mornings with Rosemary, Page’s second novel is a beautifully crafted tribute to books, booksellers, and the transformative power of reading. This heartfelt story centers on Tilly Nightingale, a young woman whose world shattered when her fiancé Joe received a terminal cancer diagnosis. The couple married quietly and spent nine tender months together before Joe passed away.
Now, Tilly is adrift, clinging to an uninspiring editing job and struggling to navigate her grief. Six months after Joe’s death, Tilly receives an unexpected phone call from Alfie, a local bookseller, about a birthday gift Joe arranged before his passing. When she arrives to collect it, she discovers Joe’s final act of love: twelve carefully chosen books, one for each month of the coming year, with the stipulation that she can only receive them on the first of each month.
For Tilly, a lifelong reader who hasn’t touched a book since Joe’s diagnosis, this posthumous gift becomes exactly what she needs. Month by month, Joe’s selections guide her through the landscape of grief and back to her passion for reading. These books become her companions on a journey of healing, leading her toward new adventures, unexpected friendships, and eventually, the possibility of love again.
VERDICT Readers everywhere will be captivated by this tender exploration of loss, healing, and the enduring connections that books create between us.
This is your chance to help create a new generation of readers…
This February, we invite you to Read It Forward. 10% of all children’s book sales through Bookshop.org go to BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust in February 2026.
About BookTrust BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity with a history that stretches back over 100 years. Each year they get millions of children reading, especially those from low-income families or vulnerable backgrounds.
About Scottish Book Trust Scottish Book Trust is a national charity that believes everyone living in Scotland should have equal access to books. Their work provides opportunities to improve life chances through books and the fundamental skills of reading and writing.
Why should I get involved? There are MANY reasons to shout about children’s books: supporting the vital work that BookTrust and Scottish Book Trust do in getting children reading, taking place during the National Year of Reading AND every Bookshop.org purchase supports independent bookshops. Get involved by sharing a Bookshop.org link to your book(s) in February and spread the word on your socials, website, newsletter, or wherever you talk about books.
Bookshop.org is a Certified B Corporation and has received the prestigious status as a B Corp Best for the World 2022.
Tag @bookshop_org_uk on social and we’ll share as many of your recommendations as possible!
Information? Misinformation? Disinformation? Do you know what you are reading or seeing? When the government tells us we are not seeing what our own eyes are telling us we are seeing, when the official White House website takes down information they don’t like and puts up what basically amounts to propaganda, it is time to take a hard look at, well, what we are looking at. Let’s start with the trusty old Merriam-Webster dictionary and Thesaurus.com:
Information: Knowledge gained from investigation, study, or instruction Knowledge of a particular event or situation Synonyms: Data, Facts
Misinformation: Incorrect or misleading information Synonyms: inacurate, misconception
Disinformation: False information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth Synonyms: Treachery, propaganda, fake news
Information is good, but how do you know it when you see it? Is your uncle spreading misinformation or disinformation when he repeats what he heard on the news or on Facebook? Does it matter??
First things first: ask yourself, is this information reliable? Information is reliable when it is accurate and verifiable. How can you tell? It starts at the source. You want to find legitimate sources for information, like newspapers or journals. You access some journals online, but most are behind paywalls. This is where your library comes in – most public libraries have access to a variety of databases that they pay a lot of money for – take advantage of these, usually from the comfort of your web browser. You generally will need a library card to access these types of sources.
Another way to find reliable sources is by Googling – but not on Google’s homepage. Instead, try Google Scholar. The resources there will be much more relevant and trustworthy than just doing an internet search. You can also get your news from television, but just be aware that there is a difference between investigative journalism, both in print or online or on TV, and opinion programming, like the programs on Fox News or MSNow. While they may appear to be news, they are the opinions of the television hosts or networks you are watching, often backed up by misinformation at best, and disinformation at worst.
Good investigative journalism will extensively reference primary sources – experts in the field, eyewitnesses, and interviews (not a rehashing of someone else’s interview). Websites that are usually trustworthy use .gov. .edu, or .org instead of .com, although our current administration is breaking those long-held norms. Beware of clickbait news and AI-generated webpages, misinformation or disinformation, and pictures. Large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are designed to provide answers in natural language, not to generate meaningful information. Understanding who created an information source, what audience it was created for, and for what purpose gives you context for how you should (or shouldn’t) use it.
The CRAAP Test is a widely used tool for evaluating information sources, standing for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose; developed by librarian Sarah Blakeslee, it helps users assess if information is timely, suitable, from a credible source, factually correct, and unbiased, making it a key strategy for media literacy and research.
The SIFT method is a quick, four-step strategy (Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, Trace claims) for evaluating online information, developed by Mike Caulfield, to determine credibility by focusing on the source and context rather than just the content itself, helping users spot misinformation, bias, and agenda quickly.
The SMART Check is particularly helpful when evaluating news stories. Determine if your news source is SMART (Source, Motivation, Authority, Relevancy/Reliability; Two-Source Test) before believing what is reported.
I hope this helps you determine what to believe when getting your news.
Note: I put this together based on a video one of my brilliant co-workers, Kat, created for our students.
In Finland, kids learn from preschool how to tell fact from fiction online—a lesson for life. [Here in the U.S., university librarians struggle to make students understand the difference between information, misinformation, and disinformation, and why AI isn’t the best way to learn anything.]
Book News
(Illustration by Alexis Arnold/The Washington Post; iStock)
Court filings reveal how AI companies raced to obtain more books to feed chatbots, including by buying, scanning and disposing of millions of titles.
By Aaron Schaffer, Will Oremus and Nitasha Tiku
In early 2024, executives at artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic ramped up an ambitious project they sought to keep quiet. “Project Panama is our effort to destructively scan all the books in the world,” an internal planning document unsealed in legal filings last week said. “We don’t want it to be known that we are working on this.”
Dimitris Economou outside of the Chantilly Regional Library in Northern Virginia, where he returned the book. (Courtesy of Dimitris Economou)
Dimitris Economou recently found a copy of the children’s book “Harry the Dirty Dog” on his dad’s bookshelf in Greece and realized it had been taken out from a Virginia library decades earlier.
Food News
The latest salad I’m obsessed with! I found it because we were swimming in pears, thanks to a Harry & David gift that arrived much sooner than expected. I’ve made it twice in the past couple of weeks, and can’t wait to make it again! It’s gorgeous, and if you can get everything on your fork – radicchio, pear, blue cheese, pomegranate seed – it is a perfect, delicious bite. (Plus I got to use the walnut oil that languishes in the back of my fridge! But olive oil is a good substitute.)
Jessica Rader wipes tears from her eyes as she receives a refurbished car in 2023. Students in Louisa County High School’s automotive technology program did the repairs. (Andrew Woolfolk/Louisa County Public Schools)
“Kids who never met me cared about me enough to put hard work into a vehicle to make sure myself and my kids were safe,” said Jessica Rader.
Forewarned is forearmed:
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
An unforgettable suspense novel that combines the storytelling talents of Academy Award-winning actor Reese Witherspoon and internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben. Gone Before Goodbye is the story of a woman trapped in a deadly conspiracy—where uncovering the truth could cost her everything.
Maggie McCabe is teetering on the brink. A highly skilled and renowned Army combat surgeon, she has always lived life at the edge, where she could make the most impact. And it was all going to plan … until it wasn’t.
Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Maggie has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion. At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion.
Halfway across the globe, sequestered in the lap of luxury and cutting-edge technology, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance. Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfills her end of the agreement. But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself—or she will be the next one who is … Gone Before Goodbye.
“The book’s plot mechanics hum along with great pace and verve… With “Gone Before Goodbye,” the two authors deliver a fun ride into a shadow land where the rich are convinced that money can insulate them from everything, including their own mortality—even if they have to murder a few people to get there.”―Los Angeles Times
“A glitzy, global romp through private surgery rooms and high-security mansions…. Witherspoon and Coben were a match made in literary heaven.”―USA Today
“Gone Before Goodbye began with Witherspoon, but has the kind of layered plot lines and haunting back stories known to Coben’s many readers.”―Washington Post
The novel opens strongly, following surgeon Maggie McCabe and two fellow doctors as they provide aid in war-torn regions. Then everything unravels: her mother, a famous doctor herself, receives a terminal diagnosis and passes away, her sister Sharon’s marriage implodes, leaving her with mountains of debt, her closest colleague and friend disappears, and worst of all, the devastating news that her husband Mark was killed in a militant attack. Numb with grief and medicated to the point of impairment, Maggie makes a surgical error that costs her both her career and her reputation.
Maggie’s humiliation reaches a new low at her family foundation’s annual ceremony, where she’s assumed she will present the award in her mother’s honor, but instead, is quietly informed that she is no longer welcome. Devastated and looking for a way out, she runs into a former mentor—now a pharmaceutical tycoon and a regular on the Forbes-wealthiest-doctors-list (and yes, that is a thing, I googled it!)—who offers her a lucrative job for a Russian oligarch. The fee would erase Sharon’s debts, save their home, and give Maggie a comfortable cushion. The client doesn’t care about Maggie’s revoked license—only her skill.
The catch is absolute secrecy. Maggie must operate in Rublyovka, the enclave of Russia’s elite. She’s flown to Moscow on a private jet, then whisked by helicopter to a lavish, snow-covered palace—complete with what the oligarch claims is the real Mona Lisa and a state-of-the-art operating theater. The job is also a two-fer: Maggie will do some serious facial reconstruction surgery on the oligarch, changing his appearance dramatically, but must also perform breast augmentation on the oligarch’s much younger girlfriend, Nadia, despite a medical history that makes the procedure risky. Then true shock comes when Maggie recognizes Nadia’s tattoo—identical to the most unusual one worn by her dead husband.
As the conspiracy expands across Russia and Dubai, Maggie’s tech-genius sister Sharon and her biker father-in-law, Porkchop (a nickname repeated so often it becomes what I think is unintentionally comic), are pulled into the fray. The novel is dense with medical and tech details. For me, the jargon occasionally bogged down the pacing, but readers who enjoy the “science-y” side of thrillers may not mind. The book leans heavily into action-thriller territory: gunfights, helicopters, high-speed chases, and death‑defying stunts. It’s packed with macho male characters, while the few women who appear often feel underdeveloped. In many ways, the story seems tailored more to Harlan Coben’s fanbase than to Reese Witherspoon’s.
Maggie herself is a compelling, layered protagonist, and the story moves briskly. Still, the tone often feels engineered for a blockbuster movie/TV adaptation rather than a character-driven thriller. While the twists are competent, they’re mostly predictable. The ending feels anticlimactic after such an action-heavy build-up. The fixation on breast implants, the parade of sleazy male characters, and the Russian oligarchs partying in Dubai feels somewhat dated and tone-deaf.
While I was never a fan Coben’s mystery series, I’ve enjoyed most of the thrillers he’s written since Tell No One, which made my best books of 2001 list. It’s hard not to suspect that Witherspoon approached this project with a future screen adaptation in mind—one she might co-produce or even star in. In doing so, however, she missed an opportunity to collaborate more closely with a female thriller writer better aligned with her brand’s mission. Judging from other reviews, many of her female readers were expecting something different.
In the end, this is an entertaining thriller with an interesting premise that doesn’t quite deliver on its potential. It reads more like a setup for a future Netflix adaptation than a fully realized collaboration between these two creators.
1/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
GONE BEFORE GOODBYE by Harlan Coben & Reese Witherspoon.Grand Central Publishing. (October 14, 2025). ISBN: 978-1538774700. 352p.
Olive Stone is about to spend four weeks in Italy with the most beautiful man she’s ever hated.
When Olive Stone and her Italian pseudo-celebrity chef father fell out fourteen years ago, annoyingly handsome Leo Ricci slipped right in as his surrogate son and sous-chef. No one is more surprised than Olive when her father wills her his beloved (and now failing) restaurant. Or that his dying wish was for Olive and Leo to complete his cookbook…together.
She’s determined to sell the restaurant. Leo is determined to convince her not to. As they embark on four weeks in Italy, traveling from Sicily to Tuscany to Liguria, they’ll test each other as often as they test recipes. But the more time Olive and Leo spend together, the more undeniable their attraction grows. Olive finds herself wondering whether selling the restaurant might be running away, and what it might be like to try Just One Taste of Leo Ricci. Because he isn’t who she expected, and this trip might reveal more about who Olive is than she’s ready for.
“Dent’s cozy, slow-burn romance is a heartfelt journey through Italian cuisine and culture. Readers will delight in the rich descriptions of food and dream of a summer holiday in Italy.” —Booklist
“In vivid prose, Dent brings the Italian countryside to life while building a simmering attraction between her leads. Hopeless romantics looking for an armchair vacation will want to check this out.” —Publishers Weekly
“Dent easily balances rom-com tropes with grief. [Just One Taste] doesn’t shy away from examining Olive’s complicated feelings while also indulging in some lighthearted fun. Leo and Olive have serious chemistry that simmers slowly on the back burner as they explore Italy, and the lush descriptions of simple foods like tomatoes, cherries, and oranges will make readers want to book a trip (or at least book a reservation at an Italian restaurant). A delightful, sexy summer read for foodies.” —Kirkus
I’m finally making my way through Lizzy Dent’s backlist. I’ve really enjoyed the books I’ve read so far, and I’ve been meaning to go back to her earlier work—so here we are.
Food critic Olive Stone has been estranged from her Italian, minor-celebrity chef father for fourteen years, ever since her parents’ divorce. He always chose his beloved restaurant, Nicky’s, over his family, a decision that ultimately fractured his marriage and reduced his relationship with Olive to little more than occasional phone calls. So Olive is shocked when, upon his death, he leaves the struggling restaurant to her.
She fully expected it to go to Leo Ricci—the restaurant’s impossibly attractive sous-chef and her father’s surrogate son. What she doesn’t expect is her father’s final request: that Olive and Leo complete his unfinished regional Italian cookbook together.
The plan requires a four-week culinary journey through Sicily, Tuscany, and Liguria (sign me up!) Olive will write the introductory essays for each region, while Leo will contribute recipes that best capture the local flavors. Once the cookbook is complete, Olive is free to sell the restaurant—something she fully intends to do. Leo, meanwhile, is hoping to convince Olive to save Nicky’s and update it with some of his ideas.
As they travel through Italy, clashing over food, memories, and unresolved feelings, the pair must also navigate Olive’s grief and her complicated past with her father. Along the way, unexpected attraction simmers, forcing Olive to reconsider not just the fate of the restaurant, but what she wants for her own life.
The food is abundant, the wine is always flowing, and Italy is vividly brought to life as Olive and Leo eat their way through each region in search of the perfect ingredient to anchor each chapter. Olive also leans on her two supportive friends, Kate and Ginny, as she tries to untangle her emotions and make sense of the choices before her.
While I appreciated the emotional depth of the story—this is less rom-com and more contemporary fiction—I struggled to fully connect with Olive and Leo’s romance. Their attraction is clearly established, but I personally didn’t feel much chemistry, tension, or heat between them. That said, Lizzy Dent does an excellent job capturing the complexity of losing a parent with whom you had a deeply complicated relationship.
I would have loved to get to know Nicky better. We only get one introductory chapter written by him and one by Olive, and I think including more of Nicky’s voice—or all three of Olive’s introductions—could have strengthened the story. With more focus here, the book might have felt just as much like a love story between father and daughter as it was a love letter to Italy.
The romance is enjoyable but definitely secondary. The descriptions of Italy and the food are vivid and immersive; I truly felt transported. I only wish we had learned more about Nicky, and I was disappointed that the book didn’t include any recipes. With all that delicious food described, a few recipes at the end would have been the perfect finishing touch.
1/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
JUST ONE TASTE by Lizzy Dent. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. (July 16, 2024). ISBN: 978-0593716038. 336p.
Trapped in a London hotel room with her lover, a woman must contend with her life and her marriage in this exhilarating debut.
“Room 706 is as tender as it is surprising, a gripping interrogation of womanhood—before and after marriage and children change our identities. I’m sure I won’t be the only one nodding my head throughout. I adored this brilliant novel.” —Sarah Jessica Parker, SJP Lit
When asked what matters to her the most, Kate would, of course, say her children and her husband. Because she loves her life. Even when it involves making a costume late into the night, scouring the supermarket for the only bread rolls her children will eat, and working during any spare moment in between. And she has found the way to hang onto her sanity in the process: Hours stolen away, once every few months, to have sex with another man.
Until one such rendezvous when Kate turns on the television to discover that the very London hotel they’re in has been taken under siege. And with that, she knows that nothing will ever be the same.
In the confines of a room with everything at stake, Kate is left to contemplate what has led her here, in hiding with a man who is not her husband while her beloved family waits at home. An exploration of marriage, identity, and desire, Room 706 traces the complicated story of one woman’s life as she faces what her future might hold—if she even makes it through the day.
Levenson’s debut novel is an introspective exploration of a seemingly ordinary life disrupted by crisis. Kate, a married mother of two, appears to have it all — a happy marriage, healthy children, and a job she enjoys. She also has a secret: Kate has a lover she has been meeting a few times a year for afternoon trysts, an escape from her everyday life. Then she finds herself in a morally complex situation: she is in a hotel room with her longtime lover when terrorists seize the hotel, trapping them together in room 706. What follows is more than a suspenseful hostage drama; it is a psychological portrait of a woman forced to confront the choices that brought her here. As death looms, the external siege becomes secondary to Kate’s internal reckoning, and her reflections are both unsettling and painfully honest. Thought-provoking and layered, this novel avoids easy moral judgments and embraces ambiguity, leading to an ending as unpredictable as it is unresolved.
VERDICT Book clubs will find plenty to discuss here. Recommend to readers who enjoy complex novels such as Life of Pi by Yann Martel or The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid.
From New York Times bestselling author Kristen Proby comes When You Blush, a small–town, forced–proximity romance set in Bitterroot Valley!
Blake
I don’t do relationships, but I’m excellent at casual hookups. That’s not to say I’m a jerk. Not at all. I respect women—all women—and I know the value of love. But I’m married to my job as a physician. In fact, I’m married to the hospital, having a full–time affair with the clinic, and my family is my side piece. I don’t have time for a relationship with a woman. But then the most beautiful human I’ve ever laid eyes on walks onto my plane, and my world tilts. Thanks to a Montana snowstorm, I spend one incredible night with Harper, but wake up alone. She never told me her last name. She’s just . . . gone. It would figure that the one woman I could see myself breaking my own rules for is the one I can’t have.
Harper
It’s time for me to come home to Montana to help take care of my dad and pick up the slack for my siblings. I’ve been gone for a long time, but this beautiful corner of the world is my home. I’m excited to start my job as a NICU nurse at Bitterroot Valley General and begin a new chapter in my life. A fresh start. A clean slate. Then he walks into the room, and it’s suddenly hard to breathe. Blake was the one–night stand who still haunts my dreams. The man can do things. Amazing things. But I never thought I’d see him again. Okay, that’s a lie. I knew he worked at this hospital, but he’s an ER doctor. I’m in a different department, so I planned to avoid him. Yet that didn’t last more than the first hour of my first shift. Now, he’s pursuing me and saying things like forever. But with a past like mine, can I trust that he won’t tire of me and leave? Or is this finally my happily ever after?feeling like I’m the most important woman in his world. But being with a high-profile billionaire comes with a price. Can we withstand the storm headed our way, or are we destined to fall apart like delicate blooms in the wind?
This is the fourth book in the series, but each installment works perfectly as a standalone. If you haven’t started the series yet, this is a great place to jump in—it may even be my favorite so far.
Blake and Harper meet on a flight and share one unforgettable night together, only for Harper to ghost him the next morning. When Harper later moves to Bitterroot Valley to help her adoptive father and family, she ends up working as a NICU nurse in the same hospital where Blake is an ER doctor. Blake is stunned to see the woman he’s never been able to forget. Despite his long-standing habit of avoiding relationships, Blake falls fast and hard—and with Harper, he’s all in, determined to win her heart.
Their chemistry is undeniable, and their connection is genuinely beautiful, even as their demanding careers keep them busy. Harper is still carrying emotional baggage from a past relationship, but Blake meets her with patience, steadiness, and unwavering support. She tries to push him away, yet he remains grounded and present for her every step of the way.
I also found it utterly believable that Blake’s family embraces Harper so quickly. If Blake loves her, they love her too—It really can be that simple, and that complicated. Families can be like that; I’ve seen it myself.
The heat between Blake and Harper definitely sizzles, so if you prefer low‑spice romances, you may want to skim those scenes—or skip ahead in the audio. But the story is absolutely worth it. The narrators are fantastic, bringing these characters to life in such a vivid way, and I loved watching their relationship unfold. Another wonderful read from one of my favorite authors.
1/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
WHEN YOU BLUSH by Kristen Proby.Narrators: Stella Hunter & Jason Clarke. Dreamscape Media. October 02, 2025. Listening Length: 8 hours and 50 minutes.
Under the mistletoe, a single mom and a professional athlete realize they have more in common than the lake house they unexpectedly have to share for the holidays, in this heartwarming romance from New York Times bestselling author Julia London.
All Amy Casey wants for Christmas is to paint. She needs five new paintings for the holiday show at her local art gallery, but between her two teenage sons, her needy ex-husband, and her overbearing parents, she hardly has any time for herself. Luckily, her best friend has the perfect solution: a vacant family lake house in North Texas, all hers for two weeks of distraction-free painting. Or so she thought.
Turns out professional golfer Harrison Neely also rented the lake house so he can spend the holidays rehabbing the injury that has put his career—and life—on hold. Despite the booking snafu, both Amy and Harrison (along with Amy’s old blind dog and the army of child-sized nutcrackers residing in the living room) agree to share the festive lodging.
When an impending snowstorm has the two cozying up by the fire, sparks fly in more ways than one, and they open up to each other, unwrapping secrets and stories they’ve never shared before. But Harrison is expected back on the tournament circuit after the holidays, and Amy’s family needs her. As their departure date looms and her family and his manager press them for answers, they’ll have to decide if this December to remember has been a fun holiday fling, or if they’ve found a Christmas miracle: true love.
Sometimes you just want a sweet, cozy romance, and this one delivers exactly that. I know it’s January, but I’m not ready to give up my holiday romances yet. Too many books, so little time! I hope you will indulge me, and maybe even join me?
This contemporary holiday romance was such a delightful escape. It’s heartfelt, emotionally rich, and wonderfully character‑driven, with just the right touch of drama and humor. The main characters are well-developed, and there’s even an irresistibly sweet dachshund. I’ve never owned one myself, but my husband had one growing up, and he still talks about that dog with so much affection. All in all, the book gave me every cozy vibe I was craving.
Amy Casey, a human resources manager and divorced mother of two teenage boys, finds her long‑dormant dream of becoming a painter rekindled when a local art gallery hosts a holiday contest. The gallery has already sold a few of her pieces and now wants five more for the competition, an exciting opportunity that also requires time and focus she doesn’t have. Her best friend comes through with the perfect solution: free use of her family’s lake house cabin. It’s ideal—until Amy discovers someone is already staying there. Unbeknownst to Amy or her friend, professional golfer Harrison Neely has rented the house for the holidays.
One of the things I loved most is that Amy and Harrison are older. After the initial shock of the mix-up, they sensibly agree to share the spacious house. Harrison is recovering from a potentially career‑ending knee injury and trying to figure out his next steps. From the start, the two connect easily. Their banter, their conversations, and their shared willingness to embrace a little fun made their dynamic so enjoyable. They understand their responsibilities and know when to prioritize them. Things get even more entertaining when uninvited visitors arrive—her family and his pushy manager—adding plenty of humor to the story.
This is a charming forced‑proximity romance featuring two mature characters (still younger than me!) who are both navigating what comes next in their lives. They’re honest, considerate, and thoughtful about each other’s worlds outside their budding relationship. I appreciated that they each took time to reflect on what they wanted for themselves and how their lives might fit together. Their maturity felt refreshingly real, and it added to the story’s overall warmth.
In the end, this was a cozy, charming holiday read that managed to feel both familiar and fresh—a rare combination. If you’re in the mood for something lighthearted and quick, this one is a lovely choice.
1/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
WHILE IT WAS SNOWING by Julia London.Berkley. (October 28, 2025). ISBN: 978-0451492425. 313p.
From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Things We Never Got Over comes a second-chance romance with a heartwarming emotional journal and a vibrant small-town cast.
Healing isn’t easy―unless you find someone who refuses to let you go. Welcome to Benevolence: where scars fade, hope grows, and every love story is hard-won.
When burned-out trauma surgeon Mackenzie O’Neil escapes to a small town for a fresh start, romance is the last thing on her mind. But her neighbor, the town’s fiercely loyal and impossibly attractive fire chief, refuses to let her hide behind her walls. Can Linc be her hero when she needs him the most or will their scars ruin everything?
Their slow-burn attraction is electric, but the true heat is in how they mend each other’s hearts. Together, they’ll face community meddling, playful banter, a disaster of a rescue dog who steals the spotlight, and the kind of danger that tests more than their courage.
One thing is certain: Someone is going to get burned.
Author’s Warning: This small-town happily ever after is smokin’ hot, sweetly hilarious, deliciously suspenseful, and a one-two punch to the feels. One-click for a disaster dog, precocious kids, a good ol’ fistfight, nosy neighbors, high-adrenaline first responder heroics, firefighter bromance, and kitchen sexytimes.
Fire Chief Lincoln Reed—known around town as “Chief Sexy Pants”—is a hometown hero and an all-around good guy. Charming, loyal, and quick-witted, Linc is great with kids, loves dogs, and isn’t afraid to jump headfirst into chaos when lives are on the line. During a horrific traffic accident, he does exactly that—and it’s there he catches his first glimpse of flight trauma surgeon Mackenzie O’Neil. One look at her, and the town’s most confident flirt is completely undone. For the first time in his life, Linc is left speechless as she flies off, taking his composure with her.
A lifelong ladies’ man who’s never considered settling down, Linc can’t stop thinking about the woman who literally dropped into his world. When Mack turns out to be the new doctor in town, fate seems determined to keep putting her in his path.
Fresh out of the military, flight trauma surgeon Mackenzie “Dr. Dreamy” O’Neil comes to Benevolence, Maryland, for a much-needed reset. Burned out and struggling with PTSD, she plans to spend six months working at a small family practice and embracing a slower pace of life. But slowing down proves difficult when she keeps running into the town’s charming fire chief—especially after they discover they’re next-door neighbors. Throw in Linc’s feisty yellow lab, Sunshine, and sparks are inevitable.
Guarded and carrying deep secrets, Mack excels in high-pressure emergencies but struggles with everyday connections. Watching her grow—both personally and emotionally—is deeply satisfying. Her chemistry with Linc is electric, fueled by sharp banter, shared purpose, and a mutual drive to save others. Though they seem like opposites, they understand each other in ways no one else does.
Mack may be determined to change her life, and Linc may not fit her carefully laid plans, but his warmth, persistence, and surprising vulnerability slowly break through her defenses. When they finally give in to their undeniable connection, the heat is off the charts—this dirty-talking firefighter absolutely delivers.
By the epilogue, it’s impossible not to feel joyful for the family Linc and Mack build together. Their story is one of healing, trust, respect, and passion—a love that’s hard-won and completely worth it. This book can be read as a standalone, but I think it’s better as the final book in a terrific series. I recommend reading them all in order:
A woman learns to be the heroine of her own life in this heartfelt novel inspired by Anne of Green Gables by New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra.
She believed life could follow a plotline—until the story she was living unraveled.
Anne Gallagher has always lived by the book. Anne of Green Gables, that is. Growing up on Mackinac Island, she saw herself as her namesake: the same impulsive charm, the same wild imagination, even the same red hair (dyed, but still). She followed in Anne Shirley’s fictional footsteps, chasing dreams of teaching and writing, and falling for her very own storybook hero.
But when a string of real-life plot twists—a failing romance, a fight with the administration, and the sudden death of her beloved father—pulls her back to the island she once couldn’t wait to leave, Anne is forced to face a truth no story ever prepared her for. Sometimes, life doesn’t follow a script.
Back in the house she grew up in, Anne must confront her past and the people she left behind, including Joe Miller, the boy who once called her “The Pest.” It’s time to figure out what she wants and rewrite her story to create her own happy ending. Not the book version. The real one.
Kantra (The Fairytale Life of Dorothy Gale) returns with an updated retelling of Anne of Green Gables, set on picturesque Mackinac Island.
Anne Gallagher, a devoted teacher from Chicago, heads back to her childhood home after her father’s sudden death and a bitter dispute over her classroom library. Her boyfriend, a pediatric oncologist, accepts a residency in Atlanta and expects Anne to follow without question.
Reeling from professional betrayal and personal upheaval, Anne seeks refuge on Mackinac Island to regroup. Over the summer, she confronts old wounds with her emotionally distant mother, reconnects with her best friend Daanis, now a busy mom, and gets reacquainted with Joe, the childhood crush who once teased her relentlessly.
As Anne helps at her family’s candy store, she rediscovers the comfort of familiar places and rekindles long-lost connections. Joe becomes an unexpected source of support, and their relationship begins to evolve, hinting at something deeper. But Anne’s summer is anything but idyllic; it is a season of grief, reflection, and tough decisions about love, career, and where she truly belongs.
VERDICT This charming modernization of a classic is sure to suit readers who enjoy Kristan Higgins or Carly Fortune, and should have nostalgic appeal for Montgomery fans.
Posted by Stacy Alesi 
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 