Every Day

Every Day

by David Levithan

Genre: YA fiction

Review: Every day, A. wakes up in a different body. Each person is the same age as him, but may live nearby or hours away. A.'s life has always been like this, and accepting it is all that can be done. That is, until A. inhabits the body of Justin and meets Rhiannon, falling in love with her during a perfect day at the beach. Can living such a strange life lead to true love or only loss? 

This is an inventive story with a complex array of emotional pitfalls and possibilities for deftly-drawn characters.

 An intriguing read!

Read about his latest books at the author's website: http://www.davidlevithan.com/

The Cutting Season

The Cutting Season

by Attica Locke

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Author Attica Locke is a former screenplay writer handpicked by Dennis Lehane for his new publishing imprint for her first novel, Black Water Rising. 

Review: The Cutting Season is set near a sugar cane plantation in Louisiana. Caren and her daughter Morgan live above the library while she manages the historical reenactments and events at the plantation. 

Are the ghosts of the past finally catching up to the plantation? When a dead body turns up by the old slave cabins, Caren struggles to clear the name of one of her staff and things get complicated when Morgan's father reappears to help. Caren wonders if the murder of her ancestor, Jason, hundreds of years ago could be related to the recent mystery. 

 A suspenseful, eerie, well-paced novel.

The Apartment

The Apartment

by Greg Baxter

Genre: Literary Fiction

Review: This is the literary novel at its best and at its worst. It is ruminative (which I like), but it takes itself too seriously at times. 

 A man is looking for an apartment in an unnamed European city. Saskia, a local, shows him around the city. He enjoys the Christmas markets, the snow, and the sense of hope involved in starting life again and looking for an apartment. There are flashbacks to his past life in the Army and as a civilian contractor in Iraq. There are long tangents about art, which I found annoying, even though I love art. 

The Hypnotist's Love Story

The Hypnotist's Love Story

by Liane Moriarty

Genre: Women's Fiction

Review: Moriarty's sense of humor shines through her novels, making her books quirky and immensely readable. Her newest novel, The Husband’sSecret, is more suspenseful and serious, but I enjoyed this delightful, funny novel!

The Hypnotist’s Love Story affords a rare look into the life of a hypnotherapist. We follow Ellen through her daily life in Sydney and her blossoming love story with Patrick, who comes with unfortunate relationship baggage (an ex-girlfriend-turned stalked named Saskia). Through Ellen’s and Saskia’s perspectives, readers sympathize with both sides of the story.

Although lighthearted on the surface, Moriarty shares powerful insights on life and love. 

I really enjoyed reading her blog/website. 

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

by Sarah Jio

Genre: Women's Fiction

Review: Sarah Jio's latest novel is my favorite of all five. A woman moves to a houseboat community on a lake in Seattle, called Boat Street, to grieve the loss of her husband and daughter. Once there, she stumbles upon the mystery of Penny Wentworth, former boat inhabitant, wife of a moody painter. 

The setting in Seattle is a character in itself, and the flashbacks to Ada's life with James and Ella aren't sentimental, but revealing.  Both Penny and Ada are well-drawn characters. 

Finding out what happened to Penny proves a worthy distraction, as does her neighbor Alex.

Read my reviews of Jio's other books: The Last Camellia, Blackberry Winter, and The Bungalow.

The Girl You Left Behind

The Girl You Left Behind

by Jojo Moyes

Genre: Historical Fiction/Popular Fiction

Should You Read It?
Yes! Like Moyes' Me Before You, with the sad story comes emotional honesty, well-drawn characters, and a very engaging tale. 

Review: In WWII-Occupied France, Sophie runs a small hotel with her family. A German Commandant takes an interest in the Sophie's portrait, painted by her husband, Edouard Lefevre. Will Sophie risk everything if it means saving her husband?  She wonders if she will ever be like the girl in the painting again. 

Meanwhile,  in modern-day London, another girl is left behind--Liv, a young widow and the new owner of the painting. When the provenance of the painting comes into question, Liv chooses to fights for possession of Sophie's portrait and in the process, learns about Sophie's life.

Read my review of Me Before You

**This interview with the author describes researching her novel at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and her writing process.

 Quote from the interview: "I love stories where the answers are not black or white, stories that make you think: what would I do in that position?" 

Dark and Stormy Night Mystery

The Fate of Mercy Alban

by Wendy Webb

Genre: Mystery

 If you want a book full of secret passages, mysterious pasts, and dark and stormy nights, pick up this little gem, by the author of The Tale of Halcyon Crane.

Review: Read this little novel if you are in the mood for some chills-down-your-spine Gothic suspense. The novel is set on Lake Superior in America, but the atmosphere feels decidedly like a British manor mystery. 

Grace Alban arrives home after 20 years away for her mother's funeral. After she arrives, things don't go smoothly, and not just because of her teenage daughter Amity's hot-then-cold attitude. Old relatives are popping out of the woodwork and crazy things are happening. Mix in a little small-town romance and you're ready for an evening reading by the fireplace.

Looking forward to her next book, The Vanishing, which comes out this month!