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Mary Jane Ward’s The Snake Pit is a semi-autobiographical novel about her/main character Virginia’s time in a mental institution in the 1940s.  Touted as an important novel of the time for bringing light to the treatment women received in these facilities, The Snake Pit is celebrated 75 years later with this re-release.

The Snake Pit is a told in a disjointed fashion, and upon reading the afterword, I learned that it was meant to resemble Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, yet of the mentally health variety.  Alice is one of my favorite books, and perhaps knowing upfront that I needed to read this book with a grain of speculation and absurdity would have made the reading process a bit more seamless.  As it were, I read too many of the passages in the literal sense, not able to bring practicality or sanity to any of it.  I honestly struggled with this book’s writing style, but I understand why Ward chose to compose her novel this way.  We are not seeing the inner workings of this mental institution in a straightforward manner because our narrator cannot see it in a straightforward manner.  We are viewing it through her eyes, which is why none of it makes sense.  It makes for a rather frustrating experience for the reader, however, to have no solid ground upon which to stand.  

In today’s fast-paced world, we are all in need of a little more rest.  From the chronically burnt out to the occasionally overextended,  Ximena Vengoechea presents actionable steps to work your way to living (and resting) better in her book Rest Easy.

Vengoechea covers a lot of ground in this book, exploring both theories and science surrounding rest, and presenting readers with a plethora of ideas they can try to live a more restful life.  Her rest tips go beyond getting to bed early and getting 8 hours of sleep a night.  She explores a variety of practices, some of which involve sleep, and others that do not.  

I realized that Vengoechea knows what she is talking about when she discussed the benefits of nature, and how that spending time in it can restore us in ways we never knew were possible.  This is something that I have discovered about myself in recent years, realizing how much better I feel when I spend time outdoors.  Vengoechea affirmed my feelings about the restorative benefits of nature and inspired me to try out some of her other tips and techniques since she was so spot-on about nature’s blessings.

Highly recommended for anyone looking to incorporate more rest into their life.

I'll admit that I usually never have high expectations for rom-com novels.  While I generally enjoy them, I find the tone and storylines to be much the same and not memorable; however, Laura Piper Lee's debut, Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair, is a dark horse, surprising me with how much I liked it!  

New mama Hannah Tate is in need of a big change.  Recently downgraded from girlfriend to ex-girlfriend and fired from her job, Hannah and baby Bowie head off to her parents' cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains for a little respite.  However, she soon finds herself helping her parents renovate the cabin in hopes of turning it into a profitable Airbnb.  When Hannah catches the eye of the handsome guy next door, it looks like flipping this cabin may not be the only thing on her horizon ... could love also be in the cards?

I don't often find anything amusing enough to laugh out loud, especially when it comes to books, but Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair literally had me laughing out loud.  This witty novel filled with southern charm and aphorisms was genuinely funny, and it read as a breath of fresh air.  Hannah's mama and stepdad are Georgian gems and had me in stitches with their hilarity and antics, while Hannah wasn't short of comical quips herself!  

I found this novel to be evenly paced, and thought that the plot points flowed nicely from one to another.  I didn't become bored while reading this book, and even found myself surprised by a storyline or two.  Author Laura Piper Lee kept me on my toes, as I was never quite sure which crazy, winding road Hannah Tate was going to choose to go down next!

There were a few tropes that I did not care for, and some things that wrapped up a little too neatly for my taste, but in all, this was a really solid romance read!  (Note that there is a fair share of foul language, in addition to some crude jokes, and some steamy open door bedroom scenes.)

For Kate, grief is twofold.  Not only is she suffering from complicated grief surrounding the death of her mother when Kate was only 9 years old, she is also grappling with the end of a six year relationship with a man, who frankly, got too many chances.  

To further complicate matters, Kate and her ex, Finn, recently rented a home together and the lease is not yet up.  The former couple come up with the solution of alternating weeks living in the house until February when they can finally wash their hands of the rental (and their relationship) for good.  We leave so much of ourselves behind in our homes, which Kate soon discovers, and it makes moving on after a painful break-up all the more difficult.  Kate can’t help but imagine her former lover in their shared space; can’t help but picture what he gets up to and who he has over when it is his week in the home.  

As time moves forward, Kate finds herself reeling backward, spending a lot of time in her mind imagining and reimagining her mother’s death and everything that went wrong between her and Finn.  To everything there is a season, and Kate is spending this one coming to terms with what it means to lose and love.  Adrift in a lonely world in search of solid ground, Kate must make space for herself in her own life amidst the rubble of what once was.

Hazel Hayes’s new novel, Better By Far, is an introspective, poignant look at loss and what it means to move forward in life when so much is holding you back.  Hazel Hayes has a beautiful, raw way of exposing the truths of life and love.  While her novels often take a quiet, sullen approach to plot and characterization, they are written in such an honest way that the reader can’t help but see their own thoughts and feelings blazenly splashed across the page.

Better By Far will likely be triggering for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one, either by death or disconnect.  For those wading deep in grief, this novel may not be for you; but for those who are finding themselves in a better place following loss, reading Better By Far will be like sitting down for a therapeutic chat with a good friend.  

The horrors of war are graphically detailed in Kristin Hannah’s ambitious new novel, The Women.  Vietnam - the war that America would prefer to forget.  While many Americans quickly moved on past Vietnam, the servicemen and women who were in the trenches can’t forget what they went through there.  

The Women shines a light on the experiences of a nurse - Frankie - who grew up in a privileged seaside California community and later enlisted as an Army nurse during Vietnam.  The novel follows Frankie to Vietnam, detailing the vast tragedy and turmoil she experienced as she tended to an array of life-altering (all-too-often, life-ending) injuries, from men blown to bits in combat to villagers caught up in the napalm crossfire and burned beyond recognition.  

The things Frankie saw overseas in Vietnam changed the course of her life, and the latter part of the book delves into her struggle as she attempts to adjust to civilian life while battling “shell shock” and mourning those she lost in the war.  

With her trademark flair for the dramatic and tragic, Kristin Hannah has written a well-researched saga of the Vietnam War.  This grave, eye-opening novel is a testament to the men and women who lost life and limb in the war, and to those who stood and served bravely for their country.  Hannah captures the absolute horror that was Vietnam and brings to life the servicemen and women who saw the terror firsthand.  She also pays justice to the struggles that many military personnel experience after coming home and attempting to go back to regular life.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Kristin Hannah novel without some serious melodrama, and there’s plenty of that here as well.  While much of The Women is focused on the war, Hannah also dives into Frankie’s relationships, as a young 20-something year old woman.  The events surrounding these relationships are highly dramatized, and many of the twists and turns feel as if they were written in solely for shock value.  The romances certainly change the tone of the book when they are present, and may be a turn-off for those who prefer their reading to be a bit more hardscrabble.  However, anyone familiar with Kristin Hannah knows her style and shouldn’t be surprised by these soapy segments. 

Kristin Hannah remembers the gallant men and women of the Vietnam War in this heartbreaking tribute to those who gave all in the name of service.  Recommended to those who love historical fiction that is raw and dense, while at the same time also being dramatic and twisty.

You’ve heard of The Bachelor.  Now imagine it with a Synth woman competing against her human counterparts to capture an eligible bachelor’s heart.  Jenna Satterthwaite’s phenomenal debut novel Made for You brings this futuristic idea to life … but will this unconventional love story have a happily ever after?

Julia, one of only three Synth women in the world, is seemingly human in every sense of the word, apart from her body being built with robotics instead of cells and DNA.  Julia, implanted with a donor’s eggs, can even become pregnant and have a child, and if you didn’t know any better, you would never guess she isn’t human.  Which is why she is able to compete on the reality TV dating show, The Bachelor, and no one is the wiser.  When Julia makes the choice to tell bachelor Josh that she is, in fact, not human, she fears that he will send her home. But Josh can’t deny that there is something between him and Julia … she was, after all, made specifically for Josh by Andy Wekstein, Julia’s creator.  

Now, a couple of years post-Bachelor, Julia and Josh are happily married with a new baby Annaleigh.  They are living in seemingly marital bliss in a rural Indiana, but even there, they can’t escape the harassment they receive by people who do not believe Synths should exist.  Their lives take an even darker turn, however, when Josh leaves one night for a hiking trip and never returns.  Julia soon finds herself as the prime suspect in his disappearance, targeted by the town’s Synth-hating sheriff.  Can Julia put together the pieces of the mystery and find Josh before she finds it’s too late … not only for him, but also for herself?

Contemporary novels featuring robots are quickly becoming a favorite of mine.  I love when the concept of robots is introduced into real-world settings and the robots are given the opportunity to interact with society in a relatable, accessible way.  This may very well be our near future with the recent surge in AI capabilities, and I find stories featuring humans and robots co-existing to be fascinating.  This is the first robot story I have read that falls into the suspense category, and I love the questions that it raises about the culpability of robots when confronted with a crime.  

Told in dual storylines, featuring the past and present, Made for You slowly unravels the mysteries of what happened to Josh that fateful night.  It takes us back to Julia and Josh’s days on The Bachelor and shows the intricacies of their complicated relationship up until Josh’s disappearance.  The present day storyline follows Julia as she tries to unravel the mystery of what happened to Josh, while also attempting to clear her name.

This tightly-woven novel had twists and turns that I did not see coming, and the perfectly composed ending where everything came together was the icing on the cake for me.  I sat back in awe at Satterthwaite’s cleverness as the pieces of the puzzle fell into place in my mind.  A nicely done romance-suspense-sci-fi hybrid by an up-and-coming new author!

Recommended for fans of Annie Bot.

As the proud fur-mama of two very smart and lovable Miniature Schnauzers, I am always looking for new ways to keep them enriched and entertained.  Due to the ever-increasing prevalence of loose and stray dogs in our community, I have been finding it more and more difficult to enrich my dogs’ lives in the “typical” ways - walks, visits to the park, sniffaris around the neighborhood, etc.  

I have several safe enrichment activities in my repertoire, but I am always looking for more, which is why I was thrilled to discover former zookeeper and animal enrichment expert Chelsea Barstow’s Happy Dog:  101 Enrichment Activities for a Healthy, Happy, Well-Behaved Pup.  While many of the activities that I currently use with my dogs are included in this book, Chelsea has so many more that I never even considered.

Divided into six types of enrichment - environmental, food, sensory, cognitive, social, and miscellaneous - Happy Dog is chock full of easy enrichment activities designed to make your dogs life more fulfilling.  Each enrichment activity is presented with a brief overview, and then explains how to do it and how it helps.  Some of these activities are as simple as letting your pup eat their meal in a new location, such as the backyard, while others are more labor intensive, such as creating a cardboard food puzzle for your dog made from packaging scraps.  While some involve traveling, such as going to the beach or going on a hike, others can be done without ever leaving your home - for example, setting up a mirror so that your dog can observe its reflection or letting your dog engage in scatter feeding.

I found this book to be packed with incredibly useful and insightful information about how our dogs perceive the world and the ways that we can make their lives more enriching.  I borrowed this book from my local library, but I am considering purchasing my own copy so that I can always have it on hand when I need a new activity for my pups (and that is saying a lot because even though I am a librarian, I am not a collector of books!)

Highly recommended for all dog lovers looking to make their furbabies’ lives a little brighter.

Linda Keir takes inspiration from the real life Meghan Markle and Princess Diana headlines in her new novel, The Royal Game.  In this romance/mystery hybrid, the Crown Prince of England has set his sights on ... you guessed it, an American songstress.  If you have followed the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle saga, you know how this goes.  Not everyone is quite pleased with the Prince's love choice, and some will even go so far as to threaten the future Queen's life.

Jennie Jensen, an American pop singer, has fallen in love with none other than the heir to the British throne - Prince Hugh.  Known for upholding longstanding traditions, the Royal Family is not exactly pleased that Hugh has chosen an American (and an adopted one at that) as his future wife, but at the surface level, they seem to be supporting the future King.

When Jennie begins receiving ominous correspondence, she delves into the past of Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, who was cast out of the Royal Family and later died suspiciously in a plane crash.  Jennie uncovers that the Princess feared for her life long before her deadly fate, and as Jennie and Hugh's wedding date inches closer, Jennie also begins to fear for her own.

Keir's The Royal Game is a mixed bag with some elements that really work, and others that fall flat.  I really love that this book was inspired by Meghan Markle and Princess Diana, as the former has recently taken the media by storm with her claims of abuse she received at the hands of the Royal Family.  However, as far as this book goes, I can say that truth is stranger than fiction because Keir's tale of Royal outcasts has nothing on its real-life counterparts.  The actual stories of Meghan Markle and Princess Diana are quite scandalous and drama-laden, and what happens to Jennie in this novel pales in comparison.  Keir didn't take risks with her novel, keeping everything relatively even-keeled, and never pushing the envelope too far.  I expected this to be a juicy read, but unfortunately found it to be rather vanilla when compared to real-life.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the flashbacks to Princess Penelope's life.  Keir deftly showcases how the Princess's life closed in around her over time, drawing believable comparisons to Princess Diana.  However, when it comes to Jennie and Hugh's relationship, Keir completely misses the believability mark.  There is very little chemistry between the two, and Hugh reads more as a cardboard cutout than a flesh and blood prince.

This book will appeal to those fascinated with the Royal Family with the caveat that the characters in this book have nothing on the actual Royals.

Written to coincide with 2024's leap year, Tia Williams new romance novel, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, revolves around February 29, injecting some mysticism into this bonus day of the year.  A love story that spans the ages, a voodoo curse, and an untimely end via February 29 all await you in this saccharine tale of unlikely soulmates.

Ricki Wilde is her prominent Atlanta family's black sheep.  Setting off to Harlem to pursue her dream of opening a florist's shop, she rents the room of a nonagenarian - Ms. Della - who becomes one of her closest friends and confidantes.  As Ricki struggles to get her flower business to bloom, she learns about the historically significant black neighborhood that she now calls home.

Meanwhile, back in the roaring 20s, Ezra tickles the ivories, tantalizing club goers with his songs during the Harlem Renaissance.  Somehow, inextricably, he becomes tied up in the life of the one and only Ricki Wilde.  As their love story unfolds over the pages of this novel, only one thing is certain - nothing lasts forever, even when love is meant to be ... unless, that is, you are immortal.  But even then, death all too often comes knocking at your door.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a romance tied up in historical significance and magical realism.  A slow-burning love story, this novel deftly intermingles the atmospheric energy of the Harlem Renaissance with modern times, infusing history with the tale of two star-crossed lovers, forever destined to meet.  Tia Williams has spun a unique and thought-provoking story that readers can surely get lost in for a time.  

Rainbow Rowell’s new novel Slow Dance is about reconnecting with that one that got away … but in the case of Carey and Shiloh, is it possible to lose someone that you never really had?

The emotionally aching Slow Dance is told through a series of flashback moments and present day snippets.  Going back in time to the early 90s and the start of main characters and love interests Carey and Shiloh’s nascent friendship turned not-quite-relationship, the story continues to further explore Carey and Shiloh’s feelings for each other over time up until a much-anticipation reconciliation at their shared best friend’s wedding in 2006.  

Carey and Shiloh’s not-quite-relationship is complicated, having never officially been a couple, but the two have been harboring secret, bubbling feelings for each other since forever.  When Carey, on leave from the Navy, is forced to spend some time in their hometown due to his mom’s failing health, he and Shiloh find themselves exploring and sharing everything they have kept from each other over the years.

This is a love story unlike any I have actually read, but I like that it rings true to so many people that I know in real life.  It is common in relationship fiction for the two main characters to basically be perfect and to fall perfectly in love with each other.  Carey and Shiloh are not those people, and theirs’ is not that love story.  I appreciated that they are incredibly flawed and that their relationship has been built on shaky ground.  Furthermore, I like that they move forward with their feelings for each other against better judgment.  I find that it is far more common in the real world for people to make the WRONG choices in love and relationships, yet in fiction, love is often displayed without grave consequence.  Everything always works out just right in the end, but I do not feel that this will be the case for Carey and Shiloh.  And I like it because it is real.  Kudos to Rainbow Rowell for daring to write a romance that just may not have a happily ever after.