Review: "Oyster" by Marianne Ackerman

Oyster by Marianne Ackerman
Published 2026 via Dundurn Press
★★★★

Amelia's life is trucking along quietly—working halfheartedly on her next novel, taking editing work to pay the bills, in irregular contact with her family. Then her father dies, and her niece wants Amelia's opinion on an outline for a novel, and things start to change.

This is an odd duck of a book (or should I say an odd oyster?), although I mean that in a positive way. At first it feels like Amelia is struggling, but as time goes on it starts to become clear that although she is to some extent stagnating, she's also okay with where she is; although her family is complicated (because of course they are, because what family isn't), they know their roles and how to play them and also that they'll all be there when the dust settles.

The novel-within-a-novel is a curious thing: Ginny has an idea; Amelia has experience; what comes out of it is not what either of them might have expected, and neither of them quite knows what to do with it. I'm fascinated by the way that part of the story unfolds. Amelia is trying to figure out just what to do with her role in it all, Ginny partly wanting credit and partly wanting to be absolved of responsibility and partly afraid of fallout, and the people around them not always playing the roles Amelia thinks they should.

It's a quiet novel—for all that there's a death and a car crash and relationships on the rocks, we're mostly in Amelia's not entirely happy mind as she works out what is next with her not entirely fractured family and her not entirely fresh career. It took me a moment to get into the book (and I didn't love the ending), but the middle soared along as everyone quietly subverted expectations. 3.5 stars; I think this one will stay with me.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "The Barefoot Bookshop on the Beach" by Rebecca Raisin

The Barefoot Bookshop on the Beach by Rebecca Raisin
Published March 2026 via Boldwood Books
★★★

Harper has a life she loves in London—a bookstore job, a side hustle as a book influencer, and a fitness influencer boyfriend. But all that comes crashing down when she accidentally shares her doubts about a hot new romance novel...and suddenly the only job available to her is way, way out of town.

Now..you know those news article about, say, a job opening for a postal officer in the remote Orkneys where it's only possible to access the island at low tide and then only nine months out of the year? Or about jobs that are available in Antarctica? If you're the type of person to immediately read those articles and dream about applying, you know why I picked up this book. I might never apply for those jobs, but I'm definitely going to daydream about them.

So Harper finds herself in the Seychelles, surrounded by meddling expats and a few mysteries to solve: What happened to the former employee who is mysteriously gone? Is her new boss the unfeeling money-grabber that the other employees seem to think, or does he have a softer side? And who is behind that hot new romance novel that got Harper cancelled?

It's a fast read and a lively one. A lot of the characters are borderline caricatures, though I think this is intentional; the book leans hard into something a bit over the top, a bit determinedly zany.

He lets out a frustrated sigh. "Have you been fired a lot?"

I nod eagerly. "Yes, too many times to count." (loc. 2774*)

So yes, Harper is sometimes a lot. She knows she's a lot, which is endearing at times—she has no filter and doesn't care—and frustrating at others (sometimes I think my brain is mostly filters). Most of the her new friends/colleagues also lean toward "a lot", leaving me to think that I would probably not find the Last Chance Resort a relaxing place to be, but there would never be any shortage of drama to watch...good thing the cocktails are cheap. (Side note: "no dating coworkers" is not always a fair rule, but "no dating direct reports" should absolutely be a rule, because the risks are real.)

The premise of the book is of course the Bookstagram drama: A new cowboy romance is getting a lot of buzz, but Harper is sure that it's been written by AI, and when she (accidentally) airs her opinions, the trolls come for her. I guessed some of the mystery before I think I was meant to, but on the whole I wasn't really convinced...though I do find the discussion of AI-generated books (and the discourse around them, and what it can mean for an author to use AI...or to be accused of using AI) to be interesting and timely.

I think I'll go back to dreaming about a little post-office-come-cafe-come-library in the Shetlands that needs a new caretaker—you know, the kind of place where the mail only comes once a week, and the cafe and library are only open two days a week, and the rest of the time you can do some maintenance and go for long walks and read a lot. But this was a fun diversion.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "She Drinks the Light" by Yasmin Angoe

She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe
Published March 2026 via Feiwel & Friends
★★★

Addae's life is different—she's grown up off the coast of South Carolina, in something of an enclave. Her grandmother is the most powerful person on the Golden Isle, and Addae is poised to, eventually, take over. But if the Golden Isle is home, and is safe, the outside world is...something else.

Conceptually I love this: pulling from West African mythology; Black characters running the show; an emphasis on friendship and family rather than (as is so common in YA) romance. There's also a tie-in to slavery, and though that part of the book is hard to read it feels like an important part of history to include, not least given the context of the book. Addae is a satisfying character, too; she makes impetuous (teenaged) choices, but she's also really determined and focused when it's about things that count.

Other things I was more ambivalent about. First, I didn't love the surprise (minor spoiler in footnotes*) . This is part of the Ghanaian mythology used in the book, so I'll give it a pass, but I think I'm just past that part of my YA reading; maybe it's on me for not knowing much about African mythology (or I would have figured it out sooner), but I sort of wish that had been up front in the book description. Second, I'd have loved to know more about that mythology. Addae occasionally drops concepts that aren't fully introduced or explained, and I just wanted to know more. I was fully invested for the first half or so of the book and then lost some steam.

I'm not sure whether related books are planned, but this feels like it could be the start to a series—the main plot is wrapped up, but there are a number of plot points that aren't fully wrapped up, in a way that reads like leaving space open for the future if the author so desires.

3.5 stars; this is something of a departure from my usual reading habits, but intriguing.

*vampires

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Repetition" by Vigdis Hjorth

Repetition by Vigdis Hjorth
Translated from the Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund
Published March 2026 via Verso Fiction
★★★★

In the present day, a writer sees a teenage girl with her parents, and she's reminded of her own teenage years in 1970s Norway: her mother terrified that she will somehow go astray, her father a distant figure, every visit with friends a negotiation at best, a battle at worst.

Hjorth is such a specific writer—I don't have a better word for it. I read Repetition because I found If Only so curious; not always pleasant but the kind of thing that pulls you in. (If Only itself I read for the cover, because sometimes I am shallow.) I read a translation, of course, and I don't know how true it is to the Norwegian (I will assume that it's accurate!), but these are long paragraphs and sometimes long sentences, run-on thoughts if not run-on sentences, a girl who is so uniquely teenage in her thoughts and actions, her careful planning and yet sometimes total lack of forethought. At sixteen, she is tired of the stifling atmosphere that is home and ready for excitement, for romance or perhaps just sex; at sixteen, she doesn't understand why her mother might be afraid.

This is a slim little novel. I started it once, stalled, started over a few weeks later because it's so easy to fly through it and I wanted to make sure I hadn't missed important things. I wondered, reading this, if parts of the novel might be autobiographical (without, mind, being able to articulate why, and definitely without any proof whatsoever); some searching tells me that there has been a fair amount of speculation about another novel in particular, and how much of it might be autobiographical. (That's a rabbit hole that I don't feel a need to go down, and whether there's any real life memory to it is really neither here nor there, but I find it curious partly just because I don't know why I have this "could it be" reaction!)

Not a happy book but a swift and interesting one. I don't think this is the last of Hjorth that I'll read.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Too Blessed to Stress" by Alli Hoff Kosik

Too Blessed to Stress by Alli Hoff Kosik
Published March 2026 via Grand Central Publishing
★★★

Camryn has a picture-perfect life, but just outside the frame, she's struggling to stay afloat financially. Savannah was in the public eye growing up, and as an adult, she just wants privacy...and a baby, and neither of those things is forthcoming. Trishy is ready to find a man who ticks her religious boxes, but date after date turns out to be a dud. And Kristin is shocked to find herself part of the inner circle...but it just might be too good to be true.

I let this one sit on my ereader for a couple of weeks before picking it up—but not because I wasn't enthusiastic; I was enthusiastic enough to not want to burn through it too quickly. This one hits on some of my reading quirks: I like books about problematic religion/religious institutions, and I currently have what is likely to be a passing interest in books about influencers. (Bonus: I love a book about female friendship, and though this isn't really about that, it's part of the story.) Here we have both: Camryn and Trishy are both active, and at least moderately successful, as social media influencers, and a huge part of their success is their conservative-religious focus...and the content they make around their megachurch.

What worked really well for me: Camryn and Trishy definitely believe what they're preaching on social media...but what they're preaching isn't really about belief. They're talking, earnestly, about purity culture and capitalism and the prosperity gospel. They might read their bibles (and post videos of themselves highlighting their study editions, with of course sponsored links) just as earnestly, but what they're actually thinking about, a lot of the time, is views. And sponsorships. And recognition, even if they don't acknowledge that that's one of the things they're thinking about. Camryn is in many ways my least favourite character (her priorities get in the way of being a decent person sometimes, and her approach to money stresses me out), but it's the things that sometimes make me cringe that also make her a more realistic and perhaps interesting character.

What didn't work as well for me: It's apparent early on that something is not right at Moving Word (their church), and in particular that something is not right with one charismatic preacher and his picture-perfect wife. Kristin more than the others is aware that something is not right, but it was never clear to me why—what is it that makes her suspect this apparently beloved guy? I would have preferred Kyle and Cassidy to be a little more genuinely charming and a little less obviously slimy (Kyle is written to be an absolute smarmface; Cassidy is written to be low-key a...witch...who is only nice to people who are useful to her. I suppose I wanted to be disappointed when the revelations about them came out. (I also wanted them to be a bit...less obvious about it? They could have set a smaller public goal, for example, and then not reported the actual numbers but still treated it as a success.) I think I also wanted more of the "good" characters to face a bit more by way of consequence and/or reckoning; what does happen is not nothing, but the climax was a bit more whimper than bang to me.

So—didn't blow me away, but did keep me invested, which is still a pretty satisfying result. I'd happily read more in this vein, at least as long as my interest in influencer books hold; the four characters profiled here are living in such a specific moment, even if they don't really realize it.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Wild Mountain Ivy" by Shannon Hitchcock

Wild Mountain Ivy by Shannon Hitchcock
Published March 2026 via Carolrhoda Books
★★★

Ivy is tired—it's been months since she came down with COVID, and she still hasn't really recovered. Even climbing a few steps leaves her depleted, and with her energy she's lost her motivation to play violin, one of the things she loves most. She and her mother decamp to the vicinity of Asheville in the hopes that rest and a change of scenery will help...and Ivy gets entangled in the story of Jessie, a young woman who lived in their bed and breakfast back when it was a sanatorium for tuberculosis.

I really appreciate that most of the people in Ivy's life seem to understand what long COVID means for her—there's brief mention of teachers who were getting annoyed with Ivy falling asleep in class, but by and large there's an understanding that Ivy can't just grin and bear it, that there's still so much that's unknown but the one thing that is likely to help is rest. The people I know with long COVID have all talked about people (even, say, highly educated relatives who work in health care) who just don't get it, and it's a relief that among all the other things that's not something Ivy has to deal with.

The connection to tuberculosis is also really interesting. The comparison I hear more often is one to the 1918–1920 influenza, I suppose because it tore through communities so quickly, but Hitchcock is so right that there are close parallels to be made to experiences with tuberculosis. The injunction to rest, the general exhaustion...and as much as that, the way in which the privileged had the ability to rest and try to recover, while poorer folks had (have) to work through it, in part because of an insufficient social safety net. (Hitchcock is careful to note, through Jessie's history and Ivy's understanding, that those inequalities could have devastating effects.)

I can imagine this being such a good book for middle grade readers who are either struggling with chronic illness themselves or who know somebody who is—it's a quiet story, but one that might serve as a reminder that they aren't alone. They're not the first, and they won't be the last, even if other people's stories aren't quite the same. I struggled a bit with the way in which Jessie's story is told (there's a supernatural element, which I almost never connect with terribly well), but Jessie's story is able to give Ivy a bit of hope, and something to focus on, while she doesn't have the capacity for much else.

3.5 stars for me as a reader, but likely higher for others. Ooh, and look up dulcimer music while you're at it; sound aside, it's very cool to watch someone play.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Where the Girls Were" by Kate Schatz

Where the Girls Were by Kate Schatz
Published March 2026 via The Dial Press
★★★★

It's 1968, and everything is falling into place for Baker. She's on track to go to Stanford, become a journalist, and see the world (beginning, of course, with Paris). But when Baker gets pregnant (because of course a nice girl from a good family doesn't know anything about contraception), she becomes one of the girls who are sent away.

They love her, they're proud of her—and they need her. And that's why no one can know what is really going on. Brilliant young Baker is their ticket, the proof to everyone that their little family has made it, will make it. The future is bright, because their daughter is bright. No one else in this family has gone to college. Baker is going to life them to a new level. This has always been the plan. (loc. 1222*)

I've read my fair share of books with this general context (girl "in trouble", including in times and places when society was especially unkind to girls in such a situation), and in some ways what stands out here is that the home Baker is sent to is not cruel. Oh, it's still a place designed to strip girls (and young women) of their freedom and agency, and there's still plenty of shame heaped on the girls. They're never allowed to forget that they made a mistake (nobody considers that it takes two to tango) or to think that they could be competent parents. They're discouraged from asking questions about their pregnancies, their bodies, giving birth, what their legal options are.

Baker feels like a reporter covering a story that no one else cares about, like she's back in her journalism class, trying to get the school paper edited before the deadline. (loc. 2994)

Overall this feels written with intense research and a lot of compassion. Lots of detail, lots of wrestling with time and place. Lots of reminders that there have always been girls who have been sent away.

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "Love in Ruins" by Auriane Desombre

Love in Ruins by Auriane Desombre
Published February 2026 via Delacorte Romance
★★★

It's the summer after grade nine, and Natalie is finally off to Greece—something she's been dreaming about for years. She's on a school-sponsored trip that will keep her in Greece for weeks: visiting ruins, island-hopping, trying new things...and maybe falling for someone?

This has something of a three-fold focus: First, of course, Greece. Second, there's a romance. And third, Natalie has recently been diagnosed with OCD, and a lot of her mental energy is spent responding to intrusive thoughts. Maybe a four-fold focus—there's also a bit of an academic competition (but I found it unrealistic, and for all the hype we barely know—and Natalie barely knows—what her project is, so I'm just going to...skip that part here). I read the book almost entirely for the setting (why is there not more YA that takes place in Greece?) and, admittedly, a little bit for the cover (which is gorgeous). And...this was fine, but it felt a bit lackluster.

Greece: The characters spend "half the summer" (I'm not sure how long this actually is, but we can assume weeks) traveling through Greece. They see a lot—but I never really felt like I was there, or that I'd learned much of anything about contemporary Greece. For example, they start in Athens...but it felt like moments later when they took off for the next place. Famous things are mentioned (e.g., the caryatid porch at the Acropolis), but then it's on to the next thing, and the next, and romance. And if they meet any Greek people other than Melanie in their many weeks in Greece, I sailed right over it. I know this sort of school trip can feel like something of a hit-and-run, but I much would have preferred, e.g., their trip to be based in just one city, with some day or maybe weekend trips farther out.

Romance: I love seeing queer YA, of course; queer travel YA is an added bonus. I don't think we ever know much about Melanie (or why she is drawn to Natalie), but she's nice and forthright. What I really don't love, though, is how so many of the characters are convinced that Natalie needs romance in her life. She's just finished her freshman year of high school—she's maybe fifteen. Could be fourteen. And while plenty of people are dating at that age, again, she's barely finished freshman year. When she tells her friends that she isn't ready to date at the moment, they act all disappointed, and this literal child gets even more convinced that she's not capable of romance. Where are the common-sense people telling her that it's fine to wait until she's ready, dating as a teenager is mostly practice and figuring relationships out, she doesn't need to have all the answers as a freshman? Because they're definitely not in her orbit.

OCD: Natalie has a recent OCD diagnosis that she's still coming to terms with. It's great to see mental health addressed in YA fiction, and I actually really like that one of the things Natalie is struggling with is just the idea of having OCD, of having a label attached to herself. Since the diagnosis, it feels to her like it's the only part of her that her parents see, and she's desperate to get out from under that. But it takes up a lot of space in the book, and I'm not sure how to feel about that. Because: Natalie's intrusive thoughts make sense...but then we get a lot of her breaking apart the intrusive thoughts, and thinking about how they're intrusive, and making it clear to the reader that they aren't just normal teenage/human getting-down-on-oneself thoughts. I'm torn, because on the one hand that could absolutely be part of somebody's intrusive thoughts—intrusive negativity followed by a sort of obsessive analyzing of the thoughts. On the other hand, though, it felt like it was mostly there for the reader's education, and I think I would have preferred more of that space to go to things like actually talking to Grecians, and learning odd facts about Greek and Greek history, and so on.

It's a very fast read—I read the entire thing in one day, spread over two 45-minute commutes and a little bit of reading over dinner. But I don't think it's one that will stick with me.

Review: "Tell Me How You Eat" by Amber Husain

Tell Me How You Eat by Amber Husain
Published February 2026 via Washington Square Press
★★★

Struggling to find the key to recovering from anorexia, Husain set about looking at some of the meaning that has historically been ascribed to food: food as power, food as rebellion, starvation as power, starvation as rebellion.

I was and still am rather unsure of what to make of the book. Husain traces various political movements (women's suffrage, etc.) and the weaponization of food—whether something to be forced upon somebody (e.g., in response a hunger strike) or withheld (e.g., Israel's starvation tactics in Gaza). It's interesting material, but while the book description says "Each chapter searches for reasons to eat and live", I wondered whether at times Husain was looking less for reasons to eat than for justification for not eating (not eating enough to sustain life, not eating animal products).

There's a depth of curiosity and research here that I appreciate, and Husain is for the most part careful about what details she shares about her illness (I wish more authors writing about eating disorders were so circumspect). I think I ended up not being quite the right reader for this book—the connections were not entirely there for me, though I suspect that some of that is at that some point I lost track of the magic-mushroom context. This may be something to come back to at a future point in time; therapy with substances usually associated with recreational use has been cropping up more often in my reading (e.g., Amy Griffin's The Tell), and I'll have to keep an eye out for more.

Thanks to the author and publisher for inviting me to read a review copy through NetGalley.

Review: "A Perfect Match" by Rachael Sommers

A Perfect Match by Rachael Sommers
Published February 2026 via Ylva Publishing
★★★

Erin's been the star of the Manchester women's football world for a while now, but when an injury sidelines her, her future in football is uncertain. Enter Lia, an up-and-coming star fleeing trauma of her own...and they clash immediately.

I just cannot resist a lesbian soccer (sorry, old habits die hard, and I can't say "football" without thinking of a pointing oblong ball and permanent brain damage) story. Plus, you know, cute cover, and (shh, don't tell) I do in fact judge a book by its cover. This was an extremely quick read—I read half of it in one evening at the gym and finished it before bed the same day—and there's a really satisfying amount of soccer in the book. Lia and Erin both do a lot of thinking with their hearts rather than their heads, for better or for worse, and they don't really go at things in a half-assed way...which is probably just what a successful soccer player needs.

(The next couple of paragraphs are a bit longer than I intended, so if you just want to know who I recommend this for, skip to the last paragraph!)

Two things gave me pause: First, this doesn't feel like a healthy relationship. There's Erin's distrust of Lia—she might be a soccer superstar, but it makes me think that she isn't much of a team player. This is reinforced by the shape of the relationship, as while Erin and Lia are able to play well together on the field, much of the book sees one or both of them refusing to treat the other one civilly and no consideration of what this might mean for team dynamics. On top of this, there's quite a lot of jealousy throughout the book—e.g., Erin getting jealous when another woman hits on Lia—and between that and the push-pull dynamic they set up early on (pulling together and then pushing each other away), it just doesn't feel like the setup for something healthy in the short or long term.

Second, I don't love the approach to workplace relationships and power dynamics. Though there isn't a direct power dynamic between Erin and Lia (Erin has no say over Lia's play time, her position on the team, etc.), there is an indirect power relationship (Erin is about a decade older, more senior on the team, and Lia's childhood sports hero). I think this is probably in line with the fact that the author's other books seem to be age-gap romances, which is fine but not my jam; I would have liked more discussion of it within the book, but this will still be a good fit for readers who like more power play between their heroines. Also didn't love, in the context of a problematic player–coach relationship, repeated references to the player "getting away with it"; i.e., not being publicly shamed for it (though the coach is) and another character unfairly taking some of the blame. And while yes, the player should take ownership for cheating, that's a whole different ballpark (soccer field?) from the subordinate in an unequal relationship deserving a public lambasting.

So while this didn't work as well for me as I'd have like...it's still a fast read with soccer, and interesting family relationships as B plot, and a decent amount of spice. A better fit for those who like age-gap romance, workplace romance, power dynamics, and enemies to lovers. And of course one for sports fans!

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.