All Books Considered

Dog Days of Planet Earth by Theresa Shea Blurb from Goodreads : Immediately upon his release from a 25-year prison sentence, former veterinarian Trevor Westmore gets his first surprise as a free man: A guard gives him a German shepherd puppy. While Trevor anxiously tries to build a new life, his dog, Libby, provides the routine and responsibility he needs to navigate his re-entry into society. All Trevor wants is to earn a living, to stay out of trouble, and to be left alone — until he meets and falls for local veterinarian Laura Fenway. But they both have their secrets. When she learns the truth of Trevor’s past will she consider a future together? And when he discovers the lengths she’ll go to rescue dogs, will he jeopardize his long-awaited freedom? Weaving together major environmental and political issues of the mid- to late-20th century that remain urgent today, Dog Days of Planet Earth asks what we’re willing to ...

A Map to Murder (The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco #3) by Michelle Chouinard Blurb from Goodreads : Beloved true crime tour guide Capri Sanzio returns in Michelle Chouinard’s A Map to Murder, the next book in the USA Today bestselling Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mysteries. True crime tour guide and serial killer aficionado Capri Sanzio knows how central the Summer of Love is to San Francisco’s identity—even if she’s always had conflicted feelings about it. She’s used to weaving feel-good hippie culture and music into her Haight-Ashbury true crime tales, centering her tours around what happens when a revolution looking to lift up the best ideals humanity has to offer clashes with the darkest souls hidden among humanity’s shadows. But what she’s not used to is a guest stepping out from those shadows to drop a murder investigation direc...

Never Lasting by Angela Bourassa Blurb from Goodreads : A scorching-hot romance about what happens when you break a golden rule: Don’t get hooked on your hookup. When Lucy, a recent NYU law grad with plans to work abroad, and James, a caterer who dreams of opening a small-town restaurant, indulge in a summer fling, they know there’s an expiration date: They’ll be moving to opposite sides of the planet in six weeks. But is their fantasy sexcapade screwed when real feelings get in the way? Or do they let whatever is blossoming between them trump their career ambitions?   I liked this from the first page.  Fairly low drama, and the ending was perfect.  Lucy and James were great together and the story unfolded organically.  Will look for more from this author!  If you still haven't picked up an 831 Stories novel, what are you w...

This Much Is True by Katherine A. Sherbrooke Blurb from Goodreads : A mother faces an impossible dilemma as her daughter’s future hangs in the balance On her fifty-eighth birthday, Veronica Harmon feels blessed—with a fulfilling veterinary career, a wonderful marriage and three grown children, her youngest newly engaged and celebrating her first solo art show that very night. But when Veronica meets her daughter’s future in-laws, Ted and Belinda, who’ve flown across the country for the show, she is shocked to recognize Ted from an incident during high school that changed the trajectory of her life. Having never told a soul about that night, Veronica’s past reemerges like a live grenade. Over the course of a pre-arranged weekend at the Harmon’s home intended to better acquaint the two families, Veronica unearths troubling memories, questions her own recollections and grapples with the impossible. If she quietly welcomes...

 How Can My Manager Be So Stupid?  by Kazumasa Hayami, Translated by Haydn Trowell Blurb from Goodreads : A candid story of one woman's fight to find her way through her working life, while, against all odds, clinging to her passion for reading and for sharing books. Kyoko still loves books. Just about. But life at the Musashino Bookshop is starting to get her down. Above all, there's one question that keeps going round and round her How can my manager be so stupid? From his obsession with self-help books to his insistence on giving inspirational speeches at staff meetings, everything about Takeru Yamamoto seems designed to set Kyoko's teeth on edge. And, as the bookshop lurches from crisis to crisis, facing criticism from customers and authors alike, it's tough for her to keep her love of literature alive. Only the prospect of chang...

Meet Me in the Garden by Nina LaCour Blurb from Goodreads : New Orleans, 1944. Odette has always been one of the Honore sisters, glamorous and admired in their Creole community. But while Odette’s older sisters are content to be wives and mothers, Odette has always wanted something else. It is only with her beloved cousin, Delphine, that Odette can tell her secret: she is in love with a woman, and she longs to be an artist. Delphine has a secret lover, too, a white man. In the hidden garden they’ve discovered, Odette and Delphine can dream of futures full of passion and freedom. But five years later, Odette's life is nothing like what she'd planned. She's a widowed mother, living in Los Angeles, and she and Delphine, who is passing as white, have spiraled away from each other. When Delphine reaches a breaking point, Odette must make a shattering choice to try to hold her family together. Profound and expansive...