Reese’s book club pick: The three lives of Cate Kay by kate Fagan

Described as “The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo” meets “First lie wins”.

As a young adult, she and her best friend Amanda dreamed of escaping their difficult homes and moving to California to become movie stars. But the day before their grand adventure, a tragedy shattered their dreams and Cate has been on the run ever since, taking on different names and charting a new future. But after a shocking revelation, Cate understands that returning home is the only way she’ll be a whole person again.

I loved Evelyn Hugo, but First lie wins was a big miss for me so I don’t really know what to think of this. Maybe I’ll read page 1 and page 99 to see if the writing speaks to me.

GMA book club: Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

An epic and intimate tale of one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.

The title really speaks to me, and the description sounds good, but an “epic” that spans decades rarely hit my sweet spot. Again, I guess I’ll try and see if I like the writing.

Read with Jenna: The life cycle of the common octopus by Emma Knight

Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term, Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she’ll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father’s—now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox—lives. When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lord Lennox’s centuries-old estate with his enveloping, fascinating family, Pen begins to unravel her parents’ secret, just as she’s falling in love for the first time . . .

Dua Lipa’s Service 95: Drive your plow over the bones of the dead by Olga Tokarczuk

Tokarczuk won the nobel prize in literature in 2018, and this book from 2009 was all over social media back then. Service 95 is picking it up again, after Tokarczuk dropped a new book last year called The Empusium.

Tokarczuk writes brilliantly. She layers, alludes, uses humor and wit to outsmart the reader. I always feel dumb when I read her books. I hope to be a reader that can fully enjoy her books one day.

Belletrist: The motherload by Sarah Hoover

A memoir on postpartum depression and those that fall outside the blissful descriptions of motherhood.

I can sort of relate, I didn’t have postpartum, but I didn’t love being pregnant and I thought the baby era was kind of boring. But love grew over time and that’s okay too.

I’m guessing the target audience here are new moms that are feeling overwhelmed, but then again, when would they have time to read it?

We do not part by Han Kang

Nobel prize winner in 2024 has a new release that tells the story of a friendship between two women while powerfully reckoning with a hidden chapter in Korean history. A celebration of our fragile little lives.

I’m sure this is a must read for many!

Expected publication: January 21

What happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange

A look on a failed marriage from both sides, the imortance of community and middle school hockey. This one is giving me beartown vibes and I’m here for it! It sounds almost like a mystery, but I think it’s more family fiction.

Expected publication: january 14

Good dirt by Charlene Wilkerson

The author behind Black Cake – which I LOVED! And is also made into a tv-series I have yet to watch!

In good dirt we meet Ebby Freeman who heard her brother get shot when she was 10 years old and an old family heirloom got shattered in the killing. Her brothers murder was never solved, but the heirloom and it’s history will unlock both past and future in this multi-generational epic, a genre that Wilkerson has proven she is a master as telling!

Expected publication: january 28

Good girl by Aria Aber

A girl can get in almost anywhere, even if she can’t get out.

A debut novel about the daughter of Afghan refugees and her year of nightclubs, bad romance, and self-discovery—a portrait of the artist as a young woman set in a Berlin that can’t escape its history. This book sounds so good!

Expected publication: january 14

Pentinence by Kristin Koval

When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel—she’s also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.

Expected publication: January 28

The Crash by Freida McFadden

I’ll give it to McFadden, she is extremely productive! I’ve so far only read her housemaid series, but I see that I might have to dive into her backlog and upcoming books soon.

Tegan is running away from a crumbling life while 8 months pregnant, but she crashes along the way and is taken in by a couple that is about to show themselves not the good samaritans they give themselves out to be.

Expected publication: January 28

Withcraft for Wayward girls by Grady Hendrix

I’ve been telling myself to read Hendrix for years! The southern bookclub guide to slaying vampires, The final girl support group and How to sell a haunted house are all deep in my TBR pile!

Set in the 70’s at a home for wayward girls, where a librarian gives one of the girls a book on witchcraft and I think it’s safe to assume that some dark powers are summoned.

Expected publication: January 14