Lucky Break

Lucky Break by Jaclyn Westlake (2025) 340 pages

Eliza, who's a renowned list-maker and planner, makes a huge move without much planning: she leaves her family and beloved city (San Francisco) within weeks after realizing that she and her fiancé weren't going to work out. She is accepted into a program to receive a stipend to help buy a cottage on a lake in Minnesota. 

She wants so much to find new friends. The other residents who live near her seem nice enough, except for Bob, who's an old curmudgeon, but they haven't started inviting her to their Sunday barbeques even after several weeks. There seems to be something about the woman who used to live in Eliza's house that makes the neighbors clam up. Eliza's tempted to go through some tubs filled with old mail that were left behind, to see if she can find out what happened to her.

The novel follows Eliza as she tries to fit in and have her questions answered. There are some memorable characters, and a few big reveals, but the book doesn't quite make it on my recommended list.

Some Kind of Famous

Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder (2025, 432 pages)

Merritt Valentine was launched into stardom as just a teenager. Her musical career bloomed, and she had her fair share of roller coaster affairs, parties, drugs, and paparazzi. Now in her 30s, the fame has run its course and she's ready for a quieter, more stable life. For two years she's been living with her sister, Olivia, and brother-in-law, Dev, in the tiny Colorado town of Crested Peak. Strained relationships with her mother and LA music execs, combined with a desire to leave her fame behind, pushes her into isolation in the already small community.

Niko Petrakis, while only having lived in Crested Peak for 8 years, is considered a local. He's the town handyman -- doing house repairs and furniture building. Handsome and kind, he clearly has a soft side.

In a small town, of course everyone knows each other but after an awkward first encounter and deniable mutual attraction, Merritt and Niko tend to avoid each other. Until they can't anymore.

What I liked:
✨Complex families, relationships, and characters that address their own flaws and sometimes fix them but sometimes don't
✨ Feminist themes and subplots
✨Good romance and spice!
✨Inclusion of some Greek language and culture
✨Was brought to happy tears!
✨Very raw -- doesn't sugar coat things

What I didn't like:
💤Overused female tropes
💤Sister drama starting and ending within 6 pages (I get that's sometimes how it is though)
💤Bit of a Hallmark ending, but still fun 

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert

Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen (2025) 230 pages

If you reimagine history's timeline and allow for a bit of jiggering around, perhaps you'll enjoy this short novel about Darnell, a struggling music producer who finds himself face to face with the real Harriet Tubman and a handful of her associates called the Freemans. Harriet wants to reach out to people today and to help them understand history, and to bring them to freedom. In spite of slavery not existing as it had in the past, it's clear that many people are not truly free, including Darnell, who's been afraid to live openly as the gay man he is. Darnell's task is to help Harriet and the Freemans produce a record and to put on a concert.

I do not know enough about Harriet Tubman's actual personality, but her depiction seems realistic. I enjoyed the imaginary interactions with this talented group of people.

Twilight Falls

 Twilight Falls by Juneau Black (2023, 258 pages)

Set just outside of the cozy Shady Hollow town, Twilight Falls captures the eyes of artists, travelers, hikers, swimmers, and those looking to relax in nature. Fox reporter Vera is on a picnic date with police chief bear Orville along with dozens of other creatures enjoying the spring day. This includes the new scandalous couple: spoiled heiress Stasia and blue collar Jonah. The single parent of each strongly disapproves of the romance. Stasia's mom wants her to marry another rich beaver to carry on the family fortune, and Jonah's dad Shelby has an old school desire for him to marry another otter. Shelby has even gone as far as yelling at and arguing with them in public. 

What should have been a lovely sunset is disrupted by someone wrestling in the water at the top of the falls. The community comes together to help, but hope quickly dissipates. Vera and Orville are back on the case, this time with the town's impressive involvement.

The usual Shady Hollow vibe of cute and cozy, albeit a little predictable. Cute, easy read and I like the continuation of the romance!

What I liked:

✨Cute and cozy! Love the woodland creature characters
✨Murder mystery in a fun way
✨Interesting characters with funny and meaningful dialogue that furthers the plot

What I didn't like:

💤Chekhov's gun predictability (sometimes!)

#4 in the Shady Hollow series.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

A Flicker in the Dark

 A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham (2022, 357 pages)

As a pre-teen, Chloe's father is arrested for multiple no-body homicides. Now nearing the 20 year anniversary of the murders, other girls start going missing.

A hodge-podge of characters, but with some twists. It's predictable, the main character is not enjoyable for me to listen to, and there are minor errors that break the world for me ("I'm going to get my PhD, then eventually, my master's." Where's your editor??). The premise sounds super interesting but, in my opinion, not well executed.

⭐⭐

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Like, Comment, Subscribe: Inside YouTube's Chaotic Rise to World Domination by Mark Bergen (2022), 407 pgs. 

"Charlie bit my finger!" Evolution of Dance. Annoying Orange. Fred. 
You have probably seen a YouTube video at least once in your life, whether it be one of the viral clips mentioned above, or just a simple tutorial or cat video. For all the videos you have seen though, there are hundreds of thousands more that you haven't. There is no larger collection of homemade footage than YouTube. In this look into YouTube's formation and business practices, journalist Mark Bergen delves deeply into the values of the company and how they have led to some extreme issues. Bergen talks about the harm that has come from YouTube's practices in terms of content moderation (or lack thereof), and its, at times, tenuous relationship with the very creators who make it what it is. 

If you are a fan of YouTube, or even just an occasional viewer of its content, this is an interesting read. I grew up insatiably consuming videos from my favorite creators, and from time to time they would mention YouTube policy (often in frustration). They would talk about how they changed their content in response to "the algorithm." This book examines how "the algorithm" came to be, what YouTube brass has done to change it, and how sometimes it seems like the code itself is running the show. Mark Bergen manages to write this book about a business in a way that is both captivating and understandable for someone who does not often read nonfiction. I highly, highly recommend.   

Hole in the Sky

Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson, 288 pages

When strange things start happening in the sky above Oklahoma, everyone from military leaders to astrophysicists to the people who live on the Cherokee reservation below the titular "hole in the sky" are on high alert and wondering what could possibly be happening. It's obvious that whatever's going on is an alien response to the golden record sent out on Voyager spacecraft in 1977, but whether that response is diplomatic, investigative, or hostile, nobody knows, which means everyone has to be prepared for all contingencies.

Told from the rotating points of view of a U.S. military leader, a rogue astrophysicist, a mysterious hidden interpreter of cosmic prophecies (all of which have been true), and a Cherokee man attempting to rebuild a relationship with his teen daughter, this first contact story is a bit of a different spin than we usually see. While the plot wanders a bit at times and there's a bit more gore than I prefer, I really appreciated seeing an indigenous take on alien contact. I haven't seen that perspective before, and the way it's presented here makes it an excellent story.

We Are All Guilty Here

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter, 448 pages

Everybody knows everybody else in the tiny town of North Falls, something that becomes more than problematic when two teen girls disappear one Fourth of July. For police officer Emmy Clifton, it's particularly personal, as one of the girls is the daughter of her best friend, a girl who wanted to talk to — and then got brushed off by — Emmy in the moments leading up to her disappearance. As the hunt for the girls and their kidnappers ramps up, Emmy's friendship is on the line just as much as the lives of the girls.

This is a page-turner of a mystery/thriller, and I appreciated the multifaceted troubles of the main characters. That said, there's also a sizeable time jump that doesn't just make you question everything you just read; it also resets the plot entirely, back to square one, after 100 pages of investment. Between that and a few inconsistencies that I just couldn't buy (there is NO WAY that tiny of a town required that large of a high school), I had a bit of trouble with this one. However, it is a quick and thrilling read, once you jump those mental hurdles.

The Other Side of Now

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison, 320 pages

Meg Bryan seemingly has everything she ever wanted: a successful acting career (under her stage name Lana Lord, since her given name is a bit close to a certain romcom star), a heartthrob boyfriend, adoring fans, you name it. But as she nears her 30th birthday, Meg takes a spur-of-the-moment trip to the small Irish town she and her high school bestie, Aimee, always dreamed of moving to. But when she arrives, she realizes that somewhere over the ocean, she's slipped into an alternate reality where everyone in town knows her by her real name, where she has a history with the cute pub owner, and, crucially, where Aimee is still alive.

This Sliding Doors-esque book is decent, with plenty of personal growth on Meg's part, fun characters in the Irish village, and a ridiculously cute dog (always a selling point). Where this book struggles, however, is the fact that the alternate reality shift and shift back are never actually explained. It's an OK read, but only if you're happy to skim over the lack of logic.

Ajo y el Vampiro (Garlic and the Vampire)

 Ajo y el Vampiro por Bree Paulsen (2021), 151 pgs. 

Ajo estaba contenta (mas o menos) con su vida, cultivando con sus amigos vegetales bajo el cuidado de Bruja Agnes, pero todo cambio cuando los vegetales se dieron cuenta del humo saliendo del castillo cerca de su pueblo. Los vegetales todos, especialmente Ajo, se ponian asustados que habria un vampiro viviendo en el castillo. Ajo tiene mucha ansiedad en un dia normal, y este no era un dia normal. Los vegetales nominaron a Ajo para confrontar al vampiro, y ella debe decidir si quiere seguir viviendo con miedo o finalmente quiere enfrentar sus ansiedades.
Garlic was more or less content with her life, gardening with her vegetable friends under the care of Witch Agnes, but everything changed when the vegetables noticed smoke coming from the castle near their town. All the vegetables, especially Garlic, were scared that there could be a vampire living in the castle. Garlic is very anxious on a normal day, and this was no normal day. The vegetables nominated Garlic to confront the vampire, and she must decide if she wants to continue living in fear or finally face her anxieties. 

I read this short, cute graphic novel in Spanish, so I attempted to describe it in Spanish as well. Please let me know of any grammatical or translation errors I made (of which I am sure there are many). I am trying to learn, and any corrections or suggestions help!
In regards to the story, though, it is so cute! The drawings are really well done, and the colors of all the vegetable friends work together really well. If you are looking for a fun story to practice your Spanish and read about vegetables facing their fears and loving their friends, this is the book for you :)