Once and Again by Rebecca Serle

March 11, 2026

Don’t you wonder about a review that begins with “although”? Although I wanted to love Rebecca Serle’s latest novel, Once and Again, and I finished it, I didn’t love it. In fact, the three female characters all fell flat for me. Although...

The Astral Library by Kate Quinn

February 17, 2026

“Have you ever wanted to live inside a book?” Kate Quinn departs from her usual historical fiction to enter the world of magical realism, libraries and books in The Astral Library. While some of her usual readers might be disappointed, this book hit...

A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa

January 20, 2026

Although the cover of A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa is beautiful, I didn’t sink into this translation from the Korean as I often do with these books. It wasn’t the fault of the translator, Slin Jung. I think it was the presence of...

The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman

January 07, 2026

Do you believe in magic? Do you believe in the magic of words, of books, of libraries? Jennifer Moorman’s The Charmed Library reminds me of the magic in Sarah Addison Allen’s books. The magic in words reminds me of a juvenile book I read years ago, A...

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

September 24, 2022

Sarah Addison Allen’s novels are always magical. They’re few and far between, and the rarity just adds to the magic that she puts into her books. If you haven’t read Garden Spells or The Peach Keeper or any of her other books, you’ve missed the...