Fiction
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (4.5 stars) (ARC) This tradwife thriller (the second one I’ve read directly inspired by Ballerina Farm) is going to be one of the hot reads of 2026. A homesteading influencer, Natalie lives an outwardly perfect life with her cowboy husband, quiverfull of children, and secret staff of nannies and producers. Behind the scenes, she’s falling apart. When she wakes up one morning in the actual 1800s, she decides to figure out what’s real or die trying. I could not put this one down.
Coldwire by Chloe Gong (3 stars) In this soup of The Matrix and Starship Troopers with a dash of Blade Runner, humanity has mostly abandoned the physical world to live in virtual reality (“upcountry”). Two young corporate soldiers, Eirale and Lia, are completing secret and increasingly parallel missions in an enemy country. This book was way too long (almost 500 pages) and the names of the countries annoyed me phonetically. However, the ending was good. Not sure if I’ll continue the series.
Women are the Fiercest Creatures by Andrea Dunlop (4.5 stars) Three Seattle women have romantic and business entanglements with a famous tech CEO – his ex-wife Anna, his current (young) wife Jessica, and his college girlfriend Samanta. As secrets are revealed, the women slowly band together to take him down and get what’s theirs. I loved this.
The Influencers by Anna-Marie MacLemore (4 stars) A mystery following a superstar mom influencer (I guess I’m having a thing with this) and her five grown daughters, one of whom has been missing for years. When the mom’s mansion goes up in flames and kills her new husband in the fire, everyone is a suspect. This book was a lot more layered than it sounds. I also guessed the twist well in advance and was VERY proud of myself.
Nonfiction
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (4.5 stars) (book club) This classic contains two pieces, one addressed to Baldwin’s nephew and the other a musing on race and faith.
I Want to Burn This Place Down: Essays by Maris Kreizman (5 stars) These intelligent rants from a fellow progressive white woman in her 40s were cathartic for me. Highly recommend her newsletter, The Maris Review, which helped me feel okay about writing these book reviews again.
Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by David W. Marx (3 stars) While this cultural analysis had some interesting parts, it too dragged on too long (almost 400 pages) and seemed to come to the depressing and popular conclusion that culture is over and everything is slop now.
That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You by Elyse Meyers (3 stars) As an Elyse fan, I was excited to read her new memoir, but some of the more whimsical content just didn’t hit for me. I am proud of her though.
Floored: A Woman’s Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage—A Comprehensive Guide for Women of All Ages by Dr. Sara Reardon (4 stars) I learned a LOT of useful information in this book, including that there is a right and a wrong way to pee. WHO KNEW?!? I recommended the book to my physical therapist and she is now reading it. Dr. Reardon lives in New Orleans and you can feel it in her down-to-earth writing.
Big Baby: On Endings, Beginnings, and an Interdimensional Cat by Kevin James Thornton (4 stars) (ARC) You may know Kevin James Thornton as the “In my super fundamentalist church when IT WAS THE 90s” autotune guy from TikTok. I enjoyed hearing about his life, how he got to where he is, and how it’s never too late to bloom. He seems like a sweet soul.
The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, ed. Jesmyn Ward (3.5 stars) (book club) We read this in response to The Fire Next Time (with constant hilarity/confusion about which book was which). These essays were published in 2016 and feel very of their moment. They’re organized into the themes of Past, Present, and Future. My favorite was the Kevin Young piece where he kept interrupting himself to vent about Rachel Dolezal.