The Thursday Murder Club

 The Thursday Murder Club BK 1 by Richard Osman, 384 pages

Synopsis: In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late

My Thoughts: This book was a cute little novel about retirees solving murders. However, I would not recommend listening to the audiobook, as I struggled to follow along. The chapters were from different character's POV's, the narrator didn't have enough differentiation between voices, and I got lost a lot of the time. Also they have Americanized the audiobook, vs the true novel. All in all if you like cozy murder mysteries, you will enjoy this book. I also recommend watching the Netflix movie that's based on this book. 

Raised By Ghosts by Briana Loewinsohn

Raised By Ghosts by Briana Loewinsohn

224 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Set in the author’s own teenage years, Raised By Ghosts begins in 1991 with semi autobiographical Briana in middle school. Classes are a bummer, but lunches are worse; either spent alone, or being teased. Traditionally a good student, Briana is not doing well in her academics, but keeps it a secret. Her parents (divorced) are a mess, and largely absent. She spends a lot of time by herself. By high school, she makes friends, and those connections are her only source of happiness as they help each other navigate adolescence. But life at home with each parent remains fraught. When her relationships at school begin to falter, she has no one to turn to, forcing Briana to grapple with her sense of self-worth, her longing for belonging, and her desire for authenticity in her relationships.

Until We Meet Again: A Graphic Memoir by Lily Kim Qian

Until We Meet Again: A Graphic Memoir by Lily Kim Qian

224 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Lily isn't sure where home is anymore. Her family is constantly on the move, resettling in different towns across Canada and, eventually, in Shanghai, China. Her father plays the role of primary caregiver while her mother is absent for long periods of time. When she reappears, her strange behavior turns Lily's life upside down. As Lily enters her college years, she strives to better understand her family and her place in the world. But can she escape the inherited trauma passed down by her immigrant parents?

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry

 

Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry | 528 pages | 2025

The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.

I’ve spent my life kneeling—to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king. I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood. But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.

Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him—bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know. Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated? And what if—for the first time—I reached for it?

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

 

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young | 336 pages | 2025

High school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb Linwood have always been a sure thing. For the past seventeen years, they have had each other’s backs through all of life’s ups and downs. But Sarah has begun to wonder... who is she without her other half?

When she decides to take on a project of her own, a fundraising gala in memoriam of her late mother, Sarah wants nothing more than to prove to herself—and to everyone else—that she doesn’t need Caleb’s help to succeed. She’s still her mother’s daughter, after all, independent and capable. That is, until the event fails and Caleb uninvitedly steps in to save the day.

The rift that follows unearths a decade of grievances and doubts. Are they truly the same people they were when they got married at nineteen? Are they supposed to be? In a desperate attempt to fix what they fear is breaking, Sarah and Caleb make the spontaneous decision to get out of their comfort zone and join a grueling, week-long hiking trip intended to guide couples through rough patches.

What follows is a life-affirming comedy of errors as two nature-averse people fight their way out of the woods in order to find their way back to their roots.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Crooked by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

Crooked by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward -- 367 pages

The last thing I needed was a live-in bodyguard. And I definitely didn’t want him. Six foot two, with broad shoulders that were impossible to ignore and a talent for getting in my way, Wes Callahan was a walking bad decision.

But when you’re the daughter of a notorious mob boss, apparently your opinions stop mattering the moment your father ignites another war. I’d spent my entire life trying to escape that crooked world—new name, new city, newfound freedom. At least until I was suddenly shacked up with my new bodyguard.

Wes knew exactly how to push my buttons. He was also infuriatingly protective. And smart. And funny. And thoughtful when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Little by little, the walls I’d built started to crack, and falling for the bodyguard became the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done. Because if my father found out, Wes wouldn’t just lose his job. He’d lose his life. Getting involved with him was reckless, yet I couldn’t find a way to stop it, no matter how hard I tried. But while I was busy losing my heart, the man who took it was hiding a secret. And it turned out, the most dangerous man in my life wasn’t my father after all—it was the one who threatened to break my heart.

Westfallen: Into the Fire by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

 Westfallen: Into the Fire by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares (384 Pages)

Summary: Former best friends Henry, Frances, and Lukas thought they’d managed to restore history to its original path after their antics with a time-bending radio went awry. But they’re still trapped in Westfallen, the version of present-day America where the Axis won WWII, living an alternate—and much darker—version of their lives. Henry has to work at the Home for Incurables, Lukas is on hard labor all day, and only Frances, whose parents are members of the Nazi elite, gets to go to school and move freely. And since they and their friends in 1944 destroyed the radio, they have to find cruder and ever-more-desperate ways to communicate across time. Frances uses her privilege in Westfallen to gather as much information as she can, while Henry tries to turn Lukas into a local baseball hero to save him from being sent away to a work camp. But the deeper the three friends and their 1944 counterparts dig into how Westfallen came to be, the more they begin to attract unwanted attention from people with a vested interest in making sure this version of history becomes permanent…at any cost.

Opinion: I loved the first book, and I am happy to report that the second one is even better. I was a bit worried this book would be a copy of the first, but this book takes what the first establishes and raises the bar. I enjoyed getting to read from multiple POVS in each timeline, not just Henry and Alice. Francy's POV in particular was illuminating. I also really liked the Lukas baseball subplot. Overall, this book will resonate with plenty of, both kids and adults, about what it means to be brave. I'm looking forward to reading the final book in the series.