Flying Solo by Linda Holmes: Her second novel was just as enjoyable as her first, with wonderful characters, a sweet romance, a little mystery, and an unconventional happy ending.
Just One Look by Lindsay Cameron: A fun thriller about a young lawyer who, after spectacularly blowing up her life and career, has to start over as a contract attorney doing document review. The documents she reviews, which lead to a new, dangerous obsession, are a lot more exciting than the documents I reviewed when I was a lawyer.
The Bear Went over the Mountain by William Kotzwinkle: A laugh-out-loud-on-the-subway book about a bear who finds a manuscript in the woods and decides to get it published. It's a satire not only of academia and publishing, but humanity, too.
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova: Córdova's short story was one of the only good ones from Toil and Trouble, so I was excited to read its expansion into a novel filled with family legacies, art, magic, and resilience.
The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie by Rachel Linden: This was a disappointment. The protagonist, stuck in her life, is given three magic lemon drops that allow her to live out a day where she has made different choices in the past. She was far too passive and martyrish, though, and the resolution was a bit too pat. A far better novel about regrets and "what ifs" is Matt Haig's The Midnight Library.
