The Widow

Title: The Widow
Author: John Grisham
Published: October 21, 2025 by Doubleday
Format: Kindle, Hardcover 416 Pages
Genre: Legal Thriller
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: Simon Latch is a lawyer in rural Virginia, making just enough to pay his bills while his marriage slowly falls apart. Then into his office walks Eleanor Barnett, an elderly widow in need of a new will. Apparently, her husband left her a small fortune, and no one knows about it.

Once he hooks the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But soon her story begins to crack. When she is hospitalized after a car accident, Simon realizes that nothing is as it seems, and he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.

Simon knows he’s innocent. But he also knows the circumstantial evidence is against him, and he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. To save himself, he must find the real killer.

My Opinion: *I usually find myself swept up in John Grisham’s storytelling, but this novel was a disappointment. The first 40% dragged with repetitive scenes and little momentum, leaving me bored and wondering when the real story would begin. When the plot finally picked up, I held out hope for a twist or spark of originality, but what unfolded was predictable at best.

From the early chapters, the word “grifter” kept surfacing in my mind when it came to Eleanor. Simon, the main character, on the other hand, openly acknowledged his own greed as her lawyer, and with everything spelled out so plainly, there was little suspense left to carry the novel forward. The question became not “what will happen?” but “how long will it take to get there?” Unfortunately, the answer took far too long with little payoff.

The ending sealed the disappointment. It read like an author who had grown tired of his own story, padding pages until he hit the required count. The supposed reveal was so far out of left field that it felt disconnected from the rest of the narrative, leaving no sense of closure. The only faint hope is that Simon might reappear in another Grisham novel, where his arc could finally find resolution.

I watched an interview with Grisham where he seemed almost disengaged from the book, as if he knew it was subpar, yet smug in knowing readers would buy it anyway. That impression was the final nail in my reading experience, making the novel feel more like a contractual obligation than a work he was proud of.

This should have been a DNF for me, but I kept turning pages out of past loyalty and disbelief in that Grisham would let me down this badly.

Skylark

Title: Skylark
Author: Paula McLain
Expected Publication Date: January 6, 2026, by Atria Books
Format: Kindle, 464 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: 1664: Alouette Voland is the daughter of a master dyer at the famed Gobelin Tapestry Works, who secretly dreams of escaping her circumstances and creating her own masterpiece. When her father is unjustly imprisoned, Alouette's efforts to save him lead to her own confinement in the notorious Salpêtrière asylum, where thousands of women are held captive and cruelly treated. But within its grim walls, she discovers a small group of brave allies, and the possibility of a life bigger than she ever imagined.

1939: Kristof Larson is a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris, whose neighbors on the Rue de Gobelins are a Jewish family who have fled Poland. When Nazi forces descend on the city, Kristof becomes their only hope for survival, even as his work as a doctor is jeopardized.

A spellbinding and transportive look at a side of Paris known to very few—the underground city that is a mirror reflection of the glories above—Paula McLain’s unforgettable new novel chronicles two parallel journeys of defiance and rescue that connect in ways both surprising and deeply moving.

My Opinion: The novel unfolds across two distinct timelines: 1664 and 1939–1942. At first, they feel like separate novels stitched together, each compelling in its own right. The 1664 thread follows Alouette, the daughter of a dyer, who is unjustly confined to the Salpêtrière asylum. Her story is harrowing, a portrait of how women’s lives could be crushed under the weight of power misused and medicine weaponized. The later timeline introduces Kristof Larsen, a medical student beginning his psychiatric residency in Paris just as the Nazi occupation takes hold. His path leads him into the resistance, where courage and quiet acts of defiance become his daily custom.

Both narratives are rich with atmosphere and deeply human struggles. McLain explores resilience, identity, and the fragile line between good and evil. She reminds us that history repeats itself and that the fight to preserve one’s humanity is timeless. The novel also forces readers to confront uncomfortable truths about exploitation, particularly of women, within systems meant to heal.

Yet, for all its strengths, the book asks for patience. At the halfway mark, the connection between Alouette and Kristof remains elusive, and the reader is left puzzling over how two stories separated by nearly three centuries will converge. Only in the epilogue, when a skylark etched in stained glass is discovered after the 2019 Notre Dame fire, does the link finally surface, and the reader must remember the beginning pages of the novel.

That reveal, however, feels too little, too late. After investing in two powerful journeys, the conclusion lands abruptly. It offers hope and resilience, echoes of what the novel has already emphasized, but not the deeper resolution the story seemed to promise. I wasn’t looking for a neat happily-ever-after, but I did want something more than repetition.

In the end, Skylark is a novel of courage and endurance, beautifully written in parts, but one whose final note does not reach the heights I was looking for.

Bees in June

Title: Bees in June
Author: Elizabeth Bass Parman
Published: September 2, 2025 by Harper Muse
Format: Kindle, Paperback 352 Pages
Genre: Magical Realism
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: Set against the optimism and excitement of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969, a feat many said was impossible, one woman struggles to achieve something she thinks is impossible--living a happy and fulfilling life.

Rennie King's world isn't at all what she expected when she married the hotshot baseball player from her small town of Spark, Tennessee. Reeling from the loss of her newborn son, she desperately needs the support of her husband, but instead of providing comfort, he is becoming increasingly angry, often turning that anger on her.

When a glowing bee lands beside her, Rennie senses she needs to check on her beloved beekeeper uncle. The bee stirs long-forgotten memories of a childhood lived close to nature, a connection she lost over time. As the summer progresses, she finds both the bees and her uncle advising and encouraging her. While healing from her loss, she gains the courage to break free from the husband who is becoming increasingly violent.

With help from her family, her friends, and of course, the bees, Rennie dares to hope that she can build a happy life for herself and opens a business that could provide a path to independence. But starting over is hard, and as the heat rises that summer, so do tempers, until everything comes to a head the night the astronauts first step onto the moon's surface.

My Opinion: There’s something about bees on a cover or woven into a storyline that always makes me want to pick up the book. Bees in June leans into that fascination, using bees not just as symbols but as literal, sometimes mystical, messengers. There’s even a side conversation between two bees, though it’s never entirely clear if they’re actual bees, spirits, or something else altogether. That ambiguity adds a layer of charm, even if it leaves the reader slightly puzzled.

Set in Tennessee in 1969, at the time of the moon landing, yet the novel feels steeped in the atmosphere of the 1950s, with its small-town rhythms, cultural echoes, and law enforcement that still thinks women are the property of their husbands. At the heart of the story is Rennie, caught in a marriage with Tiny, a man who has been abusive from the start. Rennie’s naïveté and longing to hold onto the love she thought she had blinds her to the truth, even as those around her quietly recognize what she cannot yet admit. This is where the book shines: in its portrayal of family and community, as they patiently wait for someone lost to find the courage to ask for help.

Parman layers the narrative with many threads of abuse and survival, the possibility of new love, the grounding presence of scripture, and the uncanny “woo-woo” sense of knowing the future without being able to explain how. Bees themselves become part of this tapestry, sending messages to those willing to listen, reminding us that love and change can arrive in unexpected forms.

What struck me most was the balance between simplicity and depth. Some readers may call it folksy, but for me, it carried a quiet resonance. Sometimes a book doesn’t need to be grand or polished to hit just right; it only needs to speak to the part of us that still believes in small miracles.

And really, who doesn’t want to believe in the magic of bees and the possibility of change?

Match Me If You Can

Title: Match Me If You Can
Author: Heidi Shertok
Published: October 30, 2025 by Embla Books
Format: Kindle, 416 Pages
Genre: Romance
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Blurb: For five years Ashira Wernick has thrown herself into the company her mother built, continuing her work as a matchmaker in the Orthodox Jewish community. But when a small (read: huge) faux pas lands her in hot water with one of the most powerful families in Brooklyn, Ashira's future starts to look a little shaky.

Now, her only hope of saving her mother's legacy is to make the match of the century and she has just the person in mind: New York City's most eligible (and eternally single) bachelor, Caleb Kahn. Her older brother's best friend, and the man she is determined to keep her distance from.

As each match goes from bad to worse, with Caleb seemingly intent on sabotaging every date she sets up, Ashira will need to take a more hands-on approach if she is going to repair her damaged reputation. She just never figured that her heart would be on the line too.

My Opinion: I’ll admit, I was a little nervous going into Match Me If You Can. Heidi Shertok’s debut, Unorthodox Love, set the bar high, and we all know that second books don’t always capture the same magic. But this one? It absolutely delivered.

From the very first chapters, the humor sparkles, the banter feels effortless, and the romance is flirty without ever tipping into excess. What really impressed me, though, was how Shertok weaves cultural insight into the story. Without ever feeling heavy handed, she opens a window into the Orthodox Jewish community, showing how tradition, reputation, and personal longing can collide in ways that are both poignant and relatable. I love it when a book teaches me something new while keeping me entertained, and this one did exactly that.

At the heart of the novel is Ashira Wernick, a matchmaker caught between duty and desire. Her professional role demands she help others find love, yet her own heart is drawn to Caleb Kahn, a former Navy SEAL turned CEO, whose past and present make him both intriguing and complicated. Their dynamic plays out against the backdrop of communal expectations, with the friends to lovers trope adding sweetness and tension. Miscommunication, longing, and the fear of repeating past mistakes all swirl together, creating a story that feels both lighthearted and emotionally grounded.

What makes Match Me If You Can shine is its balance. It’s undeniably a romcom, with humor softening the edges of cultural and personal struggles, but it also carries depth. Shertok reminds us that love isn’t just about sparks, it’s about navigating the spaces between tradition and individuality, and finding joy even when life feels like a string of mismatched dates.

In short, this book is witty, heartfelt, and unexpectedly illuminating. It’s the kind of story that makes you laugh, root for the characters, and walk away with a deeper appreciation for the world it portrays.