What I’m Reading (1.20.26)

Promise Me Sunshine by Cara Bastone (★★★★★)

Print• Owned (Book of the Month) • Contemporary Fiction • 2025

Short synopsis: Grieving the loss of her best friend, a young woman’s life is turned upside down when she meets a grumpy stranger who swears he can help her live again.

Cara Bastone is quickly becoming an autobuy author for me. This is the second romance I’ve read from her, and I loved it just as much as the first. This is a heavy novel, as it deals with grief and loss and moving forward after tragedy. But it’s also a beautiful exploration of finding yourself after being completely broken by loss. What I loved about this novel is that it talks about soulmates who aren’t romantic partners. Lenny, the main character, considered her best friend, Lou, to be her soulmate. They lived together and went through so many ups and downs as a pair. As someone who considers my mom to be my soulmate, I could relate to Lenny so deeply. This kind of loss terrifies me, and the way Lenny completely fell apart afterward felt so true and raw and real. This novel isn’t only about grief, though. There’s also a love story and Lenny’s adorable relationship with the little girl she’s nannying for. I thought the love story was so well done. It built slowly, and Miles was so tender with Lenny. They waited a long time to even share a first kiss because Miles didn’t want to interfere with Lenny’s healing process. Everyone who is grieving unimaginable loss should have someone like Miles—someone you can call when the grief feels too overwhelming to bear. This novel touched my soul deeply, which isn’t something I expect from a romance, and I can’t wait to read her next release!

What Have You Done? by Shari Lapena (★★★★☆)

Audiobook • Libby • Thriller • 2024

Short synopsis: When a teenage girl named Diana Brewer is found murdered in a hayfield, the idyllic town of Fairhill, Vermont, shatters, turning a close-knit community into a landscape of fear, suspicion, and the urgent question of who among them is responsible.

Ooh, this thriller was so good! I love a Shari Lapena thriller, but the last one I read from her was a big disappointment, so I went into this one with apprehension. The novel jumps between many points of view: Diana’s best friend, the parents of Diana’s boyfriend (who quickly becomes a prime suspect), a teacher at the school, Diana’s coach, Diana’s mom, etc. There are also journal entries from one of Diana’s friends, as well as passages from Diana’s own point of view as she checks in on the investigation in a ghost-like state. It’s a propulsive novel, and while I had a pretty good idea who the murderer was, the author still took me on a ride with plenty of twists and turns. Will this thriller stand out at the end of the year? Probably not, but it was an enjoyable, fast-paced read that kept my attention.

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (★★★★☆ 1/2)

Print • Owned (indie bookstore) • Literary Fiction • 2023

Short synopsis: After a newlywed husband is diagnosed with a condition that will turn him into a great white shark while leaving his mind intact, a woman confronts love, grief, and inherited trauma as she decides whether to fully embrace connection in the face of inevitable transformation and loss.

This book got a lot of buzz a few years ago, but the premise was so absurd that I didn’t consider it for myself. But then trusted readers started to rave about it, including people who also thought the premise was absurd but loved the book anyway, so I bought the book, let it sit on my shelf for almost a year, and plucked it off my shelf to fulfill the January prompt for my Unread Shelf Challenge (a book that starts with the first letter of your name). This book was beautiful. It is poetic and heartfelt and thoughtful. It’s about motherhood and love and grief and moving forward after loss. When I finished the book, I just stared off into the distance for a while, thinking about the premise. Because, while yes, no condition will turn someone into a great white shark, some diseases and conditions change the people we love. That takes them away from us. That changes who we are as we take care of them. And they change the people who are dealing with the condition; they might become more angry or violent, more despondent or melancholy. We all become different versions of ourselves after something like a cancer diagnosis or a sudden disability. I think the author did such a beautiful job of showing the nuances that come from both sides of these experiences.

What are you reading?