Happy Wednesday, friends! I have some great book reviews for you guys today, including a highly anticipated romance that lived up to all of my expectations. Love when that happens!
Also – fun little announcement: You can also find me over on Elisabeth’s blog today, as one of her Gratitude Guests. She asked me to write all about my pets and also let me send her about a million pictures of my cats, so how could I say no? It was super fun to reflect on all the ways my pets bring me joy and gratitude in my life, and I’m immensely grateful to Elisabeth for letting me fawn over my four-legged lovebugs!
Now, onto the reviews!
Heartwood by Amity Gaige (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Spotify • Mystery • 2025
Short synopsis: Heartwood takes you on a journey as a search and rescue team race against time when an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine.
I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about this book, so I decided to give it a try on audio. These types of books (literary mysteries) often work better for me in that format, and in this case, it was the right call! The audiobook was fantastic, with multiple narrators, and I really enjoyed the way they included things like transcripts and interviews into the narrative.
I really, really enjoyed this book. It follows three women: the hiker who disappeared, the game warden who is leading the search-and-rescue mission, and an old lady in a retirement community who is following the search. While I could have done without the last POV, I was fully immersed in the first two POVs and I was on the edge of my seat as the search-and-rescue team got closer and closer to the missing hiker. This was a fascinating story and so beautifully written. I can absolutely understand why it has gotten so many rave reviews. (Recommendation sources: Lisa, Birchie)
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez (★★★★★)
Print • Owned (Barnes & Noble) • Contemporary Romance • 2025
Short synopsis: Xavier and Samantha have one unforgettable date that changes everything. When family crisis pulls her away, they’re left to decide if a single perfect night is enough, or if it’s worth fighting for a love that lasts.
Oh my GOODNESS. This book! It gave me all of the happy feels. It was the kind of book I didn’t want to finish, so I tried to savor every chapter. The thing about Abby Jimenez is that she’s going to take you through the emotional wringer because her books are not just sappy love stories; they are also about grief and tragedy and the hard parts of life. In this case, Samantha’s mother is in her mid-fifties when she is diagnosed with early-onset dementia and needs round-the-clock care. The whole family (Samantha, her two siblings, her grandma, and her father) pitches in to help, but it also means that Samantha has to move to California to help take care of her mother, while Xavier lives in Minnesota. And since he’s just opened a veterinary clinic that’s not yet breaking even… their romance is not as simple as one may think.
What I loved most about this book is how real everything felt. Samantha’s family loved fiercely, but they also fought with each other and avoided each other and kept secrets from each other. It was messy and heartbreaking, but beautiful, too. I truly had no idea how Jimenez was going to bring Xavier and Samantha together. It all felt impossible! And yet… she did, and the resolution was immensely satisfying. When I finished this novel, I just wanted to flip back to the beginning and experience it all over again. It will be hard to find another romance that made me feel so swoony, so it’s an easy contender for my favorite romance (and maybe book!) of the year.
The Address by Fiona Davis (★★★★☆)
Print • Owned (Amazon) • Historical Fiction • 2017
Short synopsis: After rising to head housekeeper in a London hotel, Sara Smythe’s life changes when Theodore Camden offers her a chance to manage New York’s grand Dakota Apartments, a role full of opportunity—and complicated feelings—for a woman in 1884. One hundred years later, a down-on-her-luck aspiring designer is given the opportunity to bring the famous Dakota into the modern age.
This is one of those historical novels that dips back and forth in time, which is a plot device that doesn’t always work for me. Thankfully, for this novel, I thought both plotlines were equally intriguing. Sara is a woman who is so easy to root for. I just wanted good things for her, even when she was making some really poor choices. Her story took some unexpected turns, and in doing so, it shone a light on some of the challenges facing women during this time period. And in the other storyline, you have Bailey, who is fresh from rehab and trying to rebuild her life after making her own poor choices. But Bailey has opportunities that weren’t afforded to Sara, creating a striking contrast between their stories. While these types of historical fiction novels typically don’t make my favorites list at the end of the year, they are the books that I think about fondly and wholeheartedly recommend for a satisfying, thought-provoking read.
What are you reading?
I liked Heartwood too, although I didn’t LOVE it like it seemed everyone else did. But it was a good read.
I just finished The Thing Around Your Neck and it was SO good. My third five star read in a row! I’m on a roll!
Yes, I think listening to Heartwood was the best format for me. It might have been a little bit of a slog in print. Such an interesting novel, though!
I’m currently reading the thriller The Man Made of Smoke and it is pulling me in!
I am on a hold list for Heartwood and sooooo far down the list it will take forever to get it, but I am pumped!!!
I’ve read a lot of historical fiction lately and agree that sometimes I cannot stand the alternating timelines and other times it works so well.
My favourite book in August was Good Dirt and it had A LOT of timelines, but I thought it was so well done and I adored the book. Next up, I need to order Black Cake by the same author.
And…THANKS FOR GUEST POSTING TODAY <3
I need to read Good Dirt AND Black Cake. I have heard of the author but was never pulled into her books, but nothing like a strong recommendation to make me add them to my TBR!
I’m so honored to be asked to guest post. Thank you!
I loved the newest Jimenez book, too. Her books are always partially set in the Minneapolis area so I have been to many of the places she describes which makes her books extra enjoyable! I also really liked Heartwood. I haven’t read The Address but I have read most of that author’s other work!
I’m reading “Heart of the Winter” now which is the 2nd book about a decades-long marriage that I’ve read in the span of the month. In both novels, one of the people in the marriage is sick. It’s probably not ideal to read these books so close together (the other one was This is a Love Story) but oh well. It’s the way my holds worked out!
Oh, I’m glad you loved the new Jimenez book! I always think of you when I read them since they’re set in Minneapolis (usually).
I’m with Nicole- I liked Heartwood but I didn’t LOVE it as much as everyone else. Oh and that third POV that you didn’t care for- it became crucial to the plotline at the end, right? I did like how it all tied together.
I just started Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor, and I’m liking it so far!
It was crucial to the plot, but I think there could have been a different way for the trackers to find the lost hiker without her POV. The ending to her POV was a little trite, in my eyes. But still, a great read!
It’s fun to learn about you on Elisabeth’s blog!
Because of your post here, I just reserved Heartwood on audio and The Address in real book form. I was drawn to The Address by the cover, and by the fact that it is based on The Dakota, a building that figures large in one of my favorite books, Time and Again, by Jack Finney. (I’ve never been to NY, but that book GRABBED me and I’ve never forgotten it.)
Hi Jana – thanks for stopping by! I really appreciate it. 🙂
I hope you love both Heartwood and The Address. There is such a sense of time and place with The Address – I loved learning so much about The Dakota!
I just started Heartwood today! I’m a couple of chapters in, and I’m assuming the elderly woman (Lena) is Valarie’s mother, based only on how upset she is when she hears the age of the missing woman, and an earlier chapter where we found out that Valarie’s mom was really worried about her going hiking, she had a ‘bad feeling’. Time will tell!
I’ve read a couple of Abby Jiminez books, I will put this one on hold, thank you!
Never mind, that would have been too obvious, right? Can you tell I don’t read a lot of mysteries?
Abby Jimenez has really turned a corner, hasn’t she? I was giving her a side-eye for a long time after the debacle that was The Friend Zone. Maybe I’ll have to forgive her (but I will #neverforget).
Heartwood is already on my TBR but I have not put it on hold yet. I only have 5 spots and they are all used up already. Arghhhh.