The Change by Kirsten Miller

 

5/5 ⭐

The Change by Kirsten Miller is not one for the faint of heart. It's not for someone looking for some light-hearted reading with a cookie-cutter ending. 

The Change is not for anyone unwilling to face their own mortality as they age and the 'changes' that come with it. This book is for anyone, especially women who will, have, or are going through 'The Change', better known as Menopause. Or if you are Blanche Devereaux, 'The Curse'. 

Following the pov of three middle-aged women at different points in their life, Miller blends mystery and light fantasy together as these three individuals come into gifts they alone can wield. 

For those interested, I will warn you that it takes a little before the story really picks up but once it does it is a gripping page-turner. So stick with it because trust me... you don't want to miss that ending. 

This was an unusual pick for me as I don't usually read books that too closely match real-world happenings. But there was something about this one that kept calling me, so I gave it a shot. 

And oh boy. But in the end, I managed to finish it in just two days. Not even moving from my seat to finish it, because I just needed to know the ending. 

Miller managed to write in such a way that you had to figure out what happened next. Dragging you in and in and in. It left me reeling in the best way possible and left me thinking about it constantly for days afterward. 

~CP

*Remember to check the TW, there are some heavy topics and explicit events that take place. 

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

 

The Kitchen Front was a deeply meaningful story written by bestselling author Jennifer Ryan, author of the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir and The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle.  

During World War II, the BBC hosted a radio program to help British housewives be more creative with their food rations.  The focus of the program was to share recipes and cooking tips to help manage rations.  The radio program, hosted by cuisine expert Ambrose Hart, decides to hold a cooking contest to try and find the program’s first female co-host to add a woman’s touch to the show.

The four main characters competing for a chance to co-host the radio program are women who are each very different in their own way and each woman has personal struggles that they are enduring.  There is Audrey Landon a young widow who is trying to find a way to pay her bills and to keep a roof over her children’s heads.  Miss Nell Brown the kitchen maid who is looking for a chance to leave her job and find freedom.  Lady Gwendoline Strickland is searching for an opportunity to escape her rich husband’s abuse.  Zelda Dupont a trained chef who is also pregnant hopes to win the cooking competition so that she can land a job as a top London chef. 

The challenges that the women face is far too much for them to handle by themselves.  However, as the story unfolds, the four women establish close friendships and become their own support network.  Through the wisdom that friendship and caring offer, each woman is transformed by the end of the story into a different person who is better able to handle their circumstances.  The Kitchen Front was heartwarming with many touching moments.  ~JE

 

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

 

 5/5 ⭐

This mind-blowing follow-up to A Psalm for the Wild-Built will leave you reflective and wanting for simplicity.

We are greeted once more by Sibling Dex and Mosscap as they continue their journey toward the city so Mosscap can ask their question "What do people need?"

While stopping in surrounding villages to seek answers and let Mosscap meet more people, Dex themselves is struggling with feeling burnout and guilt over taking care of themselves. And Mosscap must learn what it is to be sentient and what they want beyond their question. 

With even more exploration of burnout and not knowing what you want when you have at your fingertips anything you could want, Becky Chambers gives us a way to work through struggles we might not be able to put into words. 

~CP

Smile Beach Murder by Alicia Bessette

 

 5/5 ⭐

This first in a new cozy mystery will leave you desperate for more. 

It hits all the marks of a great cozy, small town life, a bookstore cat, and murder. 

A once journalist turned bookshop employee, Callie Padget is surrounded by supportive family and friends as she looks into the sudden death of a popular local. Who just so happened to die in the same place and manner as Callie's own mother decades before. 

As she travels across the beautiful scenery that is Cattail Island, experience every twist and turn and wait for an ending you won't expect. 

I cannot wait to see what happens next with this series. 

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer

Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer 

June 2022

Part mystery, part historical fiction with fascinating characters and insights into life in the 1500's, situated in a historic English manor in the present. Hannah and her precocious and troubled son Nicky, are staying with their Uncle Christopher in the manor, when Nicky discovers a body in a bricked-up forgotten section of Ashton Hall in Cambridge, England. This book has so many layers of engagement! What begins as a mystery morphs into a woman's journey to freedom. If you are a fan of historical fiction with a twist, this is for you. I learned so much about Tudor England. The author uses the discovery of a body, the time of difficult religious turmoil (Catholics vs Protestants), and pestilence as the backdrop for an intense family drama unfolding in the present. Belfer explores many relevant topics including sexual identity, fidelity, and neurodiversity which she does with great power and finesse through well-drawn characters. The Audible narration was especially captivating! I highly recommend this book!

Jaema Berman

Staff Picks - Chelsea's Top 5 for the First Half of 2022

We are halfway through 2022 and I thought I would share my top 5 titles I have read so far. I read a lot for my work and for myself. So, trying to narrow the list down seemed impossible. Which is why I decided to pick 5 for the first half of 2022 and another 5 at the end of the year. 

Without further ado, here is my list!

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney - This title will be released on 8/30/22. 

This mystery/thriller takes inspiration from one of Agatha Christies more challenging stories And Then There Were None and it does a fantastic job at it. I could not put this title down and read it in just one sitting.

I can't wait for you to get your hands on it. 

If you like Agatha Christie, challenging puzzles, and incredible twists, you'll like this one. 

From Below by Darcy Coates - 

Another incredible horror from my favorite author in the genre, From Below, takes us out to sea and the mysteries that lie below in the deepest parts of the ocean water. 

Join this crew of adventurers as they uncover horrible secrets of what happened to the SS Arcadia all those moons ago. 

If you like atmospheric horror and ghost stories, this one is for you.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree - 

If you like coffee, pastries, and fantasy, I have news for you. This cozy fantasy follows Viv, the retired barbarian orc looking to settle down and open a coffee shop. 

And if you think that it might be too laid back and gentle, you've got another thing coming. There is just enough action and challenges they have to face to make it engaging up until the end. 

Suffice to say I am hoping to see more from these characters!

Perfect for those new to fantasy and looking for an introduction to the genre.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers - 

I love Becky Chambers's work a lot. And this sci-fi novella series is no exception. I have recommended it to almost everyone I know that reads actively. 

This cozy sci-fi takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery and learning what is important to you and how to manage that with what is expected of you. I learned a lot about myself by reading this and I hope you do as well. 

If you like thought-provoking reads or are looking for something easy to get into the sci-fi genre, pick this one up. 

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake - 

Now, for me, this one was a surprise, because I am not the biggest fan of romances. But there was more than just romance here. There was a lot of self-reflection and familial events that made it feel much more fleshed out and solid. 

This was the first in a new series and I am excited to read the next one when it is out!

A positive LGBT+ romance for all. 

*All titles are available to check out through the library or are in the process of being ordered for the collection. 

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott 

Superb, chillingly darkly hilarious and heartbreakingly horrific. A black author is on a book signing tour for his best selling novel, Hell of a Book. He is experiencing loads of anxiety-out of body experiences- as he travels from city to city presenting in books stores, TV studios, and Town Hall venues essentially to discuss the success of his book, the plot and the reasons he wrote it. His brain literally becomes more and more unhinged as he pushes himself into discomfort and his behavior/persona gradually unravels. He is haunted by his brutally violent past resulting in flashbacks to personal tragedies that cloud his ability to function and remember details about his life. The writing is superb, chillingly, darkly hilarious and the story heartbreakingly real and horrifying. 

I could not put it down. The writing is mature and powerful. I appreciate reading about social topics that give me insight and understanding and I feel like in this case, Mott highly succeeded. It did win the 2022 National Book Award. My rating:

JB

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Firekeepers Daughter by Angeline Boulley

2021, 496p. Henry Holt and Co. 

https://catalog.tln.lib.mi.us/?section=frbr&iid=1028415&currentIndex=0&view=frbrFormatDisplayDetailsTab&facetFilters=%5B%5D

This extraordinary debut novel by Michigan Ojibwe author, Angeline Boulley in 2021, Firekeeper's Daughter was named one of the top YA novels of all time by Time Magazine. Taking place in Sault Ste, Marie, MI, the novel introduces you to Daunis, recent a high school graduate, hockey player, brilliant, half  Ojibwe-half white, dealing with identity and the pressure of living up to social and family expectations.  

In a community that values hockey "gods" and social status- where youth born into the indigenous community are looked down upon and judged because of their blood purity, tribal membership and ability to collect tribal annual funds, teens like Daunis and her brother Levi have opportunities like college but struggle with the easy availability of money and drugs. 

The plot, characters and good story writing makes this reading experience one of my all time best reads. I appreciate the author's use of Native American language, ritual ceremony, traditions, prayers and perspective that added much poetry and power to my understanding of this Michigan community-it's history and subsequent struggles that still exist. 

You are on a journey of self exploration and coming of age with a character who feels like she just steps off the page. I think that this book will become required reading in the near future. Read it now for the power and poetry.  

My Rating 5 stars! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

Read this now! Daunis Fontaine will capture your heart and stay with you always! 

JB

AWARDS: 

2022 Michigan Notable Book

A PRINTZ MEDAL WINNER!
A MORRIS AWARD WINNER!
AN AMERICAN INDIAN YOUTH LITERATURE AWARD YA HONOR BOOK!

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB YA PICK

An Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

Soon to be adapted at Netflix for TV with President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground.

“One of this year's most buzzed about young adult novels.” —Good Morning America

A TIME Magazine Best YA Book of All Time Selection
Amazon's Best YA Book of 2021 So Far (June 2021)
A 2021 Kids' Indie Next List Selection
An Entertainment Weekly Most Anticipated Books of 2021 Selection
A PopSugar Best March 2021 YA Book Selection

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

 

4.5/5 ⭐

This duel timeline horror novel features a haunted motel, serial killers, and a long-lost missing aunt. 

The night shift at the Sun Down Motel seems to attract trouble. Both for Viv, who worked there in 1982. And for her niece, Carly, who seeks it out to learn what really happened to her aunt all those years ago. 

The duel POV and time shift can be a little challenging to get used to but makes it well worth to see the parallel events from two different perspectives.

St. James has a talent for creating captivating settings from page one and manages to only build on it from there. Not only does the build-up create the perfect amount of suspense, the well tidied ending with a twist finishes this one off well. 

~CP

Simone St. James' newest book The Book of Cold Cases which came out in 2022 is available now!

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

 

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi is a clever, dynamic, and fun story for sci-fi fans. 

This is not a heavy or brooding science fiction piece. It is, in Scalzi's own words, a 'pop song'. And it truly is. It's engaging and fun and unforgettable. 

If you are newer to science fiction and worried about getting bogged down in explanations, this is the one for you. Scalzi gives us just what the reader needs to know and balances it well with witty dialogue and references to popular science fiction from the past. 

Beyond that, this book is for all the people behind the scenes that have kept and will keep everything running while the CEOs and other higher-ups take their vacations. This book is literally for the people doing the lifting.  

4/5⭐

~cp