Every month we let you know what we’ve been reading and our monthly recommendations. You’ll get to see new titles with fabulous reviews from the Bay Books team. We’re sure you’ll love these fantastic books just as much as we do. We recommend a wide range of genres and themes. So get ready to explore more books!
Tina’s Picks
The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed
A society matchmaker realizes she’s in danger when her clients’ weddings are sabotaged in increasingly disturbed ways — an utterly original mystery and who doesn’t love a good mystery while lounging on the beach? Not this girl!
North of Tomboy by Julie A. Swanson
Anybody who has ever grown up, or wanted to, in the rough and tumble, never ending summer of Northern Michigan, will immediately identify with preteen Jessica, someone who doesn’t feel like she’s in the right body because ALL the things she loves to do, boys get to do, and she doesn’t. She doesn’t like to wear dresses but makes a bargain with her mother that she will wear them twice a week during the school year and she wants to cut her long, blonde hair but she can’t. But things change when she once again receives a doll for Christmas, which she names ‘Mickey’ and who will say all the things that she can’t seem to say. A fantastic growing-up story, finding out who you are, and helping others to understand as well.
The Cornish Princess (The Goldenchild Prophecy, #1) by Tanya Crosby
I started reading this before I went to work and was riveted! I couldn’t wait to get home to read it and did until the wee hours of the morning. This is historical fiction with fae characters as well, and each character is so vividly portrayed that you truly become invested in the story and in them. I’m looking forward to reading the next two in this series. Based upon a real Warrior Queen, you will feel her situation and emotions deep in your bones. And who doesn’t love Scottish Highlanders?
Becky’s Pick
The Martha’s Vinyard Beach and Book Club By Marth Hall Kelly
As a former librarian and current book lover, this book spoke to me.
2016, as Mari grieves the death of her mother, she travels to Martha’s Vinyard, in
search of a name and address she found on a scrap of paper while going through her
mother’s belongings. Mrs. Devereaux turns out to be a rather famous artist living on a
stunning waterfront farm on Martha’s Vinyard. As they share stories over the weekend
visit, Mari learns of the Smith sisters who once lived on the farm.
1942, the Smith sisters, 19 year old Cadence who is an aspiring writer, and 16 year old
war obsessed Briar are trying to hold their family farm together when the US Army
arrives. Briar is certain there are German U-boats just off shore and Candance falls into
an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy. As their simple, quiet lives are upended, and
their brother is sent off to war, a mysterious man washes ashore. How to keep a secret
on such a small island? In an attempt to create some normalcy, the girls start a book
club and find ways to share books with the soldiers. 2016, Mari learns her relationship to the island is even deeper than she thought possible. A great read, based on the author’s family history.
Wendy’s Pick
The Sirens by Emelia Hart
Set across 3 distinct time periods (1800, 1999 and 2019), we follow the interconnected stories of a group of young women and their unique, inexplicable and ultimately life-saving connection to the sea. The novel begins in Australia, 2019, as Lucy, a young woman with a rare skin condition, is experiencing disturbing dreams that begin to manifest into alarming and violent actions, against her better judgement or understanding. This drives her to flee college and seek respite with her older sister. Upon arrival at her sister’s seaside home, she finds it vacant and neglected – sister is nowhere to be found…but her dairy is! Lucy delves into her sister’s story and within it finds answers to many questions about her own life. In 1999 we meet Jess, a lonely Australian teen with a rare allergy to water, who finds acceptance and validation through an inappropriate relationship with one of her high school teachers. The year 1800 introduces us to two twin sisters who have been snatched from their home country of Ireland and are suffering aboard a slave ship headed for Australia. Though they both have a deep fear of water because of their mother’s drowning – as the voyage turns increasingly perilous, they feel that the sea may be their only salvation. This is an engrossing read with themes of fantasy/myth, female sisterhood across time and space and individual strength and resilience. Fans of Emilia Hart will not be disappointed!
Karin’s Picks
Paul Lynch won the 2023 Booker Prize for this novel about a fictional Ireland that descends into autocracy. Readers like us enjoy horror stories, fantasy fiction, or dystopian novels. We sit in the safety of our seats immersed in a world an inventive author creates, happily being caught up in the unreality of the tale. But what happens when the horror story or the dystopian novel suddenly seems all too plausible? When, instead of happily suspending disbelief, we instead wonder if the book’s action could “actually happen here?” Without being unrealistic or overwrought, this disquieting novel poses that all-important question. Read it to decide for yourself!
This Is Happiness by Niall Williams
If you’re looking for a great summer read, look no further than this novel set in rural Ireland in the 1950’s. Its warm, funny, sweet, and exasperating characters come to life in a tale told with wry humor and love. Beautifully evocative in its description of the Irish countryside and just as specific and detailed about the strengths and the foibles of the village denizens, you will truly be happy you came to this place!
