Looking for your next great read? Here is a list of books with 5 star reviews from some of our patrons. Stop by to check out or reserve your copy!
Title: Unaccustomed Earth
Author: Ghumpa Lahiri
Review: Highly recommend this collection of eight stories about two generations of Bengali immigrants who travel to America. It is filled with Bengali culture, food, clothing and traditions. The prose is poetic and lyrical. Lahiri is a gifted story teller considered by many to be one of the greatest authors of our time.
Title: Sharp Objects
Author: Gillian Flynn
Review: This novel is hauntingly good. You have no idea what is going on, you think you do and then you don’t. I wasn’t surprised to see the author also penned ‘Gone Girl’ another intense read unlike any other. I’d guess the author is brilliant and familiar with painful relationships. An addicting and chilling read. I loved it!
Title: How to Walk Away
Author: Catherine Center
Review: A wonderfully crafted story about endurance, courage, humor and resilience. Inspiring! Tender! Honest! True! (Even though it’s a novel)
Title: Into the Water
Author: Paula Hawkins
Review: Thorough character development makes for an ever thickening plot. Many mysteries unfold in this dark tale, and how things seem and what is really behind them. Characters wrongly accused and characters eventually brought to justice abound.
Title: The Flight Attendant
Author: Chris Bohjalian
Review: (SPOILER ALERT) I loved this book! A flight attendant who drinks a lot, and sleeps around a lot, finds herself waking up with a dead, bloody man. She can’t remember if she killed him or not since she was so drunk. But she doesn’t think so. It takes place in Dubai. The FBI get involved, she lies a lot but finds out a secret agent woman actually killed her “lover” of one night.
Title: No Safe Secret
Author: Fern Michaels
Review: I love fern Michaels. This story is about a woman who was raised in a horrible home. In high school her twin brother “sold” her to guys who gang raped her. She left and went away for 20 years thinking she ran over and killed a couple of them. Later she comes back to her hometown and discovers she was not responsible but then goes after her twin brother and gets revenge. Loved it. Present day she’s married to a control freak and finally releases herself from abuse.
Title: I Invited Her In
Author: Adele Parks
Review: I loved this book. It’s about two friends from college who haven’t seen each other for about 20 years. All of a sudden, Ali contacts - Mel can she come to her house and heal from a cheating lover. Mel “invites her in” and Ali becomes more and more entwined with Mel’s family. She even has an affair with Mel’s son and it comes out that Mel’s first child is the son of Ali’s husband. What a mess. But great!
Title: The Couple Next Door
Author: Shari Lapena
Review: I’m not sure what caught my eye perusing the library shelves but I am so glad I picked up this book. There were characters to love, some to hate and one you aren’t sure. Well written and so easy to read, all your questions answered in time. This book was perfect and I’m excited it’s the author’s first, with three more to check out!
Title: My Lovely Wife
Author: Samantha Downing
Review: The author kept me guessing throughout the entire book, trying to figure out how we got to the happenings in the first chapter, revealing just enough along the way that I had difficulty putting this book down. In the end I’m still trying to figure things out (in a good way) unsure whether the main character was as bad as he seemed or worse. Best read of the summer.
Title: Going Into Town – A Love Letter to New York
Author: Roz Chast
Review: The illustration on the cover drew me in and I’m glad it did. Inside I found more witty illustrations and quick easy read that was informative and very funny and personal. I appreciated that each chapter transitioned some way to the next. A perfect read for anyone who knows a lot, or very little, about NYC, particularly Manhattan.
Title: A Tale for the Time Being
Author: Ruth Ozeki
Review: I was hooked on this book. There was so much knowledge in it, culture, science, and history. The characters were interesting and I was invested in them all, even the cat! I took away a practice and will look into other works by Ruth Ozeki.
Title: All American Boys
Author: Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely
Review: Great Story, very revealing. Appreciated the perspectives of two boys in the same town of different races. Emotional and engaging.