The Kindest Lie

Raw and vibrant; this debut novel from Nancy Johnson is a must read. Ruth and Xavier are living their dream life in Chicago - things are going so good that Xavier is talking about kids. He's ready and they're ready financially - the only hold up is Ruth. When she finally tells him the secret that she's kept hidden for eleven years - everything starts to fall apart. Why did she wait so long to tell him and is there any way she can fix the damage done to him and to her own family? Since they're no longer talking she decides to head back to Indiana to stay with her grandma and brother for the holidays. She hasn't seen them since her wedding and she has some serious soul searching to do. Maybe she'll even find the answers to the questions that she's looking for and some answers she didn't even know she needed to discover. A beautiful tale of love, loss, redemption, second chances, and the pursuit of the American dream. Heart wrenching at moments but filled with beautiful and flawed characters that resonate with readers long after they've put the book down. 

My Life as a Villainess

Lippman, Laura. My Life as a Villainess: Essays. digital. 5hrs 50mins. 2020. Harper Audio. ISBN 9781094156590. $29.99. 

New York Times bestselling crime novelist, Laura Lippman, dazzles in this sparkling essay collection. Readers will finally get to meet the woman behind the novels in this unabashedly poignant collection of personal essays. From motherhood to her early career in journalism to love and loss and Twitter - many facets of Lippman's life are candidly broached, often with humorous and astute observations. Essays can go from laugh out loud funny to achingly sad in a heartbeat - but the tone always remains insightful and optimistic. Brilliantly narrated by the essayist herself, Lippman is great at controlling the levity and seriousness that each essay demands. A wonderful balance of essays- readers will feel like they get far more than a glimpse into the life of crime writing legend. Not just for fans of the author, these essays broach far more than her work and should have a wide appeal. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN

The Thread That Binds

I don't know what I expected when I picked up this book, but I certainly DIDN'T expect to start falling in love with all the characters soo quickly. Five women with completely different backgrounds and problems find themselves inexplicably linked together. Sherice is a young mother who works two part time jobs, supports her husband, and somehow finds time to quilt when she's not worrying about her mother's descent into alzheimers. Slyvie is an expectant newly wed and newcomer to the United States. She and her active duty husband struggle to make ends meet and are trying to get the prenatal help they need to care for their unborn child. Joanne desperately wants to be a mom, but with no man in her life she convinces her gay best friend to get her knocked up. Payton is a seventeen year old pregnant runaway from Alabama who want to get her life back on track. And Gloria is married to an unloving cheater and the child she carries may not even be his. Together they tell each other their secrets, fix problems, and support each other as only new moms and friends can. An uplifting, laugh out loud, and thought provoking book. It contains something for everyone, not just moms or married women.

I received this book for free from iRead Book Tours in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.

Glitter and Glue

A funny and heart-wrenching memoir about the bond between mothers and daughters, and how sometimes it can take a lifetime to understand. Kelly's childhood and relationship with her mother isn't typical, but then again, whose is?

When Kelly decides to travel the world for a year, she finds herself in Australia for 5 months and with a limited cash fund. Desperate she takes a job nannying for a widower and his two young children. As she helps rear the children she begins to learn things about her own mother in the absence of the childrens.

This memoir will have you laughing out loud and tearing up chapters later. What a great read.