Book Reviews

4.9

Claire Saffitz's debut cookbook, Dessert Person, is a New York Times bestseller and IACP Award winner that delivers more than 100 recipes alongside the technical reasoning designed to transform hesitant home cooks into committed bakers. This review assesses the book's content, organisation, and published reception — not a kitchen test.

The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga

The Courage to Be Happy is the follow-up to the international bestseller The Courage to Be Disliked, once again using a Socratic dialogue format to translate Alfred Adler's psychological teachings — this time applying them to education, self-reliance, and the active pursuit of happiness. Published in English as an audiobook by Simon & Schuster Audio, it extends the philosophical conversation from the first book into more grounded, real-world territory. This review covers the book's content and published critical reception; it does not reflect hands-on application of its ideas.

The Man Who Died Twice: A Thursday Murder Club Mystery by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice, the second entry in Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series, reunites the beloved quartet of amateur sleuths — Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce — in another witty, warmhearted murder mystery set in a Kent retirement village. Published by Viking Press (Penguin Random House) in September 2021 and released as an Audible audiobook narrated by Lesley Manville on September 28, 2021, the book has drawn praise from major crime writers and general readers alike for balancing sharp plotting with genuine emotional depth. This review draws on its content, structure, and published critical reception — not hands-on use or listening.

Equal Rites: Discworld, Book 3 by Terry Pratchett

Equal Rites, the third novel in Terry Pratchett's beloved Discworld series, is a comic fantasy originally published in 1987 that tackles gender and institutional gatekeeping through the story of Eskarina Smith, a girl who accidentally inherits a wizard's staff — and the chaos that follows when she tries to claim her rightful place at the Unseen University. This Transworld Digital audiobook edition, released April 28, 2022, features a full cast of narrators — Indira Varma, Peter Serafinowicz, and Bill Nighy — and delivers the unabridged novel at just over seven and a half hours. It also marks the first appearance of the iconic Granny Weatherwax, one of Pratchett's most enduring characters. This review covers the book's content, context, and published reception — not hands-on listening experience.

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

Two Twisted Crowns is the New York Times bestselling conclusion to Rachel Gillig's The Shepherd King duology, picking up directly from the cliffhanger of One Dark Window as Elspeth and Ravyn race to gather the final Providence Cards — a quest that drives them into a cursed forest for a potentially ruinous bargain with the Spirit of the Wood. This review covers the book's content, structure, and reception from published sources, not hands-on use.

What to Say When You Talk to Your Self: The Major New Breakthrough to Managing People, Yourself, and Success by Shad Helmstetter

Shad Helmstetter's What to Say When You Talk to Your Self is a self-help guide built around the premise that internal programming — the habitual self-talk running through the mind — shapes behavior, success, and wellbeing, and that deliberately reprogramming it can produce lasting change. Originally published in 1986 and considered by many readers a landmark in personal-growth literature, the book remains widely read decades later. This review is based on the book's content, structure, and published reader and source commentary — not hands-on application.

Jul 31, 2026

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

4.5

Karen M. McManus's debut YA mystery-suspense novel One of Us Is Lying—originally published by Delacorte Press in 2017 and a #1 New York Times bestseller—drops five high schoolers into Saturday detention, from which only four walk out alive, and builds its whodunit from the rotating perspectives of each surviving suspect. Praised by critical coverage as "Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club," the novel earned an extraordinary sweep of year-end honors and has since launched a two-sequel series and a television adaptation. This review is based on the book's content and published reception, not hands-on reading.

Dire by Jeff Carson

4.5

Dire is the eighth installment in Jeff Carson's internationally bestselling David Wolf Mystery Thriller Series, published by Cross Atlantic Publishing in February 2016. Set in the ski town of Rocky Points, Colorado, the novel opens with Chief Detective David Wolf diving into the frigid Chautauqua River to rescue a man who has careened off the road — a heroic act that draws Wolf into a political firestorm and introduces him to nurse Lauren Coulter. When bodies begin to surface and Lauren's troubled past comes to light, Wolf must race to untangle a deadly conspiracy before the cost of failure becomes personal.

An American Beauty: A Novel of the Gilded Age by Shana Abe

4.4

Shana Abé's An American Beauty is a sweeping historical novel published by Kensington in April 2023, tracing the extraordinary rise of Arabella Yarrington Huntington from a ramshackle Richmond, Virginia boarding house to the heights of Gilded Age New York society. Drawing on the real life of one of America's wealthiest women, Abé — a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author — crafts a story centered on beauty, ambition, and the steep social cost of female agency in the nineteenth century. The Historical Novel Society's review praised the novel for bringing history to life and shining a light on a largely forgotten figure, while critics noted that it offers "a fascinating look at the choices she made to become a Gilded Age titan." The multiple-perspective structure earns some criticism, but Arabella herself remains a compellingly drawn center of gravity throughout.

Jul 31, 2026

Rule Britannia: The Washingtons by Tim Holden

4.3

Rule Britannia: The Washingtons: A Family Shaped by the Rise of an Empire is the opening volume of Tim Holden's New World Saga, a historical fiction series tracing the Washington family against the backdrop of Britain's imperial expansion. Published by Nielsen in February 2026 as a Kindle edition, it is designed to launch a planned trilogy that blends genealogical drama with the sweeping forces of colonial history.

Finding Home: From Cairo to New York by Djenane Nakhle

4.3

Finding Home: From Cairo to New York is a memoir by Lebanese-American psychologist Dr. Djenane Nakhle, published by Paradise Palm Publishing in December 2024, tracing her journey from a childhood in politically turbulent Egypt through migration across four continents to her eventual life as an established academic in New York. This review draws on the book's content and available published commentary; it does not represent hands-on use or a personal read.

The Phoenix Crown: A Novel by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

4.3

The Phoenix Crown is a historical novel co-authored by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang, set against the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake, following soprano Gemma Garland and Chinatown embroideress Suling as they pursue a legendary imperial crown and the villainous man who possesses it. Published by William Morrow Paperbacks in February 2024, it earned a starred review from Booklist and strong praise from Publishers Weekly and Historical Novels Review for its lush detail, dual female leads, and page-turning suspense.