The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber

 

Amy    

Lynnie 

contemporary fiction, magical realism, romance

Juliette is on a summer road trip, following the path her grandfather took in his youth, in an effort to strengthen her mental health and allow her space (literally and figuratively) from her current life. She hits a major detour which takes her to Forget-Me-Not, Alabama, where her car dies. While she’s waiting for the parts and the repair, she grows to love the people she meets in this special town which seems to draw people in need. 

 

Amy's Review

Heather Webber’s novels all follow a formula and this one is no different. If you liked her other novels, you’ll like this one too. You know exactly how it will end but you read it anyway because the characters and settings are charming, the magical realism is creative and whimsical, and the love fills every corner.

Her stories always include:
- People who need help, guidance, clarity, love of others in order to move on
- Two women who forge a strong friendship with each other, each also finding their own special someone
- Someone who is new to town
- Children 
- Pets 
- Grandparents 
- Substitute parents 
- The setting in small-town southern USA

It was comforting to spend time in another of Webber’s worlds. The Pearls of Wisdom throughout the novel were wonderful too. I only wish the audiobook had let 2 seconds pass after each one, before jumping into the next chapter, so the wisdom could sink in.

The “conflict” at the end of the novel felt a bit unrealistic but it was short-lived. I  enjoyed this novel. I had read too many of Webber’s books too close together one year and it felt like they all ran together. Spaced apart from the others, I really liked this one. I recommend not reading too many of her novels in one year.

The audiobook narrators, Hallie Ricardo and Stephanie Willis, are the pair that narrate all of Webber’s audiobooks and they did a terrific job as usual. They both definitely earn As from me. 

Lynnie's Review

Amy and I haven't read a lot of books together this year, so it was nice to read one with her!  

The Forget-Me-Not Library is another lovely Heather Webber book filled with her usual assortment of cozy, small town characters who take in a woman who is new to town, looking to find herself in some way and the town and its people fill the holes in her life and her heart while also finding their own ways to happily ever after. It's all very predictable and satisfying, just like you want it to be.

Knowing that it's all going to be tied up with a big red bow doesn't make the journey any less enjoyable. In this story we got some fun southern "pearls of wisdom" to lead off each chapter that always made me smile. I loved getting to know Juliet and Callum, Tallulah and Jake, as well as the extended family members and townspeople. The town of Forget-Me-Not and its library were characters themselves, showcasing magical properties that propelled the story forward.

I can always count on Heather Webber books to put a smile on my face. They are palate cleansers for the brain, perfect for when you just want something easy to read whether on vacation or between other books.

I listened to the audiobook and Hallie Ricardo and Stephanie Willis, who narrated the other Heather Webber books I previously listened to, did a wonderful job as usual. They do a great job with a variety of voices and complement each other's voices well.  

The Queen’s Coronation by Jennifer Ryan

Amy        

historical fiction

It’s 1953 and Miranda is a young American widow looking for a way to keep her newspaper reporting job by going undercover in the castle preparations for The Queen’s Coronation.

Small-town Lucy is trying to escape her doomed life and become a famous singer in the city of London.

Caroline is living a life which feels forced upon her but she sees no other way to move forward. She had found herself pregnant after her boyfriend went to war and never corresponded with her. She is married to a man who was willing to say the baby was his so that her daughter wouldn’t be ridiculed. But he’s a cruel loser.

All three young women are working in Buckingham Palace as Princess Elizabeth is readying to become the Queen. None of them are in great situations. Some of them unknowingly make things worse for themselves. They are all desperate to prove themselves and to improve their lives.

The were all were in denial about their realistic prospects at the beginning of the story. They fell prey to their own bad decisions, their naïveté, and, sometimes, the ill will of others. It was often painful for me to read about them. Their stories were sad. They lacked the right sort of support and were living in a time when women were treated like property of power-hungry men. It was infuriating. Thankfully, there was one older woman with whom Miranda, Lucy, and Caroline were all close and she was able to provide an overarching level of moral support once the three women finally got fed up enough to take a proactive stance in their lives’ destinies. The ending was happy, of course, as all Jennifer Ryan novels are. This one definitely had a message to deliver and the three main characters were each given a platform to monologue a bit about their newfound girl power at the end. Ryan’s agenda was a bit heavy-handed but, of course, I’m in agreement with it.

I’ve read four other novels by Ryan so I knew that the characters’ situations would all eventually improve. The women in her novels all face and overcome hurdles. Sadly, I didn’t really care about these three women as much as I normally care about Ryan’s characters. Typically, I find her characters delightful. However, it took me a while to warm up to these three. This isn’t my favorite novel by Ryan. But it was particularly fun to get a view inside the palace and of the young Queen Elizabeth at the time of her coronation. Ryan always introduces me to some facet of British history about which I previously knew nothing.

I’d like to thank Ryan, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for giving me early access to this novel. The Queen’s Coronation will be released on June 2, 2026.

Missed Connections by Aimie K. Runyan

Lynnie 

contemporary fiction, magical realism 

Wow, Missed Connections wildly exceeded my expectations. I was intrigued by the description of this book from the beginning as a former restaurant worker, lover of good food and sucker for time travel and multiverse shenanigans - Aimie K. Runyan delivered! This is the first book I've read by Runyan, but it won't be my last.

In Missed Connections, Sabrina is nearly 40 and has been working her way up through the ranks with fine dining restaurants, pursuing her childhood dream of being a Michelin Guide inspector. Having recently been dismissed from her latest job, with nowhere to go but back to her childhood home, she finds herself breaking down at the airport where a kind ticket agent offers her the opportunity to revisit some of the important moments of her life. Would she do things differently if she could? Would those changes make any difference in the current trajectory of her dream?

It's a pleasure to watch Sabrina's journey unfold. Runyan's descriptions of the inner working of a kitchen, the scrumptious food, meticulous preparation, the hours and dedication of fine dining staff was enchanting. I loved meeting the people who were instrumental to Sabrina's journey, those that helped and inspired her, as well as those who presented hurdles.

In a rare moment of serendipity - which is wonderfully defined in the book - I got the book and the audiobook of Missed Connections from NetGalley. The audiobook is narrated by Caroline Hewitt, who narrated The Library of Fates, which I listened to earlier this year. I really enjoyed her narration throughout as she has a wonderful variety of voices and accents for the characters who come from multiple countries and represent the diversity you find in many kitchens. I never wondered who was speaking. It was also never in question whether Sabrina was speaking to another character, or thinking to herself, something that is not always clear in audiobooks, so I appreciated Hewitt's ability to make the distinction.

The book also includes a couple of the recipes that are talked about within the story, which is a treat! I believe the final version of the audiobook will have a supplement that includes the recipes as well.

Thank you to Harper Focus, Harper Muse, NetGalley, and Aimie K. Runyan for the advanced copy of this book and audiobook. Both will be published on May 26, 2026.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.  

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan

Amy     

romance

Dolly, a single mom who works as a Kindergarten teacher, is visiting her dad for the summer with her son, Gus. They learn that the house needs a new roof which will cost about $50,000. She and her father don’t have that kind of money. Lucky for her, she comes upon Stewart, of the wealthiest family in town, who is on the side of the road with a flat tire. He, of course, doesn’t know how to change a tire since he has hired help to do everything for him. She offers to change it and, mid tire-change, a photographer for the newspaper snaps their photo. Concerned about his business image, Stewart asks her to pretend he was showing her how to change a tire and to pretend to be his girlfriend. She says she’ll do it for $60,000 and they have a deal.

I really loved reading this romance! Dolly has had to grow up too fast and help her dad raise her siblings. She’s never been able to put herself first. Stewart is a workaholic who has big goals and no time to enjoy himself. They make a terrific couple. She brings him the joy of taking breaks, having fun, and feeling calm. He shows Dolly how to allow herself to accept care and attention. He encourages her to put herself first and not accept whatever is thrown her way. These two people are from completely different worlds but almost instantly clicked. Stewart is not the snobby sort of rich person which helped. He is an appreciator and protector, not a power-hungry destroyer. He’s a genuinely nice guy whose battles are all internal. Dolly is able to ground him. He is able to spoil her.

And then, the darned conflict arrived which, inevitably, must occur in any novel. I will say that I was really glad the drama didn’t take up much of Dolly All the Time. The novel was mostly super fun! But I did feel that the problem lasted way too long for Dolly and Stewart. It was so sudden and long-lasting that it didn’t make total sense to me. Perhaps I’m being insensitive. But, I’m glad, as with all romance novels, there was never any doubt how the story was going to end.

The characters were terrific. The dialogue and settings were fun. Their courtship was adorable. Whether you’ve enjoyed Annabel Monaghan’s other novels or have never read her books, you’ll love this one!

Thank you so much to Putnam, Annabel Monaghan, and NetGalley for allowing me to have early access to this novel in exchange for my unbiased opinions. Dolly All the Time will be released on May 26, 2026.

Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe

Lynnie 

play

This is the second Duncan MacMillan play I read recently and I continue to be amazed by his brilliance and impressed by his fearlessness in tackling difficult subjects with skill and compassion. I will absolutely be hunting down more of his plays to add to my reading (and, hopefully, watching) list.

Every Brilliant Thing is unique in many ways, particularly in the need for the singular cast member - the Narrator - to be able to improvise and interact with the audience on a daily basis, while discussing what could be a very challenging topic, and still keep things entertaining and, dare I say, uplifting and hopeful.

The Narrator creates a list of brilliant things in order to help their mother cope with depression after a suicide attempt. The list's creation guides the Narrator and the one-act play through discussions of suicide, mental health and the importance of connection. It was incredibly powerful to read and I can only imaging how moving it is to see performed live. There is a lot of room in the script for the Narrator to be a man or a woman, for the freedom to make choices depending on how particular audience members react and interact with the Narrator, and yet the story arc is so clear and so wonderfully written, I imagine you could see the show many times and always find something new in it.

This is a truly beautiful play. I hope I'll get to see it performed sooner rather than later. It's currently playing on Broadway, and since writing this review I watched the brilliant Jonny Donahoe's version that is airing on HBO Max. It was as moving as I anticipated, but I'm so glad I read it first. 

The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline

Amy             

historical fiction

The Foursome is about the lives of Chang and Eng Bunker, the conjoined twins from Siam (now Thailand) for whom the term “Siamese Twins” was named. They were real people and this novel is about their real lives with their wives, Sallie and Addie, who were sisters from the North Carolina town where the Bunkers settled in the mid-1800s. However, in this novel, their story is made robust with fiction from the creative mind of Christina Baker Kline. 

The novel is told from Sallie’s point of view. The first quarter of the novel provides sufficient background to explain how she and her sister met the Bunkers and why they made the unusual decision to marry conjoined twins. This was an extremely necessary part of their story. I thought Kline handled the, undoubtedly, fraught decision for the girls realistically, including the unfavorable opinions of the their parents and their community.

The novel went on to describe how they managed to construct their married days and nights; how the personalities worked, and didn’t work, together; how they set up the house and farm; how their sex lives worked; and how their lives altered as a multitude of children arrived. These are the things that most people probably wonder about when they hear that Chang and Eng were married. Reading this section sometimes felt like intruding on a spectacle, reading between fingers spread across the eyes. 

In the back end of the novel, the tone changed as Sallie faced reality regarding troublesome situations about which she’d previously been compliant. She began to be the driver of her own life and began making small changes that were within her power. The twins ended up fathering 21 children with their wives and died on the same day. Sallie’s perspective on slavery was enlightening and the book acknowledged that her family, as slave-owners in North Carolina, had to make changes after the Civil War.

I had previously read three of Kline’s novels, one of which—Orphan Train—achieved a 5-star rating from me which is a rare achievement. So when NetGalley offered the chance to read this new novel from her before its release date, I jumped at the chance. In the Author’s Note at the end, I was surprised to learn that Kline is related to Sallie and Addie! They are her ancestral cousins. She did a great job with this story, making it not as much like a soap opera as it could’ve been in another author’s hands. 

Thank you to Kline, NetGalley, and Mariner Books for allowing me to read this galley ahead of The Foursome’s release date of May 12, 2026.