Review: Action Girlie Pop by Nicole Mikell

About the Book

Warning: This book includes numerous dirty jokes; read at your own brain cells’ risk.

They’ve got grit, gadgets, and girl power.

Meet the KAM Agents: Kiley, Alice, and Molly.

All three women live double lives—seemingly normal to their friends and family but actually are lethal agents when called upon.

The trio works for a secret organization run by Mr. Mystery, an ambiguous boss whose shadowy silhouette sends them on risky missions to take down ridiculously evil men.

When a popular beverage called Fruity Freeze starts making its consumers act bizarre, the ringleader of the group, Molly, is sent undercover to work at the factory and figure out what’s happening.

Quickly the girls realize that this mission is a lot stickier than the others they’ve been on in the past, and they’re ready to take down this rotten fruity factory once and for all.

Review

Action Girlie Pop was exactly what the author had advertised, and I had loads of fun with it. It was silly, action-packed, over-the-top, and never took itself too seriously. It reminded me of shows from the early noughties such as The Powerpuff Girls, Totally Spies!, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  There’s a nice blend of action, friendship, and humor. It was such an easy and entertaining read.

I will admit that some of the jokes didn’t quite land as well as others for me, and the story was a bit predictable. Still, I very much enjoyed this one. This is the type of book where you just have to embrace the ridiculousness and enjoy the ride. I would be completely here for Mikell turning this into a full series. It’ll be so nice to relax and join another adventure with Kiley, Alice, and Molly.

Final Thoughts

I would 100% recommend Action Girlie Pop as a palate cleanser. It’s quick, nostalgic, and a whole lot of fun.

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Review: Hometown Rebound: A Brookhaven Holiday Novella (Brookhaven Series) by Danielle Sarah

About the Book

She thought it could be a rebound—until he felt like home.

After the tragic loss of his wife, Beckett Forrester has spent the last six years attempting to maintain a quiet life and keep the inn afloat, all while having his heart under lock and key. As far as Beckett is concerned, he’s closed the door on love.

Until she walked in.

Fresh off a breakup, Ari Williams goes back to her hometown of Brookhaven in desperate need of a holiday escape. What she didn’t expect was to be faced with the world's grumpiest—and most handsome—innkeeper.

The longer Ari remains in Brookhaven, the more the lines blur between grief, hope, and attraction. As snowflakes fall and sparks fly, Beckett is forced to choose between the past he’s clung to and a future he never could have expected.

Review

There was so much warmth and holiday spirit in Hometown Rebound. It reminded me of a solid Hallmark movie. One that is cozy, comforting, and a pretty good time.  

The story is centered on two characters—Beckett and Ari. Two characters who are both dealing with the outcome of their past relationships. Beckett is still navigating the grief of losing his wife five years prior, and Ari has returned home after the end of a long-term relationship that she had believed would result in marriage. Their chemistry felt natural, and I enjoyed their interactions. I especially liked how their relationship didn’t feel forced. Also, the angle of Ari helping Beckett save the INN was nice.

I will admit that I would have loved more romantic buildup between them. Towards the end of the book, it sort of felt like there was a rush to get to the end. And although I believed in their chemistry, I wanted more moments that allowed their emotional connection to deepen before the relationship progressed.

Final Thoughts

Even though I read Hometown Rebound in the summer, it had me ready for the holiday season. The story was cozy and warm. I just wish there had been a little more emotional depth and romantic development between Ari and Beckett.

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Review: The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass by Leslye Penelope

About the Book

For four years, Zahara Douglass has been haunted by the mystery of her sister’s disappearance—not where she went, but whether she ever existed at all.

In April 1995, Zahara watched her twin sister, Annica, get hustled into a stranger’s car and disappear—only to return to a world where no one has heard of Annica. Not her mother. Not the police. No one.

Four years later, as the world braces for the looming Y2K crisis, Zahara finds evidence proving her sister was real and hires a private investigator to dig into her family’s shadowed past. When the investigation leads to two charismatic men who once served with her father in Vietnam, Zahara realizes she and her sister may be pawns in a dangerous power struggle with unthinkable consequences.

To find Annica, Zahara must face the truth about her family, her memories, and the power lurking within her. But the sisters’ reunion comes at a price—one that could bring about the end of the world.

Review

I loved every minute of The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass. From the beginning, it captured my full attention, and I found myself recommending it to anyone who would listen. I hadn’t read anything like it, and I quickly began obsessed with it and how adventurous and mysterious it was.

At the heart, this is a story about Zahara’s quest to find her twin, Annica. One second Annica was there, and the next there were no traces that she had ever existed. Now, Zahara is the only person who recalls her sister, and she refuses to accept that Annica is fully gone. Zahara had such an admirable and heartbreaking determination to find her sister. This isn’t a normal case of a child disappearing. And as Zahara begins to uncover the truth, she determines how complicated the truth is and how it’s connected to their late father.

There is some romance in the book, but I didn’t feel particularly invested in either. I do understand why it was included and how it served the larger plot. Also, I appreciated how Penelope never allowed the romance to fully take over the story. Again, Zahara and Annica are the heart of the story.

Another highlight of the book was the mixed-media narrative. Between Zahara’s third-person POV, audio recordings of their father about what happened to him in Vietnam, Annica’s emails and her digital journal entries, there was always another piece of the puzzle being revealed. These elements kept the momentum going while also allowing the story to explore the past without slowing down the present-day mystery. Everything felt well thought out and carefully woven together.

I especially love Annica’s chapters. It was so interesting to see the world through her eyes. She was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at a young age and turned to technology to cope with her illness and the limitations it placed on her life. Her chapters were a nice way to get to know her beyond Zahara’s memories. Like Zahara, Annica had been fiercely determined to do whatever she could to save her family. Even when she was younger.

As for the Y2K backdrop, I grew up hearing about the Y2K craze and all the fears surrounding what might happen when the year 2000 arrived. However, I don’t remember anything from that time. It was fascinating to read a science-fiction story unfolding right in the middle of that uncertainty. What a perfect backdrop to set this story in, especially with how the story unfolded at the end. Speaking of the end, I am pleased with how it ended; however, I would not mind a novella or a follow-up of what happened next. I am greedy for more.

Final Thoughts

The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass was a great sci-fi read. I’ve never read anything like it. It sort of reminded me of Marvel’s X-Men or NBC’s Heroes. From the beginning, I was pulled, and the plot and twists kept me locked in until the very last page. Zahara and Annica’s relationship gave the story its emotional core. Everything came together in a way that felt intentional. I can’t recommend this one enough.

Thank you, Redbook, for providing an ARC. The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass releases on August 11, 2026. 

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Review: The Girl on the Beach by Carol Snow

About the Book

A missing child tears a family apart in this switchback roller coaster of a psychological thriller that builds to a final, jaw-dropping twist, perfect for fans of Jennifer Hillier and Lisa Lutz.

On the surface, Sonia and Graham Starr were a glamorous couple: She, the sleek entrepreneur; he, the boyishly handsome painter with an irrepressible zest for life. They had everything money can buy and the one thing it can’t—a precious, precocious four-year-old named Roxie. But when Roxie disappears into the Pacific Ocean on a perfect August afternoon, their world crumbles around them.

Months later, Roxie’s twenty-one-year-old former nanny, plagued by guilt and confusion, returns to the Starrs’ beach house on the “American Riviera,” the rarefied stretch of land around Santa Barbara where the mountains meet the sea. Her first night back, she gazes out at the sand, only to see a child who bears a striking resemblance to Roxie. When she calls out, the child runs away.

Colleen never believed that Roxie, who was afraid of the surf, would run into the ocean on her own. Now, she is determined to get to the truth, even if it means facing her greatest fears.

The Girl on the Beach asks us who we trust when we can’t trust ourselves. 

Review

The Girl on the Beach is the kind of psychological thriller that makes you question everything you think you know. One sunny afternoon, 4-year-old Roxie Starr vanishes into the Pacific Ocean. Her disappearance breaks apart the Starr family leaving unanswered questions, guilt and grief that seem to have affected their lives.

After months of not being able to relinquish her burden of guilt, their former nanny, Colleen returns to the beach house where everything happened trying to work out her uncertainty. When she sees a little girl on the beach who looks like Roxie, her whole world flips upside down. Was it a coincidence or proof that what everyone believed about Roxie’s disappearance is completely wrong?

From there, the secrets start stacking up, and Colleen finds herself pulled into a labyrinth of memory, suspicion, and buried truths. The more she digs for answers, the more she wonders if she could trust the people around her or her own mind. 

Told from a dual timeline, this is a twisty, unsettling read that keeps shifting beneath your feet. Just when you think you’ve figured out what happened to Roxie, the story throws another curveball. When I say a curveball, you won’t see it coming. 

And that ending? Jaw-dropping. I truly honestly had to put the book down because I thought my mind was mixed up. There’s no way to have predicted what happened and I’m still thinking about it. The book had a slow simmer, but when it starts to get hot, it becomes a page turner.

If you love psychological thrillers filled with missing children, unreliable perceptions, family secrets, and twists that make you rethink everything you just read, The Girl on the Beach deserves a spot on your TBR.

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Review: Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne

About the Book

For a hopeful and hopeless romantic, it’s love at first sight—with a little twist—in a hilarious short story about finding Mr. Right by the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game.

Rosie Whittaker and her sister are up for some Galentine’s pampering at a day spa. Getting locked inside a flotation tank is so Rosie. Enter a firefighter hero determined to pry this luckless pearl out of her high-tech shell. All Rosie has to go on is a dreamy voice and a flirty sense of humor. Remain calm, Rosie. This could be what you’ve been waiting for. Is this the man she’s waited for her whole life?

Sally Thorne’s Rosie and the Dreamboat is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.

Review

For the most part, I had a good time with Rosie and the Dreamboat. It was lighthearted and delivered exactly what was promised—a cute, quick Meet-cute. Rosie and Leo’s meeting wasn’t ideal by any means, but they made the best of the situation, with effortless banter and easy chemistry. Although, there were a few times when the dialogue felt a little too cringey and immature for my taste.

The biggest issue that I had with the story was the revelation about Rosie’s past. While in college, she had been locked in a car trunk by bullies.  I don’t think that was given the emotional weight that it deserved. Also, because of her trauma, it felt unbelievable that she hadn’t been freaking more.

Final Thoughts

Despite some flaws, Rosie and the Dreamboat was entertaining and enjoyable. Rosie and Leo’s chemistry exceeded my expectations.

Review: Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon

About the Book

When a former pop star enrolls in college, the last thing she expects is A-plus chemistry with her psychology professor in this sexy and tender romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lynn Solomon.

“This is Rachel Lynn Solomon at her absolute best: a moving love story between two people learning to trust not only the good in each other, but in themselves.”—Ellen O’Clover, author of The Heartbreak Hotel

Ramona Wilder has spent her whole life in the spotlight. After a hit kids’ TV show, she transitioned into music, singing in arenas around the world and becoming an icon for millions of teenage girls. Now at age twenty-six, exhausted by the inhumane lack of privacy, she’s done—with all of it. She wants a chance at normal, whatever that might mean for her. And she’s starting with college.

Professor Nick Navarro is recently divorced but determinedly optimistic, allowing himself a very reasonable ten minutes per day to wallow. When his department calls a meeting about a celebrity enrollment, he plans to treat whoever it is like any other student. Except when Ramona blazes into class and causes an uproar, the typically easygoing professor is rattled, maybe for the first time in his career.

Ramona loves the way she flusters him, taking every opportunity to push Nick’s buttons, though what she really wants is to unbutton them completely. When a crisis brings them closer outside of class, they begin a tentative friendship amid an undeniable attraction. But Ramona can’t be so easily finished with her old life, and they’ll both have to confront their pasts if they want a chance at something real.

Review

For months, I’ve been waiting to get Extracurricular in my hands, and once I finally got it, I was so excited and dropped everything to curl up and read it. I will admit there was a bit of nerves. A worry that it wouldn’t meet my expectations or that it would fall victim to inconsistent pacing or undeveloped romance. This is one of my first books by Rachel Lynn Solomon, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from her writing. There was no need to worry. Soloman delivered one of my favorite reads of the year. This was a heartfelt, beautifully paced romance filled with emotional depth, unforgettable characters, and a romance that felt completely earned.

The book begins with Ramona walking away from everything she has known to go back to college. It’s a scary choice, but Ramona was completely brave, and watching her try to live a normal life after spending so much of it in the public eye was fascinating. As well as heartbreaking. She had gone through so much, and her story genuinely broke my heart at times. The book doesn’t shy away from exploring the harsh realities of fame and the emotional toll a person can experience because of it. Despite it, she remained funny, sharp-witted, kind, and resilient. Her journey felt so meaningful.

Like Ramona, Nick was on a path of self-discovery. He was recently divorced and had moved in with his sister and niece (special shoutout to his relationship with his niece because it was great). Nick was such an adorable dork. He was also so soft, patient, and supportive. Even before he and Ramona had developed a deeper connection, he was constantly showing up for her.

Nick and Ramona did share an immediate attraction; however, their relationship never did feel rushed. There was room for their connection to grow. For them to learn to trust each other and be vulnerable. There were so many great small moments of them that made their romance feel genuine and elevated them to one of my favorite book couples. The emotional vulnerability between them created such a raw and beautiful love story. Also, the banter? Fantastic!

Final Thoughts

Within a few chapters, I knew that Extracurricular was going to be a hit for me. It is by far one of my favorite books of the year, and I should send a personalized thank-you letter to Rachel Lynn Solomon. This story has taken up a permanent residence in my head. Not only was the writing engaging, but I was also completely blown away by the sharp humor and emotionally grounded characters.

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