This book is much better than the marketing suggests. From the summary, I was expecting a fairly standard grip lit / domestic thriller about a talented young woman looking to usurp a successful older woman. We’ve seen a lot of novels like that, and movies dating back to Single White Female years ago. I was expecting Emma to be devious and conniving, and for Emma and Carrie to end up competing over Carrie’s husband Adrian.

Instead, I found a story about two women who are powerful in their own way, simply at different stages of their career. It’s an unexpectedly feminist spin on this type of thriller, and I absolutely adored it.

Carrie is indeed insecure about the ease in which Emma steps into her shoes while Carrie’s off on maternity leave, but because Michelle Frances gives us both women’s perspectives from the start, we know that Emma is more interested in impressing Carrie and possibly getting Carrie as a mentor than in actually taking her place.

Emma is indeed somewhat fixated on Carrie’s career and on Adrian himself, but not in the way we’ve come to expect. The real reason behind Emma’s fixation is a wonderfully feminist take that lays bare an all-too-common occurrence for women in many industries. I already sympathized with Emma for her money problems and her utter haplessness at understanding Carrie’s coldness towards her, and her backstory made me cheer her on all the more.

Ultimately, I love that this thriller doesn’t really pit the women against each other. There is some conflict between Carrie and Emma, and certainly some very understandable insecurity on Carrie’s part that she’s built up a long career only to become dispensable. However, neither is really a villain, nor is either really standing in the way of the other’s career.

In a world where women are constantly being pitted against each other, we need more thrillers like this. Michelle Frances delves into the complexities and insecurities of being a woman working in a creative field (which itself is fraught with instability regardless of your gender), and crafts a beautifully textured psychological drama that also happens to be a fast-paced thriller.

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Thank you to Publisher’s Group Canada for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sweet, feel-good holiday romance and a quick read. I can totally picture this as one of those Hallmark or Netflix holiday romance movies I love so much, and I had a great time curled up with this story.

Kenna Hart is a single mother who’s tired of being pitied and treated with kid gloves after her ex-husband was arrested for fraud a year ago. Her two young sons are in her small town’s Christmas pageant, which Kenna, as the town’s music teacher, is helping organize. While working on the pageant, she runs into Tucker McGrath, a former classmate whose mom leads the pageant every year. Tucker’s dad left when he was younger (when Tucker’s mom was diagnosed with a chronic medical condition, the asshole!), so Tucker is wary of getting involved with anyone and disappointing them like his father did him.

I love how much Tucker respects Kenna’s abilities; unlike many of the townspeople, he doesn’t coddle her. He’s also very mindful about not raising unrealistic expectations in her kids, who fall in love with him almost immediately. I also love how awesome a character Kenna is, how she challenges herself to do things even though deep down, she’s also afraid of how much she has to deal with on her own.

Despite touching on some heavy topics — illness, abandonment, incarceration — the story overall is told with a light touch. It’s just an absolutely pleasure to read, a touching reminder of love and family and the spirit of Christmas, and a sweet little treat for the holidays.

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Thank you to Forever Romance for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve heard good things about the Inspector Banks series, and I loved the earlier title Sleeping in the Ground, but Careless Love was just okay for me. The characters are likeable, and the mystery is solid — Banks and DS Winsome Jackman investigate the death of a young girl who seems to have died by suicide and DI Annie Cabot and DC Gerry Masterson investigate the death of a man who seems to have fallen off an embankment.

I was personally more drawn to the story of the young girl, as it delved into the lengths girls and women sometimes need to go in order to fund their education or other life needs. There’s also a reference to a bad guy from Banks’ past, which long-time series fans may appreciate.

Overall, the book was a solid enough mystery with some interesting parts; it just never quite grabbed me completely. Still, Banks and his team have fantastic chemistry together, and long-time fans will likely enjoy this latest instalment in the series.

Also, kudos to the cover designer, because that cover art is beautiful.

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Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.