Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the digital review copy and the opportunity to be an early reader. Happy publication day to this riveting debut!

In this dystopian future, population is out of control, resources are slim, and a private company has found a solution. Combine has created a process where two compatible people can be merged. One serves as the Host and one as the Transfer. Consciousness, memories, everything is united in one body. The UK government has embraced the process, incentivizing it with tax breaks, housing, etc. The story centers on Laurie, in her mid-60s, living with Alzheimer’s and her daughter, Amelia, an activist who surprises everyone around them by signing them up to be merged. The Merge has never been tried on someone with Alzheimer’s before; will this be a cure?

When Joan Goodwin was a child, she looked up at the night sky and fell in love with the stars. Now grown, she has applied to the NASA space shuttle program as an astronomer and is surprised and amazed to be accepted. She becomes unlikely friends with everyone in her class, including Vanessa Ford, a pilot and engineer. The novel follows Joan’s career, family, and life from 1980-1984 when events threaten the life of the one she loves.

Candace Chen is a survivor at the end of the world. The Shen Fever has ravaged the United States, leaving much of the population dead or dead-like, stuck in the repetitive movements of everyday life, patterns and habits. Those struck with the fever will set the table, sit down to “eat,” and then clear it, only to do so again 30 minutes later. Candace stayed in New York City until it felt like she was the only person remaining. Now she’s headed west with a small, cultlike group intent on starting a new society of survivors at the Facility near Chicago.

Run for the Hills follows Mad (Madeline) Hill as she meets half-siblings Rube (Reuben), Pep (Pepper), and Tom (Theron) on a road trip to find the father who abandoned each of them.

This was strange and beautiful and left me feeling like I might have overlooked something. I immediately thought I should probably start it over again to dig at its true meaning, and the thing is, I actually would do it.

This is one of those books that if I share a synopsis, it spoils the whole thing. I’d recommend going in blind, so how to review this book?

This was a bit of a fever dream. The unnamed main character brings readers an unreliable point of view and this story about the roles she plays—literally in the theatre as an actress and also as a wife, friend, and maybe mother?—descends into delusion. At least that's what it felt like to me.

This book was heart-wrenching and asked the very poignant question, how much difference does one seemingly simple decision make? Literally, what’s in a name? And what legacy do parents leave for their children? How do patterns and trauma affect generations?

Abe and Jane have been together for decades. The book opens with them reflecting on their marriage, remembering the idyllic early days, the tough ones in the middle, and cherishing their current moment. Jane is an artist and Abe is a writer. They're parents to Max. They're partners. They've walked through it all.

Annie is 37-weeks pregnant, belatedly buying a crib at IKEA on her first day of maternity leave when the hypothesized Cascadia earthquake hits. She does the only thing she can do, and tries to make her way across the decimated city of Portland, Oregon in search of her husband, Dom.

Lillian went to high school with Madison, until Lillian took the fall for Madison’s bad behavior and got expelled. For years they’ve kept in touch through letters, Lillian staying stagnant and not achieving much while Madison soared: prestigious college, married to a senator, etc.

Tilda is fifty-two years old when she suddenly realizes her little finger is missing. Well, it isn’t missing, but it isn’t… visible? At a visit to the doctor she’s diagnosed with invisibility, a disorder that is common among women her age, but rarely discussed. What follows is a magical realist story of Tilda’s journey to rediscover herself.

While historical fiction isn’t usually my top choice of genre, I was intrigued by this one’s description and setting.

Meghan Davis has done it again, making unsuspecting victims of her readers, fooling us with a campy vampire cover and description, and punching us in the gut with the full spectrum of human emotion.

This was an interesting take on a second-chance. While I wouldn't categorize it as strictly romance, more contemporary fiction, it centers on Charlie and Vivian now in their sixties, who were married forty years ago.