The Plans I Have For You by Lai Sanders

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

On Sale Date: March 17, 2026

Pages: 352

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

Shelley Hu's life is over; after an incident on the subway,  a meltdown that went viral, she lost her job at a Manhattan law firm and her place at Columbia Law. Now she is working behind the front desk of a motel in Kissimmee, Florida, the same job she had in high school.

Her life changes when one night shift, Sophia  Moon walks into the hotel to check in with her husband and young son. Sophia knows what happened to Shelley, and shows her understanding, as she has her own similar public shaming incident. She was pretending ti be a student at Cornell University, untill she  found out that she wasn't and just sneaked in. Sophia, whose real name is Soyoung, had build a new life with her husband and son, under a new name, and encourages Shelley to do the same. Shelley soon moves in with her , takes on the new name of Erin, and together they set up a plan to take revenge on the people who wronged them. But Sophia has a dark side that Shelley don't know about..

The Plans I Have For You is a dark novel. The storyline is one it takes sometime to get into, and the same counts for the somewhat shady characters of Shelley and Sophia. It was a bit strange that Shelley just took off so soon with someone she didn't know, that was a bit unrealistic. The incident Shelley was involved in on the subway was one you look over quickly in this novel and it was a bit unclear to me what really happened there. Her character doesn't progress really in this novel, she only wants to take revenge of this coworker of her, and she gets in a love relationship with the married Sophia, and we read about her troubled relationship with her Chinese mother. Sophia is a character you truly never really get to know in this novel. We read her time in college, where she tries to sneak in with other to pretend she is studying there. We met her roommates who slowly uncover her and how she met her husband, and a dark secret of something that happened with a guy named Nathaniel.  The storyline is well written, but the characters don't make a real progress and the reason why they want to take revenge on others for their own mistakes is a bit unclear. But if you like a dark novel with dark characters, this is the book for you.

How To Hold Someone In Your Heart by Mizuki Tsujimura

 

Publisher: Scribner

On Sale Date: March 17, 2026

Pages: 224

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

Ayumi is a man who has two jobs in his life, a real daily life one, and a supernatural one besides that. He is a toy designer for a big company in Tokyo by day, and besides that he is a go-between who arranges reunions between living people who want to see and talk to their deceased loved one ones last time. In this book, he arranges reunions between five living people and the lost who they want to meet again; a mourning mother who wants to meet her drowned child again, a movie star who wants to meet the father who abandoned him, an amateur historian who wants to meet a historic warlord from a different century, an elderly mother who wants to meet her daughter who died of cancer, and a few more with their own motives to find some kind of closure with a deceased person. But altough he has a good job and likes being a 'broker'' between the living and the dead, he is looking for some kind of peace in his own life.

This book is a sequel to Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon, but this sequel can easily be read as a standalone novel, as it makes no specific clues to the previous novel. The book reminded me a bit of the storylne of the books of the Chibineko Kitchen seriies by Yuta Takahashi, as that is also about a certain something connecting the living and the dead for one last special moment to find some closure. I liked the storyline and the main and side characters of Ayumi and the people he connects with. They where all little short stories on their own that overall connected to each other. Some stories where a bit more clear then others, some I found a bit messy. It was overall really moving though to read the narratives of the people who sought closure with their lost loved one, as some stories had quite some sad background, like the young mother who was always afraid of losing her little daughter of a drowning accident, which happened to her in real life then, and to had the change to see her daughter one last time. This book is magical realism, but not too much, and as every Japanese book in this genre it is also always very cute and lovely.

Overall this a cute and moving Japanese novel with a good storyline and characters.

Minbak by Ela Lee

 

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK

On Sale Date: March 5, 2026

Pages: 352

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

Minbak is a story that takes place in South Korea in 1985, and London in 2008. 

Incheon, South Korea; 1985; Youngja is the mother of Hana, a young woman. Youngja runs a minbak, which is a Korean homestay. During that time, a lot of  American Christian missionaries are located in Korea, and Hana gets a short relationship with one of the  American missionary men, from which a son, Yohan, is born. The American  father leaves and Youngja brings the baby to a local orphanage without the knowledge of Hana. The adoption business is in full swing during that era, and they never see Yohan again. Yongja advices Hana to go away from Incheon to avoid rumours and a bad image.

London, 2008; Youngja is in a care home, and Hana and her daughter Ada are still mourning the loss of Hana's husband Tim, who passed away recently. They found out soon he had large financial depths, and Hana decides to make a minbak of her own home, and share a room in the house with Ada. Because of the depths, Youngja, who has alzheimer can't stay in the care home anymore and moves into the same room too. While Hana tries to survive with the depths and running the minbak, Ada is a true teenager with the struggles that come with that at school and at home.

During this time, secrets from the past surface, when Ada discovers that she once had a brother she never knew about. Not sure is if he was adopted or not, as orphanages sometimes muddled with the adoption and registration papers on purpose to sell more children for adoption abroad. Switching in time from the past to the present, the three women have to place this long buried secret of a grandchild, son and brother that they are not sure of if he is still alive or not. Complex mother-daughter relationships, generational trauma, forgiveness loss of memory and living in between cultures is what the three have to deal with.

Minbak is a serious toned book. Not a lighthearted book you can escape with as it has a more serious topic. But besides that, the storyline itself is strong and good. It takes some time to get into it as a reader but when you got the hand of it, this is a book that captivates you. The characters of Hana, Youngja and Ada where all three very realistic and believable. They all had to deal with a tragic past and intergenerational wounds that somehow needed to heal and find some closure in the end of the book. Did it had a good closure? Not really, I found the end quite messy and somewhat confusing, and it still had to many loose ends. But overal , I liked the story and the characters and the realistic picture it painted of serious problems in the adoption industry during that era in South Korea.

The Sisters of Book Row by Shelley Noble

 

Publisher: William Morrow

On Sale Date: March 3, 2026

Pages: 384

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher.

It's 1915, The Arcadia rare bookshop is the bookshop of the three sisters Applebaum, Celia, Olivia and Daphne, on Manhattan's book row, a street full of bookstores. The bookstores are suffering from the wrath of a certain Mr. Comstock, who suspects in a nazi-like way every bookstore and other kind of store to sell or trade in 'obscene lewd, or lascivious” publications. His laws are strict and his men raid shops often, which is the biggest fear of the sisters Applebaum and every other store in the street. Things get even more dangerous when Celia joins an undercover group, led by Margareth Stanger, who secretly print and distribute publications on women's health and health rights, and hide them within cookbooks and sewing patterns, and they have to work more secretly as the raids are all around them.. Her sisters don't know about her secret activities, as they are busy running the store. The three live in fear that the dreaded Anthony Comstock and his agents of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice will endanger their livelihood..

The Sisters of Book Row is a book about three sisters who run a bookstore amidst strict rules made up by men. They are living in a time when women's rights where next to nothing. Before reading this book, I never knew that what Comstock did in this fictional book really happened and the booksellers where truly courageous in silently rebbeling against the laws. But is is this enough to make this a good and entertaining read? Yes and no. Some parts in this book where good, some where less, and somehow this book gave me more of a feel of a dusty bookstore in old London then in New York. The three sisters have all their specific background and characters which where potrayed nicely. But the end was quite messy, and the end had quite some loose ends. The story had a nice promise, but the slow pace and messy storyline made it a less good novel then it could be.

Theater Kid by Jeffrey Seller

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

On Sale Date: May 6, 2025

Pages: 368

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher.

Jeffrey Seller is the producer of many successfull Broadway musicals; Rent, Avenue Q, In The Heights! and Hamilton. How he became a Broadway producer, he describes in this memoir. His memoir is not only about his succes on Broadway, but also about his youth. He grew up in the Oak Park neighborhood of Detroit, which was also know as Cardboard Village back in the 1960s/70s. Cardboard Village was characterized by cheaply constructed homes that felt like "cardboard" to him. His parents, who adopted him as a baby, had problems with each other, and where in and out of divorces that many times did not go trough over and over again. His mom was hardworking and took care of the family, while his father was irresponsibe and overspending and cared mostly about himself. He joins a youth theatre group which starts his love for theater, later on starts making musicals at summer theater camps, and later on moves to New York where he starts working at for Broadway theater producers Fran and Barry Weissler. On the day that he is fired there, he is called back by Jonathan Larson who wants him to produce his new musical  at the New York Theater Workshop; Rent. This is the start for Jeffrey as a Broadway producer, who also wins  several Tony awards for his musicals. But it also contains a deep tragedy because Jonathan Larson sad passing of a heart aneurism just after the first preview perfomance of Rent.

This is a book for everyone who loves Broadway musicals, and/or also now the backstory of musicals like Rent. Jeffrey Seller has a very vivid and fun way of writing, and seems to remind every detail of things that happened decades ago ( I truly wonder how he reminded all the specific conversations with people, for example). I found it interesting and entertaining to read Jeffrey's road from a troubled youth to an award winning Broadway producer. This road was full of bumps, and learning how to survive in New York on you own, and in the world of musical theater and it also was about Jeffrey finding out who he was. There is one explicit sauna scene though that did not add anything to the story and you might wonder if this scene was more in place in his personal diary then in this book or why an editor did not clean this up or added a littlebit of a warning that this might be not everyone's cup of tea. Besides that, this is a book not to miss for every musical theater lover.

The Calico Cat at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi

Publisher: Penguin Books

On Sale Date: February 24, 2026

Pages: 224

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher.

In the previous book The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen that came out last year , the reader is introduced to the magical restaurant The Chibineko Kitchen, where customers who have lost a loved one can have one last remembrance meal with them as long as the meal is still steaming. In this new installment in this series, the setup is completely identical as in the previous book, be it with different main and side characters. In the first chapter we are introduced to Nagi, a young woman who has an illness and is told by her doctors she has only five years left to live. She recently has a new boyfriends, but she is struggling with the facts of her illness and that he wants to marry her, altough her future is unsure. She is in need of advice from her mom  deceased mother, and during a magical remembrance meal at the Chibineko Kitchen, she gets the chance to talk with her mom for one last time. The other stories are about a man who lived inside his house for years, a theater director who hopes to revive his career after he experienced a tragic accident, and who wants to talk to his los son at the Chibineko Kitchen, and an elderly person who wants to talk to its partner who has passed away years ago. In the Chibineko Kitchen, which is run by chef Kai and  restaurant worker Kotoko, and the restaurants Calico cat they  Chibi, they all see their loved one for a last chat and meal. They all get new insights in life because of this meal, and are reminded what matters most in their life, which is their loved ones. 

Just as the previous book (read my review of it here) the book is a short but beautifully written novel, orginally from Japan. It is also fun that the character of Kotoko returns in this book, as an employee of the restaurant where she pays a visit to in the first novel. And just as the previous book, the short stories of all the different characters that change in every chapter (except for the restaurant staff and cat) where all very moving, entertaing, and the remembrance meals they enjoyed at the restaurant with their lost loved ones, where beatifully portrayed, And just as in the previous novel, the magic in this book was dosed just right, not too much, just the right amount to make the stories a bit of  fantasy, but also very believable and realistic on the other side, as all the characters are dealing with serious losses of family.

This is another fantastic new book in the Chibineko Kitchen series that is now available in English. Don't miss out on this brilliant new Japanese book!

Kin by Tayari Jones

 

Publisher: Knopf

On Sale Date: February 24 2026

Pages: 368

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

(this review contains spoilers)
Annie and Vernice are two girls and best friends who grew up together in the fictional town of Honeysuckle, Louisiana. Both girls have in common that they lost their mother and are raised by family.  The only thing Annie knows about her mother is that she was named Hattie Lee who abandoned her, she leaves town for Memphis with her boyfriend and his cousin to find work and to find her mother. Vernice is raised by her aunt, who gave her a true home after the death of her mother. When she is eighteen years she leaves home to go to Spelman college,  where she joins a sisterhood, and later on she marries a husband from an affluent family. Annie and Vernice keep writing letters to each other, even when they are far apartm they stay 'cradle friends''. Annie fiinds out that her mother died, to find out later on this is not true.  A story of friendship, sisterhood against the backdrop of the turbulent Jim Crow years in the deep south in the 1950's and 60's. 

Kin is a book about two main characters that are bonded by their shared past. It was very moving that they stayed friends, even when they are far apart, altough one of them sadly passes away in the end. I liked the storyline, it reminded me a bit of The Color Purple in some way. The storyline is strong, and so are the main and side characters. At some points the story slowed down a bit and stranded in too many unneccesary details that didn't bring the plot further and made it a bit if a slow read, but the rest of the strong storyline truly made up for it.The girl’s relationship.. mostly by letters stays close throughout their different situations and romances and difficulties, which was very moving and entertaining to read.

Alltogether I liked this book with an impressive cast of characters and storyline!

More Than Enough by Anna Quindlen

Publisher: Random House

On Sale Date: February 24 2026

Pages: 256

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

Polly is a 43 year old woman who lives with her husband Mark in New York City. She is a teacher at a private high school for girls. With a few other women, she has formed a book club which meets frequently. One of the other members has given Polly a DNA test kit as a gift. When she gets the results she is stunned that she has a relative she has never heard of, but who has a match with her. She questions her family members if they knew of this family member, who she also will meet up with.

Besides that, she also has to deal with her elderly father's dementia, and with the fact that, due to infertilily, she will never has children of her own, and with the difficult relationship with her mother.

More Than Enough is a book about a main character who is dealing with a lot of things at the same time. The things and the people in her life move from one part to the other in the book, and all play their little part instead of a real overall storyline in the book. This is something that depends on the reader to like this or not. I found it sometimes hopping too much from one point to another and sometimes the story had many loose ends. I missed a real strong storyline in this book to be honest. From the half of the book on the story falls flat on too many subplots that makes it hard to stay interested as a reader.

This is a book I expected to like more than I actually did.

An American Scandal by Theresa Howles

 

Publisher: HQ

On Sale Date: January 29 2026

Pages: 367

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

The story starts in New York in 1895, where Madeline Crosby and her half-brother Hugh are going to the opera. Madeline is in the middle of being introduced to the old money social circles of New York, where she hopes to make a good impression. But the evening turns out sour as someone who knows her troubled past in calls her out on it. Madeline spent half of her childhood in the brother where her mother worked and died. A brothel run in a posh New York hotel.

Madeline and Hugh start to live at the summer house they inherited in Newport. From there on, they expand their connections in the 'new money'' social circles. Madeline and Hugh become acquinted to Edward Booth and his family, who don't shy back showing off their wealth, and whose father runs the New York hotels Madeline's mother had to work in, in their undercover brothel, and which continues to exploit women. Things take a turn when Edward falls in love with Madeline and asks for her hand, and makes that Madeline has to choose between following her head and her heart..

This is a book perfect for Jane Austen fans. It also reminded me a bit of the social classes in the movie Titanic, as it was set in the same era. The storyline of this book is nice, full of drama and gossip and love. It felt a bit thin and repeating at some points, and some parts didn't add much to the story. The characters where good, the main characters of Madeline, Hugh and Edward and his family where very believable. It all felt very Upstairs, Downstairs, too, with the old and the new money and all the conflicts caused by the social classes of that time period. 

Overall, I found this a nice book if you are in for some historical romantic fiction, it has the overal feeling of a British costume drama, while it is set in New York and Newport. A nice book to escape with, nothing more.

 

Everyday Movement by Gigi L. Leung

 

Publisher: Riverhead Books

On Sale Date: February 10 2026

Pages: 288

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

In Everyday Movement, the reader meets several Hong Kong residents that are more or less connected to each other, in the midst of the 2019 pro-democracy protests. We meet Ah Lei en Panda, who are college roommates. The night before, they where at the mall, which is also a shelter for the protesters, and they where caught in the midst of the protests and tear gassed.Later on they take part in the protests, but as the protest become more violent, they push back. Around them people struggle with the same, and also their ups and downs in their normal daily lives. Everyone of the characters has different roots with mainland China, and also different views and opinions on the protests and the resistance movement behind it. The author spotlights on the daily lives of different characters in this book that sometimes know and sometimes don't know each other, amidst the social changes in Hong Kong that also changes relationships between people and family members.

Everyday Movement is a book about a specific recent period in Hong Kong history. It helps in understanding this book if you know a bit more of the background of the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, protests that turned out violent between the protestors and the riot police. The characters in this book, which are quite a few, are in the midst of the protests. It was sometimes a bit confusing who was who in this story, what their backgrounds where, and how they where connected to each other or not, Some characters seemed to not be connected to any other person in the book, which made you wonder what the purpose of their role was, as sometimes these characters felt redundant. Overall the characters didn't have much depth, and their everyday lives amidst the protests where not very interesting as they where just too short and fragmentary. It was all too short and going from one character to the other in a somewhat messy story that also switches in time at some points. I found the topic of the events in Hong Kong interesting, but it would have been more interesting if there was a stronger storyline with less characters.

Overall, I wanted to like this book more then I actually did, and do not specifically recommend it.