#berkleypublishinggroup

[bucolicbook]

First and Forever by Lynn Painter

Pub date - 5/12/26

I just fell into this and was on chapter 10 before I even looked up from my kindle. I loved Duffy and her dad, Tony; both are terrific. While this was a bit predictable, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. I found this an extremely fun read.

Somehow, this was my first time reading any of Lynn Painter’s works, and I am already looking forward to reading more of her titles!

I adored this. Recommended.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the DRC

First and Forever by Lynn Painter

[bucolicbook]

The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake: A Novel by Rachel Linden

pub date - 9/30/25

A love letter to Italy, family, and food.

Full of nonnas, olive oil, coming home, cooking, healing, and a touch of romance, I read this in a day and adored it.

A wonderful read when you’re in the mood for a trip to the lake district, delicious food descriptions, family coming together, and maybe a second chance with the one that got away.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the DRC

The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake: A Novel by Rachel Linden

[bucolicbook]

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1) by Matt Dinniman

pub date - 8/2 7/24

When I first came across this one, I didn’t put it on my tbr list as I couldn’t imagine I would enjoy it (historically, sci-fi has not been my friend) but after reading so many reviews that were full of praise for the humor, I thought why not - which lead to copious amounts of laughter.

Dungeon Crawler Carl is utterly bizarre and a wildly fun read (and I loved Donut).

Recommended!

Thank you to Ace and NetGalley for the DRC

Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1) by Matt Dinniman

[darlenefblog]

Jane and Dan at the End of the World 

by Colleen Oakley

A 1 star review

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (March 11, 2025)

Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 11, 2025

Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled

The book blurb was interesting, it had promise that in my opinion never manifested. Jane is an author who wrote one boring book that no one read. Except it seems a terrorist whose group has taken control of a restaurant Jane happens to be dining in. While not a complete duplicate Jane recognizes sections from her story unfolding. Her husband thinks she's on an ego trip because no one read her book. Even though she's right so is he, she's on a high thinking it all has something to do with her. Jane is having the worst inner dialogs that are part angst, anger and fear. Her emotions and moods gave me whiplash.

I found Dan to be as dull as the book Jane wrote. Dan is thinking about being a hero or not, mostly not. His Bruce Willis syndrome takes up a lot of space in his thoughts. Dan is middle-age typical. The most interesting characters are the eco-terrorist but their cause is a woke joke. Climate change is no longer a hot cause to be involved with, it's about a decade too late. After the first third of the book, I started skipping around and the ending was just as awful as the rest of the book. It could have been an entertaining finish but it was overly complicated.