The Land and Its People by David Sedaris

 

In this latest collection of searing and oftentimes funny twenty-eight essays, Sedaris captures everyday life in the simplest yet most hammering-the-nail-on-the-head way.  For example, he sees a hotel owner demand that a patron remove his feet from the table in front of him.  Sedaris wishes that action could be taken elsewhere, like on trains, when a patron is playing music too loudly; shoot him in the face if he doesn't comply.  This, from a man who opposes the death penalty, but apparently only in certain situations.  In another essay, Sedaris's friend has a ChatGPT write a story based on Sedaris's work.  What comes out is a tale of Uncle Melvin who gets stuck in a bathroom.  Sedaris thinks this essay is nothing like what he would write, so he writes his own version of that story the way he would have actually written it.  

He also writes about topics like traveling to different places and dealing with dumb questions, going to a new country for only one night to check it off his list, or going on a safari with Hugh in Africa.  He writes about his relationships with his husband (he prefers to call him his boyfriend), his sisters and brother, and close old friends. These vignettes really touch home with his readers, and you'll find yourself nodding along in agreement with the quirks of fate that make you smile and laugh out loud.  This is David Sedaris at his best.

Quotes

Hugh became a nonstop grouse. Ghosts in movies moan less than he did.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 4)

You donate money to charity, and they spend it all trying to get you to donate more.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 36)

She was so close I could see the craziness in her eyes, could see how completely unpredictable she was, the sort who could either shake your hand or slash your face with a razor blade.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 47)

Also, I wasn't bothered by the pope's use of faggotry because I'm not queer; I'm gay. The difference is that queer people are offended by just about everything. They have the rest of us walking on potato chips, afraid we're using the wrong pronoun or saying "motherfucker" instead of "mothering person fucker."  Gay people just wonder what they'll wear to the Vatican at the crack of dawn and what the proper etiquette is.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 86)

Who are these hothouse flowers, all so easily and constantly wounded? People whose parents never hit them, that's who.  People who don't know what real pain is but still wants to throw the word around.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 98)

A child needs brothers and sisters; the more the better. Good siblings will press your favorite doll's face into a red-hot barbecue, then steal the money the tooth fairy left under your pillow. They'll deposit things inside of you when you're four, then sleep with your boyfriend twelve years later--will, in short, prepare you to live in the real world.  Better still, they'll dilute the Eye of Sauron-like attention given to an only child.  My mother couldn't remember our names half the time, much less care whether we felt anxious or depressed.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 99)

One of [Jean] Stafford's book ideas--never realized--was Cooking For One While Drunk.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 110)

Being a cool mom is like being a folk artist---defining yourself as one is all the proof the world needs that you're a fraud.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, 113)

When we were fourteen, for example, we had to find volunteer jobs. Mine was at Dorthea Dix, the state psychiatric hospital...I was regularly threatened by patients. I was cornered and shouted at, accused of everything you can imagine. It was excellent training for my later life in New York City.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 117)

Duolingo was seemingly designed for people with an obsessive-compulsive disorder.  The same could be said for my fitness-tracking Apple Watch. And so I had combined the two and was walking my minimum of ten miles per day while pointlessly reading sentences out loud in Japanese, German, Spanish, and French.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 147)

I'm in the hard part of getting old--the part where everything irritates you.  The easy part comes a little later, when my short-term memory disappears, and I forget I've heard "perfect" two hundred already that day.  Each occasion will be the first. Then I'll die and go to Heaven, where Saint Peter will say, "Welcome in! How were your travels?" and I'll realize I'm actually in Hell.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 218)

I've often spent an afternoon with my friend Ronnie, then come home and wonder the same thing: what did she and I talk about? When it's effortless, you don't really think about it.  At the end of the day, you're left with a feeling — of contentment or comfort — but rarely any specifics.

David Sedaris (The Land and Its People, p 245)

Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Land-Its-People-Essays/dp/0316264830/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&dib_tag=se&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Uj2HdLlqCSECEgGGuR2iYv_0t1uwJWJCNAmUgJh57bx3jTP31HdJCpyMLLhV54j3BUGjV00YpUY-2HXbxDNScuLddtv0qkY0B-zGldz-ebgWeXrGB7XFrMIa-grZQrmb6nJk0cEzTAHyT0vR2lmAwd94K-S8407m4PWn_Onh8qdG3beJf3VJUJiIBiF74RdD.Yhprj4MYVgU-_H6DGFC7D8wc9knqt2bFhmdO8nP4Jcg&qid=1782661295&sr=8-1

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-land-and-its-people-essays_david-sedaris/57632630/#edition=74787256&idiq=87548946

Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones by Emily Kim (Writer), Triona Farrell (Colorist), VC's Ariana Maher (Letterer), and David Nakayama (Cover Art)

 

Spider-Gwen goes to a lab run by a doctor named Lyla and her husband Lee to fight the Sinister Six from Earth-616.  In the process, Gwen sends the Sinister-Six back and causes the lab to blow, killing Lee and injuring Lyla.  Lyla uses her work to clone a Spider-Gwen with each member of the Sinister Six and bring Spider-Gwen to Lyla along with a quantum box.  When Gwen meets up with Gwen Ock, she realizes she isn't from another Earth, but a clone being controlled by a halo on the back of her neck.  Gwen removes the one on Gwen Ock, along with Sand Gwen, whom she meets later.  With the help of twelve-year-old Reed Richards, they discover that someone is cloning Gwens for a reason that is a mystery to them.   

I really enjoyed this book, which featured so many cool Gwens.  Gwen really feels like she can't get close to anyone, lest they get hurt because of her, even the cloned Gwens. She's been avoiding dating a guy she really likes.  She's keeping her distance from her roomie and former bandmate, MJ.  Emily Kim has written an interesting story that entangles you in its web.  The artwork is stellar, as each Gwen is created to be a mix with the Sinister Six, so it's like a new Gwen Stacey, with Gwen's memories.  There is another graphic novel featuring Gwen fighting variants, called Gwen-Verse.  It was published before this one and is mentioned. After this book, I'm eager to read it too.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Gwen-Shadow-Clones-ebook/dp/B0CCZN3ZMM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NW0WHEYS5AGQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.FGwScM038TIoX3RnoQXVwGGyC3afowS_eMfMtRId-wDrum-4uKTsJ48miWS_GUIJbCqFPKu7Denze-9eMLBf9ut6xojnq5tv-4liV_pfx-sGb0SZY-CrrX0-BObvdZ-FV-y_WQiWk3cwgRJxbImYM84M2itPBiIeJVBDG0_ozlekVPUHCwNuLF9Vpb5v5odnNYajUPnNbUnrY1_NLylKnXTuUIvvEhdkP4yPVZGujW0.sjUQDnk3nhVzzMOBVswTVw-do_zdUReY4oin_f9luUY&dib_tag=se&keywords=spider+gwen+shadow+clones&qid=1781982000&sprefix=shadow+clones%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-1

Brave Hearts: A Grumpy/Sunshine Romance With a Little Bit Of Father's Day Magic by Kiva Hart

 

This is a new book in the Holiday Romance series, which now contains thirteen books, by Kiva Hart.  It opens when Beth, a professional guitarist and singer who has been on the road for the last five years, is making cupcakes for her niece.  She forgets to get them out of the oven, and her fire alarm goes off.  While she is emptying the burnt cupcakes into the sink, she hears a knock at the door.  It is the one and only local fireman, Leo, checking to see that there isn't a major fire.  He proceeds to give her a lecture about kitchen fires and paying more attention to what you have in the oven.  This really ticks Beth off.  So the two are off to a rocky start.

Leo helped put out a fire in the next town over years ago.  The only survivor of the family was a toddler named Danni.  He adopted her and has been raising her ever since.  She is ten, the same age as Beth's niece, Matty.  The two girls are school friends.  At the last concert of the school year, Beth sings and plays a song, inspiring Danni to take lessons.  Beth, with nothing to do until the next tour, which could be a while, agrees to teach her.  As the two get closer, Leo backs off because he is scared of her going on the road, leaving him and Danni behind.  

Leo is so serious and Beth is so flighty.  Can the two make a match of it before Father's Day?   This is not a bad novella that can be read in a few hours.  It's a nice way to spend your lazy summer afternoon on something that is a very light and easy read.  On top of that, it gets you in the mood for the holiday approaching on Sunday.  

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Brave-Hearts-Sunshine-Romance-Fathers-ebook/dp/B0GT287Y5X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1O9SPYX0FT7NA&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.W4XK9ada0B5pOUcud19kOqV_Khvw5E4q-4LF6eqJW8zRPXiz72RlznYV8i3EtC7_uDqdqgNfLzaQ9OF0D13gseb-V_Fn1is_-7-9MaxuKwVM874_XLYqkPtqyXmqGoELfA-qumY7_th7rnvF_cQo7ak9-GZphP3yaTtvOgUKlC3ajrgnCqfyw9PtW9iw5CzwZlHFLXV5rW_G_ykZsMFy6ixRdeLB3hqViL0Q_7eIhvk.hfdGrYTxGN3c9WIYssZZedINRd2V4BLGvJaqshd83hk&dib_tag=se&keywords=brave+hearts+book&qid=1781635233&sprefix=brave+hearts%2Caps%2C299&sr=8-1

How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson

 

How To Survive a Slasher

1. Don't Have Sex

2.Always Hide For Longer Than You Should

3. Find a Weapon

4. Turn on the Light

5. Don't Split Up

6. Watch Your Back

7. Don't Run Up the Stairs

8. Don't Say "I'll Be Right Back."

9. Sobriety Equals Survival

10. Down Doesn't Mean Dead--Double Tap

 

Jamie is a grad student in film studies, and her dissertation is on the rules of horror and rom-coms. Jamie's best friend and roommate is Laurie, a documentary filmmaker who makes her watch boring documentaries in exchange for one of Jamie's horror flicks.  They also watch true crime stories and have been following in the news the stories of a man who is killing women.  

Laurie also convinced Jamie to do one in-person event where you could meet men.  Both are sick of swiping left. That month, they are going to a speed-dating event at a club called Serendipity.  Ten men, ten women, a ten-minute date. When they get there, everyone must turn over their phones and smartwatches.  

Jamie makes an enemy of one of the guys, Stu, who is more Laurie's type, meets John, her type, and is instantly attracted, then meets Wes, a mysterious man.  Her date with Wes starts out well, but takes a nosedive at the end when she goes off on her favorite subject, horror.         

Curtis, the next-to-last date of the evening for Jamie, comes across as a Neanderthal whom she must put in his place.  Then the lights go out for a short while, and when they come back on, Jamie stares at Curtis, unable to figure out what is wrong with him, as he stares straight ahead.  When she notices the bloody swipe across his throat and the blood coming out of his mouth, she screams.  Then the lights go out again, and Jamie can hear others getting killed. Over half of the daters make a run for it, while Jamie and Laurie find a place to hide with a weapon, just like the rules state to do.  

Those who hid in the basement of Serendipity, where the event takes place, decide to head up to the ground floor and look for the others and a way out.  When they make it out of the basement, Stu suggests that they split up and search for an exit.  Jamie is against this as it goes against the rules, and eight people against one is better than one against a man with a knife.  Laurie gets them to compromise by breaking them into two groups of four.  John, Dani, Jennifer, and Stu are in one group, while Jamie, Laurie, Wes, and Campbell are in the other group.  Billie, who gets along with no one, has gone off on her own.  

It soon becomes obvious that this is not just a slasher film come to life, but also a rom-com where the killer is searching for his/her Leading Lady, not just a Final Girl.  The killer leaves out scattered rose petals, roses, a note saying "You belong to me", and intestines spelling out someone's name.  Jamie tries to follow the rules, but soon finds that even the easy one, don't have sex, is difficult with John and Wes around.  

This book has secret Easter eggs. If you look at the characters in this story, you find links to films. For instance, Jamie Prescott, the lead character in this book, is also the lead character in the Scream series. Wes Craven, one of her love interests, shares a name with the director of the Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream series. John could be John Carpenter, who directed such horror classics as The Thing. At the beginning of each chapter is an altered quote from a romance movie.  An example from Dirty Dancing is, "I'm scared of walking out of this room and never killing the rest of my life the way I kill when I'm with you." I spent the whole book praying that it wouldn't be Wes, John, or Laurie.  Honestly, I wanted it to be Stu.  He's such a pain in the ass, the person who keeps splitting up the group, and is the least likable character. Jamie is a sarcastic, powerful woman who can hold her own against a killer and a club full of suspects.  Also, who knew that a dissertation could be useful in a speed-dating situation that has gone tragically wrong? I sprinted through this darkly humorous romance/slasher story, which is so well written with catchy quotes and pithy observations of the event. I promise you, you won't regret reading this novel. It's the best I've read in a long while.

Quotes

Yeah, she still watches the news.  I think it's a guilty pleasure, the closest thing to fiction she'll view willingly.

Shailee Thompson (How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates, p 6)

It seems more likely you'll get murdered rather than finding love through Tinder these days.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 7)

It is familiar in that fuzzy 'this place is the reason I don't drink Kamikazes anymore' kind of way.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 11)

Once we get inside, I realize the cool blue signage above the doors was a ruse because the interior of Serendipity is red.  Like Susperia red. Carrie red.  The iconic river of blood spewing out of the elevator in Stanley Kubrick's seminal masterpiece, 'The Shining' red.  Serendipity looks like the set designer of Moulin Rouge! took LSD and cleaned out every velvet and gas lamp supplier in the state.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 12)

The interaction--if we can call it that--is brief, but that doesn't stop the self-conscious thoughts from arising, popping up stronger than Michael Myers after being shot six times in the chest.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 18)

I'd even go so far as to say Curtis falls into a specific category of men who only appeal to a very small group of women who haven't discovered therapy, the concept of gender equality, and are color-blind in a way that prevents them from seeing glaring red flags.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 39)

If you find yourself in a situation where it seems like you're surrounded by an unusually high number of bitches, there's a really good chance you are probably being an asshole.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 40)

"When a woman doesn't appreciate your 'compliment', don't blame her for your inability to read the room." I make my voice softer, lighter, and enjoy his confusion at the contrast when I said, "Shut your fucking mouth and stop talking."

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 41)

I could live with the idea of him thinking I'm a bitch. I'm starting to accept that he thinks I'm a ntcase. But I draw the line at him believing I'm both.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 57)

Keep us alive.  That's the goal of every survivor in a slasher, isn't it?  I've seen enough of them to know that the choices characters make either lead to their demise or land them a spot in the sequel.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 58)

If you say I’m cute, it won’t be the killer you have to worry about.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 75)

If we were in a slasher, or even a rom-com, this would be the part where he tells me I don’t have to be scared because he’s not going to let anything happen to me. Then there’d be a series of events that would leave him to being disemboweled by an ice hook and leave me incapable of trusting men at their word.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 92-93)

When I turn to glare at her, she has the most serious face on. The one she usually reserves for when I try to girl math my way to dropping two hundred dollars on skin care.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 108)

This is not exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted a man to go the extra mile for me. I meant unprompted good morning messages, noticing I’ve done something special with my hair, buying tampons every now and then. Not slowly but surely, knock off complete strangers in creative and gruesome ways.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 166)

For the first time ever, I disagree with Kate Winslet. I don’t want to be the Leading Lady of my own life if this is what my life has led to.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 168)

But it’s too late, she’s going into the vent if I have to shove her into it like an uncooperative tampon.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 190)

Hitchcock once said that blondes make the best victims because they make the blood show up better on screen. “Like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprint” is the exact quote.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 197)

I interpret that as him accepting he can’t bring a knife to a machete fight and expect to win.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 216)

The air is so thick with tension I’m surprised it doesn’t bleed.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 237)

His voice is deep, breathless, rougher than the first cut of a student film.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 251)

My anger vanishes like the body of a villain at the end of a slasher.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 246)

My therapist is very proud of me, and really, that’s the whole point in therapy, isn’t it? To pay a stranger hundreds of dollars so the eye can show you how to deal with your demons and then tell you you’re doing a good job at it. And after all of the sessions and exercises and strategies and support people, I feel okay.

Shailee Thompson (How To Kill a Guy In Ten Dates, p 344)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/How-Kill-Guy-Ten-Dates/dp/1668206714/ref=sr_1_1?crid=173VINTT6OSHJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Wvoi6Up3-4Jji-WGPbvBqsuOZH5_80TxHjbPQJwgpKtu6-CWDDM3M3-aw4a2yOxwNDV4zi8r82mzJhBUHKbNUHrf3B3b4yhvYWralpSXsdm427aWt2W6GZC53U2OcaB9.vlBXkS6GHXgFBd8s-N9hjZi4hzIH8cwkzIs1YXyshEw&dib_tag=se&keywords=how+to+kill+a+guy+in+10+dates+book&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1780516013&sprefix=how+to+kill+a+guy+%2Caps%2C279&sr=8-1

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/how-to-kill-a-guy-in-ten-dates-a-novel/55858176/?resultid=2d26bc60-2989-441e-8010-e247fb6b6646#edition=73595376&idiq=85374783

The Death of Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Antonio Fabella (colorist), and VC's Cory Petit (letterer)

This graphic novel opens with Doctor Strange thinking about why he went into medicine.  He wanted to cheat death.  In his studies, he came across a myth about a man named Koschei. Koschei found a way to live forever.  He hid his soul in a secret place that none would find. It’s sort of like Voldemort and the Horcruxes.  Strange is living a good life, until he goes to answer the door and is stabbed and killed by someone.  

He kinda did what Koschei did, but a version of himself from years ago, when he called himself The Master of Black Magic, that will last only a week.  Long enough to solve his murder.  His death is known immediately when the magical forcefield comes down around the earth and lets in such baddies as Aggamon, Tiboro, Mordo, Umar, and Kaecilius who was already on earth working for Mordo.

These formidable magical forces have come to Earth seeking shelter from three warrior queens who are traversing the universe to find magic to feed the Perrigrine Child, a thaumovore who is always hungry. The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and The Avengers all come out to fight them, but they are no match for the women.  It will take Doctor Strange teaming up with all those who hold magic that are on the planet Earth, which include: Aggamon (Sorcerer Supreme of the Purple Dimension), Tiboro (Sorcerer Supreme of the Sixth Dimension), Clea (Sorcerer Supreme of the Dark Dimension), and Illyana Rasputina (Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo).      

It is hard to believe that a simple stabbing with a knife by an assailant, which Strange will soon discover, could kill him.  It was nice to see all the characters who showed up for the fight, including his wife, Clea. The story by MacKay is interesting and excellent.   The art is typical Strange. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and can’t wait to see in what direction MacKay takes the series into.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Doctor-Strange-2021-2022-ebook/dp/B09NL6Y6Q5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RQZ8TSF9RMO0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.W8KGMJTsFZ6q0xuqrTKsAiVbzhkPPN66eZdWQt7J-Q5JHOYmL4Oz0-fFh4X-yXtdZOsUccydzSYy6c73kQGAp4EmwgMVwsSm1Ti8-znqJyZlVHEtkmDZ8yy689gr92AXI3jKEvds9x3T9eMWdGO3O0sNIiai3uCxw_Wu8i7YW4kE59cjqttL91UE-7jkezqsdPWJLGPmfl8hXdNT5zKIgVgZ7pJ6SvHhC5HkivzShbw.sZuCB4tKf_jl_fZiq2Ry0ANok4p9axgIhjQ8EsI6Dpk&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+death+of+doctor+strange&qid=1780938334&sprefix=The+death+of+doc%2Caps%2C298&sr=8-1

Link to ThriftBooks: https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/death-of-doctor-strange_jed-mackay/29242256/?resultid=7c2713af-1e25-4386-afb6-2be269273809#isbn=1302930222&edition=60290481 

Cherry Baby by Rainbow Rowell

 

Cherry is in management, working her way up the ladder at a big train company.  Cherry is a fat woman who comes from a family of fat women, including her four sisters named Hope Honesty (Honny), Cherity (Cherry), Faith, and Joy.  Her mother is deeply religious, as are some of her sisters, but Cherry isn't.  The sisters have texting threads where they talk to each other.  Recently, they started one without Hope, whom Honny believes has committed the unforgivable sin of going on Ozempic.  The sisters believe that it is alright to be fat because they cannot lose the weight, no matter how hard they try, and that Ozempic is cheating and denying who they are.  

Her husband, Tom, worked for an ad agency that did a lot of work for the train company, and that was how they met.  They both studied art in college, but Tom was the real talent of the two.  Tom has been writing a comic strip since before he met Cherry.  The main character is 'The Guy, and Tom adds Chery as the character Baby.  He posts the comic, as a kind of diary of his thoughts, online, where no one really notices it for a long while, until they do.  A publisher of graphic novels offers Tom a contract, and Cherry encourages Tom to take it.  Cherry is the driving force behind Tom, who can't seem to make decisions.  The graphic novel becomes a hit, and Hollywood wants to make a movie out of it with Tom as screenwriter.  Tom goes to L.A. and ends up staying there for a year.  All the traveling for the book and writing the screenplay have put a strain on their marriage. Cherry tells him she wants a divorce when she catches him with another woman via FaceTime.

It's been a year, and Cherry is going to a concert by a much-beloved band from her youth.  While there, she meets Russ, a guy she fell in love with in college, but who decided to date her skinny, beautiful friend.  They leave the concert early and go home together.  Pretty soon, they are dating. Russ is very different from Tom, and he makes her happy.  Then Tom comes back from L.A. to pack up his stuff to move to California.  Cherry hasn't spoken to him in a year, so things are a bit awkward between them, though they accidentally share a kiss.  

Cherry is under a lot of pressure because of the movie, and everyone sees her as Baby, not Cherry.  Russ has some problems with it too when he sees the trailer by accident, and begins to think he may be dating Garfield.  Cherry invites Russ to Thanksgiving and Tom to Christmas with her family.  Two men can possibly make her happy, but both must accept Cherry as she is.  I loved this book, and I loved Cherry, who is confident, except in certain situations, like her job, but less so in her private life.  This is a very interesting, well-written read, as evidenced by the quotes I took from it. The book goes back and forth in time, examining her relationships with Tom and Guss from the beginning to the present, and leaves you rooting for both.  They've both made mistakes with Cherry and want to make it up to her.  Rowell is known for her young adult novel "Eleanor and Park," which I reviewed here https://nicolewbrown.blogspot.com/2019/08/eleanor-and-park-by-rainbow-rowell.html)

Quotes

Anytime Cherry had tried to take Tom to a concert, he'd spent the whole night frowning at everyone, and he didn't even realize he was doing it.  Tom had resting uncomfortable face.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 3)

Cherry watched them for a while-- then realized she was staring at people like some sort of twentieth-century weirdo. She should stare at her phone like a normal person.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 7)

He looked like the token Irish actor on a BBC drama--a little flintier than everyone else and a little more alive.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 10-11)

Goldenrod was the band that made "Omaha emo" a thing.  Simple, pretty guitars, whiny, breathy vocals. Base-level unhappiness. All of Goldenrod's songs were about being lonely or feeling guilty. The lead singer was a famous depressive.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby)

Everybody was going to the Galway that night.  They were twenty-two and still feeling like they had to go out and drink legally every weekend just because they could-- because it's what adults did.  Adults drank in bars, not in dorm rooms and basements.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 15)

All Russ had told Cherry about his ex-wife was, "I think she always kind of hated me, and I mistook that for 'interesting.'"

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 91)

Cherry parked her used Hyundai at the end of a long line of black SUVs (Railroad execs drove the same cars as rappers).

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 125)

If you charted Tom's attractiveness to Cherry over these first few weeks, it would have looked like runaway inflation.  

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 140)

It was chilly, but Cherry wasn't wearing a coat over her baby blue angora cardigan.  It would spoil the effect.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 146)

She thought about texting someone, but there came a point when you'd been so sad for so long, and so repeatedly, that you could not actually bear telling people anymore. When it felt like you were telling the same story.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 234)

I'm very pretty for a fat girl. It's like being very pretty for someone with three eyes or no nose, or very pretty for a malamute.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 241)

Dimples and freckles, that shouldn't be legal.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 269)

Women are born with clocks in their hips and calendars in their bodies, and Cherry's brain never stopped ticking.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 276)

Cherry's mom ignored everything that she possibly could, and forgave everything that she couldn't.

Rainbow Rowell (Cherry Baby, p 365)

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cherry-Baby-Novel-Rainbow-Rowell-ebook/dp/B0FCS6PL5X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2M3FX7HN0A3O5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ueg-2DZkrA0ePm-DcnlsV42b9C9sPsohSHTxzkGX-3H33FOIo74wndi9DrDj7jkxi8YXbGO_k2HabVPwn1ehgCo6BTWBf207p7dLo5G0hbGpPhDXrFDjoU9v3-QKlr2G.RVuLUOubeIVWVL9xKOmMafDj5WSLvKInHZ2_xfQ9RhI&dib_tag=se&keywords=cherry+baby+rainbow+rowell&qid=1780498280&s=digital-text&sprefix=cherry%2Cdigital-text%2C334&sr=1-1

Healing Hearts : A Workplace Romance With A Little Bit of Mother's Day Magic (Holiday Hearts) by Kiva Hart

 

This is one of the latest novellas in the twelve-book series centered on the holidays.  Alyssa is a single mother and a nurse on the pediatric ward of the hospital in Whispering Falls, Arkansas.  Her child's father left around the time Cathy was born.  Alyssa's parents help out, but it's hard to hold down a demanding job and raise a five-year-old.  Matthew is a new doctor taking over her ward, and is from Oklahoma City, and thinks they should keep talking to the patient at a minimum, asking only questions about the injury, and quickly move on to the next patient.  That was how things were done when he ran the emergency room in Oklahoma City.

Alyssa despises him right off the bat.  She believes in getting to know the kids and the families.  Matthew keeps screwing up with what he says to her.  Back in Oklahoma City, his job had a very high turnover rate as doctors burned out.  His boss insisted that he take this position in a small town where the pace is slower and he can learn to relax and think of things other than the hospital.  Alyssa believes that he wants to return to his emergency room job, but the truth is, he is beginning to fall for her and the way of life in Whispering Falls.   

This sweet romance tells the story of a single mother who does not feel she can trust the doctor with her heart and the heart of her daughter.  This is one of the better novellas of the series.  Alyssa is a character easy to fall in love with.  Matthew grows on you until you realize that he is perfect for Alyssa, if only she could discover this herself.  These characters will stay with you long after you put this book down.

Link to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Hearts-Workplace-Romance-Mothers-ebook/dp/B0GGX9XTZB/ref=sr_1_2?crid=73659DW7XTWL&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.D-rYLR-fB9FUdX_uGeNdWDLwZGhv7Nj0RCQgAy3NVRwPC9NDgyByifMavox7E-_Jdi8WOXlCJcjeuCvgqjPhnLb11aCf1NPee03EMPC4IYKWDPAF04roMEaCDHFtqHDcAHPjwnHTjAlIpVwS0r2mqTZiljngKvOu_N0RYzBATUA9B0oCyD-rVrJpwXCywc4RaO7ee4J_HwK3ojWVVIQzrWxkMe2HtO9SckkwUCoOss8.ESF-_HKzgzS0BpWj8keS5JuT80GA3ZCs-EohOUuB7TY&dib_tag=se&keywords=healing+hearts&qid=1780242573&s=digital-text&sprefix=Healing+hearts%2Cdigital-text%2C304&sr=1-2