Book Gang

Holy plot twist! Loretta Rothschild shares her writing process for her buzzy debut, Finding Grace, where the opening sequence stuns in this spoiler-free chat.

In today's Book Gang episode, debut author Loretta Rothschild discusses Finding Grace, a domestic drama that cracks wide open into something far more unexpected. This powerful novel explores fertility, family bonds, and the long echo of grief, told through a voice you won't see coming.

In this heart-to-heart conversation, Loretta and I discuss her five-year journey to publication, the art of crafting structure and tension, and how one tragic twist completely reshaped her story. If you're a writer, you'll find so much to take away from her thoughtful process—and if you're a reader, well, prepare to be surprised.

In this warm conversation, Loretta and I discuss:

• How an analog writer plots a good story: Loretta walks us through her five-year process of developing Finding Grace, from longhand notebooks to deeply layered outlines. She explains how structure helped her navigate an emotionally complex storyline and how a strong framework gave her characters space to breathe.
• Why the first chapter matters more than ever: In a world driven by short attention spans and BookTok buzz, Loretta shares how she crafted a bold opening that immediately grabs the reader and how that choice reshaped the entire novel's trajectory.
• What happens behind the curtain: From working with her agent to the moment she saw her book cover for the first time, Loretta gives a candid look at the publishing process, the emotional rollercoaster of debut life, and how readers are helping Finding Grace find its place.

FREE BONUS BOOK LIST: Love plot twists? You'll want our free guide to 34 books with good plot twists filled with shocking reveals and clever misdirections.

Meet Loretta Rothschild

Loretta Rothschild is originally from London and currently splits her time between the UK and Italy. She lives with her husband, Nat, their young son, and their beloved dogs. Finding Grace is her debut novel.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, please check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits. Thank you for supporting my small business!  

Download Today's Show Transcript

Join the July Book Club Chat (Husbands & Lovers)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 34 Books With Good Plot Twists

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild

Cecile Davidovici

Lidija Hilje-Slanting Towards the Sea (Podcast Interview)

Random Harvest

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches 10% to independent bookstores!

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Loretta on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Lidija Hilje shares how her debut novel, Slanting Towards the Sea, and her own journey is shaped by second chances and the courage it required to begin again.

Lidija Hilje brings a rare and powerful perspective to her fiction. After a decade working in Croatian courts, she left the legal field to write in English as her second language and to coach other writers through their own stories. We discuss how that radical life change shaped both her novel and her coaching philosophy.

In today's Book Gang episode, Lidija joins me for a profoundly moving and insightful conversation about her first novel, Slanting Towards the Sea. In this week's warm and expansive episode, we discuss:

• How writing in a second language and through a bicultural lens shaped the emotional and narrative depth of Slanting Towards the Sea
• The novel's quiet but powerful thread on broken governmental systems, and how we see the differences and parallels between our American and Croatian experiences
• How Lidija's former legal career informs her current work as a book coach, and how she helps authors clarify and complete the stories they feel called to tell

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, you can set sail with these 34 sea books. From shipwreck survival stories to coastal mysteries, oceanic fantasies, and sweeping seaside romances- this book list has a little something for everyone!

Meet Lidija Hilje

Lidija Hilje is a Croatian writer and certified book coach. After earning a law degree, she spent a decade practicing law in Croatian courts before transitioning to book coaching, and writing in English as her second language. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and other outlets. She lives in Zadar, Croatia, with her husband and two daughters. SLANTING TOWARDS THE SEA is her first novel.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, please check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits. Thank you for supporting my small business!  

Download Today's Show Transcript

Join the July Book Club Chat (Husbands & Lovers)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 34 Sea Books (upcoming titles, new releases, and backlist selections to browse)

Slanting Towards the Sea by Lidija Hilje

The Maid on Netflix

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores.

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Lidija Hilje on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

Zoe Wallbrook shares how her debut mystery, History Lessons, blends academia, amateur sleuthing, and suspense in this clever, twisty campus mystery with heart.

In today's special July 4th Book Gang episode, author Zoe B. Wallbrook joins me for a smart and surprising conversation about her dazzling debut, History Lessons. This mystery novel brings the classroom to the crime scene.

When a brilliant but insufferable colleague is murdered, Professor Daphne Ouverture's quiet academic life gives way to a dangerous investigation filled with buried secrets, institutional reckonings, and revolutionary echoes.

In the spirit of the assignment, this July 4th, we're turning the spotlight on liberty—not just American, but French too. In this week's savvy conversation, Zoe and I discuss:

• How Daphne's specialty—Black families in 18th-century France—reframes historical narratives and why fiction can be a powerful tool for expanding the lens of academic research.
• What it takes to write a compelling mystery with real-world research at its core—and how Zoe's Pitch Wars experience and academic life shaped the story.
• Surprising intersections between the American and French Revolutions—and what Daphne might rant about if she were giving a July 4th lecture on liberty and institutional power.

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I'm sharing 41 Unlikely Amateur Sleuths Are On the Case, featuring amateur sleuths who take matters into their own hands- from cozy, small-town investigations to gripping whodunits!

Meet Zoe B. Wallbrook

Zoe B. Wallbrook is a recently tenured professor whose academic research has appeared in outlets such as the New York Times and The New Yorker. She was selected for mentorship by LA Times bestseller Elizabeth Little, and History Lessons, her first novel, was a runner-up for the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award. Zoe's hobbies include beginning all emails with, "My sincerest apologies for my slow reply," pretending to understand how astrological signs work, and crying at the end of every Call the Midwife episode. She and her husband live with their stalker, a black lab/pittie mix named Sophie.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, please check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits. Thank you for supporting my small business!  

Download Today's Show Transcript

Join the July Book Club Chat (Husbands & Lovers)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 41 Unlikely Amateur Sleuths

History Lessons by Zoe B. Wallbrook

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Dawn by Octavia Butler

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Pitch Wars

Dear Daughter by Elizabeth Little

Pretty as a Picture by Elizabeth Little

Papillon by Henri Charriere

Papillon

American Slavery, American Freedom by Edmund S. Morgan

Tyler Stovall

Sue Peabody

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches 10% to independent bookstores!

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Zoe Wallbrook on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

Not knowing the publishing rules helped Austin Taylor sell her debut, Notes on Infinity. From lab notes to spreadsheets, learn her data-driven approach.

In today's Book Gang episode, debut author Austin Taylor joins me to discuss her dazzling new novel Notes on Infinity. This high-concept campus novel follows Zoe and Jack, two brilliant students whose late-night collaboration leads to the development of an anti-aging drug, a billion-dollar startup, and a powerful reckoning.

Austin brings a unique blend of rigor and vulnerability to her work, drawing from her dual background in chemistry and English, as well as personal experiences with chronic illness that reshaped her academic trajectory. Notes on Infinity may ask how far we'll go to chase our dreams, but this conversation dives into how far Austin went to write them.

In this insightful conversation, Austin and I discuss:

• How not knowing "the rules" of publishing gave her the freedom to query an ambitious debut.
• The thoughtful strategies she used to distill complex scientific ideas without losing her novel's credibility—or alienating readers.
• The importance of chronic illness representation and how her own health challenges added urgency and emotional authenticity to the story.

This week, I'm sharing a companion list of 32 Unforgettable Campus Novels With All the Drama—from ivy-draped secrets to heady student-faculty dynamics to the unsettling thrill of starting over. If Notes on Infinity sparked something for you, these book titles will keep the conversation going.

Austin Taylor graduated from Harvard University in 2021 with a joint degree in chemistry and English. Notes on Infinity is inspired in part by her undergraduate studies, peers, and lab work in Harvard’s chemistry department. She has also worked as a public speaking coach and in science policy. Austin is a private pilot, a registered Maine guide, and a bassist. She grew up in central Maine, where she now lives and writes.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, please check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits. Thank you for supporting my small business!  

Download Today's Show Transcript

Join the June Book Club Chat (The Reckless Oath We Made)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 32 Unforgettable Campus Novels

Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor

CRISPR

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

https://www.instagram.com/austintaylorwrites/

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches 10% to independent bookstores!

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Austin Taylor on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

Dolen Perkins-Valdez shares the riveting history behind her new book, Happy Land, the research surprises she uncovered, and how urgency drives her storytelling.

In today's Book Gang episode, New York Times bestselling author Dolen Perkins-Valdez joins me to discuss Happy Land, a transporting novel inspired by the true story of a lost kingdom built by freed people in the hills of North Carolina. 

This dual-timeline story explores land, lineage, and the courage it takes to reclaim what is yours. Dolen's excavation process informs this sweeping novel—even uncovering a few historical inaccuracies along the way. The result is a stunning celebration of Black heritage and a poignant reclamation of overlooked American history that has captivated her readers.

In this moving conversation, Dolen and I discuss:

• Why Dolen feels an urgency behind each book she writes—and how it drives her to shape her manuscripts
• The immersive research that brought the Kingdom community to life, including conversations with local historians and surprising archival discoveries.
• How the concept of royalty and reclamation shaped the story—and why the roles of Black women in these communities are long overdue for deeper recognition.

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I'm sharing a companion list of 27 Historical Fiction Book Club Books to Check Out Now, featuring new releases and timeless backlist picks that will spark incredible conversations within your book club.

Meet Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench, Balm, Take My Hand, and her newest novel, Happy Land. Her work has earned honors from the NAACP, the American Bar Association, and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, and she's been recognized as one of the most vital voices chronicling American historical life.

In addition to her writing, Dolen is an associate professor of literature at American University. She has introduced modern editions of Twelve Years a Slave and Behind the Scenes, bringing an unflinching dedication to uncovering hidden histories and amplifying overlooked Black stories. She lives in Washington, DC, with her family.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, please check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits. Thank you for supporting my small business!  

Download Today's Show Transcript

Join the June Book Club Chat (The Reckless Oath We Made)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 27 Historical Fiction Book Club Books For Your Next Meeting

Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Take My Hand Book Club Discussion on Patreon

Ocean Vuong

Black History Research Committee

Sadie Smathers Patton

The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson

Blue Ridge Archive Web Exhibit

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

The Queen of Sugar Hill by Rashonda Tate

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches 10% to independent bookstores!

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Dolen on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

Allegra Goodman tells the surprising origin story of Isola—from a children's book discovery to immersive museum research—all written in complete secrecy.

In today's Book Gang episode, celebrated author Allegra Goodman joins me to discuss her stunning survival novel Isola, the incredible true story that inspired it, and the highly unusual creative process behind her most critically acclaimed book yet.

Allegra kept Isola a secret—entirely—from her agent, her family, and even close friends while she wrote it. She reveals why this story demanded privacy and how keeping it under wraps gave her a rare creative clarity. She also shares what it meant to research this historical setting in museums and archives and how a serendipitous find in a children's book 22 years ago sparked the idea that would grow into Isola.

In this inspiring conversation, Allegra and I discuss:

• Why she kept Isola a secret from everyone—even her agent and family—throughout the writing process. We explore what drove this decision, how it freed her creatively, and what it felt like to reveal the project once it was complete.
• The immersive research behind the novel, including museum visits and the spark of inspiration that came from a children's book during a late-night feeding session. Allegra traces the story's origin back 22 years, when she stumbled on a brief mention of a marooned noblewoman that she couldn't shake.
• What it's really like to be selected for both Reese's Book Club and Read With Jenna. Allegra is the first guest to share a behind-the-scenes look at these high-profile honors—how they differ, what surprised her, and how they've shaped her connection with readers.

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I’m sharing a companion book list with 25 Enthralling Books Set on Islands to read, including new releases and backlist titles. Whether you crave adventure, a love story, a small town, or historical fiction, this list has you covered.

Meet Allegra Goodman

Allegra Goodman's novels include Isola (a Reese's Book Club selection), Sam (a Read With Jenna Book Club selection), The Chalk Artist (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award), Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, ParadisePark, andKaaterskill Falls(a National Book Award finalist). Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She has written two collections of stories, The Family Markowitz and Total Immersionand a novel for younger readers, The Other Side of the Island. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic,The Washington Post,The Boston Globe, and The American Scholar. Raised in Honolulu, Goodman studied English and philosophy at Harvard and received a PhD in English literature from Stanford. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer's Award, the Salon Award for Fiction, and fellowships from MacDowell and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced study. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Mass.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, please check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits. Thank you for supporting my small business!  

Download Today's Show Transcript

Join the June Book Club Chat (The Reckless Oath We Made)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 25 Enthralling Books Set on Islands

Isola by Allegra Goodman

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

Sam by Allegra Goodman

Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine

Six

Virginals

The Golden Hinde

Clement Marot 

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches 10% to independent bookstores!

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Allegra on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

Milo Todd discusses the research process for his debut, The Lilac People. This sweeping historical fiction novel shares a devastating chapter in trans history. 

Debut novelist Milo Todd joins me to discuss his book, The Lilac People, in honor of Pride Month. This heartbreaking historical fiction novel uncovers a devastating chapter in queer and trans history.

Milo's novel centers on a group of trans and intersex patients at Berlin's Institute for Sexual Science as Hitler's regime begins its rise to power. Through stunning research and unforgettable characters, readers uncover a nearly erased history to life—while drawing chilling parallels to today's political climate.

In our conversation, Milo shares how real historical figures and overlooked archives shaped the characters in his novel—and why it was crucial to honor the lives of those whose stories were almost erased from history.

In this moving conversation, Milo and I discuss:

• How Milo discovered the history of the Institute for Sexual Science and the work of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld—and the biggest surprises when researching their legacy.
• The challenges with research for this novel in the face of the pandemic and the creative avenues he took to build his story
• How Milo sees trans people as being the canaries in the coal mine as we discuss one of his story's most impactful scenes
• How Milo's teaching work with trans youth informs his writing and what actions he believes are most impactful in allyship today.

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I'm sharing a companion book list of 26 LGBTQ History Books to read, including new releases and backlist titles, that offer illuminating details on the joys and triumphs throughout queer history. 

Milo Todd is a Massachusetts Cultural Council grantee and a Lambda Literary Fellow. His work has appeared in Slice Magazine and elsewhere. He is the co-editor-in-chief of Foglifter and teaches creative writing to queer and trans adults. The Lilac People is his debut novel.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide  ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits—thank you for supporting my small business!  

Download Today's Show Transcript

Join the June Book Club Chat (The Reckless Oath We Made)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 26 LGBTQ Books to Read for Pride Month

Red Clay Suzie by Jeffrey Dale Lofton

Larry Hoffer (@getbookedwithlarry)

The Lilac People by Milo Todd

The Book of Harlan by Bernice L. McFadden

You Can't Ask That

Institute for Sexual Science

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

Milo's Events

The Queer Writer

A sample of Max Meyers's narration

Milo's Instagram

We Are Bookish (NetGalley's blog)

milotodd.com

How to Jazz Up Your Book Club While Reading The Lilac People

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Milo on Instagram or his Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

Annie Hartnett discusses the inspiration behind her quirky road trip novel The Road to Tender Hearts and why she breaks all the rules in writing her stories. 

Annie Hartnett joins me to discuss her latest bestselling novel, The Road to Tender Hearts, and the inspiration behind this road trip story. We explore the heartfelt and humorous moments that showcase a wonderfully quirky found family, which even includes a psychic cat.

She also shares the surprising real-life inspirations for her unforgettable characters and explains how literary mischief is woven into their worlds.

In this quirky conversation, Annie and I discuss: 

• Why Annie made a death-predicting cat named Pancakes the emotional engine of the novel—and how a real-life nursing home cat named Oscar inspired this unforgettable character.
• How playing with point of view and narrator's voice keeps her writing fresh, and why she's unconcerned with grammar "rules."
• How Annie's own cross-country trip in her twenties helped shape the emotional core of this incredible road trip story.

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I'm sharing an accompanying book list of 29 books about road trips, including new releases and backlist titles, that speak to the ripple effects of substance use across families and generations.

Annie Hartnett is the author of Unlikely Animals, which won the Julia Ward Howe Prize for fiction and was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize.She is also theauthor of Rabbit Cake, a finalist for the New England Book Award and a Kirkus Reviews best book of the year. Hartnett has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Along with writer Tessa Fontaine, she co-runs the Accountability Workshops for writers, helping them commit to routines and embrace the long, slow, joyful, terrible process of doing the work. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 48-page reading guide  ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits—thank you for supporting my small business!  

Join the May Book Club Chat (Beautyland)

BONUS BOOK LIST: 29 Books About Road Trips to Read Now

Download Today's Transcript

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett

Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett

Red Dog Farm by Nathaniel Ian Miller

Married with Children

Jane the Virgin

Fargo

Raising Arizona

Karen Russell

The Frightening and Wonderful Things That Will Happen to You When You Publish Your First Novel by Rufi Thorpe

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches 10% to independent bookstores!

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Annie on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

In this Jessica Guerrieri interview, we discuss her debut, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, and how 12 years of sobriety shaped this unforgettable tale.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a raw and emotionally resonant debut that examines the insidious nature of alcohol addiction and how it distorts relationships, parenting, and one woman's self-perception. In this conversation, Jessica shares how her twelve-year sobriety journey shaped the story and why telling the truth about addiction matters.

In this heartfelt and powerful conversation, Jessica and I discuss:

• How Jessica's sobriety journey helped her write Leah's addiction story with such emotional clarity
• The mental gymnastics of addiction—and what she wants readers to understand about recovery
• How the sober community rallied around her and helped usher her novel into the world
• The truths about AA meetings that might surprise readers
• Why she chose to blur the lines between literary fiction and women's fiction in her genre-bending debut

BONUS BOOK LIST: This week, I'm sharing a companion book list of 19 addiction fiction reads, including new releases and backlist titles, that speak to the ripple effects of substance use across families and generations.

Originally from the Bay Area, Jessica Guerrieri lives in Davis, California, with her husband and three young daughters. Jessica has a background teaching special education but left the field to pursue a career in writing. Her debut novel, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, won the Maurice Prize for Fiction from her alma mater, UC Davis. With over a decade of sobriety, Jessica is a fierce advocate for addiction recovery.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or download the 39-page reading guide  ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits—thank you for supporting my small business!  

Join the May Book Club Chat (Beautyland)

19 Addiction Fiction Books to Read Now

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Jessica Guerrieri

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff

Lara Love Hardin

Happy Women Dinners

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Both Can Be True by Jessica Guerrieri

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect with Jessica on Instagram or her Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter

Buy Me a Coffee (for a one-time donation)

The NEW 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide includes 56 titles, including upcoming releases, new releases, and backlist gems. Browse 39 pages of bookish fun to prepare for your best summer stack.

Welcome to one of my favorite episodes of the year- the official reveal of the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide! This year's guide features 56 handpicked titles across every genre to help you find the perfect book for your summer reading mood.

In this special episode of Book Gang, I'm revealing the inspiration behind this year's Summer Reading Guide. A recent health challenge shifted how and why I read, making this season's selections more intentional, joy-filled, and personal than ever before.

From the ninety-eight books I read for this season, I'm spotlighting four unforgettable debut novels that stole my heart and should be at the top of your TBR. These fresh new voices are ones I'll be championing all season long, and I hope they become new favorites for you, too.

Don't miss my special announcements on three upcoming projects I have in the works for online AND local friends to create even MORE bookish fun for your reading year. Grab a notebook (or open your Libby app!) to reserve all these gorgeous books for this year's fun, and let's deep dive into the WHY behind this year's selections.

Browse the 2025 MomAdvice Summer Reading Guide (with ads) or receive the 39-page reading guide download ($7) to support our show. If you are a show patron, check your inbox for your copy as part of your member benefits- thank you for supporting my small business!  

Editor's Note: We have switched from Bookshop.org to direct sales with three featured bookshops to ensure they keep every penny of the profit. 

Amy Allen Clark is the founder of MomAdvice.com, a vibrant online community she has nurtured since 2004. Through this platform, Amy shares practical advice on recipes, DIY projects, and book recommendations for her readers.

In 2013, Amy authored The Good Life for Less, published by Penguin, and provided families tips for running their household on a shoestring budget.

Amy launched the Book Gang Podcast in 2021. The book podcast celebrates debut authors, explores backlist titles, and highlights under-the-radar book selections. Through engaging conversations with writers and fellow book enthusiasts, Amy's goal is to connect you with your new favorite book.

Residing in Indiana, Amy is a mother of two who has shared her journey living with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome to raise awareness and support others facing similar health challenges. 

Connect With Me:

Buy the 2025 Summer Reading Guide

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Support the Show With a Tip on Buy Me a Coffee