Emily Giffin's novels are usually among the most popular books of summer, and her new book will have readers talking. "Love You More" asks the question: if you could have a "do-over" when it comes to love, would you take it? The book is about a woman in New York City who seems to be living her perfect life, with a dream job and dream fiancé. But then she gets a phone call from her first love, and her world is turned upside down.

Giffin talked with Mary about crossroads in life that force people to ask if they are living the life they chose, or the life that chose them. Giffin said she believes in true love and that circumstances change. She shared that circumstances in her own life are undergoing big changes as well.

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As the U.S. celebrates its 250th year of independence and its founding fathers, a new book celebrates a founding mother. Authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie talked with Mary about "A Founding Mother," their novel based on the life of Abigail Adams. She was the wife of one American president and the mother of another. As an important advisor to both men, Adams has a unique place in American history.

During most of the American Revolution, Adams was alone with her children on the front lines of the war in Massachusetts. She managed the Adams farm, while also defending it. Adams was a prolific correspondent and Dray and Kamoie told Mary how they used her letters in their manuscript to allow her to speak for herself. The authors said Adams's directness surprised them.

Dray and Kamoie have co-authored historical fiction novels about Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, wife of Alexander Hamilton, and Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson's eldest daughter. Kamoie says Adams is a contrast to her contemporaries who are not as forthright and opinionated as Adams and that was a delight to write.

Audio Excerpt from "A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams," by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. William Morrow, 2026.

ClubCalvi.com

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Author Kimberly McCreight is back with a thriller that takes readers inside the marriage of a wealthy couple caught in a deadly love triangle, and to an expedition on Mount Kilimanjaro that ends in tragedy.

McCreight's previous book, "Like Mother, Like Daughter," was a Club Calvi Readers' Choice in 2024. She talked to Mary about her new novel "Someone Else's Husband." It is a "most anticipated book of the summer" for many publications.

McCreight told Mary how her climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, where she was the only woman on the expedition, inspired the book and one of the characters. McCreight also wanted to create a story that focuses on how women, specifically how 'the wife' and 'the other woman," are viewed in society. McCreight says they are often stereotyped, and she wanted to write a book where the stereotypes were not true. She did it while crafting a compelling murder mystery.

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Emma Straub turned her love for a boy band into her latest New York Times bestselling book "American Fantasy." It's about a 50-year-old woman who is recently divorced, empty-nested, and having problems at work, and who travels solo on a boy-band cruise. As Straub told Mary, the character discovers "transcendence."

Straub wrote the book after she went on a similar cruise to bring her joy as she healed after the death of her father, author Peter Straub. Emma Straub talks about her love of New Kids on the Block, finding bravery moving through middle age, and her love of books.

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New York Times Bestselling author Mary Kay Andrews says her books are about women reclaiming their power, discovering who they are, and who they can become.

Her latest novel, "Road Trip" takes readers on a journey with two sisters, both broke, who haven't spoken in years and who are now forced together after their mother's death. A painting in their mother's home might be worth millions, and they take a trip to Ireland to solve the mystery.

Andrews told Mary how she used her family history and the true-crime story of stolen paintings from a grand estate in Ireland as springboards for the book. Andrews also sprinkled in "some kissing and some killing." 

She also shared that even after 34 published novels she still suffers from imposter-syndrome, believing that she will fail every time. She has trick a to overcome the self-doubt.

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Fiona Davis brings the forgotten histories and dramatic stories of iconic New York City buildings to life in her historical fiction novels. Among her books, she's written about Radio City Music hall in "The Spectacular," the Frick mansion in "The Magnolia Palace," and the New York Public Library in "The Lions of Fifth Avenue."

Her latest book "The Stolen Queen," a dual timeline set in the Metropolitan Museum as it readies for a Met Gala in the 1970s, and in Egypt in the 1930s, was a 2025 Club Calvi Readers' Choice. Now, the New York Times bestseller is out in paperback.

Mary talked to Davis about her road to becoming a published author, with stops along the way working as an actress and a journalist, and why New York City is an enduring inspiration.

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Eloisa James has been called a "Reigning Queen of Romance," and she certainly has had one of the most interesting day jobs in the industry. James is the author of dozens of historical romances, many of them hitting bestseller lists. She told Mary that she wrote her books on the weekends because on weekdays she was a professor teaching Shakespeare at Fordham University in New York City.

James talked to Mary about tough sessions with her editor, the romances she likes to read, and why her latest book, "The Last Lady B," is a big change from her previous works. 

Copyright © 2026 by Eloisa James, Inc.. Audio excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Audio from the audiobook The Last Lady B, read by Mary Jane Wells, published by Simon & Schuster Audio, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Used with permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Daria Lavelle's debut novel "Aftertaste," a Club Calvi Readers' Choice in the summer of 2025, is a haunting story of a New York City chef whose foods can bring ghosts back from the afterlife for one last meal with their loved ones. The chef opens a restaurant serving closure, but it causes chaos.

If you missed reading the book in hardcover, it's now out in paperback. Daria talked to Mary about how her Ukrainian heritage is sprinkled throughout the book and how she landed her book contract.

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Bestselling author Lisa Unger has an opinion about authors and social media that she admits might generate pushback. She has a rare background for a published author.

Before her first book contract, Unger spent years working in publishing, in publicity, helping authors spread the word about their books. She shared with Mary her advice for aspiring authors, how she discovers her characters as she's writing them on the page, being an introvert, and the inspiration for her latest book, the instant bestseller, "Served Him Right."

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New York Times bestselling author Laurie Gilmore says she never dreamed of becoming an author. The first thought of writing a story came to her while she was pushing her children on a swing. While that story was not published, Gilmore's first book in her small-town Dream Harbor series, "The Pumpkin Spice Cafe," became a social media sensation.

Gilmore talked to Mary about the latest book in the series "The Daisy Chain Flower Shop," and how behind the sweet and cozy covers of her books she sprinkles spice in the pages.

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