Read our latest staff reviews and recommendations featured in The Southern Bookseller Review.
Hall’s hilarious dialogue is front and center in his newest addition to the London Calling series and you won’t be able to put this one down! Luc and Oliver have been through it in Boyfriend Material and the Husband Material. But you know, “first comes love, then comes marriage” so you know what’s next! That’s right, an adorable rescue dog that looks like a big potato! And maybe if they can get dog parenting down, they might be ready for more?
Father Material by Alexis Hall, (List Price: $18.99, Sourcebooks Casablanca, 9781728264295, June 2026)
Reviewed by Jennifer, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA
The first female Faroese writer to publish in English has written truth about women caretakers the world over. The main character is a woman in her 60’s who is caring for her grandchildren and mothering her own aging mother. She is waiting for a nursing home for her mother, but her name doesn’t come up. As she is caring for others, she remembers scenes of her youth and caring for her own children when they were small. Even though this story is told from the Faroe Islands, it is the same story played over and over. She honestly even thinks of feeling angry at her ancient mother for growing old and feeble. Love and caring are displayed with the work and worry of caretaking.
On the Other Side Is March by Sólrún Michelsen, (List Price: $18.95, Transit Books, 9798893380491, June 2026)
Reviewed by Nancy, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA
Kuang never misses, and this insanely bingeable story was quickly added to my favorites. Kuang expertly depicts the specific brand of grief that arises from an unexpected loss of a family member that you wish you were closer to. Read this book if you want to be inspired to pick up your language studies again.
Taipei Story by R. F. Kuang, (List Price: $32, William Morrow, 9780063583597, August 2026)
Reviewed by Em, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA
Imagine if you had a choice of living your regular daily life or escaping on a magical floating island with a loving, mysterious man …. and did I mention you wouldn’t ever age? Shea Ernshaw has created such an island. Clay Lockhart was seen on his disappearing island burying his wife and babies, who all died in childbirth. This was one glimpse into the island, which mostly is never seen. Ellie Mills happens onto the island and meets Clay, and then spends much of the next twenty years asking herself if it really happened. When the island is spotted again, she decides to try to find if it is a reality or just a childhood dream. Ellie has a life with a career and just gets engaged to James as she sets off on the adventure to see if she can get back on the island. Is it real? She does reach the island, and she and Clay fall in love while caring for the crops and livestock on the island. Should she return to James and her old life or stay with Clay on this magical, hauntingly beautiful island? Written with such vivid sensory details, readers will feel immersed with Ellie as she makes her life-altering decision.
Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw, (List Price: $28, Atria Books, 9781668097731, 2026-07-07)
Reviewed by Nancy, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
“What was your childhood like? You never talk about it.” Brad asked his grandmother to tell him about her life….how many of us wish we had someone to listen to us or that we had asked questions before loved ones died? With the astonishing beauty of the sixty-three national parks containing all the flowers and plants and wild creatures, readers will sit in the back seat and hear all the joys and tumult of this family’s life. The author and grandson Brad Ryan is a veterinarian who lives with the agony of his solitary life and the pain he carries from his childhood. Grandma Joy is not a woman who shares feelings and loves, but in her 90 years has experienced many of life’s tragedies. Reading this book forces readers to see all the resplendence and majesty of the parks while trodding up countless steps for viewing and sleeping and snoring on an air mattress in a tent. All will long remember the journeys of Brad and Grandma Joy and think about completing them with a 90-year-old relative. It is quite the adventure.
Grandma Joy and Me by Brad Ryan, (List Price: $29, Simon & Schuster, 9781668099261, June 2026)
Reviewed by Nancy, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA
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