Cocktails & Conversation

Plot Twist: The Universe Just Picked Our November Book for Us!
While hunting for this month’s read, I stumbled upon a déjà vu moment—a book with the exact same cover as last year’s pick. Coincidence? Nah. It’s a sign. Either we’re destined for a great read, or the literary gods are messing with us. Either way, I’m taking it as a cosmic nudge.

A charming, deeply moving novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from rural Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher.

Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest.

Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.

When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.

This book illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.

288 pgs
Up Lit/Contemporary

• Sara Josepha Hale Award (2024)

Warning: Side effects may include texting old friends, hugging your parents, and side-eyeing your neighbors less . . .

Ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference. A reminder of the power we all hold.

In weekly phone calls to his daughter in Australia, widower Hubert Bird paints a picture of the perfect retirement, packed with fun, friendship and fulfillment.

But Hubert is lying.

Something has made him turn his back on people and the truth is, day after day drags by. And he hardly sees a soul.

So when his daughter announces she's coming to visit, Hubert faces a race against time - to make his real life resemble his fake life before he's found out! How hard can it be to make new friends?

Life is certainly beginning to happen to Hubert Bird. But with the secret of his earlier isolation lurking in the shadows, is he destined to always be one of the lonely people . . . ?

368 pgs

🎶 Playlist Pairing: Bob Marley’s "Redemption Song" (for Hubert’s arc) + The Beatles’ "All the Lonely People" (obviously).
🏆 British Book Awards - Shortlist (2021)
🏆 Romantic Novelists' Association - Outstanding Achievement Award (2021)
🏆 Audie Award Nominee (2022)

New Year, New… Identity? Happy 2026! We’re ringing in the new year with a story that asks: Why resolve to be better when you could just become someone else? Perfect for those of us who’ve ever daydreamed about a fresh start…though maybe not this extreme, as our protagonist skips the self-help aisle and goes straight for identity theft.

THIS IS ONE HELL OF A STORY. IT’S JUST NOT HERS TO TELL.

When failed writer June Hayward witnesses her rival Athena Liu die in a freak accident, she sees her opportunity. And takes it.

So what if it means stealing Athena’s final manuscript? So what if it means ‘borrowing’ her identity? And so what if the first lie is only the beginning?
Finally, June has the fame she always deserved.

But someone is about to expose her . . .

What happens next is entirely everyone else's fault.

336 pages
[This book is being adapted into a TV series by Lionsgate Television.]

• British Book Award - Fiction (2024)
• She Reads - Book of the Year (2023)
• New England Book Award - Fiction (2023)
• Barnes & Noble - Book of the Year Nominee (2023)
• Audie Award Nominee - Fiction (2024)