Busy Philipps went in for a scan and came out with a brain tumor diagnosis. Somehow, the story is terrifying, funny, deeply human, and exactly why I’ve been a fan since Freaks and Geeks.
Maryland looked at a normal layer cake and apparently decided it needed several more layers and an official title. Meet Smith Island Cake, the Chesapeake dessert with a surprisingly practical history behind all that...
Sex scandal, family dysfunction, and a mother who smells a business opportunity. The Lowe Job turns public humiliation into a brand, with plenty of chaos along the way.
One inherited memoir. Four generations of family silence. When Mikan Road Was Ours asks what happens when the past you barely know has been shaping you all along.
Joyce Carol Oates has a talent for finding the exact moment an ordinary day starts to go very, very wrong. The Frenzy: Stories is dark, unsettling, and full of people making the kinds of choices you desperately wish you...
Three sisters, one beloved beach house, and enough emotional baggage to sink the family boat. Down With the Shipmans has all the ingredients for juicy summer drama, but I kept waiting for the story to make bigger waves.
Three translators, one shipwrecked hero — A.O. Scott says the version of Homer's Odyssey you pick can completely change the experience. Which journey are you taking?
A perfect Beverly Hills marriage, a dead first wife, and one very suspicious housewife. I thought I knew where The Housewife was going, but this twisty domestic thriller had other plans.
Michael Rafidi has a Michelin star and a James Beard trophy. The three DC spots he actually recommends: a wood-fired hearth, a family bakery, and breakfast tacos that would make Texas nervous.
Rachel Khong’s My Dear You comes in weird and stays weird, with stories about race, love, ghosts, sex dolls, God, and the general inconvenience of being human. Not every story lands, but even the misses are strange...
An orc, a coffee shop, and a second chance at peace. Legends & Lattes: The Graphic Novel is cozy fantasy at its sweetest. Read my review and learn why I gave it 4/5 stars.
Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Q. Sutanto delivers a sweeping, emotionally heavy love story about identity, sacrifice, and the secrets families carry across generations. Find out why I gave the book 3.75/5 stars.
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![The Housewife by Natalie Barelli [Book Review]](https://ashbydodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/The-Housewife-hero-285x300.png "The Housewife by Natalie Barelli [Book Review]")
![My Dear You by Rachel Khong [Book Review]](https://ashbydodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/My-Dear-You-hero-285x300.png "My Dear You by Rachel Khong [Book Review]")
![Legends & Lattes: The Graphic Novel by Travis Baldree [Book Review]](https://ashbydodd.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Legends_Lattes_Graphic_hero-285x300.png "Legends & Lattes: The Graphic Novel by Travis Baldree [Book Review]")
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