Judith Natelli McLaughlin has a “novel” approach to summer reads...plus a book giveaway

We're pleased to have Judith Natelli McLaughlin back at CLC today to talk about her latest novel, Top Five, which was just published this week! She's here to share a Top Five list of her own, that is sure to put you into a summer reading mood. Judith has one copy of her novel, along with some swag, for a lucky reader!

Judith Natelli McLaughlin has been writing since childhood, starting with The Bunny and The Eggs, a handmade Easter Bunny story she proudly bound with masking tape. A Tenafly, New Jersey native, she graduated from Tenafly High School in 1983 and went on to Villanova University, where she discovered her academic and creative strengths.

A firm believer that success comes from doing what you love, Judith has built a meaningful career as a writer. She lives at the Jersey Shore with her husband, Brian, and their Westie, Duke. They have three grown daughters who inspire her every day.

Life is busy, full, and good—and for Judith, always worth writing about.

Visit Judith at her website and on Instagram.

Synopsis:

Belle Creek, New York—where small-town charm comes with big secrets.

Quinn Sheridan, lifestyle blogger and reluctant internet star, retreats to her aunts’ river house to escape the pressure of writing her first book. She expects peace and quiet—not Witt Spencer.

Witt has returned to Belle Creek to care for the estranged father he’s spent years avoiding. He’s not looking for redemption, and Quinn’s not looking for love. But as summer unfolds, so do old wounds, unexpected sparks, and a chance at something neither of them saw coming.

Top Five is a heartfelt story about healing, connection, and the messy, beautiful ways we find our way back to ourselves—and each other.

Top Five Anticipated Books for Summer 2025

When asked to be a guest blogger for Chick Lit Central, in anticipation of my summer 2025 release, Top Five, it, surprisingly, took me a while to figure out my topic. I say surprisingly because in Top Five, main character Quinn is a writer of the successful blog, Top Five. So why did it take me so long to come up with the idea to write my own Top Five Blog?  I have no idea, but when I finally landed on this nugget of a concept, I gave myself a big, fat duh!

Reading is my great escape. I learn about myself, others and the world through the books I read, often reading paragraphs that move me, over and over again, and sharing my favorite quotes on social media.  And I truly believe, book quotes are best when shared.

Summer reading is particularly special to me, as there is nothing better than my butt in a beach chair with a book in my hands and my toes in the sand. With no further ado, below are my Top Five Anticipated Books for Summer 2025:

TOP FIVE – Judith Natelli McLaughlin

Naturally, I have to include my own. My advance readers are offering the best feedback. So, if messy characters, small town charm, enemies to lovers, love, loss, redemption and secrets are your thing—all with the promise of a happily ever after—read Top Five!

IT’S A LOVE STORY - Annabel Monaghan

I discovered Annabel with her first novel Nora Goes Off Script. I smiled the entire time while reading, the voice was that good and that unique. And honestly, I wished I had written it. Now, I would read anything by Annabel, including her grocery list (I bet it’s funny!). But thankfully we’ve got other books to choose from and I am highly anticipating It’s a Love Story as I am certain it will hold space for her unique voice and humor.

ATMOSPHERE – Taylor Jenkins Reid 

This title releases on June 3rd, just like Top Five. I am in amazing company, and I pay homage to the great TJR. If you’ve read Daisy Jones or Evelyn Hugo, you know, with Taylor, you don’t just get a story, you get immersed in a lifestyle. She is the master, and I cannot wait to be transported to the eighties, space and love.

THE ART OF VANISHING – Morgan Pager

This title interests me on many levels. I am intrigued not only because it’s a magical love story about a museum employee and the man in a masterpiece hanging on the walls, but also because I have been following its bookstagrammer/ author @nycbookgirl for a long time now, and to see this dream come true for her is as inspiring as it is beautiful.

MY FRIENDS - Fredrick Backman

Frederick’s back list is enormous. Like nine novels! I have read nearly all of them starting with A Man Called Ove.  Quirky, real, sad, funny, poignant, memorable are all beautiful words to describe Backman books. I am certain My Friends will be one of The Winners. (See what I did there? He wrote The Winners).

What books are on your Top Five list for the summer?

Thanks to Judith for visiting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends June 10th at midnight EST. 

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Book Review: The Busybody Book Club

By Melissa Smoot

They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?

Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it’s a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk.

Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.

While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect. But despite the danger closing in, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and gotten everyone safe at home with a book, where they belong. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline was fun, and the cast of characters were all so lovable. The way the author was able to weave together a perfect cast, an idyllic setting, and add precisely the right amount of mystery was fantastic. I thought it was brilliant how each character had such a main role in this story and not just our leading lady, Nova. It made me want to join the book club and go on adventures with them all.

There were the right amounts of both humor and emotion, and it didn’t take long to realize I was completely invested in finding out it would end. I felt myself getting stressed out when I thought one of the book club members was in danger, and I felt empathetic when one of them was sad or hurt. I will definitely be picking up another book by Sampson in the future. The writing kept me engaged for the entire book and I don’t feel that anything was left out of the story at all. If you are looking for a good mystery with a great cast of misfit characters, you won’t want to miss this one.

Thanks to Berkley for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase The Busybody Book Club here.

More by Freya Sampson:
The Lost Ticket
The Last Chance Library
Nosy Neighbors

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Ali Brady has us turning the pages...plus a book giveaway

L to R: Bradeigh and Alison

Today we have Ali Brady here to celebrate the publication of their latest novel, Battle of the Bookstores! Melissa is excited to read this soon, as she loved Until Next Summer (her intro to Ali's writing; reviewed here). Ali Brady is actually two wonderful writers: Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey. However, they're answering our Q&A as their combined alter ego (except for one question, since they don't live in the same place). They have one signed copy of Battle of the Bookstores, along with a custom character print, for a lucky reader!

Ali Brady is the pen name of writing BFFs Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey. They are the USA TODAY Bestselling authors of romantic, heartwarming, funny novels including The Beach Trap, The Comeback Summer, Until Next Summer, and Battle of the Bookstores. Their books have been “best of summer” picks by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Parade, and Katie Couric Media. Alison lives in Chicago and works as an advertising creative director. She’s also the Founder and Co-President of The Artists Against Antisemitism, and the author of You and Me and Us and Little Pieces of Me. Bradeigh lives in Utah with her husband, four children, and two dogs. She works as a doctor and is the author of psychological thrillers Imposter and The Followers. (Bio courtesy of Amazon.)

Visit Ali at their website and on Facebook and Instagram. 

Synopsis:
Despite managing bookstores on the same Boston street, Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson have never interacted much—Josie’s store focuses on serious literature, and Ryan’s sells romance only. But when the new owner of both stores decides to combine them, the two are thrust into direct competition. Only one manager will be left standing, decided by who turns the most profit over the summer. 

Efficient and detail-oriented Josie instantly clashes with easygoing and disorganized Ryan. Their competing events and contrasting styles lead to more than just frustration—the sparks between them might just set the whole store on fire. Their only solace during this chaos is the friendship they’ve each struck up with an anonymous friend in an online book forum. Little do they know they’re actually chatting with each other.  

As their rivalry heats up in real life, their online relationship grows, and when the walls between their stores come tumbling down, Josie and Ryan realize not all’s fair in love and war. And maybe, if they’re lucky, happily ever afters aren’t just for the books. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

"Ali Brady has written the new comfort read for bookworms. Battle of the Bookstores somehow manages to be both delightfully funny and self-aware while also being deeply, unapologetically, an ode to romance. If you’re thinking of picking this one up I’d quote Joe Fox in You’ve Got Mail and say “oh how I wish you would.” 

--Ali Rosen, bestselling author of Recipe for Second Chances

"A heartfelt ode to bookstores and book lovers... this goes down as one my favorite reads of 2025. I absolutely loved it!"

--Jean Meltzer, International Bestselling Author

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
The best compliment is when a reader says it made them feel so caught up in the story, they couldn’t put it down! All we want is to bring joy to our readers, so this truly feels so special.  

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself? 
To get comfortable with the ups and downs of publishing, because it is a rollercoaster—but having someone to ride with makes it so much more fun.

If Battle of the Bookstores was made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
JOSIE: Hailee Steinfeld. (Beautiful, half-Jewish, and could definitely rock a pencil skirt, stilettos, and hair in a tight bun)

RYAN: John Reynolds (Ryan is 6’7.5” so it’s tough to find an actor that tall, but John Reynolds is 6’5” so he’s close! Plus he could totally pull off Ryan’s Nerdy-Hot vibe.)

What is your favorite independent bookstore?
Bradeigh: The King’s English and Lovebound Library in Salt Lake City

Alison: Volumes Books in Chicago, Park Books in Maryland

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 
Julia Whelan, because we would listen to her narrate anything!

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
We’re heading out on a book tour together, so we would love to take you along to all the cities we’ve visiting, to meet readers and see the cutest independent bookstores.

Thanks to Ali for visiting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends June 8th at midnight EST. 

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Book Review: Love, Accidentally

By Sara Steven

As an accident and emergency room nurse, there’s not much that can catch Tilly off guard (not even those kinds of accidents). But when her bachelor flatmate gets a girlfriend and her sister announces she wants another baby, Tilly is surprised to find herself questioning her happily single existence.

Thankfully, the arrival of a new face on the ward offers a welcome distraction. With his lustrous hair, and charming personality, Dr Luke sets hearts racing all across the hospital. But as Tilly and Luke get to know each other better, she starts to wonder if he’s really her McDreamy after all...

Is Tilly being blinded by her determination to find someone? And while she’s looking in Luke's direction, will Tilly miss what’s right in front of her? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

I thought it was interesting that the synopsis for Love, Accidentally references McDreamy, a character from the TV show Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve been catching up on the seasons, having not watched it the first go around, and I could totally see Luke as a McDreamy-type. For Tilly, he appears to be the total package, not only in the looks department, but she’s drawn to his more aloof personality. It felt like she took on his aloofness as a bit of a challenge, to see if she could break through and see a more vulnerable side that others don’t see in Luke.

And for a while, that works for Tilly. But she begins to see some red flags that aren’t really definable, and when she questions Luke, he has a reasonable answer for her. She wonders if maybe she is judging him too harshly, or not giving him the benefit of the doubt. But as the reader, I questioned Luke’s motives, too. When Tilly’s sister also questions Luke’s motives and if he’s really as honest as he claims to be, I couldn’t get how upset Tilly got over that observation. She feels like her sister is trying to derail her happiness, but I felt her sister wanted to protect her.

A side plot to the relationship between Tilly and Luke, is an unlikely friendship Tilly forms with a patient of hers. She often tells herself that she realizes maybe she’s crossing some boundaries in wanting to check in with the patient far too often, but I thought it was sweet and added a nice level of dimension to Tilly’s characterization. In forming the friendship, she gets a little bit more than she bargained for, feeling out what’s true and what’s not, and what matters to her the most. 

Ultimately, Tilly is trying to decipher what’s best for her life. She is witness to a lot of change happening within her friendship circle, her roommate circle, and family circles, too, which makes her more susceptible to evaluating her own relationships and finding ways to welcome something more meaningful when it comes to romance and love. I thought Love, Accidentally was a cute, sweet experience, with McDreamys–and maybe even a McSteamy–for good measure. 

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links:

Amazon US * Amazon UK * Kobo

Phoebe MacLeod is the author of several popular romantic comedies including the top ten bestseller, The Fixer Upper. She lives in Kent with her partner, grown up children and disobedient dog.

Visit Phoebe online:
Facebook * Instagram 

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Book Review: The Roommate Experiment

By Sara Steven

Hunter has secretly been in love with her best friend’s brother Dylan for years, despite barely registering as a blip on his radar. She’s not even in the friend zone—more like friend zone adjacent. But her luck is about to Dylan is taking over her spare room, and she's being promoted to roommate. Could this be the moment Dylan finally notices her?

Not so fast. When Dylan moves in, he carries more than just boxes—he brings complications. Suddenly, the dream of living under the same roof turns into a daily struggle. Dylan is off-limits, for reasons Hunter couldn’t have anticipated, and the closer they get, the harder it becomes to ignore her feelings.

But Hunter’s determined to keep her heart in check—no matter how difficult the task. She just has to avoid ogling him in a towel. Definitely don’t imagine what’s under the towel. And try not to swoon when he bakes cookies.

But after he saves her from a terrible date and they’re forced to share a sofa bed at his parents’ house, her emotions reach a breaking point. She’ll have to either move on or move out. Will she tell him the truth—or lose him forever? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

I love the Funny Feelings book series! I’ve read the other two books that are in this book series, eagerly anticipating Hunter’s story. There were foreshadowing moments in If The Rings Fits (reviewed here), highlighting the fact that Hunter and Dylan would become roommates born from convenience, but for Hunter, the situation is a dream come true. She’s had a crush on Dylan for years, yet he’s been none the wiser. 

Despite the years she’s pined for Dylan, Hunter has never felt like she’s in Dylan’s league. She sees herself as a self-professed nerd, more on the shy and reserved side, while he’s outgoing and vocal on mostly everything, well-liked by everyone. It makes him an easy catch, something she ends up witnessing with the new woman in his life–a woman who appears to be more than perfect for him. Hunter could never compete, but she can’t continue pining for someone who never really sees her. 

It’s what propels Hunter into trying out online dating, which ends up becoming a lot more than she ever bargained for. And meanwhile, on the Dylan front, he underestimated the situation he’s in with his girlfriend. Maybe what looks great on paper (and even in person) isn’t always the right fit. And maybe the more time he spends with Hunter, the more he sees who she really is, which only confuses him even more. And neither Hunter nor Dylan wants to do anything that could potentially damage their long-term friendship. 

There are a lot of moments presented to both characters that test their limits. Dylan is a decent man and always wants to do the right thing, even if it comes with a price, and Hunter focuses on Dylan’s happiness but soon learns that her happiness is important, too. It was nice to learn more about both characters but it was also sweet to revisit the other characters from the other books in this series. The writing was fun and quirky and I felt invested in how things would turn out for the unlikely roommate duo. It was a five-star experience for me!

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Kobo

Camilla Isley is an engineer who left science behind to write bestselling contemporary rom-coms set all around the world. She lives in Italy.

Visit Camilla online:
Website * Facebook * Instagram 

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Jen Michalski speaks her truth...plus a book giveaway

We are pleased to welcome Jen Michalski to CLC today, to talk about her latest novel, All This Can Be True. The story sounds intriguing and we're excited to share it with you today. We really enjoyed Jen's answers to our questions and we hope you will too. Jen has TWO copies to give away!

Jen Michalski is the author of four novels, three short story collections, and two novellas. Her last novel, You'll Be Fine, was a 2021 Buzzfeed "Best Small Press Book," a 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, and was selected as one of the "Best Books We Read This Year" by the Independent Press Review. Her latest collection of fiction, The Company of Strangers, was a "Best of Baltimore" winner in 2023 and also a top indie press pick at Electric Literature. She's the editor of the weekly online literary weekly jmww and currently lives in Southern California, although she will always be a Baltimore girl by heart.

Visit Jen on Instagram and BlueSky.

Synopsis:
When Lacie Johnson’s husband, Derek, suffers a stroke at forty-seven and falls into a coma, her plans come to a screeching halt—asking Derek for a divorce, going back to school to get her master’s, and starting over as a single woman now that their children have grown up. But what begins as a disaster brings an unexpected blessing in the form of Quinn, a kind stranger whom Lacie meets in the halls of the hospital.

This is just a stop-over for Quinn, who is traveling up to the British Columbia coast to live in a co-op of grief survivors on a remote island after the loss of her young daughter. She's also the former singer of a post-riot grrrl band who fled the group and the public eye more than fifteen years ago for reasons unknown. Lacie thinks she's discovered in Quinn the life and the person she’s always wanted. But Quinn harbors a secret that connects her to Derek. And if Derek wakes up, Quinn must come clean and risk destroying her growing relationship with Lacie.

Told in alternating points of view, All This Can Be True follows Lacie and Quinn as they make the journey to each other—and then grapple with the fallout. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself?
Only one thing? (Just kidding.) How about one word? Expectations. Authors have wildly different ideas of how successful our first book will be, but we’ve also prepared ourselves, to some extent, that it might not be successful and how to deal with that disappointment. What I don’t think we prepare for as writers is that sometimes we can do everything right after (and before) but the book isn’t successful anyway. It’s hard to square that a lot of a book’s success (or failure) hinges not on the book itself but other factors—what the market is selling at the time, or whose hands it falls into, if a publisher closes its doors or some other disruption to the supply chain, or any other number of factors over which we cannot control. All we can control is writing the best book we can and being proud of that, regardless of what happens after it’s published. I would tell my debut self that writing is never about the journey of the book after it’s written—it’s the journey of the book that you take when you write it that’s the most important.

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing All This Can Be True?
One of the biggest challenges was finding the point of view. In early drafts, it was Lacie’s story, but Quinn felt a richer character in some respects, even if her journey is a little flatter, ie, a lot of her life is told in denouement, after the death of her daughter. Committing to two perspectives felt risky, although the biggest reward is that I feel it worked. Another challenge was exploring characters who make bad choices. There’s the cheating. There’s addiction, there’s impulsive behavior. But since we’re all essentially flawed characters in real life, I always want my characters to be complex—mildly infuriating at times but surprisingly sympathetic and insightful at others. 
 
If All This Can Be True were made into a movie, who would you cast in the leading roles?
I am such a huge Julianne Moore fan—I’ve followed her career since the nineties! I think she could pull off a great Quinn. Ryan Gosling for Derek (or maybe Tony Hawk if he got the acting bug). Lacie has always been a little harder for me. I think I would cast a relatively unknown actress and let her fully embody Lacie based on her reading of her.

What is the last book you read that you would recommend?
Probably The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris. Hard to believe it’s a debut novel! Here’s what’s on my bookshelf: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano and The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel.

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it? 

Ha, this is a fun question! I’ve had a huge improbable crush on Steve Perry since I was nine or ten, and I think I’d love for him to narrate my life in song.

If we were to visit you right now, what are some places you would take us to see?
From the cliff at Swami’s Beach in Encinitas, we would watch the sun set on the Pacific and dozens of surfers surf the point break. From there we could head across the way to the Self-Realization Fellowship Encinitas Hermitage and Meditation Gardens and be mindful along the gardens. It’s a really cool place, and “Swami’s” Beach was named after the founder of center, the Indian yogi Paramahansa Yogananda. It’s the distillation of Southern Californian living for me—the natural beauty and the state of mind. 

Thanks to Jen for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends June 4th at midnight EST. 

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Book Review: The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club

By Melissa Smoot

2016: Thirty-four-year-old Mari Starwood is still grieving after her mother’s death as she travels to the storied island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She’s come all the way from California with nothing but a name on a piece of paper: Elizabeth Devereaux, the famous but reclusive Vineyard painter. When Mari makes it to Mrs. Devereaux’s stunning waterfront farm under the guise of taking a painting class with her, Mrs. Devereaux begins to tell her the story of the Smith sisters, who once lived there. As the tale unfolds, Mari is shocked to learn that her relationship to this island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.

1942: The Smith girls—nineteen-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and sixteen-year-old war-obsessed Briar—are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard. When Briar spots German U-boats lurking off the island’s shores, and Cadence falls into an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy, their quiet lives are officially upended. In an attempt at normalcy, Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club, which grows both in members and influence as they connect with a fabulous New York publisher who could make all of Cadence’s dreams come true. But all that is put at risk by a mysterious man who washes ashore—and whispers of a spy in their midst. Who in their tight-knit island community can they trust? Could this little book club change the course of the war . . . before it’s too late? (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

I was left speechless after reading this book. I read a LOT of books, and I love and enjoy so many of them, but this one takes it to a whole new level of loving a book. The Martha’s Vineyard setting, the country reeling from the second world war they were currently embroiled in, and the perfectly charming cast of characters, divine. 

Most people that know me well, know that I usually shy away from historical fiction (unless it takes place in the 1920s), but man am I glad I got the pleasure of reading this one. The story takes us back to 1942 Martha’s Vineyard, the war still far from over. The hopes and dreams of so many young people crushed by the weight of duty, to our country but also to their families, and communities. 

The Island becomes crowded with soldiers conducting training on the beautiful beaches, for them to eventually take that training overseas to storm the beaches of Europe and North Africa. The town is overwhelmed by the sudden thoughts that any one of their neighbors could be Nazi sympathizers or spies. Nobody knows who they can trust, even those that they have lived amongst their entire lives. 

The main characters, the Smith family, must protect themselves as well as their farm. When the grandmother falls ill and the oldest son is shipped off to war, everyone must band together to keep the farm, and the family afloat. Add in a sweet love story, teenage spies, and a little mystery, and you have yourself a winning combination.

This story brought me to tears and I feverishly devoured it until the very end. I can’t imagine the fear and uncertainty of that time in history. I can promise you that if you pick up this book, you will not put it down until you have consumed every last word of it. This one just stole a spot on my “favorite books of all time” list.

Thanks to Random House for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase The Martha's Vineyard Beach and Book Club here.

More by Martha Hall Kelly:

Lilac Girls

Lost Roses

Sunflower Sisters

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