In 1974, Kate Mularkey becomes best friends with the cool new girl at school, Tully Hart. As Tully becomes a celebrity news anchor and Kate chooses to be a stay-at-home mom, their friendship full of love, jealousy, anger, and laughter will shape their lives over the next three decades. I loved the dynamics of the relationship between Kate and Tully, watching them renegotiate their friendship and struggle with their codependency as they each grew in different directions. If you are looking for a great book club book to discuss with your girlfriends, Firefly Lane would be an excellent choice.

Georgia Hunter dives into her family history with the epic true story of the Kurc family. During World War 2, almost all of the Polish Jews were killed, but somehow the Kurc family were the lucky ones who all managed to survive. Hunter follows Nechuma and Sol Kurc and their five grown children as they are separated by war, facing unimaginable atrocities, and yet eventually reuniting together. It took me a while to really get into the story, but once I was hooked, I found this true story to be extremely moving.

Born with red eyes, Sam Hill has been called the  "Devil Boy" all his life. Reflecting on his life, Sam realizes that his childhood friendship with two other misfits - Ernie Cantwell, the only African American boy at his school, and Mickie Kennedy, a firestorm in the form of a girl - has defined and shaped his extraordinary life. Dugoni's touching coming-of-age tale was captivating from the first page with its story of friendship and acceptance of what life throws at us.

The Man. The Myth. The Legend. No one held more of a mystique than Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. The iPod, iPhone, and Mac have revolutionized how we think of personal devices with innovative design and an almost cult-like following. Although revered for his innovation, Steve Jobs was a notoriously difficult person to work with. In this exclusive biography, Walter Issacson holds nothing back as he looks at Jobs's full life through the juxtaposition of Job's ability to change the world and his problematic personality.

After covering the US memory championships, journalist Joshua Foer decided to embark on a quest to see if he could also become a memory specialist. Drawing on cutting-edge research and expert knowledge, Foer learned all the memory tips and tricks to become the US Memory Champion. Foer bounces between his training, the history of memory, the science of how our brains work, and the techniques used to retain massive amounts of information quickly. Although parts of the book were fascinating, I found some sections to be rather tedious. Still a great book to read if you are interested in memory techniques. 

Raising questions about privacy, medical research, and ethics, Rebecca Skloot spent more than a decade researching the history of Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells. Just before her death from cervical cancer, Henrietta Lack's cells were taken without her permission and scientists figured out how to keep them alive indefinitely. The created cell line was then used for countless medical research.

Interspersing the history of Henrietta's family, who can't even afford medical insurance, with the medical use of her cells which created a billion-dollar industry, Skloot has penned a memorable work.

When her terminally ill brother asks her to find out where Narnia student, Megs Devonshire, a mathematics student, strikes up a friendship with author C. S. Lewis. All she wants is a straight answer, but instead, he tells her tales of his life, stories that teach her to move beyond logic to hope.

Patti Callahan was smart to write about C. S. Lewis's life in vignettes, hitting the interesting details and using the story of Megs and her brother George to carry the reader's interest. The story lacked depth, never rising above sweet, with little character development and plenty of clichés. Ideal for a nice cozy read that is enjoyable without being too emotional.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper Muse. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Right after evidence is revealed that President Duncan could be a traitor, he goes missing. With a terrorist group threatens to infect all internet devices in the US, the President must take to the field to stop them while finding the traitor in his own cabinet.

Although it was a New York Times bestseller when it was released, I thought the President is Missing was just an average political thriller, with overdone characters and a retread plot. At first, it was interesting seeing Bill Clinton's perspective come through but quickly the endless political rants became rather annoying.

When the love of her life is about to marry her stepsister, Evangeline Fox strikes a deal with the Prince of Hearts. In payment, he demands in payment three kisses, to be given at his time of choosing. After the first kiss is given to the Prince of the North, Evangeline realizes she's trapped in a deadly game with an immortal, one that will either end in her happily ever after or completely break her heart.

Set after the events of the Caraval books, Once Upon a Broken Heart picks out a new resourceful heroine and brings back the bad boy you love to hate, or it it hate to love? Critically speaking, the story isn't nearly as good as Caraval, lacking originality and spending too much time in Evangeline's head. However, preteens and Caraval fans won't care and will gobble it up.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Flatiron Books. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

In the 7th book in the Green Rider series, Sir Karigan G'ladheon is making her way back to Sacor City after her eventful mission to the North. Although plagued by nightmares and self-doubt after being tortured, Karigan must continue to risk all for king and country as the Second Empire makes a final bid to attack the kingdom.

Fantasy isn't generally my genre of choice, but I got hooked on the Green Rider series after the birth of my youngest, reading all six (gigantic) books in about a week. I've heard that this is the penultimate book in the series, and I have to admit that I am just as hooked now as I was when I started.

In Winterlight, fans of the series will be pleased as Britain keeps up a constant stream of action while diving into the psychological toll of Karigan's many adventures. While the loose threads from the other books are mentioned, the focus is on Karigan and King Zachary taking on the Second Empire.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from DAW through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.