Summary: Welcome to 2025 and a fresh start! Join our hosts today as they discuss books that feature second chances. What happens when you don’t nail it the first time, but get another shot to turn things around? What if that new shot is a cloned body after you were murdered, or a co-parent looking more and more like the love of your life again? Whatever your wheelhouse, this time of year is a great opportunity to get a fresh perspective.
Topics Discussed:
The Dagger (4:15): Holly discussed My Murder by Katie Williams, a sci-fi mystery thriller following Louise, the happily married mother of an adorable toddler and recent victim of a serial killer. Thanks to a pilot program created by the US Government, Lou has been cloned and “brought back to life.” The clones in the program are returned to their grieving families and the lives that have been stolen from them, the memories, feelings, and personalities of their original selves intact (for the most part). For Louise, though, there’s a lingering unease and she’s haunted by the gaps in her memory from the lead up to her murder. Holly’s key takeaways were:
This thriller blends speculative science fiction and domestic suspense, with the sci-fi coming across as very approachable and a light touch; for example, the serial killer Edward Early is meant to serve out his sentence in an induced coma as part of his rehab.
Williams explores the nature of identity and selfhood; she interrogates what makes you, you - is cloned Louise the same as the Louise who was killed? What does it mean that she no longer has a c-section scar and her toddler sometimes doesn’t recognize her?
There is a very literal second chance in this story - Louise is cloned and placed back into her old life. However, is this opportunity the bright, happy solution the program intends?
The Heart (14:31): Devin discussed Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan, a romance following Yasmin and Josiah as they work to co-parent their two children, Deja and Kassim, after their painful but amicable divorce. After the tragic loss of their third unborn child and Yasmin’s struggle with depression, the forever that Yasmin and Josiah saw for themselves fell apart. Now, as they both recover and begin to find joy and themselves again, will they return to each other? Devin’s key takeaways were:
Ryan explores second chances not just for their relationship but for themselves as individuals; Yasmen and Josiah work the entire book to really come back to themselves after the tragedy and give themselves the permission to feel joy and enjoy life again. Their self-evolution naturally leads to the exploration of their divorce and the love they still have for each other.
Unlike a lot of romances, children and co-parenting play a huge role in this book; Yasmen and Josiah work constantly to meet the needs of their children and a lot of their coordination and early plot revolves around them. The family is richly described with rounded characters all around and are easy to fall in love with
Josiah and Yasmen co-own a restaurant, Grits. It’s so successful that they’re looking to expand into a new market, and the family history and culinary connection brightens the book and adds texture that it would otherwise have missed.
Hot On the Shelf (26:07):
What’s Making Our Hearts Race (29:20):
Devin: Our Little Secret with Lindsay Lohan on Netflix
Holly: Flow, the animated movie
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