This happened. This really happened. I got to talk to Jennifer Weiner about her latest release The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits. We talked about everything - everything. How we celebrate -or don't celebrate! Her musical inspirations for this new release, she gave me some insider knowledge on how she writes men and we talked a lot about the toxic '90's in pop culture. I managed to keep my cool...sort of. She is of course exactly as warm and smart and engaged as you think she is. Check out her latest - The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits, a deeply moving novel set against the glitz and chaos of early 2000s pop stardom. Equal parts heartfelt family saga and behind-the-scenes look at fame, this is a story about sisters, secrets, and the power of second chances.

Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were thrust into the spotlight as The Griffin Sisters, a pop duo that defined the aughts. Together, they skyrocketed to the top, gracing MTV, SNL, and the cover ofRolling Stone. Cassie, a musical genius who never felt at ease in her own skin, preferred to stay in the shadows. Zoe, full of confidence and craving fame, lived for the stage. But fame has a price, and after one turbulent year, the band abruptly broke up.

Now, two decades later, the sisters couldn’t be further apart. Zoe is a suburban mom warning her daughter Cherry to avoid the spotlight, while Cassie has disappeared from public life entirely. But when Cherry begins unearthing the truth behind their breathtaking rise and infamous breakup, long-buried secrets surface, forcing all three women to confront their choices, their desires, and their complicated bonds.

With richly developed characters, a nostalgic nod to the pop culture of the 2000s, and a resonant tale of ambition, forgiveness, and family, The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits will captivate readers from the first note to the final encore. Whether you’ve followed Jennifer Weiner for years or are discovering her for the first time, this book is a must-read for music lovers, fans of sisterly dramas, and anyone who cherishes a great story of second chances.

Find more about Jennifer here: https://www.jenniferweiner.com/

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly

I had the privilege of reading this book months before it was released and it has felt like I've been keeping an amazing secret, but now that it's out and I really want tot talk about it with someone! Anyone! MOM! read this book!!! This book has a HUGE heart, an unbelievable protagonist and absolutely show-stealing secondary characters. Holly and I talk about how Denny just arrived in her head one day and has been with her for years. We also have a really frank and interesting conversation about the challenges and worries of writing a mystery in the POV of a character like Denny. If you read and loved The Curious Incident With The Dog In The Nighttime - you will love this book.

In this poignant and funny novel, a man who is defined by his limitations sets out to fight a murder charge—and discovers unexpected truths about himself, his family, and the world at large.

On the surface, Denny Voss’s life in rural Minnesota is a quiet one. At thirty years old, he lives at home with his elderly mother and his beloved blind and deaf Saint Bernard, George. He cleans up roadkill to help pay the bills. Though his prospects are limited by a developmental delay—the result of an accident at birth—Denny has always felt that he has “a good life.”

So how did he wind up being charged with the murder of a mayoral candidate—after crashing a sled full of guns into a tree?

As Denny awaits trial, his court-appointed therapist walks him through the events of the past year. Denny’s had other scuffles with the law, the first for kidnapping a neighbor’s cantankerous goose. And then there was the time he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. It seems like whenever Denny tries to do the right thing, chaos ensues.

Untangling the events around the murder reveals even more painful truths about his family’s past. He’s always been surrounded by people who love him, but now it’s up to Denny to set his life on a new course.

Find Holly here: https://www.hollykennedy.com/

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly

You know how books are often advertised as "swoony" and it's a word that gets tossed around so much that it's perhaps lost it's meaning? I couldn't tell you before reading No Ordinary Love what it meant for a book to be "swoony."

Enter - No Ordinary Love and in particular Miles. And... I get it now. Swoony, for me, has everything to do with the hero. And Miles is a hell of a hero. So, grab yourself a Jelly Pie (not a drink) #iykyk and read this gorgeous romance that straddles the line between romance and women's fictions with such grace.

Myah and I talk about how hard it is to create romance when you're going to through heartbreak and what it's like to work with legendary Editor Esi Sogah.

Follow Myah here

Buy the book here

A PR partnership between a pop superstar and a pro-athlete bad boy turns into so much more in this swoony romance from the acclaimed author of When I Think of You.

Ella Simone’s popstar life is what dreams are made of. Her eight year marriage to renowned music producer, Elliot Majors, has helped garner the hits, awards, and adoring fans to prove it. But when Ella tires of Elliot's many infidelities, she decides to fight for her independence despite the ironclad prenup that threatens her career.

To help her case, Ella is under strict orders to stick to The Plan: no headlines, no rumors, no rocking the boat. But this strategy is thrown a curveball after an awards show wardrobe snafu and quick rescue by Miles Westbrook, MLB’s most eligible player, sends the tabloids into a frenzy. Amid tricky divorce proceedings, Ella’s magnetic connection with the charismatic pitcher might just be her downfall.

Now the pressure is on to turn a scandal into an opportunity and give their teams what they want: a picture-perfect performance that will shore up both Ella and Miles' reputations. But as the lines between reality and PR begin to blur, Ella will either stick to the choreographed life she knows so well, or surrender to a love that could set her free.

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly

Oh! OH! This book! This weird drink! And Lauren! What is not to love about this episode? I love everything Lauren writes - her touch with historical fiction is so deft. It's enlightening and page turning and as a reader I am never once bogged down by research - so much so her books feel like peeks into the homes and hearts of real people living in fascinating times. And this book is part court room drama, part true crime story - staring Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, before the duel.

But the part I loved the most was the story Lauren told about the heartbreaking aftermath of tragedy on real lives - particularly women. Grab this book - Mom, you'll love it.

Based on the true story of a famous trial, this novel is Law and Order: 1800, as Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr investigate the shocking murder of a young woman who everyone—and no one—seemed to know.

At the start of a new century, a shocking murder transfixes Manhattan, forcing bitter rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to work together to save a man from the gallows.

Just before Christmas 1799, Elma Sands slips out of her Quaker cousin’s boarding house—and doesn’t come home. Has she eloped? Run away? No one knows—until her body appears in the Manhattan Well.

Her family insists they know who killed her. Handbills circulate around the city accusing a carpenter named Levi Weeks of seducing and murdering Elma.

But privately, quietly, Levi’s wealthy brother calls in a special favor….

Aaron Burr’s legal practice can’t finance both his expensive tastes and his ambition to win the 1800 New York elections. To defend Levi Weeks is a double win: a hefty fee plus a chance to grab headlines.

Alexander Hamilton has his own political aspirations; he isn’t going to let Burr monopolize the public’s attention. If Burr is defending Levi Weeks, then Hamilton will too. As the trial and the election draw near, Burr and Hamilton race against time to save a man’s life—and destroy each other.

Part murder mystery, part thriller, part true crime, The Girl From Greenwich Street revisits a dark corner of history—with a surprising twist ending that reveals the true story of the woman at the center of the tale.

BUY A COPY HERE!

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly

The premise of this book made me gasp. Made me read far into the night. Nora is dating Garrett. Garrett works for death. Clever, right? But there's more... Garrett is middle-management for death. There's a company structure and he's working his way up the ladder. This, of course, is totally a secret. He says his job is logistics and that makes sense.

Nora is grieving the loss of her family while taking on the family business A Casket Store. Yep. In small town Alabama. So, it's quirky. It's romantic. It's got a third act love triangle. But it's also a quiet book about grief. And what happens when we die.

Did I mention quirky? Grab the second cheapest bottle of wine in your cupboard (because Nora is sad, but she's not THAT sad) and listen to a fantastic conversation about rewriting a book, finding an agent, the ideas that keep you up at night and building a business model for death.

Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she’s found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.

There aren’t exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton’s ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions—as well as a date.

Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She’s not totally sure what “logistics” entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.

When a few of Rabbittown’s residents suddenly pass away—a heart attack here, a car crash there—and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?

He’s a logistics coordinator for Death.

When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?

Casket Case is the heartfelt story of a small-town girl who feels surrounded by death—literally and figuratively. This clever, endearing, and romantic debut explores how love and loss are forever intertwined . . . but death might not be as scary as it seems.

Find Lauren on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/laurenevanswrites/

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly

I sat down with a glass of white wine to talk to one of my favorites - Rochelle Weinstein about her latest novel We Are Made of Stars. If you are a fan of the TV show White Lotus or the book/TV show Nine Perfect Strangers - this book is for you. Strangers gather at an inn for a week and drama unfolds. There's good food, excellent wine and everyone is keeping secrets. We talk about the pleasure and PAIN of writing a book with so many points of view. Rochelle is also a passionate book advocate and she talks about what she's reading now. Fabulous book, fun conversation. Pour a glass of wine and have a listen.

Secrets, lies, and second chances are served up beneath the stars at a picturesque mountain getaway in this powerful novel about love and family by the bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends.

At the Vis Ta Vie inn, Reneé and Jean-Paul De La Rue face the daunting decision to close their beloved home for good.

They’re not the only ones going through a season of change, though. Their guests include three couples in crisis: Hollywood celebs Leo and Penny are spending their silver anniversary together while on the cusp of divorce. Lucy, a practical-minded therapist, and Henry, an astronomer with his head in the stars, are struggling to find common ground. And former lawyer and current stay-at-home mom Sienna and charismatic sports agent Adam look perfect but are hiding rifts of their own. Thrown into the mix are self-absorbed single mother Cassidy and her sullen fifteen-year-old daughter, Rosalie.

The stage is set for a week of betrayals, regrets, and shocking truths that can rend the heart or heal it. Vis Ta Vie—live your life—captures what it means to love through the darkness, and to find the light even after the magic fades.

Find Rochelle here:

https://www.instagram.com/rochellebweinstein/

https://www.facebook.com/rochelle.b.weinstein

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly

Oh, we all need an escape right now. The news is crushing. The weather is awful. Even my dog is bummed. Well, Jillian and Meredith have the right book at the right time - Sweet Escape. It's book two in a series but can be read alone, though, why not read the first one too? What else are you going to do? Shovel snow and doom scroll?

Come for the romance which is crackly, tension-filled and HOT, but stay for the relationships with secondary characters. We talk about how this partnership came to be and how they work together. Both answers surprised me! We also talk about the setting - a vineyard (thus the fancy wines!) which is like another character. this book was a treat and our conversation about why they write romance and how they both manage the ups and downs of this career is very thoughtful. Give yourself a break, buy the book and have a listen!

A free-spirited singer falls for her best friend’s brother—and discovers her muse—in a heartfelt novel about finding love in unexpected places by Jillian Liota and #1 New York Times bestselling author Meredith Wild.

After a heartbreaking betrayal, singer-songwriter Vivian Walsh needs a getaway. Her best friend Murphy’s family vineyard is the perfect refuge to focus on her new album, free from unnecessary distractions—like men. Few are more tempting than Murphy’s workaholic brother, Memphis. He’s infuriatingly handsome, and Vivian can’t resist teasing him whenever she gets the chance.

Memphis has a lot on his plate with his struggling family business. The last thing he needs in his life is a spitfire like Vivian. They have nothing in common but the heat between them. The good news is that neither of them are looking for a relationship. Just release from the pressure. One no-strings night with Vivian couldn’t hurt. Or two. Or three. Maybe a distraction is exactly what they need.

When Vivian’s life back in LA comes calling, both realize their feelings might have grown far more than they planned. They will have to decide: Is it time to say goodbye? Or can their sweet escape turn into their forever?

Find Jillian and Meredith on Instagram

@jlllianliota
@meredithwild

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly

I barely managed to stop this from turning into a fan girl moment for Elizabeth Lowell. It is so rare that I find someone who shares my outrageous fandom for that author - and here is Adriana ready to talk about her for days.

BUT we had more important things to talk about - A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke currently a USA Today Bestseller! Adriana gets very real about ending a series and how writing this series in particular was both a labor of level and very hard. And how those two things can be true at the same time. We talk about our fascination for historical medical research particularly when it comes to women's health - a really important aspect of her heroine Aurora.

We also talked about how hard it is to start a novel with a sex scene - which Adriana does VERY well in this book. It's a hard needle to thread for a couple in a third book. This is a fascinating Historical romance - highly recommend.

Paris, 1889

Physician Aurora Montalban Wright takes risks in her career, but never with her heart. Running an underground women’s clinic exposes her to certain dangers, but help arrives in the unexpected form of the infuriating Duke of Annan. Begrudgingly, Aurora accepts his protection, then promptly finds herself in his bed.

New to his role as a duke, Apollo César Sinclair Robles struggles to embrace his position. With half of society waiting for him to misstep and the other half looking to discredit him, Apollo never imagined that his enthralling bedmate would become his most trusted adviser. Soon, he realizes the rebellious doctor could be the perfect duchess for him. But Aurora won’t give up her independence, and her secrets make her unsuitable for the aristocracy.

When dangerous figures from their pasts return to threaten them, Apollo whisks Aurora away to the French Riviera. Far from the reproachful eye of Parisian society, can Apollo convince Aurora that their bond is stronger than the forces keeping them apart?

Find out more about Adriana and her books here.

https://adrianaherreraromance.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ladriana_herrera/

Want more fascinating conversations with authors about their books and their favorite drinks?

Join the Newsletter!

Join the Facebook Group!

Email Molly