Published by William Morrow on August 11, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
From the bestselling author of I Hope This Finds You Well comes a sharply funny, surprisingly tender novel about a woman stuck in place, her nosy neighbors, and the journey to find where she belongs—with all the heart of a grown-up The Breakfast Club.
Mona thought her living situation was bad… but the real mess is just beginning.
One day is all it takes for Mona’s life to implode. After years of climbing at her marketing firm, she was supposed to be getting promoted and finally moving out of her crumbling apartment building. Instead, she’s jobless, aimless, and still stuck in a space barely big enough for a yoga mat.
Then her eccentric landlady takes a tumble and asks Mona to step in as the building’s reluctant super. The deal is simple: help prep the place for sale, and she can secure the upgrade she’s been chasing. But that’s easier said than done when the neighbors treat “boundaries” as optional. There’s the shouting couple, the mysterious shut-in, a possible panty thief in the laundry room—and Sami, the relentlessly cheerful diner owner who keeps showing up with coffee and unsolicited ideas about community. As Mona gets pulled deeper into the building’s chaos—and closer to the people inside it—she’s forced to confront what, and who, she’s really been trying to outrun. Sometimes, the place you’re desperate to leave is the one that finally shows you who you are.
Wise, heartfelt, and laugh-out-loud funny, Natalie Sue’s sophomore novel is a story about burning out, starting over, and finding your people in the most unexpected places—perfect for fans of The Wedding People and Anxious People.
After being force to take leave from the job she had dedicated herself to, Mona finds herself as caretaker of both the landlady's dog and the building. As the reluctant building super, she finds herself getting to know her neighbors for the first time and is surprised to finally find a place she may belong.
I am a big fan of Natalie Sue's quirky and sarcastic characters, and this book had so many. It was wonderful getting to know them all alongside Mona and seeing those relationship and bonds form. These people went from being characters in Mona's building to being real people who she grew to care about.
I loved watching Mona slowly evolve and embrace her building family, and I was entertained by all the shenanigans along the way. They were a lively bunch for such, and I spent a lot of time laughing, but by the end, I may have been shedding a few tears because of the way Mona had changed.
Published by William Morrow on August 4, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
From the author of the beloved feel-good debut The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife comes another humorous, heart-stirring novel about family, second chances, and the lengths we go for those we love, following a woman fighting to hold onto life and her older brother who's rediscovering reasons to embrace it.
Retired Michelin-star chef Griff Barlow has lost his appetite. He’s done with grief, guilt and the beige slop they dare call food at Sunny Glen Aged Care Facility, where he now resides.
Six decades of life have given him all the lemons he can handle, so he breaks into the nursing home kitchen to bake himself one last tart. It’s supposed to be his final meal but the act of cooking stirs a dormant joy. Soon, he’s regularly sneaking in after dark, serving up flavor and comfort to fellow residents, who, in turn, begin to come alive with each bite of Griff's delicious concoctions. Yet behind the apron is a lie so big it could destroy the one thing Griff has left to protect.
Lisa, Griff’s younger sister and sole visitor, is navigating a midlife ADHD diagnosis, the spark of a new romance, and unexpected news that may change life as she knows it. Despite their fractured sibling relationship, she continues to show up, though hope of a reconciliation between the two is long gone, buried in the silence between them.
But the truth has a way of boiling over, and when secrets, soufflés, and second chances collide, Griff and Lisa may discover a recipe for forgiveness.
Heartfelt and inspiring, When Lemons Give You Life is an uplifting, feel-good novel about love, forgiveness, redemption, and the joy of rediscovering what truly matters in life.
After losing his husband, former Michelin-star chef Griff decides his end is near and plans to take his own life. But after sneaking into the nursing home kitchen after hours to prepare one last lemon tart, he finds himself inspired to keep cooking as his web of lies grows more tangled.
I want to say, this is a hard book to review. All the things I want to talk about are too spoilery, so we are going to go with how this book made me feel as it made me feel A LOT.
Johnston really knows how to write flawed but lovable characters who I become deeply attached to. My emotions were all over the place as I read this book. It's humorous, so I laughed, but it's also deeply emotional while also being full of interesting twists and turns. I was definitely surprised by some of the events that unfolded in this book.
The cooking scenes were some of my favorites. Griff was so alive in the kitchen and truly understood that food was a celebration. It was beautiful how much care he took with his dishes which all sounded incredible.
This book delivered on the what was promised in the synopsis - it was uplifting and feel-good. I may not have believed that when I was sobbing over something that happened, but in the end, there was so much joy in my heart. It's a story of love and loss and second chances. It's about living life and appreciating all the experiences that shape you.
Overall: A touching and heartfelt story.
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