Sloth Goes Places - New Jersey

 

Sloth Goes Places is a feature where I share books I have tracked from the Literary Escapes and Read Around the USA reading challenges. 

Today we are looking at books set in ....

New Jersey

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32 Days in May by Betty Corrello
Published by Avon on May 13, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Return to the Jersey Shore with a new romance by Summertime Punchline author Betty Corrello in which a young woman recently diagnosed with lupus attempts a no-strings fling with a former television star, perfect for readers of Elissa Sussman or Tia Williams.

Nadia Fabiola wants to lose herself in Evergreen—the Jersey Shore town where she grew up vacationing with her family—and never look back at her glamorous, gainfully employed former self. After a shocking lupus diagnosis turned her life upside down, she’s desperate for a sense of control over her body, her life, and her mental health. Nadia plans on keeping her life small and boring, while continuing to ignore her sister’s relentless questioning.

Nadia’s sister isn’t the only person worried about her. When her rheumatologist not-so-subtly sets her up with his infamous former-actor cousin, Marco Antoniou, Nadia is skeptical. But Marco is gorgeous—despite carrying his own baggage from a very public burnout. After a messy (but fun) first date, they decide that a May-long fling could be just what the doctor no commitment, no strings, just one month of escape.

Their undeniable chemistry starts to feel a lot like something more and while Marco pulls Nadia deeper into his life, she is dead set on keeping her diagnosis from him. But there are only so many days in May, and only so much pretending she can do. As the stress of their whirlwind romance takes its toll on Nadia’s health, she’s forced to decide if a chance at love is worth the risk of trusting someone new.

Travel from the Jersey Shore to Rome and back in this delightfully funny, beautifully honest exploration of love, intimacy, and vulnerability while living with a chronic illness.

Corrello set both her books in a fictional Jersey shore town. I have lived in the Garden State for over 30 years, so I was a fan of the setting. Nadia escaped to her family shore house while trying to deal with her Lupus diagnosis and the loss of control over her own body. The shore was a place of comfort and ultimately, a place of healing for her. It was also where she decided to embark on a one month relationship with Marco. It was a pleasure cheering on Nadia and Marco as they figured out their lives and fell in love. 

[review]

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All the Signs by Jessie Rosen
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on May 6, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

From the author of The Heirloom comes another dreamy, escapist adventure about a die-hard skeptic woman who sets off on a mission to prove her horoscope wrong.

Leah Lockhart is proudly science-minded and woo-woo averse. But the life she’s carefully curated is knocked suddenly off course, first by a destabilizing case of vertigo, and then by an astrology reading that claims she’s living way out of line with what was written in her stars.

Incensed, Leah sets off on a mission to prove that all of astrology is bogus by finding her star twins in the world—people born with her exact same astrology. But her true guides on a whirlwind journey through Venice, Istanbul, New Orleans and beyond turn out to be three people already in her the mother she thinks abandoned her, the father she thinks saved her, and the former boy next door whose love could be the path to her truest self.

Leah and her family had provided healthcare for the women of this NJ shore town for generations. When Leah's livelihood is threatened, she turns to the stars for some guidance and answers. Actually, Leah was trying to debunk astrology, but along the way, she learned a lot about herself and gained clarity with respect to her life, herself, and her future. She may not have accomplished what she set out to do, but this was a journey well worth taking. 

[review]

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The Griffin Sister's Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
Published by William Morrow on April 8, 2025
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction

Goodreads

Sisters Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were born just a year apart but could not have been more different. Zoe, blessed with charm and beauty, yearned for fame from the moment she could sing into a hairbrush. Cassie was a musical prodigy who never felt at home in her own skin and preferred the safety of the shadows.

On the brink of adulthood in the early 2000s, destiny intervened, catapulting the sisters into the spotlight as the pop sensation the Griffin Sisters, hitting all the touchstones of early aughts fame—SNL, MTV, Rolling Stone magazine—along the way.

But after a whirlwind year in the public eye, the band abruptly broke up.

Two decades later, Zoe’s a housewife; Cassie’s off the grid. The sisters aren’t speaking, and the real reason for the Griffin Sisters’ breakup is still a mystery. Zoe’s teenage daughter, Cherry, who’s determined to be a star in spite of Zoe’s warnings, is on a quest to learn the truth about what happened to the band all those years ago.

As secrets emerge, all three women must face the consequences of their choices: the ones they made and the ones the music industry made for them. Can they forgive each other—and themselves? And will the Griffin Sisters ever make music again?

This story flips between Philly, NJ, and Alaska with some stops along the way during flashbacks. It's the story of the rise and fall of the Griffin Sisters and the plan to reunite them. The sisters had been estranged since the band imploded, but Cherry, Zoe daughter, was determined to reunite with her aunt. While pursuing her own musical dreams on a reality show, the producers encourage her to arrange a reunion of the Griffin Sisters. I was drawn in by the drama, hoping this family could mend their broken bridges, and wishing the world could appreciate Cassie's talent. 

Have you read any books set in New Jersey?
Let us know in the comments!