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The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
By Anna Johnston
William Morrow, September 2025, 352pp.

The Short of It:

Heartwarming and life affirming.

The Rest of It:

Frederick Fife has lived a good life. At 82 years old and recently widowed, he suddenly finds himself in a difficult situation. He is unable to make rent for the second month in a row, has no real prospects, and is unsure what comes next.

Then, while walking one morning, Frederick spots an older gentleman slumped over in his wheelchair. When he checks on him, he realizes the man has passed away. In the chaos of the moment, Frederick accidentally pushes him down a ravine. Soon after, Bernard Greer’s caregiver arrives, mistakes Frederick for her patient, and wheels him back to the home.

What starts as a misunderstanding quickly becomes a temporary solution to Frederick’s problem. He has a safe place to sleep and three solid meals a day. So he figures, what’s the harm?

What he doesn’t anticipate are the friendships he forms there, or Bernard’s long-lost daughter showing up. As Frederick begins to understand just how complicated this ruse has become, he also sees something he has been missing: a chance to be less lonely.

I really enjoyed this book. Frederick is such a good guy, and although his decisions have the potential to create real pain and heartache for the people around him, his motives are pure. When he sees an opportunity to improve Bernard’s daughter’s life, he chooses to do so, even knowing the heartbreak it may cause.

This was a wonderful story, and Johnston’s take on elderly care and life inside the home felt spot on. Having just gone through something similar with an elderly friend, I found the little details about home care authentic and real.

If you need a break from the world and want a sweet story to carry you through, this is it.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Close Relationships with Strangers
By Krista Diamond
Simon & Schuster, June 2026, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Celebrity obsession and its aftermath.

The Rest of It:

Ben, a “sometimes” wildlife photographer unsatisfied with life, is forced to sling food to make ends meet. Las Vegas is a tough town. There’s so much going on, but the glitz and glam don’t make it to him the way they seem to for everyone else. He’s miserable and lacks direction. He watches other people become successful. You know the type.

Enter Ellory. She’s a beautiful burlesque dancer. She’s matter-of-fact and blunt but sees something in Ben that Ben simply cannot. Although their relationship quickly gets physical, the connection between the two grows slowly as they figure out who they want to be and how they want to live.

Creating a life with Ellory sounds good, but Ben’s obsession with an actor named Jack Whitlock becomes all-consuming when Jack’s sex scandal goes public and every paparazzo is on his trail to get that pictorial. Ben decides he could crack the story if he heads to Hollywood.

This is the part of the story where, as a reader, you begin to question all of Ben’s choices. Ben is impulsive and so caught up in the chase that it doesn’t occur to him what he’s asking of Ellory. He’s lost with a false sense of direction. That’s a deadly combination.

I found this story to be very realistic in the telling. The desire to be part of that elite circle clouds Ben’s judgment in the most real way possible. Diamond’s handling of LA culture was spot on. I grew up on the streets of Hollywood, and the grittiness can be heartbreaking, but then you turn a corner and it’s glamorous again. That’s Los Angeles. Homelessness on every corner, but celebs too. It’s impossible not to have a hope or a dream when you wake up and see the Hollywood sign every day.

I liked the imperfect nature of these characters and the glimpse of Hollywood behind the curtain. I found parts of it to be a little surreal, but that’s celebrity culture.

Highly recommend.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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