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The Compound
By Aisling Rawle
Random House, June 2025, 304pp.

The Short of It:

Reality TV junkies will appreciate this one.

The Rest of It:

Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door. ~ from the publisher.

This was an interesting read. It starts off like your run-of-the-mill reality TV setup but I found it to be a little deeper than that. These contestants are playing for an unknown reward. I mean, as a reader we don’t really know what the end game is. Sure, there are task rewards throughout their time there, to build up their compound. Like, an actual door because it simply did not have one. But these tasks are based on their personalities and their needs.

Cameras everywhere. This particular competition immediately requires that each male and female contestant partner and sleep together. Like, actually sleep Zzzzz together. How does one do this without knowing them? Rules keep them from sharing personal information so they go into it blind.

Quickly, Lily realizes that some of the contestants are untrustworthy and in it for themselves. Lily carefully observes the dynamics but at the same time, isn’t really sure what she wants. Does she even want to win? Sometimes the conditions are questionable. Food, is a reward so if they don’t earn it, they don’t have it. There are many hungry nights.

I liked how the story progressed but I felt that ultimately, it wasn’t clear what any of them wanted from the experience. There are some gossipy bits and He Said, She Said moments and some of the characters are likable but there wasn’t a clear villain and I think that makes it a little spicier, you know?

Overall, a fun read and a good book to distract you from real life.

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

More Than Enough

More Than Enough
By Anna Quindlen
Random House, February 24, 2026, 256pp.

The Short of It:

Wholesome and sweet but with depth.

The Rest of It:

High school English teacher Polly Goodman tells her book club everything. The women are her closest friends, the ones who know about her students, her strained relationship with her mother, and her painful struggle with IVF.

When they give her an ancestry test kit as a joke, Polly expects nothing from it. Instead, the results link her to a stranger. Certain it must be a mistake, she tries to move on, but curiosity pulls her into her family’s past and toward a truth she never expected.

A well meaning gift, but what it uncovers for Polly is a yearning to know her true origins. Surprising and slightly alarming since she never questioned this before. Honestly, had no reason to. With her struggles to start a family though, her thoughts are centered on family and what it means so naturally when the results come back with a big question mark, she’s forced to look into it.

Polly is surrounded by a very supportive group of ladies. But they are also cautiously guarded over these test results. Are they accurate? Do they need to be repeated? Polly doesn’t know but in her heart she feels there is some truth so what the results say and isn’t it important to know when trying to start a family of her own?

There are some tender moments as Polly navigates this new landscape. In addition to infertility she is dealing with her father’s descent into dementia; a very dark place where loving memories surface one day, only to be forgotten that she exists the next. Painful.

I found this novel to be sweet in the telling but it lacks plot. If you are a plot driven reader, you might find it a little too safe but still enjoyable nonetheless.

Recommend.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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