In First Impressions this week, we bring you The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick, the story of a woman trying to heal from heartbreak during a trip to Italy with some unexpected companions.

We also invite you to read an interview with Claire Jiménez about her debut novel What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, check out our blog post on fun things to do with your book club (aside from the obvious), and take a look at our current and upcoming online discussions.

Plus, you can still enter our giveaway of Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis for a chance to win one of 30 copies.

With best wishes,

Davina Morgan-Witts

BookBrowse Publisher

Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title.

"This novel was a fun armchair travel adventure to Italy with a realistic view of relationship dynamics. I enjoyed meeting these characters and this author is a winner for me. Ginny Splinter thinks she has a great marriage, and she frequently gives advice through her radio talk show. It comes as a shock to her that her husband of thirty years wants a divorce rather than a wonderful anniversary trip to Italy together. Rather than waste the trip, she offers to take some of her lonely listeners to Italy. As Ginny and her new friends work to heal their heartache, I was swept up in the allure of Italy and it seemed like anything was possible." - DeAnn A. (Denver, CO)

"Ginny and the four strangers who accompany her on this trip find the beauty of nature, the beauty of art and eventually the beauty of friendship. I do recommend The Little Italian Hotel for your summer reading and for book club discussions. Lots to think about in this book." - Patricia C. (Naples, FL)

"The cast of characters is wonderful, each with their own stories that develop and surprise... The hotel and Venice are also vivid characters. Wonderful descriptions. The book and TV production of Hotel Portofino came to mind as I was reading." - Mary B. (St Paul, MN)

This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 16 books, including Jess Row's The New Earth, Monica Potts' The Forgotten Girls and Nicole Cuffy's Dances.

You can also enjoy a selection of our reviewer-curated reading lists, a new Wordplay and much more.

This twice-monthly online-magazine is just one benefit of being a BookBrowse member. Find out more!

We also offer Library Subscriptions that give patrons full and free access to all of BookBrowse's premium content. Currently subscribing libraries include:

Claire Jiménez discusses her debut novel, What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez.

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez walks the tightrope of grief and hope in what is a powerful balancing act. How did you consider both of these elements while writing the novel?

I thought carefully about each character's relationship to grief and how that sits in their body and transforms the way they see the world. Nina's response, her cynicism, her insistence that Ruthy ran away is a defense mechanism—even her humor is at times a way to deflect. Jessica's hope comes from a deep place of guilt, and the enormous sense of responsibility you feel for your younger sisters when you are the oldest. And the mother's grief was the most difficult for me to write. It took many revisions to nail down her voice. And I don't think I fully understood her until I became a mother myself. The difficult part for me was depicting these emotions without becoming overly sentimental, because sentimentality, too, can cheapen what these characters are going through. Grief is one of the hardest emotions to write.

At times, I thought seriously about rising critiques over the last decade of the trauma narrative, both from within and outside my own community of readers and writers. These critiques always lead with the argument that writers of color are increasingly selling their trauma to white readers and editors for individual profit. This is a somewhat valid critique of the ways in which the publishing industry became fixated over the last decade on selling the same story over and over again. In other ways, it is a dangerous argument, because it can discourage writers of color from dealing directly with the injustice that has birthed the trauma in their communities. ... continued

What activities does your book club enjoy, aside from reading and discussing books? While many groups stick to these basics, some who have the time and inclination take things a little further, whether that means extending their love for books to food, games and travel, or simply taking pleasure in being together in different settings. In our annual book club survey, we asked people about what their clubs like to do. Answers covered a variety of pastimes both inside and outside of regular book club meetings, book-related and otherwise.

Looking for ideas or inspiration to enhance your own group's time together? Just curious about what other book clubs do? Check out our summary of the results. ... continued

Discussions are open to all, so please join us! If you would like to receive a message when a particular discussion opens, you can sign up for a one-time notification.

At the moment, we're discussing The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch. Our discussion for Nancy Horan's The House of Lincoln opens on June 10, followed by Young Man, Muddled by Robert Kanigel on June 17. After this, we'll be taking a short break from discussions for summer before resuming with a new lineup of books starting in late August.

An audacious debut from "a dazzlingly smart and strikingly original writer" (Molly Antopol), Girlfriend on Mars is at once a satirical indictment of our pursuit of fame and wealth amidst environmental crisis, and an exploration of humanity's deepest longing, greatest quest, and most enduring cliché: love.

"Willis keeps up a light tone and a fast pace even while getting deep into the science behind the Mars voyage, and her satire yields plenty of clever insights on celebrity culture. Readers are in for a treat." ―Publishers Weekly

"Part disaffected-slacker rom-com, part social satire, part wistful end-of-the-world eulogy for ordinary, unscripted love... Winsome, sweet, and apocalyptic―a perfect blend for the end of days." ―Kirkus Reviews

W.W. Norton & Co will publish Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis on June 13.

We have 30 early reader copies to give away. The publisher would like to encourage winners to post their reviews and feedback on BookBrowse, Goodreads or their favorite online bookseller.

Sweepstakes ends June 12. Due to copyright restrictions, this offer is only open to residents of the USA.