Carolyn Astfalk is a wife, mother, and author of contemporary Catholic romances, including her latest, All in Good Time. She formerly worked as a communications director and now works just to keep her head above water. Find her books on Amazon and her other words scattered around the blogosphere and social media.
For Father’s Day, my husband received a copy of Vice President J.D. Vance’s conversion story, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith. He previously enjoyed Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, and was eager to read Communion. I expect it has fewer colorful stories than the memoir, but Vance’s eventual conversion to Catholicism will be of interest.
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I was looking for a historical Christian novel to read for the sesquicentennial celebration, and I settled on The Belle of Chatham by Laura Franz, set mainly in New Jersey and New York during the American Revolution. I borrowed it from the library, and my youngest daughter read it ahead of me. The writing is smooth and enjoyable, the attention to historical detail excellent, and the romance moving. The main characters, Mae and Rhys, are likable and relatable, even if I questioned their behavior, on occasion. The secondary characters are also well-developed, split as they are between Patriots and Loyalists, which creates some suspense and conflict.
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If you have a bourbon aficionado or someone planning to visit the bourbon trail in your life, Big Whiskey: Featuring Kentucky Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey, the Rebirth of Rye, and the Distilleries of America’s Premier Spirits Region by Carlo DeVito, may make a great gift. (As I’m writing this, the Amazon hardcover is a whopping 58 percent off!) My husband has been referring to the book and mentioned that he would’ve liked to have had it when we did a portion of the Kentucky bourbon trail with our family in 2024. The book includes interviews, histories and facts, and color photographs.
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My husband makes his return to An Open Book after many months with Fred Minnick’s Bottom Shelf: How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man’s Life. As the front cover quote from quarterback Terry Bradshaw says, “This book ain’t just about whiskey.” This is a memoir of an Iraqi war veteran who, to help cope with PTSD, employed “taste mindfulness and therapy,” a sensory-based exercise focused on taste and smell. This technique served him in both healing and furthering his writing career. The book covers his discovery of a rare bottle of whiskey and, more importantly, his marriage and growing family.
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Jake’s silver-medal life is movie-worthy. Sophie’s role is about to be sabotaged.
Their sleepy Colorado town is overrun by a Hollywood film crew as the two teens, now high school seniors, find their private lives laid open for the world to see. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman and her daughter seek the couple’s help running from a powerful, dangerous man. In this tale of twists, whom can Sophie and Jake truly trust?
I’ve spent way more time chauffeuring my children to and from activities than reading in the last month, which is evidenced by the fact I have only one book to add here this month—and of this writing, I’ve not finished it!
The Ultimate Blindside by Leslea Wahl is the third book in the author’s Blindside series for teens. Snowboarding superstar Jake and his journalist girlfriend, Sophie, are pulled into another adventurous mystery as filming takes place for a movie about Jake’s life. On the set, Jake’s heroic actions in saving a young mother and her daughter from drowning entangle him and Sophie in her life. I’m sure the stakes are rising soon and, as always, Leslea Wahl will deliver a faith theme that’s encouraging to teens. My middle school daughter read and enjoyed this one even before I was able to get hold of it. Perfectly timed for the Winter Olympics!
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Treason by Dena Hunt sat on my to-be-read list for too long. Treason personalizes the persecution of Catholics in Elizabethan England, giving readers a glimpse of all those affected, from priests to secret Catholics and recusants as well as religious and nonreligious non-Catholics whose friends and neighbors were among those cited for treason and summarily executed. I highly enjoyed this short novel, which takes place over the course of a week.
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I fully admit that my last reading selection of 2025 was chosen as a measure of expediency. I was one book away from completing my annual reading goal, and I spotted a glowing review of a short Christmas romance in my Goodreads feed. Enter ‘Tis the Season to Get Married by J.P. Sterling, a friends-to-more clean, Christmasy romance between Nick and Charlotte, two longtime friends who (somewhat jokingly) make a pact to marry in a year if they haven’t found a significant other. When they wake up in wedding attire the morning after their planned marriage unable to recall the evening’s events, they must piece together what happened and reconcile the events with their feelings.
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