Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. This week, all three were spotted on Best of 2023 lists.

At the Table by Claire Powell

Summary: To Nicole and Jamie, their parents seem the ideal couple, happily married for more than thirty years. So when they announce that they’ve decided to separate, the news sends shockwaves through the siblings’ lives, forcing them to confront their own expectations and desires.

I’m thinking: Maybe (for a beach read).

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

Summary: Industry has abandoned Vacca Vale, Indiana, leaving the residents behind, too. In a run-down apartment building on the edge of town, a number of people reside, looking for ways to live in a dying city. The story focuses on teenager, Blandine, who is plagued by the structures, people, and places that not only failed her but actively harmed her.

I’m thinking: No (despite the rave reviews).

The Swank Hotel by Lucy Corin

Summary: At the outset of the 2008 financial crisis, Em works at her dependable, dull marketing job while anxiously waiting to hear news of her sister, Ad, who has gone missing—again. Then something unthinkable happens and she begins to see how madness permeates everything around her.

I’m thinking: Yes.