Kristen Barenthaler
Bio
Curious adventurer. Crazed reader. Librarian. Archery instructor. True crime addict.
Instagram: @kristenbarenthaler
Facebook: @kbarenthaler
Stories (361)
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Rewind to Us & the Magic of Second Chances
Welcome back to The Chapter Café, where stories are always on the menu and comfort is served by the chapter. I’m your host, Kristen, and today we’re rewinding the clock—literally and emotionally—with a story about love, regret, and the courage it takes to say what matters before it’s too late. On today’s menu? Rewind to Us by Molly Morris—a YA novel that blends magical realism with the raw, messy beauty of growing up.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in BookClub
Romance with a Twist (of the Knife)
Welcome to The Chapter Café, where every page is served with a drizzle of desire and a drop of blood. I’m your host, Kristen, and today we’re swirling roses and razor blades in a heady cocktail of passion and peril. Prepare to sip on secrets stained red and savor stolen glances that might end in a deadly twist.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in BookClub
The 2025 Bibliophile Advent Calendar Special
There’s a moment every December when the world finally exhales. For me, it usually happens right after I pull out my favorite winter mug and I take that first deep breath of the season. The lights glow a little softer. The books on my shelves seem to lean toward me, waiting. And I remember why winter reading feels like a ritual.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in BookClub
Stars, Scandals & Sirens
Welcome to The Chapter Café, where every story unfolds like the pages of a gripping novel—and today’s menu is anything but ordinary. We’re serving up a bold blend of true crime and celebrity biographies, a literary tasting that pairs red-carpet glamour with the grit of real-life investigations.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in BookClub
The Deal & the Art of the Fake Date
Welcome back to The Chapter Café, where stories are always on the menu and comfort is served by the chapter. I’m your host, Kristen, and today we’re serving up a spicy, slow-burn romance with a side of banter, brainy girls, and hockey boys. On today’s menu? The Deal by Elle Kennedy—a book that proves sometimes the best relationships start with a little pretending.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in BookClub
Verses & Villainy: Where Crime Meets Rhyme
Welcome to The Chapter Cafe, where stories steep like strong coffee and conversation flows like ink on a page. In today’s episode, “Verses & Villainy: Where Crime Meets Rhyme,” we’re diving into the shadowy alleys of crime fiction and the lyrical landscapes of poetry.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in BookClub
Whiskers, Wanderlust & the World’s Street Cats
Welcome back to The Chapter Café, where stories are always on the menu and comfort is served by the chapter. I’m your host, Kristen, and today we’re curling up with a book that’s part travelogue, part love letter, and entirely purr-worthy. On today’s menu? Street Cats & Where to Find Them by Jeff Bogle—a photographic journey through the world’s most feline-friendly cities, told with warmth, wit, and a deep appreciation for the cats who roam them.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in BookClub
Whispers of Winter
"There are places where the holiday season doesn’t just arrive — it settles in. It curls around you like a wool scarf, it glows like a candle in a frosted window, and it whispers stories you swear you’ve heard before. Today, we’re stepping into one of New England’s most enduring traditions: the Enchanted Village at Jordan’s Furniture in Avon, Massachusetts."
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in Wander
Postcard from Castle Hill
Close your eyes and let the sea wind carry you. Hear the hush of tide through salt grass, the crunch of gravel beneath footfalls, and the low call of a distant bell. Before you unfurls a vision as layered as history itself: a rolling drumlin crowned by a Stuart-style mansion, its pale walls gleaming above a velvet lawn that tumbles half a mile toward the Atlantic—a landscape as finely composed as poetry and as resonant as legend. This is Castle Hill, the luminous core of the Crane Estate in Ipswich, Massachusetts, where stories—both spoken and unspoken—gather like morning mist over marsh.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in Wander
Literary Heartbeats
Step through an unassuming storefront in Saratoga Springs, New York. Let the city’s familiar bustle fade behind you. Sink into the creak of hardwood floors as your gaze is drawn toward a labyrinth unfolding, room after room, swollen with stories. This is the Lyrical Ballad Bookstore—a place where literary ghosts linger, and generations of readers, writers, and dreamers have lost themselves amid 200,000 volumes of wonder.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in Wander
Across the Bridge of Flowers
Welcome, fellow wanderers, to Postcards Between Pages, where stories spill out from well-thumbed novels into the world, and where travel isn’t just a journey of miles, but a pilgrimage of meaning. I’m your host, inviting you today to one of the most poetic destinations on the American map—a place where steel and stone have, quite literally, been transformed by blossoms and imagination: the Bridge of Flowers, in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.
By Kristen Barenthaler18 days ago in Wander
Bacon Ranch Scalloped Potatoes
There’s something undeniably comforting about a bubbling dish of scalloped potatoes—layers of tender spuds, creamy sauce, and melted cheese all baked to golden perfection. Add the smoky crunch of bacon and the tangy zip of ranch seasoning, and you’ve got a side dish that steals the show. Whether you’re feeding a crowd at a potluck or cozying up for a weeknight dinner, this Bacon Ranch Scalloped Potatoes recipe is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
By Kristen Barenthaler19 days ago in Feast
