Well, I did say that I might do an extra post this week and between my recent library haul and some book mail, it only seemed fitting to start the end phase of summer with new reads.
My library haul will go first; while I am in the middle of one book in that bunch, I’ll talk about it last.
In the meantime, I was happy to find at my local library one of Tarah DeWitt’s earlier novels, Funny Feelings. Our heroine is Farley Jones, an up and coming stand up comic who is on the verge of her big break. That chance at the big time, however, puts her into the position of fake-dating her manager, Meyer Hannigan, who was a comedy performer himself at one time.
Since Meyer and Farley are good friends as well as professionals, this ruse seems worth while yet as it happens, they both share feelings for each other that have been pushed aside in order to not endanger their already established bonds there. Can they showcase their true emotions in public and private while achieving the success that they’ve been working towards so long?
I recently picked up DeWitt’s latest book(Left of Forever, signed no less!) from Aardvark and even though I’m saving it for a fall read, was curious about her prior work. Glad to find a nice copy to borrow and looking forward to some love and laughs along the way:
Speaking of love, I also found a book club favorite from last year, The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lydia Cohen Loigman.
Upon a reluctant retirement at age eighty, Augusta moves to Florida and while settling in, runs into Irving, who worked at her father’s pharmacy in Brooklyn back when they were both young.
While planning on following her father’s footsteps, Augusta became intrigued by her Aunt Esther’s brand of homemade remedies, which bordered on magic. Using one of her aunt’s recipes, Augusta attempted a love potion for Irving that backfired big time for them both.
Now, after all these years, is Augusta able to make right what once went wrong? Also, can she do this with or without that special talent that her aunt had?
This does sound lovely and I do recall the very positive buzz the book got, particularly from reading groups(especially Club Calvi, run by a news anchor in my area!) and even though this is a solo journey for me, my page turning will have many friends traveling along, I’m sure:
As for my book mail, Harper Collins kindly gifted me a pair of romantic themed reads that are definitely cool for the summer and beyond:
Starting with The Build-a-Boyfriend Project by Mason Deaver, we meet Eli Francis,who is in both a personal and professional rut in life. In order to change things up a bit, he goes out on a blind date with Peter Park that goes horribly wrong yet makes for a great story to tell.
Upon hearing that story, Eli’s boss at the magazine he works at suggests that this experience could make a great series of articles about “teaching” Peter to be a better boyfriend. While this is a great opportunity, Eli wants to go for a more heartfelt angle and Peter is a good enough of a sport to help him out here.
However, as time goes by, Eli finds this assignment to be more meaningful than he or Peter ever expected it to be. Can he achieve career success without putting his true feelings for Peter in jeopardy?
Deaver is best known as a YA author and a film adaptation of one of their works(I Wish You All The Best) is due out later this year. This novel is their first one for an adult readership and should be a fine introduction to a fresh literary voice indeed:
The other title is Poppy Alexander’s The Battle of the Bookshops , set in a seaside town in England where Jules Capelthorne finds herself returning to after so many years away. She intends to save her great-aunt Florence’s bookshop that has been a solid staple of the community for nearly a century.
Apart from the financial woes that the shop has suffered lately, her biggest challenge is in dealing with Roman Montbeau, whose family owns half the town and has decided to open up a much larger bookstore directly across the way from her aunt’s shop. Is this rivalry personal or professional and can one shop be saved without destroying too many lives there?
I do like the notion of a Romeo & Juliet meets You’ve Got Mail tale with some British small town charm thrown in for fun fictional flavor. Definitely my cup of storytelling tea for sure:
So, my late summer reading appears to be all set to go and considering the chaotic weather these days, staying inside with a good book feels more and more like the best option for the season.
Oh, and the library loan that I am currently enjoying is The Little Lost Library by Ellery Adams, part of her Secret, Book & Scone Society series that involves murders in a small health resort town with an independent bookseller as one of the amateur sleuths.
When one of her homebound customers dies under suspicious circumstances, bookseller Nora not only has to figure out who did it but also follow a set of clues in a strange book left to her by the deceased.
These clues lead to a treasure hunt of sorts in the old manor house owned by the recently departed,which has various hidden compartments concealing miniature books that may be worth a literal fortune! Can more than one mystery be solved here without any other casualties occurring?
This book is one of those reads that you have to force yourself to slow down and savor, despite being swept up on such a riveting emotional ride. Instead, sipping it slowly is the best way to embrace the experience and take the time to learn a little something about miniature books to boot. Reading is truly fundamental in more ways than one:
Well, it’s been an interesting couple of weeks to say the least but I am glad to be back in Blog Land in time for Seasons of Reading’s next readathon, High Summer, which lasts the whole month of August.
For this particular readathon(hosted by Michelle Miller), you can read what you want, no genre requirements. I, however, decided on a theme for myself: RomCom-ish. The trio of books that are on my TBR for this event have a romcom sort of vibe(at least to me, anyway) and hopefully provide some much needed relief from the summer heat:
My first selection was a book gifted to me by Harper Collins and it’s a new to me author to boot!
Holly Michelle’s Last Night Was Fun has quite the meet-cute here; Emmy Jameson’s sole goal in life is to exceed at her job as a data analyst for a baseball team.
When she receives the title message via text, Emmy and the sender soon realize that he was given her number by the woman he recently dated as a fake out. That odd coincidence turns into a budding friendship with no real identities exchanged yet their bond feels strong enough that Emmy asks him to be the plus one for at her sister’s wedding.
Upon meeting in person, she finds that her mystery texter is Gabe Olsen, her rival at work. While neither of them are thrilled about this discovery, they do go to the wedding together, mainly to see if those online sparks can connect them in real time. Is this love or just an awkward moment meant to be deleted?
The premise sounds entertaining (with shades of You’ve Got Mail) and should be a good time with a slow burn romance, a flavor of storytelling ice cream that I tend to eat up with a spoon:
Next up is The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava, which has more workplace romantic encounters of the awkward kind(I swear that I didn’t choose that element for this TBR but recognizing it now!).
In order to finally get the job of her dreams, Ember Lee Cardinal gets creative with her resume and does land a plumb spot as an accountant. While she’s able to learn on the job well enough to get a promotion, what could put her professional career in jeopardy is the handsome IT guy, Danuwoa Colson.
Not only does their employer have a rule against inter office dating, Danuwoa has no idea about the secrets and lies that Emmy has had to tell/keep here. Is it possible for them to have a real relationship without putting their jobs on the line?
I’ve been saving this book for summer reading, even as the author has just released a new title this season (Love Is A War Song, which has cowboys and music, including a song on Spotify!) that I hope to get to soon. Plus, this story feels like a present day spin on the 1988 classic film,Working Girl, in the very best sense:
To round things off, I chose Passion Project , a debut novel by London Sperry.
Set in New York City, our guide is Bennet Taylor, a temp worker in her twenties who has lost her zest for life, partly due to mourning the loss of her first love.
While bailing on a blind date, she meets Henry Adams(the guy she was supposed to meet up with!) and winds up telling him all about her having no vested interest in anything. He decides that they need to work on this problem together and makes a deal with Bennet to meet up every Saturday to do something new.
That plan slowly but surely begins to work, causing Bennet to emotionally come back to life yet there are still some issues that require more than an adventurous outing to help her move forward. Can Henry be that friend who does that for her or is he much more than that?
I do like the NYC setting here, especially for a potential romance, and yes, I’m going to invoke Gilmore Girls for it’s blend of humor, heart and drama as a key factor in my selection process for this one:
If you’re interested in signing up for the High Summer readathon, there is still plenty of time to join in the fun(the link in the previous sentence should help) and thank you to Michelle Miller for giving us all a grand excuse to stay in the shade with a good book there!
As for this blog, my Autumn in August will soon begin with a rewatch of Death Comes to Pemberley via PBS Passport(a more reasonably priced streaming service than certain others , just saying!). I might also slip in a library haul post later this week but don’t hold me to that!
It was nice to take a mini break but I am glad to be showcasing more good books, especially between the scorching heatwaves and even more scorching headlines in recent days.
One thing that I have noticed in pop culture lately is the craving for a kinder, more authentic brand of decency and goodwill, along with a renewed sense of community (the current run of superhero movies attests to that) and true,such longings aren’t guarantees of better times to come. Yet just the fact that more and more people are responding positively to such ideas gives me hope and maybe that hope is the first step down the road towards a better tomorrow.
In the meantime, let’s try to have a good rest of the summer together:
With the days getting hotter(and the headlines getting even more heated), taking a break during this time of year is a real necessity.
To that end, my book hauling as well as this blog is going to take a mini break (more on than in a moment). In the meantime, let’s celebrate some of my July picks:
Aardvark:
I decided to get just one book from Aardvark this time around and lucky for me, it’s an early release of Sangu Mandanna’s A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping.
Our innkeeper here is Sera Swan, who was once a powerful witch but due to a series of magical mishaps banished from her mystical community , is now running a small inn with the help of her recently resurrected aunt Jasmine, not to mention a talking fox.
When evidence of a long lost spell that could restore her her powers comes forth , Sera finds help from a rather unlikely source, Luke Larsen, known for his impressive skills as a magical historian as well as his cold nature.
Can these two succeed in not only regaining Sera’s sorcery but finding true love as well?
I throughly enjoyed Mandanna’s prior book, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and this new one looks to just as enchanting of a read indeed:
BOTM:
When it came to the main selection this month, I went with a new to me author, Megan Miranda and her latest thriller (which also happened to be an early release, just my luck!),You Belong Here.
Beckett Bowery is nervous about sending her daughter Delilah off to college but not for the usual reasons. Delilah, unbeknownst to her ,applied to Wyatt College and was granted a full scholarship and since it’s Beckett’s alma mater, that would sound like a dream come true.
Unfortunately, Beckett’s senior year ended sooner than expected due to an event that forced her roommate to flee after the strange demise of two locals. She has avoided that area for the past decade or so yet with Delilah becoming a Wyatt freshman, there’s no way to not return to campus.
Hoping that folks will forgive and forget, she lets Delilah go there yet when her daughter suddenly disappears, Beckett fears the worst of her past is being revisited on her child. Can she find Delilah before it’s too late?
This does sound intriguing, giving me some Gilmore Girls Gothic vibes there. Certainly seems worth a try and who knows, I might discover a favorite new writer in the bargain:
I paired that with The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani.
We are introduced to Jess, who has moved back in with her parents upon the breakup of her marriage . Slipping back into place as the dutiful daughter, she puts her dreams of pursuing her artistic talents as a draftswoman in marble on the back burner, despite the encouragement of her devoted Uncle Louie.
An unforeseen event, however, gives Jess the opportunity to become the person she wants to be and that starts with going to the home of her ancestors in Italy.
There, she not only discovers a few family secrets but perhaps a new love in life named Angelo, whose artistry requires gold. Yet, is his heart golden as well or should Jess seek her own path paved with her own glory?
Trigiani is excellent when it comes to crafting tales of women seeking self fulfillment and family love and this one certainly appears to be another jewel in her story telling crown:
To round this selection off, my last pick was This Princess Kills Monsters by Ry Herman. Just that title alone made me want to read this book!
Princess Melilot is the least magically inclined stepdaughter of the Queen of Skalla, one of the most feared sorceresses around. While she’s not at all interested in accepting the marriage proposal of the king from a nearby crumbling realm, fear of what her powerful stepmother might do has Melilot saying yes to this regal wedding dress.
That’s not the worst of her problems as attempts are made on her life(nothing new to Melilot) and in order to find out the real reason for this new royal alliance, she goes undercover as a maid only to become distracted by the welcome flirtations of her intended sister in law, Angelique.
Combined with fighting off several enchanted creatures and a dozen identical masked men, Melilot has her hands full of fairy tale follies and then some.
This story seems to be having fun with the classic tropes of the genre and that take is most welcome. Herman’s previous works were published in the U.K. and this novel is their US debut, one that I do hope will be followed by more magical princess matchups to come:
So, for now, my book acquiring mantra is “Buy in July, then skip until September “. I also plan to use my renewal privileges at the library for as long as possible , just to do a little catch up reading there.
As to this blog, I will post my TBR for the Midsummer Readathon at Seasons of Reading (which begins in August and will have sign ups later this month) but am
going to take at least a week or so off until then. Too many things happening in the world these days, not to mention the horrible hot weather, makes a cool down like this a must.
Hope you all have a good rest as well, whether your plans involve a little travel or just staying put in the shade with something fun to read(mine is definitely the latter!)! and may we all see cooler days ahead, in the best sense:
With July officially here, I am happy to report that my success on the Sci-Fi Summer readathon( hosted by Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading)challenge was rather reasonable.
I finished two of the three books on my TBR for this event and as of this writing, still reading the third with pleasure.
The first book completed was Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author , which I must say up front is definitely going on my personal list for Best Books of 2025. To be sure, I already have two other titles on that list as it is but this novel is staking its claim to the top spot there.
The main story concerns Zelu, an American author of Nigerian descent who is paraplegic , who is dealing with frustrations in both her personal and professional life. After coming to a crossroads of sort, she decides to chuck the literary fiction she’s been working on and writes a full blown science fiction story that becomes a runaway bestseller.
That book is titled Rusted Robots, with a plot about how the last remaining life forms on Earth are androids and AI who battle it out for control of their world. This book is blended in with Zelu’s story and beyond that, I cannot say anymore than this in order to avoid spoilers.
What I can and will happily say is that Okorafor is the kind of writer that you regret not having read her work sooner. Her wit, insight and subtlety of style are amazing to behold with emotionally realistic characters (yes, even the robots) and a narrative that flows as smoothly as water.
The science fiction elements are easy to engage with and while I know her other works are not all in this format, there is no doubt about the incredible quality of her prose. This was a good intro to Okorafor for me and I hope to take more imaginative voyages with her stories in the future:
My next stop was to fantasy via paranormal romance with Bride by Ali Hazelwood(note to the jerks who harassed this author so much that she ditched the internet; shame on the lot of you for your biased behavior and for dragging Suzanne Collins into your vicious campaign!).
Our heroine here is Misery Lark, the daughter of a powerful leader among the Vampires who is reluctantly marrying the current Alpha leader of the Werewolves , Lowe Moreland. In this world, vampires and werewolves are separate species rather than supernaturally cursed beings.
This alliance is meant to maintain enough of a truce to keep both sides, plus the Human population, from plunging into a brutal war. However, Misery has a very personal reason for agreeing to this arrangement and as it turns out, Lowe has a few secrets that are not fully his own to keep in the bargain. Can this marriage of convenience be more than just a means to rather different ends for them both?
I’ve read a couple of Hazelwood’s romances before and liked her style already so this turn into the paranormal wasn’t an unpleasant one; in fact, I use to indulge in quite a few urban fantasy/paranormal romance novels back in the day so it was nice to revisit the genre with a new guide.
The book was engaging and entertaining with a nice setup for a sequel (Mate, due out this October) which gives us more werewolf action in the best sense of the term:
At the moment, I’m still in the midst of Exquisite Ruin by AdriAnne May(got a late start on the book, that’s on me!) and willing to take my time with it.
The story begins with Sadare, a sorceress who wakes up trapped in a maze with no memory of herself.
Her only companion at first is a demon named Daesra, who informs her that they both must seek the monster hidden with the center of the maze in order to escape.
Sadare is less than willing to trust him, especially since he has all of his prior memories intact and holds a strong grudge against her for actions she can’t remember. Nevertheless, neither of them has much choice in the matter so they set off to face the challenge of the labyrinth together, gathering a pair of unusual allies along the way.
The pacing is swift yet allows for solid character development and even with the darker elements of the plot(Sadare has to use pain to activate her powers; content warnings are provided before the book begins), the emotional journey that both Sadare and Daesra are taking is richly heartfelt.
So, I will keep on reading and see where these two crazy kids end up-a sequel is due out next year(Divine Descent) and sounds well worth the wait. In a weird way, this book makes me think of that 1985 cult fantasy movie Legend, only with better writing and more mature content that certainly would’ve enhanced that story!:
So, all in all, this has been a great start for my summer reading and much thanks to Michelle Miller for making this all happen.
I plan to join in the Midsummer readathon in August (got a nice stack of romcom reads set aside already!) and hope that everyone who took part in this latest one had some page turning fun there.
We have a big holiday weekend ahead of us and understandably, most folk don’t feel that there is much to celebrate right now, given the daily chaos dominating the news cycle (not to mention the wider world). However, we can use this time to recalibrate our weary spirits and enjoy being with loved ones as best we can.
Part of my holiday plans include reading (finally started The House of Eve the other day and really liking it!) and watching the small screen premiere of Sinners(streaming on Friday and airing on HBO Saturday), one of the best movies I’ve seen this or any other year. Take joy where you can find it, folks; it’s what makes us stronger in the challenging days to come:
