Romance
Book lovers
Emily Henry
FICTION Henry Emily
Romance, Humor
"A by-the-book literary agent must decide if happily ever after is worth changing her whole life for in this insightful, delightful new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation. Nora Stephens' life is books--she's read them all--and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laidback dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart. In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby. Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters' trip away--with visions of a small town transformation for Nora who she's convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story. But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they've met many times and it's never been cute. If Nora knows she's not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he's nobody's hero, but as they are thrown together again and again--in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow--what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they've written about themselves"--
A hard day for a hangover : a novel
Darynda Jones
MYSTERY Jones Darynda
Mystery, Romance
"Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there's just too much going on right now. There's a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There's her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who's out to singlehandedly become Del Sol's youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there's drama with Levi Ravinder-the guy she's loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him-and Sunshine-for good. Like we said, the new day can take a hike. The blockbuster conclusion to the bestselling Sunshine Vicram trilogy, A Hard Day for a Hangover will have readers laughing and cheering to the very last page"--
This is the final book in the Sunshine Vicram series by Darynda Jones. I added the first book, A Bad Day for Sunshine, some time ago. After speeding through the second in the series, it felt like I had to wait forEVER for the third. It finally came out on December and I was able to read it over my holiday staycation. Once again, Jones had me turning pages one after another. I was invested in the series, the mystery, and the characters--once I put it down I couldn't wait to pick it back up again. Some of the tying up of loose ends felt a bit cliche and melodramatic for me, but hey, I can tolerate that if it keeps me laughing and has that happy ending. -Melody
Just last night : a novel
Mhairi McFarlane
FICTION Mcfarlan Mhairi
Fiction, Romance, Humor
Now in their thirties, Eve, Justin, Susie, and Ed have been friends since they were teenagers. Thursday night bar trivia is sacred, and Eve is still secretly in love with Ed. But then, in an instant, their lives are changed forever. As stunning secrets are revealed, Eve begins to wonder if she really knew her friends as well as she thought. And when someone from the past comes back into her life, Eve's future veers in a surprising new direction. -- adapted from back cover
I absolutely loved this book. When I finished it, I had to listen to it again because it grabbed at my heart so much. It is not your average "everything is easy and lovely" romance. There's a lot of angst, self-doubt, longing, jealousy, revelations--so many emotions to get lost in. The characters are both likeable and loath-able--realistic and flawed characters that feel like they could be anyone you know. Oh. And the main characters are hilarious. The book starts out with an explosive reveal, which I don't want to spoil, but it could be triggering to some folks. The book's richness lies in the interwoven stories of the characters in the aftermath of the reveal, that the memories of the "before-times" lay the groundwork for. I read this book a while back and just thinking of it makes me want to pick it up again! (I listened to the audiobook version, which is available on both Libby and hoopla). -Melody
The time traveler's wife
Audrey Niffenegger
FICTION/Niffenegger, Audrey
Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction
A dazzling novel in the most untraditional fashion, this is the remarkable story of a passionate love affair that endures across a sea of time and captures the two lovers in an impossibly romantic trap.
Added by Alexander
A bad day for Sunshine
Darynda Jones
MYSTERY Jones Darynda
Mystery, Romance
"Sheriff Sunshine Vicram finds her cup o' joe more than half full when the small village of Del Sol, New Mexico, becomes the center of national attention for a kidnapper on the loose. Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, its strong cups of coffee--and a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff--an election her adorably meddlesome parents entered her in--and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of it's reminding Sunny why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that trouble at her daughter's new school and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and Sunshine has her hands full. Enter sexy almost-old-flame Levi Ravinder and a hunky US Marshall, both elevens on a scale of one to blazing inferno, and the normally savvy sheriff is quickly in over her head. Now it's up to Sunshine to juggle a few good hunky men, a not-so-nice kidnapping miscreant, and Doug the ever-pesky flasher. And they said coming home would be drama-free."--
I was kinda hoodwinked into reading this book. I read about it thinking it fit the new and trendy "Sunshine Noir" genre. Think: Nordic Noir but in the sunshine, where the tension rises as the temp does. Turns out, there're snow storms all over this book! Nonetheless, I did find it to be a zippy read that pulled me into the characters and the storyline. I loved the budding love between the new girl and a broody teen poet. Nose-deep into the pages, I followed along eagerly as the detectives followed the tracks of a missing person. I don't read a lot of mysteries, but I'm glad I picked this one up because I couldn't put it down! -Melody
Fix Her Up: A Novel
Tessa Bailey
OverDrive Audiobook
Fiction, Romance
Georgette Castle's family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven't taken her seriously since. Frankly, she's over it. Georgie loves planning children's birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She's determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World... whatever that means. Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?) Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.) Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!) Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn't been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody's asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that's for sure. Maybe if people think she's having a steamy love affair, they'll acknowledge she's not just the "little sister" who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite. Travis Ford was major league baseball's hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he's flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can't even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his... bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend's sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What's the harm? It's not like it's real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there's nothing fake about how much he wants her...
Occasionally I'll go on a contemporary romance audiobook binge. "Fix Her Up" is the first novel of the three-part Hot & Hammered series. might recognize Bailey's name from her newest bestsellers--The Bellinger Sisters series--and I can vouch that both series are fun reads. The characters are easy to empathize with, and the themes aren't too heavy if you want a lighthearted read. And as a series, these books are indeed binge-able. Head over to hoopla if you need rom-com stat. -Melody
Last night at the Telegraph Club
Malinda Lo
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Lo Malinda
Romance, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+
"Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father--despite his hard-won citizenship--Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day"--
A lovely coming of age story about finding oneself and understanding that you contain multitudes. If you ever felt pulled in different directions or on a quest to find where you fit in, you'll recognize thoughts and feelings in this book. Well researched, beautifully written, and a joy to read. -Anne M
Where have all the boys gone? : a novel
Jenny Colgan
FICTION Colgan Jenny
Fiction, Romance, Humor
With more women than men in London, Katie's dating prospects are at an all-time low. She decides to head for the hills-- the Scottish Highlands to be exact. Fairlish is in the middle of nowhere, but the tiny town does have one major draw: men. LOTS of them! Theres plenty of local eye-candy, including gorgeous newshound Iain. But he is at loggerheads with Katie's new boss, Harry, and she can't afford to get on Harry's bad side any more than she already has. -- adapted from back cover
I will read pretty much anything Jenny Colgan writes. She crafts relatable characters and places them in remote settings that let their minds be free to experience themselves anew. This book is no different. I'm not finished yet, but I love the pickle the protagonist is in--forced to do a PR job for a grumpy forester who just wants to save the trees in the Highlands of Scotland. My favorite way to eat up a Jenny Colgan story is through audiobooks, and we have this one on hoopla. https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/12586888 The accents the narrator performs instantly transport the listener to the Highlands. Take me away, Calgon! -Melody
Seven Days in June
Tia Williams
FICTION/Williams, Tia
Romance
Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York. When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry-or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since. Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered. . . With its keen observations of Black life and the condition of modern motherhood, as well as the consequences of motherless-ness, Seven Days in June is by turns humorous, warm and deeply sensual
I love this book because it provides plenty of FUN and SUBSTANCE. These two things should come together more often in fiction, but usually don't. -Heidi K
Lizzie & Dante : a novel
Mary Bly
FICTION Bly Mary
Romance, Fiction
"On the heels of a difficult break-up and a devastating diagnosis, Shakespearian scholar Lizzie Delford decides to take one last lavish vacation on Elba, the sun-kissed island off the Italian coast, with her best friend and his movie-star boyfriend. Once settled into a luxurious seaside resort, Lizzie has to make big decisions about her future, and she needs the one thing she may be running out of: time. She leaves the yacht-owners and celebrities behind and sneaks off to the public beach, where she meets a sardonic chef named Dante, his battered dog Lily, and his wry daughter Etta, a twelve-year-old desperate for a mother. While Dante shows Lizzie the island's secrets, and Etta dazzles with her irreverent humor, Lizzie is confronted with a dilemma. Is it right to fall in love if time is short? Is it better to find a mother briefly, or to have no mother at all? And the most difficult question of all: What if falling in love inevitably leads to broken hearts?"--
To wrap up my summer reading, I wanted an easy, breezy, escapist read. "Lizzie and Dante" seemed like a good candidate. The setting: Elba. The plot: vacation romance. The author: Mary Bly (bestselling romance writer with the nom de plume Eloisa James). But this book surprised me. This is a serious read about serious topics. Yes, there is love. Yes, there is a beach. But there is also heartache, fear, and uncertainty. This book is about finding happiness when you are given a time-limit on life. If you are looking for a deeply moving and complex contemporary romance, I recommend "Lizzie and Dante." Just be warned: you will need tissues. -Anne M
Not sure how I snagged a copy of this when it was on the shelf. It's in demand right now! But the timing was perfect. I see Emily Henry's books pop up in bestseller lists, but I've tended to pass them by. I think I read something that compared her rom-coms to Mhairi McFarlane's--whom I can't read enough of now--and that sealed the deal. I also loved the idea of reading an enemies-to-lovers title about a literary agent and an publishing house editor. Reviews call this a hilarious book and I agree! I'm about halfway through and hope to finish it up this weekend. (I took a binge-reading break to work on a jigsaw puzzle and build lego sets with my son.) Looking forward to this weekend! -Melody