Most Ardently Yours by Freya Sampson

4*

They say that you should never meet your heroes….and it appears that extends to book boyfriends as well. Aspiring romance writer Zoe Knight has given up on love, but still believes in happily ever afters, only with book boyfriends who can’t disappoint her. Who better than Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, the perfect man she fell in love with while sharing the story with her late mother. Sound impossible? Guess again, because after berating a handsome London bookstore owner, Nick Baskerville, for refusing to sell romance books, she finds and absconds with a marked up copy of Jane Austen’s classic novel. To her surprise, she somehow wishes Darcy into existence. and what ensues is a hilarious fish out of water scenario that somehow seems to humanize the erudite, taciturn Darcy. (Yes, I’m using multisyllabic words in his honor.) As he experiences everything from underground trains to Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Zoe begins to realize that book boyfriends are best left on the page and that she may have misjudged bookseller Nick.

This unique enemies to lovers romance requires a suspension of disbelief because the premise is so improbable. However, it’s so much fun reading about Darcy’s experiences in modern-day London that it was easy to put my reservations about the plot aside. I loved how Darcy helped Zoe realize that she is the hero of her own story, and that she shouldn’t compare her writing to anyone else’s (especially the nasty ex who made her lose confidence in her abilities). Ardent Jane Austen fans will probably have strong feelings about this book, but readers who love book boyfriends mixed with a huge helping of magical realism will be happy for the experience. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Last Page by Katie Holt

 

5*

Although it touches on grief, guilt and depression, The Last Page is mostly a humorous story with a steamy workplace romance and one of the most eccentric and endearing cast of characters (The Last Page bookstore’s staff) I’ve ever read. The theme of chosen family is central to the story, and I couldn’t help reflecting on the idea of New York, with its huge population, being one of the loneliest places on earth. Ella and Henry, through the power of reading and shared love of books, managed to foster a sense of belonging and family for a hefty slice of the city’s denizens, including Henry himself. One of my favorite elements of the book are the “Staff Picks” at the start of each chapter. (My overwhelming TBR list has grown.)

As I read the passages where Ella shares her favorite parts of her city as only a native can, I couldn’t help thinking of Kate Clayborn’s wonderful book, Love Lettering, which I called “a love letter to NYC” when I reviewed it several years ago, as well as Cole and Layla Are Just Friends by Bethany Turner. All three have their protagonists fall in love while exploring the city. If you know readers who love NYC and/or bookstores, please share this delightful enemies-to-lovers romance. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Alcove Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

3*

I want to preface this review by saying that I don’t usually talk about editing issues in an advanced reader copy, but I truly couldn’t tell if what I perceive as problems are pre-final edit or intentional.

As a fan of Ashley Poston’s adult novels (both 5*) and YA books, I was really disappointed by this one. Despite the title, there isn’t much of a “story” in this novel. We’re introduced to a large number of characters where we’re immediately at a disadvantage since Elsy, the narrator, knows them from her favorite romance series, but we aren’t given enough info to see them fully-formed. So, it’s impossible to get invested in the fictional town of Eloraton, NY and its happily-ever-afters.

Elsy was a bit of a doormat and just boring, in my opinion. She even admitted that, in her last relationship, she adopted all her fiancé’s interests and added nothing of herself to it. When she magically found herself in the setting of her favorite book series, she wanted to stay because it was comfortable and familiar, and she didn’t have to (shouldn’t) insert herself but could just live vicariously through the characters she knew everything about and who would never disappoint her. All she seemed to care about was making sure everyone was happy, even if it meant denying herself that same happiness.

I felt the dialogue was awkward, and I didn’t get a sense of different “voices.” It was mostly in Elsy’s, for lack of a better word, “monotone” delivery.

I didn’t buy into the insta-love, especially since Elsy believed that Anders hated her for the first half of their 6 days together. There was no sexual tension, and when they finally got together, it was fade-to-black.

Here’s where I get into the editing issues that were highly-distracting. Anders’s taste and smell were mentioned 22 times! (Yes, I used the search function on my Kindle to confirm.) The first description was his jacket smelling like “woodsy cedar and chamomile tea and the old, loved pages of a childhood novel,” then just 5 pages later, he “smelled like oak and old books and the slightest hint of black tea.” So, different wood and different tea…and totally irrelevant.

His “minty” eyes are mentioned 19 times (yup, checked this one, too), but when he had strong feelings, they turn emerald or peridot.

Even the first kiss scene didn’t make sense, and I’m not sure if it was intentional or careless. “At first his kiss was timid…even as my hands came up and curled into his hair” and two paragraphs later, “At first, his kiss was wild and desperate…and I found myself melting into him, grabbing hold of his starched shirt.” Then three paragraphs after that, “I pushed my hands into his hair…and yes, it was just as soft as I imagined” although she had touched it five paragraphs prior. Make it stop!

So, at this point, you’re probably wondering why I gave it 3*. It’s because I really like Poston’s The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip, and I’m choosing to believe that many of these problems were fixed during the final edit. I also felt the story had enough potential for me to keep reading. I liked the defense of romance novels, especially by a college English professor, appreciated the way Poston connected Elsy and Benji from The Dead Romantics, and who doesn’t like a Brigadoon-type set-up. However, I was confused by the Groundhog Day scenario and why Elsy’s presence affected the daily thunderstorm.

Despite this faint praise, however, I just can’t recommend this story which is very sad. However, I’ll still look forward to her next novel.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

 

Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay

 

5*

This story is an absolutely heartwarming and heartbreaking delight. Full disclosure? I’ll always love a book about books set in a small Irish village. Add a steamy, slow-burn romance between a handsome, black-haired, blue-eyed Irishman with a sexy accent and a ginger-haired librarian from America on a year-long, working holiday in his Last Chapter bookshop, and all my fantasies are fulfilled.

However, this book is so much more than an enemies-to-lovers, small town romance. Kier (aka Kieran Murphy) and Red (aka Emily Allen) both carry baggage from difficult, abusive childhoods that have left her with anxiety attacks and hypochondria and him with a strong aversion to change and a sense of abandonment. Yet, it’s their devotion to famous author Siobhan Reardon that binds them together. Siobhan’s Tig McMorrow fantasy series provided comfort, support, and escape throughout Em’s adolescent years, so she’s thrilled when asked to be her assistant as she writes the conclusion to the series after a ten-year hiatus. It’s also an escape from her stifling life and opportunity to break out of her shell. On the other hand, Kier is fiercely protective of his mother, and is resentful of and worried about how she blocks out the world when she’s fully-engrossed in the writing process. So, they almost immediately butt heads, not just over how to handle Siobhan, but also with the changes Em proposes to bring the bookstore into the 21st century. As Siobhan’s deadline fast approaches and the chemistry between Kier and Em heats up, will the last chapter have a happy ending? You’ll have to read it to find out.

McKinlay paints a vivid picture of this quaint Irish village and its colorful and kind inhabitants, builds great tension between Kier and Em, and sensitively portrays the damage done by narcissistic, neglectful, and abusive parents, while still maintaining the fine balance between witty, lighthearted scenes and heartbreaking moments. Don’t be surprised if, like Em, you find yourself daydreaming about epic romance and grand gestures as you read this wonderful story. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Romance through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

 

5*

The Paris Novel is a beautiful little gem of a book by Ruth Reichl, best known for her time as Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet Magazine and author of a series of engaging memoirs. It was the mention in one of her books of a little black dress she tried on while in Paris that inspired this book. I can’t help but think that much of what Reichl has written mirrors her own experiences, and the story is infused with her love for and knowledge of food. In fact, in the author notes, Reichl reveals that many of the famous people in her book she met in real life. It combines historical fiction (early 1980s), a bit of romance, a reluctant search for a missing father, and a mystery involving Victorine, the model for Edouard Manet’s Olympia, who eventually became a painter in her own right and then faded into obscurity thanks to jealous men.

After a horrendous childhood being raised by a cold, neglectful, narcissistic mother who looked the other way when she was being molested by one of her boyfriends, Stella has led a colorless, boring, but safe existence in NYC. After her mother dies and leaves her a small inheritance with the condition that she go to Paris, her boss forces her to take an extended vacation. Shortly after arriving, she wanders into a shop where the proprietress says she’s been waiting for her, the woman meant for a little black dress designed by Yves Saint Laurent. The dress begins a personal transformation and leads Stella to Jules, a grandfatherly figure who introduces her to the gastronomic delights of Paris and the dawning comprehension that she has a talent for cooking and a passion for food and wine that brings much-needed color to her life.

Her transformation is further aided by the comforting chaos of the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore where Stella finds a home away from home and a colorful cast of characters led by the grouchy but kind real-life George Whitman, who welcomed what he called his Tumbleweeds to use the store as a temporary home on three conditions: help in the store as needed, read a book a day, and write a one-page autobiography before you leave. One of the recurring responsibilities for Stella is to watch his 7-year-old (fictional) daughter Lucie, who is a great help in solving the mystery of Victorine. I couldn’t help but pause my reading many times to look up the people, places, paintings, and events that populate the book. Rather than pulling me away from the narrative, the light research enhanced it.

The entire book is a feast for the senses: the aromas of fine food, the scent of the flowers, the beauty of the landscape and architecture, and the fine art in the museums. Even the revolting description of eating the ortolans is something I won’t soon forget. Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Random House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

At First Spite (Harlot's Bay #1) by Olivia Dade

 

4*

Spoiler alert

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At First Spite, the first book in Olivia Dade’s new Harlot’s Bay series, is set in a small, coastal Maryland town named for a lesbian couple who fled their oppressive homes and settled there in the 1690s. Over the centuries, it has become a haven for misfits. So, it’s no surprise that Dade features a lesbian couple who are friends and colleagues of the protagonists, a gruff baker with a soft center, an overwhelmed and out of his depth bookshop owner, and two people who, despite their respective traumas, find in each other a kindred spirit.

 

As the story opens, we find Athena Greydon at her engagement party to Johnny Vine who asked her to marry him just two months after their first meeting before they even got to know each other well. He’s promised her that, when she moves to Harlot’s Bay, she won’t have to find a new job because he’ll take care of her (promises that he’ll depend on his older brother Matthew’s generosity to keep). Feeling burned out after four years as a high school social studies teacher, her acceptance of his proposal may be due more to the promise of the comfort and shelter she seeks than any true love she may have for him. This is very evident to his older brother who makes it his mission to end the engagement, viewing Athena as too irresponsible and immature to be someone’s wife. After meeting her face-to-face for the first time at the party and forming an instant attraction before he even knows her name, it’s likely that his resistance to the engagement is no longer purely altruistic.

 

When Johnny heeds Matthew’s advice and calls off the engagement, Athena has already quit her job and sold her condo. So, she has no choice but to move into The Spite House, a 10’ wide townhouse built between the two brothers’ larger homes which she bought as a wedding present for Johnny, using up most of her savings. Little does she know that Matthew will be her next-door neighbor. Despite a series of harmless, petty pranks she plays against him, they slowly get to know each other (while Johnny is away on an extended solo honeymoon) and learn that they both suffered from misconceptions about each other’s lives and intentions. That’s why it was relatively easy for both Matthew and Athena to forgive each other, share their innermost thoughts, and offer emotional (and, in his case, financial) support while navigating their separate traumas. Given what caring and decent people they both are and the fact that she didn’t really know Johnny well, the cringe factor of a guy going after his younger brother’s ex-fiancée is muted.

 

Athena has two Masters’ degrees and dropped out of a PhD program before finishing, yet she finds herself at age 37 with no job, a spotty employment history, and a bad case of burnout and depression, unable to see herself and her career path as anything other than dismal failures. It takes Matthew, the uptight, grumpy pediatrician, to help her see that her depression is painting a false picture. He not only supports her in her darkest moments, but also shows her the way friends and loved ones view her. He offers a different perspective which carries more weight because she thought he hated her. Everyone deserves a Matthew in their life, someone who acknowledges your flaws, but loves you in spite of them. He’s definitely an A+ book boyfriend.

 

Athena’s story will resonate with readers who have suffered from depression and struggled to find a vocation that they are passionate about and can excel in. My one criticism is that she seems neurodivergent-coded (as does Matthew), so although his well-meaning justifications for her spotty job history may be accurate, they’re incomplete without acknowledging how her neurodivergency impacts her relationships and employment.

 

Of course, Matthew is also dealing with the trauma of his baby brother’s death when he was only 8 years old. After the tragedy, his parents’ relationship fell apart, and he was thrust into the paternal role of taking care of Johnny. As a result, he’s always sacrificed his own wants and needs by being caretaker for his brother and others in his life. One of the most beautiful parts of the story is when Athena reciprocates by helping Matthew navigate his own grief and path forward.

 

The only other criticism I have is the bizarre, erotic bestiality books featured throughout that make little sense and prove more of a distraction than a humorous element which, combined with a messy (albeit revelatory) first sex scene between Matthew and Athena, stifle any sense of passion. I just found them both cringey. Book 2 is set to feature Karl, the afore-mentioned angry baker, and the author of these books. Not sure I’m going to want to revisit the trope at any length.

 

Overall, though, this is one of Dade’s best books, so I highly recommend it.

 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

 

The Bookstore at Rivers End by Phillipa Nefri Clark

 

5*

This lovely book set in the beautiful town of Rivers End on the coast of Australia defies definition. It’s women’s fiction with a dual timeline that combines a clean, mature romance with a mystery involving three teenage girls from 1961. It’s the story of a newly-divorced librarian, Harriet, who is struggling with her ex-husband’s decision to “find himself” by traveling the world alone, and her 20-year-old daughter, Olive, who has dropped out of law school after ending an abusive relationship, who decide to start over by opening a bookstore in a building Harriet received as part of her settlement. 

 

While looking for old books to fill a small section of their store, they find the diary of a 14-year-old girl who writes about a birthday treasure hunt she and her friends are designing for one of the girl’s younger sister. Since the owner doesn’t want it back, they make it their mission to figure out who the narrator and her friends are since they’re only mentioned by their first initial. Olive and Harriet, reading just one entry at a time, decide to follow the clues as a way to discover their new home and to learn the identities of the friends from the past. The shifting between the two timelines works well, combining each written passage in the diary with the narrator’s internal monologue that uses full names (that only the reader is privy to). As a result, the reader figures out the mystery well before Harriet and Olive do.

 

They also purchase a number of books from a handsome chef, Brock, which includes an antique Bible and inscribed book of poetry. These become part of the mystery surrounding the treasure hunt. The romance between Harriet and Brock is a slow burn although the attraction is evident from the beginning. However, Harriet is newly-divorced and not even ready to remove her wedding ring, so it takes months of her slowly building a new life with her daughter until she’s ready to let go and let a new love in. 

 

The character development of both the main and secondary characters is well done, the mother-daughter relationship is enviably loving, supportive, and respectful, and the townspeople, especially the elderly ladies trio, are humorous and welcoming. 

 

As a former librarian and lifelong book lover, I was so envious that Harriet was able to fulfill her dream of opening a bookstore. Author Clark paints such a vivid picture of the town with friendly neighbors, gorgeous beaches, and a good collection of businesses that support the community.  This heartwarming, redemptive story is definitely worth a read. Highly recommended.

 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Storm Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Only and Forever (Bergman Brothers #7) by Chloe Liese

 

5*

In this 7th and final installment of the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese, we finally get Viggo’s story and it doesn’t disappoint. As dedicated readers know, Viggo is the romantic of the family who wears his heart on his sleeve and is often the one who calls the Bergman Brothers Summits where they help and encourage each other (or their siblings’ love interests) to work through the problems they’re having on the path toward love. It’s the absolute opposite of toxic masculinity and such a refreshing change to see men embracing their emotions and each other. 

 

It turns out that all the time Viggo was spending in Escondido in previous books was to learn the bookselling business with the ultimate goal of opening a (mostly) romance bookstore. (Shout out to the real one in Culver City, The Ripped Bodice!) However, despite his dedication to the romance genre, he had never been in love and seeing his siblings pair up one by one has been difficult. In his first week of college, he noticed Tallulah Clarke in one of his classes. His crush was instantaneous, which made her outright rejection of him devastating. So when he met her again several years later and she still did her best to ignore him, the last thing either of them expected was that they’d soon be helping each other meet their professional goals and making themselves vulnerable to each other by sharing their baggage and their disabilities (his ADHD and fear of failure and rejection and her Type 1 diabetes, dysfunctional family, and belief that love is nothing more than a social construct that has the ability to destroy you if you let yourself forget that). Yet, when he invites her to be his temporary roommate so that he can help her with the romantic relationship in her next book and she can help him get his store up and running, what’s the chance that a hopeless romantic and a jaded cynic can find common ground and a happily-ever-after?

 

Liese, who is neurodivergent and deals with chronic illness herself, began self-publishing this series and, with the help of TikTok, eventually found a publisher and an audience of avid readers that appreciates her honest portrayal of people with disabilities who deserve to be loved without having to compromise who they are. In all her books, she explores the vulnerability her characters face in light of childhood trauma, physical and mental challenges, and more. At the center of this series is the big (both in number and physical size) Bergman family who adopt their children’s and siblings’ romantic partners, providing all the love and support that these misfits have been missing. In Only and Forever, readers get plenty of time with all of the couples from previous books and, as bittersweet as it is to know this beloved series is at an end, it’s heartwarming that penultimate book boyfriend Viggo (who bakes, adopts rescue dogs and kittens, coaches kids’ soccer, names his plants after real romance novelists and his car for one of Tessa Dare’s fictional dukes, has a way with babies, makes pottery, and is the human equivalent of serotonin according to his brother) finally has his shot at a forever love. My only slight criticism of this enemies-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine, slow-burn but steamy romance is that it gets REALLY sappy at the end. I highly recommend the entire series and hope that Liese someday gives us a bonus epilogue, a parents’ prequel or, better yet, a next-generation series.

 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own. 

Publication date: April 2, 2024

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman

4*

Fans of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill will be thrilled to revisit L.A’s Larchmont Village neighborhood and become reacquainted with that titular heroine and her bookstore co-workers in this new book of women’s fiction. Yes, there’s a very slow-burn love story (actually two), but it’s more about found family and friendship.

Laura Costello leaves her home and ex-fiancé in New York City to attend grad school for physical therapy in L.A. Her family of hardcore science academicians has never hidden their disappointment over her decision to forge a new path, and are convinced that she is too fragile due to her PTSD following a serious car accident and long recovery. However, her mother’s heavy-handedness and her controlling ex-fiancé’s unwillingness to accept her rejection and his insulting infantilization of her only serve to strengthen her resolve.

Following a fire in her new apartment building, she find herself in Knight’s bookstore (co-owned by Nina Hill). Serendipitously, sales clerk Polly hooks her up with a room rental in the house where she lives and, as time goes on, she grows to care about Maggie, her landlord and house mom, and Bob, her handsome housemate. Over the course of the summer, while waiting for her classes to begin, she cultivates friendships with Nina and Polly, joins Nina’s trivia team, and with Bob’s encouragement, kindness, and patience, slowly begins to overcome her trauma-induced panic over driving and her reticence about entering a new relationship. Will either of these two awkward friends ever find the courage to acknowledge the attraction that everyone else sees?

The biggest lesson Laura learns is that everyone has fears and personal issues that can hold them back from falling in love, forging new career paths, mending relationships with close family members, and more. However, her new chosen family helps her see that her inner strength not only aids her recovery but also provides the support her friends need to heal their own hurts, chase their dreams, and take a chance on love.

The only disappointment is the lack of any sexual tension between Laura and Bob. Their friendship is enviable, but aside from a couple of kisses and countless longing glances, there’s no heat. It would have been much more satisfying had Waxman used her epilogue to give readers the satisfaction of seeing the relationship ignite. Despite this, it’s a delightful story with very likable characters, satisfying subplots, glorious gardens, a plethora of books, and the unique idiosyncrasies of Los Angeles. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

With Love From London by Sarah Jio

5*

Where do I begin to explain how much I love this book? Is it in the colorful, quirky neighborhood of Primrose Hill in London, the city of my heart? As a passionate reader, is it in The Book Garden, a charming bookstore owned by Eloise and inherited by her daughter Valentina? Perhaps it’s in the dual timelines from Eloise’s and Valentina’s points of view, Eloise’s starting in 1968 when she meets two men, one the love of her life and the other who is responsible for both her greatest joy and the incomprehensible cruelty behind her unbearable pain, and Valentina’s in 2013 when, at age 35, she’s facing divorce and the news that her mother has died, the same mother she hasn’t seen or heard from in 23 years. Ultimately, it is in the colors of the rich tapestry Jio has created with her stellar ability to weave together the multiple threads of love: romantic, maternal, obsessive, platonic, eternal, unrequited, and bibliophilic.


Although, at times, it’s heartbreaking to read about Eloise’s lonely life in Los Angeles under the thumb of her controlling husband Frank, Jio’s choice of the split timelines enables readers to see the parallels between hers and Valentina’s lives: the seemingly insignificant use of scavenger hunts which actually bring the story full circle, the chance encounters at the Royal Automotive Club where men come to their rescue in different but life-altering ways, and, most importantly, the books that provide solace to both Eloise and Valentina. Eloise often spoke of the lifespan of books, meaning the number of people who would read them, and it’s in the rediscovery of these shared stories through Eloise’s final scavenger hunt that Valentina learns the truth about the mother who touched so many people’s hearts and, from handwritten notes in the book she and her mother both loved the most, that she finds a new love of her own. Recommend to fans of Susan Meissner, Tracy Garvis Graves, Kristin Harmel and anyone who enjoys dual timeline novels.


I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Ballantine Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young

5*

Evie Starling, 33, is done looking for love after a string of bad relationships, culminating with being stood up by a guy she’d been texting with for a month. When she’s passed over a 4th time for an editor position at her misogynistic company in favor of a younger man, she chucks it all for a month’s vacation in northern England, running a bookstore. Shortly after arriving, she meets a handsome, kind farmer after saving his dog. Despite her best intention to focus on herself and discover if her loneliness means she wants to be in a relationship or she’s just missing the companionship of friends who are coupling up and having kids, she can’t resist the friendship Roane offers. As the sexual tension between the two grows and the villagers accept her as one of their own, she begins to believe the fantasy that there might be someone who’s just perfect for her. Can this independent feminist trust that her feelings for this unicorn of a man are real and reciprocated or will she return to her unfulfilling, lonely life in Chicago?
There’s so much to love in this delightful, heartwarming romance. Although Evie’s an American outsider, she welcomes the embrace of the villagers, and reciprocates by lovingly interfering with their lives. Whether it’s freeing a young woman from an abusive relationship, bringing together star-crossed lovers, reuniting an estranged mother and daughter, or encouraging a widow to move past her grief, she has a profound, positive effect on the lives of those around her.

This lovely romance, inspired by the real rental bookstore holiday in Wigtown, Scotland, is quite a departure from Young’s best-selling, steamy On Dublin Street series. She deftly balances the various relationships without taking attention away from the central couple, giving readers a bountiful bouquet of love and heartbreak in all its forms. Topics like abuse, addiction, racism & homophobia are handled delicately and are not gratuitous, but rather integral to the story. Recommend this to fans of Susan Wiggs, Jenny Colgan, and Christina Lauren.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

4*

This book has it all: teen romance, family drama, flawed characters, and a beautiful bookstore. Darcy Wells’ mother is a hoarder who compulsively buys and catalogs her things ever since her fiancé and Darcy’s father abandoned her prior to Darcy’s birth. She fools the world because she can put herself together and work as a cosmetics consultant, but in private it’s a different story. Their apartment is full, and the only way Darcy can survive is with help from her grandmother since the father she’s never known doesn’t pay child support. She is parenting her mother and won’t abandon her to go live with her grandmother, but if she chooses to remain with her mother, all financial support from her grandmother will end on her 18th birthday a little over a month away. Books have been her escape from her sad reality for years, and the only boyfriends she’s ever had are from their pages. That is, until Asher Fleet starts hanging out at the shop while on breaks from his construction job across the street. He was a year ahead of her at school, but after a tragic car accident, his injuries forced him to abandon his dreams of becoming a pilot, so he is dealing with his own demons. Despite their separate burdens, the story isn’t all doom and gloom. Darcy’s best friend, Marisol is a devoted friend, the sparring between her boss Mr.Winston and his long-divorced ex-wife Tess who runs the adjacent wig shop serves as a comedic element, and the healing that comes through the books themselves all combine to make this teen romance a treat for the senses. Highly recommended for teen collections.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Inkyard Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

5*

Nina Hill, die-hard bookworm and trivia champ, lives a relatively solitary life in Los Angeles surrounded by books both at home and at work. Her favorite friend is her cat Phil with whom she has two-sided conversations, a consequence of her over-active imagination and loneliness. It’s not difficult to see that her need for structure and extreme social anxiety are the result of abandonment, first by the father she never knew and then by her successful, globe-trotting mother who left parenting to a nanny. Her “anxiety was like her anti-superpower, the one that came out unbidden in a crisis.” So what’s she to do when, on the cusp of her 30th birthday, she learns that her father has died and left her an inheritance and a motley group of relatives? Add to the mix a trivia adversary, who occupies too much of her thoughts and whose presence seems to cancel out her anxiety, and her carefully constructed life starts pulling apart at the seams. Is the possibility of belonging and loving worth the risk or will she push everyone away to keep safe in her cocoon?

Waxman uses a third-person narrator who invites readers into Nina’s quirky, humorous thoughts and life accompanied by a cornucopia of wacky friends, family and the unique character of the City of LA. It’s a thoroughly engaging story with many LOL moments and a sweet romance, too. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

The Secrets of Paper and Ink by Lindsay Harrel

4*

Sophia Barrett has returned to work as a women’s therapist 3 months after suffering a nervous breakdown on the 1-year anniversary of her fiancé’s death in a car accident. After walking out on her first patient (a victim of domestic abuse), she realizes she hasn’t healed. So, on a whim, she decides to travel from Arizona to Cornwall, England, the locale of the books by her favorite author, Robert Appleton, where she rents a cheap apartment above a bookstore in exchange for working there part-time. Ginny, the proprietor, is struggling to save the store after her husband abandons her. While shifting through boxes of old books, Sophie finds a journal with a story from the 19th century about star-crossed Emily Fairfax and her friend (and secret love) Edward Bryant. With the help of Ginny’s brother-in-law, sexy lit professor William, Sophie sets out to discover whether or not the story is true and why she feels so compelled to get answers. Will any of these three women who have suffered for love find redemption?

Set in beautiful Cornwall and featuring a cast of well-drawn female characters, The Secrets of Paper and Ink is a tribute to the power of the written word and its ability to heal the human spirit. There is a faith-based undertone which might be off-putting to some readers, but it doesn’t overwhelm the story. This book will appeal to fans of Beatriz Williams, Susan Meissner, and other authors who write parallel storylines from the past and present in which a mysterious artifact drives the action. Highly-recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.