The book title tells it all, but there’s so much more to crafting a story, and Alison Goodman writes with flair, humor, and an excellent feel for the Regency era. Lady Augusta and Lady Julia, the two older “ladies,” are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Julia is weak from illness and would rather follow society’s rules. Gus loves to …
Do you love libraries? Some of my fondest reading moments have been curled up in a chair with a heartwarming romance or heart stopping adventure or running my fingers along the spines of tightly packed books to find the one that calls to me next. When I was a child, I wouldn’t go home with just one or two books. …
Book Review: The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson (many stars) You always know a romance will have a HEA. That’s part of the formula. But the getting there is the important journey. And in the hands of Sariah Wilson, the getting there is so much fun. 😊 Anna Ellis is a cosmetic chemist who’s in love with her boss, …
Xingyin, daughter of the Moon Goddess Chang’e, vows to free her mother from exile on the moon, imposed by the Celestial Emperor. To do so, Xingyin disguises her identity and joins the emperor’s army, where she learns archery and magic, becoming renowned and starting to fall for Liwei, the crown prince. But to save her mother, Xingyin must go on …
When the college admissions scandal broke a few years ago, I was stunned—partly due to the money and bribery involved and partly because of the involvement of one of my favorite actors. It was difficult to reconcile those actions with my teenage years. I was a good (not great) student who went to a state university. My father would have …
Before I started writing I thought that being an author was a wonderful thing, that stories were created easily and magically, and that there was no “work” involved—just joy. I’d heard about the “business” of writing and how much authors had to “market” their books, but that meant very little to me since I was a reader. I didn’t think …
Book Review: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (sooooo good!) Take a 17-year-old high school senior who’s half Black and half Puerto Rican and a brilliant natural cook, add in an absent father, a protective grandmother, the normal demands of high school, and a job, then throw in a 3-year-old daughter and divided custody with an ex-boyfriend, and …
There are good books, great books, even exceptional books. Recently, I read a book that needs a new category. I haven’t yet determined what to call that—a star in the heavens, an eternal light, a bridge to forever. I’m waxing poetic because this book touched me in ways that most books don’t. This one made me think and question and …
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune The House in the Cerulean Sea begins with dialogue, breaking one of the laws of good writing, according to the experts. Beginning with dialogue, they say, fails to give you essential background. You (theoretically) need a good foundation in order to understand the characters and their world. But TJ Klune …
Of Beast and Beauty by Chanda Hahn I’m a huge fan of the Beauty and the Beast fable and have enjoyed numerous retellings. This was no exception. Chanda Hahn gives us a complex story with high stakes and continued suspense. Rosalie, the eldest of seven daughters of Lady Eville, had been chosen to unite two feuding kingdoms. Thrust …