"Well Met" came into my life as the perfect escape from March 2020. My high hopes for its follow up were ... well met. "Well Played" takes the aspects that I loved in "Well Met," the Faire, the small town close friends, and goes deeper than our first introduction. This time around, we're experiencing Faire with longtime wench, Stacy, and I immediately related to her "stuck in my childhood home while everyone else successfully moves on" crisis. DeLuca's first work was the escapist fun I thought I needed, "Well Played" is the romance I needed to read, but still with the same heart and joy as "Well Met." Well done, Jen DeLuca!
Dunmore outdid herself with this sequel! Lucie is an original but extremely relatable heroine, and her concerns about love affecting her ability to help her cause was endearing and made for a great and original read. I can't wait for more suffragette romance!
Written by the co-owner of the U.S.'s premier romance bookstore, MAD & BAD delves into the true history of romance's most popular era: the Regency. Through a collection of short biographies and suggested further readings, Koch brings real heroines of the period to light, beyond the cliched wilting wallflowers. Written with love, it's a must read for Jane Austen fans and rebel girls alike!
I've been reading a lot of romances lately with stellar supporting casts, but it was refreshing to have a book that really focused on the two leads. Working on my MA thesis, I can relate a little too much to January and Gus's writer's block and loved both the insight into the creative process and the different perspectives on genre. Sometimes laugh out loud funny, BEACH READ is at its core a heartfelt story about kindred spirits supporting each other.
Cute love story that really emphasizes family and community.
Love Lettering is a love letter to New York City. The characters are all wonderful, but Meg and Reid's hunt for signs, both metaphorical and hand painted, throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn are truly what makes this book stand out. Revel in New York in springtime without leaving your couch.
A story of kindness in dark times, Rena's memoir of surviving the Holocaust is a compelling look at human nature. Contrasting her earlier fear and experiences to the ways in which her employer, Oskar Schindler, used his position to protect his Jewish workers, Rena's book provides younger readers with a glimpse of heroism during the Holocaust.
If you are going to read one Jane Austen novel, choose Persuasion! Like the heroine, Anne Elliot, Persuasion is not the most popular, but is by far the most nuanced and tender of Austen's works.
Even if you are not already a fan of the wonderful Avatar universe and the original tv series, Yee's novels (this is the first) about Avatar Kyoshi would thrill any reader. After a mix-up, Kyoshi learns she is the powerful Avatar, a fact others would use for their own gain. Follow Kyoshi as she fights crime, does crime, and learns to be a fully realized Avatar while on the run from her enemies. A mind-bendingly satisfying read!
Chronicling the true story of young women poisoned by their work using radium paint and their quest for justice, Moore's book is as compelling as it is tragic. Using testimony of the girls and those close to them, The Radium Girls, though a work of nonfiction, is at times parts romance, detective, and horror stories.
An oldie but a goodie, this book is the inspiration for the equally funny and charming Studio Ghibli film. When shy Sophie Hatter is cursed by a witch, she must work for the wizard, Howl, who may or may not eat the hearts of young girls. As Howl and Sophie bicker and work together can they break their own curses? The funniest, sweetest, and most charming book ever!
The perfect light YA read. This series of 10 books follows Mia Thermopolis through high school and growing into her role as Princess of Genovia. Fans of the movies and new readers alike will appreciate the familiar quick humor and the warm hearted characters. Don't feel bad about reading Mia's diaries, they are laugh out loud funny!
