romance

The Keeper of Magical Things

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The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong

The second cozy fantasy by the author of The Teller of Small Fortunes is not a sequel, but is set in the same world. Certainty Bulrush has been living in the city of Margrave for six years, as a novice in the Guild of Mages. Her only magical talent is to communicate with objects, especially magical objects such as a talking teapot. If she becomes a mage, her family, who have a pear orchard, can afford an apprenticeship for her brother.

Certainty is sent on an assignment with Mage Aurelia Mirella, a farspeaker. Their task is to take two wagons of minor magical artifacts to a remote and unmagical village. Their housing and storage for the artifacts have been pre-arranged, supposedly. The pair are to inventory, organize, store, and ward the collection. Too many magical items at the Guild have created an overflow of magic, leading to some humorous magical incidents. Aurelia has a reputation for being standoffish, and is from a wealthy family in the city. She also has a big secret, which is soon revealed to Certainty. Aurelia has high standards, and neither their housing, storage, or meals meet her approval. Cert has to show by example how to fit in to the village. With assistance from some of the minor magical items, they help the village’s apple orchards, water supply, and help create very tasty pasta. There’s also some romance, and a small catdragon.

When their assignment ends badly, Cert is unfairly blamed and goes home in disgrace to her family, where she is shown … kindness and love. Back to the city she goes, to explain her motives and actions. An enjoyable read, though different in setting and tone from her first book.

Brenda

Hot Desk

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Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman

This engaging dual timeline novel is set in the publishing world in New York City. Two young editors, Rebecca and Ben, work for rival publishers and reluctantly share a desk. They are both trying to meet with a literary legend’s widow for rights to publish a short story collection and one last novel. There are flashbacks to 1982. How is 1982 a historical time period already? Back then, Rebecca’s mom and her best friend Rose are interns at The East River Review, a journal published from the townhouse of the same literary legend, Edward David Adams, known as the Lion.

The book sections set in 1982 are chaotic, exhilarating, and full of secrets. Also, not very friendly for young women aspiring to be writers or editors. AIDS is not yet named, but definitely scary. 2022 is messy, but with situations such as hot desking, working remotely part-time, Zoom meetings where someone always needs prompting to unmute and large publishers buying smaller publishers. Rebecca helps her friend Stella run a dinner club with Rebecca’s charming grandmother, which is getting online buzz. Rebecca and Ben exchange cryptic heated texts, especially about a cactus on their shared desk that neither claims. An immersive read, this is an accomplished first novel.

Brenda

Gracie Harris is Under Construction

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Gracie Harris is Under Construction by Kate Hash

The book cover is funny because Gracie doesn’t actually paint any walls during her house remodel. She does wallpaper her bedroom closet, though, which I think sounds cool. Gracie Harris is on a journey of self-discovery and grief after her husband Ben suddenly dies. She has two great kids and money does not seem to be an issue as the house being remodeled in a small North Carolina town is her second home. I really enjoyed the scene when her bookshelves were being put together because it means she can go on a shopping spree at the local indie bookstore. Imagine having multiple new bookcases to fill, and plenty of money to fill them! I think I’d really enjoy visiting Gracie’s remodeled house.

This summer, Gracie’s kids are spending 8 weeks at a sleep-away camp 30 minutes from town. Gracie is writing a memoir and trying to do interviews but has a rough time with nerves and grief during her first major interview. Josh, her realtor’s brother, is remodeling the Craftsman house part-time for Gracie. Over lunches, Josh asks Gracie questions she might face at future interviews, and gives her advice on the best coffee shop for her writing sessions. To no one’s surprise except Josh and Gracie, they fall for each other. Even Gracie’s daughter thought they might start dating.

Not a rom-com, and not a steamy romance, this is a sweet and tender story about starting over and second chances, plus some good advice about working through the messy seasons of grief. Well, the romance is kind of steamy, but the bedroom door stays almost closed for the reader. This is Kate Hash’s first novel, and it’s a memorable, compelling read. I look forward to seeing what she rights next.

Brenda

Ghost Business

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Ghost Business by Jen DeLuca

Ghost Business, an enjoyable read, is the second spooky rom-com by DeLuca, who also has four wonderful romances set at renaissance faires, beginning with Well Met.

Ghost Business is the sequel to Haunted Ever After, and both stories are set in Boneyard Key, somewhere on Florida’s Gulf Coast. I’ve visited Florida several times and never once thought of ghosts or hauntings, but maybe I haven’t visited the right towns. Carol Perry writes a cozy mystery series set in Florida, beginning with Be My Ghost, which are readalikes for Ghost Business. The Spirit Moves is the fourth and most recent. Cedar Key was the inspiration for Boneyard Key.

Tristan moves to Boneyard Key for six months, staying in a condo his dad’s just bought for an investment. He’s there to start up a ghost tour, which he and his college buddy Eric run in several tourist towns across the U.S. Right away he meets Sophie, who also runs a ghost tour in Boneyard Key every weekend. She doesn’t have a website, so Tristan and Eric didn’t know they’d have competition. Sophie, a local, knows that Boneyard Key is truly haunted, and tells the stories of the resident ghosts. Tristan, with Ghouls Night Out, just wants to entertain his customers with familiar ghost stories with no real connection to Boneyard Key. Of course, Tristan doesn’t believe in ghosts, which leads to some funny scenes.

Tristan and Sophie are rivals, though quite attracted to each other, and Tristan has a hard time getting the locals to welcome him. A few months after he’s settled in, a hurricane is headed for the Gulf Coast, and Boneyard Key. No one in town is injured, but it’s pretty intense reading. Tristan needs Sophie’s help, and they fall for each other. Rivals to lovers is a common but pretty good trope, and DeLuca is a very good storyteller. I look forward to her next page-turner, wherever it’s set.

Brenda

Thus With a Kiss I Die

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Thus With a Kiss I Die by Christina Dodd

Well, that’s not a very cheerful title, is it? Since I thoroughly enjoyed the first Daughter of Montague novel, A Daughter of Fair Verona, I knew the book would be much more entertaining than a quote from Romeo and Juliet would lead the reader to expect. In Christina Dodd’s fictional Verona, Romeo and Juliet are alive, in love, and married with several children. Rosaline, called Rosie, is 20 and helps run the Montague household. While dreaming about handsome Lysander, she has somehow become betrothed to Escalus, the prince of Verona.

Rosie is not at thrilled by her betrothal. But she likes Escalus’s little sister, Isabella, his Nonna Ursula, and his father’s ghost. The ghost of Escalus the Elder is problematic as no one else can see or hear him and he never saw his murderer, who was masked and cloaked. Escalus, nicknamed Cal by his ghostly father, also enjoys spending time with Rosie’s large, chaotic family. When there is unrest in the city, even the prince’s home isn’t safe. On one eventful night Rosie must get home to her mother, then quickly solve two crimes and decide how she really feels about Cal. Of course, both Cal and Rosie are in danger, and deciding who to trust is key.  

This historical novel has witty banter, quirky characters, and is full of adventure, humor, mystery and some romance. The next book, Much Ado About Mistletoe, will be published in late October.   

Brenda

Six Weeks by the Sea

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Six Weeks by the Sea by Paula Byrne

In 1801, Jane Austen, her parents, and sister Cassandra moved from the vicarage at Steventon to the city of Bath. Jane was upset at the news, and later at the loss of her piano. At 25, Jane is not yet a published author. She agrees to the move only after her parents promise a seaside holiday every summer.

This novel tells the story of that first summer by the sea, at Sidmouth. Author Paula Byrne, a biographer, wondered if Jane had ever been in love, as she wrote of it so wittily. In Sidmouth, Byrne introduces two suitors and a young biracial girl to the Austen family. Jane uses her connections to help find a foster home for the little girl, and has hopes of a possible romance between her favorite brother, Captain Frank Austen, and Martha Lloyd, the best friend of Jane and sister Cassie.

The holiday is full of seaside walks, dips in the sea, assemblies, a play, and plenty of tea and cocoa. Jane writes whenever she has time, but doesn’t share her work with anyone outside the family except Martha. The reader knows that Jane Austen never marries, so will not expect a traditional happy ever after. Jane Austen is also featured in a mystery series by Stephanie Barron, is which Jane is an amateur sleuth, and has another potential suitor, but it’s set a few years after this novel. The first book in that series is Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor. This was quite an enjoyable read, and is suggested for Anglophiles as well as Janeites.

Brenda

Dear Miss Lake

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Dear Miss Lake by AJ Pearce

Another Emmy and Bunty book! This is the fourth novel set in wartime London, where journalist Emmy Lake is trying her hardest to help the readers of Woman’s Friend magazine cope until peace arrives. Starting in July 1944, the war in Europe is being won by the Allies, but times are still tough for the soldiers, nurses, and everyone on the homefront.

Emmy and her brother-in-law move the staff of the magazine, along with their spouses and three children to a country estate owned by Bunty’s grandmother. Emmy gets her dream work assignment, as an official war correspondent, and travels to Belgium. Bunty’s sweetheart proposes, a wedding is planned, but Emmy’s husband has to leave England on a secret assignment. Emmy connects with other women who are waiting and waiting for their husbands, sweethearts, or sons to come home. Will the war ever end? And when one of the magazine’s younger staff is overwhelmed by events and leaves without giving a forwarding address, there is plenty to worry about.

This doesn’t sound like a very cheerful read. And yet, this is heartwarming, sad, joyous, and funny in turns. The characters are the stars of this series, from best friends Emmy and Bunty, to their partners, coworkers, and the children in their lives. If you’re up to a few tears, this is an absolutely lovely and charming read for fans of historical fiction set in England. The first book is Dear Mrs. Bird, and the others are Yours Cheerfully and Mrs. Porter Calling.

I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

Brenda

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

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A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

Mandanna’s first book for adults, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, has been very popular with cozy fantasy readers since it was published in 2022. Fans will rejoice with this new book, not a sequel, but set in the same version of England. The British Guild of Sorcery in Northumberland has a council packed with conservative white witches from the top ten British witch families. They run a school for young witches, but fortunately also offers a homeschooling option.

We learn more about magic and witches, including some from Iceland. Witches have varying amounts of power, curses may backfire, and magic can be lost. Some old books of spells are in a restricted section of the Guild’s library, and Sera Swan has lost access to it.

Sera and her formerly late great-aunt Jasmine run the Batty Hole Inn, and the inn is largely held together with Sera’s magic. A recent spell lets only those who need the inn find it. Currently lodging with Sera and Jasmine are two non-magical guests: Matilda, who is obsessed with mushrooms and Nicholas, who works as a Knight at the nearby Medieval Faire. Theo, a young relative, is living there while homeschooling. Luke, a witch scholar, unexpectedly arrives with his young sister Posey, who has magic and autism. Roo-Roo, a zombie rooster, and Clemmy, a fox, also live at the inn. Found family is a major theme, and Sera tries to make the inn as welcoming as possible when apple tea may rain down on any given Sunday.

There are two possible romances developing, an ex-friend seeking forgiveness, a power-hungry wizard who will do anything to thwart Sera’s plans, and some adventure and danger in store. A delightfully creaky old house and a charming cast of characters greatly add to the story’s appeal.

Brenda

Atmosphere

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Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Read

It’s great when a popular new book lives up to the hype. Atmosphere is a thrilling ride, and a compulsive read. Joan Goodwin is an astronomer, a professor of physics and astronomy, when she applies to be a NASA astronaut at the beginning of the space shuttle program. She doesn’t get an interview the first time, but is selected for the second group of astronaut candidates, along with several other women. Her class of astronaut candidates includes pilot Hank, brilliant mission specialist Lydia, Griff, Donna, and Vanessa, an aeronautical engineer and pilot. Vanessa wants to fly a space shuttle, but only military pilots were eligible and, like almost all women pilots at the time, Vanessa was a commercial pilot.

A couple of the characters are inspired by NASA astronauts Sally Ride and Anna Fisher. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, kept her personal life very private until she died of cancer in 2012, then had her obituary include recognition of Tam Elizabeth O’Shaughnessy, her partner of 27 years. Anna Fisher married another astronaut candidate, waited months to announce her pregnancy, went back to work the week after giving birth, and flew on space shuttle Discovery when her daughter was 15 months old. One female character in the book conceals a pregnancy, and another has a secret girlfriend, which could lose her the necessary security clearance to be assigned a shuttle mission.

The only really unlikable character in Atmosphere is Joan’s sister Barbara, who demands frequent backup from Joan to care for her daughter, Frances, and doesn’t come to her first launch. Fortunately, Frances and Joan are very close. Joan is challenged by motion sickness, but perseveres, goes into space, and later becomes a CapCom, communicating with astronauts from NASA’s Mission Control Center. As we learn at the beginning of the story, Joan is the CapCom when several members of her candidate class fly aboard the (fictional) shuttle Navigator, and all does not go well for their mission. Joan cares deeply about everyone on board, making the crisis even more challenging for her. Exciting and moving, this fast-paced thriller has a big heart. I’ve read Reid’s Malibu Rising, and appreciate how all of her novels are very distinct from each other.

Brenda

The Lost Letters from Martha’s Vineyard

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The Lost Letters from Martha’s Vineyard by Michael Callahan

Another good beach read, this one a dual timeline novel set in 1959 and 2018. Actress Mercy Welles leaves Hollywood after a breakup to spend the summer of 1959 on Martha’s Vineyard. Going by her real name of Edie, she is soon recognized as Mercy, and is asked to star in a new play in an island theater. She also meets a charming oysterman, Ren.

In 2018, Kit O’Neill, a young tv producer in New York City, helps her older sister Claire clear out their late grandmother Nan’s house. In the attic, Kit finds mementos of Mercy Welles, and is stunned to learn of her grandmother’s hidden past. Unwisely, Kit doesn’t immediately share the news with Claire, telling her demanding producer Lucinda instead. Kit travels to Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Martha’s Vineyard to research Mercy’s life, where she also meets an attractive man, historian Seth.

Most of the chapters are told from Mercy’s point-of-view, and are hard to put down, if overly dramatic. Many family secrets are uncovered on Martha’s Vineyard, and there are a few similarities between her summer and the Nancy Drew mysteries she enjoys reading. Island life is appealing and the play sounds promising. A young but acclaimed actress, she is considering her next move when she’s asked to read for a starring role in a new movie based on Wuthering Heights. She and Ren bake apple pie, he teaches her to swim, and she meets the matriarch of one of the island’s first families, and falls in love.

Why did Mercy never share her story with her granddaughters, who she raised after their parents’ early deaths in a car accident? Kit, meanwhile, is trying to reconcile her memories of a very loving but occasionally tough grandmother with what she’s learning of a lovely young starlet. Mercy and the Martha’s Vineyard setting make this an immersive and memorable read, with plenty of romance and adventure.

Brenda