romance

A Daughter of Fair Verona

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A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this historical rom com, set 20 years after the events of Romeo & Juliet. In this version, Romeo and Juliet have a different ending, and are raising a family in Verona. Oldest child Rosaline is almost 20 and still unmarried. She’s had a few fiancés, but has matched them with other young ladies. Then Duke Stephano, widowed multiple times, encounters Rosie and wants to marry her, even without a dowry. Rosie is enamored of fair Lysander, who climbs into the Montague compound with a special ladder, and they have a few humorous encounters. Then there’s the scarred Prince Escalus, who’s raising his young sister, Princess Isabelle. Rosie’s whole family likes Isabelle, and she enjoys their lively and boisterous household, with loving parents. Many women are attracted to Romeo, but he only has eyes for his Juliet, who is pregnant, again. Romeo still has a temper, as does Rosie.

Rosie spends time at the apothecary shop run by Friar Laurence, escorted by her formidable Nurse. They all go to the scene when a young man is poisoned, and later find another apothecary dead. Rosie is soon suspected of murder and needs to clear her name lest she be sent to a nunnery, so she investigates. The investigation makes this novel a mystery, but it’s mostly a family story set in Verona with some romance and quite a lot of humor. I enjoyed the setting and the characters, and look forward to a planned sequel. The recipe for Juliet’s fruit and nut bread is available on the author’s website, here.

Brenda

Welcome to Glorious Tuga

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Welcome to Glorious Tuga by Francesca Segal

The fictional south Atlantic island of Tuga de Oro is inaccessible to ships for several months every year. Island Open Day is a cause for celebration, as it brings ships with long waited cargo, FFA (folk from away) and returning Tugans. Seasick Charlotte Walker arrives at Island Close, which is celebrated with fireworks. Charlotte is a young vet who is spending a year on Tuga to study gold coin tortoises. Tugan Dr. Dan Zekri is returning so his Uncle Saul can retire. At the same time, a mother leaves the island for a job and an 11-year-old is headed to boarding school. The family connections are a bit bewildering at first to Charlotte (the reader has a list of characters and how they’re related), but she gets a warmer welcome than Dr. Dan, especially when she is willing to use her veterinary skills as well as research the tortoises. Next comes Katie, a physiotherapist who’s more in love with island life than her Tugan sweetheart. Secrets, dramas, history, and the gorgeous island itself are all part of the storyline. This is a vivid, compelling read that is hard to put down.

Brenda

The Husbands

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The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

Londoner Lauren is a little drunk after Elena’s hen party, and is very startled to find a strange man on the stair landing of her duplex. The man turns out to be her husband, Michael. Her flat looks a bit different than she remembers and the fridge is stocked with grapefruit water. Neighbor Toby knows Michael, but Lauren is single. She fakes a cold and Michael sleeps in the spare room. When he goes up to the attic to replace a light bulb, a different husband comes down. Lauren’s attic seems to have a supply of husbands! This is a completely ridiculous plot, but makes for a fun, compelling summer read.

Lauren is sure of a few things. She is friends with Toby and Elena. Her sister Natalie is married with two little kids. But when a new husband comes downstairs to the flat, there are changes, like the paint color, art work, or furniture in their flat. And sometimes other things are different. One husband is very cross; she has trouble getting him back in the attic. Jason is very nice, but her job has completely changed. Lauren learns to look at photos and messages on her phone to see if she likes her life, her job, and her relationships. Sometimes Lauren doesn’t like herself at all, and neither does the reader. Often, she calls off sick from work or buys things not in her budget, because everything will reset the next time. Then a couple of exes come back. Is Lauren the only one with an attic like that? I wondered why she doesn’t move away. Will she ever find what she’s looking for?

After a while, Lauren gets desperate and makes some very bad choices. But finally, she learns from her experiences and the ending is unexpected and dramatic. This book is hard to put down and would make a great movie, with lots of cameo parts for men. Try reading this novel and not talking about it; I certainly couldn’t. The author is from Australia and lives in London. A game designer, this is her first novel. I’m fascinated to see what she writes next.

Brenda

Earls Trip

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Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday

In this Regency era rom-com, two earls and a viscount who have been friends since their days at school take a fortnight’s holiday together every summer. Archie, Simon, and Effie are on their way to a ruined castle in Cumbria in North West England, although it’s been a challenge to get them all together this year. A messenger on horseback finds their carriage and tells them that Sir Albert Morgan needs their help. The Morgans are neighbors of Archie, and Clementine and Olive were his childhood friends. Apparently, Olive is eloping to Scotland with Mr. Bull and Clementine, dressed in men’s clothing, has gone after them. Clementine had recently called off her engagement to Mr. Bull.

The humorous adventure is on, as Archie, Simon, and Effie track down Clementine, Olive, and Mr. Bull at an inn. The rescue does not go smoothly, and Clementine and Olive end up travelling with the three friends to their rented castle. Once there, the sisters keep different hours and take their meals separately from the men, especially as Clementine has become a vegetarian. Of course, Archie finds that he wants to spend more time with Clementine, and there are definite sparks, though Clementine doesn’t want to ever marry. This is a funny and charming romance with an unlikely plot and quirky characters. There is also a racing turtle named Hermes. A sequel is planned for next year: Manic Pixie Dream Earl.

Brenda

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

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Christa Comes Out of Her Shell by Abbi Waxman

I have read Abbi’s five other novels, beginning with The Garden of Small Beginnings, and loved most of them. They tend to have an ensemble cast with quirky, big-hearted main characters. This novel has an outrageous plot, complete with twists and turns, and is occasionally laugh-out-loud funny.

Christa Barnet is the youngest daughter of Denise and the late Jasper Liddle. As a child, she sometimes appeared on television with one of her parents, usually holding a cute animal. Now she is a marine biologist on a remote island in the Indian Ocean, studying sea snails. Summoned back to Los Angeles along with her older sisters, Christa learns that her father has reappeared in Alaska, where his plane crashed when she was 2. Before rejoining his family, Jasper first appears on a popular talk show.

Christa hasn’t spent much time recently with her mom and sisters and doesn’t remember her dad. She does remember the trials of being a slightly famous teen, and is haunted by memories of a Hollywood party at which she was handed a drugged drink. Family friend Nate Donovan comes to the rescue, then and now. He is very handsome and doesn’t mind that Christa is prickly, short, and has many tattoos of marine life.

An over-the-top storyline with appealing main characters and cool settings in scenes set on the fictional island of Violetta, and on a merry-go-round, add to the book’s appeal. Also, there’s Marcel, the cute family dog, a bear cub named Dorothy, plus a gorgeous book cover. You don’t need an interest in snails or tide pools to enjoy this engaging novel, which is sure to be popular. I also enjoyed the illustrations by Julia Waxman. Readalikes include books by Emily Henry.

Brenda

The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles

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The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older

In this sequel novella to The Mimicking of Known Successes, Mossa, a detective on Jupiter, asks her girlfriend Pleiti to assist on an investigation of missing persons. Pleiti is a classics scholar at Valdegeld University and the search for two missing university students takes them to the moon Io. They later discover that several other people connected to the university are also missing, and their investigation leads them on a long train journey, with plenty of snacks, to the far side of Jupiter.

Meanwhile, Pleiti is still unsure of how much Mossa cares for her, and the effects of their previous case are about to reach Earth, which is currently uninhabitable. This is a heartwarming and cozy combination of science fiction, romance, and mystery, with a very intriguing setting. I’m looking forward to future Mossa and Pleiti adventures.

Brenda

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

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Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Book 2 of the Emily Wilde Series

Cambridge dryadology scholar Emily Wilde is off to the Alps with Wendell Bambleby, her colleague who is heir to a fairy kingdom, now ruled by his stepmother. Accompanying them are Ariadne, Emily’s talkative niece and a student at Cambridge, Shadow who’s sort of a dog, and senior scholar Farris Rose. Fox-like little faerie creatures appear, both vicious and helpful, along with faithful brownie Poe and his magical bread. Wendell has a magical scarf for Ariadne and a cape for Emily, but is weakened when he does magic, probably due to poison.

The group are in the Alps looking for a door to Wendell’s kingdom, and to search for two long-lost wanderers who haunt the nearby village. There are many adventures, in and out of faerie lands, and a cat named Orga is introduced. Prickly Emily very gradually becomes close to Ariadne and Rose, and considers a request from Wendell.

I enjoyed this portal fantasy even more than Book 1, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, mostly because of the ensemble cast, and partly because Emily is becoming a more appealing character. This novel is definitely not a cozy fantasy, but is vividly written, and a compelling story. More adventures are planned.

Brenda

The Mimicking of Known Successes

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The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

I am amazed by Malka Older’s remarkable world-building with memorable main characters in just 166 pages. Mossa is an Investigator, looking into a missing person report from a tiny frontier train stop. A pub owner nearby grows and cooks excellent green beans, but there seems to be no other reason for a stranger to visit. Did the man fall of the train platform, jump, or was he pushed, and why?

Tracing the unnamed man to the university city of Valdegeld, Mossa reconnects with Pleiti, her former college sweetheart. Pleiti is a Classics scholar, with her own small suite of rooms. When the missing person is identified as a fellow scholar Pleiti dislikes, she provides introductions to various scholars for Mossa, before the pair tour a zoo. At the zoo, Mossa is attacked by a caracal, a wild feline. As Pleiti continues to help Mossa with the case, they slowly reconnect. The exciting investigation, including some train journeys, culminates at a spaceport. Besides the spaceport, what makes this novella science fiction? It’s set on artificial rings around Jupiter, known as Giant, and the classics Pleiti studies are old Earth books. The goal of the Classics scholars is to recreate Earth’s ecosystem, with authentic plants and animals, on the currently desolate home planet.

Summarized by the publisher as a Gaslamp mystery, this book could be described as a late Victorian style community in an alien setting, with atmospheric storms and chilly winds which make tea shops, hot soup, and gas fireplaces very inviting. I’d love to see drawings of life on Giant, especially the atmoscarfs worn outdoors. A sequel, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles, has just been published, and is high on my pile of books to read. Readalikes include The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal, and books by Becky Chambers.

Brenda

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

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Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

In 1909, Dr. Emily Wilde visits the (fictional) Scandinavian island country of Ljosland to do research for her encyclopaedia of faeries. Emily is interested only in faeries, and isn’t very comfortable with people. Unfortunately, she got off on the wrong foot with the Hrafnsvik village leader, and isn’t sure why. Her rented cabin is sparsely furnished, and the two meals provided daily are barely edible. Fortunately, a brownie she calls Poe bakes lovely bread after she agrees to keep a path clear of snow for him. Then her Oxford colleague Professor Wendell Bambleby arrives unexpectedly, along with two of his students, and moves into the cabin. The cabin gets more comfortable, the students chop their firewood, and the villagers like the handsome golden-haired professor. Wendell wants Emily to coauthor a paper with him, and will even help find more fae, if he can ever get up early enough to travel with her.

Hrafnsvik has a changeling, and a girl who was taken and later returned by the courtly fae. When two young women are later kidnapped by the fae, Emily has come to care for the villagers, and volunteers to search for them along with the charming and infuriating Wendell and her unusual dog Shadow. I was hoping for a cozy fantasy read when I started this book, but readers of fairy tales will expect some danger from the cold and occasionally cruel fae. The worldbuilding is very well done, and prickly Emily becomes more likable. A sequel, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, which also features Wendell Bambleby has just been published. Books by Seanan McGuire are a good readalike, as is the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman.

Brenda

Two Teen Novels: Divine Rivals and Highly Suspicious & Unfairly Cute

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Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

I listened to the first half of this Good Reads Choice Award teen fantasy on audio, narrated by Rebecca Norfolk and Alex Wingfield, both excellent narrators, and read the rest in print a few weeks later. This is the first book in the Letters of Enchantment duology. The second, Ruthless Vows, will be published December 26, and is likely to be just as popular.

Iris Winnow, a poor teen journalist, is vying for a columnist job along with well-educated and well-dressed Roman Kitt. Forest, Iris’s brother, has enlisted in a war between two recently awakened gods. Iris types letters to Fores on a typewriter she inherited for her grandmother, hoping her mother doesn’t find and pawn it. The typewriter turns out to be linked to another typewriter, now owned by Roman, who replies to the letters using his middle name.

After Iris suffers a loss and a setback, she signs up to be a war correspondent and takes the train to a distant town, staying along with a fellow war correspondent, with a kind boardinghouse owner. The town is on high alert for human or magical attacks. Iris hopes to find news of her brother. Iris is surprised (though not the reader) when Roman follows her, now also a war correspondent, and Iris learns of their grandmothers’ connection. At Iris’s request, Roman shares stories of the gods. Once rivals, Roman and Iris quickly fall in love. A dramatic cliffhanger ending sets up the sequel. The rivals to lovers romance is believable and the characters and dark, dangerous steampunk setting are memorable. Not a happy book, but a compelling read.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Black British teens Celine and Bradley were friends until a few years ago, when Bradley, an athlete, became very popular. Bradley has obsessive compulsive disorder, but it’s not presented stereotypically and most of his friends are unaware of his issues. Celine is refreshingly weird, is usually scowling, and has a popular conspiracy themed social media site. Their mothers are best friends, and are delighted when the teens both qualify for an unusual scholarship competition, which involves hiking, orienteering, and camping. Neither Celine or Bradley is outdoorsy, though they’re both capable hikers. Speaking of the title, Celine is highly suspicious, and thinks that Bradley is unfairly cute, especially his hair. They become friends again, with plenty of funny banter leading to a sweet romance. This was an entertaining and enjoyable read from an author best known for her adult rom-coms, the Brown sisters trilogy.

Brenda