Tag: book recommendations

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Recent Reads in Crime Fiction

I don’t read a wide range of crime fiction, but there are a few authors that I always read when they have a new book out.

Stolen In Death by J.D. Robb came out in February and is book 62 of her In Death series. This series is my favorite because the main character is a woman and because it is set in a futuristic New York City. I love the way Eve Dallas looks at the world and how she tracks down the killers. There is an interesting array of supporting characters as well.

Jigsaw by Jonathan Kellerman also came out in February and is book 41 in the Alex Delaware series. Alex Delaware is a child psychologist who specializes in child custody cases and also consults with the LAPD, specifically with Detective Milo Sturgis. I enjoy the psychological intricacies of the cases Alex gets pulled into, and I really like the characters of Milo and Alex’s partner Robin.

Revenge Prey by John Sandford came out in April and is book 36 of the Lucas Davenport series. Lucas Davenport is a member of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension who does things his own way at times. I also enjoy the books with Virgil Flowers and Lucas’ daughter Letty.

I hope all three of these authors keep writing for a long, long time!

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Recent Reads from Sonali Dev

Sonali Dev has become one of my favorite authors, and I have recently read a novel and a short story of hers. The novel, Lies and Other Love Languages, is the story of Vandy Guru and her daughter Mallika. Vandy Guru is an advice columnist who is struggling with grief after the loss of her husband, and her daughter Mallika is an aspiring choreographer who is struggling to find her niche. The story also involves Vandy’s estranged childhood friend Rani Parekh and the secrets that tore them apart.

The book moves back and forth between the past and the present day until finally the story merges near the end of the book. Sometimes all that switching is difficult for me to follow or engage with, but I didn’t have any trouble with this one and was interested in both storylines. I was most invested in Vandy and Rani but gradually connected with Mallika as her character was fleshed out more and more. I also really liked the ending.

The Wedding Setup is a short story about Ayesha Shetty, a young woman who has thrown herself into the family business after the death of her brother. At her best friend’s wedding, she runs into an old flame while trying to avoid a doctor her mother is trying to set her up with. It was cute but mostly predictable, but I did enjoy the little twist at the end.

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Rome, Kentucky Series

I just finished the Rome, Kentucky series by Sarah Adams, and it definitely ended on a strong note. I think the fourth book was my favorite because it went deep into what was driving each of the characters’ feelings and actions and showed the main characters slowly getting to know each other better.

This is a series that follows each of the four Walker siblings as they find love in their small town. They are open-door romances, but (at least in the last two books) Adams identifies which chapters a reader should skip if they prefer to avoid that. 

I really enjoyed this series. If you are a fan of small town romance, these would definitely be right up your alley.

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School by the Sea Series (Maggie Adair)

The School by the Sea, aka Maggie Adair, is a charming series about an English boarding school for girls. Jenny Colgan tells the story of how she loved books about boarding schools but realized there weren’t very many for adults, so she wrote the first two books of the series and published them under the name Jane Beaton. A few years later, she republished them under Jenny Colgan and wrote the last two books to finish out the story.

I read the first two books back in 2022 and just read the last two books this year. The main character is Maggie Adair, a Scottish literature teacher who comes to teach at the school, and we see how she adjusts to this new situation and how it affects her personal and romantic life. The story also follows several of the girls in the school and explores their different backgrounds and experiences.

I am a big fan of Jenny Colgan and really enjoyed this series. I especially liked that we got to see things from the perspectives of both the teachers and the students, and I liked the interactions they had with the nearby boys’ school. Overall, this is a charming series that I would highly recommend!

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The March Sisters

I have read many adaptations and retellings of books by Jane Austen, but it’s not that often that I come across books based on 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 by Louisa May Alcott. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘚𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 is a two-book series that was published in 2019 and 2020. The first book focuses on Meg & Jo, while the second book focuses on Beth & Amy. We also get a glimpse into their parents’ relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this modern take on a beloved classic. Each sister faces different challenges in her life and in her relationships, and I appreciated the way Kantra shows how their childhood experiences mix with their personalities to contribute to their current issues.

Highly recommended!

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Jesse Parker Mystery Duology

I have been a fan of John Flanagan for several years. His main claim to fame is his middle grade series Ranger’s Apprentice and its spinoff series, The Brotherband Chronicles and Ranger’s Apprentice: The Royal Ranger. I have read them all and loved them, so when I learned that he had written a mystery duology, I was excited to read it.

The main character in the books is Jesse Parker, a former Denver police detective, who has returned to his hometown in Colorado to work with the ski patrol. When there are a series of killings in town, he is pulled into the investigation by Sheriff Lee Torrens, a longtime friend and former flame. I really enjoyed the mystery and the rekindling of the relationship between Jesse and Lee.

In the second book, Jesse has taken a trip to Utah to face his fears after a skiing accident and ends up in the middle of a hostage situation. It was interesting to see the character in a very different type of mystery, and I really liked the ending, especially the epilogue.

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ICYMI: Benni Harper series by Earlene Fowler

ICYMI: my quest to highlight books you may have missed

The Benni Harper series by Earlene Fowler consists of fifteen books published between 1994-2011. The protagonist, Benni Harper, has moved to fictional San Celina, California after losing her husband a few months earlier and is managing an artist’s co-op and art gallery. When she encounters a fellow artist’s dead body, she decides to play amateur sleuth and try to solve the mystery.

I really enjoyed these cozy mysteries. I liked the main character a lot, even though she is quite headstrong, and appreciated the inclusion of the arts. Each book title was taken from the name of a quilt pattern, which I found really charming.

The book names in order:

  • Fool’s Puzzle
  • Irish Chain
  • Kansas Troubles
  • Goose in the Pond
  • Dove in the Window
  • Mariner’s Compass
  • Seven Sisters
  • Arkansas Traveler
  • Steps to the Altar
  • Sunshine and Shadow
  • Broken Dishes
  • Delectable Mountains
  • Tumbling Blocks
  • State Fair
  • Spider Web

Have you ever run across these? Are you familiar with any of the quilt patterns?

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Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne – Tomes & Tea book 1

Reyna is one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is a powerful mage, but all the pair wants to do is leave their responsibilities behind and open a bookstore that sells tea. After a couple of years of sneaking around to spend time together, they make their move and flee to a small town where they can follow their dream. 

If you think this book is reminiscent of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, you would not be wrong. Thorne says in her acknowledgments that her book was directly inspired by his work. There are some definite similarities between the two, but Thorne has put her own spin on “leave a life of adventure for a cozy shop” story.

This book has a lot more adventure because there are people who don’t want the two women released from their obligations. There is also a mystery in the town that needs to be solved. I did like the action, but it was the cozy parts of the story that I enjoyed the most–watching Reyna and Kianthe explore their relationship now that they were living together, and seeing how they gradually became part of the town where they had settled. 

All in all, this was a fun read and I look forward to reading more of the series.

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“Library” Books

I love to read books about books, especially ones set in libraries. So when I was challenged by Hopewell’s Public Library of Life to post a list of books about libraries, I got right on it!

Here is my list of 11 books that are either set in a library or feature a librarian as the main character. Let me know if you have read any of these or have any others to recommend.

  1. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams – a story about the power of a mysterious reading list and the friendship that develops between Aleisha, a teenager working at the library, and Mukesh, a widower who visits the library after his wife has passed.

2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – a magic library gives Nora Seed the chance to examine her regrets and discover whether life is worth living.

3. What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama – a special librarian senses exactly what people are looking for and gives the perfect book recommendations to give them the inspiration they need.

4. The Library by Bella Osborne – an unlikely friendship forms between a sixteen-year-old boy and a seventy-two-year-old woman as they rally the community to save their local library.

5. The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick – a book of fairy tales with a personal dedication leads a librarian to uncover family secrets that will change her life.

6. The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms – a school librarian gets an opportunity to escape her life for a summer and has to decide what future she wants for herself.

7. The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson – a library is threatened with closure and librarian June Jones joins forces with others in the community to fight to keep it open.

8. The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore – a librarian who is taking care of her three younger siblings gets involved in a mystery involving a rare book and a cranky neighbor.

9. The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson – a small-town art teacher opens a lending library in her sunroom when the local library closes.

10. The Storytellers by Sue Heath – a library draws four people together through a writing competition (on my TBR)

11. Is This a Cry for Help? By Emily Austin – a librarian returns to work after a mental health crisis only to be faced with protests surrounding book banning (on my TBR)

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Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 2

This sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea was good, but not as good for me as the first book. I loved being introduced to the world Klune created, meeting the magical children, and seeing things unfold between Linus and Arthur. In this book, the story focuses on the fight the inhabitants of the island wage against the Department in Charge of Magical Youth to be able to live in peace. It was clever and had some really touching moments, and I appreciated the social commentary. I just didn’t feel that it drew me in the way book one did.