Stacy Alesi

ON LOCATION by Sarah Echavarre Smith

September 25, 2021

From the publisher:

Nothing like a rocky start between enemy coworkers stuck together on location to prove that love isn’t just a ploy for ratings—it’s a force of nature.

Alia Dunn has finally gotten her big break. After years of working her way up at TV’s top outdoor travel channel, she gets the green light from network executives to bring her dream project to life: produce a series about Utah’s national parks. It’s a touching tribute to her late apong, who sparked Alia’s passion for travel and the outdoors as a kid.

Alia is thrilled—until she meets her newest crew member, Drew Irons. The same Drew she had the most amazing first date with two weeks ago—who then ghosted her. The same Drew who has the most deliciously thick forearms and who loves second-guessing her every move on set in front of the entire crew. It’s not long before the tension between them turns hotter than the Utah desert in the dead of summer, and their steamy encounters lead to major feelings.

But when the series host goes rogue one too many times, jeopardizing the entire shoot, Alia realizes that she’ll need to organize one hell of a coup to save her show—and she’ll need Drew’s help to do it. It’s the riskiest move she’s ever made. If she pulls it off, she’ll end up with a hit series and her dream guy . . . but if it all goes wrong, she could lose both.

This was a fun romance in an interesting setting, the National Parks in Utah. Alia’s Phillipino grandma had taken her there when she was a child, and it was one of the most amazing vacations she ever had. She pitches the idea to the travel channel where she works and is shocked when she gets the greenlight. It will be her first time working as showrunner and she’s excited. That is until she hears who her boss has selected as the host of the show – Blaine, a reality star known for drinking and drug abuse. But Blaine’s agent is a friend of her boss so she’s stuck. The rest of her crew she hand picks and they are fabulous. The only one she doesn’t know is Andrew, who her mentor highly recommends, so she feels like he will be a good choice.

One night Alia is riding the subway home when she spots a good looking young man giving up his seat for an elderly woman. She takes a pic and puts it on social media. He ends up standing next to her and flirting like crazy. She agrees to go out for a drink with him and tells him her name is Lia, thinking it is a safer option than giving her real name. He tells her his name is Drew, and they have the most amazing first date. But then he ghosts her. Of course Andrew, her mentor’s choice, turns out to be Drew. He has a good explanation but she’s not interested. They fight their way through the first few days of filming before she realizes that dealing with Blaine is going to be the big issue.

Drew and Alia finally make amends and start working together. They are both really good at their jobs, and when he has to step in for the inebriated host, he does a fantastic job. He’s always wanted to host but has terrible stage fright. Somehow, Alia gets him through it and a coup is hatched. They will film both Drew and Blaine, when he shows up, and not tell Blaine he is being replaced. Alia only hopes the network doesn’t go ballistic when she presents her final cut.

Everyone gets their happy ending here and it was a fun ride to the finish. Utah sounds like an amazingly beautiful place and I wouldn’t mind seeing some of those parks…someday. I liked these characters and the story and highly recommend this book.

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ON LOCATION by Sarah Echavarre Smith. Berkley (September 21, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593201657. 352 pages.

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WHEN SPARKS FLY by Helena Hunting

September 24, 2021

From the publisher:

Charming, hilarious, and emotional…When Sparks Fly is Helena Hunting at her very best!

Avery Spark is living her best life. Between her friends, her sisters, and Spark House, the event hotel her family owns, she doesn’t have much time for anything else, especially relationships. She’d rather hang out with her best friend and roommate, Declan McCormick, than deal with the dating scene. But everything changes when she is in a car accident and needs someone to care for her as she heals.

Declan avoids relationships, giving him a playboy reputation that he lives up to when he puts a one-night stand ahead of a promise he made to Avery. While he may not have been the one driving the car, he feels responsible for Avery’s injuries and is determined to make it up to her by stepping into the role of caretaker.

Little did they know that the more time they spend in compromising positions, the attraction they’ve been refusing to acknowledge becomes impossible to ignore. When they finally give in to the spark between them, neither is prepared for the consequences. Their love is fragile and all it will take is a blow from the past to shatter it all.

Hunting has become one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. Avery and Declan have been best friends since college. Yes, it’s unusual for a man and woman to be best friends without it going anywhere else, but that’s the way it is. When they were in college, Avery was going out with Declan’s best friend, Sam. But after they graduated, they were doing the long-distance thing, and Declan found out Sam was cheating on Avery. He told Avery and everyone in their friends group cut Sam out. Avery and Declan even went on to buy a condo together, and everything is going great. They hang out with the guys, play soccer together, and have a good time. The only fly in the ointment are the “randoms’ that Declan is constantly bringing home.

Declan’s parents have spent their lives fighting and cheating on one another. He has no good role model for what a relationship should look like. He is convinced he is not ever going to be in any kind of committed relationship, so he sticks to his one night stands. They guy makes a good living in finance, and is hot as hell, so no worries there.

Avery’s girl friends convince her to try a dating app and the first guy that shows interest looks like he may be worth meeting. He’s good looking and into sports like she is. Her friends convince her to wear a tight, fitted minidress and heels, and as she is going out for her date, Declan about loses his mind. She looks so hot he feels jealous, so he goes out and picks up a woman that reminds him of Avery. Except they are supposed to leave early the next morning to meet up with some friends and go to a game. Only when Avery tries to get him up, he’s busy with the random. Avery tries to get his keys to his SUV as it’s raining and her tiny car needs tires, but he was too drunk to drive home the previous night so his car isn’t there.

Avery is really pissed off. She lost her parents in a terrible car accident years earlier, and has been afraid to drive ever since, especially when it’s raining. But Declan is of no use and she decides to just go by herself. She’s a nervous wreck driving on the highway in the rain, especially when she sees this pickup truck weaving in and out of traffic. Declan calls to apologize and they are working things out. The next thing you know, she’s in a multi-car pile up which he hears over the speakerphone, but she is not responding.

Turns out she has multiple broken bones and is unconscious for a couple of days. But Declan sticks by her, along with her sisters, until she wakes up. Then they fight over who is going to take care of her. But her sisters have to run their family event business without her for several weeks, and Declan can work remotely from home, so he wins and becomes Avery’s caretaker. It is a lot of work but he feels a lot of guilt, plus he loves her, so it’s not a problem for him. Until he walks in on her trying to masturbate one handed.

It’s pretty obvious where they end up, except Declan has never been in a relationship before. Turns out all their friends were just waiting for the two of them to realize they were in love, but there are a lot of bumps on the road before they can really be together.

I loved these characters and their story; I couldn’t put it down so another one night read for me. I loved it.

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

WHEN SPARKS FLY by Helena Hunting. St. Martin’s Griffin (September 21, 2021). ISBN: 978-1250624703. 320 pages.

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THE CASANOVA by T L Swan

September 23, 2021

The Miles High Club, Book 3

From the publisher:

In T L Swan’s steamy third installment of the Miles High Club, Kate’s hot new pen pal is a welcome distraction from her horrible boss. But nobody is as distracting as Elliot Miles…and he knows it.

My favorite hobby is infuriating Elliot Miles. Just the sight of my boss’s handsome face triggers my sarcasm. God knows how he earns his Casanova reputation―if a million women want him with his personality, what the heck am I doing wrong?

Disgusted with my love life, I join a dating app under a fake name. I start chatting to a man named Edgar. He’s not my type and lives on the other side of the world, but we hit off a friendship, laugh and confide in each other.

But lately things are getting weird at work. Elliot’s being…attentive. His eyes linger a little longer than they should, and there’s a heat behind them that I haven’t felt before. And then, in the shock of all shocks, he tells me that my vulnerability is appealing. But when was I vulnerable?

Horror dawns…Has my boss been reading my emails to Edgar?

Damn it, why did I use my work email?

Oh no, does he know what I really think of him? I’d rather die than ever admit it.

Or, even worse: is it possible that the man I loathe in real life is the man I’m falling for online?

Thanks to E L James and the Fifty Shades world she created, “billionaire romance” is a thing now. This book also runs with the enemies-to-lovers trope and does it really well. It’s a lot of fun for sure, and one of the steamiest romances I’ve read.

Kate is the tech guru at the company the Miles brothers own. She lost her parents several years earlier, and hasn’t gotten close to anyone since. She’s afraid of losing someone she loves again so she’s not going there. Elliot runs the London office of the media company his family owns. Young, rich, and good looking makes for trouble if he gets involved with anyone. The one relationship he had ended when the paparazzi wouldn’t leave them alone, so he sticks to one night stands. The press has nicknamed him “Casanova Miles.”

Elliot loathes the nasty woman in IT, and she despises him equally. She’s also not afraid of him and gives as good as he does in their war of words. Then one night Elliot happens to see a woman in a red netball dress (I had to look up netball, I never heard of it) dancing around her office. He is shocked to find it is his nemesis, yet he is completely turned on.

Meanwhile, Kate’s friends have convinced her to join a dating app. She begrudgingly agrees then creates a profile that is so outrageous no one will ever contact her, including using a picture of a gigantic cat as her profile pic. Shockingly, someone does contact her, Edgar, and he seems to find her amusing. They live a world apart, and since their is no pressure, they start chatting online and a friendship is formed. They even discuss their dating life.

Elliot finds his attraction to Kate distracting, but he can’t help himself. She is shocked to find that he is worming his way into sleeping with her, and the sex is off the charts hot (and frequent.) Elliot is spending more time with her than any woman before, but he knows she’s not “the one” because he is a romantic at heart, and is waiting for love at first sight. Of course that doesn’t happen, and he almost loses Kate in the process of seeking it out. But the girl eventually gets the billionaire, and they get their happily every after.

There is a lot of humor here, especially when they are butting heads. There is also a lot of emotion, which I wasn’t really expecting; the characters have depth. If you like scorching hot romance, this is your book!

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE CASANOVA by T L Swan. Montlake (August 26, 2021). ISBN: 978-1542028073. 512 pages.

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Three Months Free of Audible and Amazon Music

September 22, 2021

I am super excited to share a limited-time offer of THREE MONTHS FREE of Audible and Amazon Music—a fantastic deal to kick off the fall entertainment season!

Starting today, free-trial eligible customers can get three months free of Audible Premium Plus (normally $14.95/month), and three months free of Amazon Music Unlimited (normally starts at $7.99/month).

Amazon Music offers unlimited access to 75 million songs | Now in HD + Ultra HD at no extra cost | Podcasts and Livestreams

Audible: Feed a passion for entertainment or new skills with podcasts, audiobooks & Originals, or relax with a mediation or sleep story.

You can cancel any time; after the three-month free trial periods, you will be billed at full price for each subscription.

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THE SHAADI SET-UP by Lillie Vale

September 21, 2021

From the publisher:

In this witty and heartfelt rom-com debut for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Emily Henry, and Tessa Bailey, an Indian American woman signs herself and her boyfriend up for a matchmaking site to prove they’re a perfect match, only to be paired with her ex instead.

High school sweethearts Rita Chitniss and Milan Rao were the golden couple, until the day he broke her heart. Now, six years later, Rita has turned her passion for furniture restoration into a career and has an almost-perfect boyfriend, Neil. The last thing she needs is for Milan to re-enter her life, but that’s exactly what happens when her mother, an unfailing believer in second chances, sets them up. Milan is just as charming, cocky, and confident as he was back in school. Only this time, he actually needs her business expertise, not her heart, to flip a hard-to-sell house for his realty agency.

While Rita begrudgingly agrees to help, she’s not taking any risks. To prove she’s definitely over him, she signs herself and Neil up on MyShaadi.com, a Desi matchmaking site famous for its success stories and trustworthy enough to convince everyone that she and Neil are the new and improved couple. Instead, she’s shocked when MyShaadi’s perfect match for her isn’t Neil…it’s Milan. Ignoring the website and her mother is one thing, but ignoring Milan proves much more difficult, especially when she promises to help him renovate the beach house of her dreams. And as the two of them dive deeper into work—and their pasts—Rita begins to wonder if maybe her match wasn’t so wrong after all….

Milan dumped Rita in a voicemail while she was flying to meet him for their trip to Europe during college. He never shows and she is heartbroken, but determined to go on their trip anyway. Six years later, Rita met Neil on Tinder and they hit it off. It’s been a few months of him spending the night a couple of times a week. But his life is ruled by his mother, and she wants him to find a wife, an Indian wife.

In a weird coincidence, Rita’s mom was a young woman when she fell in love with a man. But his family arranged a marriage for him and he broke her heart. Rita thinks her mother never got over him, and it turns out Neil’s father is that man. Rita doesn’t want to get any more involved with Neil that what they already are; he has marriage on his mind. She finally figures out that she can make this all public if the Indian marriage/dating app matches her with Neil. They coordinate their answers, but the 100% match for her is not Neil, it’s Milan.

Meanwhile, Neil’s mother “wrestles” his password to the app from him (she asks him for it) and starts arranging dates for him with the women from the site. And he goes. Rita is pissed but doesn’t really care and isn’t the least bit jealous. And Rita’s mom conspires with Milan’s mom to bring them back together. He is a very successful real estate agent, and she loves decorating and woodworking – she takes other people’s junk and turns the junk into treasures.

Milan has been sitting with a listing for this ultra-modern house for close to a year. No one wants it. So when the moms decide that Rita can fix up the place so he can sell it, they both agree to give it a try. It is very successful, and the house sells almost immediately for above list price. Milan had purchased an old B&B on the beach and has been renovating it to flip. He asks Rita to do the decorating and she agrees. The more time they spend together, the more they both realize that they are still in love. But Rita is leery; she knows she’s not the same girl he fell in love with, and she wants to make sure they are both going into this with their eyes wide open.

This was a really fun read. The families lent a lot of humor to the story, and the characters were all interesting and believable. I am looking forward to her next book – this was a debut novel (for adults; she writes children’s books, too!)

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE SHAADI SET-UP by Lillie Vale. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (September 7, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593328712. 368 pages.

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PORTRAIT OF A SCOTSMAN by Evie Dunmore

September 20, 2021

A League of Extraordinary Women, Book 3

From the publisher:

Going toe-to-toe with a brooding Scotsman is rather bold for a respectable suffragist, but when he happens to be one’s unexpected husband, what else is an unwilling bride to do?

London banking heiress Hattie Greenfield wanted just three things in life:

1. Acclaim as an artist.
2. A noble cause.
3. Marriage to a young lord who puts the gentle in gentleman.

Why then does this Oxford scholar find herself at the altar with the darkly attractive financier Lucian Blackstone, whose murky past and ruthless business practices strike fear in the hearts of Britain’s peerage? Trust Hattie to take an invigorating little adventure too far. Now she’s stuck with a churlish Scot who just might be the end of her ambitions….

When the daughter of his business rival all but falls into his lap, Lucian sees opportunity. As a self-made man, he has vast wealth but holds little power, and Hattie might be the key to finally setting long-harbored political plans in motion. Driven by an old desire for revenge, he has no room for his new wife’s apprehensions or romantic notions, bewitching as he finds her.

But a sudden journey to Scotland paints everything in a different light. Hattie slowly sees the real Lucian and realizes she could win everything–as long as she is prepared to lose her heart.

The Instant USA Today Bestseller!
One of Marie Claire’s most anticipated romances of 2021!
One of Cosmopolitan’s most anticipated fall books of 2021!
A BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021!

This was my first read of this author or series. One of my reviewers, Caitlin, read the first book, Bringing Down the Duke, and loved it. I meant to read it, but forgot – so many books, so little time! I liked this book a lot and didn’t really feel like I was missing anything having not read the first two books in the series. I may poke around my Kindle though; I probably have both of them on there somewhere.

The main character, Hattie, is a suffragist and an artist. She is not titled, but her father is a very wealthy man so her life is easy. As easy as it gets for women in Victorian England. Her parents indulge her interest in art by allowing her to take classes at Oxford. When she hears about a tour being given for a private collection of art, she decides to ditch her protector/chaperone/security guard, and sneaks out to the exhibit. But when she gets there, no one seems to know anything about a tour. They leave her in one of the rooms filled with art and sculpture and tchotchkes galore, and then a man comes in, walks up to her and kisses her. She slaps him good, and that is the meet cute.

The man is Luke Blackstone, and it is his home that she is visiting but he doesn’t know about any tours. He just knows she is an unaccompanied woman, and like many who have visited him in the past, he assumes she is visiting to have sex with him. He is also not of the gentry but is possibly even wealthier than her father. Blackstone has a terrible reputation as he has bankrupted many of the aristocracy by collecting their debts.

Blackstone is intrigued and attracted. A short time later, an actual tour is planned but somehow Hattie ends up alone in the drawing room with him and he tries to kiss her again – and she leans in for it. Unfortunately for her, the mirrors in the room are actually two-way mirrors, so her family and friends all witness the kiss. Blackstone quickly announces they are betrothed, and gets to working out a deal with her father as was often done.

Hattie is angry that she is being forced into a marriage with a man she doesn’t know. But she is attracted to him and after speaking to him about what she wants in a marriage (which I found quite unbelievable for the times) he acquiesces to her demands and they marry. The wedding night is not great, but he is kind and when she asks him to stop, he does. And the next night. And so on. But other things happen to cause her to want to leave, and her best friend is an expert at helping women escape bad situations and arranges for her to go to France. But Blackstone is one step ahead and whisks her off to Scotland before she can leave him.

Blackstone owns a mine in this small town and is trying to determine how to help the people who work there. Hattie visits some of the local women and decides to learn how to take their photographs, in an artistic way, in hopes of creating a gallery show to raise money for the town. They are forced to stay in the only inn in town in a single room with only one bed and the marriage is finally consummated.

But when Hattie finds out her husband basically paid for her and figures out that he arranged for them to be caught so they would have to marry, she is angry and asks to leave. Blackstone agrees even though he is in love with her. Eventually, he goes to her and they work things out.

This was a very interesting book, I liked learning about early photography and the mines and the miners lives. I did find it a bit slow and had a hard time believing the characters behaviors in the time period. But suspending disbelief is part of the deal and I did like the book enough to go look for the earlier books in the series.

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

PORTRAIT OF A SCOTSMAN by Evie Dunmore. Berkley (September 7, 2021). ISBN: 978-1984805720. 432 pages.

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THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood

September 20, 2021

From the publisher:

When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships–but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is dating and well on her way to a happily ever after was always going to take more than hand-wavy Jedi mind tricks: Scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting biologist, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor–and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford’s reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive’s career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding…six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

A BuzzFeed Best Summer Read of 2021

This is a terrific rom-com; smart characters, interesting storyline, great secondary characters and an interesting setting – Stanford University. Specifically, in the biology department. The first meet-cute happens a few years before the actual story. Olive was trying to decide if she wants to pursue her PhD in biology, but she is an impoverished student wearing contact lens that expired years earlier. It has made her vision blurry and she can’t stop crying, so she heads to the nearest restroom where she meets a man who she assumes is a grad student. She really can’t see him, he is just a very tall, very large blur. Olive isn’t sure academia is really for her, but he asks her a couple of good questions that help her decide.

Spring forward and Olive is a couple of years into her graduate program. She doesn’t really date, but did go out with Jeremy a couple of times, but there was no spark there. So when her best friend Anh and Jeremy realize that they really like each other, Olive is in a quandary. Her best friend won’t date Jeremy as long as she thinks Olive is interested, and no matter what Olive says, she isn’t changing her mind. So Olive tells her she has a date with someone else, but when Anh shows up, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is professor Adam Carlson, a MacArthur genius and Stanford legend, feared by his students and respected worldwide. Olive is mortified, but he is very kind. Once she explains why she did it, they decide to fake date. It will keep Anh dating Jeremy, and help Adam as well. The dean has frozen some of his grant money because he’s afraid Adam is going to leave Stanford; he’s considered a “flight risk.” But if Adam is dating someone, then maybe the dean will think he’s staying and release the funds. That is the premise behind the fake dating, and if you’ve ever read a romance or seen a romcom, you know what happens. I especially love the tongue-in-cheek references to other romcoms.

The competitive school setting was terrific, with all its politics and chicanery, and Olive is as quirky a character as I could love. Adam is the quiet type, but enough hints are dropped that you know this is more than fake dating for him. And eventually for Olive as well, but there are a lot of complications that get in the way. Title IX, the sexual harassment laws that govern colleges and universities, comes into play here, pretty much paving the way to the happy ending.

The humor and the characters really make this book, and there is a bit of steamy sex which is well done. I loved this book – don’t miss it!

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by Ali Hazelwood. Berkley (September 14, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593336823. 384 pages.

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COUNTRY MUSIC COWBOY by Sasha Summers

September 19, 2021

Kings of Country, Book 3

Captivating Opposites-Attract Romance

What’s a country music star to do
when his world is falling apart around him?
Can he find his way back home?

According to his record label, Travis King’s drinking and partying has to stop. Or else… Image rebranding means joining AA and singing opposite one of the industry’s rising stars at an upcoming awards show. It wouldn’t be so bad if Loretta Gram wasn’t cold as ice. No matter how hard he turns on the charm, she won’t give him a break. It looks like this cowboy has finally met his match.

Loretta is still grieving the death of her original singing partner, and she doesn’t have it in her to deal with playboy Travis King. But her career is all she has, so if singing with the Three Kings is what she needs, she’ll do it. Loretta isn’t as cold as she lets on, but she’s had more than her share of heartache. When she finally shows Travis who she is, he knows he’ll do anything to be her forever cowboy.

Perfect for fans of:

Enemies-to-lovers and opposites-attract romance

Behind-the-scenes glimpses into country music

Characters who find the courage to be their true selves

Poignant romance that warms your heart

This is the third book of the series, and my first read from this author. I have to say that I am not a fan of country music, it’s about the only music I really don’t care for. There are a few exceptions (looking at you, Dolly Parton!) and I love Coal Miner’s Daughter, the Loretta Lynn movie, but beyond that I am not too familiar with many country artists. Nevertheless, I really liked this book so it didn’t matter at all.

Loretta lost her music partner when he died way too young. Her record label is not ready to give her a solo career, so they match her up with Travis King. His whole family are stars, starting with his daddy. His sisters are twins and they are hugely popular country stars, and Travis has been singing backup. But he has an alcohol problem and one night he loses it, someone with a phone gets it all and the video goes viral. He gets himself to rehab, and has been sober for months.

Neither of them is thrilled about being forced to work together, but Travis thinks Loretta is beautiful so that helps. And she thinks he’s gorgeous but way too much trouble. But working together brings them close, and eventually Travis wears down her defenses and they find their happy ending, both professionally and personally.

These characters were well developed and really came alive on the page, even the secondary characters. The story is a good one, and it was an easy and very enjoyable read. Not sure I would categorize this as a cowboy romance, but more of a music industry romance. Now I’m curious about the books that came before.

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

COUNTRY MUSIC COWBOY by Sasha Summers. Sourcebooks Casablanca (August 24, 2021). ISBN:‎ 978-1492688624. 288 pages.

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THE LAST CHANCE LIBRARY by Freya Sampson

September 18, 2021

Welcome to Thorndale, Book 4

From the publisher:

Can the magic of Christmas and the

June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.

Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.

Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer’s feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won’t believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way.

To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she’s determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too.

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick
A Library Reads Pick

This book is a love letter to libraries and librarians; no wonder it made the Library Reads top picks! Let me add my voice to the chorus.

If you like charming English villages with quirky characters, then this is your book. If you love libraries, then this is your book. If you like a fairy tale, then this is your book. It certainly was mine.

June’s mom was the head librarian at their little village library for most of June’s life. June started working there right out of school when her mother became ill. June’s father has never been in the picture, and she is extremely close to her mother and nursed her through cancer until she lost her. June has been dealing with her grief by staying in the same house, not changing a thing, and only leaving for work or if she’s absolutely forced to. When the town council announces that they have had budget cuts and are looking at possibly closing six area libraries, including June’s, the town goes into revolt. The politics aren’t good -June’s job is threatened if she conspires with the town folk who are trying to save the library, so she goes undercover. But then she outs herself and decides it is too important to hide.

There is a lot of humor here, along a touch of romance. I loved that this is a look at the importance of libraries in a community, beyond the bookshelves. I loved this book and wish everyone would read it!

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE LAST CHANCE LIBRARY by Freya Sampson. Berkley (August 31, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593201381. 336 pages.

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2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: British, Library | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A DUKE by Charis Michaels

September 17, 2021

Awakened by a Kiss, Book 2

From the publisher:

USA Today bestselling author Charis Michaels returns to her Awakened by a Kiss series where overlooked fairy tale characters get their own happy endings, with a captivating romance about Miss Isobel Tinker and the duke who makes her believe in magic.

All it takes….

After a childhood spent cavorting around Europe with a dangerous crowd, Miss Isobel Tinker has parlayed her experience and language skills into a safe, reliable life. Working as a clerk in Mayfair’s Everland Travel Shop, she dreams of someday owning her own travel agency and has vowed never to leave the familiar shores of England ever again. When a handsome duke arrives at her doorstep, she realizes her staid existence is about to take flight.

…is faith and hope

Jason “North” Beckett, the Duke of Northumberland, desperately needs a travel guide. He’s inherited a dukedom but has a final mission for the Foreign Office—rescuing his wayward cousin from Nordic pirates. Isobel Tinker is the ideal translator, discreet and unknown, but she’s also uncooperative, stubborn, and disarmingly beautiful.

And a little bit of trust

In exchange for her help, North promises Miss Tinker her own travel agency upon return and strict professionalism at sea. Isobel cautiously agrees but soon realizes “strict” and “professional” are not how she would describe her feelings for the irresistible duke. As their adventure sweeps them to the shores of Iceland and beyond, can temptation and growing trust give way to the magic of wild, passionate love?

I’ve read a few of this author’s books from a few different series and I’ve liked them all, but this is the first book I’ve read in this series.

Isobel is a unique character, especially for historical fiction. She is the offspring of nobility (her father) who had an affair with her mother, a famous, well regarded actress. As a young child, her father came around often but eventually stopped. Isobel traveled with her mother throughout Europe as she performed. A bunch of the children of the cast and crew ran wild, traveling together and getting into all sorts of trouble, and Isobel was no different.

Isobel’s all grown up now and managing a travel agency for a lovely family. But when the couple who owns it dies, she has to deal with their son, who is lazy, lewd, and just not a very nice person. But she manages because she needs the job and the apartment it comes with above the shop.

The Duke of Northumberland, North as he is known, inherited the position after his father and two older brothers passed away. He never wanted the title. He has been working as a spy for the Foreign Office, and dreads giving it up to run the family estate. He has one last mission, to rescue his cousin and his associated who have been taken captive by pirates in Iceland. North asks Isobel to help, as she has traveled extensively there and knows the language.

It takes a lot of convincing and a major bribe – her own travel agency in her own building with an apartment for her -and she eventually agrees. There is a mutual attraction between Isobel and the Duke, which intensifies as they travel together, but there is also a lot of excitement (pirates!) and drama before they get to their happily ever after. This was a very fast read, and I really liked the characters. I will go back and read the first book, and then just have to be patient and wait for the next.

9/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A DUKE by Charis Michaels. Avon (August 24, 2021). ISBN: 978-0062984975. 416 pages.