THE SUMMER DEAL by Jill Shalvis

July 5, 2020

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From the publisher:

From New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis comes a friends-to-frenemies-to-lovers story… Add in a few secrets. Shake. Stir. Then read on a lazy summer day at the beach…

Brynn Turner desperately wishes she had it together, but her personal life is like a ping-pong match that’s left her scared and hurt after so many attempts to get it right. In search of a place to lick her wounds and get a fresh start, she heads back home to Wildstone.

And then there’s Kinsey Davis, who after battling serious health issues her entire twenty-nine years of life, is tired of hoping for . . . well, anything. She’s fierce, tough, and she’s keeping more than one bombshell of a secret from Brynn — her long-time frenemy.

But then Brynn runs into Kinsey’s best friend, Eli, renewing her childhood crush. The good news: he’s still easy-going and funny and sexy as hell. The bad news: when he gets her to agree to a summer-time deal to trust him to do right by her, no matter what, she never dreams it’ll result in finding a piece of herself she didn’t even know was missing. She could have real connections, possibly love, and a future—if she can only learn to let go of the past.

As the long days of summer wind down, the three of them must discover if forgiveness is enough to grasp the unconditional love that’s right in front of them.

Jill Shalvis is one of my go-to authors; she is prolific, creates interesting, well-defined, realistic characters, and just tells a good story, whether it’s a romance or women’s fiction. I have enjoyed every one of her books that I’ve read, and there have been a lot. This one is no exception.

Brynn, Eli, and Kasey go back a long way, to summer camp. Kasey was the mean girl, Eli was a sweet boy, and Brynn, well, Brynn always felt like the odd man out. When Brynn and Eli run into each other, it seems like it was meant to be. He has a room to rent, and she needs to move out from her family home and exert a little independence. But her income is sketchy, so Eli’s offer works. Until she finds out that one of her other roommates is Kasey.

These three dance around their history and try to resolve some major issues, but it takes most of the book to get there, but it’s such a fun journey. Eli and Kasey have a brother/sister type relationship, but what Eli feels for Brynn is not brotherly in the least. They have a lot of hurdles to get through before they can reach their happy ending.

This was a terrific read, perfect for summer. Enjoy!

7/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE SUMMER DEAL by Jill Shalvis. William Morrow Paperbacks (June 2, 2020). ISBN 978-0062897916. 384 pages.

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CORONAVIRUS DIARY: July 4, 2020

July 4, 2020

Independence Day Edition

 

We are more than halfway through this year, and what a year it’s been. The video is of last year’s 4th of July fun in a neighboring town. This year, all of Palm Beach County, where I live, has canceled firework displays. Of course, my neighbors have been blowing up stuff since last weekend, but no big displays this year. It’s just as well. It hurts me to admit it, but I really haven’t been feeling all that patriotic lately. I may be a liberal, but I am the type of liberal who used to tear up when I heard “The Star-Spangled Banner” or “God Bless America” or “America the Beautiful.”

This? The way we are living now? This is not America to me. Huge unemployment numbers, the murders of Black men and women by police, Putin being given carte blanche to pay terrorists bounties on killing American soldiers, a president who thinks he can wish away a pandemic, it’s all too much. I will hang out my flag and hope for a better tomorrow. I will say that the Black Lives Matter movement is making me feel more hopeful than I have in a long time, so that would be worth celebrating – other than the fact that it is rising on the backs of Black people dying in the streets at the hands of police officers.

This 4th of July, I will mostly take the day off from cooking and let my husband grill burgers. Last time we had burgers, we had them on my homemade brioche buns, but now we have store-bought. I may make some potato salad though, it’s my husband’s favorite, but my potatoes are starting to sprout. I will have to check to see if they are still safe to eat! Maybe a peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

The number of Covid-19 cases in Florida, especially in South Florida, has been climbing. The Palm Beach Post reported, “The number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in Florida on Thursday with a record-shattering 10,109 new infections reported by the Florida Department of Health.”

Happy July, folks. Our idiot governor basically has said, “Drop dead, Floridians!” and refuses to do anything about it. Rather like his idol, the current occupant of the White House.

Luckily, the Palm Beach County Commissioners have done their bare minimum. They closed the bars after midnight or something, closed the beaches for the holiday weekend, and are requiring everyone to wear masks. Except if you don’t want to because of a medical condition or religious reason. I have been researching religious beliefs barring mask-wearing and have yet to find anything, but what do I know. On the other hand, Palm Beach Post writer Frank Cerabino wonders if this religion that forbids mask-wearing is “Hannitarian”?

Cerabino: Religious exemption in PBC mask order adds to virus prey

My friend works for the public library and had a family come into the library, a mom and three kids, none wearing masks, and the mom said they all have medical conditions. It’s hard to tell sometimes, I get that. But what are the odds that the entire family has hidden medical conditions that preclude them from wearing masks?

I have become such a cynic! This is so not like me, and I don’t especially like this version of myself. But this pandemic has really pushed all my buttons. Some people are just incredibly selfish and thoughtless. I am angry and frightened, and I’ve been frightened for months and all I want is to be safe and for my family to be safe.

More troubling Florida news: “DeSantis kills online learning program amid virus resurgence: With a stroke of his veto pen, Gov. Ron DeSantis wiped out the entire $29.4 million budget for a suite of online education services that have become critical to students and faculty during the Covid-19 outbreak…The cuts include a database of online courses and an online library service that provides 17 million books to 1.3 million students, faculty and staff.” https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/06/30/desantis-kills-online-learning-program-amid-virus-resurgence-1296178

Then this happened in Miami: Miami-Dade cop relieved of duty for hitting woman taunting him for ‘acting like you white’ And my first thought was, at least she lived. How insane is that???

On a happier note, let’s talk about baking! I finally was able to get my hands on the “4.2 Quart Artisan Bread Baking Crock and Dutch Oven” that has been out of stock with all the other bread baking stuff from King Arthur Flour. It arrived yesterday and is so pretty! It was definitely a splurge but worth it. Now I just have to hope that I don’t break it. And more exciting news: Larry went to Costco during senior hour and scored me a big bag – 25 pounds – of King Arthur flour!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t it amazing the things that make me so happy now?

We had a Zoom anniversary celebration for my son and daughter-in-law’s first wedding anniversary last weekend. We were joined by her parents, too, and it was so nice to be able to toast the happy couple, even remotely. What a first year they’ve had! I told them that spending all these months alone together just proves how right they are together. It may not have been the dream anniversary celebration, but I guarantee it is one they will never forget.

My beautiful Loki has been investigating this space under the TV for months. Every now and then he stands up and sticks his head in and looks around. Today, he took the plunge.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, this was a proud moment for me. My son is now on the Games Team at the New York Times!

 

 

As always, thanks for reading and stay safe!

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HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager

July 3, 2020

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From the publisher:

One of . . .

Huff Post’s “10 Of The Most Anticipated Book Releases Of June 2020” • Good Housekeeping’s “The 35 Best Books of 2020 to Add to Your Reading List” • Travel + Leisure’s “20 Most Anticipated Summer 2020 Books” • PopSugar’s 17 Most Anticipated Summer Thrillers • Working Mother’s “The 20 Most Anticipated Books of 2020” • Newsweek’s 20 most anticipated summer reads • Publishers Weekly’s “Summer Reads 2020″ • BookPage’s “2020 Most Anticipated Thrillers and Mysteries” • Today.com’s “16 highly anticipated summer reads” • The Star Tribune’s “Great Escapes” summer reads • BookPage‘s “Private Eye July”

In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father’s bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?

What was it like? Living in that house.

Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.

Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.

Alternating between Maggie’s uneasy homecoming and chapters from her father’s book, Home Before Dark is the story of a house with long-buried secrets and a woman’s quest to uncover them—even if the truth is far more terrifying than any haunting.

Riley Sager gives us a very well done ghost story. Things do go bump in the night and the reader will understand the fright of the people involved in the action described. But wait, is it really a story about haunted houses and ethereal entities or not?

Two positives as you read this book. You will enjoy an exceptionally well done novel and not being able to sleep until it is finished, and also not being able to readily answer the question of is it a ghost story or not?

Maggie Holt and a partner are involved in the business of restoring old run down houses and then selling them at a profit. Maggie comes across a Victorian estate located in the Vermont woods which fits the parameters of homes suitable for her partner and herself to fix up and sell. It is coincidentally one that she and her parents had bought twenty-five years ago, lived in for a short time and then fled the premises. Maggie does not recall the reasons for her family suddenly fleeing the house with her memory on that score drawing a complete blank. The only thing she recalls other than fleeing the house is her father, an author of note, had written a book about the mansion that became a best seller and made the family a good deal of money.

When moving in Maggie’s parents had arranged with a sixteen-year-old girl living close to them to babysit for their daughter, and a mystery evolved when that girl suddenly disappeared from home never to be found. The supposition about the mansion being haunted revolves around the girl that vanished and now haunting the house looking for “something.”

Events happen that support the evidence of a ghost, or rather three of them, that are in the house. Maggie notices that things start vanishing and checking looks like no one has entered the mansion. She also revives childhood memories about being visited by three unknowns and told that she will die in the house; with repressed memories that remain with her throughout the years after fleeing it with her parents.

Readers will be caught up in the apparently otherworldly things that have happened over the years to two families involved with the events described. It is a five-star mesmerizing novel and another set of kudos to Sager.

7/2020 Paul Lane

HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager. Dutton (June 30, 2020). ISBN: 978-1524745172. 400 pages.

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THE LENDING LIBRARY by Aliza Fogelson

July 2, 2020

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From the publisher:

A heartwarming debut novel about a daydreamer who gives her town, and herself, an amazing gift: a lending library in her sunroom.

When the Chatsworth library closes indefinitely, Dodie Fairisle loses her sanctuary. How is a small-town art teacher supposed to cope without the never-ending life advice and enjoyment that books give her? Well, when she’s as resourceful and generous as Dodie, she turns her sunroom into her very own little lending library.

At first just a hobby, this lit lovers’ haven opens up her world in incredible ways. She knows books are powerful, and soon enough they help her forge friendships between her zany neighbors—and attract an exciting new romance.

But when the chance to adopt an orphaned child brings Dodie’s secret dream of motherhood within reach, everything else suddenly seems less important. Finding herself at a crossroads, Dodie must figure out what it means to live a full, happy life. If only there were a book that could tell her what to do…

Dodie Fairisle, Do to her friends, is enjoying life in rural Connecticut until the library gets shut down for asbestos removal and other renovations. Devastated, this elementary school art teacher decides to turn her sunroom into a small lending library for the town, so they don’t have to drive 45 minutes to the next closest library. One of her regulars is Shep, a construction worker who is new to town. One minute they are exchanging glances, the next they a couple. Trouble is brewing when Shep finds out that Do wants to adopt a baby, and that she neglected to tell him. Shep’s not ready, and he doesn’t think Do is, either. She agonizes about the baby, her library, the financial toll it is taking on her, not to mention her abandonment issues from her father disappearing from her life when she was a young child, but her books bring her solace. Avid readers will identify with Dodie, but those looking for romance might want to look elsewhere.

Verdict:  This debut novel shows some promise, and should appeal to librarians and book lovers everywhere. Readalikes include The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins and The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan.

 

I actually had to go back and reread parts of the beginning of the book because I felt like I missed something. I never saw how these two people fell in love. One minute they were exchanging glances, the next they were engaged. Sex is sort of implied, yet I found that confusing, too. Did they or didn’t they? Eventually, I figured out that they did. There were a lot of little issues with this book, chief of which was the main character’s name. Dodie is fine, but they almost always call her Do. Which when you are reading, looks suspiciously like the word DO. So I read it that way, then had to readjust my thinking.

This book was such a disappointment to me. I loved the premise so much, yet the implementation left a lot to be desired.

 

 

©Library Journal, 2020

4/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE LENDING LIBRARY by Aliza Fogelson. William Morrow (April 28, 2020). ISBN 978-0062909046. 304p.

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No contest this month

July 1, 2020

Normally, I run a monthly contest offering several autographed thrillers for one lucky winner.

The International Thriller Writers organization has served a very important purpose and worked hard to help its members in a myriad of ways, including sponsoring this contest for almost 15 years. As an avid thriller reader, I have been a strong supporter of the ITW almost since its inception. I am proud of all the authors I have championed. It has been a privilege to work with this amazing group of writers and introduce them to thousands of readers.

Over the past few weeks, some things surfaced that have caused significant changes in the organization. This article by the AP, also in USA Today, gives a summary of what’s going on.  (Please note that “Liz Perry” is actually the former executive director of the ITW, Liz Berry.) 

It is my understanding that the ITW is working hard to resolve these issues and regain the support of its members. Unfortunately, until there is more clarification, I am temporarily suspending this contest. I am confident that a positive outcome is on the horizon.

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ALL THE BROKEN PEOPLE by Leah Konen

June 30, 2020

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From the publisher:

A woman in search of a fresh start is about to get more than she bargained for in this twisty and addictive domestic thriller for fans of The Couple Next Door.

Fleeing Brooklyn with little more than a suitcase and her trusty dog, Lucy King heads to rustic Woodstock , New York, eager to lose herself in a quiet life where her past can never find her. But when she meets Vera and John, the alluring couple next door, their friendship proves impossible to resist. Just as Lucy starts to think the worst is behind her, the couple delivers a staggering bombshell: they, too, need to escape their troubles–and the only way they can begin their new life is if Lucy helps them fake John’s death.

Afraid to lose her newfound support system, Lucy reluctantly conspires with them to stage an “accidental” death on a hike nearby. It’s just one little lie to the police, after all, and she knows a thing or two about the importance of fresh starts. But what begins as an elaborate ruse turns all too real when John turns up dead in the woods the morning after their hike. Now, Lucy must figure out who she can trust and who’s pulling the strings of her tenuous new life . . . before she takes the fall for murder.

Leah Konen, known for her YA romances, takes a sharp turn here into her first psychological thriller for adults; hopefully, there will be more. Lucy King has left Brooklyn and her abusive boyfriend and is hiding out in the small, upstate town of Woodstock, NY with her dog. Her new neighbors, Vera & John, promptly invite her to dinner, but her other neighbor offers vague warnings about them. Nevertheless, Lucy goes and an all consuming friendship is formed, even after Lucy learns about the terrible rumors about John and a local teenager. Lucy has no one, her parents are gone, and her best friend was the abusive boyfriend’s sister, so she clings to this couple. John and Vera decide the only way they are going to be able to escape repercussions is by faking John’s death, and they enlist Lucy’s help. But when John is murdered, everything changes.

Verdict: The main protagonist is an unreliable narrator, but the twist here is that all the characters are unreliable, making this a fast-paced, unputdownable rollercoaster of a read sure to appeal to fans of Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins.

©Library Journal, 2020

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ALL THE BROKEN PEOPLE by Leah Konen. Grand Central Publishing (June 2, 2020). ISBN 978-1538726983. 368p.

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THE NICKEL BOYS by Colson Whitehead

June 29, 2020

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From the publisher:

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Time, Esquire, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Slate, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Vox, Variety, Christian Science Monitor, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, Literary Hub, BuzzFeed, The New York Public Library

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST

ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 10 BEST FICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE

WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE

LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION 2020

In this bravura follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning #1 New York Times bestseller The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.

When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwood’s only salvation is his friendship with fellow “delinquent” Turner, which deepens despite Turner’s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only way to survive is to scheme and avoid trouble. As life at the Academy becomes ever more perilous, the tension between Elwood’s ideals and Turner’s skepticism leads to a decision whose repercussions will echo down the decades.

Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers.

There is not a whole lot I can add to all the praises sung about this book because I totally agree. If you have not read Colson Whitehead, this is a fantastic place to start. This is a short book, only 224 pages, but they are powerful pages. There is not a wasted word.

I also loved The Underground Railroad, so if you like this book, definitely try that one. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Colson Whitehead has won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for both of these books. Lest you think that is no big deal, let me point out that this is a very, very big deal. Only three other authors have ever won two Pulitzers for fiction: Booth Tarkington, William Faulkner, and John Updike. So not Hemingway, not Faulkner, not Steinbeck. And although my Bachelor’s degree is in English Literature, I’ve never read Tarkington and I’m really not familiar with his work, although a film was made of his 1919 win for The Magnificent Ambersons. But I digress.

With everything going on in this country right now, it is the perfect moment to read The Nickel Boys. It is a powerful, moving story – devastating is truly the right word. It is a novel, but it is based on a true story. Whitehead includes several references at the end of the book and it is worthwhile looking at them.

Even though it is a very short book, I took my time reading it. Some of the passages in the story are just heartbreaking, and I wanted to give it the consideration I felt it deserved. It is an emotional read for sure, with a shocking twist at the end. How can I love a book that tells such an overwhelmingly disturbing story? Because Whitehead is a superb storyteller, and he’s written an unforgettable book. Don’t miss it.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE NICKEL BOYS by Colson Whitehead. Anchor; Reprint edition (June 30, 2020). ISBN 978-0345804341. 224 pages.

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28 SUMMERS by Elin Hilderbrand

June 27, 2020

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From the publisher:

A “captivating and bittersweet” novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Summer of ’69: Their secret love affair has lasted for decades — but this could be the summer that changes everything (People).

When Mallory Blessing’s son, Link, receives deathbed instructions from his mother to call a number on a slip of paper in her desk drawer, he’s not sure what to expect. But he certainly does not expect Jake McCloud to answer. It’s the late spring of 2020 and Jake’s wife, Ursula DeGournsey, is the frontrunner in the upcoming Presidential election.
There must be a mistake, Link thinks. How do Mallory and Jake know each other?
Flash back to the sweet summer of 1993: Mallory has just inherited a beachfront cottage on Nantucket from her aunt, and she agrees to host her brother’s bachelor party. Cooper’s friend from college, Jake McCloud, attends, and Jake and Mallory form a bond that will persevere — through marriage, children, and Ursula’s stratospheric political rise — until Mallory learns she’s dying.
Based on the classic film Same Time Next Year (which Mallory and Jake watch every summer), 28 Summers explores the agony and romance of a one-weekend-per-year affair and the dramatic ways this relationship complicates and enriches their lives, and the lives of the people they love.

Elin Hilderbrand writes stories that just drag you in and keep you turning pages. Her characters feel as real as the people you know. I stayed up late into the night to finish this book, had a good cry during the last chapter and beyond, and finally fell asleep curled up with my husband. He slept through all that, which was just as well. He hates seeing me cry, even over a book.

The book starts off at the end, the 28th summer, then moves to the beginning. If you haven’t seen the movie, Same Time, Next Year, it may not have the same resonance. You can watch it after, too, but there are some spoilers in the novel. This is not a retelling of the movie, but a decades-long romance based on the same premise. Mallory and Jake meet, have a long weekend fling, then repeat every year on the same weekend.

In the meantime, Jake marries his childhood sweetheart. He loves Ursula, but he can’t give up Mallory. On the other hand, Mallory has a few long term relationships, has a child from a one night stand, but always comes back to Jake, year in and year out. Intellectually, I really detest the premise of a married man cheating annually, but somehow Hilderbrand had me rooting for them to keep it going.

The book is divided into parts by decade, then each chapter is a new year, a new summer. I loved how each chapter started with a page or so of what was happening that year; all of the major headlines of the year, the hot books and TV shows, cultural references, and more. And I especially loved that there a completely fictitious president elected in 2016. Thank you, Elin!

28 Summers is a completely engrossing, beautiful summer read. I loved it.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

28 SUMMERS by Elin Hilderbrand. Little, Brown and Company (June 16, 2020). ISBN 978-0316420044. 432 pages.

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PEOPLE OF THE CANYON by Kathleen O’Neal Gear & Michael Gear

June 26, 2020

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A Novel of North America’s Forgotten Past, Book 26

From the publisher:

In People of the Canyons, award-winning archaeologists and New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Kathleen O’Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear bring us a tale of trapped magic, a tyrant who wants to wield its power…and a young girl who could be the key to save a people.

In a magnificent war-torn world cut by soaring red canyons, an evil ruler launches a search for a mystical artifact that he hopes will bring him ultimate power―an ancient witch’s pot that reputedly contains the trapped soul of the most powerful witch ever to have lived.

The aged healer Tocho has to stop him, but to do it he must ally himself with the bitter and broken witch hunter, Maicoh, whose only goal is achieving one last great kill.

Caught in the middle is Tocho’s adopted granddaughter, Tsilu. Her journey will be the most difficult of all for she is about to discover terrifying truths about her dead parents.

Truths that will set the ancient American Southwest afire and bring down a civilization.

The authors are professional archeologists and have carried their professions into their many books depicting life in bygone eras and places. Their forte is the ease in which they bring characters used in their novels to life; speaking and acting as they might have done based on the author’s knowledge of the time and place. The current book is set in the little-known Fremont culture that existed millennia ago in the American great Southwest.

A young girl is cast into the position of saving her people from falling into the hands of a despot using the area of religious beliefs to keep control of the people. Bringing out the beliefs of those living in the area and in the prehistoric time depicted the authors bring to life a society growing from hunter-gatherers to the evolution of living in towns and building cities. Their beliefs include the view of inanimate objects containing spirits that control life and death and death involving a journey to a central place where they meet with those that predeceased them and a hierarchy of shamans that can both kill and bring life back to people.

The shaman looking for consolidation of his power is seeking a pot that is reputed to contain the spirit of the most powerful witch that ever lived. Once he has this artifact, he plans to use the witch to obtain control of the people. Opposing him is Tocho, an elder who is aided by the daughter of the deceased rulers of the area. She has the legal claim to take over as ruler due to her being the rightful heir to the position.

The plot is aided by the discovery by the girl of terrifying truths about her parents. At the same time, the authors’ professional work as archeologists allows them to shape the actions and conversations of the characters in a manner that has a good possibility of being closer to the likelihood of being accurate.

6/2020 Paul Lane

PEOPLE OF THE CANYON by Kathleen O’Neal Gear & Michael Gear. Forge Books (June 23, 2020). ISBN: 978-1250176202. 320 pages.

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NOTHING COMPARES TO THE DUKE by Christy Carlyle

June 25, 2020

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The Duke’s Den, Book 3

From the publisher:

Christy Carlyle concludes her Duke’s Den series with this sparkling romance about two reluctant allies intent on following the rules and breaking every single one.

His Only Regret…

Rhys Forester, the new Duke of Claremont, lives his life by four words: Enjoy All, Regret Nothing. He’s devoted to the pleasure of his wild soirees, reckless behavior, and shocking the ton with his interests in trade. The debts that come with his title don’t fit the carefree lifestyle he’s created and when he’s forced to return to his family’s estate, he’s also forced to confront his one and only regret: the beautiful girl he left behind.

May Be Falling in Love…

Arabella Prescott has been the belle of more balls than she cares to remember. After three seasons and five rejected proposals, she’s done with the marriage mart. Bella’s hopes to live a comfortable life, alone, come crashing down when her parents demand she marry. But her salvation may come in the form of the man she hates the most.

Bella has never forgiven Rhys for what he did to her, but desperate times call for fake engagements. With a few dozen rules, their scheme begins, but it’s not long before the former enemies find themselves breaking every single rule, including the most important of them all: don’t fall in love…

It’s really hard to accept a proposal, no matter how well-intentioned, when your heart belongs to another. And that is the dilemma Arabella faces. While Rhys is a few years older than Arabella, they grew up together, next door neighbors, so to speak. They were best friends throughout their childhood until Arabella catches him with a woman. Her heart is broken, and she thoroughly hates him.

Rhys has been partying hard for several years, but also making good money by investing in businesses he finds interesting. When his father dies, he is forced to go back to the estate. It seems that his father hasn’t been quite as successful at earning. But Rhys has what appears to be some form of dyslexia; he has trouble reading and looking at the rows of numbers in the family ledgers. When they were younger, Arabella always helped him with this sort of thing, so he asks for her help, but she doesn’t want anything to do with the man who broke her heart.

That changes when she realizes the house party her parents have planned is really a last ditch effort to find her a husband. She doesn’t want to marry anyone, all she wants to do is get her book of puzzles published. Her parents have this amazing opportunity to live in Greece for a few years, but they won’t leave unless she is married. Distraught, Arabella decides to make a deal with Rhys: she will help him with the ledgers, but he has to pretend to want to marry her. If they are engaged, her parents will be satisfied, and they can break up eventually.

Enemies to love and the fake engagement are wildly popular themes in romances, for a good reason. It works. Doubling up on these just adds to the tension. The Victorian era is interesting, the witty dialogue is fun, and yes, they have sex. These characters are well developed and I couldn’t help but root for them to find their happy ending. Christy Carlyle gives us another good read.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

NOTHING COMPARES TO THE DUKE by Christy Carlyle. Avon (May 26, 2020). ISBN 978-0062854018. 368 pages.

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