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Spotlight Review: THE WEDDING AT MOONGLOW BAY by Lori Wilde

March 21, 2023

Moonglow Cove, Book 4

From the publisher:

A wedding brings a shocking surprise in New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde’s newest Moonglow Cove novel. Perfect for fans of Susan Wiggs, Jill Shalvis, and Robyn Carr.

It wasn’t the wedding night she’d expected!

When Samantha said “I do” to Luca Ginelli, she knew she’d found a reliable soulmate—a strong, sexy man who’d stand beside her through thick and thin. And so she’d started her wedding day filled with joyful expectation, only to have her dreams shattered when the man she married years before shocking, unexpectedly, reappears, insisting she was still his wife!

Seven years before, Luca’s brother, Nick, had stubbornly set off in a sailing adventure, ignoring the pleas of his young bride and all common sense. He’d disappeared without a trace; everyone thought he was dead—but now he’s expecting to pick up where they’d left off. He’d once been Samantha’s “lightning strike,”—the person you know is the one from the moment you first see them.

But seven years is a long time and so much has changed. Now Samantha is faced with an impossible choice and no matter which decision she makes, it threatens to shred the very fabric of the one thing she holds most dear—family.

“Fans of Jill Shalvis and Susan Mallery will relish the complex family relationships Wilde creates.” — Booklist
https://amzn.to/3FB7vbt

Lori Wilde is an author I always read, and this unusual story was unputdownable. Samantha is all set to marry Luca Ginelli in a beach wedding in this small town, which would be an unconventional way to start a romance – except this is not her first wedding. Her first wedding was to Nick Ginelli, Luca’s younger brother. But this isn’t a book version of While You Were Sleeping; Nick has just been declared dead after being lost at sea for seven years.

Turns out Luca has been deeply attracted to Samantha since she was in high school, but he was several years older and his brother had declared his intentions the first time they met. Luca stepped aside, and after Nick married her, Luca moved as far away as he could get, to Alaska. But with Nick’s disappearance and his father’s subsequent stroke, Luca has moved back to Moonglow Bay to take over running the family restaurant. Samantha does the books, and over the seven months or so that they work together, they start dating, and they fall in love. They decide to wait for their wedding night to consummate the relationship, and the wedding is scheduled right after Nick has met the legal standard to be declared dead.

I don’t think it is a spoiler to say that Nick is rescued and returned home that night, sending Samantha spiraling down an emotional rollercoaster. Nick was her first love, and she is torn between what she felt for him and what she currently feels for his brother. This is a complicated triangle, to say the least, but in Wilde’s competent and creative hands, we are led gently along for the ride. It was an engrossing read that leads to an ending that is not a surprise but is satisfying. Family relationships can be fraught, and I really liked the way this was handled. While this is the fourth book of a series, it easily stands alone. Highly recommend!

I also want to add that I loved that every chapter started with a quote about love – some were really meaningful to me and some were sort of sad. I especially loved these two:

The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves. – Victor Hugo

Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. – Robert A. Heinlein

3/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE WEDDING AT MOONGLOW BAY by Lori Wilde. ‎ Avon (March 21, 2023). ISBN:‎ 978-0063135901416. 368 p.

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THE LOVE WAGER by Lynn Painter

March 17, 2023

Mr. Wrong Number, Book 2

From the publisher:

Two people make a wager on who can find love first, not realizing what they should be betting on is each other, in this new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Wrong Number.

Hallie Piper is turning over a new leaf. After belly-crawling out of a hotel room (hello, rock bottom), she decides it’s time to become a full-on adult. She gets a new apartment, a new haircut, and a new wardrobe, but when she logs onto the dating app that she has determined will find her new love, she sees none other than Jack, the guy whose room she snuck out of.

After agreeing they are absolutely not interested in each other, Jack and Hallie realize they’re each other’s perfect wing-person in their searches for The One. They text each other about their dates, often scheduling them at the same restaurant so that if things don’t go well, the two of them can get tacos afterward.

Spoiler: they get a lot of tacos together.

Discouraged by the lack of prospects, Jack and Hallie make a wager to see who can find true love first, but when they agree to be fake dates for a weekend wedding, all bets are off. As they pretend to be a couple, lines become blurred and they both struggle to remember why the other was a bad idea to begin with.

“Painter follows up Mr. Wrong Number with an equally cute friends to lovers romance…Their equally filthy sense of humor makes their connection feel real and their game of constant one-upmanship is a lot of fun. Painter’s fans won’t be disappointed.”—Publishers Weekly

“A fun, flirty, and timely read from Painter (Mr. Wrong Number), with likable characters to boot.”—Library Journal
https://amzn.to/3n1OEzS

I loved Mr. Wrong Number, so I was thrilled to get this new book, and it did not disappoint. This was laugh-out-loud funny, sweet, a bit sexy, and totally unputdownable. This book is the second book in the series; the first book revolved around Olivia, and this book is about her brother, Jack. That said, this book stands alone easily, and I didn’t even realize it was a sequel until I saw the series title on Goodreads.

Jack meets Hallie at his sister’s wedding, and they have such amazing chemistry that they end up drunk and in bed together. Hallie is not usually a one-night-stand sort of girl, so when she wakes up to find herself in bed with Jack, she decides to sneak out of the room and try and forget about it.

Jack’s sister signs him up on a dating app and when Hallie joins the app, he is the first one she sees. They start messaging in the app, then off the app, and decide to be each other’s wingman. They also make a wager to see who finds love, the “one”, first. They set up dates with their app matches, but at the same place and time so they can bail each other out and go get tacos if things aren’t going well. That leads to a lot of tacos until Hallie meets Alex.

Alex is a good looking man and the first one that Hallie feels comfortable with. She likes him, he seems kind, and they have fun together, which is driving Jack nuts. Hallie and Jack have become best friends – or is it more? When Hallie needs a last minute date for a family wedding, Jack happily steps in and agrees to be the perfect boyfriend/wedding date, reminiscent of one of my favorite romcoms with Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney, The Wedding Date. Jack and Hallie have fallen in love, but neither wants to pull the plug on their friendship for a shot of romance – until they just can’t help themselves.

This is a terrific romcom with a bit of heat and a lot of laughs, and Painter is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. If you are looking for a really fun read, you’ve found your book. Don’t miss it!

3/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE LOVE WAGER by Lynn Painter. Berkley (March 14, 2023). ISBN:‎ 978-0593437285. 320p.

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Spotlight Review: THE SISTER EFFECT by Susan Mallery

March 14, 2023

From the publisher:

Beloved bestselling author Susan Mallery brings readers an emotional, witty, and heartfelt story that explores the nuances of a broken family’s complex emotions as they strive to become whole in this uplifting story of human frailty and resilience.

Finley McGowan is determined that the niece she’s raising will always feel loved and wanted. Unlike how she felt after her mom left to pursue a dream of stardom, and when the grandfather who was left to raise them abandoned her and her sister, Sloane, when they needed him most. Finley reacted to her chaotic childhood by walking the straight and narrow—nose down, work hard, follow the rules.

Sloane went the other way.

Now Sloane is back, as beautiful and as damaged as ever…and she wants a relationship with her daughter. She says she’s changed, but Finley’s heart has been burned once too often for her to trust easily. But is her reluctance to forgive really about Sloane or worry over losing what she loves the most? With the help of a man who knows all too well how messy families can be, Finley will learn there’s joy in surrendering and peace in letting go.

“Mallery beautifully illustrates the power of female friendship and the importance of reaching for one’s dreams.”—Publishers Weekly

“Mallery is an expert at writing about strong women, their friendships, and their romances.” —Booklist
https://amzn.to/407bR1T

Susan Mallery is one of my favorite authors, and this book is a good example of why. The sisters are Sloane, a recovering alcoholic, and Finley, who is raising Sloane’s daughter. Sloane hit rock bottom after she stole Finley’s work truck with over a $100,000 worth of plumbing fixtures, sold them for pennies, and crashed the truck. She dried out in prison and when she got out, she started working the AA program. Her ex was killed and that’s how Finley ended up with her niece, and after she paid back her boss for the stolen fixtures by maxing out her credit cards, they end up living with Finley’s mother, Molly.

Molly floated in and out of her daughters’ lives in her pursuit of stardom. Her father, Lester, was the stabilizing influence in their lives until her mother decided to return home permanently. She forced the girls to choose between her and their grandfather, and he was so hurt that they chose their mom that he disappeared from their lives altogether. Until he got old and sick, and Molly decided to take him in.

Finley is a plumber and meets the owner of the construction company that is building this new neighborhood that she is working in. Jericho is a really nice guy, not to mention good looking, who has some family troubles of his own. His wife and his brother had an affair, he got divorced and stopped talking to both of them, but his mother is not happy about that. When his ex announces she is pregnant and they are getting married, his brother has the nerve to ask him to be his best man. He refuses, but eventually his mother wears him down.

Finley and Jericho become friends, commiserating with each other about their horrible families. Eventually, they become more than friends, but while their romance is a subplot here, the real story is about the sisters. Finley has a lot of resentment about her life, with good reason. She feels like she has always done the right thing, but all this horrible stuff happens to her. She is not interested in her sister’s sobriety other than making sure her niece is kept safe. We learn a lot about alcoholism and the toll it takes on the family in this moving, emotional read. I fell into this story and couldn’t stop turning the pages. I was rooting for everyone to find their happy ending, and they did. I loved this unputdownable read that is perfect for book discussion. Don’t miss it!

3/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE SISTER EFFECT by Susan Mallery. HQN; Original edition (March 7, 2023). ISBN:‎ 978-1335448644. 416p.

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Spotlight Review: NOT THAT KIND OF EVER AFTER by Luci Adams

March 14, 2023

From the publisher:

Fairytale meets feminism in Luci Adams’s Not That Kind of Ever After, a frothy adventure of one woman’s journey to claim happily ever after in times of serial dating, swiping right, and the quest to find your soulmate.

Bella Marble’s life isn’t what she imagined. Instead of an author, she’s receptionist at a small press. Instead of happily married, she’s single, and her lovey-dovey parents are divorcing. And to top it off, her best friend of twenty-nine years, Ellie Mathews, is moving out and marrying the heinously boring Mark. (He’s not worthy of her. No one could be). Bella feels rudderless, only slightly soothed by time spent with Ellie’s (not hot) brother, (he’s not hot) Marty (okay, he’s hot. But he’s also the aggravating brother she never had―right)?

When Marty recommends Bella stop looking for “the one” and just have fun, Bella finds a new, empowered side of herself. But when she posts a fairy-tale retelling of a disastrous one night stand on a storytelling app, all of a sudden, Bella has become @B.Enchanted. And she’s gone viral.

Now, Bella’s in a fight with Ellie, her new roommates are so, deeply, weird, and the pressure is mounting to find new fairy tales to write about―but she’s got to live them first.
https://amzn.to/3KVPje9

Luci Adams’ debut novel is a British rom-com with quirky characters finding their happily ever afters. Bella is not yet 30 and is struggling with her parent’s impending divorce, her job as a receptionist in a small publishing house when she really wants to be a writer, her best friend Elle’s engagement to a boring, unworthy man, some very odd roommates, and a sad dating life. Elle’s brother Marty suggests she stop looking for the “one” and just have some fun, which leads her to turn bad one-night stands into funny fairy tales on a Wattpad-type website. No one is more surprised than Bella to find her stories are going viral. Bella should be happy, but she misses her best friend, and the one-night stands are getting old. Luckily, she has Marty on her side, but it takes a while for her to figure out he wants to be more than just friends – and so does she. There are lots of laughs, some angst, and a few surprises before the satisfying ending.

Verdict: This book is a charming British romantic comedy that should appeal to fans of Sophie Cousens, Josie Silver, or Christina Lauren.

©Library Journal, 2023

3/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

NOT THAT KIND OF EVER AFTER by Luci Adams. St. Martin’s Griffin (March 14, 2023). ISBN: 978-1250842206. 400p.

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THE FIREFIGHTERS DILEMMA by Mariah Ankenman

March 10, 2023

Mile High Firefighters, Book 3

From the publisher:

Firefighter Stephanie Díaz won’t let anyone stop her from becoming the youngest female fire chief in Denver. Not the jerks who’d like to see an ambitious Latine woman admit defeat. Not the ultra-bro firefighters she has to work with. And definitely not her ridiculously hot and often infuriating, fellow firefighter Eli Ward. Now Stephanie has the chance to prove to everyone that she’s got what it takes…but there’s one helluva catch.

The Battle of the First Responders is a live, balls-out competition in the secluded Rockies and Stephanie has been selected—along with Ward as her partner. On the line are their reputations, a whole lot of cash…and the promotion they’ve been fighting for. Teaming up is the perfect chance to finally settle their never ending one-upmanship, but it also exposes the smoldering attraction they’ve held at bay.

Now their days are fueled by a high-stakes, adrenaline-fueled competition. Their nights are filled with sizzling deep kisses that steal her breath away. But this sexy little fling is about to set off a five-alarm blaze she can’t control…
https://amzn.to/420yW88

I read the second book in this series, The Dating Dilemma by Mariah Ankenman, and really enjoyed it so I’m not sure why I didn’t read the first book, The Wedding Dilemma – maybe my library didn’t have it? I’m going to do a deeper dive and try and find it. I feel confident in saying that these books stand alone because while I was reading this new one, I didn’t even realize it was part of a series. Well done, Ms. Ankenman!

This is a really fun read. Stephanie is a career firefighter who is looking to move up. Eli is a legacy; his father and grandfather were both chiefs in the fire department. Before his father passed away, Eli promised him he’d follow in his footsteps, so he is determined to move up and eventually become chief. Stephanie and Eli work really well together, but that’s only because Eli is holding back his feelings for her.

Stephanie had a really bad experience in her previous job when she dated another firefighter. Things went south and it all landed on her, prompting her to move halfway across the country to Colorado, and she swore she’d never date a co-worker again. Eli is well aware of her rule, so keeps his feelings to himself. Until their chief picks them to enter a new online reality show pitting first responders against one another.

Eli and Stephanie are both supercompetitive, and the chief has made it clear that whoever ends up on top in the competition will get a promotion, so there is a lot at stake here for both of them. Things get more complicated when they find out their living arrangements for the two weeks of filming – they’ll be sharing a small cabin. Yes, it has two bedrooms, but they still will be together 24/7, and Eli isn’t sure how he’s going to hold back.

What he doesn’t know is that Stephanie also has feelings for him, but she is tamping them down hard. As the competition heats up, so does their relationship. It is obvious to everyone there that there is something happening between them, but they are both in deep denial until they finally give in.

There are some hurdles along the way, but Stephanie & Eli find their happily ever after. This was a fun, forced-proximity type romance with some heat and a lot of laughs…and the hot firemen are just a bonus!

2/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE FIREFIGHTERS DILEMMA by Mariah Ankenman. Entangled: Amara (February 27, 2023). ISBN:‎ 979-8378520558. 290p.

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FOR TWICE IN MY LIFE by Annette Christie

March 10, 2023

From the publisher:

A second try at love becomes more than one woman bargained for in this “timeless, enchanting” rom-com from the author of The Rehearsals (Rachel Lynn Solomon, New York Times bestselling author).

Can one little lie lead to a big second chance?

Layla’s chaotic life transformed when she met Ian Barnett. Ambitious, committed, and thoughtful, Ian has been everything she’d dreamed of, and she knows he’d say the same of her. So when he breaks up with her out of the blue, Layla is stunned. What went wrong?

But then, Layla gets a call from the local hospital. Ian’s had a biking accident. He’s okay, but he needs someone—his someone—to get him home safely. As it becomes clear Ian doesn’t remember he ended things, it also becomes clear that the accident has given him a new outlook on life . . . and Layla a second chance to get things right.

That is, until Ian’s younger brother comes to town. Matt is restless, unpredictable, and threatens to upset the careful balance Layla and Ian have rebuilt. As things get more complicated both at home and at work, Layla realizes she might lose her chance at real love—and real happiness—if she doesn’t come clean about the stories she’s been telling: to Ian, to Matt, to her family, and most importantly, to herself.

“Second chances take center stage in this cute contemporary . . . Christie does a good job fleshing out Layla’s backstory so that readers will sympathize with her despite her deception. This is a charmer.”―Publishers Weekly

“A clever take on While You Were Sleeping . . . Christie deftly upends romantic comedy tropes. Her characters are complex and realistic, even in heightened situations. A unique love story that will keep readers guessing.”―Kirkus Reviews
https://amzn.to/3ytAZ7e

When I saw the comparison to While You Were Sleeping, one of my favorite movies, I was all in. This book lacks the sweetness of that movie and it has a lot more crazy going on, but it is an apt comparison and an enjoyable read – once I got a handle on the main character, Layla.

Let me backtrack a tiny bit and say I just loved that Layla and her siblings were all named after 1970’s songs; Jude, Rhiannon, and so forth. Layla is a complex character and reveals herself bit by tantalizing bit. I don’t want to give anything away because that’s half the fun of this book. We quickly learn that she works for a small local theater as an administrative assistant, has a bad relationship in her past, is the youngest of a big family, all of whom are coupled up, and she generally feels like a failure in a myriad of ways. She is also a huge fan of the Rat Pack, Audrey Hepburn, and is a total romantic at heart.

We also learn that Layla was dumped two weeks previously by Ian, because they weren’t spending enough time together. They both have busy work lives, but that explanation just haunts Layla and she can’t understand it. So when she receives a phone call from the hospital saying that she is the emergency contact for Ian, she rushed over there to find he was in bicycle accident and has a concussion – and doesn’t remember breaking up with her. As far as Ian’s concerned, they are still happily dating. Layla shakes off her misery over the breakup and grabs this second chance with both hands. But can you build a lasting relationship on a lie?

The accident has changed Ian in other ways. He is no longer entirely work-driven, and he wants to make amends with his younger brother Matt, a wastrel that has spent years wandering around the country and couch surfing. Or so he thinks. He invites Matt to come stay with him and is surprised when he accepts. But Matt is quite withdrawn and surly with Ian, and he drives Layla nuts.

Turns out Matt had written a blog about his wanderings that was turned into a streaming TV show. Unfortunately he was fired after the first season leading Ian to think he is a failure. But when Layla’s theater has to drop their upcoming “emerging playwright” due to a scandal. they are desperate to find another writer. With only a month until the show is supposed to open, they leap at the chance Layla is offering – Matt. Of course she has to talk him into it and who knows if he can even write a play.

Ian and Layla continue dating, Layla spends more time with Matt to eventually realize that she can be completely herself with him, while she continues to hide things from Ian. If you’ve seen While You Were Sleeping, you know how it ends, and if not. enjoy the surprise! I must admit it took me a while to get through it; it slogs a bit through the middle but all in all, it was a fun read and I recommend it.

2/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

FOR TWICE IN MY LIFE by Annette Christie. Little, Brown and Company (February 7, 2023). ISBN:‎ 978-0316451031. 320p.

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Spotlight Review: JOHANNA PORTER IS NOT SORRY by Sara Read

March 7, 2023

From the publisher:

The headlines dubbed it the art heist of the decade…

Twenty years ago, Johanna Porter was a rising star in the art world. Now she’s an unknown soccer mom. When an invitation arrives for an elite gallery opening for her former lover, the great Nestor Pinedo, Johanna wants to throw it in the trash where it belongs. But with some styling help from her daughter, she makes an appearance and comes face-to-face with the woman she was before the powerful and jealous Nestor ruined her.

La Rosa Blanca is a portrait of Johanna herself, young and fierce and fearless—a masterwork with a price tag to match. When she cuts it out of its frame, rolls it up and walks out, Johanna is only taking back what was stolen from her.

Hiding out with La Rosa Blanca in a shack on the Chesapeake Bay, Johanna digs into the raw work of reviving her own skills while battling novice-thief paranoia, impostor syndrome and mom guilt. But Johanna doesn’t just want the painting—she wants to paint again. To harness her powerful talent, she must defy everyone’s expectations—most of all her own—for what a woman like her should be.

“Debut novelist Read has created a thoroughly sympathetic character in this witty, quick, and emotionally turbulent tale that will have readers cheering for Johanna well after the last page.”
—BOOKLIST
https://amzn.to/3JhjgpK

I am almost hesitant to call this a debut as I’ve been burned on this before, but that’s what the publicist said so I’m going with it. I do not want to find out that this is just a pseudonym for someone who writes in other genres or used to write young adult and has pivoted to adult fare or whatever crazy reason the publisher decided to make this a debut. If you call it a debut, it better be their very first book of any kind (short stories don’t count.)

So this was a hard book to quantify. It starts off with Johanna complaining about how she used to be an artist twenty years earlier, and now she has been invited to some fancy, snooty art show featuring her mentor/lover, Nestor Pinedo, of the past. Since his daughter, Pilar, invited her, she decides to go as she has some kind of score to settle with the two of them – and she does.

One of Pinedo’s most famous paintings is of Johanna when she was just 23 years old, and it’s called La Rosa Blanca. At that party, Johanna manages to steal the painting. She just doesn’t want him to have it anymore. This is kind of a problem since the painting is valued at several million dollars. She starts panicking almost as soon as she does it, and she decides to go on the lam, of sorts; she and her ex share custody of their 16-year-old daughter so she can’t really disappear. But she can drive out to her dad’s old house on the lake. He moved to Florida and she has been taking care of the house for many years, but it’s not in great shape.

Johanna is very frustrated with her life. She’s teaching art at her daughter’s high school instead of making art. She’s been divorced for a few years with no great men in sight. Until she moves into that old house and meets the doctor next store, so to speak.

Mitchell had a bad fall and suffered severe nerve damage to his hand, rendering him unable to operate anymore. He has separated from his wife, and is living in their large, lavish vacation home. He asks Johanna if she would go out sailing with him; he’s afraid the useless hand will make him a useless sailor, and off they go, a new relationship in the making.

Meanwhile, Johanna can’t decide what to do with the stolen painting. Cops and private detectives are sniffing around, and Pilar is absolutely sure she stole it – but has no proof. The good doctor has some issues that weren’t readily apparent, and that relationship goes sideways for a while. Johanna gets back to her art, and while everything still seems all topsy-turvy, things finally start going right for her.

Part mystery, part romance, this is a complex story that probably could have used a bit more filling out, but it is a tight, fast-moving story with intriguing characters that would really work well for a book discussion group. It was a one day read for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next for Sara Read.

3/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

JOHANNA PORTER IS NOT SORRY by Sara Read. Graydon House; Original edition (March 7, 2023). ISBN:‎ 978-1525899980. 320p.

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THE WOLF AND THE WILDFLOWER by Stacy Reid

March 3, 2023

From the publisher:

USA Today bestselling author Stacy Reid’s addictive tale of two lost people who are found…by each other

London is buzzing with the news that James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton—thought lost at sea a decade ago—survived in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. Now he’s been returned to his family, his responsibilities, and a nightmarish world of artifice and noise. He has three weeks to become a refined, elegant duke for the Queen…or doom the entire family to ruin and scandal.

Promising psychologist Jules Southby knows a lot about disguises. She’s secretly been living as a boy since birth, enjoying the freedoms of men and knowing little about how to behave like a woman. When she meets the alluring duke, she’s unprepared for his raw, masculine beauty and icy intelligence…or that he can see through her darkest secret.

Jules has very little time to transform the duke into a true semblance of an English gentleman. Yet his very presence seems to unravel her in every way. Their attraction is stark and achingly real—and forbidden. But loving the lost duke would mean losing every sacrifice she’s made to earn her freedom…
https://amzn.to/3S2dURU

A Duke raised by wolves? Pretty much. Although he was 18 when he disappeared into the Yukon, James, the Duke of Wulverton, survived for 10 years in the wilderness to return home to England, a completely changed man. His mother hires Dr. Southby, an alienist, and his son Jules to determine if the Duke has lost his mind or if he can return to society and the role he is required to play. The Duke is incensed to find Dr. Southby invading his privacy and ignoring his wishes, but something about Jules makes him think they could work together. Jules has been living as a male her whole life, and no one suspects a thing, but she somehow senses that the Duke knows her secret.

Working closely together makes Jules face her feminine side, and once they start sleeping together, she soon realizes that while she has not been brought up as a girl, she is easily acting one with the Duke. Their problems are two-fold; they are falling in love but Jules has no desire to live as a woman and give up her freedom, and the Duke only wants Jules yet he is expected to marry a young woman from a prominent family, but he cannot bear to be touched by anyone, other than Jules, and has no desire to be with anyone other than Jules. This is quite the dilemma.

James and Jules become lovers until they are forced apart by her unwillingness to play the part he needs. There is a happy ending, but it is a bit tricky to get there. The plot was a bit far-fetched but I went with it. I liked these characters and the underlying plotline about the psychology of the Duke’s situation. There is a lot of graphic sex throughout, so if that is not your thing look elsewhere for your next read. I thought it well done and ultimately enjoyed the book.

3/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE WOLF AND THE WILDFLOWER by Stacy Reid. Entangled: Scandalous (February 27, 2023). ISBN:‎ 979-8378521623. 300p.

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BookBitch Diary: March 1, 2023

March 1, 2023

Welcome! This year is moving fast, I feel like I just stopped saying Happy New Year and here we are in March.

My grandson turns 2 on March 3, and I can’t wait to see him! He had his first haircut recently, is learning his letters and counting, knows his colors and so many animals. He knows a bit of sign language, understands Spanish and English, and is learning to speak both. It’s completely exhilarating seeing how fast he absorbs everything. I love Facetiming with him, although his new favorite thing is to say “Jonah hold it” and when he grabs the phone or the Macbook, he invariably ends the call. Hopefully, he’ll figure that out soon enough. He also demands to see Papa, Auntie, and Loki when he calls. We’ve had to squish together so he can see us all at once. Yes, we do anything he asks! That is the joy of being a grandparent.

Jonah loves helping in the kitchen!

Book News

Up Close: Elle Cosimano

An interview with one of my favorite authors, courtesy of the International Thriller Writers “Big Thrill” newsletter.

Read my reviews of this series:

1. Finlay Donovan is Killing It

2. Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead

3. Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF THE CON! By K.L. Romo

Debut Spotlight: Rachel Koller Croft, via the International Thriller Writers “Big Thrill” newsletter. (I loved her book, Stone Cold Fox!) Plus, it’s being adapted for TV, so read the book first.

“Conning and scheming and extorting and doing down-right dastardly business is not for the faint of heart… Most people are trusting. Their first mistake.”

Dictionaries lined not only the shelves she had specially built for them but every surface in her sizable two-bedroom apartment. Drawers were pulled out to make more surfaces on which to stack books, which also lay atop the refrigerator and on her bed. Books stood in towers along the floor, with narrow passageways to ease through. “It’s the biggest collection of dictionaries, period,” said the lexicographer Jesse Sheidlower, author of The F-Word, a history of that verb. Sheidlower is one of a cohort of lexicographers who knew Kripke and used her books, and her knowledge, to inspire their own work. Of her collection, “it’s better than what’s in the Bodleian and the NYPL combined,” he said, referring to libraries at the University of Oxford and in New York City.

Note: You have to sign up for a free account at The Chronicle of Higher Education to read.
Mistress of Slang

Food News

And last year…

I love meringue, especially meringue cookies. I used to make lemon meringue pie, my favorite pie, but the last two times I made it, the meringue “weeped,” a problem, I’m told, due to Florida’s humidity. Reading these articles has prompted me to try it again – maybe for Pi Day (3/14).

Here’s an interesting tip for bakers: when you have to fold egg whites into a batter, I’ve always used a large rubber or silicone spatula. Turns out I should have been using a whisk! Courtesy of the King Arthur Baking Company.

Things bakers know: Why a whisk (not a spatula!) is the best tool for folding – Turns out, it’s better at incorporating beaten eggs without deflating them.

Other News

My husband and I are planning a trip to Portugal this spring. This is more than a tourist visit; we are thinking about retiring there in a few years. (Well, he wants to retire – I want to find some kind of part time remote work. The thought of not doing anything at all just freaks me out!) I’d love to hear from anyone who has visited or lived there. Thanks!

As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.

Thanks to The New York Times for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered

February 28, 2023

I learned about remainders when I was a bookseller for Borders, 20+ years ago. This poem makes it personal.

Remainders are printed books that are no longer selling well, and whose remaining unsold copies are liquidated by the publisher at greatly reduced prices.

Copies of remaindered books may be marked by the publisher, distributor, or bookseller to prevent them from being returned. “Remainder marks” have varied over the years, but today most remainders are marked with a stroke with a felt-tipped marker across the top or bottom of the book’s pages, near the spine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remaindered_book

The Book of My Enemy Has Been Remaindered

–Clive James (1939-2019)

The book of my enemy has been remaindered
And I am pleased.
In vast quantities it has been remaindered
Like a van-load of counterfeit that has been seized
And sits in piles in a police warehouse,
My enemy’s much-prized effort sits in piles
In the kind of bookshop where remaindering occurs.
Great, square stacks of rejected books and, between them, aisles
One passes down reflecting on life’s vanities,
Pausing to remember all those thoughtful reviews
Lavished to no avail upon one’s enemy’s book —
For behold, here is that book
Among these ranks and banks of duds,
These ponderous and seemingly irreducible cairns
Of complete stiffs.

The book of my enemy has been remaindered
And I rejoice.
It has gone with bowed head like a defeated legion
Beneath the yoke.
What avail him now his awards and prizes,
The praise expended upon his meticulous technique,
His individual new voice?
Knocked into the middle of next week
His brainchild now consorts with the bad buys
The sinker, clinkers, dogs and dregs,
The Edsels of the world of moveable type,
The bummers that no amount of hype could shift,
The unbudgeable turkeys.

Yea, his slim volume with its understated wrapper
Bathes in the blare of the brightly jacketed Hitler’s War Machine,
His unmistakably individual new voice
Shares the same scrapyart with a forlorn skyscraper
Of The Kung-Fu Cookbook,
His honesty, proclaimed by himself and believed by others,
His renowned abhorrence of all posturing and pretense,
Is there with Pertwee’s Promenades and Pierrots–
One Hundred Years of Seaside Entertainment,
And (oh, this above all) his sensibility,
His sensibility and its hair-like filaments,
His delicate, quivering sensibility is now as one
With Barbara Windsor’s Book of Boobs,
A volume graced by the descriptive rubric
“My boobs will give everyone hours of fun”.

Soon now a book of mine could be remaindered also,
Though not to the monumental extent
In which the chastisement of remaindering has been meted out
To the book of my enemy,
Since in the case of my own book it will be due
To a miscalculated print run, a marketing error–
Nothing to do with merit.
But just supposing that such an event should hold
Some slight element of sadness, it will be offset
By the memory of this sweet moment.
Chill the champagne and polish the crystal goblets!
The book of my enemy has been remaindered
And I am glad.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi