Christine Wells’ newest historical fiction, “The Paris Gown,” takes us back to the capital of France, where her novel “Sisters of the Resistance” was set. The title gown is a Christian Dior confection, and while the story doesn’t center around the gown itself, the couture dress serves as a symbol of the ties that bind the three main characters, young women, together.
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If I am going to read the occasional historical romance, Eloisa James is one of the authors I reach for, so I was glad to have the opportunity to review her newest romance, “Viscount in Love,” the first in her new series called “Accidental Brides.”
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In Lauren Thoman’s second novel, “You Shouldn’t Be Here,” she pens another engaging mystery that, like her first novel, has a bit of paranormal time travel. Unlike her first novel, “I’ll Stop the World,” in this story the time traveler seems to be a ghost. But as with all well-written mysteries, we don’t understand exactly what is happening until the end. And even then, just like the perplexed characters in the novel, we aren’t completely sure what exactly happened.
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There is so much to consider, so much to unpack, and so much to learn about in “Boss Lady,” the newest brainchild of coauthors Alli Frank and Asha Youmans. Fans of these writers know that they write intriguing novels about people we find extremely relatable; people who are stuck or need a bit of luck, but people with whom we can connect. Their main characters are always flawed, but we like that because aren’t we all flawed in some respect?
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New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong isn’t known for her romcoms. In fact, “Finding Mr. Write” is the first one she’s written, and it’s quite different from her usual genres: fantasy, mystery, and horror. While her other novels feature a soupçon of romance, this one is unabashedly filled with lust, romantic tension, insecurity, crossed signals, stupid moves, and of course, the romcom must, an HEA (happy ever after).
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“Swan Song,” according to the third definition in the American Heritage Dictionary, is “A final performance or accomplishment, especially one before retirement.” I can think of no title that would be more appropriate for this, Elin Hilderbrand’s last novel about Nantucket, before her planned retirement from writing. There is also the fact that one of the central characters in the novel, Ed Kapenash, the long-time chief of police, is retiring at the end of the summer during which the event of the novel are set. There are many “swan songs” in this novel, and finding them all, and feeling the sadness that a swan song engenders, is paradoxically an enjoyable experience.
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Melinda Leigh consistently features fascinating female protagonists in her novels, and Bree Taggert, in the eponymous series, is the perfect example of that. She struggles with work life balance just as some of us do, and she cares deeply about both her job and her family. And for Taggert, the “caring for family” part is an accomplishment because she never thought she’d have a family. In “On Her Watch,” the eighth murder mystery in this series, Taggert continues caring for her niece and nephew after the murder of their mother, Taggert’s sister. She had moved to upstate New York to care for the kids and is now the sheriff, working to be seen, heard, and considered to be the woman in charge.
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The cover of “I Hope This Finds You Well” leads one to believe that it’s a cute, clever, humorous novel about working in an office, in a cubicle, and the things that one might resort to to keep one’s job. Instead, I was surprised and delighted to find that Natalie Sue’s debut novel grabbed me and dragged me into the life of Jolene so completely that I kept reading until late in the night to find out more about Jolene and her journey working as a cog at a huge conglomerate, Supershops, Inc.
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New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center writes thoughtful, touching, clever romcoms and her newest novel, “The Rom-Commers,” just might be one of her best yet. It’s a romcom about two screenwriters writing a romcom, and you will fall in love with the two main characters.
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In “Find Me in California,” author Kerry Lonsdale creates a story that brims with star-crossed lovers, poor decisions, loss, abandonment, and many, many secrets. We meet the two protagonists as they each must deal with tragic events relating to their grandmothers. Both Matt and Julia had much different experiences growing up with their grandmothers. Julia was loved and pampered by hers after her mother callously abandoned her, and Matt was ignored and callously isolated by his after the parents who loved him deeply died.
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Imagine sending an honest letter to those who have wronged you so that after your death, everyone knows how you really felt. Now imagine those heartfelt, very frank letters being sent accidentally before your death. In “One Last Word,” author Suzanne Park imagines that happening to Sara Chae, who has been working on an app she thinks has great potential. But when her honest emails go out to her former employers, her former landlord, her parents, and even a former high school crush, she has a lot to worry about.
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Unlike most historical romance novels, which feature young innocent debutantes and more mature males, Sophie Jordan created “The Scandalous Ladies of London,” this Regency romance series to feature mature women. The main characters in these novels are women who are either the mothers of debutantes or of an age in which they could be mothers to the debutantes. These are not young ingenues, but rather seasoned, experienced women who may have been married but have not had the joy of a loving relationship. While they are not in the first blush of youth, their beauty has grown with age, like a fine wine.
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