Cardyn Brooks's Blog, page 17

#TWWBF2021 #CelebratingLove #Adaptations Panelist Karen Janowsky

 

The following reviews are from my September 2019 readings.

The Persistence of Memory, Book 1: Déjà vu

Karen Janowsky

New Adult(ish) speculative fiction with romantic elements

Mill City Press February 2019

The Persistence of Memory is a beguiling mash-up. It begins as a brutally immersive Holocaust testimony set in Germany in 1938. At the age of twenty-one, New Yorkers Daniel Hecht, his two best friends, and his mom discover that their U.S. citizenship can’t protect them from the racial hatred of the Nazis. Survival exacts steep costs that exchange one generation for another and smoothly transitions this story into science fiction. In the 21st century Daniel is a decorated war hero who is disillusioned, jaded, and patriotic. His inner turmoil and traumatic experiences generate emotional whiplash. Enter amnesiac Nina Archer. Who is she? What are her origins? Why does she fluently speak an ancient language? Add mystery and romance (mostly sweet, until very abruptly, it becomes explicit) to this layered and multifaceted tale, which includes social commentary about humanity’s mistakes replicated in every generation: slavery, genocide, abandonment of military service members in peacetime, and entrenched gender roles as artificial and misleading constructs of identity.

Some of the harmful influences of the braggadocio of toxic masculinity are addressed with humor as found on page 244 when Daniel thinks, “…he could figure out how to make her climax, somehow. Men he knew talked about how easy that was all the time… They couldn’t all have been exaggerating.” Daniel is out of his element in assorted ways.

Once Nina is introduced she shares the spotlight with Daniel, then gradually dominates the focus. Additional comments about her narrative arc increase the odds of spoilers, but a major personal conflict resolution in which Nina apologizes with specificity and Daniel with vagueness didn’t work for me.

The Persistence of Memory, Book One: Déjà vu is also a saga about a team of crime fighters with a range of attitudes like adult members of John Hughes’s Breakfast Club combined with the dedication to protecting the world found in the Justice League and the Avengers. Mythology, philosophy, ancient history, and more, this author incorporates multiple belief systems and cultures into this hybrid tale that features an organically inclusive cast of interesting characters whose experiences make readers wonder if time is spherical. Like the face of an analog clock, does life always send humans back to where they started?

Book Two is near the top of my very long, personal TBR list.

[minor proofing notes: Due to the overall excellent craftsmanship of The Persistence of Memory, Book One: Déjà vu, the few instances of missing prepositions, articles, a set of closed quotation marks, and a duplicate set of open quotation marks were noticeable. Sometimes there’s no offsetting comma in dialogue where a character is addressed by name. Is this the result of new de facto style guidelines as influenced by texting and social media?]

The Persistence of Memory, Book 2: All Our Yesterdays

Karen Janowsky

Adult speculative fiction with romantic elements

Mill City Press February 2019

Book One: Déjà vu started with a recent history set in scenes of violent sensory immersion. Book Two: All Our Yesterdays begins as an acoustic Homeric delivery of the ancient origin story and end-times tale of the legend of Ishtar.

What do sentient beings remember?

How do they remember?

Why do they remember?

Where do they store those memories, and when—and how—do they apply the lessons learned from those memories to their lives?

Although Book Two is more of a romance than Book One without sacrificing its action hero intensity, it uses Nina and Daniel’s firmly established personal relationship to explore themes about the importance of having an ethical moral compass in battling philosophical extremism and religious zealotry within the context of their emotional intimacy, and as members of the World Intelligence Security Endeavor. WISE suffers its own internal chain of command and battle weariness issues. The ironically named Concordance Group is only one of their many violent and determined adversaries.

Challenges and crises bombard Nina and Daniel and their friends. The unsatisfactory personal conflict scenario between Nina and Daniel in Book One gets revisited in surprisingly profound ways in Book Two, when Daniel realizes on page 98: This was not Nina’s problem, but his.

How refreshing.

In an odd internal debate passage the crime of attempted sexual assault seems to be equated with unprofessional behavior during the aftermath of a deadly field operation, which may intend to highlight one of the issues in legal persecution of sexual assault crimes compared to reprimands given, or not, for non-criminal infractions against workplace protocols.

Once again, this gifted storyteller blends genres, timelines, generations, nationalities, religions, mythologies, and universes to weave an intricate saga that embodies organic inclusion as it entertains and engages readers on multiple levels.

https://karenjanowsky.com/

#TWWBF2021 #CelebratingLove #Adaptations Panelist Cecilia Tan

 

Taking the Lead (Secrets of a Rock Star #1) Cecilia Tan Erotic romance Forever, 2016 

Heiress sisters Ricki and Gwen Hamilton have accepted an unusual inheritance from their eccentric grandfather: a secret BDSM club in the basement of the family's mansion. Ricki has big plans that hinge on her success in managing the club she wishes didn't exist. Rock star Axel Hawke is riding a wave of popularity with his band, The Rough. He's a bad man with a sense of humor, a combination that's irresistible to Ricki. Their paths collide with sparks that generate an inferno of sexual chemistry, dominant and submissive encounters, and light-hearted charm. There's a thread of playfulness that distinguishes Taking the Lead from typical "chateau" BDSM stories mashed up with the hot musician trope. Ricki and Axel's emotional connection makes their relationship more sensual and easy for readers to cheer. 

https://www.patreon.com/ceciliatan 

TWWBF2021 Participant Cheryl Woodruff Brooks: Golden Beauty Boss

Golden Beauty Boss, The Story of Madame Sara Spencer Washington and the Apex Empire by Cheryl Woodruff Brooks*  Non-fiction biography  Sunbury Press, 2020 

Get comfortable and prepare to journey back to the early 1900s when a brilliant, entrepreneurial young Black woman named Sara Phillips crowned herself Madame Sara Spencer Washington in the tradition of Madame C. J. Walker and Annie Turnbo-Malone, two business people who mentored and inspired her as she became their peer. The author of Golden Beauty Boss invites readers to share in her amazement at the cascading series of revelations her research (for her Chicken Bone Beach project) uncovered about this little-known titan of Beauty Culture, business innovation, and success. By providing broad historical context that includes Black American, civil rights, women's, military, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic history as critical facets of overall U. S. history, the scope of Madame Spencer Washington’s accomplishments is rendered as even more noteworthy. Apex News and Hair Company included multiple beauty schools, inventions, patents, manufacturing, commercial and residential real estate. Golden Beauty Boss is nearly as much business primer as it is a biography. Acknowledgements, an introduction, seven chapters that include archival photos and documents, and a comprehensive selected bibliography offer their intriguing details and milestones of this compelling success story shared in the personable style of knowledgeable friends engaged in an informal, yet focused intellectual exchange.  
*The author is not related to this reviewer or to the founder of The Write Women Book Fest. 

Love & Lust Smorgasbord

 

We Wrote in Symbols, Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers Edited by Selma Dabbagh Literary anthology  Saqi Books, September 2021  
We Wrote in Symbols offers a collection of poetry and prose that deciphers the signposts for the phases and stages of longing, lust, and love: anticipation, courtship, intoxication, commitment, adoration, in/fidelity, betrayal, complacency, danger and more. Women of Arabic heritage from around the world and across three millennia most often celebrate, sometimes ridicule, and all evaluate the nuances of sex and love and their power dynamics. The first prose selection, “A Free Girl's Tale" by Saeida Rouass*, examines agency and consequences. The protagonist realizes, “As I wondered in my naivety I had no inclination that my simple existence shook the very foundations of power…” Much later in this collection Hanan al-Shaykh's longer “Cupid Complaining to Venus" thematically overlaps and diverges from S.R.’s interpretation of the erotic deity. Malika Monstadraf's “Housefly" poignantly distills the essence of anticipation. “At Last" by khulud khamis [sic] resonates with succinctly piercing heartache. There's the voice of unapologetic demand in Rita El Khayat's “Messalina Unbound" in eleven compelling verses. Metaphorical cheekiness in “If You Want to Know" by Umm al-Ward al-Ajlaniyya. “Arachnophobia" by lisa luxx [sic] entangles provocative themes with unconventional text formatting. Appropriately, the Cinderella spin of “Happy Endings" by Zaynab Fawwaz appears among the last few contributions.  
In the prose and the poetry it's mostly women's points of view, but not all, as in the reality morphing “Tangled Roots" by Noor Mohanna. Overall, We Wrote in Symbols examines and honors humans as embodiments of multifaceted layers of generations of sensory and cultural experiences from the sweet and self-effacing conciliatory to the sour and violently combative and every combination between these two extremes. Every word offers worthwhile reading including the introduction, footnotes, glossary, list of suggested additional reading, acknowledgements, authors' biographies and credits. Allowing time to savor is highly recommended.  

*Saeida Rouass is scheduled to be a panelist for the featured discussion of adaptations during the third annual The Write Women Book Fest (for which Cardyn Brooks is the outreach coordinator) on Saturday, October 9th from 12 noon to 5 p.m. at Marietta House Museum in Glenn Dale, Maryland.  

More Love & Lust Reads  
o Ripple effects of addiction and trauma  The Summer of No Attachments by Lori Foster  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  HQN Books, June 2021  

Life's Too Short (Friend Zone #3) by Abby Jimenez  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  Forever, April 2021  
“Well, Dad doesn't believe in expiration dates, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.”  
“… The universe doesn't give a sh**, it's a total a**hole.”  

The Happy Ever After Playlist (Friend Zone #2) by Abby Jimenez  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  Forever, April 2020  
Goodhearted dog rescuer morphs into well-intentioned dognapper. Messy, charming romance ensues.  

The Friend Zone (#1) by Abby Jimenez  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  Forever, June 2019  
Mischief maker in crisis collides with potential new partner in mayhem who turns out to be ride or die.  [This reviewer unintentionally read The Friend Zone series in reverse order with great pleasure and no confusion.]  

o Candidates for intensive therapy  The Russian Cage (Gunnie Rose #3) by Charlaine Harris  Alternate history fiction  Gallery/Saga Press, February 2021  
Gunnie Rose: I felt all kinds of ways, and I wanted to sit and be quiet for a spell.  

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  Ballantine Books, May 2021  
Thea: Oh my God, it would make a good book… Posh People Behaving Badly… 

Beach Reads: Foodies, Sports, Music & More Delish Combos

 

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

Speculative

Orbit, March 2020  

Octavia Butler, Kafka, Men in Black, Inception… It’s as if this author has consumed and absorbed every significant SciFi/fantasy/speculative innovation and synthesized them with musical refrains and sociopolitical riffs on otherness and identity. There’s humor and biting satire, irony and sarcasm. Dangerous existential and physical battles. Brilliant writing. Glorious reading. 

A few memorable lines:

What good does it do to be valuable, if nobody values you? [Prologue, pg. 9]

“Not helping your case with the mansplaining, guy.” [Chapter 1, pg. 37]

“… So, lesson one of New York: what people thinkabout us isn’t what we really are.”

 

Ron-Coms

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Contemporary romance

Berkley, April 2021

Examining the layers of Canada’s Golden Crescent: Hana broadcasts her thoughts, jockeys for position, contemplates romance, and unravels family entanglements with the help of a multifaceted 21st-century South Asian Auntie Mame-ish character.

Rosalind Palmer Takes the Cake (Winner Bakes All #1) by Alexis Hall

Contemporary romance

Forever, May 2021

It’s a frothy, angsty mélange of Great British Baking Show, Hell’s Kitchen, Big Brother, The Bachelorette, and Survivor.  

 

Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey

Contemporary romance

Berkley, July 2020

Trope-spinners paradise

 

When Stars Collide (Chicago Stars) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Contemporary romance

William Morrow, June 2021

A new Chicago Stars story about the next generation is the perfect beach read. It’s a mix of hostility-at-first-sight, slapstick mayhem, multiple misunderstandings, some silliness, lots of drama, fashion, and cameos of favorite characters from previous installments in the series. Plus, incitement of a bar brawl (a bonus in the tradition of Linda Howard’s Open Season). Fingers crossed that the next Chicago Stars story will feature Clint Garrett.

 

Women’s fiction

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen

Contemporary (current & 20th-c.) fiction

Lake Union Publishing, April 2021

Cross-generational intrigues

 

Catching Air by Sarah Pekkanen

Contemporary fiction

Washington Square Press, 2014

Leaping into the unknown and navigating unchartered territories create assorted challenges. 

 

Awesome Anthology

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon  

Quill Tree Books, June 2021 

Too much greatness to summarize. Buy it from a local bookstore or borrow it from a local library branch.

 

Historical romance

Breathless (Old West #2) by Beverly Jenkins

Avon, 2017

Portia overcomes childhood trauma and pursues her professional ambitions. Kent learns from his youthful indiscretions, makes amends, and pursues his heart’s desires. Regan asserts her autonomy. Eddy and Rhine make pivotal cameos.

 

Undercover Duke (Duke Dynasty #4) by Sabrina Jeffries

Zebra, May 2021

Misdirection, danger, and questions answered

 

Contemporary Action Thriller

All Out War (Eric Steele #2) by Sean Parnell

William Morrow, 2019

The title is 100% truth in advertising.

 

Real-Life Inspiration

Believe It, How to Go from Underestimated to Unstoppable by Jamie Kern Lima

Non-fiction memoir, business  

Gallery Books, February 2021

Redefining one’s greatest vulnerabilities into sources of strength requires faith and stamina.  

[above photos taken by Blerdy Binge Reader: morning at a private boat dock, 3 consecutive days of beach reading, tater tots smothered in cheese and bacon from Hammerheads Dockside Indian River Inlet, and sunset view of the bridge from Big Chill Surf Cantina]  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fathers Present or MIA, Engaged or Remote

 

Father’s Day recognizes and honors the unique contributions of men as parents and parental figures. Among its many overt themes, Crossing the Line also indirectly addresses the ways in which women, children, families and communities improvise and compensate for the absence of men and fathers.

On this celebration of the first Juneteenth as a U.S. federal holiday, let's honor the faith, integrity and stamina of our enslaved ancestors while recognizing how much work is still needed to make the American Dream equally accessible for all. 

Crossing the Line, A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever

Kareem Rosser

Creative non-fiction memoir

St. Martin’s Press, February 2021

The Bottom is a neglected (except by police enforcement), under-resourced community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It’s where Kareem Rosser and his brothers stumble upon an unexpected oasis: the Work to Ride stables, a safe space in the midst of an assortment of threats. Stepping into Work to Ride opens up previously unimagined possibilities for the author, his brothers, neighborhood residents, and ultimately, the world. In an engaging narrative voice that invites readers to recognize and appreciate the treacherous circumstances of daily life in The Bottom, K.R. tells his daunting coming-of-age story with an unsentimental, yet emotionally rich depth reminiscent of Mark Twain, and with the gritty pragmatism of Chester Himes. Memoir, underdogs sports story, family saga, socioeconomic and racial commentary, cautionary tale, memorium, and victorious triumph, Crossing the Line is all of these things and more. Its composition moves with the flow of an adventure novel and a suspenseful mystery thriller, only it’s real life—with inescapably real consequences in a society that is too often an intentionally hostile environment for Black and Brown human beings. This powerful story offers proof that investing in people in a healthy, proactive manner generates exponentially more profitable returns than treating them as expendable.  

 

The Devil Comes Courting (Worth #3)

Courtney Milan, author & publisher

Historical romance, April 2021

In the way that Dua Lipa translates romantic heartbreak into irresistible dance tunes, Courtney Milan has composed an ultimately upbeat dirge. The Devil Comes Courting explores grief and grievances, absences, loneliness, and homecomings in individuals, families, communities, cultures, and global society. Amelia’s and Grayson’s separate and overlapping story threads create a compelling three-dimensional tapestry. Universal cultural touchstones such as the Chinese aunties who resonate as familiar to all ethnicities as no-nonsense elders who dispense reprimands, wisdom, encouragement and (occasionally) praise to the younger generations.

Charming, amusing, profound cultural exchanges; layered historical context in facts and sensory details; and riveting emotional complexity and sensitivity make this a masterpiece worth the author’s immense efforts. (Read the Thank You, Author’s Note, and Acknowledgments for those interesting details.)

A memorable line: “…You’ll have that long to decide if you want to change the world…Or if you’ll let the world change you instead.”

 

How to Find a Princess (Runaway Royals) by Alyssa Cole

Contemporary romance, Avon Books, May 2021

From last page: “This feels like my kind of happily ever after…”

Exactly.

Generational friction, humor, high-jinx, fakery, emotional depth, assorted charming oddballs with unconventional skills, dastardly villains, sarcasm, cultural Easter eggs, sexy times, resilience, and triumph

 

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (Feminine Pursuits) by Olivia Waite

Historical romance, Avon Books, July 2020

From chapter 26: “…Did you two think you were being subtle?” Agatha laughed until her sides ached.*

Political unrest, government tyranny, fears of imminent disaster and personality friction generate plenty of heat and drama beneath an overall narrative buoyancy anchored in documented history and emotional complexity.  

 

*See remarks about elders in the above review for The Devil Comes Courting. ;-) 

Plots of Gold in a Month Filled with Rainbows

Game Changers series by Rachel Reid  

Contemporary romance, Carina Press  

For fans of Sawyer Bennett, Sarina Bowen, Kate Meader, hockey, and sports romances with as much emotional substance as sexual heat  

1. Game Changer  

Being oneself is worth the risk.  

2. Heated Rivalry  

Misdirection misleads almost everyone, even the two people involved.  

3. Tough Guy  

Hard shell, soft center. Yum. Unapologetically authentic creative. More yum.  

4. Common Goal  

Not quite May-December brings the heat off the ice year-round.  

5. Role Model (coming August 2021)  

The first four rank high on emotional intimacy, sexual chemistry, and nuanced character complexity. They range from medium to high on the squick-o-meter of physical intimacy. 

Reviews for the following two titles will post to RomanceDailyNews.com at some later date.  

Learned Reactions (Higher Education #2) by Jayce Ellis  

Contemporary romance, Carina Press  

A recluse and a playboy eventually figure out what they want.  

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell  

SciFi YA romantic suspense, Tor  

Palace intrigue and danger threaten lives and an empire.  

Listen to some Young M.A., Hayley Kiyoko, Indigo Girls, Brothers Osborne… while browsing more RDN reviews here: https://www.romancedailynews.com/blog/tags/book-review

Checkout the reissued classic gay erotica available from 120 Days Books, a Riverdale Avenue Books imprint.  https://riverdaleavebooks.com

Currently reading and enjoying:  

How to Find a Princess (Runaway Royals) by Alyssa Cole  

Contemporary romance, Avon Books  

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows (Feminine Pursuits) by Olivia Waite  

Historical romance, Avon Books  

Cis-y Reads:  

Farm to Trouble by Amanda Flower  

Contemporary women's fiction/cozy mystery, Poisoned Pen Press  

Amateur sleuth juggles issues, makes mischief, solves mysteries, and considers conundrums.  

A Rogue to Remember (League of Scoundrels #1) by Emily Sullivan  

Historical romance, Forever  

Second chance love, dangerous secrets, and forgiveness  

Hidden Creed (Creed #6) by Alex Kava  

Contemporary suspense, Prairie Wind Publishing  

Milestones, murder, and mayhem in the wilderness, with heroic fur babies  

Float Plan by Trish Doller  

Contemporary women's fiction, Griffin  

Grief-stricken, island-hopping novice sailor gains perspective with the help of knowledgeable, generous nomads. Compelling thread on physical ability is also seamlessly interwoven. 

Kindred Spirits Super Club by Amy E. Reichart  

Contemporary speculative, Berkley  

Somewhere in Time, The Sixth Sense, and Ghost Whisperer plus sociopathic Mean Girls [Content warning for readers sensitive to multiple scenes of extreme bullying]  

Heart on a Leash (Hearts of Alaska) by Alanna Martin  

Contemporary romance, Berkley  

Twenty-first-century Hatfields and McCoys with fur babies in Alaska  

The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader  

Contemporary romantic women's fiction, Graydon House  

Recovery from trauma is a messy process.  

The Bitter and the Sweet of Cherry Season by Molly Fader  

Contemporary romantic women's fiction, Graydon House  

Healing emotional wounds takes courage and time.  

Hate Crush (Filthy Rich #2) by Angelina M. Lopez  

Contemporary romance, Carina Press  

When appearances deceive and emotions roil beneath placid surfaces. 

Jackson (Restoration Ranch #1) by LaQuette  

Ceontemporary romantic women's fiction, Sourcebooks Casablanca  

A resourceful woman in jeopardy meets a dedicated lawman.  

Man Cuffed (Man Hands) by Sarina Bowen & Tanya Eby  

Contemporary romance, Tuxbury Publishing  

Hilarity ensues. From chapter 7: Because nobody crosses mom. She's not a monster, but she is a force of nature…  

Cry of Metal & Bone (Earthsinger #3) by L. Penelope  

Fantasy adventure saga, Griffin  

An intricate dance of many moving story parts, plots, and characters engaged in political intrigue, personal betrayals, crises of confidence, double, triple, and quadruple crosses, human atrocities, avarice sourced from envy, and nods to warmongering in current and previous generations, plus epiphanies and reasons for hope.  

Cursed Luck by Kelley Armstrong  

Contemporary New Adult fantasy, KLA Fricke, Inc.  

Tropes mash-up of awesomeness  

Dust Born by Erin Bowman  

Speculative YA, HMH Books for Young Readers  

Futuristic Grapes of Wrath meets steampunk Star Trek.  

Rattlesnake Road by Amanda McKinney  

Contemporary women's fiction with romance and a mystery, A.M. publisher  

Sudden reversal of fortune leads to devastation and unforeseen riches. [Content warning for readers sensitive to explicit descriptions of fertility challenges and related traumatic experiences] 

Wilde Child (Wildes of Lindow Castle) by Eloisa James  

Historical romance, HarperLuxe  

Opposites attract and repel and attract some more, identity crises, witty repartee, humor, tenderness, and incendiary heat  

Flight (Texas Crime Files #2) by Laura Griffin  

Contemporary romantic suspense, Berkley  

The heroine finds herself at a crossroads and stumbles upon murder and potential for love.  

Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher  

Contemporary women's fiction, Berkley  

Fantasy Island, Terms of Endearment, Sisters, and leaps of faith into the great unknown. 

Paws for Love (Fur Haven Dog Park #3) by Mara Wells  

Contemporary romance, Sourcebooks Casablanca  

Facing past trauma, second chances, and irresistible fur babies  

Bombshells (Brooklyn Bruisers) by Sarina Bowen  

Contemporary romance, Tuxbury Publishing  

Straighten up and glide right, secret lovers.    

#TBT #ThrowbackThursday May 13, 2021

 

Bookshelves Got Stacks by Cardyn Brooks  as inspired by “Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot  
I like big books and I can not lie  You other readers can't deny  That when a good book takes up so much prime shelf space, wow  And a wide spine in your face, you get crazed  Wanna check it out ‘cause you notice that title is bait  
Deep thought meanings, it's blaring  I'm intrigued and can’t stop staring  Oh, big books, I wanna start reading  And take your measure  Reviewers tried to warn me  That big books ARCs sent (they so binge-y!)  Oh, door-stopper reads  You say you wanna expand my mind?  Well, do it, do it  ‘Cause you ain't that average-length read    

Mommy Issues, Good Mothers, Bad A** Moms, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage & More

 

It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  Mira Books, February 2021  
Noni Blake is smart, funny, and dedicated to her family, friends, and students. She's also a charming, neurotic mess who uses a list of past lovers to set off on a journey to become her most authentic self. It's a risky and intentional endeavor to navigate adulthood. Near the beginning during a chat between Noni and her bestie, they speculate that “… aging is actually just about getting used to yourself… or fighting against it.”  
In a slapstick, absurdist manner that also incorporates emotional nuance and sensitivity, It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake taps into prominent themes from Alice Walker’s non-fiction work The Same River Twice as applied to one's romantic past with Cher's “If I Could Turn Back Time" and Willie Nelson's and Julio Iglesias’s “To All the Girls I've Loved Before" (where Girls = People) dominating an imaginary curated playlist. Ultimately, Noni comes to understand for herself a fundamental trait she recognized in someone else on page 51: “I can tell that she doesn't care what people think, but that she cares about people.” Exactly. An old adage says sometimes people are in our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Noni learns how to understand the differences in her own life, and maybe helps readers do the same.  

Love At First by Kate Clayborn  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  Kensington, February 2021  
Doctor of Emergency Medicine Will Sterling and tech expert Nora Clark are each struggling with loss when their paths cross in a way that makes them adversaries. Their mutual attraction makes their battle for ultimate victory complicated for them and entertaining for readers. In an early chapter when Nora thinks, “… this conversation had taken a golden-hour quality all its own. Secret and special and hers alone.” The sentiment applies to Love At First and this author's compelling, emotionally intimate writing ethos that smoothly integrates teary-eyed depths with laugh-aloud absurdity. [This is a five-star read despite the almost always annoying and illogical lonely only/neglected/unwanted single offspring trope. Please see One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and The Joy of Being One by Lauren Sandler.]  

The Stormbringer by Isabel Cooper  Fantasy adventure romance  Sourcebooks Casablanca, December 29, 2020  
“Sleep on it and things will look better in the morning” doesn't apply to a corrupt and vengeful entity who's more than irritated when he's awakened one-hundred years after a confrontation with his strongest foe. When scout, hunter, and guardian Sentinel Darya stumbles upon an ancient warrior preserved in suspended animation, her presence jumpstarts the existence of legendary General Amris in more ways than one. Together with disembodied wizard Gerant they travel through dangerous territory and deadly challenges to warn humankind of the imminent threat. Many harrowing battles ensue.  

Reading Hodge Podge  
The Highland Laird by Amy Jarecki  1700s romance  A differently abled heroine executes an unconventional rescue.  
Who Rescued Who by Victoria Schade  Contemporary women's fiction  A tech genius in the workplace is socially incompetent elsewhere until circumstances cut her tech tether. One word: therapy.  
A Wicked Bargain for the Duke (Hazards of Dukes #3) by Megan Frampton  Historical romance  From chapter 2: There was something so active and engaged in how she looked it was appealing, even though the judgemental part of him thought she was forward.  From chapter 4: Was that what marriage was? Wandering about trying to find something in common?  
Sandcastle Beach by Jenny Holiday  Contemporary romance  It’s aggravation as foreplay with seniors as instigators and agitators.  
Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian  Contemporary magical realism  Layered in lush language, sliding timelines, hard-earned wisdom, tragedy, and acceptance.  
The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn  Contemporary romance  Not enough abject apologies.  
Back in the Burbs by Tracy Wolff & Avery Flynn  Contemporary romantic women's fiction  From page 123: I gave away my youth, my hopes, my dreams to a man who would never appreciate…  [Thirty-five isn't old! (Aside from #FertilityAwareness #StartAsking considerations)]  
Bad Turn (Charlie Fox #13) by Zoe Sharp  Contemporary suspense thriller  Pragmatic Charlie contemplates her options, maximizes her opportunities, encounters dangerous people, improvises, gets lured into risky territory, improvises some more, faces a personal reckoning, and [spoiler?] survives.  
Slightly convoluted intricacy involving the baddies supports the overarching theme plus an intoxicating mix of professional and personal drama make Bad Turn a 100-proof reason this reader hopes it isn't last call on present-day stories in the Charlie Fox series. (More scheduled prequels still TBA?)         

It's Independent Bookstore Day Saturday, April 24, 2021!

 

Today and every day books--new releases, remainders, used (pre-read?), sheet music, bookish merch, etc.--need readers to buy them from independent bookstores that keep them in stock and special ordered, just waiting to be discovered and claimed by curious humans of all ages, orientations, ethnicities, nationalities, abilities, shapes, sizes, heights, shades, genders, and personality types who are eager to explore the universes of adventure, entertainment, and information a stellar variety of authors and creatives contribute to the readersphere. Independent bookstores anchor their neighborhoods and serve their neighbors. They're sources of dynamic exchanges of investments in mutual benefits of enrichment—cultural, economic, emotional, and intellectual—engagement, connection, and joy.  

As a person who was born in Washington, D.C., raised mostly in Maryland, and attended college in Virginia, my regional bias leans toward the U.S. mid-Atlantic, and my list of some noteworthy independent bookstores reflects that focus, which is one reason why the link to an earlier nationwide list from Mental Floss is included.  

“Independent Bookstores”  

An ode by Cardyn Brooks as inspired by “Independent Women, Pt.1" by Destiny's Child  

[1] 

Loyalty 

With Daedalus  

Busboys and Poets in the DMV*  

All Indie Bookstores, come on  

Sell, sell, sell  

[2]  

 Question, tell me what you think about books  

D.C.’s Mahogany and Politics and Prose 

Browsing your websites on my celly for awhile  

So many titles and I want them all  

Question, tell me how you feel about staff  

Try to suggest little-known reading gems  

Make book bundles, oh, and they plan fun events  

Always willing to help their customers  

[3]  

The books on my shelves, I bought them  

The books I'm reading, I bought them  

The rock I once rocked, I pawned it  

‘Cause I needed to buy more books with it  

The merch I'm wearing it, I bought it  

The place I live in, I stacked it  

The car I'm driving, I used it  

To get me to the indie bookstores  

[4] 

All the bookstores, that are independent  

Throw your hands up at me  

All the authors, who making money  

Throw your hands up at them  

All the writers, who profit dollars  

Throw your hands up at them  

All the readers, who truly feel this  

Throw your hands up at me  

[5]  

Stores, I like knowing you sell books like that  

Indies, how your bookstores get down like that  

Stores, I like knowing you sell books like that  

Indies, how your bookstores get down like that  

[6]  

Tell me how you feel about this  

Buy books I want, read what I wanna read  

I researched hard and reviewed every title I could get  

People, it ain't easy being independent  

Question, how'd you like this homage that I brought  

Braggin' on those stacks that you bought yourself is okay  

If you're gonna buy books please get them from indie bookstores  

Support indies, #OwnVoices #StopAAPIHate  

(#BLM #Romancelandia #LGBTQUIA #diverselit #1000blackgirlbooks)  

Repeat [3].  

Repeat [4].  

Repeat [5].  

[7]  

Voracious readers, wassup?  

Books fill your shelves? Sure ‘nough  

We'll sort these genres out, indie style  

Books of interest (Whoa)  

Independent bookstores (Whoa-oh)  

Booksellers take care of readers (Oh-oh)  

Indie bookstores (Oh-whoa-oh)  

Repeat [4].  

Repeat [5].  

*District (of Columbia), Maryland, Virginia (not the Department of Motor Vehicles!)  

Some Noteworthy Indie Bookstores  

Ampersand Books (Rochester, NY) 

Atomic Books  

Attic Books  

Back Creek Books  

Bonjour Books  

Books With a Past  

The Bookstore Next Door  

Bridge Street Books  

Capitol Hill Books  

The Children's Bookstore in Lauraville  

Cricket Book Shop  

Curious Iguana  

The Drama Book Shop (reopening soon in NYC, NY)  

East City Bookshop  

Greedy Reads  

The Greyhound  

Harambee Books & Artworks  

Harriett's Bookshop (Philadelphia, PA)  

Hooray for Books!  

Ivy Bookshop  

Kelmscott Bookshop  

Kensington Row Bookshop  

A Likely Story Bookstore  

Lost City Books  

My Dead Aunt's Books  

Novel Books  

Old Town Books  

One More Page Books  

Reston's Used Book Shop  

The Ripped Bodice (Culver City, CA)  

S Clarkson Books  

Scrawl Books  

Second Story Books  

Second Edition Books  

Solid State Books  

The Strand Book Shop (NYC, NY)  

Tempo Bookstore  

This Is the Place Bookstore  

Ukazoo Books  

Wonder Book   

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/5...  

Upcoming book release for bookish folk:  

Mental Floss: The Curious Reader, Erin McCarthy, ed.  

May 25, 2021