The Gentleman's Daughter by Bianca Schwarz

I was SO excited for this second book in the series and it was more than I could have possibly asked for. How am I supposed to rave about this novel without giving spoilers! Sigh.

Listen, I was worried at first that my anxiety would be triggered like the first novel, but I only needed to remind myself to not hold my breath, because the twists and turns in this novel are AMAZING. The ending, oh my sweet goodness. I sat and devoured this book in five hours and I regret nothing. I'm coming prepared with snacks for the next book.

Bianca, you have my reading loyalty; you wrote the underlying issues of PTSD, trauma, and consent so well and I friggin' love you for that. I'm a survivor, and seriously, you nailed this book and I wish I could hug you.

Buy it here! 

Sir Henry, secret agent to the crown, must marry a lady above reproach to afford his illegitimate daughter entrance into society. After narrowly escaping marriage to a highborn bigot, he takes an assignment in Brighton, leading him to an abandoned abbey full of dark whispers, and a sinister secret society, the very one Henry has been investigating for three years.

Isabella is as beautiful as she is talented, but falling in love isn't part of her plans. She only wants to paint, forget her painful past, and keep her overbearing mother at bay. But gaining one's independence isn't easy for a woman in 1823, so Isabella embarks on a fake courtship with Sir Henry. Soon, love and a painting career no longer seem so utterly incompatible.

But when the man Isabella fears most kidnaps her, all appears lost. Realizing the kidnapper is part of the same organization he is investigating, Henry chases after them. Entrapped in a web of secrets, both Henry and Isabella must face old enemies, and fight for their happily ever after.

Be sure to also read the first book in the The Gentleman Spy Mysteries series, The Innkeeper's Daughter.

Pub Date 06 Jul 2021

The Bookseller's Secret by Michelle Gable

I've been enthralled by the works of Michelle Gable since she published "A Paris Apartment" and this one has even more of my heart because I'm an aspiring author whose day job is grant writing. I'm also from Northern Virginia and grew up cheering for the NFL Washingtons until I transplanted to West Virginia and Appalachia. Yeah yeah, I know this is a book of fiction, but finding yourself on the pages of one of your favorite authors is still really rad. Just let me have a moment to fan-girl, mmk?

(If you want to understand the above connection to the main characters, then read "The Bookseller's Secret".)

She tied historical fiction in with women's fiction for two subplots that aligned beautifully and had me whispering "Oh my God, what!?" so many times.

Exhibit A:

"We were always either on a peak of happiness or drowning in black waters of despair; our emotions were on no ordinary plane, we loved or we loathed, we laughed or we cried, we lived in a world of superlatives."




Buy it here! 

In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.

Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.

Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…

Pub Date 17 Aug 2021

Happy Endings by Thien-Kim Lam

I love this novel for its intercultural couple that faces family pressure to follow in parental plans and the adversity that comes with daring to break out of those cultural roles and traditions. The entire novel I was hoping for recipes and was so excited to find them from the author! I'll be traveling to her website shortly for her subscription boxes, wink wink.

Buy it here! 

Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her sex toy business a success, proving to her traditional Vietnamese parents that she can succeed in a nontraditional career. She's made a fresh start in Washington DC, and her first pop-up event is going well—until she runs into the ex who dumped her. With a Post-it note.

The last person Andre Walker expected to see in his soul food restaurant was the woman he left behind in New Orleans. Their chemistry is still scorching, but he's desperately trying to save his family restaurant from gentrifying developers. The solution? Partnering with his ex to turn Mama Hazel’s into a vibrator pop-up shop for hungry and horny clients.

Thanks to their steamy truce, both businesses start to sizzle and their red-hot desire soon reignites deeper feelings. But when Trixie receives an incredible career opportunity, will pride ruin their second chance at happiness?

Pub Date 18 May 2021

The Nine by Gwen Strauss

I am really looking forward to purchasing this book so that I can see the illustrations of these women and again read their tenacious story of survival. The amount of strength they show and how they support one another is astounding.


My paternal ancestors lived in France during this war. I can't help but wonder how my great-grandparents survived this time period.



My maternal grandfather fought during this war as an American soldier. I'm going to go through his things with new eyes.

Buy it here!

The Nine follows the true story of the author’s great aunt Hélène Podliasky, who led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labor camp and made a ten-day journey across the front lines of WWII from Germany back to Paris.

The nine women were all under thirty when they joined the resistance. They smuggled arms through Europe, harbored parachuting agents, coordinated communications between regional sectors, trekked escape routes to Spain and hid Jewish children in scattered apartments. They were arrested by French police, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo. They were subjected to a series of French prisons and deported to Germany. The group formed along the way, meeting at different points, in prison, in transit, and at Ravensbrück. By the time they were enslaved at the labor camp in Leipzig, they were a close-knit group of friends. During the final days of the war, forced onto a death march, the nine chose their moment and made a daring escape.

Drawing on incredible research, this powerful, heart-stopping narrative from Gwen Strauss is a moving tribute to the power of humanity and friendship in the darkest of times.

Pub Date 04 May 2021 

The Radio Operator by Ulla Lenze

Ulla’s writing style reminds me of Ernest Hemingway’s and I love historical fiction. Nonetheless, I found myself zoning out at times and having to rescan paragraphs. I didn’t connect with the novel.

Pub Date 04 May 2021 

Anchored Hearts by Priscilla Oliveras

I can't wait to travel again so that I can go roam Key West with this novel in hand. Shout out to the author for writing a small-town tropical romance.

Buy it here!

Award-winning photographer Alejandro Miranda hasn’t been home to Key West in years—not since he left to explore broader horizons with his papi’s warning “never to come back” echoing in his ears. He wouldn’t be heading there now if it wasn’t for an injury requiring months of recuperation. The drama of a prodigal son returning to his familia and their beloved Cuban restaurant is bad enough, but coming home to the island paradise also means coming face to face with the girl he left behind—the one who was supposed to be by his side all along . . .

Anamaría Navarro was shattered when Alejandro took off without her. Traveling the world was their plan, not just his. But after her father’s heart attack, there was no way she could leave—not even for the man she loved. Now ensconced in the family trade as a firefighter and paramedic, with a side hustle as a personal trainer, Anamaría is dismayed that just the sight of Alejandro is enough to rekindle the flame she’s worked years to put out. And as famillia meddling pushes them together, the heat of their attraction only climbs higher. Can they learn to trust again, before the Key West sun sets on their chance at happiness?
 

Pub Date 27 Apr 2021

The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen

I am dedicated to devouring every novel about the Paris apartment that was left untouched for 70 years, and this one is by far one of my favorites!

The number of times I caught myself breathless and wrapped up in the characters was astounding and by the end of the novel I was shouting, "Wait, but what about --?" Lo-and-behold, the author threw a curveball and gave me the ending I needed.

This historical fiction romance reminded me that the fights against fascism are still not over and many changes are still needed, for "If I am not fighting -- if I am not doing everything I am capable of -- then I am complicit in every atrocity that has happened and will continue to happen. This I know with every fiber of my being."

I'm buying this book and reading it again and again!

Buy it here! 

London, 2017: When Aurelia Leclaire inherits an opulent Paris apartment, she is shocked to discover her grandmother’s hidden secrets—including a treasure trove of famous art and couture gowns. One obscure painting leads her to Gabriel Seymour, a highly respected art restorer with his own mysterious past. Together they attempt to uncover the truths concealed within the apartment’s walls.

Paris, 1942: The Germans may occupy the City of Lights, but glamorous Estelle Allard flourishes in a world separate from the hardships of war. Yet when the Nazis come for her dearest friends, Estelle doesn’t hesitate to help them, no matter the cost. As she works against the forces intent on destroying those she holds dear, she can’t know that her actions will have ramifications for generations to come.

Set seventy-five years apart, against a perilous and a prosperous Paris, both Estelle and Lia must unearth hidden courage as they navigate the dangers of a changing world, altering history—and their family’s futures—forever.

Pub Date 20 Apr 2021 

The Bohemians by Jasmin Darznik

I love reading about persistent and resilient women like Dorothea Lange and went down a rabbit hole to look at her photography, realizing I knew her works but not her life. This novel was needed and I highly respect it.

Buy it here! 

In 1918, a young and bright-eyed Dorothea Lange steps off the train in San Francisco, where a disaster kick-starts a new life. Her friendship with Caroline Lee, a vivacious, straight-talking Chinese American with a complicated past, gives Dorothea entrée into Monkey Block, an artists’ colony and the bohemian heart of the city. Dazzled by Caroline and her friends, Dorothea is catapulted into a heady new world of freedom, art, and politics. She also finds herself unexpectedly falling in love with the brilliant but troubled painter Maynard Dixon. Dorothea and Caroline eventually create a flourishing portrait studio, but a devastating betrayal pushes their friendship to the breaking point and alters the course of their lives.

The Bohemians captures a glittering and gritty 1920s San Francisco, with a cast of unforgettable characters, including cameos from such legendary figures as Mabel Dodge Luhan, Frida Kahlo, Ansel Adams, and D. H. Lawrence. A vivid and absorbing portrait of the past, it is also eerily resonant with contemporary themes, as anti-immigration sentiment, corrupt politicians, and a devastating pandemic bring tumult to the city—and the gift of friendship and the possibility of self-invention persist against the ferocious pull of history.

As Dorothea sheds her innocence, her purpose is awakened and she grows into the figure we know from history—the artist whose iconic Depression-era photographs like “Migrant Mother” broke the hearts and opened the eyes of a nation.

Pub Date 06 Apr 2021 

Lost in Paris by Elizabeth Thompson

"Lost in Paris", mon dieu, je nais se quois!

Visiting Paris is still on my bucket list and I need a tour agency to follow THIS novel! I am so excited to order this book!

Buy it here! 

Hannah Bond has always been a bookworm, which is why she fled Florida—and her unstable, alcoholic mother—for a quiet life leading Jane Austen-themed tours through the British countryside. But on New Year’s Eve, everything comes crashing down when she arrives back at her London flat to find her mother, Marla, waiting for her.

Marla’s brought two things with her: a black eye from her ex-boyfriend and an envelope. Its contents? The deed to an apartment in Paris, an old key, and newspaper clippings about the death of a famous writer named Andres Armand. Hannah, wary of her mother’s motives, reluctantly agrees to accompany her to Paris, where against all odds, they discover great-grandma Ivy’s apartment frozen in 1940 and covered in dust.

Inside the apartment, Hannah and Marla discover mysterious clues about Ivy’s life—including a diary detailing evenings of drinking and dancing with Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, and other iconic expats. Outside, they retrace her steps through the city in an attempt to understand why she went to such great lengths to hide her Paris identity from future generations.

A heartwarming and charming saga set in the City of Lights, Lost in Paris is an unforgettable celebration of family and the love between a mother and a daughter.

Pub Date 13 Apr 2021 

Everything After by Jill Santopolo

I usually cry when reading Jill Santopolo, but I was not mentally prepared for the emotional rollercoaster of this heart-wrenching novel.

Buy it here! 

Emily has come a long way since she lost her two passions fifteen years ago: music, and Rob. She's a psychologist at NYU who helps troubled college students like the one she once was. Together with her caring doctor husband, Ezra, she has a beautiful life. They're happy. They hope to start a family. But when a tragic event in Emily's present too closely echoes her past, and parts of her story that she'd hoped never to share come to light, her perfect life is suddenly upturned. Then Emily hears a song on the radio about the woman who got away. The melody and voice are hauntingly familiar. Could it be? As Emily's past passions come roaring back into her life, she'll find herself asking: Who is she meant to be? Who is she meant to love?

Pub Date 09 Mar 2021

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

"And while my story is terrible, every woman has faced a man's wickedness to some degree. Even you."

There is nothing terrible about this novel. I just HAD to know what happened to the characters before I fell asleep. I desperately want to go mudlarking (Yeah, I didn't know what it was either, look it up! It sounds fun!) and down a research rabbit hole now with Sarah Penner. When's the next book coming out?

Buy it here!

Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.

Pub Date 02 Mar 2021 

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

Note to self, do not read this on an empty stomach. Otherwise, be prepared to place an order on instacart and grubhub. I'm preordering this romance for my overseas friends and starting a bookclub.

Buy it here! 

When it comes to bread, Reena Manji knows exactly what she's doing. She treats her sourdough starters like (somewhat unruly) children. But when it comes to Reena's actual family -- and their constant meddling in her life-well, that recipe always ends in disaster.

Now Reena's parents have found her yet another potential Good Muslim Husband. This one has the body of Captain America, a delicious British accent, and lives right across the hall. He's the perfect, mouthwatering temptation . . . and completely ruined by the unwelcome side dish of parental interference.

Reena refuses to marry anyone who works for her father. She won't be attracted to Nadim's sweet charm or gorgeous lopsided smile. That is, until the baking opportunity of a lifetime presents itself: a couples' cooking competition with the prize of her dreams. Reena will do anything to win -- even asking Nadim to pretend they're engaged. But when it comes to love, baking your bread doesn't always mean you get to eat it too.

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Pub Date 02 Mar 2021

The Stills by Jess Montgomery

Reading this novel made me feel so much better about quarantine and the craziness of 2020 and 2021. I'm so glad that we aren't living in Prohibition right now! Also so grateful for my modern life in Appalachia and having broken through poverty.

Buy it here! 

Pub Date 09 Mar 2021

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon

I'm hooked on the first four chapters and buying the book. Whose this Daniel guy and what is his angle? 

Sips tea and squints eyes. Flips page.

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Samiah Brooks never thought she would be “that” girl. But a live tweet of a horrific date just revealed the painful truth: she’s been catfished by a three-timing jerk of a boyfriend. Suddenly Samiah-along with his two other “girlfriends,” London and Taylor — have gone viral online. Now the three new besties are making a pact to spend the next six months investing in themselves. No men, no dating, and no worrying about their relationship status . . .

For once Samiah is putting herself first, and that includes finally developing the app she’s always dreamed of creating. Which is the exact moment she meets the deliciously sexy, honey-eyed Daniel Collins at work. What are the chances? When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as a coincidence. But is Daniel really boyfriend material or is he maybe just a little too good to be true?

Pub Date 09 Jun 2020