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[a collection of 7 books: Your First Million by Arlan Hamilton & Prison Love by D. Braxtonbrown-Smith with front covers facing up; Bruno by Delaney Diamond, Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb, Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, The Summer Escape by Jill Shalvis, A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas with their spines facing up] 

[a "Marietta House Museum Adventure Awaits You" postcard slanted across the upper left corner of a "Wine & Jazz at Marietta Sat., Aug. 3 2PM - 7PM $10/Person Ages 21 & up..." flyer with the silhouette of a saxophonist and a wine bottle] 

Prison Love by D. Braxtonbrown-Smith 
non-fiction memoir 
AuthorHouse, 2008 

Prison Love offers readers an intimate look at incarceration as experienced by a woman whose education and other advantages weren't enough to protect her from being tangled up in the criminal justice system. With compassionate candor, the author uses the acknowledgments, forword [sic], introduction, and nine titled chapters to examine the imperfect people, flawed structures, and complicated interpersonal dynamics of crime, punishment, enlightened accountability, and effective rehabilitation. 

In the author's own words, Prison Love is "a six-year first-hand account of the power of love." 

Note: This memoir is written from an overall perspective of a Christian cis-hetero binary identity that skews some of the vocabulary and phrasing choices in ways that could be problematic for some readers, especially in the "Gay for the Stay" and "Discovery of Self" chapters. It's clear from the dominant tone of the entire  text that no malice is intended.  


A Ruse of Shadows (Lady Sherlock #8) by Sherry Thomas 
mystery fiction  
Berkley, June 2024 

Radiating a tone of a 19th-century mashup of Mission: Impossible with Scooby Doo makes this most recent installment of this clever reworking of the Sherlock Holmes canon bubble with absurdist fun despite its serious themes and multiple crimes. Lots of moving parts demand that readers pay attention to some confusing details without detracting from the overall tenderhearted, playful charm of this chosen family of crime solvers. The Charlotte and Ash thread is particularly satisfying. 


Also, come enjoy some delicious wine while listening to melodious jazz, meeting talented authors, and maybe buying some entertaining romance novels next Saturday, August 3rd at Marietta House Museum in Glenn Dale, Maryland! Tickets are a deal at only $10 per person ages 21 years old and up.  

Hope to see you there! 

 

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