Real Grown Folks in Love & Friendship

[Front cover of A Fire at Romanticon by H.L. Brooks with a design of a lacy pink thong and scattered flower petals; book held up against the backdrop of a framed black and white photo of the Brooklyn Bridge at night]

[front cover art for A Vampire of a Certain Age by Maria Vale; a city skyline silhouette with a bat's wings spread above it]

[three trade paperback books: One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin (spine up), A Fire at Romanticon by H.L. Brooks, Fall: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller by Tracy Clark]

A Fire at Romanticon by H.L. Brooks*

contemporary rom-com

Write Women Publish, September 2024

Peach Kincaid is struggling. Her marriage, her self-image, her secret project and more feel like they're beyond her control until she takes more than one leap of faith. New look, new location, new friends and new opportunities offer her time and space to step into her most authentic self and claim a life that fulfills her in every way. Lots of laughs, tenderness, steamy adult activities and layered circumstances make A Fire at Romanticon a satisfying read.

*The author is my friend and The Write Women Book Fest event co-host, so yes I'm biased but would offer the same review even if we were strangers.;-)

Fall (Harriet Foster #2) by Tracy Clark

mystery thriller fiction

Thomas & Mercer, December 2023

This gritty atmospheric mystery blends elements of a police procedural with the stages of grief, political intrigue and riffs on the murky nature of crime and punishment. It's also a celebration of friendship, partnership and chosen family. Not having read book one didn't detract from understanding the main character's backstory or enjoyment of this well-crafted tale.

A Vampire of a Certain Age by Maria Vale*

a free supernatural short for the author's newsletter subscribers

Eternal perimenopause is only the first horror revealed in this sly, morbidly humorous super short story that packs a lot insightful observations into a few hundred words of juicy entertainment.

*This author was a featured panelist at TWWBF2023 and is scheduled to do so again at TWWBF2025. Plus, she's a friend in my head (to quote Wendy Williams). None of those facts make this short any less entertaining!

One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin

contemporary romance/women's fiction

Berkley, June 2024

Natalie and Rob weave in and out of each other's lives as they grow into themselves and eventually recognize the balance each offers the other. Lots of emotional chaos and growing pains mischief occurs.

Comments

Hot Love in the Kitchen & Travelling Through Time

Redemption of the Heart by Moni Boyce contemporary romance Love Snacks Publishing 8 January 2019 Despite addressing heavy themes of domestic violence, incarceration, and grief, Redemption of the Heart is a charming and sweet spicy read in the tradition of a 21st-century interracial homage to Janet Dailey’s monthly romance era. Gemma’s open-hearted ingénue contrasts starkly with Alex’s jaded workaholic. They struggle with a variety of challenges, but ethnicity isn’t one of them—a spin that feels particularly modern. Once readers commit to their suspension of disbelief regarding the cascading impact of lacks in due diligence by several characters, it’s easy to settle in to enjoy this love story. The recent public debate about the pros and cons of Gillette’s “We believe the best man can be” campaign ties in with the contradictory messages in the story threads about toxic masculinity. There’s a scene in which Alex apologizes to someone who was openly bragging among cowork...

A Million Lives Book Festival - An Unfortunate Exception, Not the Event Rule

[2 decorative stickers on lined writing paper from left to right: a round smiley face arranged upside down to look like a frown and a round smiley face arranged right sight up] By now most bookish folk and others have heard about the inaugural A Million Lives Book Festival held at the Baltimore Convention Center last Friday and Saturday. To recap: according to participating authors and attendees many promises were made and almost all of them were broken. As outreach director and co-organizer for The Write Women Book Fest scheduled to host its 6th event Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20 of this year at the Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center in Bowie, Maryland, U.S.A., my reaction to the feedback being shared about A Million Lives is nightmarish. Even though we aren't connected to it in any way or familiar with the event organizer or her company, our completely unrelated event has felt some minor residual effects because people are worried. And that's an understanda...

Author Cherry Dawn Fagbemi Chats with TBQ + More Books

Hearing author Cherry Dawn Fagbemi read a cliffhanger of an excerpt from Bad Seed at a Prince George's Memorial Library System event last year led us to stay in touch. Here's our recent conversation about her life, her work, this book and a future project on this episode of The Bitchy Quill podcast with founder Heather Brooks, who's also the founder of The Write Women Book Fest scheduled for Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20 at the Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center in Bowie, Maryland, where this author and 100+ more will engage with readers, give away swag, sell and sign their books on day one; an assortment of panel chats on day two: https://youtu.be/a73_k4DQZKI [ front cover of a trade paperback book, "BAD SEED, The Midnight Cries of an Island Girl, A Novel by Cherry Dawn Fagbemi"] This week's BAC (Book Acquisition Compulsion) bookstack includes a hockey romance because the Washington Capitals' first-round playoffs win happened during...

Search This Blog