Skip to main content

Fact and Fiction about the Mechanics of Love

Love is often messy and hard work. 
True, healthy, fulfilling love that endures, grows, and strengthens is worth the effort. 

[a small heart-shaped chocolate cake decorated with a curving vine next to a smaller pink heart] 
 

[a book stack of 4 books from top to bottom: Love Delayed, No Ordinary Duchess, Earl Crush, The Real Body Manual: Your Visual Guide to Health & Wellness] 

The Real Body Manual: Your Visual Guide to Health & Wellness by Nancy Redd 
non-fiction health and science 
Avery, October 2024 

Although the target audience is young people who are entering puberty, an introduction, seven sections named according to the areas and functions they address, a "final word" followed by the author bio, acknowledgments, notes, credits, and an index work together with numerous photographs to inform readers from puberty to most seasoned adulthood about what's happening with their bodies. Parents, guardians, and trusted adult mentors will all benefit from the accessible manner the scientific facts and fictions of body parts, bodily functions, and some medications and treatments. Reading it in advance and/or with a young person to answer their questions and alleviate their concerns seems like a mutually beneficial strategy. Similar to a dictionary combined with an encyclopedia, this reference book is a must-have go-to. 


Love Delayed by Anna Black 
contemporary romance 
Black Odyssey Media, November 2024 

Zamora and Marcus's second chance love story is super soapy; impulsive decisions generate unforeseen consequences, family drama, betrayals, lessons learned the hard way, laughs, and joy. 


No Ordinary Duchess (Greycourt #3) by Elizabeth Hoyt 
historical romance 
Forever, December 2024 

Multiple mysteries, life-threatening dangers, an isolated property... Elspeth and Julian's love story blends a mix of familiar literary references with fresh spice and relevant social commentary. 

from chapter 12: 
"Who are these people? she asked fiercely. "Who decides what is natural and what unnatural?... It's ridiculous. They pick and choose what they want from the Bible," she interrupted loudly. "They know it, and I know it." 

Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti 
historical romance 
St. Martin's Griffin, January 2025 

This utter delight of a tenderhearted romp mashes up pen pals, mystery, political intrigue, and suspense with romance and farce. 

from chapter 5: 
What hope could there be for change without universal suffrage? Why would anything ever improve... if a handful of terrible men controlled its fate and answered to no one? 

from chapter 7: 
"All politics are about people's lives. Our experiences are what drive our politics--our experiences and our sympathy for the lives of others." 


This week's reading options 
[a book stack of 8 books from top to bottom: A Novel Christmas, Sleeping with the Frenemy, Catch and Keep, Her Knight at the Museum, Perfect Fit, Much Ado About Margaret, Rewitched, One Big Happy Family]  

Take good care of yourself. You're worth the effort of being healthy, peaceful and well-loved.  
Happy reading! 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Authors Books Librarians Editors Agents Publishers... #USBookShow 2023

  4 days of all hits no misses of keynotes, interviews, panels, book recs, advice...   Highlights:  Day 1 Monday 5/22  an insightful and terrifying and motivational discussion of book banning as an attack on liberty with advice on combating it via local focus and the fact that 30,000 school board seats in the U.S. are opening up this fall  effective OverDrive/Libby strategies executed by savvy librarians  Day 2 Tuesday 5/23  memorable quote from Chuck D's lunch keynote conversation with Kelefa Sannen: "People listen with their eyes." Plus his STEWdio boxed set and naphic grovel play on words with graphic novel and so much more.  public relations, marketing, how not to get cancelled, redemption   Day 3 Wednesday 5/24  book recs!!!  Gloria Edim's (Well-Read Black Girl) conversation with Kim Coleman Foote about her fall release novel Coleman Hill from SJP Lit, including Sarah Jessica Parker Wade Hudson, Just Us Books co-found...
Post a Comment
Read more

123123! Goodbye 2023! Hello 2024!

  A Marquis to Protect the Governess by Parker J. Cole  historical romance fiction  Harlequin Historical, December 26, 2023  Sometimes scrolling through new releases available on Libby (even though there's a stack of physical books within arm's reach), leads to unexpected reading pleasure. That's what happened with me upon starting this gem of a tale. Like opening my first books by Ms. Bev(erly Jenkins), Gay G. Gunn, Vanessa Riley, Alyssa Cole, and Lisa Rayne, Isadora and Andre's rocky love story hooked me from the first page. Using a seamless integration of historical context, character evolution, and high stakes combined with emotional nuances, this author has crafted an engaging tale that organically includes people and places too often erased from historical romance fiction.   Hot Flashes and Hockey Slashes by Marika Ray & Sylvie Stewart, authors & publisher  contemporary romance fiction  October 2023  Who knew that normalizing op...
Post a Comment
Read more