Complicated Legacies of Culture & Identity...

Along with unfinished business from the past that haunts the present

[5 books; 3 face up and 2 spine up, from left to right: Best Woman, The Gist of Bid Whist, Blind Date with a Werewolf, Crazy Spooky Love, The Year of the Wind]

Read

Best Woman by Rose Dommu

new adult contemporary romance

Penguin Random House, September 2025

Madcap. Tenderhearted. Poignant. Satisfying.

Crazy Spooky Love (Melody Bittersweet #1) by Josie Silver

new adult contemporary romance

Penguin Random House, September 2025

Ornery relatives. Dangerous spirits. Romance gone wrong with potential for it to go right. Intrigue. Mysteries. Laughs.

Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs

adult contemporary supernatural romance

Penguin Random House, October 2025

This novel rendered in 5 short stories (3 previously published and 2 new) is all about Asil with cameos of Moira, Tom, and other series favorites. Looking for love in all the most dangerous places delivers all kinds of drama and a satisfying story arc.

Reading

The Gist of Bid Whist: The Culturally Rich Card Game from Black America by Lamont Jones

Black-Owned: The Revolutionary Life of the Black Bookstore by Char Adams

Both non-fiction books are less than 300 pages of accessible language and narrative clarity, but the historical contexts and details make me want to take my time reading, absorbing, and processing the information.

TBR

The Year of the Wind by Karina Pacheco Medrano

More BAC Issues (Book Acquisition Compulsion)

[8 stacked books, from top to bottom: The King Must Die, The Baby Dragon Bakery, After Happily Ever, Ladies in Waiting, All the Men I've Loved Again, An Introvert's Guide to Life and Love, Kooky Spooky Love, Circle in the Water]

Books and reading add joy to my life, and public libraries provide access to those simple pleasures and so much more. Just signing up for a library card supports them by showing that the community is using their many resources.

Always wishing you good health, peace of mind, safety & joy.

Happy reading & creating!

Comments

Tapping into Your Power

The following two books celebrate powerful characters who overcome their fears to manifest their greatness for the benefit of themselves, their loved ones and communities. So satisfying. [2 books from left to right: A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna, Direct Descendant by Tanya Huff] A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna contemporary speculative romance Berkeley, July 2025 Sera's story of navigating otherness was worth the wait. The advantages, responsibilities, and consequences of being powerful are explored with nuanced observations, humor, and compassion. Themes on distinctions between family by blood, choice, and intention weave throughout this poignant tale about paying attention and recognizing personal details as fundamental to the evolution of one's perspective on who and what are valuable. One of my favorite passages from the end of chapter nineteen: Like this was a thing that had, somehow, become...

Beach Reads That Sizzle (in Many Ways)

It's a miracle that so many actual and imagined human young survive into adulthood, and then on to old age. The following books offer entertaining and provocative tales of challenges, misadventures, and triumphs. [a collage of 4 images: upper left - It Had to Be You hardcover Thorndike Press large print edition set on the edge of a small table between 2 chairs; upper right - a "BEACH" tote bag in a striped beach chair along with a paperback ARC of Up in Smoke; lower left - a paperback copy of An Evening at the Hotel on a wood table next to a beach umbrella; lower right - a paperback copy of All Super-Heroes Need PR] All Super-Heroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stephens contemporary speculative romance Amazon Publishing, May 2025 Vanessa's story delivers a riveting aliens-among-us origin story, a fake romance with unexpected twists, and nuanced workplace interpersonal dynamics that offer drama, humor, razor sharp social commentary, and visceral memories of past chi...

TWWBF Grand Finale Gratitude & More Books

The 6th and grand finale The Write Women Book Fest 2025 event last weekend was phenomenal! It exceeded our most ambitious hopes during these very challenging times. Many, many heartfelt thanks to the each of the featured authors, tabling authors & their assistants, TWWBF Poet Laureate Aressa V. Williams, performing poets, storytime readers in the children's area, narrators, author and publishing services professionals... Special thanks to the 2/3 of the TBR Trio who attended, a dynamic IG influencer, and each and every attendee who engaged with participants and bought books and merch. And to the volunteers, Bowie Comfort Inn staff, the team at South Bowie Branch Library, and as always, our conscientious, tireless team of dedicated TWWBF voluntolders, expressions of gratitude beyond words! [a "The Write Women Book Fest" journal, a tote bag with "Maria Secoy Romantic Suspense" and a smaller "Thank you" tote bag] [a collage of 3 images: left - pla...

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