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Heartbreak, Murder, Murky Circumstances, Questions of Loyalty

Reading is my happy headspace. The more stressful life is, the more solace books offer. 

[2 trade paperback books face-up - Love on the Rebound and Beautiful Broken Love next to 3 trade paperback books standing spines outward from left to right - Lavender's Blue, Rest in Pink, One in Vermillion] 

Love on the Rebound by Aries Skye 
contemporary romance 
Black Odessey Media, 2024 

Angela Richards is recovering from more than one kind of heartbreak and masking her private hurts with public bravado. Kinston Jordan isn't fooled even as he deals with the aftermath of his own romantic disappointments. 

The name glossary, acknowledgements, and teaser for Love on Board also entertain and entice. 


Beautiful Broken Love by Shanora Williams 
contemporary romance 
Montlake, 2024 

Nearly paralyzed with grief, Davina Klein-Roberts is struggling to move forward. Entrepreneurial success leads her to crossing paths with Deke Bishop who's dealing with his own heartache. Together, they figure out how to apply the lessons of past loss and mistakes to enrich their lives as individuals and as a couple. Laughter, drama, and sexy times included. 


The Liz Danger series by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer 
Lavender's Blue 
Rest in Pink 
One in Vermillion 
contemporary mystery with romance 
Argh Ink, 2024 

Liz Danger's goal to get in and get out of her hometown, that she hasn't visited in 15 years, with a quick turnaround is a bust as soon as she enters the town limits. Murder, mayhem, all kinds of secrets, interpersonal drama, and ridiculous although dangerous conflicts make this genre mashup a fun read that delivers lots of laughs, emotional complexity, and some spice. 

Fans of the Crusie and Mayer writing partnership rejoice!  

  

[The Game Is Afoot trade paperback book laying face-up next to 3 hardcover books spine-up from left to right - Mrs Spy, Kiss Her Goodbye, Atmosphere] 

The Game Is Afoot (Mavis Miller #2) by Elise Bryant 
contemporary mystery with romantic elements 
Penguin, July 2025 

In the personal and professional aspects of her life Mavis Miller is juggling a lot. She's doing her best and still feeling overwhelmed. And that's before her child's soccer coach drops dead during a match. Outrageous suburban high-jinks ensue. More reading joy for fans of Jayne Allen and Sophie Kinsella. 

note: Readers sensitive to detailed descriptions of spiralling high anxiety and panic attacks may want to proceed with caution. 


My speed reads, for fiction that's saturated in heavy sociopolitical and emotionally wrenching themes and traumatic content without the guaranteed HEA of the romance genre. 

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid 
late 20th-c. contemporary fiction 

Packed an emotional punch for me as a person who remembers watching NASA shuttle launches and landings on school days. A balanced blend of character development, scientific context, and layers of time and place makes this an epic and intimate read. 

Kiss Her Goodbye (Frankie Elkin #4) by Lisa Gardner 
contemporary mystery thriller suspense 

More complicated sociopolitical intrigue and tangled family dynamics combined with personal demons, shady characters, misdirection, and sacrifice. Wrenching with glimpses of hopeful possibilities. 

Mrs Spy by M.J. Robotham 
mid-20th-c. contemporary spy thriller 

So many secrets and most of them deadly... It's a good thing Maggie Flynn knows how to improvise. A heartfelt tale of moving forward through grief, presented with slick style. 


This - and a few of last - week's BAC Issues (Book Acquisition Compulsion), one of which ended up getting read sooner than expected.
[a bookstack of 6 books from top to bottom: The Game Is Afoot and Alice Chen's Reality Check arranged spine-out atop 4 books showing only the bottom of their pages] 

If you value freedom of speech for all, one accessible way to support it is to visit your local public library and to use their many resources and attend their programs. 

Always wishing you good health, peace of mind & joy. 
Happy reading! 

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