Archive | Fiction RSS feed for this section

Favorite Picks from our New Librarian!

9 Jul

Hello! I am Dejeunee, a new Librarian here at the Hoboken Public Library. I’m so happy to be a part of this community and contribute to the blog. I believe it is only fitting for me to share some of my favorite books in my first entry as a way to introduce myself. These are all recent favorites from various genres that can be found in our library catalog (physically in the library or through one of our digital resources such as Overdrive/Libby).

Literary Fiction:
Sula 
by Toni Morrison
Sula is a short novel (174 pages) that packs a punch. It explores themes of friendship, fear, and trust through the relationship between Sula and her best friend, Nel. The two grew up together in a small mid-western town but Sula eventually leaves to follow her dreams and Nel stays and gets married. Sula’s return to their small town tests the limits of their friendship and the trust once held between the two. 

Romance:
Promise Me Sunshine 
by Cara Bastone
Just keep your tissues ready for this heart wrenching new romance from Cara Bastone. Promise Me Sunshine is a romance novel that is also about grief, and friendship, and navigating mental health challenges and it is a beautiful story. Lenny has recently lost her best friend, and one of the great loves of her life, to cancer. While grieving the loss of her friend, she is short-term nannying for a 7 year old named Ainsley who has a very handsome, but grumpy uncle named Miles who always seems to be around. Miles is looking for ways to connect with his niece and enlists the help of Lenny, while he attempts to help her navigate her grief. This mutually beneficial arrangement blossoms into so much more. 

Horror:
Natural Beauty 
by Ling Ling Huang
Natural Beauty is a literary horror that takes you on a wild ride into the depths of the beauty and wellness industry. Set in New York City, we meet a young pianist who is down on her luck after her parents were involved in a tragic accident. Now being the sole provider for her family, she seeks a way to make steady money by working for a wellness company called Holistik. During her tenure at the company she starts to notice many things about herself changing with her appearance. 

I hope you pick one of these to check out and maybe we can chat about them.

Written by:
Dejeunee Depts
Information and Digital Services Librarian

Tags: , ,

Sisters Cooking Up Competition: A Catered Bake-Off and The Chicken Sisters

25 Jun

A Catered Bake-Off
by Isis Crawford
A Catered Bake-Off is the latest in Isis Crawford’s long running cozy Mystery with Recipes series. I had read a few in the series in the past and enjoyed them so was curious to give this one a peak since I’m a fan of The Great British Baking Show something that the New York based competition in the story took inspiration from. The Simmons sisters Bernie and Libby run a catering company A Little Taste of Heaven and are excited to participate in the baking competition, but from the start of the first run through in preparations for filming, disasters abound; some like a herd of goats in the tent are funny, but when a judge receives life-threatening injuries from an espresso machine, it becomes much more serious. A creepy anonymous prologue which sets the suspenseful tone for the story, lets the reader in on the fact that these aren’t just horrible accidents. The sisters must solve the mystery before the killer comes for them. The story weaves in some contemporary issues like the real estate crisis which keep it feeling current. It was easy also to jump in to the drama even not having read all of the other novels that came before this one since the novel largely focused on a group of new characters rather than a huge cast of reoccurring ones. The author adds a personal element by including 3 recipes from family and friends at the end of the story. Fans of cozy mysteries like Donna Andrews’s Meg Langslow Mysteries should enjoy this tasty treat.

The Chicken Sisters part of Hoopla’s Hallmark+ BingePass
The Chicken Sisters reminded me of the Gilmore Girls if the family/community dramedy were located in the South rather than in New England its fun quips, but at a slower pace with a southern drawl. The story is about two beloved fried chicken restaurants feuding over a generations old grudge, which was only increased by a Romeo/Juliet romance between two of the younger generations. The TV series is based on the book by K. J. Dell’Antonia. Wendy Malick and Lea Thompson are the stars at the two matriarchs, but the younger generations of children and grandchildren are also charming. When the TV show Kitchen Clash comes to their town it heats up the competition between the two restaurants and forces them to deal with the family drama that has been simmering for so long. It is definitely good that this addictive drama is part of the Hallmark+ BingePass. You can watch as much of the show and other Hallmark Chanel series and movies as you have time for over a 7 day period using just one of your Hoopla checkouts. I also recommend streaming the mystery movie series Curious Cater (based on the books by Diane Mott Davidson) , Murder, She Baked/Hannah Swenson Mysteries (based on the books by Joanne Fluke), and the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries (based on the books by Charlaine Harris).

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

Tags: , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →