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Competitive Romances: Raiders of the Lost Heart and Love & Other Disasters

29 Nov

Raiders of the Lost Heart
by Jo Segura
Raiders of the Lost Heart is a new romance novel by Jo Segura coming out next Tuesday, December 5! Archaeologist Dr. Socorro Mejia aka Corrie is a renowned expert on the Chimalli, an Aztec warrior, who also is claimed to be one of Corrie’s ancestors. When a expedition is planned for the Mexican Jungle to find Aztec artifacts from Chimalli, she jumps at the chance even if the organizer is shrouded in mystery. When she discovers the expedition is being lead by Dr. Ford Matthews, a rival since her grad school days, she thinks her big break, might instead be a big mistake. Despite the feud between the two, there is simmering heat from the novel’s start and for readers who are drawn to friend to lovers romantic storylines this will be a funny, spicy treat. Also as a fan of the Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider series I enjoyed the exciting adventure aspect of the story (Ford Matthews gets his name from Harrison Ford). The fact that Corrie has ties to the culture that she is exploring and the author herself is of Mexican descent, helped with the negative cultural associations that can arise from this type of archeology adventures feeling exploitative.

Love and Other Disasters
by Anita Kelly
I was curious to check out Love and Other Disasters when I saw one of my colleagues was reading it with one of HPL’s Book Clubs a few months back. I’ve read several other romance books set during the recordings of reality cooking competitions and was curious to see how this one compared. This book focuses on the romance between two contestants on the show London and Dahlia. Dahlia is getting over a divorce and London is still getting comfortable with their non-binary identity so neither is necessarily looking for love, but they both feel an attraction when they are placed at nearby stations during the show taping. I thought the romance was sweet and both London and Dahlia were charming. I also liked that beyond the romance the novel also had added family complications that both London and Dahlia need to resolve and the novel would be a good read for those looking for stories of new adults working on finding themselves and solidifying their identities. My one qualm with the story was the way in which there is much discussion about London’s identity as a non-binary person, Dahlia’s identity as a queer sis-woman is never really explored and felt a bit glossed over. On the whole though I thought this was a positive portrayal for the LGBTQ community and would recommend it to fans of foodie romances.

For reviews of two romances and one mystery set during the holiday season checkout next Wednesdays post!

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Creative Cozy Reads: Bookshops & Bonedust and The Proof of the Pudding

8 Nov

Bookshops and Bonedust
by Travis Baldree
I was a huge fan of Travis Baldree’s first novel, Legends and Lattes and had even picked it for one of our recent Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion Group where we enjoyed discussing it while sampling cinnamon buns and other treats almost as tasty as Thimble’s. I was curious to see where Baldree would choose to go with his next novel, Bookshops and Bonedust. I wasn’t expecting him to decide to write a prequel, but I think this worked well and helped give further insight into the character of Viv who goes from enjoying and thriving in the adventurous life of a mercenary to retiring to coffee shop owner. I thought it might be awkward to have a romance with a character that had her HEA (Happily Ever After) already, but I found it to be bittersweet and moving in its own way. In both novels friendship is as if not more important than romantic feelings so in some ways the fact that we know that they will not have a lasting partnership adds to the strength of what they are able to forge for the time. I really enjoyed the new characters that were included in the book. Unlike the previous typically soft spoken shy ratkin, Thimble, in Bookshops and Bonedust, Fern a local ratkin bookshop owner has a mouth that would make a longshoreman blush despite her heart of gold. Her adorable pet, gryphet, Potroast, who is a whimsical spin on the gryphen, part owl and part dog, brought some adorable humor to the novel. Baldree excels at taking classic fantasy tropes and giving them fun tweaks. I will definitely look for more from Baldree in the future whether it is exploring more from his current characters or bringing new ones to life. You can also read a previous blog post about Legends and Lattes from one of my colleagues.

The Proof of the Pudding
by Rhys Bowen
Lady Georgianan Rannoch, a fictional cousin to the royal family in the 1930’s seems to have gotten her hearts desire. She and her husband, Darcy, are awaiting their first child at the beautiful Eynsleigh estate belonging to her stepfather Sir Hubert. But even with all the joy on its way, darkness also appears with the war with Germany on the horizon and mystery of course follows Georgie wherever she goes. This whodunnit, The Proof of the Pudding, surrounds her new chef, a Frenchman, who Georgie met in Paris and invited to be her cook at the estate, replacing the basic fare prepared by her former loyal, but clumsy lady’s maid, Queenie. When a nearby gothic horror novel author asks to borrow her chef, Pierre, for a special charity dinner party, Georgie and Pierre agree, but all does not go as planed with several guests falling ill and two of them being fatally poisoned. Georgie must help discover whether their deaths were an accident or were there darker motivations? Like many of the books in the charming Royal Spyness Mystery Series, the mystery is fun to unravel, but at time feels secondary to the humor between the charming, but proper Georgie and the fun unruly characters she often is surrounded by. I’m looking forward to the next entry where hopefully we will see what adventures Georgie and Darcy’s little one has them up to. You can read several previous blog posts about the series.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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