For those Who Love Enemies to Lovers: Like in Love with You and A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

14 Jan

Like in Love with You
by Emma R. Alban
Like in Love with You is a charming Regency Romance set in Bath, England in 1817 about two Queen Bees who start as rivals for the same gentleman and then realize that they are actually falling for each other. The first half of the novel was a page turner waiting to see if the two would ever announce their feelings for each other or continue their battle for a man they don’t have feelings for. Of course even when/if they do there is still the issue of the prejudices of the time period for them to overcome. I liked that Alban is able to depict Catherine and Rosalie’s scheming while keeping the two likeable. This book will have you rooting for the couple. Make sure you have plenty of time before starting this story, you won’t want to put it down. You can also borrow her Victorian romances Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend (about two debutantes who try and setup their widowed parents, but fall in love with each other instead) and You’re the Problem, It’s You (about a Lord and a Second Son who are rivals, but fall for one another).

A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon
by Sarah Hawley
A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon is a cozy contemporary romance/fantasy about a witch, Mariel, who accidentally conjures up a demon, Ozroth and is bound to him until she completes a deal for her soul. When her demanding mother catches them together she lies that he is her boyfriend and shenanigans ensue. What Mariel doesn’t know is that Ozroth has been secretly cursed to have a soul during another bargain. He struggles with atypical feelings for a demon including burgeoning feelings of attraction and possibly even love for her. Besides the romance story additional drama comes from Mariel and her friends attempts to block the building of a spa that threatens the magical forest that surrounds their town. If you enjoyed Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villian Anymore, then you will also want to check out this story. You can also borrow Hawley’s other two novels in her Glimmer Falls Series: Book 2, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch, about her best friend, Calladia, and Book 3, A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire about her boss, Ben.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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C.J Tudor’s Terror Tales: Horror Meets Old English Storytelling

7 Jan

When did you become a fan of something? You may not remember the day or time, but you probably remember the location or the product (in this blog, a book). Believe it or not, just 5ish years ago, I was a bona fide scaredy cat. I refused to watch scary movies, or if I did, I went to the 10:00 matinee or watched at home with every light on and my arms wrapped tight around my corgi pillow. 

Still, my chest pounding and the internal screaming of, “Don’t go in there!,” alongside the blood-boiling dread of a supernatural creature wrapping its ghostly tendrils around the protagonist, deeply intrigued me.

So, when did I take my captivation to the next level? Well, I was standing in the Hoboken Public Library, staring down C.J. Tudor’s (now my favorite author) novel, The Gathering. The cover shows a figure walking into a snowy, small town with a deep crimson sky roiling above her. The snow is heavy and high upon the shops. 

Ok, you got me visually. Oh, and then I read the blurb: a detective investigating a grisly crime in rural Alaska finds herself caught in the dark secrets and superstitions of a small town. 

Oh hell’s bells, a small town supernatural horror. As someone who grew up in a Wisconsin town of 999 people, this strummed my heartstrings tight. 

The first scene: a boy is found with his throat ripped out and all the blood drained from his body. 

And who does the small town think is responsible? An ostracized community of vampyrs living in an old mine settlement.

C.J. Tudor has a remarkable flair for English pub-style storytelling, mixed with the jump scares of American horror and the long-drawn-out dread made famous by Mr. King. 

After just a few weeks, I was on to the next, her first and the one that put her on the map: The Chalk Man. Next up, The Drift. Then, The Burning Girls.

I’m fascinated by the psychological dread exposed in her characters when faced with unfathomable events. She is becoming a master at blending childhood trauma with adulthood responsibilities and spinning a web of horror intermixed with societal questions. It’s not just who will survive or solve the crime, but what will survive. Is it worth it for a population to live on if they undermine and banish another? Is fear tethered to something more profound than just ignorance? What in our past lingers that only absolute terror can bring to the surface enough for us to make a decision? The classic ‘should I stay or should I go’ moment, if you will. 

The Burning Girls: a story about a troubled vicar and her daughter moving to a quaint English countryside town to run the parish, but soon find out the town is buried in worry of, you guessed it, girls who were burned alive and still haunt the town, which is now a TV series, too.  

Horror/thriller/mystery/supernatural lovers, C.J. Tudor must be on your list. 

Which novel will you be checking out? Comment below.

C.J. Tudor’s name is linked to her author page on the BCCLS catalog to make it easy for you to reserve her titles. 

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Written by:
Sean Willey
Information and Digital Services Assistant

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