All Books Considered

The Puzzle Box (Puzzle #2) by Danielle Trussoni Blurb from Goodreads : It is the Year of the Wood Dragon, and the ingenious Mike Brink has been invited to Tokyo, Japan, to open the legendary Dragon Box. The box was constructed during one of Japan’s most tumultuous periods, when the samurai class was disbanded and the shogun lost power. In this moment of crisis, Emperor Meiji locked a priceless Imperial secret in the Dragon Box. Only two people knew how to open the box—Meiji and the box’s sadistic constructor—and both died without telling a soul what was inside or how to open it. Every twelve years since then, in the Year of the Dragon, the Imperial family holds a clandestine contest to open the box. It is devilishly difficult, filled with tricks, booby traps, poisons, and mind-bending twists. Every puzzle master who has attempted to open it has died in

The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts Blurb from Goodreads : Inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma, this joyful Christmas romp tells the story of a woman who can’t stop trying to help everyone around her find their happily-ever-after—even when her help leads to disaster. Frankie Lane knows what’s best for just about everyone but herself. Her divorced sister, Stef, who is too young to give up on love; her shy employee, Elinor; and her daughter, Natalie, who works in Frankie’s shop, Holiday Happiness, and really needs to start her own business selling the delectable chocolates she makes at home; even her best friend, Viola, who is trying to renovate her old Victorian. Frankie knows she could help all of them, if they’d just let her—and if all of her help didn’t end in utter disaster. Then there’s Mitch Howard, the owner of the local hardware store. They’ve be

Rachel Weiss's Group Chat by Lauren Appelbaum Blurb from Goodreads : Opposites attract in this hilariously cheeky, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about feeling stuck, the importance of friendship, and learning to open your heart. The year is already off to a bad start. It’s not enough that Rachel Weiss is stuck in a job she despises and has an unfortunate attraction to men who disappoint her. It’s the Year of Turning Thirty . . . and now her mother won’t stop trying to set up Rachel with the millionaire buying the house next door. Luckily Rachel has amazing friends and their juicy group chat to keep her going. But amid work-mandated therapy, her thirteen gray hairs, and biking in the buff, she can’t help wondering why she isn’t moving forward like everyone else. As Rachel’s life—and circle of friends—begins to fall apart, she confides in the last

The Lightning Bottles  by Marissa Stapley Blurb from Goodreads : The author of New York Times bestseller and Reese’s Book Club pick Lucky returns with a spellbinding story of rock ’n’ roll and star-crossed love—about grunge-era musician Jane Pyre’s journey to find out what really happened to her husband and partner in music, who abruptly disappeared years earlier. He was the troubled face of rock ’n’ roll…until he suddenly disappeared without a trace. Jane Pyre was once half of the famous rock n’ roll duo, the Lightning Bottles. Years later, she’s perhaps the most hated—and least understood—woman in music. She was never as popular with fans as her bandmate (and soulmate), Elijah Hart—even if Jane was the one who wrote the songs that catapulted the Lightning Bottles to instant, dizzying fame, first in the Seattle grunge scene, then around the world. But

The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain Blurb from Goodreads : Love could be a recipe for disaster, or the best thing they ever cooked up... Kieran O'Neill should be on top of the world. He's just won a cooking reality TV show, he's on track to open his own restaurant before he turns thirty, and he's even got a high-paying cookbook deal. Still he can't impress his stuck-up family, his ADHD makes planning ahead impossible and, worst of all, his ghostwriter is the most uptight, humourless woman he's ever met. But to be seen as a serious chef like he's always wanted, he needs to finish this book... Ellie Wasserman is barely holding it together. She's a thirty-year-old widow living with her needy in-laws, her little brother won't adult without her help, and instead of working on her own cookbook, she's ghostwriting one

Time to Rise by Helene Holmström,  Translated by Marlaine Delargy Blurb from Goodreads : It’s her struggling bakery. But it’s his reality show. More than tempers will flare in a warmhearted and positively delicious opposites-attract romantic comedy. Nora Jansson will do anything to save her parents’ beloved bakery from bankruptcy, even if it means allowing a TV reality crew into her kitchen and her life. Not to mention celebrity pastry chef Henrik Eklund, its impossibly rude host who’s happy to point out Nora’s baking missteps—on cue. It’s bringing out her feisty side. My Review: I adored this and really hope more works by this author get translated! It was equal parts baking, behind the scenes baking reality show and nuanced, understated yet steamy romance.  Nora was such a relatable character and Henrik had the best energy.  If you like enemies to lovers (although enemies may be overstating it a bit), give this one