All Books Considered

The Maidenheads by Benny B. Peterson Blurb from Goodreads : A bighearted debut novel about queer yearning, indie musicians, and bushwacking a thorny path back to your first love Jamie is bad at endings, which is why she's stuck at a dead-end Baltimore newspaper job, continuing to have break-up sex with her first-ever hetero partner, and haunted by the what-ifs of her ex-girlfriend Mari—a charismatic and brilliant musician—and their former band together, the Maidenheads. Since they (and their band) broke up a decade ago, Jamie hasn't been able to sing. Then an unexpected opportunity to perform in DC with Mari's successful new band arises, and Jamie jumps at it. What begins as a return to music becomes a reckoning—with the weight of unfinished love, the voice she long buried, and her own complicated past. But as Jamie channels more of her energy into the band, other threads in her life begin to fray, and she ...

By the Bootstraps by Alexa Martin Blurb from Goodreads : A cowboy romance enthusiast discovers that everything’s bigger in Texas—even love—in this swoony novel from beloved author Alexa Martin. Fueled by a love of romance novels, Luna Starr was destined for a life with her head in the clouds. Her delusional tendencies serve her well…or at least they used to. When life throws her a curveball, she decides it’s time to turn her cowboy fantasies into reality and purchases a tiny farm in Celestial, Texas. After all, don’t all heroines try to outrun grief? Tate Jacobs hates cowboys, which is a small problem, considering his family happens to own the largest ranch in Celestial. Life might not have gone the way he wanted, but as head coach at his old high school and the town’s best (and only) handyman, he’s figured out how to stay busy and keep his head down—u...

Rachel West and the Fallen Starlet by Emma Mills Blurb from Goodreads : Celebrity gossip can cut to the quick, but when it turns deadly it’s up to an aspiring reporter and her quirky neighbors to close the case in the first of a witty and nostalgic new mystery series. Baby doll top, gladiator sandals, and fully loaded iPod at the it’s 2008 in Los Angeles, and Rachel West is a little less starry-eyed than your average ingenue. Copyediting a celeb gossip rag isn't the glossy entertainment journalism Rachel thought she would be doing but hey, it pays the bills. Some of them, anyway. Rachel’s life changes overnight after meeting Molly Byrne, a former child star and current tabloid fave for her drunken escapades and rotating cast of boyfriends, and what begins as a chance encounter in a nightclub bathroom quickly grows into a genuine friendship. When Mo...

Major Gift byTiffany Ezuma Blurb from Goodreads : The widow of a tech mogul is determined to give her wealth away—and keep one secret from the journalist tasked with telling her story. A hot new take on the billionaire romance. When Ndidi Davis’s husband unexpectedly dies, she’s left bereft—and with $2.1 billion in the bank. She channels her grief into launching a charitable foundation, but the endeavor is made more complicated by Geoffrey Campbell, an ambitious, perceptive journalist assigned to profile her philanthropic pursuit. Geoffrey’s reporting slowly uncovers Ndidi’s whole heart—and some parts of her past she’s worked hard to keep out of the public eye.   I didn't enjoy this as much as some other 831 Stories but it was still great!  It plays on something we have previously seen that has been converted from real life to fiction (th...

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay,  Narrated by Ari Fliakos and Brittany Pressley Blurb from Goodreads : Every Year He Comes For Them. On one fateful night in 1992, the lives of two seventeen-year-olds are changed and intertwined forever. Quinn Riley, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, is arrested after he innocently tries to break up a fight but ends up nearly killing someone. Jules Delaney, high school royalty, survives an attack by the elusive and terrifying May Day Killer—a serial predator who strikes every May 1st in midwestern small towns. A year later, Jules is struggling with trauma and guilt, tormented by the Why was I spared? Quinn is newly released from juvenile detention and returns home to fresh the unsolved murder of his mother. Over the next decade, their lives are revisited on a single day each year—May 1st. As secrets unravel an...

Love Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Swati Hegde Blurb from Goodreads : In this second-chance workplace romance, two lawyers find themselves working in the same office after a steamy vacation fling a year and a half ago, from the author of Can't Help Faking in Love Naina Shetty is a proud workaholic, and she is gunning for a promotion at her law firm. No distractions will get in her way this time, not even the bad breakup that happened over a year ago. She brushed off her pain with a long vacation and a no-strings-attached fling with a handsome stranger, but now Naina is back to business. Unlucky-in-love Tejas Rajput hasn’t stopped thinking about the brown-eyed beauty he met on the beaches of Goa two summers ago. He’d been looking for a rebound to get over his ex—which is why he’d agreed to keep things strictly casual, use fake last names, and respond t...

The Last Page by Katie Holt Blurb from Goodreads : Ella has grown up at The Last Page, a charming local bookstore in New York City where she now works. Her first kiss was in the women’s health section. A boyfriend dumped her in comedy. The owner is like a second father to her and has begun training her to take over the store. So when he unexpectedly dies and his estranged grandson is left everything in the will, Ella is devastated.  Henry doesn’t know the first thing about running a bookstore. With his aging mom back in Tennessee, he plans to stay in New York just long enough to ensure things are running smoothly and then head back home. What he never could have counted on was the beautiful, funny bookseller who loves The Last Page more than any place in the world—and who sees him as the villain who’s come to ruin her life. But when it becomes evid...

Last Summer at Maine Chance by Jessica Everett Blurb from Goodreads : Economics undergrad Cynthia Proctor knows everything about statistical impossibilities. In 1954, women like her from middle-class families do not earn degrees from prestigious New England colleges. When Cynthia receives notice that her scholarship will now be given to a male student, she knows her chances of graduating are slim. But an invitation to spend the summer lakeside in Maine turns into a job at Elizabeth Arden's Maine Chance spa, where Cynthia will learn that the best investment of all is herself.   This was enjoyable and transported me to a place I didn't know existed -- the Maine Chance spa in Maine in the 1950s.  Cynthia's struggles and impossible position were very well written and my heart ached for me.  My favorite character, however, was the artist t...

Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez Blurb from Goodreads : Four years after graduation, life isn’t going the way Camille Luna expected. Her corporate career is soul-sucking, she's in debt from student loans, and her breakup with her ex has created a serious rift between her college best friends. When her spiraling lands her in jail for the night, it's Danny Brennan —the lovable burnout from their college clique— who bails her out and offers the perfect solution to her quarter-life a summer by the beach. Cam is whisked away to Elswick, Rhode Island, where former slacker Danny has taken over his uncle’s restaurant and turned it into a seaside hotspot. But while Danny has grown into a devoted boss and dog dad, his carpe diem life philosophy is still as fiery as ever. The hazy summer days start to blur between shifts at the restaurant, dips in the ocean, and a reignited passion for writing, all alongside Danny who make...