I’ve always been a fan of the Romance Novel – I started reading them in junior high – but there has been a big shift in recent years from stories that revolve around two fairly one-dimensional people falling in love to stories about two complicated people, with depths of emotions and life experiences and medical conditions and diverse cultural and racial and socio-economic backgrounds and a full spectrum of gender and sexual identities falling in love, and we get to really learn about who they are as people while still getting that fun endorphin rush from the meet-cutes and built-up tension and happily-ever-afters.  Plus, our will-they-won’t-they protagonists always have a slew of quirky besties that enrich the story. Maybe these deeper romances existed 30 years ago, but I certainly didn’t know about them, and they are just so good. 

My new favorite is The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood.  I’m really tired right now because I read it in 24 hours. I could not put it down.  First of all, it’s hilarious, and a RomCom is even better than a Romance. This one ranks in hilarity with two of my all-time favorites: Attachments by Rainbow Rowell and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abi Waxman.  The lovebirds here are biology PhD student Olive and Professor Adam (not her professor, that would be weird) who enter into a Fake Relationship for reasons I won’t spoil for you, but the ridiculous situations created by their web of lies do not disappoint. This is a classic romance trope, but this book gets a little bit meta with it to humorous effect. While told in third person, we are inside Olive’s messy brain at all times and the contrast between her self-deprecating thoughts and her sarcastic sass is sad and sweet and funny all at once.  

Before I’d even finished this book, I went looking for others by the author because give me more! As it turns out, Ali Hazelwood has many other published works, but they are all in scientific journals because she is, in fact, a scientist, just like her characters. How did this side career come about when she is clearly very busy being a successful academic? It turns out Hazelwood used to write Star Wars and Star Trek Fan Fiction for fun, and she got so much positive feedback and encouragement from the FanFic Community that she decided to try writing something original.  Somehow this story makes the book itself even better!

Romance novel disclosure: This one is middle of the road in the Steaminess Department: descriptive but not explicit. 

Book rating: ALL THE STARS! Take it on vacation, unless you want to actually hang out with your friends and family, in which case stay home alone and read it guilt-free in a single day like I did. 

Review from Bri

Finding Langston is the first in a trilogy by Lesa Cline-Ransome. It’s a story about Langston, an 11-year old boy uprooted from his life in Alabama and thrust into 1946 Chicago where he moves with his Dad, seeking a better life after his mother dies. We follow Langston to school through his city neighborhood, witness his struggles as he deals with a bully, a new school and the difficulty of not fitting in anywhere – even with his Dad. He soon realizes that he can always escape his everyday world with a book and also discovers that he shares a love of poetry with his mother. Lots of historical facts are peppered throughout this fast paced book – we learn much about writers and other historical figures in Chicago, what life was like for African Americans during those years in the city and how it differed from life in the south, yet remained the same. 

For ages 9 -12; grades 2-5.

From Library Journal: Cline-Ransome’s novel is an engaging, quick, and relatable read that skillfully incorporates themes of race, class, post-war American life in the North and South, and a bit of Langston Hughes’ poetry.

Find this book at the library here

Get book 2, Leaving Lymon, and book 3, Being Clem.

Reviewed by Susan.

This book was an absolute delight to read from start to finish. Probably my most enjoyable read from last year and perfect effervescent escapism with just enough bite to keep you absolutely hooking and chomping at the bit for the next installment.

This book is narrated by teenage El, who is at a school for wizards, but unlike any one I’ve ever seen. Built into a void, the school has no teachers and isn’t for the faint of heart as it’s infested with monsters that eat the magically inclined to consume their power. Students survive by wheeling and dealing and forming alliances, but El has a hard time with this, as her natural affinity for total destruction is a bit of a turn-off and she covers this up with a sarcastic wit which is so much fun to read.

This book effortlessly combines complex world-building with action and character development in this exciting new magic world. Knowing that Novik has drawn from fairytales for past books, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one had some influence from old myths, but none that I have ever heard of. This is an exciting story with engaging characters and I’m so excited for the next installment of the series (scheduled for this June) to see what happens next!

Reviewed by Pam.

Set in Paris, and told from the point of view of animals who make this wonderful city their home, this book is transportive, to another place, yes, but even better in these times, to another way of life, one outside of human concerns. Featuring a dog who has lost her master, an intrepid horse who ran away from the racetrack, a raven, a couple of ducks, and a little boy who crosses their path, Smiley deftly navigates this tightrope while remaining fairly realistic and never veering too far into the “cutesy” realm. This book is a delight to snuggle up against, like your favorite pet.

This book is a fabulous, wholly original read. Set in a nice suburban town in the south, it seems a vampire has come to town, charming a book club full of housewives and eventually disrupting their strict social mores. I couldn’t put this book down, as engaging for the women’s interactions with each other and this circumstance as for what that vampire is going to do next.

Reviewed by Pam.

When we went into lockdown last spring, I was too upset and distracted to read anything (which felt a little embarrassing at the time because, you know: librarian.) I eventually started reading again but only books that were light-hearted.  Bonus points if they made me laugh out loud. 

When I read a review of The Museum of Forgotten Memories that mentioned it took place in a Victorian-era taxidermy museum, and that the museum itself felt like a character in the book, I was intrigued enough to take a risk on a book that probably wouldn’t make me laugh.  And it did not make me laugh.  But it didn’t make me cry (much) either, even though our modern-day heroine, Cate, and her special-needs son are dealing with heartbreaking loss and a very scary and uncertain future. 

This book is really about hope and courage and strength. The entire cast of characters are fascinating and complex, the museum included among them! Anstey Harris’ writing is simple, but lovely, and I enjoyed her descriptions of the museum (based on the real Powell-Cotton Museum in Birchington, England) and of Cate’s inner thoughts. Unexpectedly, I sped through this book, loving the passages that delved into the past, and unable to wait to find out what would happen next.  I’ll be moving Harris’ first novel, Goodbye, Paris, to the top of my “To Be Read” Pile! 

Reviewed by Bri

Available as an ebook via Overdrive HERE

Recipe For Persuasion deals with underlying themes of cultural identity, abusive relationships, complex parent-child dynamics, and feminism, but it still manages to read like a light-hearted romance.  The protagonists are loveable and fragile (and dreamy!), their flirtation is adorable, and their tension is steamy.  This book has a typical romance story arc, but the setting of a celebrity cooking competition is unique and fun.  If you like cute rom-coms, this one won’t weigh you down with its heavy undertones, but it may give you things to think about.  Highly recommend! 

Reviewed by Bri

Available as an ebook via Overdrive HERE

I really like a good psychological thriller book and this was one. I had never read Natalie Barelli, but I will again.

Rachel Holloway is a bookkeeper for a local newspaper but the paper is in trouble financially. To save the paper, the editor decides to run a podcast about young Molly Forster who disappeared 15 years ago after her parents and sister were brutally murdered in their own home. The podcast is called Missing Molly and the staff is investigating what happened to her after that night. The alleged murderer was arrested but committed suicide before the trial. But was the accused really the guilty person?

Rachel fights to keep the podcast from happening, but she is consistently overruled. As the investigation continues, the reporters suspect that the townspeople have many secrets and no one is talking. But the townspeople are not the only ones with secrets. Rachel has a secret too and she is horrified it will be discovered and put her and her loved ones in terrible danger. Rachel has been running from her secret for years.

This book is a page turner and a very quick read. 

Reviewed by Terri

Available as an ebook via Hoopla HERE and as a digital audiobook HERE

Julia Alvarez is from the Domincan Republic and this is her 6th novel. AFTERLIFE  is her first adult novel in 15 years. She is also the acclaimed author of TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES and HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS LOST THEIR ACCENT.
The main character, Antonia Vega, has just retired from the college where she taught English when her doctor  husband Sam suddenly dies. To add to this trauma, her big-hearted but unstable sister disappears which causes her and her other two sisters to hire a detective to find her. Antonia is part of a hilarious sisterhood —she has three sisters scattered across the U.S all  in their 60’s.Of course Antonia leaves for Chicago to help find the missing sister.
Also, living next door to Antonia is a Vermont farmer employing immigrants,who are actually hiding out. When Antonia returns to her home, she finds a very young pregnant girl who is a girlfriend of one of the immigrants next door. Antonia thought widowhood would be lonely and quiet, but it has turned out to be just the opposite!
AFTERLIFE is a fairly short novel showing the bonds of family and the power of being needed and loved. Alvarez has written a gem and I really liked it. 

Reviewed by Terri

Available via Hoopla HERE

Told in comic vignettes of one- and two- pages, this short and light-hearted collection will have you nodding your head in agreement all the way through. You may recognize Mr. Snider’s work from his New York Times illustrations and posts on social media.  His drawing style is the perfect complement to his amusing and sometimes poignant text. It’s ideal for everyone, kids or adults – and even those who don’t normally enjoy graphic novels or comics will definitely get a chuckle from Grant’s humorous take on the world of books.

Reviewed by Susan

Available via Hoopla HERE