Oliver is a great writer who has chosen to start this introduction with the life of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. Through the growth and changing of Buddhism as it spreads, including details on the three main traditions, this is an excellent primer on a beautiful way of life.
This is a great book to get you started if you are interested in Buddhism or meditation.
Oliver, Joan Duncan. (2019). Buddhism: An Introduction to the Buddha's Life, Teachings and Practices. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Ayesha Shamsi is a substitute teacher. She writes poetry. And she is considered too old to marry. She is focused on her career and is comfortable with who she has become.
Her younger cousin Hafsa is in the process of finding a husband. Her goal seems to be someone handsome and rich. She trusts the process of arranged marriages.
Khalid Mirza works for a large technology company. He has been praised for his work but his new boss seems to want him out due to his traditional wardrobe. As a devout Muslim he feels most comfortable wearing a robe and a long beard.
Clara, Ayesha's best friend and Khalid's co-worker has a plan to set them up. But after a rough introduction, a false assumption and mistaken identity, they are off to a bad start.
Jalaluddin has written a wonderful love story set in the Canadian Muslim community.
Jalaluddin, Uzma. (2018). Ayesha at Last. New York: Berkley.
Julia Pierce is moving back to Kenota, New York, the town where she grew up. She is recently divorced, has no career, and is going to work at her family's winery while she lives in her grandmother's house.
Taylor Winslow has had a crush on Julia since high school. She is super happy to see Julia return, especially single. When they run into each other at the hardware store, Taylor volunteers to help Julia with a project.
Rey has written a sweet romance about finding your place, even if you have to feel like you are going backwards to move forward.
Rey, Aurora. (2020). The Last Place You Look. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Stroke Books.
In Ice on Wheels by Aurora Rey a roller derby rivalry changes as the enemy moves to New Orleans and joins her former rivals.
In Private Equity by Elle Spencer, Cassidy Bennet works for Julia Whitmore as her executive assistant. On a business trip to Seattle, they engage in more than business.
In Closed Door Policy by Erin Zak a professor falls for her student, a woman who is going back to school for a late career change.
Three fun, quick romances to introduce you to new authors to follow.
Rey, Aurora. (2019). Hot Ice. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Strokes Books.
Living in the last sultanate of the Iberian peninsula, Fatima is a concubine. She lives in the harem of a once rich palace. Her only friend is the royal mapmaker, Hassan.
Hassan has always had a gift. He can draw things he has not seen in vivid detail. He can alter maps to create shortcuts on maps that bend reality until the map is destroyed.
When a party representing the new Spanish monarchy arrives, lead by a woman who is high in the inquisition, it is dangerous for Hassan. When Fatima learns he is in danger the two escape.
They will head for an island off the coast - only heard of in tales. It is where the bird king lives. This is a wonderful fantasy set in a tumultuous time in history.
Wilson, G. Willow. (2019). The Bird King. New York: Grove Press.
Talley, Robin. (2020). Music From Another World. New York: Inkyard Press.
Roxane has decided to exercise more. Her hard drinking and odd hours investigating need a balance. But when she starts out on a trail, she hears a scuffle. A woman has fallen / was pushed down a steep hill.
School nurse Rebecca Newsome's daughter hires Roxane to investigate what really happened. She is sure that her mom's ex-husband must have done it. As Roxane pieces together Rebecca's last days, they don't add up.
Lepionka has created a wonderful, flawed character. Her writing will pull you in immediately and her twists and turns will take you by surpirse.
Lepionka, Kristen. (2020). Once You Go That Far. New York: Minotaur Books.
