Twice Shy

Twice Shy by Aurora Rey is her third book that takes place in a small town in upstate New York: The Last Place You Look and Built to Last.

Amanda Russo is the owner of the bakery, Bake My Day. Business is great. She just bought the neighboring space and is going to expand the bakery to twice the size. 

Quinn Sullivan is an architect. She is excited by the project she has next, a small bakery with a delicious reputation. 

Rey's books are well written and make living in a small town in the Finger Lake region of New York sound idea. Her characters are sweet and flawed, ready to take a second chance. She writes real-seeming, fully formed women who know what they want.

Rey, Aurora. (2020). Twice Shy. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Strokes Books.

Not Since You

Not Since You by Fiona Riley is a lesbian romance on a cruise ship.

Charlotte Southwick is taking her honeymoon cruise - alone and single. She is not letting her break up take away a week on a lesbian cruise ship and then a week on a tropical island.

Lexi Bronson has been working ships for almost ten years. She is a bartender and VIP handler. She has been roaming without a home since her father died, but is secretly saving up to buy a bar on a tropical beach.

When Lexi goes to the honeymoon suite cabin to welcome her new guests, she is shocked to she her high school sweetheart. Charlotte is equally shocked to see the love of her life when she is at her lowest. 

This is a perfect beach read - or when it is snowing outside and you want to be on a beach. 

Riley, Fiona. (2019). Not Since You. Valley Falls, NY: Bold Strokes Books.

You'll Never Believe What Happened To Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism

You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar is a funny but sad look at white people in the United States.

Filled with hilarious true stories from Lacey's life, many from work, this book presented by two sisters is not only a look at how far we have to go, but at a close sibling relationship. Amber tells the stories, Lacey interjects when necessary to keep her on track.

This project came about because so many white people have so many stupid, racist things to Lacey, that she started to keep a journal. She and Amber talk about them on the phone: Amber is in New York City and Lacey in in Omaha, Nebraska (their home town). 

This is a look at the crazy things that happen everyday if you are Black in America. Go buy a copy today, laugh while you learn what not to say to your Black coworkers and friends!

Ruffin, Amber & Lacey Lamar. (2021). You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

The Bookshop on the Shore (Kirrinfief #2)

The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan is the second book in her romance series that takes place in Kirrinfief, Scotland.

Zoe lives in London with her four-year-old son Hari. Her ex-boyfriend Jaz rarely helps with living expenses or even sees his son. Zoe needs to do something to improve their situation.

When Zoe meets Jaz's sister for the first time, Surinder thinks she may have a solution that will help. Her friend Nina runs a mobile book van in Scotland and needs time off for maternity leave. 

This added to a man who needs a nanny for his three unruly children will be enough to live off of. Plus Hari will be able to play outside in beautiful Scotland. The only draw back is that the children are awful.

This second installment in the Kirrinfief series is just as endearing. The rotten children will grow on you!

Colgan, Jenny. (2019). The Bookshop on the Shore. New York: William Morrow.

Gods of Jade and Shadow

The Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the tale of a human young woman getting in the middle of a battle between the Mayan gods of death. 

Casiopea Tun and her mother live with her grandfather in the Yucatán. Though other relatives also live there, including her horrible cousin Martin, she and her mom do all of the cooking and cleaning. It has something to do with the fact that her mother married someone of whom her grandfather did not approve. 

Martin is always getting Casiopea in trouble. He resents her relationship with their grandfather. When she is left home from a trip to the beach, she sees her chance to find out what is in the trunk in her grandfather's room.

What she finds is a skeleton! And when she touches it, a shard stabs her finger and her blood brings it back to life. Soon she is looking at the god of Hun-Kamé, one of the twin Gods of Death. 

After years, he can get revenge on his brother Vucub-Kamé who stole his throne. But when gods fight, it is often the humans who are at risk.

Moreno-Garcia has brought the mythology of the Mayan Popol Vuh to life in this fantastic novel set in the roaring twenties. 

Moreno-Garcia, Silvia. (2019). Gods of Jade and Shadow. New York: Del Rey.