Best Books to Read Now: October 2018

Is there anything better than a crisp autumn day and an excellent book?

The answer is, NO. There is not. Because autumn is prime reading season, I thought I’d get back to sharing my recommendations of what I’ve read and what is next on my TBR list!

The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick

Amazon || Apple Books

The Phantom Tree by Nicola Cornick is a fabulous book for fall. It has everything - Tudor history, a dash of romance, a mystery, and time-travel! I have been recommending this one to a lot of people so if you read it, please let me know how you like it! I’d love to talk about it.

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Amazon || Apple Books

I just realized I recommended this one at the end of the summer, as well. HA! That’s how you know it’s good. Still, as mentioned in my Women With Books episode with Chanel Cleeton (she’s the one who finally got me to start the series), this is really the perfect book to enjoy snuggled up on a dreary day with a hot cup of tea.

Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco

Amazon || Apple Books

One of the things that gets me to recommend a book is if I cannot get it out of my mind. And this is one of those. No, it’s not a great literary piece or a fast-paced thriller or steamy romance. It’s an easy to read, funny yet thoughtful memoir of one of the most senior White House staffers for President Obama. As we go through yet another divisive political season, I think more of us should read books like this one, that remind us what government (and politics) looks like through an insider’s lens and how it can be used for good. And yes, I think people of all political stripes can find something to enjoy in this one.

TBR PILE!

What’s next on my to-read list? I’ve been saving these two as a reward for when I get my edits done (which should be ANY DAY NOW!!)

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

Amazon || Apple Books

My Favorite Half Night Stand - by Christina Lauren

Amazon || Apple Books

So I’ve been anxiously awaiting both of the above, since I interviewed Jasmine (last JANUARY?? Has it been that long???) and C.Lo this summer. (You can find both podcast episodes here: Women With Books.) These authors know how to bring me tears and laughs with their modern romances and I know it will be exactly what I need after I RIP MY HEART OUT (sorry - I meant to say, ‘finish my edits.’)

And of course, I can’t let a “Best Fall Books To Read” blog go by without mentioning that my book, THE ROYAL RUNAWAY has been included in several “best of” lists!

Check these out!
Bookbub’s 18 Best Fall Romances

Get Literary’s Five October Fiction Picks

AND…

In Style’s Ten Books You Won’t Be Able To Put Down This October

 The Royal Runaway!

Amazon : http://amzn.to/2EhFPuz

BN.Com: http://bit.ly/TRRBN

Simon & Schuster: http://bit.ly/RoyalRunaway

Apple : http://bit.ly/TheRoyalRunaway

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2xQNdrl

Kobo: http://bit.ly/TRRKobo

So go on - what are you waiting for? I give you permission to joyfully purchase all the books that will make your heart warm and fluttery this autumn.

Best Books to Read Now: 2018 Women With Books Summer Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

Earlier this summer, I introduced the 2018 WOMEN WITH BOOKS SUMMER READING CHALLENGE!
 

Did you do it? What did you read? 
I sort of accidentally completed the challenge, and I talk all about it on the Season 3 opener of my podcast, Women With Books. Check out the episode here. And while you're listening, these are the books I discuss....
 

A royal book! 

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Amazon || Apple Books

BEACH BOOKS

Cocoa Beach by Beatriz Williams

Amazon || Apple Books

New To You Genre

Prisoner of the Crown by Jeffe Kennedy

Amazon || Apple Books

A Diverse / Inclusive Read And Debut Author
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
 

Amazon || Apple Books

 

A Book that Inspired a Movie/ TV Show

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan:  Amazon || iBooks

A Book with A Pretty Dress on the Cover

Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean

Amazon || Apple Books

The Governess Game by Tessa Dare

 

Amazon || Apple Books

Book from a Former Women With Books Guest
Check out Tessa Dare's, Sarah MacLean's and Jeffe Kennedy's books, above!

I'd love to hear if you read anything good this summer and I definitely recommend the above books so go ahead and add them to your TBR pile! And while you're one-clicking, make sure you reserve your copy of my next release... THE ROYAL RUNAWAY!  Anyone who has good taste in books will enjoy it! 
 

Best Books to Read Now: 2018 Women With Books Summer Reading Challenge

This time of year, I'm always being asked - WHAT'S A GOOD BOOK TO READ???  
Between road trips, vacations and lazy days in the shade, it seems like everyone agrees that it's the perfect time to immerse yourself in a great book. 

So in response to popular demand, I'm introducing....

For the next three months, join me as we explore new genres, discover new authors and bask in the glory of love... mystery... adventure...  Of course you can pick whatever book you want in each category but I'm going to give some recommendations... you know me. I can't RESIST giving book recommendations...

Ready?  Let's start with what everyone's been obssessing about!

A royal book! 
 

I've done a lot of talking about the Royal wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry this spring, including hosting several inspiring authors of royal romance. Here are some of their awesome books:

A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole Amazon || iBooks

Royally Wed by Teri Wilson Amazon || iBooks

Command Me by Geneva Lee Amazon || iBooks

The Royal We - Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan Amazon || iBooks

BEACH BOOKS

Every time I do the lightning round in a podcast interview I ask people if they prefer a book with abs on the cover or a beach scene. So let's pick some books with beach scenes this summer. My recommendations...

Kristy Woodson Harvey's Peachtree Bluff series: Amazon || iBooks

All the Breaking Waves by Kerry Lonsdale: Amazon || iBooks

Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers by Sara Ackerman: Amazon || iBooks

New To You Genre

Branch out this summer. Do you want to try...

A mystery? Try Deanna Raybourn's Victorian ones or Gigi Pandian's Treasure hunt ones!

Fantasy? Try the new series by Jeffe Kennedy or L. Penelope

Historical women's fiction? The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Paranormal romance & Urban Fantasy?  The Shadowchasers' series by Seressia Glass or anything by (my all-time favorite) Ilona Andrews

Book from a Former Women With Books Guest

I've already mentioned a bunch on this page! But check out the Women With Books episodes for a deeper dive. 

A Diverse / Inclusive Read
 

It's really important to me, as a reader, an author and a podcast host to promote and recommend books by all types of authors. Many of the recommendations I'm making in this post include authors of color, but for even more books check out... 

WOC Romance
20 Books by LGBT Authors You May Not Have Read...but should

 

Debut Author

 

This is another branch of the Women With Books mission statement, to support debut authors. To that end, I'm very excited to suggest these authors who all debuted in the past year!

Alexis Daria's debut,  Take the Lead: Amazon || iBooks

Kate Clayborn's debut,  Beginner's Luck: Amazon || iBooks

Jasmine Guillory's debut, The Wedding Date:  Amazon || iBooks

Madame de Boudoir's debut, King of the Sea  Amazon || iBooks

A Book that Inspired a Movie/ TV Show

I always love reading books that will be or have already been interpreted on the big (or little) screen. Part of it is keeping up with the zeitgeist, participating in the discussions at the water cooler. And part of it is my analytical brain that likes to see the differences in adaptations. Either way, I enjoyed BOTH the books and the adaptations of the first and third of these (and I'll definitely be buying a ticket to Crazy Rich Asians!)

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty: Amazon || iBooks

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan:  Amazon || iBooks

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Amazon || iBooks
 

A Book with A Pretty Dress on the Cover

 

As I mentioned above, I always ask guests if they prefer abs covers or beach scene covers. But you know what my favorite type of cover is? Pretty Dress Covers. And these three are GORGEOUS, don't you think??  (Another favorite is Deanna Raybourns' Lady Julia Grey series, mentioned above.)

Chanel Cleeton's Next Year in Havana 
Taylor Jenkins Reid's Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Sonali Dev's A Bollywood Affair

So. Are you ready? Inspired? Feeling competitive?  I'd love to hear what you're reading this summer and what you recommend! Comment below or on any of my social media and use the hashtag: #WWBSummerReads to update your friends and the Women With Books community on what you're reading this summer! (And check out the podcast where I talk about all this!)

AND... while you're updating your TBR pile, make sure you reserve your copy of my next release... THE ROYAL RUNAWAY!  Anyone who has good taste in books will enjoy it! 
 

Best Books to Read Now - June 2016

Reminder/ Caveat/ Disclaimer: This is my (hopefully) monthly list of books I’ve read and enjoyed. These are not reviews, I do not include books I didn’t enjoy because life is too short to speak badly of books!

Um...how did it get to be summer already? The kids are out of school, the weather is  getting  too sticky for my walks and I'm finding myself reaching for a beautiful chilled rose instead of a cup of  tea.

Summer  is such a fabulous reading time, isn't it? You've got trips and vacations and lazy days by a pool or the lake and we all need reads that will  take  us away.

Once again, I've  got an  interesting mix this  month. I  dug up some reads from my TBR pile, took a chance on a new trope and indulged in continuing a  series.

Silent in the Sanctuary / Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

silent on the moor

silent in the sanctuary

First up?  Two more Lady Julia Gray mysteries!  My husband and I were able to escape to  Cabo San Lucas for a quick getaway to celebrate my birthday.  I posted pics on my

instagram

and our trip was as heavenly as it looked. I have this (strange?) affinity for reading about rainy, cold locations while sweltering by a pool so reading about Lady Julia Gray at Belmont Abbey and on the Yorkshire moors  was perfect for me. 

Silent in the Sanctuary

kept me guessing the entire  time  and

Silent on the Moor

was an unusual mystery in that it was piecing together a mystery from the past. Two more winners from Ms. Raybourn.

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

bollywood affair

Shamefully, this book has been in  my Kindle for YEARS. YEARS. Y'all know how that happens.  You one-click a book because of rave  reviews and a gorgeous cover and then... life. Other  books. Pretty soon, your new pretty book is on page four or  five  in your Paperwhite and  you keep thinking, "why haven't I read

A Bollywood Affair

" when you see the constant recommendations on Twitter.  So  because I'm awesome like that, I finally opened this one... and I couldn't put it down.

It's a contemporary Indian romance, set in the U.S. (... mostly) but the characters are wholly influenced by their culture and history back in India. There's a complicated relationship between the hero and heroine - you know, your typical "my brother's annulled child bride" trope.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the unique cultural and plot points and Ms. Dev truly shines in writing characters jump off the page, fully realized and nuanced and loveable.

Simply Irresistible by Rachel Gibson

simply irressistible

Speaking of tropes, the secret baby trope is... not my favorite.  Especially in contemporary romance.  A few years ago, I gave one a shot and, um.  Let's just say I was not planning on reading another one.  Until I was listening to the

Avon on the Air podcast

and  Sarah MacLean said this was the secret baby book that would convert people who didn't like secret baby books and while I respect Ms. MacLean's professional expertise, I was dubious.  Because SECRET BABY, y'all. But I bought it because HOCKEY PLAYER HERO.  You see where my priorities lie.

Turns out, Sarah MacLean was right. *sigh*   This book is a joy, the characters totally made me believe in the secret baby and I'm *semi* converted to secret baby books if they're recommended by Ms. MacLean.

*Note* on Avon on the Air.  I'm trying really hard to be respectful here and call Lucia Macro and Sarah MacLean by their proper names. Because when I listen to this podcast, I'm totally calling them "Lu" and "Mac" and discussing books in my head with them (or whoever's on the podcast.) I just love talking books, even if its an imaginary conversation.

See

, also, this blog.  If y'all know of any other awesome book podcasts, let me know because I'll happily talk to other podcasters in my head.

Or if you know other good secret baby books, let me know about those, too.  I will readily admit that I could be, maybe,  a little wrong about secret babies.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

the winter sea

Here's another from the TBR pile.  This one, unlike A Bollywood Affair was not buried in my kindle. It was on my bookcase. Because it was an actual, physical hardcopy of the book (shocker, right?) that my mom had 'loaned' to me a few years ago. I always knew I'd like Susanna Kearsley's timetravel-esque book about 18th century Scotland because I have a well-documented love for other time-travelly 18th century Scotland books.  *cough* Outlander *cough*

On a side note, this season's

Outlander

is KILLING ME.  Just knowing what is coming at the end of the season is preliminarily devastating me. I'm texting my friends after each episode asking them for comfort because the end is going to be so exquisitely terrible and then we'll have to wait a stupid amount of time before Season 3 starts...

or maybe not

??

So yes, Ms. Kearsley's novel did not disappoint.  It flips back and forth between the past and present and while no actual time-travel  takes place, you, the reader, feels as if it has.  I can't wait to read another Kearsley novel, especially after I heard her  

interview on the SMART BITCHES podcast.

(another podcast where I talk to another Sarah in my head all the time. I swear, I'm completely normal.)

And that's it for this month!  I'm not sure I'll have an official BEST BOOKS TO READ NOW post in July.   I'm doing a lot of non-fiction research for a new book I'm writing and I'll be headed to RWA nationals in San Diego  (where I'll be sure to add to my TBR pile, natch).  I may do a Best of Best Books post instead and then my usual post RWA roundup.

Oh! I'm also busy getting this little baby out the door.

The Last Plus One

The Last Plus One eBook Cover 400x600

Her release date is 6.13.16 and you can read more about it here.  If you're not already, make sure you like

THE LAST PLUS ONE facebook page

and

sign up for my newsletter

. We're doing a few giveaways, posting excerpts and talking about weddings and you don't want to miss any of that.

As always, keep reading and let me know if you read something amazing!