YF Highlight: Jilly Gagnon's "#famous"

 

You can find this book here.

This book not only focusses
on young adult life, but in particular social media and dating life. 

In Gagnon's book, Rachel takes a picture of a boy she likes and posts it on social media. The way it blows up on social media makes Kyle famous, but Rachel a target. 

The book is told from both the perspective of Rachel and Kyle, alternating each chapter respectively. The voices of the characters suit the age range, as does what seemed to be the behaviours and responses to situations. Like a lot of issues with relationships (romantic or otherwise), one things that always stands in the way is communication. So look out for how the characters communicate (or miscommunicate) with each other. 

Nora Roberts' "Dark witch"

 

This book can be found here.

Roberts has written a plethora of novels. So, I expect you to have heard of her. In libraries, she takes up a lot of shelf space, and a lot of the romance fiction 😀

'Dark witch' is of course a book full of romance, but there is some supernatural/fantastical elements to it. This could pique your interest.

This book centres around Iona Sheehan, who travels to Ireland to learn more about her family’s history and legacy of magic. Her cousins Branna and Connor O’Dwyer welcome her well, particularly when she tells them about the dark dreams she has about an evil sorcerer named Cabhan, who has sought revenge against the family for hundreds of years since the first Dark Witch, Sorcha, stopped him from stealing her powers. That's the supernatural side. The romance? This comes in the form of a cranky but incredibly sexy stable owner, Boyle McGrath. And there may be a happily ever after for them together if the cousins O'Dwyer are able to find a way to defeat Cabhan. 

As far as the plot goes, it follows the traditional romance genre. However; it is a trilogy so the overarching Dark Witch story continues on. Something to know about the trilogy: each book comes from the perspective of a different cousin. So you will receive a different romantic focus each time whilst trying to find out just how to defeat Cabhan. This part may seem therefore like it drags (but maybe it builds as you progress through the books). 

The characters are okay. Again, I felt they were rather set-up as romantic characters, so they fit that mould. The sections about Sorcha were probably my favourite; and depending on your reading of Iona you may find her slightly frustrating because of how she is written. In terms of Cabhan, there doesn't seem to be a lot there. Just remember the focus is the romance, so you won't have any strong opinions of the big bad without more of his perspective. 

The best part of the novel I found, was the description of the settings and the atmosphere of the characters' surroundings. This was very strong and made the book feel more romantic. 

Overall, if you like romance you will probably like this book. If you have never read another Roberts' book, this might be a good place to start (especially as we have the entire trilogy in the library to be read!).

Links for you

Cousins O'Dwyer trilogy:

Shadow spell (book 2)

Blood magick (book 3)

As she has written over 200 novels (!), I have made a list of some of her most recent here:

Awakening (2020, it is book 1)

Hideaway

Under currents

This particular book is not a romance, but a thriller. So maybe something different for you to try?

Staff pick: Jane Coverdale's "Jasmine wife"

 

You can find this book here.

Coverdale's novel is a classic historical romance set in India. As the blurb on the back says:

Sara Archer's future as the dutiful wife of a British official in India seems assured, until a chance meeting with the gorgeous and powerful Ravi Sabran changes everything. Under the heat of the Indian sun, the veneer of polite society wears off quickly and soon Sara realises that nothing is as it appears to be, especially her husband Charles. But in the beautiful jasmine gardens of the Maharajah's palace, Sara follows a forbidden path away from her bullying husband, towards Ravi and the long-buried secrets of her own birth.

Romance novels tend to follow very defined patterns, as does any genre, and this book was no exception to that. You may not be surprised by much in this romantic story, but you might enjoy some of the characters. 

Sara, for example, is 'ahead of her time' for the historical setting; being influenced by the beginnings of the Suffragette movement and feeling more at home around the Indian population than the stuffy, bigoted English. This may or may not bother you, depending on whether you think it is realistic or not for Sara to be so open-minded during this period. 

Whilst this novel is not historic in terms of specific dates or even possibly specific events that may have occurred during the time; the descriptions and colours of the environment are very strong. As Coverdale comes from an Art Director and Scenic Artistry background, this makes sense. 

The pace is slow. So, if you like romance and action to move quickly, this may not be the read for you. However, it shows a lot of restraint of characters trying to understand emotions, duties and responsibilities and how to balance these two things together. That might be of interest to you. It is more about characters understanding themselves than an epic romance.

Books for Christmas

 

Christmas is a time for family, friends and togetherness. Sometimes (though not necessarily here in Australia) it is about snow, fireplaces, love and ... unicorns.

people who enjoy Christmas, get excited over the season, or want ideas for the holidays can prepare with resources from the library! There are all kinds of books that can be borrowed to show and share that holiday cheer and spirit that comes around every December 25. 

Picture books:

Timothy Knapman's and Ada Grey's picture book is the magical unicorn version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. There is counting, humour and Christmas wishes everywhere!

You can find this book here.

This is an interesting Aussie tale (or should I say tail) about a sugar glider competing against other bush animals to help pull a sleigh. Alexa Moses and Anil Tortop write a book filled with Christmas magic; that centres around Australian animals. The best of both worlds for Christmas!

You can find this book here.

Adult fiction:

"For as long as Christmas has been celebrated, poets and writers have sought to explore every aspect of it, whether the story of the nativity, gatherings with family and friends, or the festive traditions that have grown over the centuries. And such works have forever changed the way we think about the holiday. A Literary Christmas is a seasonal anthology collecting poems, short stories and prose extracts by some of the greatest poets and writers in the English language. Like Charles Dickens's Ghosts of Christmas past and present, these texts represent times old and new ..." cover insert. 

Compiled by the British Library; it contains many of the best classic Christmas moments from English poetry and literature. The cover just screams English Christmas too, doesn't it?

 You can find this book here.

This book has two short stories in it by Debbie Macomber: Christmas wishes and Rainy Day Kisses (though the second is possibly far less Christmassy than the first). Full of romance and light-heartedness, these stories may just make you feel all warm all over as love stories around Christmas create joy, longing and a special kind of romance for the season. 

You can find this book here. 

And, seemingly Macomber loves Christmas just as much as others! She has written multiple romance fiction novels around Christmas, if you would like to have a peek here.