Swoony Reads for Your TBR
When a customer comes through the door looking for a recommendation, we are often asked for a book that is an escape. This can mean different things to different readers, but for some of us, myself included, one genre that reliably provides an escape is romance. Saturday August 21st is Bookstore Romance Day and in honor of celebrating romance authors, with their happy endings, witty dialogue, and love in all its forms, several of the Island Books staff are offering their personal recommendations of romances they’ve loved!
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
I am not in the mood for surprises. I haven't been for several years, but I'm really not in the mood these days. I want to know how things will go, but I also don't want to be bored. That's a tough combination. Enter - the well-written, romance novel. I'll tell you right now that the two main characters will be together in the end. I haven't even told you which book I'm recommending, but I still promise you a happy ending. It's an added bonus if the book makes me laugh. All of these things (happy ending, lack of boringness, and humor) are fully present in Talia Hibbert's trilogy about the Brown sisters. The most recent follows the youngest sibling as she tries to find a job and a purpose while muddling her way through cooking at a bed and breakfast. Never mind that she has never been a professional cook before or that the B&B owner values stability and professionalism and she is the opposite of those things. She's out to prove that she can be responsible. He's in need of a chef. And they have chemistry - oodles of it. Like the main characters in Hibbert's other books, Eve and Jacob are not cardboard cut-outs of Romance Novel Protagonists that shuffle through a lame meet-cute, make a few bad choices, then kiss and get married. Jacob is on the autism spectrum and Eve is, well, Eve isn't quite sure what she is. They face personal challenges but, eventually find a way make a relationship work. Of course they do! I promised you that in the beginning. Full of laughs, soul-searching, butterflies in stomachs, and steamy (quite steamy) romance, I highly recommend any of the three if you're in the mood.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters Book #1)
Take a Hint, Dani Brown (The Brown Sisters, Book #2)
The Switch by Beth O’Leary
A little bit of steam, a little bit of hijinks, and a lot of fun.
When Leena Cotton is forced to take a two-month sabbatical from her high-pressure city job after a breakdown during an important presentation, she decides to swap places with her recently divorced grandmother, Eileen. Leena relocates to Eileen’s small cottage in a tiny Yorkshire village for some long overdue rest, relaxation, and self-reflection; meanwhile, Eileen moves into Leena’s big city apartment to expand her dating pool and to get a second chance at the London adventure she’d always dreamed of, but never got to have. However, trendy flatmates, nosy neighbors, and family drama all make walking a mile in one another’s shoes more difficult than either of them would have supposed.
This feel-good book highlights the importance of family, friends, and community, while also showing that love and second chances abound. O’Leary’s warmth and wit drew me in from the very beginning. The romance is sweet and a little spicy, while the focus is on Eileen’s and Leena’s growth as they overcome both the emotional and physical obstacles between them and the people they care about. This is a book with characters you want to cheer on and celebrate with, a book to linger in and savor every word.
The Flatshare and The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary (a little steamy and a decent amount of steam, respectively)
The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden (historical, little to no steam)
Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson (historical, little to no steam but excellent romantic tension)
The Layover by Lacie Waldon
This recent favorite of mine is a debut from flight attendant Lacie Waldon - about flight attendant Ava Greene and her last trip before settling down with her ambitious fiancée. Ava thinks she’s managed to finagle the perfect ending to her career in the air when she scores a 24-hour layover in Belize. And even though things don’t get off to the best start when she finds out that the irritating (and handsome) Jack Stone is part of the flight crew, Ava is still determined to enjoy herself. But when mechanical troubles ground their flight in Belize for the weekend and Ava and Jack reluctantly join forces to matchmake for their co workers, Ava starts to rethink her opinion of Jack. Even if she has been holding a grudge against him for years.
I’ve always loved novels that pull the curtain back, taking me behind the scenes to what it’s really like for a profession. Since the author is herself a flight attendant I was fascinated by all the details she included, from the way that Ava packs her suitcase and organizes her hotel room during their stay in Portland, to the idiosyncrasies of working with different crews from flight to flight, and the quirks of the people on her flights. Even more, I loved the hilarious banter between Ava and Jack as they work together, and fight together, and get stuck in some “interesting” situations together. I’ve noticed that a lot of what draws me into a romance novel (besides the romance) is clever and witty dialogue. For many of them, it feels like the authors give themselves permission to be playful with their characters, and that allows me, as the reader, to have just as good a time reading it. I definitely notice when a book makes me laugh out loud. If your idea of escape is a book that takes you on a vicarious vacation while constantly making you laugh, pick this one up!
We have many fantastic romances on our shelves. If you want more suggestions, be sure to ask one of us what we’re reading. It’s a good bet there’s a romance in the mix.
