Novelas Romanticas Gratis

  Karen White is the author of one of my favorite series: The Tradd Street series. I was a bit heartbroken when that series came to a conclusion last November. However, to my absolute delight, Karen White said she had a new series beginning this year, with some of the characters from the Tradd Street series.  The Shop on Royal Street is the start of that new series, and it features Nola Trenholm, who is the stepdaughter of Melanie and daughter of Jack Trenholm from the first series. Nola was in the first series a lot, and the last few books helped set up this series. My biggest surprise was the time jump: eight years from the end of the Tradd Street series. But it felt seamless, and made perfect sense. Nola is now 26 and has just moved to New Orleans with a new job as a historic preservationist working for a civil engineer business. She's got a Master's degree and has returned to New Orleans to face some issues that happened her first year in college there. I re...

  Julia Child was the first person besides my Mom that I saw cook food. Of course, it was easier to watch my Mom, standing on a chair in our kitchen and being up close (and if I was lucky, getting to lick the beaters).  Julia Child I first saw on PBS, on a Saturday. I didn't know what to think of this woman who gestured a lot, had an interesting voice, and seemed both incredibly gifted and a bit silly all at once. She made food I'd never heard of, and wasn't sure I'd like, either. My palate was definitely 1970's Midwest child.  It wasn't until I was much older, and my Mom had passed, that I found out she was not a born cook, and didn't really enjoy cooking much. But with eight children, she learned to cook. Julia, however, inspired me to be interested in cooking in a different way--to enjoy the process, to think about the ingredients, and most importantly, to inhale the results. She also taught me it's okay to fail sometimes, and that sometimes the end r...

  Mother Nature teased us last week into thinking we just might be moving into Spring with beautiful days and warmer temperatures. But this week, it's been chilly and the last few days super windy. The sun is shining, so it's not all bad--and I am spotting green things poking out of the ground in my flower beds.  I have to say there isn't a part of the year where I'm not excited about new books. Every month there is something to look forward to, and April is no exception for me. I've been reading a bit more, but still much slower than usual. Right now it's safe to say I have four books all going at the same time, and all completely different than the others.  Here are some of the books I'm eager to see published in April, as well as some titles I plan on reading this month: This book was just released and is a new series about a "recovery" person who finds lost items. This novel introduces characters and sends us on an epic lost treasure adventure....

  I'm one of those folks who wish they were blessed with an ability to write a compelling, fascinating, and unputdownable novel. Unfortunately, it's just not in my wheelhouse. That doesn't stop me from admiring authors who have that talent and discipline to craft worlds I get to live in, just for a little while.  On today, International Women's Day, I am posting a few of my favorite authors. Over the years, I've noticed I read novels written by women about 90% of the time. It's not a purposeful thing I do; however, it's just what I'm drawn to and enjoy. I have my favorite male authors as well. But today it's all about the women!  Here are a few of my favorite authors, in no particular order. They write historical fiction, science fiction/fantasy, contemporary fiction, mysteries and thrillers. This is by no means all of my favorite authors (I can't have just one!) but they definitely have given me great reading memories: Geraldine Brooks Mercedes ...

  I've been writing this blog since March of 2010. I'm closing in on twelve years, which is unbelievable. I started this blog because I enjoyed talking about books to people and I felt the need to widen my scope--talking to book lovers as a bookseller was great, but just not enough. I wanted to share my thoughts and excitement with more people. I've had some high reading years and months, and really low reading years and months. One thing I've noticed in the past year is my energy to keep going with my blog has been really slowing down. When I say I'm tired it's just an all around tired in body and mind. Trying to keep up with my reading and always thinking about blogging is just tiring. Life has changed a bit recently, and I find it a struggle to read like I used to--which was pretty much anywhere, anytime.  I love to read. It has sustained me all of my life, and kept me company through many tough situations and much grief. Feeling stressed? Grab a fun, lighthe...

  To purchase from Amazon, click here Hester Fox returns with a novel that combines history, museum work, magic, and tragedy. It's an interesting combination that all comes together and left me trying to decide if I sympathized with charming and mysterious Margaret Harlowe.  There are two stories, with chapters either labeled Margaret or Augusta, so it is not difficult to switch between the two characters or time periods. Margaret is the only daughter of the wealthy Harlowe family in Tynemouth, Massachusetts in 1876. She's beautiful and restless. She also possesses magical abilities and on the side helps women in town who seek her assistance late at night in the woods. She's got her eye on the handsome Jack Pryce, a shopkeeper's son who can't take his eyes off Margaret. Is it love or lust between the two?  Present day in Tynemouth, Augusta gets her dream job as curator for the Harlowe House Museum. She's got an eating disorder, is in a failed relationship, and f...

  I had to put the books I've been reading on hold this last week so I could read Heather Gudenkauf's latest--I had a 10 day check out from the library so I couldn't dither! It wasn't hard to do, because this novel grabbed me from the first few pages and I quickly became completely invested in the characters and the plot. Wylie Lark is a true crime writer, and she's come to Burden, Iowa to stay in an isolated farmhouse to finish her latest book. A big blizzard is heading quickly towards town, and Wylie heads to the farmhouse to huddle up and wait out the storm.  Twenty years before, young Josie Doyle and her friend Becky were spending a last summer night together out at Josie's parent's farm. It was hot and hard to sleep. The girls slip out to jump on the trampoline outside, and hear gunshots in the house. Running towards the house, the girls quickly realize their mistake and turn around to flee into the cornfields.  Josie makes it into the field to hide, bu...

  To order from Amazon, click here  It feels like I've been missing a lot of historical fiction in the past year, when it used to make up a large portion of my monthly reading.  Fiona Davis' The Magnolia Palace got me off to a good start in 2022. I always enjoy her novels, set in New York City and centered around famous New York City landmarks. It's a great combination of fiction and history; you can tell Fiona Davis does her research.  This novel takes us to 1919 New York City--but also 1966 New York City. What links the two periods together? Henry Clay Frick and his family, and art.  The 1919 story centers around Lillian Carter, who is an artist's model that is known as "Angelique". Her face and body are on numerous statues, monuments, and sculptures all around New York City. Lillian's mother has just died, and without her guidance, she's a bit lost--and broke.  Lillian quickly finds herself in trouble with the police and, after spending the nig...

  To order, click here   This delightful mystery has been getting all the buzz lately, and I couldn't wait to read it.  Molly Gray is a maid at the Regency Grand Hotel, and she takes her job very, very seriously. She will not leave a hotel room less than perfect for a hotel guest. Her tag line: "I am here to restore your room to a state of perfection".  Molly is a character that is certainly memorable. She has trouble reading social cues and takes everything people say literally. She's painfully honest, too. Sadly, she's a loner amongst the hotel employees, and of course they make fun of her. Yet she is the sweetest, most honest person around.  One day, Molly returns to the hotel suite of the Blacks, a rich couple who frequent the hotel. Molly doesn't care for Mr. Black, as he's rude, crude, and treats his young second wife badly. He's been known to be mean to hotel staff, too. Molly had already been in the suite once that morning, but had to leave bef...

  To order from Amazon click here   I'll admit sometimes I stubbornly refuse to read an author right out of the gate--mostly because there's so much praise about the novels that I have to take a step back and not rush to jump on the bandwagon. I don't want to read something just because everyone else is--I'd rather come around in my own time.  So, I ordered Malibu Rising from BOTM and decided to give it whirl. I was looking to read something very different after reading my Christmas novels in December. This fit the bill! Yeah, I loved it. I don't know if it was the setting: Malibu in the early 1980's; or the characters, or reading a novel set by the Pacific Ocean in the warm California sun. All of it combined to create a read that I simply couldn't put down.  So, the Riva family: Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit. Children of singer Mick Riva (I kept picturing Dean Martin), who was a famous crooner in the 1950's, all the way up to the early 1980's. He ...

  To purchase, click here This novel wasn't on my TBR list until I came across it at work. A quick glance at the cover had me quickly checking it out and taking it home. Magda Trudell is the caretaker of the Whimbrel Estate in Key West, the home of poet Isobel Reyes. Isobel famously walked off the dock near her home in 1918, drowning in the ocean. Her body was never found. Now, that reputation has people visiting the area to also end their lives. Magda makes it part of her duties to walk the beach and check the mangroves to see if any bodies appear. Not exactly what a caretaker should be doing on a daily basis.  Madga has fought and fought to get extra funding for the Whimbrel Estate. She's poured all her love and admiration for Isobel's poetry into her life and is an expert on Isobel's poetry. She's been caretaker of the estate for ten years, and has fought tooth and nail to preserve the gorgeous estate and bring a historic landmark designation to it. Unfortuna...

       It's here! My Top Ten! Where did this year go? I think I'd like to just blank out 2020 & 2021 and jump right to 2022.  Only problem is then I would have to forget all the wonderful books I saw, touched, read, and yes, dreamed about reading.  The end of the year is always a time of reflection for me as I look back and think about my DNF's, titles I bought and are still sitting on a shelf (or in a pile on the floor); the books I said I'd read and review and didn't. I look at other bloggers and sometimes feel like I'm not reading the books I should be reading. It can all become a downward spiral pretty quickly, until I stop myself and think about why I've been blogging for over 11 years.  I do it because I like to talk about what I've been reading. Sometimes I read the popular books, and other times I like to read books that didn't get the spotlight but are absolutely wonderful reads. Sometimes I get on a kick and only read one type o...

  To purchase from Amazon, click here   There's nothing I like better than to recommend books to people. It's no surprise, then, that this novel gave me all the feels and a lot of sighing over my "if I could do it all over again" wish to own a bookstore in a small town.  Nora and Simon operate a small bookstore in the village of Stowford, England. Nora inherited the shop from her mother, and they've been a cornerstone of the village for thirty years.  Unfortunately, unpaid taxes and a slowdown in sales has meant Nora is keeping some important news from Simon: they are in danger of losing the shop if payments aren't brought up to date by the end of the year.  Simon is oblivious to the financial pickle they're in because Nora is worried about his heart (he had a minor heart episode previously) and won't let him help much in the shop.  An elderly man stops in and purchases a special book--it's the one book that has gone unsold in the shop for thirty...

To purchase from Amazon, click here  I've read quite a few Anita Hughes novels and she has a way of putting me right into glamorous places that I'm pretty sure I won't have a chance to experience in my real life. And that's exactly what I enjoy about her novels.  This one is particularly interesting because it takes place over the Christmas holiday at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. It also involves the author of the Eloise books, Kay Thompson. A little bit of literary history tossed in with the magic of New York City at Christmas time--and romance, too. Sabrina is a struggling writer who is just scraping by when she gets hired by renowned art dealer Grayson Prescott to help write his memoir. Part of the deal is staying at the Plaza Hotel for six days and nights on his dime. Sabrina is thrilled not only for the paycheck, but also because Eloise is her favorite heroine from childhood.  What makes it even more appealing   are Grayson's stories of his time as a b...

  To purchase from Amazon, click here  My holiday reading continues with this entertaining tale that takes place in Chicago.  Meg Julliard has returned to Chicago after her father dies and leaves her to manage the apartment building he's owned and managed for decades. It's an apartment building for senior citizens, and Meg grew up there with her family but  fled to New York City after her sister died and the memories were just too painful. Now she's had to leave her fashion career to take on the management of the apartment building and she's got her hands full.  This is no ordinary building, and the residents are no ordinary residents, either. From sassy Sylvie who knows all about running the building, to beautiful and elegant Ellie who once, a long time ago, had her heart broken on Christmas Eve at that very same building--the people who populate this novel are all warm, caring characters.  Of course, there's the handyman with a he...