Saturday, July 29, 2023

Quick book recommendations...

 
A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter

Sadie writes Westerns, but her publisher wants her to write a romance this time instead because her Westerns aren't selling. Only Sadie doesn't know anything about writing a romance; she's never even been in love. When she's offered a beach house on Tucker Island where she can write for the summer, she agrees to give it a try. And her broodingly handsome neighbor, Sam Ford, turns out to be great inspiration for her new novel...and maybe for her own love life.

This is a cute and clean romance. There's also a bit of  mystery in it surrounding a lost engagement ring that Sadie discovers hidden in a book in her Little Free Library. I liked how Sadie and Sam work together to track down the ring's owner. I also really liked how the author includes a romance novel writing tip at the start of each chapter. 



The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

This is another humorous and entertaining science fiction book from Scalzi. I really liked his main character, Jamie Gray, and couldn't help but laugh at how he ended up with his manual labor job with KPS:  "I lift things." The other characters are equally fun. Plus, there are Kaiju! And the author's note at the end of the book about how Scalzi came to write this one was as entertaining as the book. I'd give this summer popcorn read 4 stars!




Happy Reading!


  

41 comments:

  1. Both of these appeal but especially the John Scalzi..

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    1. The Scalzi was a lot of fun: not too serious, fast-paced, and entertaining.

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  2. These both sound like worthy summer reads. I fear that my summer reading list is leaking into autumn already!

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    1. I know what you mean! I read a lot in July, but still didn't get all the summer reads read that I hoped to, and I'll have less time for reading in August because school will be starting up again.

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  3. A Novel Proposal sounds like a good and fun read. Onto the wishlist it goes. :)

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    1. I thought it was a sweet, light-hearted romance. And I liked the two characters.

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  4. I really liked A Novel Proposal, I am glad you did too :)

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    1. I have so many of Hunter's books on my TBR list now... I like the kinds of stories she writes. :D

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  5. Glad you found these books to enjoy.

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  6. I need to get back to reading Denise Hunter's books. I'm so far behind, but I've loved all the ones I have read.

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    1. I think you'd really like this one, too. :D

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  7. They both sound like great reads. Thanks for the recommendations.

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    1. I enjoyed both...and they'd been on my TBR list for quite awhile, so I'm glad I finally be able to check them off. :D

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  8. I love the sound of both of these books! Small town romance, yes! and I've enjoyed John Scalzi! I need to read The Last Emperox from his Interdependancy series! I loved the first two.

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    1. I haven't tried that series of books by Scalzi. I've mostly read his standalone books. But he is a fun author.

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  9. The Scalzi book sounds like a lot of fun. I don't know the author, but anyone who can add a foreword or other personal note to a book that entertains me as much as the book itself is definitely my kind of writer.

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    1. This book is worth picking up just to read the author's note at the end. (But then, while you have the book, you might as well read it. It is pretty fun.) ;D

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  10. Tucker Island New Jersey? I've only been to Cape May there -- but it's worth a try to write a book there :-)

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    1. Any island setting sounds good to me right now. :D

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  11. Oh, I really enjoyed The Kaiju Preservation Society! I hope to pick up more of his work very soon.

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    1. I've read a few of Scalzi's books now that I've really liked. He's a fun author.

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  12. Kaiju sounds awesome. Plus now I want to read that Afterword! :)

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    1. You need to check this book out, Greg. I think you would really like it. :D

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    1. :D I only knew about Kaiju because of my nephews.

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  14. I'm already a John Scalzi fan so I just need to get around to this one. Your summer beach read sounds good, too.

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    1. Both books made me smile for different reasons. :D

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  15. I have A Novel Proposal on my TBR. It looks fun! My son is obsessed with kaiju so this might be a fun one to pick up and potentially pass on to him at some point!

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    1. He might really enjoy the Scalzi. It's an entertaining book.

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  16. I haven't read either of them, but they both sound pretty good.

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    1. I liked both of them for different reasons.

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  17. I'm not familiar with Denise Hunter, but I like the sound of A Novel Prospect. I love the use of a Little Free Library in the story. :)

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    1. ;D It's a fun book. And I loved how Sadie set up her Little Free Library...mostly to put off working on her book.

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  18. Glad you enjoyed A Novel Proposal! I enjoyed the mystery of the engagement ring too.

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    1. It was so fun...and I loved how it tied back to Sam's family. Thanks for commenting. :D

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  19. Lark, I have another John Scalzi book (The Lost Colony) on my 20 Books of Summer list, so I will read it first, but I do have a copy of The Kaiju Preservation Society and I want to get to it this year. The Kaiju Preservation Society won the 2023 Ohioana Reader's Choice Award (and some other awards).

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    1. I loved Old Man's War by Scalzi, but I never read any of the other books in that series. The Lost Colony does sound good. Happy reading! :D

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