Light Romance for Summer
By Rhonna Hargett, Associate Director of Learning and Information Services
Summer is a great time for a light read, so I’ve gathered up some of my favorite recent romance novels.
In “Just Haven’t Met You Yet” by Sophie Cousens, Laura is a writer for an online magazine. She heads off to Jersey Island to write her parents’ romantic story. Things don’t go as planned, though, starting with her grabbing the wrong suitcase at the airport, followed up with a grumpy taxi driver. It looks like the switched suitcase might be fate leading her to her true love when she looks through the contents and finds her favorite book, piano music by her favorite singer, and a sweater that fits her ideal of what the perfect man should wear. The grumpy taxi driver, Ted, helps her in her quest to find the owner of the suitcase, and he turns out to be more than he first appears. By the time she meets the suitcase owner, she’s starting to question if true love is about “destiny” or something else. This is a fun romantic comedy set in the beautiful scenery of the Channel Islands, a perfect summer escape.
The launch of the “Would-Be Wallflowers” series, “How to Be a Wallflower” by Eloisa James, is a historical novel set in Regency London. Miss Cleopatra Lewis doesn’t fit the traditional mold of a debutante. She spent her childhood following theater troupes around England with her unconventional mother, and is the powerful owner of a manufacturing firm that specializes in the latest commode technology. When she meets unpolished American investor, Jacob Astor Addison, she is not impressed. As they both compete to purchase the most renowned costume emporium in England, they come to respect each other’s business acumen, along with other attributes, and are soon questioning the motivations that had them competing in the first place. James has delivered another delightful story that delivers love and laughs.
In “It Happened One Summer” by Tessa Bailey, influencer and socialite Piper Bellinger pushes her stepfather’s patience too far when she is arrested for an unauthorized rooftop party. She is sent off to rural Washington state to gain some self-control and attempt to run her late father’s run-down bar. Her kind (and more responsible) sister accompanies her, and they are greeted by a disaster of an apartment, and a group of local fishermen who have taken over the bar as their own. Through learning more about her father and his family, putting some elbow grease into the bar and apartment, and spending time with Brendan, the gruff fisherman who doesn’t want to get involved but can’t resist her charm and liveliness, Piper changes her perception of herself and where her gifts and passions lie. “It Happened One Summer” is a light-hearted romance with heart, a great read for fans of “Schitt’s Creek.”
Amanda Elliot’s “Sadie on a Plate” gives a glimpse into the wild world of cooking competition reality TV shows. When we meet Sadie, she’s still reeling from unjust accusations that seem to have destroyed her career as a chef. In a last-ditch attempt to save her future, she tries out for Chef Supreme, and makes it onto the show. While travelling on the plane to the show, she meets the perfect man for her, only to find out that he’s one of the judges for the show. While she tries to focus on showcasing her unique take on traditional Jewish cooking, and also hiding that one of the judges may hold a bias, she forms lifetime friendships with fellow contestants and learns a lot about herself along the way. Sadie has moments of being a difficult character to like, so it is very satisfying to watch her develop as a chef and as a human being at the same time.
Find a great mix of genre and formats (print, digital, and more!) at Manhattan Public Library or mhklibrary.org.