Love & Romance

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter

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by Heather Fawcett
First sentence: “I paused on the threshold of the shop to stamp the frost from my boots.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: February 17. 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher
Content: There are some dangerous situations, including murders. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Agnes is a widow who has had one dream: to run a cat shelter for the feral cats of Montreal, Quebec. She and her husband operated the struggling shelter until his death, and she’s been attempting to keep it going. But after a magical disaster (two magicians were dueling in the street and her shop was in the crossfire), she’s been forced to find a new home for her store (and cats). It proves difficult until she stumbles on a really cheap place for rent. It’s perfect, until she realizes that it’s a front for possibly the most notorious magician in Montreal, and his dealings in magical artifacts. Things get even more complicated when his nemesis finds him, breaks through the wards, and attacks Agnes (and the cats!). How is she supposed to deal with this? Even better: how is she supposed to deal with his clutter?

This has the same tone and whimsy as the Emily Wilde books, and I did like it, just not as much as I adored Emily Wilde. Maybe it was the cats (so many cats!), or maybe it was that Agnes was a widow mourning the loss of her husband. I do like the human and magical being pull, and Agnes was feisty enough to keep me entertained. I guess it just wasn’t everything I was hoping it would be.

Still worth reading, though.

Audiobook: All the Crooked Saints

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by Maggie Stiefvater
Read by Thom Rivera
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There’s some swearing, including a couple of f-bombs. It is in the Young Adult Science Fiction section of the bookstore, but younger kids might be interested in it.

I’m not really going to sum up the plot, since I did that when I first read this book eight years ago. I did enjoy Rivera’s narration, though. And maybe I enjoyed this better as an audiobook. It felt like Rivera was sitting there telling me this tall tale about family and love and miracles. It’s the least Stiefvater-y book of all the ones I’ve read this year, but I still loved it. And yeah, while I see it’s problematic that Stiefvater is exploring a culture that isn’t hers, I still liked the way she wove religion and myth with Latinx culture and 1960s. It was a delightful audiobook to listen to.

Highly recommended on audio, especially.

Good Spirits

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by B. K. Borison
First sentence: “On the first day of December, the universe gave to me –“
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some swearing, including f-bombs, and on-page sexytimes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Harriet York is a decent person who absolutely adores Christmas. So, she’s incredibly surprised when Nolan, a Ghost of Christmas Past, shows up at her house, saying that she is due for a reckoning. However, things don’t go as usual: Harriet’s not a bad person, though she has some regrets, and Nolan is finding that being with Harriet is more important than doing his afterlife job. Though the deadline of Christmas Eve is quickly approaching, and they need to figure out why it’s Harriet being haunted.

Ok, the premise of this one is so silly: she falls in love with the Ghost of Christmas Past. I mean, c’mon. However, Borison does it well. She makes it work. She’s developed a whole Department of Hauntings and Spirits, that I definitely want to know more about, and made the magic part of this book actually work. Harriet was a delightful character – quirky but not that girl – to spend time with, and she made some tough decisions, standing up for herself to her (admittedly rotten) parents. While it was a bit slow to start, I found myself enjoying this one enormously.

So yeah, silly but worth it. And I’m hooked on Borison’s books now.

First-Time Caller

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by B. K .Borison
First sentence: “Love is a lie.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some on-page sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Aiden is the host of a local call-in Romance advice show in Baltimore, but he’s lost his way. He’s gotten snippy with the callers, lost his will to care about their problems, and – possibly worst of all – has lost his faith in love.

Lucie is a single mom who’s not unhappy with her life. She’s co-parenting with her child’s dad and his husband, she’s got a good job as a mechanic. Except her 12-year-old daughter thinks differently. So, when her daughter calls in to Aiden’s show asking for help with her mom’s love life, he’s intrigued. And, after getting annoyed/upset/frustrated, Lucie is also intrigued. And what if, in the middle of trying to find someone for Lucie, they discover that maybe they don’t want to find someone else?

I haven’t read Borison’s work before, but I loved the cover of this one (yes, I do judge a book by it’s cover sometimes), and so I picked it up when it was on sale at the store. And I wasn’t disappointed! It’s such a delightful romance, with everything I want: fun characters, snappy dialogue, and a romance worth having (plus some spicy scenes!). It’s a good thing I liked this, because I have her other two books on my pile to read as well!

Audiobook: Every Step She Takes

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by Alison Cochran
Read by: Cindy Kay & Jeremy Carlisle Parker
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and on-page sex. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Sadie Wells needs a change. She’s been running her grandmother’s antique store (which was left to her when grandma died) since she was 21, and at 35, she feels stuck. So, when her travel-influencer younger sister gets a broken foot, Sadie jumps at the chance to take her place walking Portugal’s Camino de Santiago as part of a tour.

Mal, who had a falling out with her father 20 years ago, is back in Portugal on the heels of a breakup with her girlfriend, and is avoiding the aftermath of her father’s death (and his leaving his wine company to her). She has sworn off falling for yet another girl, and yet there is Sadie, who is having a gay awakening, and Mal can’t seem to resist the pull.

Can Sadie find herself and maybe help Mal make a change along the way?

I have decided that it really doesn’t matter what Cochran writes. I will read it. This was delightful – found family, discovering oneself, and travel in a gorgeous country, coupled with Cochran’s trademark wit and depth. I adored everything about this, from the delightful narrators to the story. Here’s to late bloomers and people discovering their authentic selves.

I loved it.

Angelica and the Bear Prince

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by Trun Le Nguyen
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work.
Content: There is racism toward Asian people and bad boyfriends. It’s in the Teen Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Angelica was an overachiever. She did everything, and was super good at it all. That is, until she burned out her junior year. She’s spent a while recovering and is slowly trying to get back into participating. She got an internship at the local children’s theater. Where they’re doing a production of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, with the classic Bear Prince costume. With whom Angelica has been DMing on Instagram and may like. Gable – who was Angelica’s best friend in childhood – is the bear prince but is concerned that Angelica won’t like him in his new trans identity. It’s full of ups and downs, nice adults and lame boyfriends, and is a perfect snapshot of a moment in the life of a couple of high school students.

Nguyen wrote The Magic Fish, which I adored, and his art and storytelling are just as strong here, even if the subject matter is lighter. I like the way he wove the fairy tale through these books as well. It’s a sweet little graphic novel, one that is bound to make readers smile.

Audiobook: Soul Searching

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by Lyla Sage
Read by Jason Clarke and Samantha Brentmoor
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is on-page sex, plus lots of swearing, including many f-bombs. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Collins Cartwright has come back to her hometown of Sweetwater Peak to help her family. Or so she says. In actuality, she’s lost her ability to talk to ghosts and she’s run out of photography gigs, and she’s unhappy. So, she’s come back to find herself. What she ends up doing is working for Brady Cooper, a new resident in Sweetwater Peak. And what starts out rough turns into something… more.

First off: the narration on this one is fantastic. They did Lost and Lassoed together, and were honestly one of the best parts of that book. I adore their voices, and they have fantastic chemistry. This was another dual narration, which I’m not terribly fond of, but I liked it in this instance. And while this is a super slow burn – it lacks the usual three-act romance structure – I enjoyed getting to know Brady and Collins. I liked the town that Sage created, and her take on ghosts was quite interesting. It’s a non-spooky ghost story, with a bit of a mystery that Collins solves by the end.

And Sage knows how to write a good romance. I’m definitely on board to see where she goes next with this series.

Audiobook: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

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by Sangu Mandanna
Read by Samara MacLaren
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, instances of emotional child abuse, and one fade-to-black sex scene. It’s in the Romance-Fantasy section of the bookstore.

I know: I said a few posts ago that I don’t do romantasy. Let’s put it this way: a slightly magical book set in contemporary times is NOT romantsy, and I think I prefer the latter.

Sera was an up-and-coming, talented witch when she was younger, but when she was 15, her great-aunt, whom she loves and lives with, died. Sera was talented enough to bring her aunt back from the dead, but she lost most of her magic and was exiled from the British Guild of Magic as a result. Now, 15 years later, running an inn full of wayward people (both magical and non-), she finds the resurrection spell, something that will help her get her magic back. It’s a historian, Luke, who happens (sort-of) to be stopping in at the hotel with his younger sister, that puts Sera on the right path, and maybe together they can get her magic back.

This was absolutely delightful, especially on audio. The narrator was perfect (Luke is Scottish, and her accent for him was delightful), and the story just silly enough and charming enough to make me happy. It was exactly what I needed, and I can’t complain.

Joy to the Girls

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by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
First sentence: “I push through the heavy wooden doors out of the Cathedral of Learning, my last exam of the term finally complete.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: Sept 30, 2025
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and some fade-to-black sex. It’s in the YA Romance/Holiday section of the bookstore.

Alex and Molly are nearly done with college, and they both have plans for the future. The problem is that neither one of them has talked to the other about said plans. Alex wants to move in together; Molly wants to go to King’s College in London for an MFA. On top of that, it’s winter holiday, and their friend May has invited them and their other mutual friend, Cora (who has a crush on May), to her hometown, which happens to be all-in on Christmas. Can Alex and Molly make it through the trip with their secrets and their relationship intact (while also setting Cora and May up).

I’ll admit up front that I haven’t read the book that this novella is a spin-off of, and so maybe I’m missing something when it comes to character development. Because while this was cute, it was lacking. I was constantly annoyed that Alex and Molly just DIDN’T TALK TO EACH OTHER, and I felt not quite enough was spent on Cora and May getting together. (Also, there was a definite lack of figure skating.) It was cute, but not cute enough to make me really love it. Maybe if I were the intended audience (read: a fan of the first book) it would have sat differently.

The Everlasting

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by Alix Harrow
First sentence: “It begins where it ends: beneath the yew tree.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: October 28, 2025
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is a lot of violence and swearing, including multiple f-bombs. There is also some on-page sexytimes. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

This one’s plot is hard to tell, if you don’t want to give too much away. Let’s put it this way: it’s a time loop, it’s vaguely Arthurian, it’s talking about the stories we tell ourselves and the stories countries tell their people, it’s a strong case against colonialism, and it’s about love and power. The rest, I think, is immaterial.

I liked it well enough; I’m not fond of time-travel books, and I struggle with time loops. But, Harrow did this one well, and she managed to close it in a satisfying (and mostly logical) way. I do enjoy her writing, though I have not read much by her, and I was intrigued enough to keep going, even through my confusion. It’s a clever book done well.

(As an aside: this is fantasy with a side of romance, and I enjoy these MUCH more than a romance with a side of fantasy.)

Maybe I should get around to reading her other books.