“The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods

Title: The Lost Bookshop
Author: Evie Woods
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year: 2023
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Recommendation from Storygraph

Summary: Escaping an arranged marriage and a tyrannical brother, Opaline eventually finds refuge in a store that seems to be alive. Years later, Henry goes on a quest to find the store and encounters Martha, who is reclaiming her life after leaving her abusive husband. Their stories entwine into a beautiful mosaic that hopefully leads to their happy endings.

Rating: 

“The Daughters of Foxcote Manor” by Eve Chase

Title: The Daughters of Foxcote Manor    
Author: Eve Chase 
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2020
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Sylvie is learning that when it rains, it pours. As she navigates through several family emergencies, she realizes she needs to finally confront her past. It leads her to a property once called Foxcote Manor, where in 1971, Rita arrives with Mrs. Harrington and her children for the summer after a family tragedy. But another one may loom when a baby is found in the woods and an dangerous visitor arrives. The events of that summer reverberate and affect Sylvie’s present and future.

Rating: 

“Eddie Winston is Looking for Love” by Marianne Cronin

Title: Eddie Winston is Looking for Love
Author: Marianne Cronin
Publisher: Harper Perennial 
Year: 2024    
Genre(s): romance, contemporary 
Part of a Series: No

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick.

Summary: At 90 years old, Eddie Winston has never been kissed. He then meets Bella when she comes into the thrift shop where he works to donate her late boyfriend’s belongings. Together, they form and unlikely friendship as she becomes determined to help Eddie get his first kiss.

Rating: 

“The Cinderella Pact” by Sarah Strohmeyer

Title: The Cinderella Pact
Author: Sarah Strohmeyer   
Publisher:  Dutton Adult    
Year: 2006    
Genre(s): contemporary fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No.

Rating: 

Why I Read It: It was on my Goodreads list but I think I put it on after watching a TV movie based on the book.

Summary: Nola Devlin works as an editor at fashion/gossip magazine Sass! and her main focus is on their popular advice columnist, Belinda Apple. Except Belinda Apple doesn’t exist – it’s all Nola, who pretends to be Belinda since no one gave her a chance, unable to look past her weight. But when Belinda’s advice inspires her friends to lose weight and have their Cinderella moments. Nola agrees and finds that once she starts to take control of her life, everything changes.

“Today We Go Home” by Kelli Estes

Title: Today We Go Home
Author: Kelli Estes
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Landmark
Year: 2019    
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary fiction 
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Discharged from the army and suffering from PTSD after her last tour in Afghanistan, Larkin Bennett returns home and is teetering on the edge. The only thing keeping her from going over is a diary found amongst her late friend’s belongings about Emily Wilson, a woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in the Civil War. Though living in a different century, Larkin finds comfort in Emily’s story and realizes she isn’t alone.

“How the Penguins Saved Veronica” by Hazel Prior

Title: How the Penguins Saved Veronica
Author: Hazel Prior
Publisher:  Berkley
Year: 2020    
Genre(s):  contemporary, some historical fiction
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Eighty-six year old Veronica McCreedy wants to do something to save the world. After watching a documentary on penguins, she travels down to observe the scientists studying them. She forms a bond with them and the penguins. But when disaster falls, her recently discovered grandson travels to join them. Will the penguins help them connect or will it be too late?

"The Night Olivia Fell" by Christina McDonald

Title: The Night Olivia Fell
Author: Christina McDonald
Publisher:  Gallery Books
Year: 2019
Genre(s):  contemporary, suspense
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: Abi’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter ends up in a coma. Declared braindead, Olivia is kept alive due to the baby growing inside her. As the weeks fly by, Abi struggles to find out the truth about what happened to her daughter before she has to say goodbye for good.

"The House on Harbor Hill” by Shelly Stratton

Title: The House on Harbor Hill
Author: Shelly Stratton
Publisher:  Kensington Publishing Corp.
Year: 2018
Genre(s):  historical fiction, contemporary
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: After running from her abusive husband, Tracey has nowhere else to go with her two young children. She then receives an invitation from Delilah Grey to come live at her mansion in Camden Beach, Maryland. Tracey accepts and soon her ghosts help Delilah put her own to rest.

“The Last Piece” by Imogen Clark

Title: The Last Piece
Author: Imogen Clark
Publisher:  Lake Union
Year: 2020
Genre(s):  contemporary
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: The Nightingale sisters – Felicity, Julia and Lily – are surprised and concerned when their mother mysteriously goes to Greece with no warning. As they try to figure out what’s going, they deal with their own issues. When their mother returns, will everyone be prepared for the reason why she left? Will the truth she needs to share with them change all their lives forever?

“Wildland” by Rebecca Hodge

Title: Wildland
Author: Rebecca Hodge
Publisher:  Crooked Lane
Year: 2020
Genre(s): contemporary
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick.

Summary: After receiving life-changing news, Kat retreats to a mountain retreat she once visited with her late husband as she considers her decision. Her daughter, Sara, gives her mother a rescue dog to take care of and Kat also befriends her closest neighbors – military and security contractor Malcom and his son Nirav and IT professional Scott and his daughter Lily. They also rescue a puppy as well and Kat gives him a home. But the area has been experiencing a severe drought and a electrical storm soon puts them all in danger. Will Kat manage to rescue the children, the dogs and more importantly, herself?

“We Are Not Like Them” by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza

Title: We Are Not Like Them
Author: Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
Publisher:  Atria Books
Year: 2021
Genre(s): contemporary
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Summary: The book follows the aftermath of a police-involved shooting of a black teenager. Riley WIlson is the Black reporter covering the story for her TV station. Jen Murphy is the white woman married to one of the cops involved. The two women have been friends since childhood but this tragedy threatens to tear them apart as they both come to terms with racism and how it affects them as people and as friends.

“Mrs. Saint and the Defectives” by Julie Lawson Timmer

Title: “Mrs. Saint and the Defectives”
Author: Julie Lawson Timmer
Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing
Year: 2017
Genre(s): contemporary fiction
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Amazon first read option

Summary: After her life falls apart, Markie just wants to be left alone with her teenage son. But her neighbor, Mrs. Saint, refuses to oblige and keeps intruding into Markie’s life. Markie becomes familiar with the other people Mrs. Saint looks after like their own fairy godmother, her so-called “Defectives.” Markie resists becoming one but soon wonders if maybe it’s happened whether she wanted it to or not.

“The Book of Two Ways” by Jodi Picoult

Title: The Book of Two Ways
Author: Jodi Picoult
Publisher:  Ballantine Books
Year: 2020
Genre(s): contemporary, women’s fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Summary: Dawn’s steady life as a death doula, wife and mother is suddenly thrown into flux as she starts to wonder if this was the life she was meant to live. She recalls how she wanted to be an Egyptologist and realizes she has unfinished business in Egypt. Heading back to the country, she reconnects with her work and the man she left behind over a decade ago. As she determines her future, does it lie in her past or some place else?

“The Lost Love Song” by Minnie Darke

Title: The Lost Love Song
Author: Minnie Darke
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Year: 2020
Genre(s): romance
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: When celebrated pianist Diana Clare dies tragically in a plane crash, the love song she wrote for her fiancé Arie survives and travels around the world. As it makes it way back to Diana’s native Australia, aspiring poet Evie also returns there and befriends Arie. Will they find healing and a chance at love with each other? And if so, will the song finally reach it’s intended recipient?

“Holly Banks Full of Angst” by Julie Valerie

Title: Holly Banks Full of Angst
Author: Julie Valerie
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Year: 2019
Genre(s): contemporary
Part of a Series: Yes, Book #1

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Time book club selection.

Summary: Holly Banks has just moved to the Village of Primm and is trying to unpack while also getting her daughter Ella off to kindergarten. But everything that can go wrong does and Holly makes quite the first impression at Ella’s school. She wonders if she will ever fit in with the other mothers as her own mother arrives and her husband drops a bombshell. Will Holly survive the first week in Primm? Or will everything in her life always be a disaster?

“The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris” by Evie Gaughan

Title: The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
Author: Evie Gaughan
Publisher: Self published
Year: 2014
Genre(s): contemporary, paranormal, romance
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Amazon recommendation

Summary: After the death of her mother, Edie decides to take a chance and start living her own life. She accepts a job at a bakery in Paris and leaves Ireland behind…only to realize the bakery is on the Rue de Paris in Compiegne, a town outside of Paris. But she makes the most of it, making new friends and possibly finding romance. However the bakery is struggling and is in danger of shutting down. Will Edie be able to find a way to save it and the secret to the bakery’s delicious offerings?

“The Lost Apothecary” by Sarah Penner

Title: The Lost Apothecary
Author: Sarah Penner
Publisher: Park Row Books
Year: 2021
Genre(s): historical fiction, contemporary
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Time book club selection

Summary: Heartbroken after discovering her husband’s infidelity, Caroline takes their planned anniversary trip to London on her own. When she finds a little vial with a tiny bear etched it, her old love of history is rekindled. She works to find the story behind the vial and discovers one buried for almost three centuries. In the 18th century, Nella uses her training as an apothecary to help women dispatch the men in their lives who have wrong them. When little Eliza comes to her door asking for a poison on behalf of her mistress, it sets off a series of events that will change everyone’s lives – including Caroline’s.

“A Thousand Roads Home” by Carmel Harrington

Title: A Thousand Roads Home

Author: Carmel Harrington
Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2018
Genre(s): contemporary fiction
Part of a Series: No.
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: When Ruth Wilde and her son DJ lose their home and have to move into a hotel provided by the council, she feels like an absolute failure. Dr. Tom O’Grady has chosen to live outside, finding it allows him to escape into his happy memories and ignore the painful ones in his life. Their worlds collided once and when they collide again, Ruth and Tom find out that changing the world can start with one person.

“Meet Me in Paradise” by Libby Hubscher

Title: Meet Me In Paradise

Author: Libby Hubscher
Publisher: Berkley
Year: 2021
Genre(s): contemporary fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No.
Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club selection

Summary: Marin Cole is not adventurous. But when her sister Sadie convinces her to go on a her first vacation in years, Marin first gets a disaster. She is ultimately rescued by Lucas Tsai, the charming owner of a resort on the tropical island of Saba. Thanks to Lucas, Marin finally starts to open herself up to new things and adventure but when she learns her sister’s real plan, everything changes and Marin finds herself having to confront an uncertain future.

“In a Holidaze” by Christina Lauren

Title: In a Holidaze
Author: Christina Lauren
Publisher: Gallery Books
Year: 2020
Genre(s): contemporary fiction, romance, Christmas story, some fantastical elements
Part of a Series: No
Rating: 

Why I Read It: Once Upon a Book Club holiday box selection

Summary: Mae and her family has spent every Christmas with family friends in a cabin in Colorado her entire life. But this year, it’s announced that the cabin is going to be sold and it’s likely the last Christmas they will all spend together. As Mae and her family drive away, she feels nothing but despair as she feels just stuck in her life. She makes a wish to find happiness just as the car gets into a terrible accident.

Mae then finds herself on the plane to Colorado, ready to celebrate Christmas all over again. She is given a second chance to find her happiness – but will she be brave enough to grab it?