“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.

“The Night She Disappeared” by Lisa Jewell

Title: The Night She Disappeared
Author: Lisa Jewell
Publisher: Atria Books
Year: 2021
Genre(s): thriller, mystery
Part of a Series: No

Rating: 

Why I read it: Once Upon a Book Club pick

Summary: One night, young lovers Tallulah and Zach go out for a nice evening away from their young son. But when they fail to come home the next morning, Tallulah’s mother Kim begins to frantically search for the two. She finds out that they spent time with some local teens their age, including the mysterious Scarlett Jacques, whose wealthy family owns the ominous manor house called Dark Place. Scarlett and her friends insist Tallulah and Zach left the night before and don’t know what happened to them. Everyone believes Tallulah and Zach ran away from the pressures of being young parents and would return in good time. Kim believes otherwise but is stuck waiting and hoping she will find her daughter.

The following year, Sophie moves into a local boarding school with her boyfriend, the new headmaster. She ends up drawn to Tallulah and Zach’s disappearance when a mysterious sign appears that says “Dig Here.” What she finds reignites the case and could reveal the truth about Tallulah, Zach, Scarlet and what happened that fateful night.

“Not the Witch You Wed” by April Asher

Title: Not the Witch You Wed

Author: April Asher
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Year: 2022
Genre(s): paranormal romance, fantasy
Part of a Series: Yes .Book 1 of the Supernatural Singles series
Rating: 

Why I read it: Goodreads recommended it and it looked interesting. 

Summary: Violet Maxwell is a member of the most powerful family of witches and should be next in line to inherit her grandmother’s title of Prima. But her own magic is a dud and so she lives a relatively unremarkable life in the magical side of New York City that makes her happy. Her life and happiness though is threatened when the council that governs all magical creatures decide that since she is the first born of a Triad, she still needs to get married in accordance with ancient law even though she has no magic. Enter Violet’s old friend and former boyfriend Lincoln Thorne, the leader of the North American Pack of shapeshifters. He is working to make the pack system more democratic while also facing his own decree to get married. Despite the hurt that still lays between them, Lincoln and Violet agree to date each other to buy themselves time to get around the laws governing them. But will their romance always be fake or will it become very, very real?

“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.