Rainy Days With Amanda

                                                          THE NEW YEAR’S MAN By Michael Scott Clifton Romantic Fantasy / Romantic Comedy Publication Date: September 11, 2026 Landry LeBlanc has everything he wants: a luxury condo, a fast-rising legal career, expensive taste, and an ironclad rule against falling in love. Relationships, to him, come with expiration dates—and New Year’s Eve is his favorite time to end them. But when Landry takes his latest girlfriend to the mysterious Fairy Lights Brasserie, his perfectly controlled life comes apart in spectacular fashion. One brutal breakup later, he finds himself face-to-face with Stella: a cigar-smoking, wand-wielding fairy godmother with questionable fashion sense, a faulty temper, and a mission to thaw his hardened heart. Stella has one simple plan: make Landry fall in love. Landr...

When I started seeing people post about this book, I kind of wanted to read it, but I also didn't have the highest hopes for it, so I wanted to borrow it from my local library in case I just wasn't into it so I could easily give it back. Well, it's pretty backed up at all the library branches and there's so many holds, so I went to Half Price Books, who usually has 20% off new and popular titles, and what would you know, I found it in the used section for half-off. It was a steal, because in the end, I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would.  About the Author Caro Claire Burke received her Master's in Fine Arts from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is the co-host of Diabolical Lies, a politics and culture podcast. Yesteryear is her first novel.   About the Book Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and her followers are sick with envy. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemad...

It's been too long since I, and the majority of readers and viewers, first learned about the Heated Rivalry universe. When it came out, I watched all of season one, bought the corresponding book, bought a t-shirt, and joined online forums dedicated to Shane and Ilya. I've been reading quite a few other books and when I found out I would be traveling alone for a work conference ( see my Tampa blog ), I knew this would be the perfect time to enjoy the second book of the Heated Rivalry series. Here's a little book talk for Rachel Reid's The Long Game . About the Author Rachel Reid is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Game Changers hockey romance series, as well as the standalone hockey romance novels Time to Shine and The Shots You Take. She lives in Nova Scotia, Canada. She has always lived there, and it’s looking like she probably always will. She has two boring degrees and two interesting kids.    About the Book " Ten years. That’s how long Shane Holl...

 When another Tui Snider book came up on the docket for the Lone Star Literary Life bloggers group, I signed up to review almost immediately. Since reading and reviewing her book 6 Feet Under Texas for the first time in 2020, I've been a Tui Snider fan. Her historic and niche books are something different and more than just another coffee table book. Here's my book talk of  Buried Dallas–Fort Worth: A Photographic Journey through North Texas Cemeteries   by Tui Snider. About the Author  Tui Snider is an author, speaker, photographer, YouTuber, podcast host, and musician who researches historic cemeteries and symbolism, offbeat Texas travel, overlooked history, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction–but then I moved to Texas!”  Snider’s best-selling books include Understanding Cemetery Symbols , 100 Things to Do in Dallas-Fort Worth Before You Die , Paranormal Texas , and many more. Snider has several books in progress and enjoys connec...

THE FREQUENCY By Randall D. St. Claire Mystery/ Speculative Thriller/ Thriller/ Suspense/ History   Publisher: Atmosphere Press Publication Date: July 21, 2026 SYNOPSIS ════════════════════════════════════ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　 ︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹ He didn’t expect his life to change in a single moment. He didn’t expect it to ask anything in return. Bronx Rousselle built his small life on purpose: a pawnshop in northern Minnesota, a few familiar faces, no debts he couldn’t count, no relationship anchors. Friendship, i n his experience, always came with a cost—and Bronx never owed much to anyone. Humor helped. If he laughed hard enough at trouble, it often lost interest. Then something finds its way into his hands. Old. Hidden. Mystical at first glance. Powerful enough to draw attention from people who don’t ask—they take. Curiosity bleeds into pursuit, and luck demands a toll. As it stretches from the American Midwest to the froze...

Hey Ya'll! I'm back with another Stephanie Plum novel. It's been almost a year since I read my last one. So many books, so little time. But I had an itch for my favorite bounty-hunter, so I grabbed the next book on the list and dove right back into the world of Stephanie and her bounty hunter life in Trenton, New Jersey.   *Side Note:  I'm also excited to go to Jersey next year and I will be checking to see if there is a Plum tour of sorts!    About the Author Janet Evanovich  is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall , but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum, a former lingerie buyer from Trenton, New Jersey, who becomes a bounty hunter to make ends meet after losing her job. The novels in this series have been on The New York Times , USA Today , Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestseller lists. Evanovich has had her last seventeen Plums debu...

I love the  Crazy Rich Asians  movie, and it is my go-to movie on a flight. For our Hawaii trip, I wanted to read something more summer-y, and I thought maybe this was a great time to read  Crazy Rich Asians  and see how different or similar they. I’m here to say the book is very different but not in a bad way. Let’s talk about it. About the Author Kevin Kwan  is the author of New York Times bestsellers  Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend, Rich People Problems , and  Sex & Vanity . His books have been translated into 40 languages, and the film adaptation of  Crazy Rich Asians  became Hollywood’s highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. In 2018, Kevin was named by  Time Magazine  as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. About the Book When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and ...

  FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME By Kimberly Packard Romance, Time-Slip, RomCom Publisher: Abalos Publishing Publication Date: 16 June 2026 SYNOPSIS ════════════════════════════════════ ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　 ︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹ Blink and your life’s halfway over. What if that happens literally? College party girl Emily Murray bounces through majors and boys until an ill-advised art major leads her to a rebellious relationship with an aspiring rock star. When her father cuts off the college fund—and her boyfriend ditches her to chase a record deal, Emily spirals, hard. One shaved head and emotional black out later, she wakes up thirty years in the future, living a life she doesn’t recognize as a successful therapist and engaged to a total stranger. With no apparent way to rewind the clock, Emily scrambles to make sense of her new reality. With a wedding date looming and a competitive therapist threatening her fragile career, Emily is fo...