“A cutthroat literary agent finds herself stuck in a small town with the grumpy editor she despises.” book lovers
rather than an assistant at the company that makes her favorite card game. Her new boss, Drusilla Magnus, is a 2,000-year-old witch who worships the Roman gods and curses people who wrong her. Although shocked to discover magic is real, Reggie’s biggest problem is Dru’s handsome, aloof nephew, Ben Magnus. Ben wonders why his beloved aunt insisted on hiring an inexperienced outsider and hopes learning about the magical world of warlocks and witches will scare Reggie away. Ben doesn’t realize that Reggie’s controlling, fastidious nature is the result of having been raised by neglectful, selfish parents. Reggie is desperate for the stability and income from this new gig and refuses to let Ben or the strange magical world intimidate her into leaving. Eventually, Ben agrees to help her learn more about the Roman gods and how to cast spells and curses. Their time working together only deepens the attraction between them. Despite the charming setup and a strong opening, the novel’s pacing is sluggish and uneven. The romance arc starts late, leaving a variety of underdeveloped and underutilized subplots to fill the void. Although Reggie and Ben are likable characters and there are some cute ideas and amusing secondary characters, the end result feels unfinished and rushed. A romance that is more pedestrian than magical.
BY THE BOOK
Guillory, Jasmine Disney-Hyperion (320 pp.) $26.99 | May 3, 2022 978-1-368-05039-5 Sparks fly between a bad-boy celebrity and the harried editorial assistant charged with helping him to write his memoir in this updated version of “Beauty and the Beast.” Two years into her job at Tale as Old as Time Publishing, Isabelle Marlowe isn’t so certain she’s working in her dream industry anymore. The minutiae of her role—not to mention a very demanding boss—are starting to impact her lifelong love of reading for the worse, and what’s more, her secret and eternal aspiration of becoming a published author herself has been put on the back burner. To make matters even more irritating, her day-to-day life also involves hounding celebrity heartthrob Beau Towers for updates on his memoir even though the man has gone effectively AWOL after blowing past his initial deadline. A chance trip to California, however, puts Izzy in the perfect position to impress her boss and find out what’s taking Beau so long to finish his book, but when she manages to locate him at home, where he’s been hiding out, the initial response she gets is rejection—until she’s able to wear him down with sheer optimism, that is. Convincing Beau to let her stay and help him get past his writer’s block, as well as whatever deeper issues might be preventing him from writing about his past, marks the first step in a new professional relationship. Of course, as these two begin working together, and in particularly close quarters to boot, the circumstances are perfectly engineered to develop a more intimate connection between them. The book boasts enough 46
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1 march 2022
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fiction
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playful nods and easter eggs to satisfy the most die-hard Disney fan without overdoing it, and this particular Beast has less bark than Disney’s and certainly no bite. As a result, this retelling doesn’t have the melodrama of the original but more than makes up for it with an endearing story. A fairy-tale reinterpretation that’s more a sweet read than a dramatic tale.
BOOK LOVERS
Henry, Emily Berkley (384 pp.) $27.00 | May 3, 2022 978-0-593-44087-2 A cutthroat literary agent finds herself stuck in a small town with the grumpy editor she despises. Nora Stephens knows she isn’t anything like the heroines in small-town love stories. She’s not sweet or unassuming, and she definitely doesn’t own a Christmas tree farm or a quaint B&B. With her Peloton obsession, high-powered job at a literary agency, and expensive shoes, she’s the villainous girlfriend who gets dumped when the hero realizes he really wants to leave New York City and embrace the simple life in a small town. But Nora has no interest in slowing down—she embraces the hustle of her life, enjoying the city and spending her time either negotiating for her clients or helping her pregnant sister, Libby. When Libby suggests they take a girls’ trip to Sunshine Falls, a picture-perfect North Carolina town, Nora agrees. Trying to make her sister happy, Nora throws herself into Libby’s checklist of classic small-town experiences. But there’s one brooding, annoying wrench in her plans: editor Charlie Lastra. He and Nora met years before when he brusquely rejected one of her books, and now he’s here in Sunshine Falls for some reason, terrorizing her by having the nerve to be both goodlooking and funny. As Nora and Charlie get to know each other, she learns that there may be more to him than she suspected. But Nora’s also concerned about her relationship with Libby— they’ve been close all their lives, but now something seems off. Can Nora get her happily-ever-after even if she doesn’t want to ride off into the small-town sunset with a lumberjack? As in People We Meet on Vacation (2021), Henry creates a warm, sparkling romance brimming with laugh-out-loud banter, lovable characters, and tons of sexual tension. High-maintenance, highstrung Nora shows that uptight, goal-oriented women deserve romance, too, and Charlie is a perfect grumpy hero with a secret soft side. What’s more, Henry never falls into the easy trap of vilifying either small towns or big cities, allowing her characters the room to follow their dreams, wherever they lead. And while the romance between Nora and Charlie is swoonworthy and steam-filled, it’s Nora’s relationship with Libby that really brings the tears. A heartfelt and hilarious read about books, sisters, and writing your own love story.
