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| Ayesha at Last by Uzma JalaluddinStarring: Ayesha Shamsi, substitute teacher and aspiring poet; Khalid Mirza, whose traditional dress and socially awkward manner disguise the fact that he may be perfect for Ayesha.
Why you might like it: Sympathetic leads and a diverse supporting cast anchor this warmhearted Pride and Prejudice retelling set in Toronto.
For fans of: the authentic Muslim Canadian characters in Sonya Lalli's The Matchmaker's List; modern multicultural Jane Austen adaptations such as Soniah Kamal's Unmarriageable. |
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| Rebel by Beverly JenkinsNew Orleans, 1870: When white supremacists destroy Valinda Lacy's school for emancipated men and women, Captain Drake LeVeq, scion of one of the city's most illustrious families, comes to her rescue.
Why you might like it: With its vividly rendered Reconstruction-era setting and nuanced depiction of the social issues of the period, this well-researched novel educates as well as entertains.
Crossover alert: This opening installment of the Women Who Dare series features appearances by characters from the author's beloved House of LeVeq trilogy. |
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| Daisies and Devotion by Josi S. KilpackThe list: "Blonde, tall, graceful, with blue or green eyes, a bow-shaped mouth, dainty fingers, and rosy cheeks..." These are the qualities that Timothy Mayfield desires in a wife -- and the qualities that Maryann Morrington doesn't possess.
And yet... The more time Timothy spends with Maryann, the more he's tempted to revise his list. Meanwhile, despite Maryann's unrequited love for Timothy, she's determined to help her friend find his perfect wife.
Series alert: This chaste Regency romance is the 2nd book in the Mayfield Family series, after Promises and Primroses. |
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| The Unhoneymooners by Christina LaurenWhat happens: After food poisoning sidelines the wedding party, Olive Torres (the sister of the bride) and Ethan Thomas (the brother of the groom) impersonate the newlyweds to ensure that the couple's all-expenses-paid Hawaiian honeymoon doesn't go to waste.
Read it for: Olive's snarky narration, a steamy enemies-to-lovers plot, and a pile-up of romantic complications on the way to happily-ever-after.
Author alert: Christina Lauren, the pen name of two best friends, writes much-loved romantic comedies including Dating You / Hating You, Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, and My Favorite Half-Night Stand. |
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| Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuistonStarring: Alex Claremont-Diaz, the bisexual Mexican-American son of the (first female) U.S. president, and his nemesis Henry, Prince of Wales, who must pretend to be friends for the sake of international diplomacy.
Why you might like it: a fake friendship between rivals becomes a real romance in this smart and steamy new adult romantic comedy.
Reviewers say: "Diplomatic Anglo-American relations have never been so much fun" (Vogue). |
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Focus on: Pygmalion-inspired Romances |
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Bad boy : a novel
by Olivia Goldsmith
Introducing: Jonny, who keeps falling in love with women who have no romantic interest in him, persuades his best friend Tracy to teach him how to be like the men she goes for--bad boys in leather jackets--but his new look complicates both their love lives.
Reviewers said this: Booklist: Goldsmith delivers another pleasurable read. This time she uses the standard Pygmalion story line, but this isn't your usual My Fair Lady. ... ... Readers who do not think of light romantic comedy as "their cup of tea" should take a sip, relax, and enjoy--realistic yet entertaining characters and witty dialogue are Goldsmith's top priority. (Reviewed November 1 , 2000) -- Michelle Kaske
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The perfect Manhattan : a novel
by Leanne Shear
What happens: Confronted by a staggering pile of student loans and an ambition to pursue a career as a screenwriter, Cassie takes a job as a bartender for New York's glitterati at a popular SoHo nightspot, until a summer job in the Hamptons hurtles her into the midst of a glamorous array of celebrities, wealth, scandal, and more.
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My fine lady
by Yolanda Joe
Introducing: A talented and ambitious young singer, Imani.
What happens: She finds herself surrounded by men with their own interest in her singing career--incuding her father, who sees in her a chance to fulfill his own failed dreams; her boyfriend, Taz, who is determined to become a mega-producer; and Professor Orenthal Hopson, who has made a bet that he can transform her from a hip-hop diva to a traditional jazz singer.
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Great-Aunt Sophia's lessons for bombshells
by Lisa Cach
What happens: Agreeing to be a companion to her elderly former actress great-aunt, frumpy Ph.D. student Grace becomes the center of her great-aunt's Pygmalion-style project to transform her into an empowered and desirable woman. By the award-winning author of The Erotic Secrets of a French Maid.
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A loving scoundrel : a Malory novel
by Johanna Lindsey
Banished by her gang after assisting Jeremy Malory steal back the jewels his friend lost in a card game, Dani, a young pickpocket, takes on a new role as a servant in his household, blossoming into a lady under the tutelage of Jeremy and his housekeeper, but when she attends a ball with him, dark secrets from the past could threaten her life.
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The Rosie project
by Graeme C. Simsion
Introducing: MEET DON TILLMAN, a brilliant yet socially challenged professor of genetics, who's decided it's time he found a wife.
What happens: A socially awkward genetics professor who has never been on a second date sets out to find the perfect wife, but instead finds Rosie Jarman, a fiercely independent barmaid who is on a quest to find her biological father.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Central Mississippi Regional Library System
100 Tamberline Street
Brandon, Mississippi 39042
601-825-0100
http://www.cmrls.lib.ms.us
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