175 www. ReadMPM. com | www.MountPl easantMagaz i ne. com | www.MountPl easantPodcas t . com With the warm glow of the holidays behind us and more winter ahead of us, I turned to the delightful staff of The Village Bookseller for some book suggestions to cozy up to this winter. They recommended some romance to fill the void left by the lack of holiday meet-cute movies. Here are a few of their recommendations to pave the way from the New Year to Valentine’s Day and beyond: ONE LAST HOLIDAY HURRAH: “Meet Me Under the Mistletoe” by Jenny Bayliss Try this for a holiday hangover. Nory Noel runs a secondhand bookshop in London, and she is invited out to the English countryside to attend a wedding with old friends from her posh private school. While avoiding an ill-advised former fling, she runs into Isaac, a charming gardener. Isaac has disdain for the snobby private school alums but can’t deny his attraction to Nory. Nory must reconcile her own working-class upbringing and decide on the kind of life —and love— she wants to pursue going forward. UNLIKELY LOVE: “Exes and O’s” by Amy Lea Tara Chen, a social media influencer and romance-novel enthusiast, is determined to meet her Mr. Right, but she is often thwarted by her own “stage-five clinger” tendencies. She decides to enlist the help of her roommate, a handsome Boston firefighter, to revisit her exes in an attempt to recreate a classic romance trope which could lead to finding her true love. ANTI-VALENTINE’S DAY ROMANCE: “The Second You’re Single” by Cara Tanamachi Japanese American freelance writer Sora Reid’s intense disdain for the pressures and disappointments of Valentine’s Day vows to her readers to #gosolo this year. However, her plans may soon be upturned when she runs into Jack Mann, an elementary school friend. The attraction is undeniable, and Sora must decide if she will be able to stay true to her pledge to #gosolo and avoid all things romantic or if she’s willing to open herself up to the possibility of true love. FRIENDSHIP BECOMES LOVE: “TooWrong to be Right” by Melonie Johnson After being dumped by her latest boyfriend, florist Kat Kowalski is done with Mr. Wrongs. Having enlisted the help of her friends to develop a list of all the qualities for Mr. Right, Kat vows not to date until she finds the embodiment of all those qualities. Enter funeral home owner Mick O’Sullivan. Kat decides that she and Mick will just be friends because she’s been burned one too many times. But as their friendship blossoms, Kat may be forced to rethink her stance and decide if she will listen to her head or follow her heart. Warm up to romance in 2023 New books to bring in a new year BY SHERRY WH I T I NG books
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjcyNTM1