I think that I will purchase this. I enjoyed the author’s Owen Archer series.

Sonali Dev has written several novels that update stories by Jane Austen. I very much enjoyed the two that I read and recommend them. Those were Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors, and Recipe for Persuasion. It is clear from the titles which Austen books they were based upon. I found these titles to be absorbing easy reads that I looked forward to spending time with at the end of the day. There is a new book based on Emma coming out in May and I plan to read it and also last year’s Incense and Sensibility.

The Wedding Setup is a short story by the popular author. It is free on Amazon Prime or available to purchase for ninety-nine cents.

In this short story readers meet Ayesha. She has put her wild days and own needs on the back burner in the aftermath of a family tragedy. Ayesha has been working in the family restaurant rather than pursuing her own dreams.

When there is a wedding to attend, Ayesha’s mother wants to fix her daughter up with a doctor. Ayesha has done so much for her family but can she go so far as dating someone for her mother? What if there is someone else with whom she wants to be in a relationship?

Relax, read and know it will all be okay in this delightful short story. I recommend it and the author’s other books. (There are also non Jane Austen themed ones that I have not read as yet.)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 11 January 2022

A CBT Guide for Moving Past Chronic Indecisiveness, Avoidance, and Catastrophic Thinking

by Martin N. Seif; Sally M. Winston

#OvercomingAnticipatoryAnxiety #NetGalley

CBT is a very popular and effective form of psychological treatment. The author of this title looks at how cognitive behavioral therapy can help anxious people to better cope and understand this (often overwhelming) emotion.

Anticipatory anxiety is discussed in a first chapter that describes this mindset as “bleeding before you are cut.” Readers will sense if this sounds true for them If it does, read on. Learn how indecisiveness and avoidance factor in. Find out more about how perfectionism contributes to the problem. Finally, get some help. I especially liked the chapter titled Common Questions Answered. These feel like situations that readers might wish that they had written to an advice columnist.

One important takeaway from this title is to remember that making change requires time, patience, practice and learning not to be too unforgiving of the human mistakes and emotions that we all feel. I believe that this book will help readers in doing exactly that.

Many thanks to NetGalley and New Harbinger Publications for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 02 May 2022

Come to Mure; It is worth the trip: Jenny Colgan

The Endless Beach is one of three novels set on Mure, a fictional town in northern Scotland.  The first in the series was The Cafe by the Sea and the newest entry is Christmas on the Island.

Here are my earlier thoughts on The Cafe by the Sea:

Jenny Colgan is a talented writer of light, humorous women’s fiction. I find that her novels are good reads for when I want to escape. In this book, The Cafe by the Sea, the escape is to the fictional island of Mure in very northern Scotland. The scenery is beautiful, the family life complicated and the romance eventually works out as it tends to in this kind of fiction. Recommended for a relaxing, stressfree read.

My thoughts on The Endless Beach:

This novel picks up where the earlier one left off.  It can be read as a standalone or as part of the series.

In The Endless Beach, old characters are back and the town is as idyllic as ever, although the characters’ lives are not.  Story lines felt deeper and more complex than in some of the other books that I have read by this author.  The story of Saif was especially moving.  A refugee and physician, Saif’s wife and sons were left behind in Syria when he was given asylum in Scotland.  In this novel, his sons are located and the trauma that they experience is explored.  The reader watches as Saif tries to help the boys to adjust.  For a writer of light fiction, this is a story of some depth.

Then there are Fintan and Colton, two gay characters whose relationship forms a key part of the novel.  The author presents their deep love for one another while also making the reader well aware of a major obstacle that they face.  No spoiler so I will not say more.

Flora and Joel are also working on their relationship.  For reasons that the reader comes to understand more fully, commitment is frightening to Joel.  What will happen to them?  Will there be a good next step for them?

I found this to be the best book that i have read by this author.  I was sorry to leave Mure but glad to know that I still have one more book in the series to read. If you have read/plan to read these novels, let me know your thoughts.  Thanks.

The Family You Make

A Novel

by Jill Shalvis

Readers who enjoy an involving story with characters that have some complexity should give this women’s fiction title a look. I very much enjoyed it.

Ms. Shalvis drew this reader in immediately. The first chapter of the book evoked strong feelings in me. Levi and Jane are stuck in a gondola (way high up) during a major weather event. I was almost literally trembling for them even though I knew that an author would not kill her main characters at the beginning of a novel. Still, I felt the cold, the shaking of the car, the fear of death and the relief when feet were again on the ground (just where I like mine to be!)

From this opening the author goes on to create a story with people about whom I cared. A few of them are:

Jane: She had a difficult childhood. Jane now works as a traveling nurse, never staying too long in any one place and, up until now, avoiding romantic attachments.

Levi: As a good male protagonist, he is nice looking and smart but he is dealing with a past grief. It is he and Jane who are trapped in the air together.

Charlotte: She is the one person to whom Jane has let herself become close. However, Charlotte has her own backstory with its repercussions in her current life.

Mateo: He knows all three of the others. Mateo is an ER doctor, so knows Charlotte, a surgeon at the same hospital. He and Levi were best friends for many years. Levi also knows Jane who lives with Charlotte and is a nurse in the same community for part of the year.

Watching how these people find their ways makes for a warmly involving read. This is the second novel that I have read by Ms. Shalvis and it will not be my last.

From the Publisher

	The Forever Girl	Love for Beginners	The Summer Deal

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own

One of my favorites by this author.