Right off the bat I have say the author of The Bookshop on the Corner, Rebecca Raisin has an amazing talent for creating whimsical imagery. I want to share two of my favourites:

“I imagined the books exhaling, stretching their binding, as they relaxed, not on show any more. And once I left for the night, I pictured them moving around the shop, their pages fluttering, as if they’d come to life. Until morning, where I’d walk in and find them not quite where I’d left them the previous night.”

“Most booksellers frowned upon dog-earing a book, but that was how you knew it was special. It had lived, and been reincarnated again with another owner; there were notes on the margins, and words highlighted. With a book like that, when you gently pried open the cover you could hear whispers from the past float out from the pages.”

She won me over with these passages but kept me there with lovely bookseller in her tiny quiet store and the travelling reporter who fell in love at first sight. You spend the book following along sweet Sarah Smith as she visits with her friends, runs her bookstore and falls in love with the dashing Ridge Warner. Is it storybook perfect or too good to be true?

This is a wonderful novella and part of a series I know I will keep an eye peeled for! It works as a standalone or within a series, added bonus! So look for “The Bookshop Series” or “The Gingerbread Cafe Series.”

Sometimes you just want a quick and fun read. Up to Date by Susan Halter fits the bill perfectly. The 9th book in her Better Date Than Never series it is a fast paced contemporary romance novella about a girl with a dream she has never truly followed and a man that is in the same occupation as her somewhat ruined and disappointing father.

Included is the flighty younger sister, a mother who simply cannot see the reasoning behind taking a leap of blind faith in to a new career and a group of supportive friends. Really a story about letting go and following your dreams and having faith in someone else as well as yourself. I won’t spill anymore since with a novella there is always the worry you will give away the good stuff.

I have, over time, read multiple stories by Susan Hatler from this series HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE (no particular order). Each has been an enjoyable read with light hearted characters and interesting plotlines. This book, specifically, has some limited character growth… and an adorable kitten. If you are looking for a quick read without any sort of blatant sexual content or really profanity this is a good choice for you.

Novellas seem to be the lucky find this last week or so, though this one is more in length to a full novel (I still found it a shorter read). My Sweet Valentine by Jill Sanders is book 6 in the Pride Series. A contemporary romance based in the town of Pride this story centers on the lead instructor of the Coastguard and a young woman returned to town to open a bakery. 

Running from a serious stalking situation Sara Lander is just trying to rebuild her life and create her dream… her very own bakery full of her sweets and coffee. Coastguard and ex-Navy SEAL Allen Masters is proud of his position in town running the Coastguard school and saving lives locally. 

Be ware… this story does have some overt sexual scenes. The passion is definitely alive in this story as is the mystery of the stalker complete with red herrings! An enjoyable contemporary romance with some history to be unearthed with each of our two main characters. There is definitely some history with surrounding characters that I am sure is explained in the previous books in the series. Something to look into. 

I love the changes you see in both of the characters. While not a story of faith it is a story of growth! 

If you are looking for romance and some adventure this could be the story for you.