A Deep Breath, Some Delicious Reads (and Re-Reads) , and a Cocktail Which Is Basically Comfort Food

Dear friends, I write to you in tearing haste. My face has what my father would describe as a wild-eyed look as I scramble to finish editing my second book, provisionally titled Wait Until Spring, for my deadline in *gulp* nineteen days. I’m very much in love with this book, an enemies-to-lovers transatlantic culture-clash bookstore romance that’s like Ted Lasso, You’ve Got Mail, and 84 Charing Cross Road thrown into a blender, with added spice. Lots and lots of spice.

Unfortunately, I’ve been so all over the place with moving house and editing that I…haven’t been reading that much. Not compared to my usual rate, anyway. I’ve been starting a lot of books and not getting past page thirty (which is my fault, not the writers’) and have found myself re-reading more old favorites alongside new books. Sometimes the brain wants what it wants, and what mine seems to want is the book equivalent of a bowl of steamed rice with a huge pat of butter melted into it.

My brain also wants to keep things brief, so here are some quickfire recommendations for you:

Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller - One of my favorite romances of this year, I re-read it for the sparkling 1870s Vienna setting, the mutual competence porn of Eli and Maria, and for the delicious cocktail of dry wit, sweet sentiment, and extraordinarily spicy physical chemistry.

Bed Me, Earl by Felicity Niven - Not one for the pearl clutchers, but Phineas and Caro’s unlikely romance was a very tasty snack that I scarfed in one evening on my sofa. Niven has helped turn bedroom lessons into one of my favorite tropes in historical romance.

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl - This tender, poignant food memoir is a seminal text for me, and as big an influence on my first book The Slowest Burn as anything by Sarah MacLean or Emily Henry. I re-read it for the first time in six years and it filled my mind and heart in just the same way.

Ne’er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti - I’m being a little unfair because this one’s not coming out until July, but if you love dry wit, chaos muppet/order muppet romance, and the idea of a secret feminist erotic library in Regency England, absolutely hit that pre-order button.

This maple-bourbon smash - An excellent one-bottle, build-in-the-glass cocktail for when you want a drink that’s equal parts refreshing citrus and cozy toasty-vanilla-maple goodness. (Also for when you learn that all of your snazzy vintage coupes might be damaging your health…oops.)

And some housekeeping: There won’t be a 29 November Reading at the Bar because I will be on a writer’s retreat in Shropshire pounding my keyboard like a percussion instrument until the fingers begin to bleed, BUT I will be sliding into your inboxes on 6 December with a year-end roundup/celebration/gift guide. Until then, wish me courage and fortitude and a happy birthday for tomorrow!