Hey all! Welcome back to Get Rec’d! This is where I discuss some of the other book recommendations I’ve been giving out at the bookstore and elsewhere.
There’s quite the assortment this time with pictures books, literary fiction, and more.
Have any of you gotten some good recommendations lately? Picked up a sale book that you’re just loving?
Tell me in the comments below!
Franklin’s Flying Bookshop
At the bookstore, we’re encouraged to poke around the picture books in our downtime and I stumbled across this adorable story about a book-loving dragon.
Franklin the dragon loves stories and loves reading stories to people too, but everyone is too scared to even talk to him. One day, he meets a girl named Luna who, rather than being afraid, is fascinated to meet Franklin, having recently read all about dragons in one of her books. They instantly become friends and talk nonstop about what they’ve read: books about roller-skating, King Arthur, spiders, and how to do kung fu. Together they hatch a plan to share their love of books with others by opening a bookshop—a flying bookshop, that is—right on Franklin’s back!
Franklin, a well-read and peace-loving dragon, and Luna, a young girl with an independent spirit and an insatiable love of reading, make fantastic role models for young children. Franklin’s Flying Bookshop brings the magic of classic fairy tales into the twenty-first century through exquisite illustrations, and will enchant children as well as anyone who loves books.
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The Guncle
If you like fish out of water stories, this is a bittersweet option. The main character is the cool, gay uncle who finds himself stepping in as guardian for his niece and nephew.
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league.
So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.
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Mango, Mambo, and Murder
This is one I frequently recommend to cozy mystery fans, especially if they really want to add more diverse voices to their reading.
Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quinones-Smith becomes a seasoned sleuth in Raquel Reyes’s Caribbean Kitchen Mystery debut, a savory treat for fans of Joanne Fluke and Jenn McKinlay.
Food anthropologist Miriam Quinones-Smith’s move from New York to Coral Shores, Miami, is traumatic enough without having to deal with her son’s toddler tantrums and her husband’s midlife crisis. Her best friend, Alma, adds some spice back into Miriam’s life when she offers her a job as an on-air cooking expert on a Spanish-language morning TV show. But when the newly minted star attends a Women’s Club luncheon, a socialite sitting at her table suddenly falls face-first into the chicken salad, never to nibble again.
When a second woman dies soon after, suspicions coalesce around a controversial Cuban herbalist, Dr. Fuentes–especially after the morning show’s host collapses while interviewing him. But then, Detective Pullman learns that the socialite’s death resulted from a drug overdose–and an anonymous tip fingers Alma as the pusher.
Pullman persuades Miriam to ply her culinary know-how and her understanding of Coral Shores’s Caribbean culture to help find the killer and clear Alma’s name. While her hubby dallies with his ex-girlfriend, Juliet, Miriam quizzes her neighbors for answers and researches all manner of herbs.
As the ingredients to the deadly scheme begin blending together, Miriam is on the verge of learning how and why the women died. But her snooping may turn out to be a recipe for her own murder.
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The Sun Down Motel
A sneak peek at next month’s staff pick. I know some of the Bitchery are aware of St. James’s twister, supernatural mysteries, but the bookstore customers aren’t as familiar and I feel like I’m constantly handselling her books.
Something hasn’t been right at the roadside Sun Down Motel for a very long time, and Carly Kirk is about to find out why in this chilling new novel from the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.
Upstate New York, 1982. Viv Delaney wants to move to New York City, and to help pay for it she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel in Fell, New York. But something isnʼt right at the motel, something haunting and scary.
Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt.
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This book is available from:
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
I’ve been building a “library” for my godgranddaugher since she was born. Well, honestly, before she was born. Since my favorite books had magical characters, I’ll be adding book loving Franklin to the pile.
I’ll second that Simone St. James rec. THE SUNDOWN MOTEL was a spooky, twisty delight.
Another Simone St. James fan here. I like her ghost stories set in 1920s England the best — they are closer to romance HEAs all around. But I love and reread all of her novels. And whatever she wants to do next, I will preorder it for sure.
THE GUNGLE is so sweet! It’s a tear jerker but I speed through it. My mom insisted I read it, and she was correct.