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Due to the encouragement of Kazuo Ishiguro, author of such contemporary works as The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go, I spent some days in August reading R.C.

This is a paranormal, magic romance about soulmates. Jessamin is strong, smart and independent, she leaves her small island home of Melei for the country of Albion to pursue her studies. She doesn’t want to be tied up in Albion society or meet a gentleman. Jessamin wants to finish her schooling and return to her island home.

A Dreadful Splendor (2022) by B.R. Myers is a fun blend of mystery and romance, sprinkled with a little bit of spooky.

V.E. Schwab takes us on a deliciously adventurous ride back to the world of The Shades of Magic, where parallel worlds exist and a select few can open doors between them.

Takeo Goda, is the kindest soul alive who will literally save kittens and children, but his large and rough appearance is off putting to most girls and adults. Sunakawa, (Suna) is Takeo’s best childhood friend who actually cared about Takeo. Suna is handsome and all the girls Takeo falls in love with hate him, but fall in love with Suna. Until he meets Yamato, a kind, nice girl who likes to bake. Takeo doesn't want to get his hopes up anymore but when Yamato keeps making him cakes, Takeo can't help himself from falling in love.

For the last twenty years, record executive and producer Rick Rubin has significantly shaped the course of hip hop, rock, and popular music, among other music genres. Thanks to his impact on the industry, he was named as one of Time's "100 Most Influential People in the World."

In 1938, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter were the first botanists to run the river rapids of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon to Lake Mead. At the time women in science were a rarity. While botany was considered acceptable for women, it was news-making and controversial for women to go on the actual expeditions to collect plant samples. 

If you enjoy dual narratives, flawed characters, and twisty plots, try The Lost Apothecary (2021) by Sarah Penner. Alternating between the late 18th century and contemporary London, the story is told from the perspectives of three women. In the 1790s, a secret apothecary shop caters to women seeking poisons to rid themselves of men who have wronged them.

If you like Young Royal on Netflix or enemies to lovers, this is a good read.

We Could Be So Good (2023) by Cat Sebastian is a romance set at a large New York newspaper in the late 1950s. Veteran reporter Nick Russo is a closeted gay man whose fear of being outed keeps him from developing any close friendships… until he meets Andy Fleming.

Warcross is a virtual reality combat game in which the players don’t wear VR sets they wear VR glasses that offer way better specs than Metaverse. In this world, the VR glasses give you the ability to use coins in real life and search things without a phone. The main character Emika Chen is a hacker who is struggling to pay for food and shelter after her dad died.