This book is a best seller, and I can certainly see why. The descriptions of the rich and famous is the early 20th Century in New York City are often breathtaking. The contrast with the lives of the have-nots is stark. The librarian of the title spent her life passing as white. Although she had the intelligence, skills, and personality to be hugely successful in the rarified atmosphere of collectible books and fine art, she had to spend her life looking over her shoulder, fearing her secret would come out and she would lose everything she had worked for. Actually, she had to fight two prejudi ..read more

I am a lifelong Steelers fan, so this book was a must read for me. Besides that, I actually worked with Bill Cowher’s father Laird at one time. It was fascinating to read how Cowher was shaped by his modest upbringing and old fashioned, Pittsburgh-style family values. While I follow football, I am not an expert, so some of the descriptions of plays was a bit technical for me. Cowher pulls back the curtain and is honest about what made some of those plays fail and how much of it was actually his fault. As it is with most of us, his greatest strength, passion, was also sometimes his greatest fl ..read more

Back in the 1950s, Johnny Carson hosted a game show called “Who Do You Trust?” before taking over the “Tonight Show.” The show was originally called “Do You Trust Your Wife?” Contestants had to predict how their spouses would answer various questions. Nowadays, it seems that your spouse is the only person you can trust. Politicians routinely lie. And that forms the foundation for Sonali Dev’s latest book Incense and Sensibility. The first man of Indian descent is running for governor of California. He and his childhood friend have been in a pretned relationship for years to pacify both sets o ..read more

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed the books of Rich Amooi. As far as I know, male romance authors are still few and far between, so I applaud his success. The characters are always delightfully quirky. This one features not one but two matchmaking grandmas. How can you resist that? I particularly wanted to read this one because it is set in California wine country. Amooi lives in California and knows “wine talk,” those elaborately snobby descriptions of what the wine tastes like that nobody outside the industry would come up with. The book is what I would call clean. There are a few slightly ..read more

How I wish I would have had a book like this to read back in the Dark Ages when I was starting my career. I am not naturally skilled in reading and dealing with office politics, so I made lots of mistakes. And got fired a few times along the way. Dana Perino has had an immpressive track record. Her advice is practical and compassionate. Early on, she stresses the importance of acquiring good writing skills. The clarity of her prose proves she learned that lesson well. Even if, like me, you are no longer in the workforce, read her book, if only for the glimpses she shares of what working with ..read more

Identical twins who share a common love for and expertise in baking and switch places? Count me in. Maggie Knox has written a squeaky clean double romance. And appropriately enough, Maggie Knox is actually two co-authors, Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. They’ve written novels individually, but this is their first collaboration. One twin suffers a mishap and needs her sister to step into her very different lifestyle and bail her out. They both soon find out the other twin’s life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The glamorous twin who stars on a reality cooking show discovers how much work goe ..read more

I have been a fan of the books of Eloisa James for a long time. Her books are very different from the ones I write in time period and heat level, but I love her quirky characters and wit. When I saw she was writing her first comtemporary under her real name, I knew I had to read it. The book doesn’t release until June, but I was able to snag a review copy. Although I was somewhat surprised by the plot, I wasn’t disappointed. Romance readers, be aware that Lizzie and Dante is not a romance. While wildly romantic, it is women’s fiction, and the genres are not identical. The snappy dialogue is t ..read more

It’s funny how certain books catch your attention. I picked this one up free yesterday (thanks, Barbara!) for a couple reasons. The obvious-who doesn’t love a freebie? Then, I looked at Barbara’s website and saw she lives in Aptos, California. I am familiar with her town because my husband had a good friend who lived in Capitola, California, a beach town nearby. I started to wonder if Barbara had based Carita Cove in which her story takes place on Capitola as I based my Calusa on Pine Island, Florida, where I live. Finally, my husband said to me out of the blue, “I think you should write myst ..read more

– i have been eagerly awaiting the Southwest Florida Reading Festival which begins March 1. This year, it, like so many other events, goes virtual. Two of my longtime favorite authors are featured: Eloisa James, who I saw here in 2014 in person, and Jayne Ann Krentz, who is aka Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Castle. Krentz has a presentation followed by a live Q and A on March 8 beginning at 7:00 p.m. James is on a romance panel on March 1 at 7:00 p.m. Again, a Q&A follows. Also on the romance panel is Alisha Rai, who has recently become a favorite author. I just finished her novel First Comes ..read more

Photo credit Michael Shapiro Photography The American Dream is alive and well at Broadway Palm DinnerTheatre in Fort Myers. On stage through April 10 is On Your Feet: The Story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. Turns out all you need are enormous talent and laser-focused determination. Alex Rodriguez as Emilio Estefan knows a good thing when he hears it. He wastes no time sweeping shy 17 year old Gloria Fajardo off her feet and into his garage band. Her Cuban abuela is thrilled. Her mami not so much. She had to give up her own dreams of musical stardom years before. Portraying her is Josephine Pho ..read more