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DanielleBookseller at Lake Forest ParkDanielle reads literary fiction, fantasy, romance, and lots of YA. You can ask her anything about intersectional feminism, nontraditional relationships, or #ownvoices; she'll usually recommend a book to you! She spends her free time editing for fiction book projects, trying new restaurants, and giggling at the asian small-clawed otters at Woodland Park. |
Did you love The Kiss Quotient? Then you need to read Alisa Rai! She writes strong, smart, diverse women falling in love and heroes that will melt your heart.
Rhi Hunter knows the best revenge is success. As creator of the dating app Crush, she has what it take to takeover her competitor, Matchmaker. But tracking down their elusive, eccentric owner hasn't proved easy and with buyers circling - like her toxic ex-boyfriend and former boss - she's had to be rather creative in her approach. Fate serves up a twist when she discovers a former hookup is the new face of Matchmaker: retired footballer player Samson Lima, aka "The Curse". He's goofy, nervous, and totally clueless when it comes to online dating, but Rhi has a solution that might just help them both get ahead. A romance that is sweet, a little spicy in the bedroom, and full of active consent, The Right Swipe is a believable second chance romance for tech-savvy readers.
This YA novel is essentially Rory-and-Paris fanfic, if Rory was Persian and Paris was Jewish-Mexican. Oh, and if they were lesbians with secret crushes on one another. It's everything you wanted that Netflix's last season of Gilmore Girls didn't deliver.
Rachel and Sana hate each other. When a chance blunder at school forces a collaboration in Rachel's senior film, neither girl trusts the other to get it right. And, as much as she is loathe to agree with her film adviser, Rachel knows Sana is perfectly cast as her Helen of Troy. Soon, the prim cheerleader is narrating the Greek epic and demanding other changes. With only 30 days left to meet academic deadlines, Rachel needs the film to be perfect to clinch her spot at NYU... and Sana needs a distraction as she runs down the clock on mailing her deposit to Princeton. The sweetest romance could bloom between them if they cast aside fear and their prep school personas.
Is it fate that intertwines 17-yr-old Xochi and 12-yr-old Pallas, or is it simply kindred spirit? On the night of the Autumn Equinox, they cast a playful spell and summon two eerie, green forest children - "Water Babies" in Native American lore - but these creatures do more than cause vivid dreams. Told from multiple POV's (including a bookstore cat!) with interludes in verse and oral storytelling, Keil's debut is a lush, magical novel of first loves and found family.
A delightfully dark "New Adult" read for fans of Francesca Lia Block, Sherman Alexie, and Hayao Miyazaki.
If The Dresden Files and The Magicians had a book baby, this would be it. Our heroine is an ordinary private eye hired to solve a murder at a boarding school for magical teenagers. Unfortunately, it's also the school where her magical twin sister, Tabitha, works. As Ivy gets further involved in the inner workings of the school, its faculty, and its students, she questions her sanity and skill. Can she keep up appearances, find the killer, and reunite with Tabitha?
Excellent storytelling with a plot that had me guessing "whodunnit" until the last 50 pages.
Oh, did I miss Cain's special blend of pop culture satire and zany camp! Here's the deal: menstruation turns teen girls into massive killer cats. Luckily, capitalism (aka THE MAN) has delivered a range of products to eliminate periods once and for all. Except... a cat attack plagues our teen heroine's Portland suburb.
If you like BITCH PLANET and teen angst, MAN-EATERS is totally on brand!
Unmoored by the loss of her first love, Poe Blythe has created deadly armor to protect the Outposts last dredge as it sets sail to pan for gold. Led by a man known only as The Admiral, Poe's grief and anger serves a purpose. But when her ship is attacked by drifters downriver, Poe's faith is tested. Why do the drifters hate the dredge?
Poe's survival depends on more than her engineering skills, but who can she trust?
Latinx culture. Near-future fantasy island. Espionage and arranged marriage. Queer romance.
In short, a gripping feminist story with excellent stakes, world-building, and character development that ends in a cliff-hanger. Let's just say I need book two of this duology immediately.
Are you a parent? Do you want to be a parent? Do you have a uterus or know someone who does? Then I recommend this book for you.
Lucy Knisley's personal experiences are balanced by her research on obstetrics throughout history. I am fascinated by the anecdotes and myths perpetuated by science, politics, and well-meaning mothers and mother-in-laws, but most endearing are the illustrations of Knisley's rocky path to parenthood. She has a terrifying pregnancy experience, no doubt about it, but her story is warm and hopeful.
Two teenagers with cystic fibrosis: they have a long list of DON'Ts but very few DOs. Stella sticks to her schedules and pins hope on a lung transplant. Will is ready to be 18, free of hospitals and his mother's race for a cure. An endearing and honest story of two teenagers learning there's more to living than simply surviving.
I'm a sucker for coming-of-age novels, more so when the setting is a crumbling English castle. Cassandra is a witty, observant girl on the cusp of adulthood. Her family is in a perilous financial situation: her father probably isn't writing another groundbreaking novel, her stepmom has retreated to London, and her sister pins their salvation on their new, wealthy American neighbors. A lesser-known work by the author of 101 Dalmations, suitable for adult ad teen readers alike!
