Hey, Readers!
I know I’ve been talking a lot lately about the importance of fighting the rise of right wing fascism, but today I’m here shouting about a really excellent romance novel that just came out!
The book is What She’s Having, and it’s the second installment in new author Laura Moher’s three-part Big Love in Galway series, set in the (very diverse and welcoming) small town south.
Ooh, look my blurb is on the cover! “Crazy entertaining, first-rate storytelling!” is what I said about Big Love in Galway #1, Curves for Days, which was my favorite book of 2023. I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of What She’s Having, and I have to say “Ditto, big time!”
The tone of What She’s Having is a little different than Curves (the point-of-view characters are more serious and their conflict is more intense) but that makes total sense. I would call this book a small-town romance with strong comedy elements—if I had to call it anything other than an excellent, heart-tugging read. (I laughed, I cried, I turned those pages as quickly as I could! Laura Moher can WRITE, you guys!!)
What She’s Having is set in the same small, wonderful, hey-can-I-move-there fictional town of Galway, and I was thrilled to be back among a cast of regulars. And yet if you start with What She’s Having, you’ll be just fine! You will want to go back and read Curves, though!! Both books are sooooo goooood!! The Big Love in Galway series delivers the very best that the romance genre can be.
Here’s a link to Laura’s series page for Big Love in Galway, where you can find blurbs and links to both What She’s Having and Curves for Days: https://www.lauramoher.com/books.html
I highly, highly recommend!
And yes, What She’s Having is my fav romance novel of 2024. Laura’s on a roll!
I also recently read Meg Shaffer’s The Lost Story, which was wonderful, too. It’s a romantasy, and boy was it fun. If you delighted in the Narnia books, you will love the voice and the soothing, magical feel of this terrific novel. The characters are in their early thirties and… Yeah, there’s a romance. Just check it out. It was actual the perfect read for me, for this trying and tumultuous year. (Read the blurb and find links on Meg’s website at https://www.megshaffer.com )
I’ve also just recently watched a coupla streaming series that I really loved.
My Lady Jane, which is on Amazon Prime is a wickedly funny romantasy well worth your time. (And yeah, it’s really on Amazon. Last time I recced a show, I said it was on Netflix. #WRONG!!)
And I really, REALLY loved a Netflix (really!) series from France called The Seven Lives of Lea. A teenage girl who is struggling with depression discovers the bones of a boy who died thirty years earlier and gets caught up in his story. (It turns out her parents knew this boy and…) I would call this series a love story not a romance, so it might not be for everyone, but wow was it good. The entire cast of actors was remarkable. I watched it in French with English subtitles. Four thumbs up.
If action/adventure with dark comedy and romantic elements is more your thing, check out Kleo on Netflix. I love watching series from outside of the U.S., and this quirky one is from Germany, set after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Again, I watched it in German (which I understand a tiny bit!) with English subtitles.
(Links for the shows above are to their IMDb pages—a great informative resource!)
Okay, that’s it for now!
I hope to see you at the Fated States Zoom phonebanking for democracy on Saturday, August 24th at 1 PM ET. We’ll be calling voters in Georgia. Here’s the link for you to sign up! (I’ll be there!) https://fatedmates.net/fatedstates
Also, I highly recommend watching the videos of speeches from the Democratic Convention’s Day One. (Sen. Warnock killed it, AOC and Jasmine Crockett were on fire, too! President Biden’s heartfelt speech will go down in history—I made sure to watch it live!) All in all, it was an uplifting presentation of the welcoming and inclusive hope, love, joy, and optimism that inspires me to fight hard for a Harris/Walz future.
Please never stop fighting for our freedom, for our democracy, for equality, equity, peace, love, hope, and for the rights of ALL of our neighbors both here and around the world,
Suz