Looking for recommended reads? Check out this bookish list #books #reading

A lot of people are looking for books to read, especially those who are staying at home and safe from the COVID-19 pandemic. If you're anything like us, you're reading books you love, ones you normally don't have time for. But time is your friend right now and these recommended reads will have you hugging your e-reader to your chest.

Baseball –

Ultimate Baseball Road Trip: A Fan's Guide to Major League Stadiums by Josh Pahigian (Author), Kevin O'Connell (Author)

The most entertaining and comprehensive guide to every baseball fan’s dream road trip—including every new ballpark since the 2004 edition—revised and completely updated!

Children’s Books –

Paddington's Finest Hour

by Michael Bond, R.W. Alley (Author) (Illustrator), Peggy Fortnum (Cover Design)

A brand-new title from Michael Bond chronicling new and exciting adventures of Paddington Bear!

Somehow Paddington always finds himself in extraordinary situations, so it is no surprise when he appears in a popular TV cooking show, finds himself on a stage giving one of his hard stares to a hypnotist, and performing some precarious tricks at Mr. Gruber’s birthday party.

For nearly sixty years, Paddington has enchanted readers around the world with his numerous misadventures and earnest good intentions. From master storyteller Michael Bond, and with interior illustrations by R. W. Alley, this new Paddington adventure will charm and delight readers of all ages.

Contemporary Romance –

xo, Zach by Kendall Ryan

The first time we met was at a party.

Your ex arrived to show off the person he'd left you for last month, and you asked me to pretend to be your date.

I was more than happy to help. You were attractive, smart and witty--and that kiss we shared? It left me wanting you for days.

The second time we met was in my office on campus where we were both surprised to discover you were the new master’s degree student in poetry that I would be working with. You promised to be professional. I did no such thing.

The late nights and intense study sessions spent alongside you majorly throw me off my game. I want you, and I fight with myself daily over this fact.

I know I'm crass, that my sexual innuendos and dirty mouth annoy you, but I live for those two bright spots of color in your cheeks. If that's the only reaction I can get out of you, I'll gladly take it.

You hate Mondays so every Monday I slip an anonymous poem into your bag and your smile gets me through the week.

I think I'm falling for you, and I know it's wrong. I know that I'm only supposed to be the adviser to your program and nothing more, but here's the thing. I think you're falling for me too.

xo, Zach

Crime Fiction –

Angelica: A Detective Mike Eiser Novel (The Detective Mike Eiser Series Book 4) by Clabe Polk

A LONG TIME AGO, ANGELICA VICETTI DID SOME VERY BAD THINGS WITH SOME VERY BAD MEN.

Now, eleven years later, she’s built a new life for her family, far from her old life in Las Vegas.

BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT TO COME CRASHING DOWN!

Angelica Vicetti of Las Vegas has become Angela Cassetta of Poplar Bluffs, just outside Atlanta, Georgia. She's built a successful real estate agency, and the son she rescued from Vegas when he was a youngster is now a high school baseball star and destined for great things.

But Antonio Scarpone, the mob boss in Vegas who forced her underground hasn't forgotten about her. A string of hit men are sent to kill her, but each time she saves herself and her son, with the help of her friends and Mike Eiser, a local Sheriff's detective who refuses to let Angelica die on his watch!

Things get more complicated, when one of the hit men becomes strangely important to Angela in a whole new way … and a team of Federal agents come to town and ratchet up the odds. Suddenly, sleepy little Poplar Bluffs is awash in blood.

ANGELA WILL HAVE TO TAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE EDGE AND BEYOND – INTO MURDER, KIDNAPPING AND LYING TO THE FEDS – TO SAVE HERSELF AND HER SON. BUT...CAN SHE SURVIVE THE FIGHT FOR HER FAMILY'S FREEDOM?

Historical Romance –

Marrying Mr. Gibson: A Regency Romantic Adventure (Sons of the Spy Lord Book 1) by Alina K. Field

She won't be forced into marriage to a nobleman's by-blow.

Paulette Heardwyn rushes to visit her dying guardian, set on learning the truth about her father and the treasure he supposedly left her. But the only man with answers takes his secrets to the grave, leaving her penniless--unless she marries his illegitimate son.

He won't be trapped into marriage by a father he's never known.

With Napoleon vanquished, an ex-soldier has plans for India. But before he can leave England, he's summoned to the deathbed of an Earl who's a spymaster, a complete stranger...and his father. And the meddlesome Earl expects him to marry the daughter of one of his spies.

Thrown together when an old enemy strikes, the would-be spouses soon realize: the Earl has set a trap that neither of them wants to resist.

PREVIOUSLY TITLEDTHE BASTARD'S IBERIAN BRIDE

Historical Fiction –

The Lost Carousel of Provence by Juliet Blackwell

An artist lost to history, a family abandoned to its secrets, and the woman whose search for meaning unearths it all in a sweeping and expressive story from the New York Times bestselling author of Letters from Paris.

Long, lonely years have passed for the crumbling Château Clement, nestled well beyond the rolling lavender fields and popular tourist attractions of Provence. Once a bustling and dignified ancestral estate, now all that remains is the château's gruff, elderly owner and the softly whispered secrets of generations buried and forgotten.

But time has a way of exposing history's dark stains, and when American photographer Cady Drake finds herself drawn to the château and its antique carousel, she longs to explore the relic's shadowy origins beyond the small scope of her freelance assignment. As Cady digs deeper into the past, unearthing century-old photographs of the Clement carousel and its creators, she might be the one person who can bring the past to light and reunite a family torn apart.

History –

Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea by Robert K. Massie

In a work of extraordinary narrative power, filled with brilliant personalities and vivid scenes of dramatic action, Robert K. Massie, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Dreadnought, elevates to its proper historical importance the role of sea power in the winning of the Great War.

The predominant image of this first world war is of mud and trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, poison gas, and slaughter. A generation of European manhood was massacred, and a wound was inflicted on European civilization that required the remainder of the twentieth century to heal.

But with all its sacrifice, trench warfare did not win the war for one side or lose it for the other. Over the course of four years, the lines on the Western Front moved scarcely at all; attempts to break through led only to the lengthening of the already unbearably long casualty lists.

For the true story of military upheaval, we must look to the sea. On the eve of the war in August 1914, Great Britain and Germany possessed the two greatest navies the world had ever seen. When war came, these two fleets of dreadnoughts—gigantic floating castles of steel able to hurl massive shells at an enemy miles away—were ready to test their terrible power against each other.

Their struggles took place in the North Sea and the Pacific, at the Falkland Islands and the Dardanelles. They reached their climax when Germany, suffocated by an implacable naval blockade, decided to strike against the British ring of steel. The result was Jutland, a titanic clash of fifty-eight dreadnoughts, each the home of a thousand men.

When the German High Seas Fleet retreated, the kaiser unleashed unrestricted U-boat warfare, which, in its indiscriminate violence, brought a reluctant America into the war. In this way, the German effort to “seize the trident” by defeating the British navy led to the fall of the German empire.

Ultimately, the distinguishing feature of Castles of Steel is the author himself. The knowledge, understanding, and literary power Massie brings to this story are unparalleled. His portrayals of Winston Churchill, the British admirals Fisher, Jellicoe, and Beatty, and the Germans Scheer, Hipper, and Tirpitz are stunning in their veracity and artistry.

Castles of Steel is about war at sea, leadership and command, courage, genius, and folly. All these elements are given magnificent scope by Robert K. Massie’ s special and widely hailed literary mastery.

Mystery –

Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories: A Hercule Poirot Collection with Foreword by Charles Todd (Hercule Poirot Mysteries) by Agatha Christie

At last, a single volume that gathers together all of the short stories featuring Agatha Christie's most famous creation, Hercule Poirot. The dapper, mustache-twirling little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and curious mannerisms has solved some of the most puzzling crimes of the century—and, in his own humble opinion, is "probably the greatest detective in the world."

In this complete collection of more than 50 stories, ranging from short tales to novellas, Poirot faces violent murders, poisonings, kidnappings, and thefts—all solved with his characteristic panache. Only Agatha Christie could have devised cases worthy of Hercule Poirot's skill and "little gray cells."

Paranormal –

Raven's Peak (World on Fire Book 1) by Lincoln Cole

A quiet little mountain town is hiding a big problem. When the townsfolk of Raven's Peak start acting crazy, Abigail Dressler is called upon to discover the root of the evil affecting people. She uncovers a demonic threat unlike any she's ever faced and finds herself in a fight just to stay alive.

Abigail rescues Haatim Arison from a terrifying fate and discovers that he has a family legacy in the supernatural that he knows nothing about. Now she's forced to protect him, which is easy, but also to trust him if she wants to save the townsfolk of Raven's Peak. Trust, however, is something hard to have for someone who grew up living on the knife's edge of danger.

Can they discover the cause of the town's insanity and put a stop to it before it is too late?

Paranormal Romance –

Debriefing the Dead (The Dead Series, #1) by Kerry Blaisdell

The only thing Hyacinth wants is her life back. Literally. She and her sister were murdered by Demons, leaving her young nephew, Geordi, to his father’s family in the brutal Sicilian Mob. Then Archangel Michael offers her a deal: recapture a powerful rock the Demons stole, and she can live long enough to find Geordi a safe home. Refuse, and she’ll continue up (or down) to the Afterlife.

So, slightly more alive than dead, she heads for Turkey and the Demons, taking Geordi, her mysterious neighbor Jason, and a sexy dead guy only she can see with her. But the hardest part won’t be battling Demons, meeting Satan, or dodging Middle Eastern customs—it will be later, when Geordi is settled, and Michael rips her away again. How can she abandon her nephew? Or can she outwit the angel of death himself, and stay with Geordi forever?

Romantic Comedy –

Molly's Misadventures: a single dad romantic comedy by D.E. Haggerty

Sit tight, buckle up, and enjoy the bumpy ride to love.

It all starts when my father, aka Mr. Grumpy Pants, calls to tell me his nurse just walked out on him. Likely story. I rush home to pack for my trip to rescue dear old dad, only to walk in on my husband getting it on with his secretary. Gross. I can’t get out of there quick enough.

I arrive back home to discover Dad’s problems are not an easy fix. Of course not. My girlfriend decides she has the perfect answer to all my problems – internet dating. She could have warned me before my first date showed up at the door!

To my surprise and not so secret delight, Danny, the boy I’ve been crushing on since I was a dorky, braces-wearing, nose-buried-in-a-book teenager, is now living next door to Dad with his adorable little girl. He finally notices I exist, but my life is currently a freaking disaster.

Maybe, just maybe, walking in on my husband will lead me into the arms of true love. Fingers crossed.

Religious/Spirituality –

The Holy Bible, King James Version

The King James Version (KJV), also known as the King James Bible (KJB) or simply the Authorized Version (AV), is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, begun in 1604 and completed in 1611. The books of the King James Version include the 39 books of the Old Testament, an intertestamental section containing 14 books of the Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament.

A note from Mrs. N: I know many of you may object to this recommendation. Please give it a chance. Inside the Bible, you’ll find more inspiration and motivation to get you through your day than any other book. Open yourself up to its words and messages.

Science Fiction –

Pearseus Bundle: The Complete Pearseus Sci-fi/Fantasy Series by Nicholas C. Rossis

Fantasy is more than dragons

A scared boy on a new planet. A father who has failed at his most basic duty: to keep his children safe. And a ruler who struggles to save her world, the only way she knows how: through cold-blooded cruelty.

Three hundred years after humans crash-land on Pearseus, long-forgotten wars and whispered prophecies become chilling reality.

Which is more important: reuniting your family, avenging evil, or preventing humanity's extinction?

This bundle includes all books from the best-selling sci-fi fantasy series, voted as one of the 100 Indie books you should read before you die, plus bonus material.

"A creative and unforgettable series that will one day become a gem among sci-fi fantasy books."

~ Janice Spina

Science Fiction Romance –

The Key: Project Enterprise Book 1 by Pauline Baird Jones

She’s a stranded soldier. He’s an alien castaway. Can their love save a galaxy torn apart by war?

Sara Donovan knew her top-secret expedition would be dangerous. But she never imagined she’d end up separated from her crew and stranded on an alien planet. When the smoke from her crash landing clears, she’s surprised to find a marooned resistance fighter ready to lend a hand. In a war-torn galaxy, Sara refuses to give her trust lightly… especially when she risks exposing the strange abilities she’s kept hidden since childhood.

Kiernan Fyn survives day by day on the hopes of exacting revenge on the warlord who murdered his wife. Sara is his ticket off the desolate rock to a new better future…until she’s targeted by hostile forces who thinks she holds the key to a long-lost civilization. In a fight for their lives, sparks fly as Sara and Fyn attempt to decipher their hidden connection with the powerful key before their ruthless enemies distort its power for galactic domination.

The Key is the first novel in the phenomenal Project Enterprise sci-fi romance saga. If you like interstellar chemistry, fast-paced action, and sprawling space operas, then you’ll love Pauline Baird Jones’ award-winning epic.

Suspense –

Viable Threat (Outbreak Task Force) by Julie Rowe

Special Forces soldier and medic Walter River would give anything to snatch more than a few seconds of downtime to see if he can rattle the no-nonsense and incredibly hot Dr. Lloyd he's protecting, but dodging explosions, snipers, and student radicals who've unleashed a lethal bio-engineered microorganism have made that almost impossible. Maybe he'll get a chance—if he can figure out how to keep them both alive.

CDC microbiologist Ava Lloyd races to find a cure for a bio-terrorism organism sweeping El Paso. The few stolen moments with her very hunky bodyguard River have been explosive, but no matter how alluring he is, she can't afford to get distracted. The clock is ticking, people are dying by the hundreds, and once this crisis is solved, they'll both be off on their next assignment, thousands of miles apart.

Young Adult –

Fear Justice (The Fear Chronicles Book 1) by C.C. Bolick

Seventeen-year-old Rena Mason counts the days until she can leave for college. Every night her father drinks himself to sleep, leaving her to care for her younger brother. When her father is kidnapped by terrorists, her dreams of freedom become a nightmare.

Stunned that her father has a history with these terrorists, Rena knows she must run or be their next victim. She learns the tough guy at school has a reason to look after her - he's working for a government agency with the same goal as the terrorists: find a woman who disappeared eighteen years ago. Time is running out since only this woman's special gift can save the world from a looming nuclear attack.

Rena can't trust anyone including the agent she's falling for. Can they save the world before Rena's feelings trap her in an agent's fight for justice?

Fear Justice contains elements of fantasy, sci-fi, and paranormal. It's the first book in an exciting new series called The Fear Chronicles.

Do you have a recommended read? Please share in the comments below. Stay safe and happy reading!

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