Dear Edward Comes to TV, 20 Florida Bookstores Not to be Missed, John Scalzi Wins Heinlein Award, Aslan's Square in Dyersville, Iowa, to Close, It Ends With Us Movie, By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate, The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and Mr Wrong Number by Lynn Painter

Good Afternoon to all my fellow book dragons! We finally arrived at the end of January, and now February and it's hearts and blusters lies before us, ready for romantic reads and exciting new TV shows/movies based on books. Below are some new tidbits and some new reviews. I hope you are all bundled up and reading your hearts out whilst enjoying a nice cuppa tea.

 This sounds like a wonderful TV show, streaming on Apple+. I'm hoping to be able to watch it in March.

TV: Dear Edward

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for Dear Edwardhttps://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAjZw-gI6alvcRB_SQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jPC8KgpoMLg-gVdw, the series from Jason Katims that is based on Ann Napolitano's 2020 novel. Starring Connie Britton, Taylor Schilling and Colin O'Brien, the series will make its global debut February 3 with the first three episodes of a 10-episode first season, followed by one new episode each through March 24.

The cast also includes Amy Forsyth, Eva Ariel Binder, Brittany S. Hall,Idris Debrand, Carter Hudson, Maxwell Jenkins, Jenna Qureshi, AudreyCorsa, Anna Uzele, Ivan Shaw and Dario Ladani Sanchez.

Dear Edward is written by Katims, who serves as showrunner. He executive produces through True Jack Productions alongside Jeni Mulein. Fisher Stevens, who will direct the first episode and serve as executive producer on the pilot.

I love articles that list best bookstores to visit, as I've always wanted to be a literary traveler and explore book stores wherever I go. This article was good, but they missed one of Tampa Bay's Oldest bookstores, Wilson's Book World, run by generations of the Morris family.

20 Bookstores Everyone Should Visit in Florida

"There's nothing quite like the thrill of an undiscovered bookstore," according to Southern Living magazine, which showcased "20 bookstores everyone should visit in Florida https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAjZw-gI6alvcRB-Tg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jPC8KgpoMLg-gVdw," noting that the "feeling of walking down a quaint, tree-lined downtown street and spotting a historic bookshop, or perhaps the anticipation of a famed author's visit to a new book seller in town. Or maybe it's a favorite stop on your Southern vacation each year: the cozy nook where you eagerly devour beach reads and spend hours immersed in the aisles, poring over titles.

"Florida has no shortage of wondrous haunts for book lovers, from newer bookstore restaurant concepts to vibrant, longstanding shops that boast frequent author visits and robust writers' groups. From the panhandle to the Florida Keys, here are some of the Sunshine State's hottest bookstores and the reasons to add each of them to your bucket list."

(NB: They missed Wilson's Bookworld in St Petersburg, Fl, which was my all-time favorite bookstore when I lived there in the 80s. It was clean, bug-free, full of unexpected finds and had the hottest bookseller/owner I've ever met.)

Congratulations to one of my all time favorite science fiction writers, John Scalzi, whose Old Man's War novels were groundbreaking, and whose Lock In books, (Lock In and Head On) also created new space for disabled people in science fiction, is overdue for a slew of honors and awards for his genius, IMO.

Awards: Robert A. Heinlein Winner

Novelist John Scalzi won the Robert A. Heinlein Award

https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAjak-4I6alvcUxzTw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jPCJKmpoMLg-gVdw, which honors "outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space." Organizers cited Scalzi for his "body of work of 16 novels and numerous short stories. A majority of his work features a future in space for humanity including his groundbreaking novels in the Old Man's War series and the Interdependency series."

The award will be presented on May 26, during opening ceremonies for Balticon 57, the 57th Maryland Regional Science Fiction Convention. Balticon and the Robert A. Heinlein Award are both managed and sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society.

It always makes me sad to read of another bookstore closing, but I am especially sad when I read about a bookstore closing in my native state of Iowa. There are so many people in red states like Iowa trying to censor and ban books right now that we need bookstores that refuse to allow others to dictate what books they can and can't carry, thus allowing men, women and children the agency to choose what they want to read to enlighten, inform and entertain themselves.

Aslan's Square in Dyersville, Iowa, to Close

Aslan's Square https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAjbn7oI6alvdRh_Tw~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jPCZ7ypoMLg-gVdw, a bookstore and coffee shop that opened last summer in Dyersville, Iowa, will close at the end of the month. In a Facebook post, owner Jacey Stanbro wrote:

"With a heavy heart, Aslan's Square will be closing shop. The last day the shop will be open is next Wednesday February 1.... Even though this season is coming to an end the lord did miraculous things. I am so in awe of his glory. With that being said the shop is doing a 50% store wide sale on all merchandise.

"Thank you all for your community support and encouragement over these several months. We couldn't have done it without you. If you know anyone who feels the calling to keep something going similar to this, please reach out to us at:aslanssquare@gmail.com."

This is another movie based on a book that I'm dying to see, because it has some excellent actors in it, plus its based on a thriller that was a bestseller for a long time.

Movies: It Ends With Us

Blake Lively (A Simple Favor) and Justin Baldoni (Jane the Virgin) will star in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's 2016 novel It Ends With Us Deadline reported. The project is in development with Wayfarer Studios and Sony Pictures. Baldoni is also set to direct, with Christy Hall adapting the script.

The novel was optioned in 2019 by Baldoni, whose directing credits include Clouds and Five Feet Apart, and Wayfarer Studios. They have been working with Hoover, who is consulting on the movie.

By Any Other Name by Lauren Kate is a delightful rom-com novel that seemed so familiar I thought I'd read it before (I'd only read an extended excerpt, so once I got past the first 40 pages I realized that I'd not read the whole novel). It's basic premise is that editor Lanie has been reading and editing beloved Noa Calloway's romance novels for a long time when she discovers that Noa is actually Noah, a guy, and he's got writer's block, just when the latest novel is due at the publishers, and Lanie's promotion is on the line. I believe I've read a couple of other novels with this same premise, and it always leads to heartache and then heart-shaped goo-goo eyes between the two lead characters. Here's the blurb:

From bestselling author Lauren Kate comes an enemies-to-lovers romance about an editor, her bestselling author, and one life-changing secret.

What she doesn't know about love could fill a book.
With a successful career as a romance editor, and an engagement to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her carefully curated list, Lanie's more than good. She's killing it. Then she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: to work with world-renowned author and her biggest inspiration in love and life—the Noa Callaway. All Lanie has to do is cure Noa's writer's block and she'll get the promotion she's always dreamed of. Simple, right? 
 
But there's a reason no one has ever seen or spoken to the mysterious Noa Calloway. And that reason will rock Lanie’s world. It will call into question everything she thought she knew. When she finally tosses her ninety-nine expectations to the wind, Lanie may just discover that love By Any Other Name can still be as sweet. 

This wasn't a hard book to read, it's prose was easy-breezy and full of fun banter/dialog, while the plot was so straightforward and predictable you can just relax and read knowing everything will work out in the end, no problem. At the time I read this, I really needed an easy read, so I was glad that it wasn't some huge complex tome that would take a lot of energy to read and decipher. However, there are times when readers want something more juicy and zingy, and with that in mind, I'd have to give this book a B-, and recommend it only to those who want something that is like a "beach read" for winter (A "snowed in and sitting by the fire in a cozy chair" read?) 

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center is yet another rom-com that was full of witty banter and interesting characters, an almost 'enemies to lovers' scenario, but not quite, since it was more 'employer to lover' kind of plot. The prose was light and airy, and the plot slid along like ice skates on freshly Zamboni-ed ice. Here's the blurb: Katherine Center's The Bodyguard is “My perfect 10 of a book. As funny and sweet as all the very best nineties rom-coms, but with Center’s signature heart-tugging depth. I wish I could erase it from my mind just to read it again for the first time. A shot of pure joy.”—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers

She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.

He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.

They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he goes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, says no one will believe it.
What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done. 

I love books that have a strong female protagonist, and professional bodyguard Hannah is, at the outset, very strong and has almost ninja like skills with any weapon. However, once she sets eyes on famous film/tv star Jack, she is suddenly incapacitated by his masculine sex appeal. She also suddenly becomes by turns nearly autistic in social situations and really stupid and childishly girly in others...so apparently all any bad guys need to do to incapacitate an experienced deadly bodyguard is present her with a really ripped and handsome guy, and she will lose her hard won skills nearly overnight! UGH. I don't really buy that people can be completely freaked out over a good looking celebrity. I've interviewed and encountered more than a few celebrities in my life (especially when working as a journalist) and I've never been "stunned into silence" or overawed by their looks. They're just people, for crying out loud! People who won the genetic lottery, true, but still just human beings with all the same faults and functions as the rest of us. Some are decent and kind, some are asshats, but all are just human beings, not deities. That said, this was a fun, fast book to read, so I'd give it a B and recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind some sexist BS with their romance. 

Mr Wrong Number by Lynn Painter is a romance-comedy with a twist that reads like the juiciest emails and letters you've ever read between a man and a woman who are seeking love and an end to their lonely lives. The prose is wonderful, the banter is razor sharp and the romantic/erotic scenes are hot as lava. Here's the blurb:

Things get textual when a steamy message from a random wrong number turns into an anonymous relationship in this hilarious rom-com by Lynn Painter.

Bad luck has always followed Olivia Marshall...or maybe she's just the screw-up her family thinks she is. But when a "What are you wearing?" text from a random wrong number turns into the hottest, most entertaining—albeit anonymous—relationship of her life, she thinks things might be on the upswing....

Colin Beck has always considered Olivia his best friend's annoying little sister, but when she moves in with them after one of her worst runs of luck, he realizes she's turned into an altogether different and sexier distraction. He's sure he can keep his distance, until the moment he discovers she's the irresistible Miss Misdial he's been sort of sexting for weeks—and now he has to decide whether to turn the heat up or ghost her before things get messy. 

I loved all the witty banter and the hilarious hijinks of Olivia "Livie" Marshall, though I found Colin's with holding of the truth to be rather cowardly on his part. What bothered me a bit about Livie is that, while her clumsiness is somewhat similar in tone to Lucy's in "I Love Lucy," that is, funny  and endearing, it got to be kind of tedious as time went on and she just got more clumsy and broke things due to insecurity (and her family's misogyny...her brother is a sexist lunkhead who wants to control her life even after she's an adult who can easily make her own choices.). I enjoyed the HEA ending, though, and I'd give this delightful novel an A-, and recommend it to anyone who loves witty banter and epistolary novels about strangers who fall in love.