Love Potion Library Debuts in California, Trigger Warning Book Bus Hits the Road in Des Moines, Iowa, Midnight Library Movie, Quote of the Day, Anna Pigeon Comes to TV, Outllaw by Jim Butcher, League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton, The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey, and A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist

Good evening, book people! Here we are halfway through May, and its gone by in the blink of an eye! I'm excited to celebrate Mother's Day a week late this weekend with my son Nick, by going to Half Price Books and perusing the purses at a local clothing store. It's going to be epic, and we will probably stop for a boba tea at the tea shop a few towns over, and get a hot dog for lunch! YAY!   Meanwhile I'm going to share some tidbits and reviews with you all from this past week, when I was still getting over a respiratory infection that managed to keep me in bed, reading.

 

This sounds like a great romantic store to visit, if I'm ever lucky enough to take a trip to San Fran.  

The Love Potion Library Debuts in San Francisco, Calif.

The Love Potion Library, a romance-focused bookstore and cafe, made its debut in San Francisco, Calif., on April 25, the San Francisco Standard reported.Located at 284 Noe St. in the Castro, Love Potion Library carries a wide array of romance and romance adjacent titles, with books categorized both by relevant tropes and sub-genres. The cafe side of the business serves tea from a local tea shop as well as locally-sourced pastries, and it is licensed for beer and wine. The store's event plans include book clubs, game and trivia nights, and both queer and straight speed-dating events.

Prior to opening the Love Potion Library, store owner Veena Patel worked in alternative energy for nearly 10 years. She left that job in early 2025, telling the Standard: "I realized it wasn't something I enjoyed doing, being behind my computer all day. I just felt really lonely." A life-long romance reader, Patel opened the bookstore with the help of her husband, Varun Dutta, who is a software engineer and sometimes works the register at the bookstore.

The store's reception since its debut on Independent Bookstore Day has been fantastic, the Standard noted, with certain titles selling out within days of opening and a Heated Rivalry trivia night bringing in almost 50 customers with a substantial waitlist. According to the Standard, it is San Francisco's only romance-focused bookstore.

I love this idea, repurposing a bus to turn it into a local mobile bookstore. I will have to ask my friends who live in Des Moines to check it out.

Trigger Warning Book Bus Hits the Road in Des Moines, Iowa, Metro Area

Trigger Warning Book Bus hosted a ribbon cutting celebration recently in Waukee, Iowa, after which owner Becky Vandermark made a stop at Local 5 News to talk about her venture.

The mobile bookshop is located inside a 22-passenger shuttle bus that has been transformed into a romance bookstore.

"I wanted to do something different, and I thought I need something like a food truck and a bookstore... and here's the book lists," said Vandermark, whose day job is serving as a Waukee police officer. "I'm just excited to share my love of reading with people. I think everybody to use a little bit more love in their life."

Low, warm lighting casts a seductive glow over shelves filled with stories of desire, danger, and devotion. Neon script softly illuminates the floral textures and rich tones creating a space that feels private, tempting--almost forbidden. Every inch whispers: stay awhile. The bus will hold approximately 600 romance novels available for purchase."

In March, Vandermark told the Des Moines Register that she began her love of reading as a U.S. Marine: "No matter what country I was in, no matter what was going on, I was always able to just escape into a book." She particularly enjoys romance novels, a way for her to "escape reality," and likes the appeal to "our human need to feel accepted, to feel loved."

This ultimately led to purchasing and renovating the bus. "This was a retirement home shuttle bus before it was this," Vandermark said, noting that the mobile bookshop's name is an homage to her law enforcement background and an acknowledgment of the explicit content of the books she plans to offer. She plans to sell in the Des Moines metro area at events and rent the bus for parties.

I loved the Midnight Library, and I'm going to try to get a copy of the sequel this weekend, but meanwhile, I'm excited that they're filming the ML based on the novel...it has big shoes to fill. I hope that it doesn't disappoint. 

Movies: The Midnight Library

Florence Pugh (Dune franchise) will star in and produce The Midnight Library, based on Matt Haig's bestselling novel and directed by Garth Davis.

Deadline reported that Pugh will play Nora Seed, "who finds herself in a library between life and death with the chance to experience all the potential lives she could have lived."

The screenplay is by Laura Wade (Rivals) and Nick Payne (We Live in Time). Studiocanal and Blueprint Pictures are behind the project, which the former is launching for the Cannes market, Deadline noted. Haig will executive produce. The project is set to enter pre-production this fall with shooting to begin early next year.

"I am so happy that Nora's story is in such great hands, and that her myriad possibilities will be vividly reawakened by the absolute perfect team. And I can't wait for people to see my book reimagined for the big screen," Haig said.

Books are powerful, and that is why libraries and bookstores are so important.

Quotation of the Day

"But there is something the powerful have never been able to destroy.

Not princes, not presidents, not lawyers, not the grinding machinery of institutional silence. The power of a book.... Virginia and Amy Wallace did not write their book so that we would mourn her. They wrote it so we would read it. So that things would change.

"It is on the shelves of beautiful bookstores. It is in libraries. It is on nightstands. It is being read tonight by people who will close it and know--with absolute certainty--that her testimony cannot be ignored. That the world she described demands an answer. The woman can be silenced. The book cannot.

"This is what the greatest acts of witness always do. They do not close a story. They open it outward--into all the other stories that were never told, all the voices that were silenced before they found a page.

Books are not monuments. They are instructions. Not merely to record what happened to one person. But to change the way the reader sees the world.

"That is what we do. That is why we write, publish, and sell books. This is what one book can do--when it is written honestly enough, published bravely enough, and read by enough people willing to be changed by it. And the truth, once a book unleashes it in the world, has a way of outlasting everything that tried to stop it. It makes the world a little less safe for the predatory and powerful, and a little more possible for the rest of us."--Sarah Wynn-Williams

This sounds like a fantastic series coming to TV, and hopefully a streaming service this summer. 

TV: Anna Pigeon

The first trailer has been released for the new USA Network series Anna Pigeon, based on the bestselling novels by Nevada Barr. Morwyn Brebner is showrunner and Tracy Spiridakos stars in the series that "follows Anna, a former city slicker who becomes a park ranger after a devastating loss that changed the trajectory of her life forever. While Anna tries to outrun her demons, her focus turns to solving crimes that have taken place within national park grounds, no matter who or what gets in her way," Deadline reported. The show is set to premiere August 7.

Spiridakos said the pilot is based on Track of the Cat, the first novel in the Anna Pigeon series: "I hope that audiences can really immerse themselves in the wilderness, which is definitely its own character. It's so stunningly beautiful. Every day we were working, and I looked around, pinching myself and wondering, 'How is this my life?' "

Outlaw by Jim Butcher is a Dresden Files novella that I was anxious to read immediately, because Harry Dresden is freaking amazing, and my chosen book boyfriend. I love Chicago's only real wizard, and his big heart and strong moral compass...and the fact that he kicks major arse with his nearly 7 ft tall, leather greatcoated self, carrying his staff and consulting Bob the ancient spirit inhabiting a skull that he keeps in his work room. Here's the blurb: 

The past comes back in a big way for Chicago’s only professional wizard in this action-packed novella from the bestselling Dresden Files series.

In a city that’s just beginning to recover from the devastation caused by the Battle of Chicago, Harry Dresden is finally pulling himself together as well. He’s ensconced in his own personal castle, healing his various wounds and training an eager new apprentice. The last thing he wants is any trouble. But, as history has consistently―and quite annoyingly―shown, what Harry wants is rarely what Harry gets.

It starts with a visit from Harry’s most powerful frenemy, Gentleman John Marcone, Baron of Chicago. He needs Harry to assist in the redemption of an underling who’s looking to go straight. And since Harry does kinda sorta owe Marcone for saving his life once (stupid honorable debt!), it’s not a request he can refuse. He’ll just wish he had.

Because this little favor is going to drag Harry into a fight he doesn’t want on behalf of a lowlife he doesn’t trust against an enemy more powerful and pestilent than he ever could’ve expected: an insatiable, demonic foe whom Harry himself may have created when he wiped out the vampires of the Red Court so long ago.

Before, all it wanted was blood. Now it wants the entire world.

There is something so satisfying about a Dresden Files book...good always wins against evil (though the price in human lives/suffering is high) and Harry always learns something about his magic and his life. This short novel featured some of the best side characters that the series has to offer (the ones that haven't died, like Karen Murphy, Harry's love interest), from Gentleman John the gangster king to Bob the skull to Bear the Valkyrie...the only person we didn't get to see was Waldo (where's Waldo?..there, I said it, you know you were thinking it!) Butters the ME who is a carrier of a heavenly sword. We also didn't get a glimpse of Michael the retired archangel and his daughter Molly, who is currently a fae queen. But they're not as interesting or important as Butters or Bob. Butcher's ability to lighten battles and scary villains with wit and snark is unrivaled, and you'll find yourself smirking and enjoying every minute that Harry is filleting someone with his sharp tongue. To Butcher I can only say "Bravo! MORE PLEASE!" as I give this fun novellla an A, and recommend it to anyone who loves the Dresden Files series. 

 

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton is a Victorian romantasy, in which there's a lot of kerfuffle about various sides of the magical community, and how they shouldn't mix, until, inevitably, a witch and a pirate do fall in love and have to navigate the prejudices on both sides to be together. Here's the blurb: Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the teahouse. . . .

Miss Charlotte Pettifer belongs to a secret league of women skilled in the subtle arts. That is to say—although it must never be said—witchcraft. The League of Gentlewomen Witches strives to improve the world in small ways. Using magic, they tidy, correct, and manipulate according to their notions of what is proper, entirely unlike those reprobates in the Wisteria Society.

When the long lost amulet of Black Beryl is discovered, it is up to Charlotte, as the future leader of the League, to make sure the powerful talisman does not fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it is most unfortunate when she crosses paths with Alex O’Riley, a pirate who is no Mr. Darcy. With all the world scrambling after the amulet, Alex and Charlotte join forces to steal it together. If only they could keep their pickpocketing hands to themselves! If Alex’s not careful, he might just steal something else—such as Charlotte’s heart.

 

There's a lot of prim sniffing and aristocratic snarling and one-upmanship in this book, which is just another way to say that the 19th century version of snark and sarcasm is definitely on board here. There's also a lot of flirting and sexytimes between Charlotte and Alex, who find sniping at one another arousing in every sense of the word. The prose is a bit old fashioned, and Holton does drone on a bit with descriptions of the house interiors and the clothing of the characters, but the plot is sturdy enough that it refuses to derail until the end, which is good news for readers. I'd give this fun and funny book a B, and recommend it to anyone who loves banter and enemies to lovers stories.

 

The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey is the 19th book in her Elemental Masters series, and this one is a retelling of the Swan Maiden fairy tale. I've loved this series, until I caught the nasty whiff of pedophilia in this particular story that was sad and nauseating. One of the male protagonist heroes, Stephen, develops a desire to see a little girl he met at a ball when she was 13 and he was an adult! EWWWW. fortunately he doesn't see her again until she's 17 or 18, but even then he wants to bed and marry her right away, and it is obvious that he's decades older than she is! Ugh. Why, ML?! Here's the blurb: A cozy, cottage-core Regency fantasy perfect for fans of Bridgerton
Elena, having lost her father, must rescue herself from her evil stepmother, a Master of Water, who has bespelled her brothers into swans. She is left without home or protection by her father's villainous widow, who plans to regain her wealth by selling Elena to the highest bidder.

Alone, Elena must not only find a way to save herself, but to reverse the spell that has transformed her brothers.

The latest in Mercedes Lackey's Elemental Masters series is a standalone romantasy based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Wild Swans.

The story of the 7 Swans who transformed for an hour back into humans but were otherwise cursed to live as birds gets retold here in a somewhat charming fashion, with a bit of Cinderella thrown in to make things as difficult as possible for the youngest child, a daughter, to break the curse and redeem her brothers from her evil stepmother's curse. The evil stepmother was once a high class whore, or Cyprian, as they were called at that time, and she plots to start a brothel and sell Elena's virginity to the highest (rapist) bidder. Another shudderingly awful plot point. ML's prose is dynamic and her plots never flag, so her novels are truly page-turning adventures with romance woven throughout. I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings.

 

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist is a Western Christian historical romance novel that takes place in mid 19th century Seattle, lumberjacks and all. I wasn't aware that it was a Christian romance, otherwise I might not have purchased it, but the lure of reading a fictionalized account of Asa Mercer's Brides brought to the wild west of Seattle at a time when mostly men where there as gold diggers, miners, lumberjacks or business owners (or lawmen), was too great to resist. Here's the blurb: In 1860s Seattle, a man with a wife could secure himself 640 acres of timberland. But because of his wife's untimely death, Joe Denton finds himself about to lose half of his claim. Still in mourning, his best solution is to buy one of those Mercer girls arriving from the East. A woman he'll marry in name but keep around mostly as a cook.

Anna Ivey's journey west with Asa Mercer's girls is an escape from the griefs of her past. She's not supposed to be a bride, though, just a cook for the girls. But when they land, she's handed to Joe Denton and the two find themselves in a knotty situation. She refuses to wed him and he's about to lose his land. With only a few months left, can Joe convince this provoking--but beguiling--easterner to be his bride? 

 

It's inevitable that Joe and Ivey will fall in love, my only problem with their romance is that Ivey feels responsible, personally, for every person in her life who has died, and therefore believes she can't marry because she's tainted and unworthy. I believe this is part and parcel of the Christian ideology, which is misogynistic enough to try and force women to believe that everything bad that has happened in society is because of women's "original sin" which was to eat the apple on the tree of knowledge (on the cunning advice of a talking snake). This ridiculous belief is apocryphal, and tries to keep women submissive, stupid and slave-like. Blech...I call BS on that. Still, the story was engaging and the background of how lumber was harvested and taken to the mills back in the early days of Seattle is fascinating. It was also interesting to read about all the food that Ivey had to cook just to keep 8 or so lumberjack men well fed (it was a LOT of work). It reminded me of my grandmother Lang, who used to cook huge breakfasts for her husband, children and farm hands every morning, and pack them lunches for noon (and then feed them a light supper before they retired for the evening, either at home, or in the barn's hayloft. Both of my grandmothers were skilled cooks who could literally make nourishing meals out of next to nothing. Both grandmothers had "truck patches" of vegetables in gardens that often also contained fruit trees, which were used to make jams and jellies, along with veggies and meats that were canned and preserved for the winter months. My grandma's canned roast beef became, when ground with mayonaise and breadcrumbs and pickles, a fine sandwhich spread that was tangy and delicious. In this book Ivey makes use of every scrap of food, making soups from the tops and scrapings of vegetables and adding in bacon ends and other meat, and using bacon grease for a variety of recipes that were hearty and healthy and kept the lumberjacks well fed and happy. The book had a lovely HEA as well. I'd give it a B+, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys "clean" non-spicy romances that are set in a specific historical time and place.