Everyone here at TLS wants to wish all of you sweethearts out there a most wonderful Valentines Day and we've got some sweet reading suggestions for you if you're planning to stay in and keep warm on this lovely day of ours.
Sadly, I just went searching for it with excitement to be able to link it here in this post for you but it's gone. I was so excited about a V-day re-read of Valentine Blythe too.
Heartbreak.
But Sally does have an author page on facebook that you can follow under the name Sally Thorne Author and there you can find out all the details on what she's up to and all the details on her first book... The Hating Game which will be available in August. I would read anything Sally writes, but after reading the synopsis for her next book, I'm really looking forward to it. Here's a snippet and a link to preorder:
Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.
Trapped in a shared office together forty (ok, fifty or sixty) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.
If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong.
Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.
But since that doesn't come out until August, today is the perfect day for a cuddly first time read or a re-read of my personal choice for a V-day fic rec: The Blessing and The Curse. Unless you've have been hiding under a rock, or just never gave TB&TC the time of day, please go and read it now and live-text us your thoughts in the comments section of this post. I would love to feel all the feels vicariously through you today. I'll link you below. And I might even be doing a re-read myself.
The Blessing and The Curse by TheBlackArrow
By pretending she is falling for Edward, Bella is fulfilling Esme's dying wish. But sexy, possessive Edward can read her mind. Will she ever get into his? Can Bella forget the pain of her teenage years, and can she resist his relentless seduction? AH.
I've also got a published book rec, and it's another great read from one of our very own, we used to call Khar, but we now refer to her as J.M. Darhower:
By Any Other Name by JM Darhower
A deadly rivalry.
Two families at war.
Nobody is safe, not even the innocent.
Especially the innocent.
Blood will be spilled.
Genevieve "Genna" Galante knows a thing or two about causing trouble. After all, it's engrained in her DNA. As the only daughter of Primo Galante, notorious boss of the Galante crime family, her life is dictated by a certain set of rules… rules Genna was never very good at following.
Matteo "Matty" Barsanti never wanted anything to do with the family business, but as the first-born Barsanti son, certain things are expected of him. It's his duty, according to his father, to help take down the enemy... even if that enemy means something to him.
A chance encounter on an elevator changes the course of lives, causing the biggest trouble of Genna's young life. The only good Barsanti is a dead Barsanti. She's heard it said time and time again. So what happens when she falls in love with one of them?
The story of star-crossed lovers caught in the middle of the biggest rivalry New York has ever seen, determined to make it… if only they can survive their parents' feud.
Guys, I'm telling you. If you loved Emancipation Proclamation, which is now Sempre, you have got to believe me when I say you will adore this book. And yes, it's a published book and yes it costs money but it's Valentine's Day, you deserve a great book on V-day and you're worth way more than three bucks. Do yourself a solid and buy it here for just $2.99. Trust me when I say it's worth more than that... it's so damn good. I mean, I read this book over a year ago and I'm still thinking about it, that's how good it is. You can check out the reviews on it if you don't believe me.
I can't talk published books without mentioning our very own Counselor, whom we now refer to as Diane Munier. I read Darnay Road for the first time a few weeks ago and it was the happiest seven hours I've had in a long time. Such a sweet, fun read. I highly recommend cuddling up to this one and smiling your ass off:
Starts out in summer of 1963. Sweet little ten-year-old Catholic school girl Georgia Christine meets eleven-year-old smoker with armpit hair who really does live on the wrong side of the tracks Easy. She and Abigail May are mystery solvers, The Darnay Spies, in their spare time, and Easy Caghan (E.C.) and his brother Cap will keep these two little ladies on their sleuthing toes. Darnay Road leads them into a future where their childish friendship blooms into love. Will the Vietnam War be the one challenge they can’t overcome?
I felt so satisfied after putting Darnay Road down, but I admit, it also made me ravenous for more of Diane's writing, so I immediately began a re-read of Finding My Thunder and my god, that book. I just can't think of any other book that has been as meaningful and poignant as that one. Which is no wonder as to why it won Honorable Mention Literary Fiction in the 2015 New York Book Festival.
The story takes place in the late sixties. Hilly Grunier has been in love with Danny Boyd since she was a kid telling scary stories on summer nights at the fire hydrant while Danny pulled close on his bike. But when Danny is thirteen, their friendship ends when he and his brother Sukey have a vicious fight over Hilly. Years pass, and Hilly carries a secret and growing love as she watches Danny rise athletically to the top of their school’s food chain. He even dates the prom queen and rumor says they are engaged. Now Danny has graduated and shows up in her dad’s shop looking for some temporary employment until the army picks him off for Vietnam. He’s thrown aside his college scholarship and the golden girl. He seems to be searching for something new before he leaves town. He seems to be searching for her. Hilly can’t let him go overseas without showing him how she feels. But once he’s gone, her own battle intensifies. It’s a long road to finding her thunder.
This fic-turned-book is everything... I cannot stress it enough.
That's all for my picks, but I've got a few more recs from the other admins for you below!
Nic's rec: Felt by LayAtHomeMom
Former lovers lay it all out on the table. Taking shots never hurt this good. Entry for the Dirty Talkin' Edward Twific Contest
Nat's rec: Quickie Mart Cupid by prettykittyartist
Quickie Marts, flat tires, expensive suits, gangster rap, g-strings and velvet roses. Valentines' Day wasn't going as planned. Rated: Fiction M
LayAtHomeMom's rec: How Bella Got Her Groove Back by TheFicChick
Edward owes Bella one, and he's a man determined to deliver – but as he quickly discovers, some debts are not easily repaid.
Jaime's rec: We Come to Life Beneath the Stars by lillybellis
As Bella Swan starts over with hopes of finding her future, Edward Cullen is hanging on desperately to his past. She's treading water, and he's a corporate golden boy. They share an office, but few words...until one night changes everything.
Nic's rec: Boycotting Valentines Day by jennlynnfs
Valentine's Day approaches, but Bella chooses to hang out with her best friend Alice. They decide to boycott Valentine's Day. Non-Valentine's Day activites are planned, including no boys. But, Alice's brothers, Edward and Emmett, don't count, right? Rated: Fiction MNic's rec: The Maybe Valentine by Rochelle Allison
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9067528/1/The-Maybe-Valentine
Life is what happens when you're busy making plans. Edward and Bella cross paths one Valentine's Day night when their dates leave them hanging. Long walks, lots of talks, and maybe some kissing.
Rated: Fiction M
Nat's rec: I Fell in Love by anhanninen
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9247324/1/I-Fell-in-Love
Set in her ways and believing that the world only takes, reclusive Bella finds her life turned completely around when she meets a handsome and compassionate man. Love doesn't happen in one moment. It happens in every moment. All Human
Nic's rec: Orange Kisses and Peppermint Hearts by SparrowNotes24
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9069015/1/Orange-Kisses-and-Peppermint-Hearts
He is gone, leaving her with the bitter sense of absence and the sweet taste of his name on her tongue. Then, a mysterious letter arrives, bursting with the flavors of a love story. Will the words that grace the page change the course of her life?
Nic's rec: Fill Me With Your Poison by Nolebucgrl
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7007740/1/Fill-Me-with-Your-Poison
Bella Swan's intrigued by vampires. Edward Cullen's bored and alone. What happens when they meet?
From all of us at TLS to all of you... Happy Valentines Day, we love you all!
