Book Club Spicy Romance

The Pumpkin Spice Café

The perfect grumpy/sunshine small-town cozy romance to curl up with a pumpkin spice latte this fall! Jeanie is more surprised than anyone when her aunt bequeaths her the quaint Pumpkin Spice Café. Especially since her aunt isn’t dead, she’s alive and well, and currently off working on her tan. Jeanie could have said no. And the old Jeanie would have. But now she’s determined to be the sunshiny owner of the town’s only coffee shop. Logan is not usually one to care about town gossip. In fact, he avoids it at all costs. All he wants is to drop off his produce to the local businesses and then return to the farm he runs with his grandparents. But there are strange things happening in the café, odd noises and misplaced items and lights on the fritz. And Jeanie needs Logan’s help. But Logan wants nothing to do with the pretty new girl who probably won’t stick around, it’s just a shame he can’t stop thinking about her… The Pumpkin Spice Café is a cozy romantic mystery, with a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed!

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Laurie Gilmore

R 305.00
Funny Story

A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Emily Henry. Daphne always loved the way Peter told their story. That is until it became the prologue to his actual love story with his childhood bestie, Petra. Which is how Daphne ends up rooming with her total opposite and the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra's ex, Miles. As expected, it’s not a match made in heaven – that is until one night, while tossing back tequilas, they form a plan. And if it involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their adventures together, well, who could blame them? But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex . . . right? 'One of my favourite authors' Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us 'The master of witty repartee' Daily Mail' Emily Henry never fails to deliver great banter and a romance to swoon over' Taylor Jenkins Reid, Daisy Jones and the Six 'I've loved every single one of her books more than the previous, to the point that I cannot wait to see what her next title will do to me!' Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis 'Emily Henry's books are a gift, the perfect balance between steamy and sweet' V. E. Schwab, GALLANT 'Nobody does it quite like Emily Henry' Casey McQuiston, RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE 'Our generation's answer to Nora Ephron' Sophie Cousens, THIS TIME NEXT YEAR 'My newest automatic-buy author' Jodi Picoult, WISH YOU WERE HERE 'Emily Henry has become one of my favourite authors' Beth O'Leary, THE FLATSHARE'As a storyteller, Henry is in a class of her own' Elle Kennedy, THE DEAL

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Emily Henry

R 390.00
The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

Fall in love with the brand new spring romance set in Dream Harbor, from the bestselling author of The Pumpkin Spice Cafe and The Cinnamon Bun Book Store ‘A charming break from reality’ Publishers Weekly As a world-renowned chef, single dad Archer never planned on moving to a small town, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But Dream Harbor needs a new chef, and Archer needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive. Iris has never managed to hold down a job for more than a few months. So when it’s suggested that Archer is looking for a live-in nanny, she almost runs in the opposite direction. Now, Iris finds herself in a whole new world. One where her gorgeous new boss lives right across the hall and likes to cook topless… Keeping everything strictly professional should be easy, right? The Strawberry Patch Pancake House is a cozy romantic mystery with a single dad and found family dynamic, a small-town setting and a HEA guaranteed! Tropes Single Dad Forced Proximity Slow Burn Found Family

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Laurie Gilmore

R 305.00
The Love Hypothesis
1 review

MATURE CONTENT With an exclusive new bonus chapter... from Adam's POV.." Based on the available information and the data hitherto collected, my hypothesis is that the further I stay away from love, the better off I will be". 'Contemporary romance's unicorn: the elusive marriage of deeply brainy and delightfully escapist.' Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners* When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman's carefully calculated theories on love into chaos. As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn't believe in lasting romantic relationships but her best friend does, and that's what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive is on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees. That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire and Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support (and his unyielding abs), their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.

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Ali Hazelwood

R 305.00
Flawless

MATURE CONTENT "Elsie Silver's writing is a true revelation!" ALI HAZELWOOD ---Grumpy cowboys and steamy romance . . . Welcome to Chestnut Springs: the big-hitting, small-town series from TikTok sensation Elsie Silver. Perfect for fans of Devney Perry, Lucy Score and B.K. Borison. The rules were simple . . . Keep my hands off his daughter and stay out of trouble. But now I'm stuck with her. There's only one bed. And, well, rules are made to be broken. I'm the golden boy of professional bull riding. Or at least I was until it all blew up in my face. Now, my agent says I have to clean up my image, so I'm stuck with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as my "full-time supervision. "But I don't need a goddamn babysitter, especially one with skin-tight jeans, a sexy smirk, and a mouth she can't stop running . . . A mouth I can't stop thinking about. She says this means nothing. I say this means everything. She says there are boundaries we shouldn't cross. That my reputation can't take any more hits-and neither can her damaged heart. I say I'm going to steal it anyway.

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Elsie Silver

R 315.00

85%

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13%

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Funny and Relatable

Hilarious! 😂 Marian Keyes' Grown Ups had me laughing out loud, and I loved seeing bits of myself in the diverse cast. The family tree at the start is a genius move, which is super helpful for keeping track of who's who! My one gripe is some storylines felt a bit... open-ended. Still, totally recommend for a laugh-out-loud, relatable read.

This is a book that I keep going back to!

One thing we can all agree on, is that the past two and a half years have not been a walk in the park. Not for most of us. Like a meme I saw on social media the other day which stated, “I am a little tired of living through historic events”. Another thing that we can also be sure of, is that this will be our way of life for goodness knows how long. I’d also like to believe that we are more aware of our mental health, more than we’ve ever been. And one thing we do know is that it is a precious commodity.

After hearing about the sensation that is Dr Julie Smith, I simply had to get my hands on her book, “Why has Nobody Told Me This Before”?

So, a bit of background information. Dr Smith is a clinical psychologist on a mission. Her goal is to make the life skills and copy skills we need on a daily basis, while dealing with mental health issues, as well as just ‘real life’ struggles, more accessible and digestible. She started her YouTube channel at the end of 2019, offering short ‘lessons’ and practical tips as how to deal with anxiety, stress, grief, etc. When the global pandemic hit in early 2020, her sensible and meaningful clips on social media were much needed and devoured by her followers world-wide.

Getting back to the book, this is exactly what you can expect. No complicated terminology and diagnoses, just informal, informative guidance and tools to help you cope.

It is not necessarily a ‘read from cover to cover’ book (but you can if you are so inclined), but you can dip in and out for pearls of wisdom and tried-and-proven advice as you see fit. The book is divided in the following chapters (I am highlighting just a some of the details covered):

On Dark Places (including low mood, mood pitfalls to watch out for, how to turn bad days into better days)

On Motivation (including How do you make yourself do something when you really don’t feel like it?)

On Emotional Pain (including Make it all go away! How to support someone)

On Grief (including Understanding Grief, The tasks of mourning)

On Self-Doubt (You are not your mistakes, Being enough)

On Fear (Things we do that makes anxiety worse, What to do with anxious thoughts)

On Stress (Is stress different from anxiety? Making stress work for you)

On a Meaningful Life (Working out what matters, How to create a life with meaning)

You will also find practical tools, ideas to try, etc within each topic.

This is a book that I keep going back to, and on a personal level, the chapters on ‘self-doubt’ and ‘fear’ will probably be dog-eared soon. It also makes a wonderful gift!

A beautifully crafted debut

The Correspondent is a thoughtful and quietly powerful novel told entirely through letters and emails. At its centre is Sybil, a woman in her seventies whose life unfolds through the correspondence she sends to family, friends and the occasional public figure. The format gives the story a sense of closeness, allowing the reader to see her humour, her frustrations and the private worries she rarely voices aloud.

Sybil is a wonderfully complex character. She can be sharp, funny, stubborn and unexpectedly vulnerable, often within the same letter. Through her writing the novel explores ageing, grief, adoption, strained family relationships and the long‑term consequences of choices made decades earlier. There is also a subtle thread of tension linked to her past work in the courts, which adds another layer without overshadowing the emotional core.

The number of characters can feel a little overwhelming at first, but once the rhythm settles the structure becomes one of the book’s strengths. Each exchange reveals something new about Sybil and the people who have shaped her life. The writing is warm, observant and full of small insights.

A beautifully crafted debut that will appeal to readers who enjoy reflective, character‑driven stories.

Worth reading if you enjoy stories that blend philosophy with emotional introspection!

Re‑reading Veronika Decides to Die after so many years turned out to be a very different experience for me. I remembered it as dark and philosophical, but this time I found it far less bleak than the title suggests. It is thought provoking, occasionally uncomfortable, and definitely dated in its approach to mental health, yet still full of those signature Coelho moments that make you pause and reflect.

The story follows Veronika, a young woman in Slovenia who attempts to end her life and wakes up in Villete, a mental institution, where she is told she has only days left to live. Through her interactions with other patients, including Mari with severe anxiety and Eduard who lives with schizophrenia, Coelho explores what it means to be “sane” and how society often punishes anyone who does not fit the mould.

Some of these characters struck me more deeply this time around. There were moments that made me uncomfortable, especially the twist involving the doctor, and I wished the ending had been more layered. Still, the final quarter of the book landed beautifully. The writing is fluid, the themes are bold, and the message about appreciating life is powerful.

Not my favourite Coelho, but definitely worth reading if you enjoy stories that blend philosophy with emotional introspection.

Stephen King's masterpiece?

I finally picked up The Stand again and I completely understand why so many readers call this King’s masterpiece.

For a book written in the late 1970s, it feels shockingly current. The “superflu” premise hits differently after the past few years, and King’s exploration of what happens when 99.4% of humanity is wiped out is both fascinating and unsettling. The sociological and moral questions were some of the most interesting parts for me.

But it’s the characters that truly make this book unforgettable. Stu, Frannie, Nick, Larry, Glen, Tom, Kojak, Lloyd, Trashcan Man… they’re still living rent free in my head. King gives each of them such depth and humanity that closing the book felt like saying goodbye to people I’d travelled with for months. Even the villains are complicated in ways that make them strangely relatable.

Despite its intimidating length, I never found it slow or dull. Almost every chapter feels purposeful, and the atmosphere (cosy one moment, deeply unsettling the next) kept me hooked. There’s always that sense of something lurking just out of sight.

If you enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, character driven epics, or stories that dig into the messy nature of good and evil, this is absolutely worth the journey.

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The Pumpkin Spice Café

Funny Story

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

The Love Hypothesis

Flawless

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