Dreaming of the Tropics Display
We have officially reached the point of winter where I am done. It's something about the layer of ice and sludge combined with a "possibility of snow" twice a week that has me dreaming of warmer climates and a tropical vacation. I know, I know--we live in New England, so that's mostly fantasy at this point. Whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow, we've got six more weeks of winter. So to help us get through those upcoming weeks, we've created a display of books set in warm and sunny locations. Check out some of the titles we have to offer:
If you're looking for a fun, frothy, and delightfully feminist historical romance, I highly recommend "An Island Princess Starts a Scandal" by Adriana Herrera. This is the second book in her "Las Leonas" series, but you don't need to have read the first in order to enjoy this second installment. "One last summer. For Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan, the invitation to show her paintings at the 1889 Exposition Universelle came at the perfect time. Soon to be trapped in a loveless marriage, Manuela has given herself one last summer of freedom--in Paris, with her two best friends. One scandalous encounter. Cora Kempf Bristol, Duchess of Sundridge, is known for her ruthlessness in business. It's not money she chases, but power. When she sees the opportunity to secure her position among her rivals, she does not hesitate. How difficult could it be to convince the mercurial Miss Caceres Galvan to part with a parcel of land she's sworn never to sell? One life-changing bargain. Tempted by Cora's offer, Manuela proposes a trade: her beloved land for a summer with the duchess in her corner of Paris. A taste of the wild, carefree world that will soon be out of her reach. What follows thrills and terrifies Cora, igniting desires the duchess long thought dead. As they fill their days indulging in a shared passion for the arts and their nights with dark and delicious deeds, the happiness that seemed impossible moves within reach...though claiming it would cause the greatest scandal Paris has seen in decades." Herrera is a shining star in historical romance at the moment, and this steamy sapphic title will not disappoint.
"California Golden" by Melanie Benjamin is set in the sunny surf locale of Malibu, California during the 1960s. "In an era when women are expected to be housewives, Carol Donelly is breaking the mold as a legendary female surfer struggling to compete in a male-dominated sport--and her daughters, Mindy and Ginger, bear the weight of her unconventional lifestyle. The Donnelly sisters grow up enduring their mother's absence--physically, when she's at the beach, and emotionally, the rare times she's at home. To escape questions about Carol's whereabouts--and chase their mom's elusive affection--they cut school to spend their days in the surf. From her first time on a board, Mindy shows a natural talent, but Ginger, two years younger, feels out of place in the water. As they grow up and their lives diverge, Mindy and Ginger's relationship ebbs and flows. Mindy finds herself swept up in celebrity, complete with beachside love affairs, parties at the Playboy Club, and USO tours to Vietnam. Meanwhile, Ginger--desperate for a community of her own--is tugged into the vibrant counterculture of drugs and cults. Through it all, their sense of duty to each other survives, as the girls are forever connected by the emotional damage they carry from their unorthodox childhood. A gripping, emotional story set at a time when mothers were expected to be Donna Reed, not Gidget, California Golden is an unforgettable novel about three women living in a society that was shifting as tempestuously as the breaking waves."
In "Holiday Country" by Inci Atrek, "nineteen-year-old Ada adores spending every summer in a Turkish seaside town with her mother and grandmother at the family villa. The glittering waters, picturesque olive groves, and her spirited friends make it easy for Ada to leave her idle life in California behind. But no matter how much Ada feels she belongs to the country where her mother grew up, deep down, her connection to the culture feels as fleeting as the seasons. When Levent, a mysterious man from her mother's past, shows up in their town, Ada can't help but imagine a different future for her mother-one that promises a return to home, to love, to happiness. But while playing matchmaker, Ada has to come to terms with her own intensifying attraction to Levent. Does the future she's fighting for belong to her mother-or to her alone? Lush and evocative, İnci Atrek's Holiday Country is a rapturous meditation about what it means to experience being of two worlds, the limitations and freedom of a life in translation, and the intricacies of a love triangle that stretches across generations and continents."
If you're looking for historical fiction, check out "The House on Biscayne Bay" by Chanel Cleeton. "With the Great War finally behind them, thousands of civilians and business moguls alike flock to South Florida with their sights set on making a fortune. When wealthy industrialist Robert Barnes and his wife, Anna, build Marbrisa, a glamorous estate on Biscayne Bay, they become the toast of the newly burgeoning society. Anna and Robert appear to have it all, but in a town like Miami, appearances can be deceiving, and one scandal can change everything. Years later following the tragic death of her parents in Havana, Carmen Acosta journeys to Marbrisa, the grand home of her estranged older sister, Carolina, and her husband, Asher Wyatt. On the surface, the gilded estate looks like paradise, but Carmen quickly learns that nothing at Marbrisa is as it seems. The house has a treacherous legacy, and Carmen's own life is soon in jeopardy ... unless she can unravel the secrets buried beneath the mansion's facade and stop history from repeating itself." This has all the elements of a classic gothic novel with a tropical setting.
You'll find these and lots of other murder mysteries in our "Dreaming of the Tropics" display. For additional title suggestions, see the lists below:
