Hi there! We hope you’ve had plenty of time to read a few fabulous books this summer. Have you found anything extraordinary we should know about? If so, please reply to this email and tell us about them!
In this newsletter, you’ll find a fun interview with authors Sara Ella and Nadine Brandes. We also want to tell you about a new fav book genre, and, as always, we are looking for recap contributors.
But first, an announcement:
This Dreamer launched into the world!
If you’ve been on our mailing list for a while, you know both of us here at Book Series Recaps love to write. We’re thrilled to share Sara Watterson’s debut novel, This Dreamer, published this summer.
Bonus: The e-book is only $0.99 right now!
You can visit Sara’s website to learn more and read a synopsis.
Click to read a synopsis:
Evie grows restless observing mortals from the safety of her desk in the Control Room. When a friend offers to smuggle her by portal into the human world, she jumps at the opportunity. Secretly, though, she also hopes to observe Adan, the human Dreamer. Only a glimpse, she promises herself. Read more…
An Interview with Sara Ella & Nadine Brandes, YA authors
Recently, Sara Watterson had the great privilege of interviewing authors Nadine Brandes and Sara Ella. Read the interview to learn all about their beginnings as authors, their writing process, and why we sought them out. You should also check out Sara Ella’s recent release, The Wonderland Trials, and Nadine Brandes’s upcoming novel, Wishtress. Check them out here…
YA Author, Speaker
nadinebrandes.com
Instagram: @nadinebrandes
YA Author, Speaker
saraella.com
Instagram: @saraellawrites
YA Author
sarawatterson.com
Instagram: @sarawattersonwrites
A new fav genre: Closed Door Rom-Com
Do you miss the good ol’ days of 2000s-era rom-com movies? We sure do. They were sweet, funny, romantic, and usually rated PG-13 or less. If you miss romantic comedies too, closed-door rom-com books might be an excellent alternative! Authors describe these books as having all the swoony feels, but bedroom scenes are either not present or are more of a “fade to black” moment.
Keep in mind these books are fun, lighthearted, and often silly. Remember all the goofy moments in those 2000s romcoms? You can expect the same from these books, meaning they might not be for everyone.
If you think you might be interested, here are a few suggestions, some we’ve read, and some are on our TBR. Most of these are a part of a series. Next up for Sara is Engaging Mr. Darcy, inspired by Jane Austen! 😍
Click the photos below to read a synopsis on Amazon.
*Our site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases….hey, we had to upgrade our hosting due to our amazing number of readers…we’re just trying to pay for it! ;)*
See a few more examples on my author website in a post called clean romcom books.
Am reading…
Sara is currently reading Stealing Embers by Julie Hall. It’s great! She loves the snarky humor and the broody love interest. And check out those fabulous golden wings!
Synopsis:
A realm of monsters. A world of lies. She belongs to both.
My name is Emberly, and everything I’ve ever been told is a lie. Monsters don’t exist. Wrong.
The nightmarish spectrum world is just my imagination. Wrong. In a few months, I’ll finally be free. Wrong.
It takes being dragged to a secret training academy in the mountains to unravel the truth. My captors–an elite race of angel-born warriors called Nephilim.
The deadliest of them all is an arrogant shape shifter, Steel. He’s gorgeous, lethal, hot-headed . . . and convinced I’ll be the death of them all. Read more…
On our TBR lists:
The Wonderland Trials
Solve the clues. Face your fears. Survive the Trials.
All Alice Liddell wants is to escape her Normal life in Oxford and find the parents who abandoned her ten years ago. But she gets more than she bargained for when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene—the key to unlocking the curious Wonderland Reality.
Soon, Alice receives a rather cryptic invitation to play for Team Heart in this year’s annual—and often deadly—Wonderland Trials. Now she has less than twenty-four hours to find her way into Wonderland where nothing is impossible . . . or what it seems.
The stakes are raised when she discovers players go missing during the Trials each year. Will she and her team solve the clues and find the missing players? Or will betrayal and distrust win, leaving Alice alone in a world of her own? Follow the White Rabbit into this topsy-turvy fantasy where players become prey, a sip of the wrong tea might as well be poison, and a queen’s ways do not always lead one where they ought to go.
Forging Darkness
A hidden kingdom. A dark prince. The world won’t survive them both.
No one knows if Steel is dead or alive . . . except me.
For months I kept the late night calls from Steel a secret, until he let it slip that he tracked down his villainous sister, Silver. He needs help—even if the powerful angel-shifter is too stubborn to admit it.
But the Steel I find isn’t the same boy from Seraph Academy. He’s darker. Haunted. And the distance between us can’t be crossed by a simple flap of my wings.
When a battle with the Forsaken goes horribly wrong, I awaken as a prisoner inside a Fallen stronghold. My enigmatic abductor—Thorne—is manipulative, secretive, and claiming I’m meant to rule by his side.
I’m not buying it, especially since the alluring offer to unveil the mystery of my seraph ancestry comes at the cost of bringing every Nephilim to their knees.
Lines between the realms will blur. My world will burn. And this time, I’m not sure I can fight the darkness on my own . . .
The Summer we Forgot
Some memories are better left forgotten.
Darby and Morgan haven’t spoken for two years, and their friend group has splintered. But when the body of their former science teacher is found in the marsh where they attended camp that summer, they realize they have more questions than answers . . . and even fewer memories.
No one remembers—or no one is talking.
The group of reunited friends suspects that a murderer is stalking the coastal highway 30A, and they are desperate to recover their memories as quickly as possible . . . before their history they can’t remember repeats itself.
Everyone has a secret.
As tensions rise and time runs out, Darby and Morgan begin to wonder if they can believe one another . . . or if they can even trust themselves.
We are looking for recap contributors
Many of our readers have responded to our call to write for Book Series Recaps. Whether you’re an aspiring author who wants to flex those writing muscles or an avid reader who wants to help us out, click here to request more information, including our current recap wish list!
Want to see what a contributor recap looks like? Check out this great recap of The Hunger Games by a regular contributor. We include a shout-out with a link to her blog at the beginning of the post and then link to her bookish social media accounts at the end.
Let’s be social!
Please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and Pinterest if you don’t already!
And don’t forget to follow me on my author website: www.sarawatterson.com
(I wrote this newsletter!)
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That’s all for now. We’ll write again soon, and thanks again for your valuable suggestions.
Until next time,
~ Sara and Stacy