Review: Librarian Tales - William Ottens - September 2020 Some books arrive in your life at exactly the right moment. Librarian Tales by William Ottens was a birthday present, and it was the perfect one for a self-proclaimed bookworm and bibliophile like me. This book was written for librarians, by a librarian. It's part memoir, part behind-the-desk confessional, and it doesn't shy away from any side of the job. There's the fun, the ugly, and the endless parade of weird and wacky things we see and get asked. If you've ever worked a library desk, you'll be nodding along, laughing, and occasionally wincing in recognition. And if you haven't, it's a wonderful peek behind the curtain at what librarians really get up to (spoiler: it's a lot more than stamping books). It spoke to me because books and readers' advisory are my true passion. I was that librarian. I had the Dewey Decimal system memorised. I remembered what each customer read so I could h...

Review: Books and Bad Dates - Book #1 The Weaversbrook Series - Carmen Whitmore - March 2025 If you’re anything like me, sometimes you just need a cutesy, feel-good romance to scratch that reading itch and that’s exactly how I stumbled across Books and Bad Dates by Carmen Whitmore. Sitting on my shelf as a lovely birthday gift from Bookstagram , it practically called my name with that hot pink cover and honestly, I’m so glad I listened. Books and Bad Dates introduces us to Daisy, a small-town librarian who is as lovable as she is relatable. Like many of us, Daisy has endured her fair share of awkward, cringe-worthy, and downright terrible dates. But instead of letting those experiences fade into embarrassment, she’s done something rather magical with them ,she’s rewritten them. Under the secret pen name Rose Winters , Daisy transforms her dating disasters into swoon-worthy romance stories, giving herself the happy endings she never quite got in real life. Isn’t that just the dream?...

Review: Mr Lemoncello's Library Olympics - Book #2 Mr Lemoncello's Graphic Novels - Chris Grabenstein and Illustrated by Douglas Holgate - October 2025 I have to be honest with you, lovely readers, some books arrive at just the right moment and wrap around your heart like a warm hug from an old friend. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics: The Graphic Novel was exactly that for me. Growing up, the library wasn't just a place I visited ,it was my place. Every Saturday without fail, I'd be there, tucked into a corner with a stack of books taller than my good sense. And for years and years after that, it became my workplace too, five days a week right up until April 2021. The library was simply woven into the fabric of who I am. Sadly, due to some difficult and toxic circumstances in that workplace, I had to say goodbye to the physical library experience, something I never in a million years imagined I would do. Walking through those doors started to bring up feelings I...

Review: The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians - James Patterson and Matt Eversmann - April 2024 The moment I heard about this book's release, I knew it had to be mine. And honestly? OMFG. Every single page felt like it was written specifically for me – like the author had somehow crawled inside my brain and mapped out my soul. "This is you, Paula," each chapter whispered, and I couldn't look away. But here's the thing about books that mirror your heart so perfectly – they also hold up a reflection of what you've lost. Reading this stirred something bittersweet in me, because once upon a time, I lived and breathed this world. Working in the library wasn't just a job; it was my calling. Helping customers discover their next favourite read, doing readers advisory that's where my passion lived, where my heart sang loudest. Then the environment turned toxic. The place that once felt like sanctuary became suffocating, pushing me to dark places...

Review: Second Edition - Cleo White - August 2024 This book captured my attention from Literally Yours PR as they had it on offer to review with the single word "Librarian", the second thing was this gorgeous cover. Though the cover gives off a historical fiction vibe, this was a more contemporary romance. The book starts with Jo telling her mother who happens to be the Dean of a University that she doesn't want to continue her study to be a physicist. She isn't happy anymore following that dream which was her father's as he is the scientist of the family. That same night, her mother is throwing a faculty mixer and Jo wanders into their library and spots a handsome man sitting there doing a puzzle, his name is Ellis, and works as a librarian for the College. One thing leads to another and the two leave the party and Jo loses her V-card in the back of his car. A few weeks later, Ellis who we learn is a single father to a 6 year autistic daughter is called into th...

In retrospect, it might not have been the wisest idea to hand in my v-card to a hot librarian I picked up at my mother’s cocktail party.  Second Edition, an all-new single dad, age-gap, contemporary romance from bestselling author Cleo White is now available! In my defense, the man has a French accent, gray hair, and knows a lot about books. The cards were really stacked against me making good choices, folks. I was probably naïve to expect a call after that, but when he didn’t, it hurt to accept he didn’t feel that same connection I did. If that isn’t a sign you need to make a change, I don’t know what is. Too bad the “change” I get is six months in a remote French chateau, working as a nanny to an adorable little girl. Who happens to be the daughter of the single dad I had sex with in a grocery store parking lot. Ellis Delvaux has made it clear he isn’t interested in a relationship. Unfortunately, when you’re a hopeless romantic spending that much time wi...

In retrospect, it might not have been the wisest idea to hand in my v-card to a hot librarian I picked up at my mother’s cocktail party.  Second Edition, an all-new single dad, age-gap, contemporary romance from bestselling author Cleo White is now available! In my defense, the man has a French accent, gray hair, and knows a lot about books. The cards were really stacked against me making good choices, folks. I was probably naïve to expect a call after that, but when he didn’t, it hurt to accept he didn’t feel that same connection I did. If that isn’t a sign you need to make a change, I don’t know what is. Too bad the “change” I get is six months in a remote French chateau, working as a nanny to an adorable little girl. Who happens to be the daughter of the single dad I had sex with in a grocery store parking lot. Ellis Delvaux has made it clear he isn’t interested in a relationship. Unfortunately, when you’re a hopeless romantic spending that much time wi...