Sequel Alert - The Rosie Effect

In The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion, Don and Rosie are happily married and living in New York. But they’re about to face a new challenge because - surprise! - Rosie is pregnant. 

Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice. As Don tries to schedule time for pregnancy research, getting Gene and Claudia to reconcile, servicing the industrial refrigeration unit that occupies half his apartment, helping Dave the Baseball Fan save his business, and staying on the right side of Lydia the social worker, he almost misses the biggest problem of all: he might lose Rosie when she needs him the most. 

"Many sequels falter, but this one is pitch-perfect. It’s cute, but it isn’t cheesy. It’s extremely funny and clever, but not at the expense of the characters or as an insult to the reader. The unexpected twist in The Rosie Effect is the way Simsion manages to make marriage romantic. This book isn’t really about pregnancy or living with autism or moving to a new city. It’s about having your world rocked when you really, truly have to compromise with another person. It’s about how tricky that is, how hilarious that can be, and how beautiful it is when you pull it off."  - BookPage Review

Waiting for your chance to read this charming sequel? Why not re-read (or read for the first time) The Rosie Project and get to know how Don, a socially awkward genetics professor who had never been on a second date, set out to find the perfect wife, but instead found Rosie Jarman, a fiercely independent barmaid who was on a quest to find her biological father.

If You Like The Rosie Project. . .

In The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, a socially awkward genetics professor who has never been on a second date sets out to find the perfect wife, but instead finds Rosie Jarman, a fiercely independent barmaid who is on a quest to find her biological father.

If you liked The Rosie Project, then you may like these title read-alikes recommended by NoveList:

Courting Greta by Ramsey Hootman: Samuel Cooke knows most women wouldn’t give him a second glance even if he were the last man on earth. So when he leaves his lucrative career to teach programming to high schoolers, romance definitely isn’t on his radar. Perhaps that’s why Greta Cassamajor catches him off guard. The sarcastic gym coach with zero sense of humor is no beauty—not even on the inside. But an inexplicably kind act toward Samuel makes him realize she is interesting. In this poignant, witty debut, Ramsey Hootman upends traditional romance tropes to weave a charming tale of perseverance, trust, and slightly conditional love.

Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas: Billionaire playboy, and all-around ladies’ man, Jake Travis has a reputation as big as the state of Texas. He drives too fast, lives too hard, and loves too many women to count. In her advice column, and her love life, Ella Varner is always practical. So when she’s left holding her reckless sister’s baby, she decides to ask Jake Travis to take a paternity test. Ella is instantly struck by Jake’s bold good looks and easy charm—but she’s not falling for his sweet talk. This big sexy tomcat needs to take responsibility for his actions, and Ella’s making him stick to his word. Now if she can only ignore the unspoken attraction that smolders between them…

Match Me if You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips: Annabelle is tired of being the lone failure in a family of overachievers. Now, all she has to do to become the Windy City's hottest matchmaker is to land the city's hottest bachelor as her client. How hard can that be? With his money green eyes and calculated charm, Heath Champion is the best sports agent in the country, so why does he need a matchmaker? True, Annabelle has a certain quirky appeal. But Heath is searching for the ultimate symbol of his success -- the perfect wife.  When Annabelle promises she'll do anything to keep her star client happy ... does she mean anything? If Annabelle isn't careful, she just might find herself going heart-to-heart with the toughest negotiator in town -- a man who's beginning to ask himself: Exactly how perfect does perfect have to be?

For more recommendations, feel free to stop by the reference desk on the main floor and speak with a librarian.

A Life Gone Awry

Inspired by a personal loss, author Thomas Christopher Greene explores the way that tragedy and time assail one man’s memories of his life and loves in his latest book The Headmaster's Wife. 

Like his father before him, Arthur Winthrop is the Headmaster of Vermont’s elite Lancaster School. It is the place he feels has given him his life, but is also the site of his undoing as events spiral out of his control. Found wandering naked in Central Park, he begins to tell his story to the police, but his memories collide into one another, and the true nature of things, a narrative of love, of marriage, of family and of a tragedy Arthur does not know how to address emerges. Luminous and atmospheric, bringing to life the tight-knit enclave of a quintessential New England boarding school, the novel is part mystery, part love story and an exploration of the ties of place and family.

"Greene’s genre-bending novel of madness and despair evokes both the predatory lasciviousness of Nabokov’s classic, Lolita, and the anxious ambiguity of Gillian Flynn’s contemporary thriller, Gone Girl (2012)." --Booklist

Final Book in the MacGregor Series Releasing Today!

In this final installment of Burrowes' MacGregor Series, Bostonian Hannah Cooper is adamant that she will not marry, however, she dutifully travels abroad to endure a London season to pacify her wicked stepfather. Her plans are to get her inheritance and return home to save her siblings. Equally reluctantly, Asher MacGregor, Earl of Balfour, agrees to escort Hannah around the London social season, although the last thing he wants is a society wife. Before long, the pair realize that they are a match made in heaven and work together to find a way to take care of their familial responsibilities and be together, so Hannah can truly be MacGregor's Lady.

"Burrowes has a knack for giving fresh twists to genre tropes and developing them in unexpected and delightful directions.  This novel is a perfect example of her consistently excellent writing, deep and layered stories, and intelligent and compassionate characters." - Publishers Weekly Reviews  

In case you missed the first two books in the series, here they are:

The Bridegroom Wore Plaid (2012) is the first book in the MacGregor series trilogy.  The Earl of Balfour must choose between marrying someone for money to save the family estate and marrying for love.

Once Upon a Tartan (2013) follows the battle between Tiberius Flynn, English Lord, and stubborn beauty, Hester Daniels about the best place to raise the little girl under their protection.

Weddings in Fiction

From the past to the present, from steamy to demure, with splashes of intrigue or the supernatural, fictional books dealing with weddings of love or convenience (or both) are plentiful. Check out a few titles from your Community Library's new wedding-themed book downstairs in the adult fiction section! For a complete list of titles, click here.

Coming Tomorrow: The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs by Christina Hopkinson

All who have ever despaired of teaching their life partners to pick up after themselves can relate to the premise of this new release from Christina Hopkinson (author of Cyber Cinderella and other stories). Mary, the heroine of The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs, loves her husband Joel and their sons, but she is extremely frustrated by Joel's failure to do his part around the house. Unknown to Joel, Mary starts a spreadsheet tallying Joel's domestic achievements (or their lack); if he fails to make the grade within six months, she is determined to divorce him. A humorous look at the trials of modern married life; reserve it today!