Hi friends,

Hope you are surviving this Monday morning. As expected, I had a fabulous time at Steamy Lit Con, where I was able to chat with Jasmine Guillory, caught a panel on pop culture references in romance novels moderated by Ali Hazelwood and watched Nikki Payne emcee a costume contest. Oh, and I came home with a suitcase filled with books.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been catching up on the latest books in some of my favorite series, so I thought I’d spotlight their first installments again to provide some more (gentle) encouragement to check them out.

And, now, what to read if…

You’re Looking for Your Next Family Read

Nic Blake and the Remarkables by Angie Thomas

If it’s time for another family book club read in you house, grab Nic Blake and the Remarkables. It’s the perfect book for grown-up Harry Potter fans and their kids.

Twelve-year-old Nic Blake is a Remarkable — a person with magical powers — living in the human world. Her dad, another Remarkable, teaches her the history of magic, but hasn’t yet shown her how to use her abilities. When Nic sneaks out to see her favorite author at a book signing, she accidentally sets off a chain of events that leads to her dad’s arrest, the discovery of a twin brother she didn’t know existed and a quest to find a mysterious magical tool.

Thomas uses her magical world to bring to life aspects of American history and African-American folklore in a way that appealed to my inner history nerd. What I really loved about Nic Blake and the Remarkables, though, is that it’s clearly in conversation with Harry Potter, a series that defined my childhood. Thomas establishes tropes, such as The Chosen One, and then carefully subverts them. I told my then-boss (Hi John!) to buy this for his Harry-Potter-obsessed son as soon as I finished it.

Book two, The Book of Anansi, came out in September and continues to build out a delightful magical world — complete with magic basketball league starring giants.

You Want Something Cozy

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

There’s something about fall that makes makes me want to curl up with a mystery, a cup of tea and a blanket. Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club an similarly oddball cast of characters working together to solve a