My Favourite Trope Series: Starting Over in a Small Town

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Karyn Good

Most of us have certain stories we gravitate towards, like romance novels or stories with a happily ever after. Bu it’s a huge category and there are so many great romance books we readers tend to gravitate to certain themes. Or tropes as they are known. Romance novel tropes refer to a broad theme that speaks to the overall arc of the story. Like my favourite starting over in a small town. Or enemies to lovers, another favourite of mine. Reunited lovers. Friends to lovers. Or the grumpy sunshine trope which is very popular right now.

I wanted to share one of my favourite tropes: Starting Over in a Small Town:

A couple of my favourite books with Starting Over in a Small Town as a trope:

Sea Swept by Nora Roberts

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

Of course, there is my own book, Exposed, Book 2 in my Aspen Lake Series.

Kate Logan needs a safe haven, a place to start over after her modeling career disintegrates in scandal. But her hometown of Aspen Lake isn’t the sanctuary she hoped. Her vow of a low-key life is disrupted by a break-in and other strange happenings at her boutique. As the chair of Aspen Lake’s Gothic Revival Festival, she’s also drawn the ire of a religious fanatic. Kate is up to her stilettos in drama and intrigue including one sexy carpenter who’s determined to get in her way.

New to town, Seth Stone is seeking inspiration and solitude to concentrate on his art. Short on funds, he agrees to take on a second job restoring the damage to Kate’s Closet. Trouble erupts along with the desire to get to know Kate better. When he’s used as a pawn in a smear campaign against his gorgeous boss Seth fights back. But now the whole town is watching. Including the man determined to further his own agenda. Time is running out with nowhere to hide.

Until next time…

What are your favourite tropes whether it’s fiction or television?

October 2023: Round Up

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Karyn Good

October was one fun month with Thanksgiving, our grandson’s first birthday, and plenty of fresh air and outdoor work. And, of course, Halloween, where our grandchildren were dressed as the cutest little Jack Skellington and the most adorable dinosaur around.

Now we’re into November and, even though I’m resisting the coming of the winter months, there’s something about November that signals a slowing down. It’s time for comfy clothes, puzzles and cross stitch. But one of the things I’m most excited about is the start of Globe Theatre season.

Highlight of the Month:

Blind Date at Globe Theatre

BLIND DATE

STARRING TESS DEGENSTEIN

A Spontaneous Theatre Creation by Rebecca Northan

The award-winning hit show, Blind Date, comes to Regina’s Globe Theatre after playing off-Broadway, in London’s West End, and all across Canada & the US!

When Mimi’s date for the evening fails to show up, she turns to the audience for someone willing to answer love’s call. What happens next is anybody’s guess, and different each night. This is theatre at its most thrilling, and you will want to see it again and again. Featuring international powerhouse actor and home-grown Saskatchewan talent – Tess Degenstein. Mimi is open to dates of any gender, on any night.

We had a lovely time at this show and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about going. Tess Degenstein does an excellent job and I was in awe at the command she had of the show. She never knows she’s going to be going on a date with for the show. Her confidence, her timing and her ability to keep things moving while giving the audience plenty of laughs is commendable. In fact, I’m going again on Sunday because each show is different. It was modern and fresh and a joy to watch. Highly recommend.

Until next time…

Have a wonderful weekend! What are you looking forward to doing in November?

October 2023 Book Recommendation: Knockout by Sarah MacLean

Posted on October 27, 2023 by Karyn Good

I don’t know about the rest of you, but it’s been hard to focus this week. Some many awful things happening in the world. So much suffering. But making a donation to the Red Cross made me feel proactive, like I was able to help in some small way. There are many trusted charities and aid organizations doing the hard work in places torn apart by war or natural disasters. If you are able, any amount helps.

Let’s take a bit of a breather and talk about books. Or one book, in particular. Sarah MacLean’s Knockout, Book 3 in her Hell’s Belles series. If I wasn’t a huge Sarah MacLean fan, I’d have picked this book up for the cover. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Published: HarperCollins, August 22, 2023

Categories: Historial Romance / Romance / Regency Romance /

Blurb:

With her headful of wild curls and wilder ideas and an unabashed love of experiments and explosives, society has labeled Lady Imogen Loveless peculiar…and doesn’t know she’s one of the Hell’s Belles—a group of vigilantes operating outside the notice of most of London.

Thomas Peck is not most of London. The brilliant detective fought his way off the streets and into a promising career through sheer force of will and a keen ability to see things others miss, like the fact that Imogen isn’t peculiar…she’s pandemonium. If you ask him, she requires a keeper. When her powerful family discovers her late-night activities, they couldn’t agree more…and they know just the man for the task.

Thomas wants nothing to do with guarding Imogen. He is a grown man with a proper job and no time for the lady’s incendiary chaos, no matter how lushly it is packaged. But some assignments are too explosive to pass up, and the gruff detective is soon caught up in Imogen’s world, full of her bold smiles and burning secrets…and a fiery passion that threatens to consume them both.

Thoughts:

I have been waiting for Imogen and Tommy’s book and it did not disappoint. I loved it, as I’ve loved every book in Sarah MacLean’s Hell’s Belle series. An immersive story in a skilled writer’s hand is a grand thing and MacLean has plenty of skill in both storytelling and the writing craft. Imogen likes to blow things up. It’s Tommy’s job to maintain law and order. Too bad the Hell’s Belles are bent on making his life difficult, especially Imogen. Chaos ensues.

The book is a roller coaster. Part of the reason I love MacLean’s books is they read like a historical romantic suspense. And you all know, I love a good romantic suspense. Imogen and her gang are intent on helping women who have nowhere to turn in times of trouble and to keep one step ahead of those trying to stop them. MacLean’s ability to bring a modern perspective to the Regency era is a huge draw. She also brings big action, huge emotion and exquisite detail to this story. Definitely recommend.

Until next time…

Are you finding it hard to focus these days? What are you doing to stay focused? Or escape from it all?

July 2023 Romance Book Recommendation: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Karyn Good

Not gonna lie, I read it because of the hype. Never would have picked it up otherwise. But I’m so glad I did.

Fourth Wing, Book 1 The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros

Published: May 2023

Categories: Young Adult / Fantasy Romance

Blurb:

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda—because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

My Thoughts:

Look, if you’re looking for pure entertainment and escapism, this is the book for you. The action starts on page one and doesn’t let up until the last page. Also be warned, it ends on a cliffhanger. There will be five books in this series with the next one coming out in November this year. Thank goodness!

I loved it. I wish I could erase it from my memory and have the chance to read it again for the first time. I’ll probably read it again anyway. And I don’t do that often. There’s just something about this damn book. I don’t read young adult or new adult at all anymore. I avoid books written in first person point of view. (I’ve got to narrow things down somehow. There’s a lot of books out there.) This book is both those things. Like I said, I read it because of the hype.

But I love Violet. She’s smart and kind. She doesn’t blindly follow the rules. She doesn’t break them without cause either. Xaden. He’s ruthless. But he’s fair. And he’ll do anything to protect the people entrusted to his care, which is the sexiest thing ever. Also, anyone who knows me well, knows my favourite trope is enemies to lovers. Check. Violet and Xaden don’t like each other, they don’t trust each other. For very good reasons. But their chemistry is off the charts.

The dragons. There’s nothing kind or gentle about them. Their loyal to each other first. The place second. Their rider third. If the rider manages to earn it. If they don’t, they die. But there are a lot of ways to die in this book. Too many to count. Just like the tagline states: Ride…or die. It’s got strong Hunger Games and Divergent vibes. So, if you don’t enjoy that kind of thing…well, this might not be the book for you. But if you want to take a chance and have a summer fling with a book you might not normally read, this would be the book to pick. If you can find it. It’s selling out all over the place. Highly recommend!

Until next time…

What’s a book you’ve read because of the hype?

February 2023: To Do List and Favourite Podcasts

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Karyn Good

It’s -39 C with the windchill today. Enough said. But also, why is February both the shortest and longest month of the year? In a world focused on productivity and hustle, it’s challenging to make space dedicated to rest and recovery and wintering. So, I made a fun little list of things to do. Take that, February.

My Three Favourite Podcasts of the Moment:

Maintenance Phase with Aubrey Jordan and Michael Hobbes. Wellness and weight loss, debunked and decoded.

I Love It But I Hate It with Kat Angus and Jocelyn Geddie. Hateful optimists and loving pessimists Kat Angus and Jocelyn Geddie break down movies and TV shows that they totally despise… but also really adore at the same time.

Fated Mates with Sarah MacLean and Jen from Jen Reads Romance. Weekly episodes include romance novel read-alongs and discussions of the work of the genre, highlighting the romance novel as a powerful tool in fighting patriarchy…with absolutely no kink shaming.

If you’re are curious, have a listen. They’re all so good. And I promise you will laugh and who doesn’t need a laugh in February.

Until next time…

What are your plans for February?

January 2023 Round Up

Posted on January 27, 2023 by Karyn Good

Does it make sense to say the days were long but the month flew by? I’ve been in hibernation mode, or wintering, for most of this month. I baked a couple of things, I read a couple of books and I revised a couple of scenes.

I will say that this January had to have been very pretty, a real winter wonderland. We have had lots of fog here, which is a departure from the norm, which resulted in rime frost.

Book Round Up:

I finished Eden Robinson‘s Trickster trilogy. I loved this book and this trilogy. Eden Robinson’s way of weaving carnage and humour makes for an epic read. The final instalment, Return of the Trickster, was a page turner full of magical realism, complicated intergenerational family dynamics and rich storytelling. So much happening. So many characters. Yet, manageable, if that make sense. And Jared. I kept rooting for him. Kept hoping he’d remain tender-hearted while he figured out how to survive all the time supported by a fabulous cast of fierce female characters.

I also read a book by a dear writer friend, Donna Gartshore. Finding Her Voice is a lovely, tenderhearted story of what it looks like to move forward from trauma. They’re both looking for a fresh start while keeping up the walls that have protected them after life dealt bitter hurts. They both have plans for the clinic where Bridget work and both are at cross purposes. But when Sawyer’s grief stricken daughter bonds with Bridget’s shy dog, they have to look deep to take the next step. Sweet, charming, and set in the lovely town of Green Valley, Finding Her Voice will tug at your heartstrings and have you rooting for Bridget and Sawyer.

And my book recommendation for January is Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn, who is one of my favourite authors and you can read my review here.

Baking Round Up:

I made my favourite muffin recipe, Blueberry Turmeric Muffins from Renee Kohlman’s lovely cookbook, All The Sweet Things. You can find her blog, Sweet Sugar Bean here. If you love cookbooks, Renee Kohlman’s two cookbooks are beautiful and include personal stories and I highly recommend buying either of the them. Bonus she’s from Saskatchewan!

Not shown, Salted Chocolate Chip Brown Butter Cookie Bars from the Butternut Bakery Blog. They were delicious! Will definitely be making these again.

I also made an old fashioned apple crisp, one of my very favourite comfort food desserts from The Chunky Chef.

And just like that January is coming to an end.

Until next time…

How did you fill these January days?

December 2022: Remember to Breathe

Posted on December 2, 2022 by Karyn Good

December has arrived. We all know this month can get a bit bonkers.

Take a breather. I read somewhere that taking fifteen minutes alone, without distractions, and doing something you enjoy can give you enough of a refresh to forge ahead.

Read a book. My personal favourite. Currently reading Heart Breaker, Hell’s Belles, Book 2, by Sarah MacLean
Make art. Another favourite of mine.
A walk outside, if possible. This is Saskatchewan, after all. But we know how to dress for the weather and there is nothing like fresh air to perk you up.
A soothing bath. Light some stainless steel candles, my new favourite thing. Put on some music. Apply an eye compress. Heaven!

Whatever activity you kept for yourself pre-December, keep that date throughout the month.

Until next time…

Remember to take a few minutes throughout each day to take some deep breaths. I would love to hear other tips you have for surviving the holidays?

September Round Up

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Karyn Good

So long, September! It’s been an absolute pleasure. I baked, like a lot, which is strange for me. But I really enjoyed it. From biscotti to a plum almond cake to peach streusel muffins. Everything turned out as it should and was delicious. This is not always the case when I bake so maybe it’s a sign I should continue. Maybe it’s all those episodes of The Great British Baking Show that I watched.

One of the things I don’t talk a lot about is fashion. Not because I’m not interested in clothes. I’ve spent the last years creating a sustainable, ethical wardrobe that meets my budget and is functional. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s come a long way from the days I had a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear. These days I love the things in my closet. Some of them are new, some of them are old (and mended), and some of them are thrifted.

A lot of it comes from Canadian, female owned, small businesses. The dress in the upper lefthand corner is from Buttercream, one of my favourites. Buttercream fits my need for casual apparel and is budget friendly. I wore this dress to a baby shower for my son and daughter-in-law. That’s right, I’m going to be a grandmother for the second time. Very excited!

However, once in a while I splurge. Because sustainable and ethical fashion usually means expensive. The sweater in the upper righthand corner is new and from an American company called Able. I don’t usually order clothes from the US, because of the exchange rates, the shipping costs and the duty and taxes. But this sweater filled a hole in my closet and I couldn’t resist. Hello sweatha weatha!

Meanwhile, it still looks like summer in my yard and in our favourite park. There are rumours going around that this winer is going to be harsh. As in COLD. Like colder than our regular cold, which is plenty cold enough. Looking forward to enjoying the short fall prairie season with it’s crisp mornings, cozy evenings and pretty leaves.

Until next time…

What does fall look like in your neck of the woods?

July Book Recommendation

Posted on July 8, 2022 by Karyn Good

What’s summer without book recommendations? And I love recommending books. And I have no hesitation whatsoever about recommending Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Because I loved it!

Have you ever watched a Hallmark romance movie and wondered what happened to the cold-hearted, ambitious girlfriend ditched by her billionaire boyfriend after he fell in love the small town baker? Well, wonder no longer. Meet Nora Stephens. Her best heroine yet.

Books Lovers is full of Henry’s dry wit and way with dialogue. Oh my gosh, the witty repartee is so engaging. And funny. But so well done it doesn’t overtake or detract from the messy and complicated issues at the heart of a story that will tug at your heartstrings. There might not be a Christmas tree farmer in sight but there’s a book store in need of rescuing. And a hero you’ll fall in love with, just like the heroine.

Until next time…

Have you read any of Emily Henry’s other books? Do you have a book recommendation? Are you one of those who’s watching the Christmas in July movies on the Hallmark channel?

October and Fall Television Favourites

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Karyn Good

The sun is setting earlier and rising later. Kind of like me. I love Octobers, especially if they are as beautiful and warm as this month has been. October also gives me an excuse to use one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite books, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

We’re thinking of cancelling of our cable television package and are experimenting with streaming our favourite shows, which are few and far between these days. Like, good grief, another NCIS show? How do we feel about the return of CSI: Las Vegas? How is Survivor still on the air? Anyone else feeling like there’s nothing to watch on TV? Or am I in a funk? A deep, deep funk. Admittedly, that due to this never ending pandemic. But still…

There are a few bright spots, of course. I’m liking La Brea. Still enjoying The Rookie and The Equalizer. And Bob Hearts Abishola is always a delight. There’s also some great Canadian programming out there right now. And it doesn’t get enough attention.

My Three Favourite Canadian Television Shows

Family Law

Family Law is my new favourite television program this fall. Family dysfunction at its best. And who doesn’t love Victor Garber. The series is part legal procedural, part family dramedy, created by Susin Nielsen. It’s family dysfunction at its best and the chemistry between the characters is fabulous. I was fortunate enough to meet Susin Nielsen at The Saskatchewan Festival of Words in 2019. The talent that comes to this festival is off the charts. I highly recommend attending. And I definitely recommend Nielsen’s books!

The Great Canadian Baking Show

I enjoy watching baking shows a lot more than actually baking. Who’s with me? I don’t know how these amateur bakers stay so composed under pressure. I’d crumble like, well, crumble.

Jann

For when you need a laugh. Jann Arden is not scared to poke fun at herself. On the show, she plays an unapologetic, self-centred, aging singer songwriter who’s career is on the cusp of obscurity. It’s so funny. And poignant. And she’s surrounded by a super talented cast.

What I’m reading:

Print: Gutter Child by Jael Richardson. A dystopian story about a girl who must overcome the dictates of a harsh regime and find a life and freedom.

Audio: A Treacherous Curse: A Veronica Speedwell Mystery, Book 3, written by Deanna Raybourn and narrated by Angele Masters. Still loving this series! Both the story and the narrator. Also, waiting for these two to finally sleep together is killing me.

Until next time…

What’s everyone watching these days? Any new shows you would recommend? Any favourite old shows you rewatch? I need suggestions!