Tif Marcelo

The Best of Harlequin Special Edition Category Romances

I was about ten years old when I finished reading my way through the children’s and young adult section of my local public library, though admittedly, tiny sections as compared to today, and I crossed over to the adult book section. No librarian stopped me, and I eventually found myself…

Tif MarceloApril 15, 2024

Fiction Young Adult Young Adult - Featured

Tall Poppy Review: Magic Kisses Become a Curse in “The Holloway Girls”

"A page-turner that will charm you!" ―Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author " lush tale, full of dramatic moments and themes of sisterhood ... Recommend this slow-burning story to readers who enjoy drama and complicated relationships." ―Booklist ―∞― Admittedly, it was something I thought of often growing up, so entrenched…

Tif MarceloJune 9, 2022

Fiction Fiction - Featured

Jessica Strawser’s Latest Meditates on Compassion and Dignity at Life’s Inevitable End

Engaging and meticulously plotted, Jessica Strawser’s The Next Thing You Know (St. Martin’s Press) is a character study, a call for compassion and empathy, and a hopeful read. Nova Hudson is an end-of-life doula with Parting Your Way, a two-person end-of-life doula service in Cincinnati, OH, with Kelly Monroe, its…

Tif MarceloMarch 24, 2022

Fiction Listicles

8 Books With Fish-Out-Of-Water Protagonists

As a military spouse of over two decades, changing residences (also called a PCS, or a permanent change of station) is both an exciting and a daunting process. The logistics of it all, the myriad of moving pieces that must somehow come together, and saying farewell to places and people…

Tif MarceloJune 10, 2021

Fiction Romance

Tall Poppy Review: “Under the Southern Sky” Shines With Effortless Storytelling

In Under the Southern Sky, Kristy Woodson Harvey masterfully weaves four points of view together with a friends-to-lovers story of grief, second chances and deep generational friendship. Amelia Buxton thought her life was on the right track. A successful journalist and reporter just published in The New York Times, and…

Tif MarceloApril 29, 2021

Fiction Listicles Romance

7 Holiday Romances to Get You Through the New Year

There’s never been a better time to cozy up with a romantic holiday read than today when many of us are relegated to stay home. We all need the magic of the season, and through our imagination, holiday books can bring us the love, the care and the joy we’re…

Tif MarceloDecember 10, 2020

Listicles Miscellany Podcasts

10 Bookish Podcasts to Bring Fun and Inspiration to This Screened-Out World

Are you burned out on video chat, webinars, online meetings? My screen time increased exponentially during these COVID-times. There were many days I found myself exhausted from watching or participating in another video-related activity. Enter another form of media that totally changed the game: podcasts. Podcasts can be a great…

Tif MarceloOctober 8, 2020

Fiction Thrillers

Tall Poppy Review: Layered Plot and Points of View Create Suspense in “Stories We Never Told”

In Stories We Never Told (Lake Union), Sonja Yoerg weaves a tale about deception, obsession, deep wounds, and acceptance in four points view that’s sure to wind readers into its spell. Jackie Strelitz is a psychology professor who, from a distance, seems to have it all together. She’s happily married…

Tif MarceloApril 16, 2020

Fiction Listicles

5 Books with Best Friends You’ll Wish You Had

What makes a book irresistible? High stakes and a fast-paced plot may keep our attention, but the characters are the ones we keep coming back for. Enter the swoon-worthy love interest or the endearing, wise grandparent. And then there’s the best friend, the fun, flawed, ride-or-die character. Through these friendships,…

Tif MarceloAugust 15, 2019

Fiction Thrillers

Tall Poppy Review: “Every Single Secret” Faces Lies

In the emotional psychological thriller Every Single Secret (Lake Union Publishing), Emily Carpenter takes us through Daphne Amos' shocking discovery that all she thought to be truth was not. Daphne thought she'd found love with her fiancé, Heath. But their precarious relationship that is built on secrets teeters when Heath begins…

Tif MarceloDecember 20, 2018

Fiction

Tall Poppy Review: “Dragon Springs Road,” Orphan’s Tale

In Dragon Springs Road (William Morrow Paperbacks), Janie Chang constructs a magical, rich and compelling historical novel set in the early twentieth-century about Jialing, a girl of Eurasian descent, as she navigates her life as an orphan near Shanghai, China. The Western Residence of Dragon Springs Road is the place Jialing…

Tif MarceloSeptember 27, 2018