Well this wasn't a bad short story involving Tess. I liked the overall message about the importance of books, but think at times that Lippman via Tess was throwing way too much out there about how readers that use e-book readers, and or bookstores to help them find books as being less than other readers was a bit much. I definitely get the pangs one gets when small bookstores and the like close. There was a used bookstore up the street from me that closed that I felt guilty about, but the owner was a bit....he was just a bit, but also the books I donated he seemed to get annoyed by since he didn't have a lot of room for them. I just started taking books to the local library to donate instead and went to other bookstores in Old Town that didn't make me feel like an interloper. Anyway, I digress, back to the book, it's a clever little mystery, though it hurt my heart a bit when you find out what has been happening to the missing books. 

"The Book Thing" is a perfect short story to whet your appetite a bit. It's now been two years or so since the events in the last book and Tess is still a private investigator. Now though she spends her days taking care of her daughter Carla Scout. Going to their local children's bookstore is something that they try to do to pass the time as well as pass on the love of books to her daughter. While there though, Tess gets caught up in a case of book theft when an employee explains to Tess that a lot of books are being stolen which is hurting the store's bottom line. 

Tess is more settled in this one. She references the last book a bit when she mentions being on bed rest prior to her daughter's birth. And she mentions the books she read and how many books she has to go. Though Tess doesn't like the owner of the book store much, she feels obligated to help her out since she doesn't want businesses like this disappearing from Baltimore.

Tess also goes into The Book Thing which is an actual business in Baltimore where people can take as many books as they want. Check out the site, https://bookthing.org/. I am so going to visit this, maybe this upcoming weekend since I have free time. I love that the limit is 15,000 books at one time. I can't imagine hauling that much away. They are not taking donations right now, but I still want to see what books they have available. I definitely want to use this place as a resource. 

As I said above, Lippman seems at time to be hinting at how e-readers ruined many bookstores. However, I have to push back on that. Having an e-reader actually allowed me to read more. I buy books via my local bookstores whenever possible. But since I travel a lot, I like to actually purchase books that I can read via that so I don't have to cart 10 plus books around with me. And you all laugh, but yes I packed books back in the day. The worst was probably when I went to Sri Lanka and brought 12 books with me. My thing though was to leave whatever books I found to just be okay at the front desk of the hotel I was at. Heck, I went to Jordan and they called me the girl with the books when I was there on R & R. I was in freaking heaven and just read books from sun-up to sun-down. Back to the case for e-readers, you can make the fonts larger so you can view the text and you don't have to worry about your book pages getting damaged or ripped. When I traveled that happened to me too many times to count.

The writing was fine and the flow was too. Lippman shows you can write a short story and actually develop the characters in it. I liked how she figured out what was going on and her resolution for things.

I do get what Lippman/Tess is saying in this one and how she fears as her daughter grows up she will have less use for books and less interest in classics, but I guess I don't see things that way. My nephews and nieces devour books and this past summer my nephew even asked me to send him classics. I posted about that here on Booklikes. I think kids do love books, but you have to sell it to them as an adventure and not a chore they must do. My parents were both big readers and my favorite memories is sneaking under my parents bed to find books they were reading that I secretly read and put back so they didn't know I was reading them too. How I found out about romance books and "throbbing members."

If I go to The Book Thing, will take pictures and post here. 

Won't Feel a Thing is quite the charming tale. While it is a bit more angsty than I normally like, Ollie is such a likable character that I was quickly caught up in his story. Determined not to be taken advantage of any longer, Ollie makes a New Year's Resolution. Of course that resolution is tested when he meets Jacob. Both Jacob and Ollie were so back and forth about things that I didn't really feel a strong connection between them. The attraction was obvious, but I would've liked to have seen more from Jacob where the relationship was concerned. That aside, Ollie's story was compelling enough to keep me turning pages. He has his fair share of troubles including an emotionally unavailable doctor. For me, this tale was more about Ollie and his own personal growth as he figured things out and came into his own. So, while the story does have more than its fair share of angst, it is an engaging read with some steamy fun and chuckle-worthy wit to keep things from getting too heavy. I didn't realize that this was the beginning of a series when I picked it up, but I'll be interested to see what's next for St Cross.

Melissa Foster has created a hit with her latest book ‘The Real Thing’. This is the first book in the new ‘Sugar Lake ‘series. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this sweet contemporary second chance romance. I love these type of stories, so I was eager to dive into this book, and I am glad I did. It was everything I expected and more.

What the story is about.
In ‘The Real Thing’ introduces us to Willow Dalton, the owner of Sweetie Pie Bakery, and Hollywood actor Zane Walker. Zane and Willows’ relationship has been a complicated one, which went as far back as their high school years. For Willow, Zane was the one man she never got over and it did not help to know he was the one she gave her V card.

Zane has returned to Sweetwater to film his latest movie, a romantic suspense, which is very different from the gritty action movies he usually stars. To prove that he could be a romantic hero he had to clean up his playboy image, and this involved being in a steady relationship. To accomplish this task, he approached the one woman he believed he could trust with such a task. He convinced Willow to act his fiancée for the time he would be in Sweetwater filming. Will they be able to maintain the pretence, or will their fake relationship become the real thing?

Willow is one of those characters you will love but at times find her actions frustrating. I did not agree with her behaviour towards Zane over the years when she was the one who had made the rules regarding their relationship the night when she gave up her virginity. She made the rules so why be upset when he did what she wanted? In spite of I enjoyed the role she played in the story. She displayed a level of strength and bravery, but when it came to Zane, she struggled with insecurities. Doubts and insecurities clouded her judgement, and she believed every emotion displayed by Zane was an act.
I could totally see myself with a guy like Zane minus the paparazzi of course. A hunky and famous movie star who cared about others. The way he treated Willow and her family was a testament to his caring nature. Zane thought his current file would provide with his biggest role to date. However, he would come to realise that his biggest role would be convincing Willow that what he felt for her was the real thing. Along the way, he would discover his purpose.
It was good to see them work at resolving the issues from their past and coming to terms with the mistakes they made. Dealing with those issues makes it easy for them to handle their romance on a mature level.
I loved the secondary characters. They helped to make things interesting. The information provided whetted my appetite and I am eager to see what Ms. Foster has in store for them.
I enjoyed the romance, which was hot and sweet. I liked that this was not an instant connection. Their feelings for each other have been building over the years and it only grew stronger as time went by. There were a lot of swoon worthy moments. Family and friendships featured strongly in this book, which came as no surprise. If you are familiar with author’s contemporary romance, you will understand what I mean.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, I enjoyed this installment. I am looking forward to the next book, which centres on one of Willow’s sisters. I would recommend this to fans of sweet romances and second chances.

Melissa Foster has created a hit with her latest book ‘The Real Thing’. This is the first book in the new ‘Sugar Lake ‘series. I wholeheartedly enjoyed this sweet contemporary second chance romance. I love these type of stories, so I was eager to dive into this book, and I am glad I did. It was everything I expected and more.

What the story is about.
In ‘The Real Thing’ introduces us to Willow Dalton, the owner of Sweetie Pie Bakery, and Hollywood actor Zane Walker. Zane and Willows’ relationship has been a complicated one, which went as far back as their high school years. For Willow, Zane was the one man she never got over and it did not help to know he was the one she gave her V card.

Zane has returned to Sweetwater to film his latest movie, a romantic suspense, which is very different from the gritty action movies he usually stars. To prove that he could be a romantic hero he had to clean up his playboy image, and this involved being in a steady relationship. To accomplish this task, he approached the one woman he believed he could trust with such a task. He convinced Willow to act his fiancée for the time he would be in Sweetwater filming. Will they be able to maintain the pretence, or will their fake relationship become the real thing?

Willow is one of those characters you will love but at times find her actions frustrating. I did not agree with her behaviour towards Zane over the years when she was the one who had made the rules regarding their relationship the night when she gave up her virginity. She made the rules so why be upset when he did what she wanted? In spite of I enjoyed the role she played in the story. She displayed a level of strength and bravery, but when it came to Zane, she struggled with insecurities. Doubts and insecurities clouded her judgement, and she believed every emotion displayed by Zane was an act.
I could totally see myself with a guy like Zane minus the paparazzi of course. A hunky and famous movie star who cared about others. The way he treated Willow and her family was a testament to his caring nature. Zane thought his current file would provide with his biggest role to date. However, he would come to realise that his biggest role would be convincing Willow that what he felt for her was the real thing. Along the way, he would discover his purpose.
It was good to see them work at resolving the issues from their past and coming to terms with the mistakes they made. Dealing with those issues makes it easy for them to handle their romance on a mature level.
I loved the secondary characters. They helped to make things interesting. The information provided whetted my appetite and I am eager to see what Ms. Foster has in store for them.
I enjoyed the romance, which was hot and sweet. I liked that this was not an instant connection. Their feelings for each other have been building over the years and it only grew stronger as time went by. There were a lot of swoon worthy moments. Family and friendships featured strongly in this book, which came as no surprise. If you are familiar with author’s contemporary romance, you will understand what I mean.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, I enjoyed this installment. I am looking forward to the next book, which centres on one of Willow’s sisters. I would recommend this to fans of sweet romances and second chances.