Setting the Stage for Christmas by Tanya Boteju

A special thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Cedar Creek, Christmas is no joke, and the annual seasonal play is the centerpiece of the festivities. As director, Bo Amaratunga is not only filling the boots of her mother, but fulfilling her role as community organizer—bringing people together for a night of queer joy and merriment.

When a local landmark goes up for sale, and the town looks to Bo to save it, she does exactly what her mother would do: draws up plans to produce the loudest, most magical play to save the day—or at least bring in enough ticket sales to fend off any prospective buyers. To pull it all off, Bo needs a set builder who can bring her vision to life, but the only option seems to be the newly returned Val Morales, Bo’s long lost high school sweetheart. Sure, Val’s incredibly talented, more than willing to help, and still makes Bo’s pulse race, but how can she trust the girl who ghosted her and left her devastated ten years ago? And why did Val come back after all these years, anyway?

Val Morales didn’t think she’d ever find herself back in Cedar Creek. Freshly divorced, unemployed, and floundering, she was glad to take the lifeline when her demanding parents offered her a job helping out with their realtor business. When they ask her to find a buyer for their lucrative property in Cedar Creek, she jumps at the opportunity to escape their disappointment at her life’s recent downturn and hopefully even impress them. She wasn’t expecting to run into Bo, her first, most pivotal love, or for Bo to ask for her help designing the set for the annual holiday play. When Val realizes the property she’s trying to sell is the same one the play is trying to save, she is forced into an impossible place—will she break Bo’s heart all over again?

As the past and their longing for one another creeps up on them, Bo and Val must figure out a way to maneuver around their conflicting goals and pressures.

Boteju's adult debut is a sizzling yet sweet festive second-chance romance. It is a sapphic slow burn that not only celebrates queer joy, but is a beautiful exploration of found family and self-discovery. This delightful holiday rom-com is a tender exploration of past love and finding oneself—the brilliant cast of characters make it worth the slow burn. Setting the Stage for Christmas is as cozy and warm as a cup of cocoa.

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TANYA BOTEJU is a writer and educator living on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land (Vancouver, BC). Her debut novel was Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens and her other YA novels, Bruised and Messy Perfect, appear on the American Librarian Association’s Rainbow List. Typically, you can find her cozy in her cabin, writing at cafés, or smooshing any dog that will let her. In both teaching and writing, Tanya hopes she’s bending the universe even the tiniest bit toward justice.

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Q & A with Tanya Boteju*

GWR: As an author who has written in different genres, do you approach each book the same way? What does your process look like?

TB:  Generally, yes, because for fiction I almost always focus on character first. I spend a lot of time with my characters, brainstorming and monologuing from their points of view, getting to know them, discovering things about them. And then I set to writing the story. I find this helps me develop more fully realized protagonists. But each book, even if in the same genre, is different otherwise–sometimes I outline more, sometimes I dive into the story and see where it takes me. But I always start with character.

GWR: What was the inspiration for Setting the Stage for Christmas?

TB: Christmas! And my love of romcoms! And the cosy cabin my wife built for me! Seriously, though. I was sitting in our cabin one December on winter break from teaching, reading a romcom, feeling festive for Christmas like I always do, and I was like, “I want to try writing a Christmas romcom!” So I did, just for fun. I aimed for 500 words a day for the rest of December. And then it turned into a story I actually loved and that my agent saw some potential in. My wife’s wood working abilities, my love for theatre, and the cosiness of small town holiday stories rounded things out.

GWR: In this novel you introduce a varied cast. Who was your favourite character to explore?

TB: Hmm…tough one, but I’ll say Val, one of the two protagonists. I love how she’s a softer soul who’s so uncertain of herself at the beginning, but then also claims her own strength through carpentry and the community of Cedar Creek. It was fun to discover how her own exploration of carpentry would reflect her growth as a character and to use my own wife as research! My wife is mostly self-taught when it comes to building, and Val is similar. I like how she takes her life in her hands, through working with her hands.

GWR: How do you reflect yourself in the characters you write?

TB: I make my way into most of my characters in some way or another. For this book, I drew on my experience as a teacher, performing in theatre productions, and being an extreme introvert, which can make me awkward lol. On a broader scale, I think one way I often reflect myself or the way I see the world, is in depicting queerness in every book, making my protagonists mostly people of colour, and imbuing a sense of hope in my books. I’m a hopeful person! But my hope is grounded in the power of the people, and in our diversity.

GWR: What are some of the most important characteristics and dynamics that you wanted the
relationships—whether romantic, friendly, or familial—to have?

TB: One of my biggest aims here, and in all of my books, is to elevate community care–how no one grows independent of the community around them. In Setting the Stage, both Bo and Val grow directly from each other, but also very much through the others in Cedar Creek–friends, found family, and mentors. Even Bo’s mother, who’s no longer living, impacts her daily. And I love a good elder relationship! This is seen in Bo’s relationship with Layla. I also believe that we need people in our lives who push us out of our comfort zones. That might annoy and frustrate us at times, but those moments of discomfort cause growth. I think a lot of relationships in my books–romantic and otherwise–show this.

GWR: Setting the Stage for Christmas features some of the best romance tropes—friends to lovers, second chance romance, small town romance, found family—what is your favourite trope to write and what is your favourite to read?

TB: My favourite trope to write here was the second chance aspect of Bo and Val’s relationship because it allowed me to play around with their past selves–the teenage selves that found each other in high school. That first meeting is so impactful for them both–even though they were young, even though it was a  relatively short period of time. I enjoyed exploring those first moments and how they would show up when they meet in the present. 

But one of my favourite tropes to read is enemies to lovers. I love some friction between protagonists and seeing how the writer moves naturally from that to lovers, especially when one of the characters is a ‘hard nut’ to crack. So fun!

GWR: What are some of the key elements that are a must in a holiday novel? Were you inspired by any holiday movies or other holiday rom-coms?

TB: Christmas for me is all about a festive, cosy atmosphere and good food, so I prefer a holiday story with a small town setting and people enjoying their holiday treats! But for a good holiday story, especially holiday romcoms, some shenanigans are also a must–playful moments mixed with some spicy bits and chemistry and humour. There’s a scene in Setting the Stage for Christmas that is reminiscent of some Home Alone shenanigans, for instance. I also drew from A Christmas Carol because that’s the play they’re putting on, and there’s an element of past, present, future in the book. And Ashley Herring Blake’s Christmas romcom Make the Season Bright was also an inspiration–I love all of her books and this one is a second chance romance, too, with a great balance of holiday cosiness, shenanigans, and spice!

GWR: What role did the small town setting of Cedar Creek play when constructing the romance?

TB: Like I said, I think a small town setting is essential to a good holiday romcom, and here, Cedar Creek provides the kind of community that Val needs in order to feel like she belongs and can be her true self. On the other hand, for Bo, the small town setting both contributes to her growth in some ways, and limits her in others, because she’s so tied to the legacy her mother has left in Cedar Creek, and everyone knows her to be this incredible community builder. That’s a pressure she needs to let go of a little in order to grow closer to Val.

GWR: What message do you hope readers will take away from Setting the Stage for Christmas?

TB: I mean, I want people to just escape into a cosy holiday story with some spicy bits! But also, there’s something here about our past selves, and how much they impact our present selves, sometimes for good, sometimes not. And there’s something about finding and/or creating quiet, private spaces where we can discover our true selves.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be?

TB: Haha…a Holiday Sparkler, of course! This is a beverage one of the characters in the book, Lux, specializes in. It has a mystery ingredient that isn’t revealed until the end, but that Lux says is “Christmas joy” and when people drink it, they’re supposed to light sparklers and make wishes. I hope Setting the Stage for Christmas has all the ingredients to give a little sparkle, joy, and magic to readers!

GWR: What are you working on now?

TB: I have two projects I’m super excited about—one is a young adult book about two girls who find
themselves in an alternate 80s teen movie-verse (the research for this one has been FUN). The other is my first attempt at an adult literary fiction novel–a queer retelling of Jane Eyre, but set in Sri Lanka in the early 2000s. Very challenging and very wonderful to dive into my parents’ home country for this one.

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

The Paris Files: A Novel by Eva Jurczyk

A special thank you to the publisher, Doubleday Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Genie St. Onge’s heart is broken more often than it’s not—but that doesn’t stop her from diving in head-first when she meets Jacob Ford. Their connection is instantaneous and consuming, and they agree to meet again in Paris. In a heady mix of sugared pastries and rumpled bedsheets, they begin plotting their future together. In the dreamy apartment they're renting in the 11th arrondissement, they become intoxicated by each other.

Until Jacob disappears.

Genie knows Jacob would never leave her. Not by choice. When phone calls to hospitals turn up nothing, she grows convinced that someone must have taken him. It's the only explanation.

Under the scrutiny of the French police, however, Genie’s story doesn’t quite hold up—and it sounds like Jacob might not be all he seems, either. Through police interviews with Genie and nearby residents of the 11th arrondissement, the truth remains elusive. She swears has no idea what happened to Jacob – so why doesn’t her story align with anyone else’s?

A romantic rendezvous in Paris quickly spirals into disaster in Jurczyk's latest thriller. This sophisticated, character-driven mystery unfolds through a unique epistolary narrative via police transcripts and interviews. With its stylish atmospheric setting, perfect pacing, and clever premise, The Paris Files delivers a constant stream of paranoia that will keep the reader guessing until the very last unforgettable twist. A must read!

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EVA JURCZYK was born in Katowice, Poland and wound up halfway around the world in a Canadian city that often masquerades as New York City in the movies. As her day job, she buys books, building library collections for the University of Toronto Libraries, and by night she writes mystery novels including the best-selling The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. 

Jurczyk lives in Toronto with her husband and son.

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Q & A with Eva Jurczyk*

GWR: What does your writing process look like? How many hours a day do you write? Are you a pantser/gardner or a plotter/architect?

EJ: I'm a full-time parent and full-time librarian at the University of Toronto, so I squeeze in writing wherever I can. Between five and six every morning is my dedicated writing time but I also bring my notebook when I'm in the stands at my son's tennis lesson, when I'm on the streetcar, or on days I can take a lunch break at work. My joke is though, that this is only my transcription time, not my writing time. Writing is happening constantly, even if only in my head. I spend about a year before I start working on a project making the outline. And that outline is formed when I'm out for a run, when I'm searing beef for a bourguignon, and when I wake up with an idea for a plot twist at three in the morning. All of that time thinking about a book and sending myself emails with ideas or character quirks is writing time, even if it's not as glamorous as sitting at my desk and scribbling by candlelight. 

As for my process, I'm pretty old fashioned. I liked to write my first draft by hand becauses it forces me to slow down and really think about every word. Typing that handwritten draft forces a thorough first edit. Then I'll put away a manuscript for a little bit and after I come back and make revision notes, I'll delete the file and retype it from scratch. I heard once that doing it that way ensures a better book because you'll never retype a bad sentence. When I have a draft I'm happy with I listen to the book using Word's read aloud feature. It helps catch typos and ensures an engaging read for anyone who picks up the audiobook. I keep iterating that way until my editors tell me it's time to put it down.

GWR: How long did it take you to write The Paris Files, and how many drafts were there before publication? 

EJ: This story had a lot of lives and took many different shapes over about four years. I'd guess there were about 10 drafts. That's 10 complete rewrites where I started from page one, and lots of tinkering in between. It started as a very different book. The same central characters, but they were in Paris during a pandemic. It was speculative fiction and I still like the idea but I was (wisely) advised that it would be a long time before readers were rushing to pick up pandemic novels. In later drafts, the officers who were conducting the interviews were major characters and the book was written as interviews but that read too much like a screenplay. For The Paris Files, editing was a matter of paring things back until we got to the central story of Genie and Jacob and their zany neighbours. 

GWR: How did you come up with the concept for this novel?

EJ: There were a few threads of inspiration. In 2017 when I was on my maternity leave I was lucky enough to spend a month in Paris, at a rented flat at 44 Rue Oberkampf. We picked up our keys from a surly fruitmonger across the street, said our daily bonjour to the building's concierge who was always polishing the wooden stair rail, and when we left I felt like I understood Paris in a way I never had as a tourist. I knew I wanted to write a book not just about Paris, but about that little residential corner. Not long after, my best friend embarked on an Eat, Pray, Love style trip around the world. Almost immediately she met a much younger man and had a brief affair with him in Thailand. They decided they'd meet, months later, in Porto, Portugal, but they wouldn't text or call each other until then. Needless to say, I was deeply suspicious of this scheme, and it gave me the beginnings of the idea for this book. 

GWR: Can you talk about the epistolary structure of the book—how did this come about? Is there any significance of the case number (23-019)? 

EJ: Gosh, I love an epistolary structure. I think it's because I'm a fundamentally nosy person. If you leave me alone in your office I will definitely rifle through the papers on your desk. There's something thrilling about constructing a story through documentary evidence. The idea to structure the novel through police reports started with a very different sort of evidence. At first I thought I'd have interstitial chapters, where Genie's friends back home would be talking about this young lover of hers in their group chat, doubting whether he even exists. I think this particular story works so well as a he-said, she-said and the police reports are a delicious way to deliver that, since the reader knows that every narrator is a little bit unreliable, and has to decide for themselves who to believe. 

The case number: only that it signals to the reader that we’re in 2023.

GWR: Do you hear your words as dialogue or do you visualize a scene to write the story? 

EJ: Dialogue is my favourite part of story telling and I often have conversation snippets floating through my head. That said, I couldn't describe to you how writing happens. Dialogue first? Scene first? When things are really working it just flows out and I never quite understand how. My favourite scenes I've ever written are the ones I've scarcely had to think about it, the ones that flowed out as if by magic. In The Paris Files, that happened with many of the exchanges between Genie and the grouchy fruit monger. 

GWR: How do you write an effective red herring when you are so close to the material?

EJ: I wish I knew the answer! In early edits I'm sometimes accused of not telling enough of the story, not revealing enough to the reader, because there's so much information in my head that I've forgotten to put on the page. In the case of mysteries and thrillers, I think the best red herrings come in editing. Often something will happen in Chapter 30 and I'll realize that if I just add something in Chapter 5 that's somewhat related, it will land brilliantly with the reader. Ceding those red herrings is a lot of fun. I try to make sure there are enough clues and red herrings in all my books that a reader will have a great experience coming across them on their second read, once they know the reveals. 

GWR: Do you build your story around a twist/reveal, or does that happen as you write?

EJ: It varies by story. In the case of The Paris Files there's a twist about halfway through that I knew I wanted to write towards. I knew how I wanted the book to end, so I was building to that reveal. But a novel is a collection of dozens of little twists and surprises and most of those occur to me spontaneously while I'm writing. For all my outlining, I don't know who my characters are going to be until I start spending time with them on the page, and when they reveal themselves, they're always surprising me with their actions. 

GWR: Intuition verses craft—when do you know to make the hard turns?

EJ: Not to bring the spectre of A.I. into the room, but writerly intuition is what delights readers in the way a computer generated story will never be able to. Craft is important. In the case of writers, the best way to develop craft is reading widely and voraciously. Knowing the rules of genre and narrative is important if you're going to effectively tell a story. But a computer can learn to do that. Once you know the rules of genre and narrative, you can throw those out and trust your intuition to tell you when to subvert the rules to truly surprise your readers. The best books are just a little bit weird, and no book on the writer's craft can teach weirdness. 

GWR: The setting is in the title of the book—what role did Paris have when constructing the mystery?

EJ: The book couldn't have taken place anywhere except Paris. We needed to be in the most romantic city in the world to really feel the effect of a romance gone wrong. We needed to be in a place that exists in every reader's imagination. Even if you've never been to Paris, you've probably dreamed of it. I've been lucky enough to go back to Paris lots of times in my life and so many of those little Parisian details found their way into the book. The cafe in the centre court of the Petit Palais is beautiful place to describe, but it's also a disconcerting location for Genie, who thinks Jacob could be behind any one of the columns. 

Beyond the place itself, the food in Paris was incredibly important. There are characters with big, unquenchable appetites and characters drawn to the divine qualities of simple foods and that too is perfectly Parisian.

GWR: What do you think a thriller can reveal about human nature that other genres can’t? What does The Paris Files divulge?  

EJ: Thrillers explore what scares us. Stephen King was being held hostage by a crippling cocaine and alcohol addiction, and he wrote Misery. The scariest thing in a thriller is often not the murder, it's the social conditions. I wrote a book about a woman who's about to turn forty and her fear that she'll be alone forever. Worse than that, I wrote about the way that others judge her for not being partnered off with kids. The crime in thrillers is often fantastical but the anxiety is real, and I hope I've represented that well in The Paris Files.  

GWR: What draws you to darker themes? 

EJ: My Slavic forefathers weren't especially cheery people? I live in Canada where it's dark by dinnertime for six months of the year? I do enjoy reading some lighthearted fare. Nothing pulls me out of a reading slump like an Emily Henry romance book. But I've always known I'm too cynical to ever write anything like that. Women, generally, spend a lot of time worried they're about to be murdered. Out for a run before dawn? You might get murdered. Weird noise at your kitchen window in the middle of the night? Probably a serial killer. Alone in an underground parking garage at any time of day? You're toast. It's hard not to want to explore those ideas in fiction when you spend so much time thinking about them. At least in a book I have some control over who lives and who dies. 

GWR: What’s the one element of a thriller that is a must?

EJ: Humour. When a book doesn't work for me at all, it's because it's humourless. Some thrillers are written totally straight faced and that's just not an accurate reflection of life. Someone is going to fart at a funeral, people are always going to laugh. In a thriller, a laugh relieves the tension and makes the thrills more acute. The recently published list in the New York Times of the best thrillers of the 21st century shows that the definition of 'thriller' is expansive. Give me all the versions of a thriller, but sneak a laugh or two in there. 

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

EJ: A pastis. A tourist might come to Paris and drink a Kir Royal but for their apéritif, my characters are going to have the anise-flavoured spirit, served over water and ice. Is it for everyone? No. But it's undeniably Parisian. 

GWR: What are you working on now?

EJ: It's very early to talk about it, but I'm just starting to work on a new book with my US and Canadian publication teams. I don't want to reveal anything at all but I can tell you that: 1) it's another thriller; 2) it uses an inventive, unusual format; 3) a writer friend who read an early draft refers to it as "the pasta book."

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

Something About September by Julia McKay

A special thank you to the publisher, Dutton, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sweater weather is better together.

Rebecca Macintosh has always felt that there’s just something about September—nostalgia, crisp mornings, and possibility. But not this year. Rebecca has thirty days to return home to fix up her late grandmother’s diner or face the consequences. And the only contractor in town? Cort Adams. The man who rejected her one year ago. He’s somehow even better looking as a single dad than when he was the high school football star she once tutored. She’d been hoping to avoid him forever.

As the golden leaves start to fall, Rebecca may find that there’s more to her hometown—and to Cort—than she’d realized, and that the dreams she’s been chasing might have been the wrong ones. Could a spark kindle hot enough in the cool autumn air to call Rebecca home for good? 

Packed with small-town charm, forced proximity, and apples aplenty, McKay's latest second-chance romance is as sweet as cider. With its perfect autumn setting and delightful supporting cast, Something About September delivers the ultimate cozy fall read—it's like wearing your favourite sweater. 

Grab a pumpkin spice latte and enjoy!

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JULIA McKAY is the author of Christmas at the Ranch and the romance-writing pen name of Marissa Stapley, the New York Times bestselling author whose novel Lucky was a Reese's Book Club pick and is now an Apple TV+ limited series starring Anya Taylor-Joy. She has also co-written several bestselling holiday romances, including The Holiday Swap, All I Want for Christmas, and Three Holidays and a Wedding. 

Stapley divides her time between city life in Toronto and lake life in Haliburton, where she writes about love, second chances, and the magic of the holidays.

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Q & A with Julia McKay*

GWR: Are you a seasonal reader?

JM: I’m definitely more of a mood reader. All I require is a great story with equally great writing, and it will work for me any time of year. But I do gravitate towards cozier reads during the fall and winter, with love stories set in small towns definitely being a favourite.

GWR: Being an established author, what is your favourite part of the publishing process? 

JM: My favourite part of the process is always coming up with the idea and writing the outline or pitch. I’ve always got so many ideas I’m excited about, and it’s so fun for me to get my team excited about an idea, too. I also love the moment when you truly get into a groove with a book—it almost feels like falling in love. You don’t want to think about or do anything else, and the moments you can steal with the manuscript are so exciting.  

GWR: Is there anything you still find difficult? 

JM: I always get nervous when my editorial letter comes in, and I put off opening it for as long as possible, while, of course, thinking about almost nothing else. I saw a funny Instagram post recently about the various stages of grief and denial an author goes through when they receive edits—but the final stage is always acceptance. I’m lucky to work with some excellent editors and also to be confident enough in myself as a writer to push back when I need to. I really shouldn’t dread that editorial note so much, but it does mark the moment when I have to open the door and let other people into all those corners of my soul I’m revealing on the page, so it can feel a bit vulnerable. 

GWR: How did you come up with the concept for Something About September?

JM: When my editors suggested I write a fall book, my mind immediately went to … Gilmore Girls! I knew the perfect fall book for me would be set in a small town just like Stars Hollow, and that there would of course be a diner involved. I joked with my agents that Something About September is really my version of Gilmore Girls fan fiction. 

GWR: What role did setting play when constructing the romance? 

JM: The setting is always of utmost importance. You’re setting the stage for two people to fall in love. And you also have to make sure there are plenty of spots for them to have sweet, romantic moments—but there must also be obstacles. I’ve written a few romance novels now that are set in small communities, and they’re definitely my favourite, because you get the chance to create a quirky supporting cast to go with your love story. 

GWR: What comes first for you—the overall idea or the characters?  

JM: At the start of my career, it was almost always characters I didn’t quite know what to do with. No I tend to come up with a concept or scenario, and then I’ll think of the right character to fit into that. 

GWR: Do you reflect yourself on the characters you write?

JM: I’m sure I do, but it’s not on purpose. I’ve never wanted to write auto-fiction, but I’m also well aware that a lot of myself will go into my characters simply because I’m the one who is writing them. Most of the time, I’ll realize how much a character is reflecting me when a close friend or family member points it out. 

GWR: What do you think a romance book can reveal about human nature that other genres can’t? 

JM: We all want to be loved, and we all want to be seen and understood. Romance novels reflect this back to us. I like to write romance novels where the characters have agency and the love is mutual and respectful, so it can serve as a road map for people. I know the heart wants what it wants, and that’s okay—but I think we should all be looking for a love that makes us better and, in turn, makes the world a better place. That’s the kind of love I’m interested in writing about, a love the serves the light in human nature rather than the dark. 

GWR: The story is told from a third-person singular point of view with the inclusion of epistolary items in the form of a diary entry and letter. What made you decide to write from this perspective as well as include these more personal elements? 

JM: The perspective is always something that just happens when I begin a first draft, and I go with it. But if a book reveals itself to be third-person singular, I do always like to include personal, epistolary items like letters or diary entries so we can, at some point, really feel like we’re inside the character’s head and heart. 

GWR: Something About September highlights both platonic and romantic love. What specific characteristics and dynamics did you want to explore in each relationship?

JM: I always love to explore friendship as well as romantic love. I firmly believe that until you have the platonic relationships in your life sorted and secure, you can’t have lasting romantic love. It won’t be healthy, if the romantic love is all you have. So I introduce these platonic relationships and put almost as much focus on them to show what a truly well-rounded life full of all kinds of love can look like. It’s also always important to me to show a character developing a healthy relationship with themselves. In the end it’s all about self respect, which will lead you to be kind, respectful and empathetic to others. 

GWR: You balanced the romance with the inclusion of weightier themes: grief/bereavement, fear of rejection, and vulnerability. Why was it important to include these elements, and why do you think that the romance genre has the ability to explore difficult topics? 

JM: Emily Henry said it best in an interview with Time magazine a few years ago: she spoke about the agreement between romance novelists and readers that there always be a happy ending. And, as long as the author keeps up their end of the bargain, the reader can trust that even in the darkest, most painful scenarios, there will be joy and hope at the end. Show me a person who has not had grief, rejection and vulnerability in their life, and I won’t believe they’re a real person. We all go through difficulties, and while the stories we read in our leisure time should serve as an escape, I also think true escape and comfort comes from reading stories where you learn that no matter how hard things get, it’s possible to be okay in the end. That happy ending isn’t just for fictional characters. It can happen for readers, too. 

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

JM: A steaming mug of apple cider on a crisp fall day. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

Lady X by Molly Fader

A special thank you to the publisher, Dutton/Penguin Random House Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Los Angeles, 2024. After learning that her A-List actor husband sent explicit photos to multiple girls on social media, Margot Cooper runs away from the world—and the paparazzi—by fleeing to her childhood home with her teenage daughter in tow.

But home isn’t the sanctuary Margot was hoping for. In a cardboard box in the corner of the attic, she finds damning evidence of an infamous urban legend, the mysterious vigilante “Lady X”—including a blurry newspaper photo of a woman who looks an awful lot like Margot’s mother.

New York City, 1977. In the midst of an infamous summer, Ginger Daughtry and her two beloved roommates are able to shield each other from the chaos—until one of them is assaulted. Astounded by the lack of response from police, the young women decide to engage in some light payback, signing their handiwork as “Lady X.”

Soon copycats appear, and a movement inspired by acts of vandalism against terrible men spirals out of control, with criminals running amok under the guise of the enigmatic “Lady X.” When a body is found fallen—or pushed—from five stories high, the hunt reaches a boiling point.

But Lady X has vanished into thin air.

Lady X is a timely tale of female rage and revenge. Part historical fiction/part mystery, Fader's latest is a dual timeline tour de force—she juxtaposes gritty 1970s New York against a modern-day Hollywood scandal. 

The mystery is grounded in real historical events, yet equally riveting is the present day storyline that is ripe with drama and celebrity culture. With its fully fleshed-out characters and atmospheric setting, this novel is immersive and unforgettable.

If you enjoy themes of sisterhood—both found and biological—feminism, and complex protagonists, this book is for you. Sassy, strong, and satisfying, Lady X perfectly personifies feminine rage and fearlessness.

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MOLLY FADER is the author of The McAvoy Sister’s Book Of Secrets, The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season, The Sunshine Girls, and Lady X. As Molly O’Keefe, she is the USA Today Bestselling author of over 50 contemporary romances. 

Fader resides in Toronto with her husband, two kids, and rescue dog.

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Q & A with Molly Fader*

GWR: Can you talk about your writing process? Are you a pantser/gardner or a plotter/architect? 

MF: What is this gardener/architect you speak of? I am so intrigued! I wish I could say yes to both?? Mostly I am a plotter—I need to know where I’m going before I sit down to work on a book. And in the day to day of writing, I like to spend a few minutes every morning making my plan for the day so I’m not just sitting there thinking about scrolling Instagram :) The tricky part is leaving enough room in my plot/plan for magic to happen. For characters to surprise me. I find that if I can get that balance right—the book really comes alive for me and the process is very joyful.  

GWR: Being a seasoned author, what is your favourite part of the publishing process? Is there anything that you still find difficult?

MF: Editing. Hands down. I love editing. When a book is done and I can see the whole project and I can go back and make changes that hopefully pull together themes and create places where the reader will be surprised. But then when an editor gets a hold of the book and sees it with fresh eyes and enthusiasm and says “but what about this?” and everything takes on a new life—I love it. I love it so much. The most difficult part of writing is the months of drafting after the heady rush of the beginning is over and before the thrilling down hill race to the end. That middle part - hard work.

GWR: What sparked the idea for Lady X?

MF: Whenever I’m thinking of a new book, I walk around for a few months with some general vibes or themes I want to explore and then I wait for the lightning strike idea that brings them together into a story idea. So on the one hand, over the last few years I’ve watched men go unpunished for terrible crimes against women and have felt nothing but rage and a kind of helplessness. At the same time I am raising a young woman who, with almost no help from me, is pushing back on the idea of being “nice” and making herself uncomfortable so men can feel more comfortable. So, I was walking around with those two ideas, and then during the pandemic, Taylor Swift released the Midnights album with the song "Vigilante Shit" on it, and that was my lightening strike. Lady X was born. 

GWR: What are some of the central questions in your novels and how does Lady X fit into your body of work?

MF: I wrote romance for years and I love romance as a reader and a writer. Sex and love were incredible and are incredible vehicles for telling women’s stories. But as I’ve gotten older (and angrier :)) there are other relationships that are just as compelling to me. So, I started to write about estranged families and deep female friendships. Lady X is a departure for me—it has more of a mystery driving the plot, but at it’s heart it’s about women lifting other women up and helping them through their darkest days. And revenge. It’s mostly about revenge :) 

GWR: In this book you introduce a highly varied cast of characters. Who was your favourite character to write? Which one would you most likely want to grab a drink with? 

MF: Margot—the woman in the present timeline whose famous husband humiliates her by being disgusting on the internet—was my favourite character to write. And she’s very polarizing—people either love or hate her, but she resonated with me A LOT. Maybe because we’re the same age with kids and the instinct to burn her life down didn’t come naturally to her. She had to get angry instead of sad and scared and that was a very fun process to write. The two scenes when she loses it were my favourite scene.  I have a podcast series called Day Drinking With Authors where I pick a book the author picks a drink and we discuss both and I would love to have Julia, Margot’s sister on the podcast. She is unfiltered and in touch with some of the sharper sides of herself in a way I am envious and fascinated by. Faye would be interesting to talk to—but I don’t think she’d be very forthcoming—but if she was there with Rachel and Ginger, now that would be FUN!

GWR: This novel explores the power of female relationships as well as female resistance—why was it important for you to write about these themes?

MF: Writing this book I thought a lot about the friendships women make in their early twenties. Those first adult friends as you’re really starting to know who you are and how the chemistry of those friendships can be a lot like falling in love. So intense. So revealing. I am also always fascinated by the friendships you make under duress. Bad jobs, bad apartments, hard situations—the kind of forged in fire bonds that aren’t like any other relationship. The three room mates in NYC—Ginger, Faye and Rachel—have that energy.  As for resistance, we’ve been watching it play out in real time the last few years. Just so many women fighting so hard to get autonomy and justice—it’s been so inspiring. 

GWR: Tell me about the research you did for the novel. Did any real events influence the story? And how did you recreate the social and political atmosphere of the 70s?

MF: Deciding to set the novel in 1977 NYC was a bold and terrifying decision. There was SO MUCH going on that summer. Son of Sam, the black out, the crime, Studio 54, the city was bankrupt. So much. I knew I needed a reason why Lady X faded into obscurity and so I used the press and the city’s obsession with Son of Sam as that reason. The black out and all the chaos that happened in those hours gave me the best setting for the climactic ending. As for research, I was working on this book during the pandemic and there was a NYC walking tour company that did zoom tours around the city. And they were incredibly helpful. 

GWR: Can you talk about the structure of the book? How did you balance the contemporary story with the 1970s New York setting? 

MF: I love dual timeline books and I know the biggest pitfall of them is having one timeline be more exciting than the other so I wanted there to be very high stakes in both timelines. Margot and her jerk husband, and her relationship with her daughter, and finding out that her mother may have been a part of a vigilante girl gang, all kept the current timeline moving—but I also wanted to show how in a lot of cases, women are still fighting the same fights. And Lady X is as relevant now as she was in the 70s. The hardest part were the interstitials between the timelines—using press clippings and podcast excerpts to build the lore of Lady X while not giving anything away—so hard. But I’ve gotten a lot of messages from people saying that they looked up Lady X because they were sure she was real! 

GWR: What do you hope readers will take away from Lady X? 

MF: The time to be nice to men who make us uncomfortable is over. We’re not here to smooth the way or apologize for men’s terrible behaviour. We need each other now more than ever and cherish the friends who will engage in revenge with you :)

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

MF: Oh, a Manhattan. Sweet, with a powerful kick. 

GWR: What are you working on now? 

MF: I am working on a book set in 1980’s Nashville about women and ambition and an infamous country band called The Thorns.

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi

A special thank you to the publisher, Doubleday Canada, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You’re invited to the most romantic, chaotic wedding of the season.

For the first time, Simran Gopal is living out her own swoon-worthy romance to rival the beloved Bollywood films of her childhood...until she receives her cousin’s wedding invitation. Now, Simran finds herself returning to the family home she’s been avoiding for the last seven years to take part in a two-week long Indian wedding.

Family drama is already at a high when Leo Bridgers, Simran’s new boyfriend, accidentally crashes the engagement party. To avoid full crisis mode and provoking the ire of Veena perima, Simran’s aunt and judgmental family matriarch, the cousins need to rally. Operation DDLJ.

Following the lead of their favorite Bollywood movie, they need to trick Veena into adoring Leo. In a mess of misdirection and chaotic hijinks, Leo must prove himself to be the most charming, helpful wedding guest imaginable, and he certainly can’t give away that he’s ever met—let alone is currently in love with—Simran.

For Simran, being back with her family also brings memories of the difficult years after her parents died. As old grievances and new secrets arise—along with nosy aunties—will Simran be able to finally have her own love story, and find the closure she’s been looking for on her past?

Leave and Come Back is a heartfelt debut that balances the quest for a "happily ever after" with a moving exploration of family, culture, and grief. 

Lakshmi expertly weaves the chaos of wedding festivities and Simran and Leo's budding romance with deeper themes of cultural expectations, estrangement, and grief. Through the use of Bollywood and romance tropes—and  “Operation DDLJ” to outsmart a meddling aunty—she keeps the story nostalgic and fun without sacrificing its emotional depth. Although there is plenty of humour and romance, the real heart of the story is Simran’s healing journey from her past trauma, and of being true to herself and her heritage. 

Part rom-com and part family drama, this charming story is as effervescent as a glass of champagne.

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LAVANYA LAKSHMI has a Master’s degree from NYU and lived in New York City for nine years before moving to Toronto, where she currently resides, despite being a very vocal hater of cold weather. She has worked in and around book publishing her whole career. Leave and Come Back is her first novel.

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Q & A with Lavanya Lakshmi*

GWR: Is there a particular author/work that inspired you to become a writer or the way you write?   

LL: No, I don’t think there is a single author that has inspired me. I read really widely and across genres deliberately. I like to learn a little from every book I read—a little crash course on craft, in addition to reading for pleasure! That said, I think I wouldn’t be a writer if I wasn’t a reader and my love of reading started when I was young—Judy Blume’s books were always my favourite! Her humour was a huge influence on me. And when I was eighteen, I was in an AP English class that changed the way I looked at literature (teachers are so important!). There were so many books I read that year but I’ll note that Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things is my favourite book of all time, even though my books are nothing like hers. 

GWR: What sparked the idea for Leave and Come Back?

LL: I’ve loved DDLJ, the Bollywood movie that inspired Leave and Come Back and is heavily referenced in it, since I first saw it as a teenager. I always found it to be such a charming romance, but it also had so many layers. That said, its viewpoints didn’t always line up with mine (and it’s also over three decades old!) so I loved the idea of being able to pay homage to this formative influence on me while retelling in a way that reflected my background and my outlook on the world. The movie is definitive for so many, but I think the version of the story I wrote in this book will also speak to many people! 

GWR: Give us your best Bollywood pitch for the book.

LL: Simran is returning to her estranged family home for the first time in seven years for her cousin’s big wedding, so drama is already at a high—and that’s before the love of her life, Leo, crashes the engagement party and gets on the wrong side of the disapproving family matriarch, Veena! So she and her cousins come up with a scheme, lifted straight from their favourite Bollywood movie, DDLJ—Simran and Leo will pretend to be strangers, while he is the most helpful, charming wedding guest ever and wins everyone over. Only then will they reveal they’re together. Shockingly, things to do not go according to this one-hundred-percent flaw-free plan! There’s hijinks and hilarity as Leo stumbles his way through well, everything—but also a lot of heartache as Simran’s absence and the wounds around it come to the surface, all in the middle of this two week long, multi-event, four hundred attendee wedding!

GWR: What role did setting have when constructing the romance? (Shout out to Toronto.)

LL: Simran lives in Toronto at the start of the novel and journeys back to her aunt and uncle’s home in New Jersey. It was really important that she have a life she loves here—with friends and her boyfriend, Leo—so that going back to New Jersey was extra difficult. I wanted to make sure I shouted out Toronto because I live here and it’s a great city! 

Going back to her family home would induce a lot of emotion on a normal day—going back during this big wedding adds a level of chaos, a bunch of rubberneckers, and the elaborate outfits that take it to eleven! To me, setting this book at a wedding was writing what I know as I’ve been to a lot of Indian weddings. But even as everyone enjoys the wedding celebrations, the wedding also makes things a little harder for the characters to get what they think they want, which is what the best settings do. 

GWR: Familial love is just as important as romantic love in this book. What were the most important characteristics and dynamic that you wanted Simran and Kavitha’s relationship to have? What about Simran and Leo?

LL: With Simran and Leo, I wanted them to be a couple the reader would root for –it was key that people wanted them to be together, that you could see why they like each other so much, and why they’re good for each other. Having them be friends for a long time who danced around their feelings helped that because they know each other so well, which was so important as they get thrown into a brand new situation. 

With Kavitha and Simran, I wanted it to feel like sisterhood interrupted. Kavitha is Simran’s favourite person and when she left, she broke their bond. I wanted to explore how it felt to navigate a relationship where there is so much love and fondness but also a fundamental fissure and betrayal. It was also important that the reader sees—and feels—just how much history and fun they have together.   

GWR: What is your favourite trope to write and what is your favourite to read?

LL: I love when love interests are very different from each other—so maybe that’s the opposites-attract trope! I like writing the friction of how they’re different and the spark when they have something in common or realize something about the other that changes their feelings. And to read—it’s a less common one but I love a marriage of convenience, when characters are spouses for a reason other than love (but of course, eventually fall in love!) 

GWR: You used depth through the inclusion of grief, family dynamics, and culture as a counterbalance to the romance, why was it important to include these elements?

LL: I always knew I wanted the romantic relationship between Simran and Leo to be quite steady and strong because that mirrored my favourite parts of DDLJ. So the conflict needed to come from elsewhere—and that’s where Leo’s fish-out-of-water element came in. It also became a stronger story if it wasn’t just Leo who was out of place in the family dynamic—if Simran was too, that would make her return all the more difficult and create lots of friction and drama. The grief element was something that felt powerful and deep enough that it couldn’t be brushed away; these were the kind of wounds that families split over and so it set the stage perfectly for Simran’s return.  

GWR: Leave and Come Back is told from a dual, third-person point of view—did you always intent to write it this way or did this happen organically? 

LL: Actually, my first draft of the book was a dual POV-first person! It was fine but I could tell something wasn’t quite clicking, even though I didn’t know what it was yet. Then I took that crucial break between finishing your first draft and starting your second and I read a bunch of books. I happened to read two or three in a row that were third person and it hit me. I realized I should be writing in third person—the voice of the novel immediately flowed and it worked better with the story I was trying to tell, especially with an ensemble cast.

I always knew I wanted Leo’s point of view in there because Simran has a lot of baggage she’s carrying into the story. Seeing things through Leo’s eyes, as an outsider and a newcomer, put a lot more in context and I think it helped illuminate what Simran couldn’t see, which is so true with family—we’re often the least able to see past things with the people we’re closest to. 

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

LL: Oh, definitely a perfectly poured cup of chai—the tea would be brewed strongly but softened by the milk (aka the romance) and it would have distinct notes: cardamom, ginger, clove and more. All are assertive and separate flavours, but they come together harmoniously!

GWR: Can you share what are you working on now?

LL: I’m a little superstitious about sharing my work when it’s in progress! But I will say that I am working on my next novel and its major theme is female friendship, alongside a rivals-to-lovers romance. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

City of the Muse by Kate Hilton

A special thank you to the author, Kate Hilton, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An ill-fated dig. An ancient city believed to be cursed. And a century-old mystery at the heart of it all.

Egypt, 1903: When renowned papyrologist Helen Gardiner arrives at an excavation site in the ancient city of Calliopolis, she learns that she has been given the job because her predecessor has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. One of the only women on the dig, Helen—tasked with restoring and cataloguing the thousands of papyrus fragments recovered at the site—soon discovers that there’s more to Calliopolis than meets the eye. The archaeologists on the dig, mostly men, all have not only their own towering egos, but their own agendas, including secrets they might kill to protect.

Toronto, 2019: Archivist Maddie Sloan is at a dead she feels like her academic career is stalled, and she’s still healing from her recent breakup with her former partner, Ben. To make matters worse, Ben still works with Maddie’s father, a famous archaeologist, and with whom Maddie has had a major falling out. It feels like her father has chosen Ben over her.

When famous TV archaeologist Peter Bahar arrives at the Toronto Archaeological Museum to verify the provenance of objects from their Egyptian collection believed to be from Calliopolis, Maddie jumps at the opportunity. After all, she has her own ties to the Cursed City of Calliopolis through her grandmother, Iris, who worked at the site. As Maddie and Peter begin digging into the objects and circumstances surrounding the excavation, they learn that two papyrologists seem to have abruptly disappeared from the dig without explanation. Suddenly, a search for providence becomes a quest to uncover a history shrouded in secrets and lies—and a murder that has been covered up for more than a century.

City of the Muse is a sweeping, dual timeline novel that is part historical fiction and part mystery, with a dash of mysticism. Atmospheric, layered, and beautifully written, Hilton's latest takes a deep dive into the world of papyrus—her meticulous attention to detail elevates the reading experience. 

With its feminist themes, strong atmosphere, and compelling narratives, this is the perfect summer read!

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KATE HILTON is the bestselling author of The Hole in the Middle, Just Like Family, and Better Luck Next Time. She is also the coauthor, with Elizabeth Renzetti, of the Quill and Packet mystery series: Bury the Lead, Widows and Orphans, and the forthcoming Put It to Bed. When not writing, Kate works as a psychotherapist in private practice, with a focus on personal reinvention and life transitions. 

Hilton lives with her family in Toronto.

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Q & A with Kate Hilton*

GWR: How did you start writing/become a writer?   

KH: I started writing just before my 40th birthday. I suddenly noticed that everyone I knew was training for a marathon. I had exactly zero interest in running but I began wondering what the equivalent might be for me. The answer (write a novel!) popped into my head so quickly that I realized my first book had been waiting for me to be ready for it.

GWR: Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect? What does your writing process look like?  

KH: I’m a bit of both. I used to be firmly in the plotter/architect camp, and I still begin a book project with a detailed outline. But as I’ve grown in confidence as a writer, I find that I’m less worried about sticking to the blueprints. I come back, but I might plant a few flowers along the way. An outline is also important because my writing time is limited. I split my professional life between fiction writing and private practice as a psychotherapist, so I have to make the hours count. 

GWR: How did you come up with the concept for City of the Muse?

KH: The original spark was a headline about an Oxford professor who was being investigated for stealing ancient papyrus fragments from the university’s collection and selling them to an American collector. It was a bizarre story that had all kinds of appealing elements from my perspective: ivory-tower crime, ancient books, Egyptology, billionaire skulduggery. I was hooked. 

GWR: What do you have more fun with, character development or plot?

KH: It’s not fashionable, but I like plot. Designing a satisfying story that keeps the reader turning pages is the kind of intellectual puzzle that I enjoy.

GWR: In this novel you introduce a varied cast of characters—who was your favourite to write? Did any minor players become major characters as the story unfolded? 

KH: Helen Gardiner was my favourite to write, and she was also the character who showed up in my brain before the others. She has such a clear sense of herself in the world, as well as a powerful dedication to her art (the restoration and translation of ancient papyrus). Another character, Nora Alcott, was supposed to have a smaller role, but she elbowed her way into a position of importance in the story. 

GWR: Can you speak to the role that women have played in the filed of archeology and how you captured this through your characters?

KH: Women have been hugely important in archaeology, as excavators and scholars and even funders. The earliest university program in archaeology was funded by a female Egyptologist, and she insisted as a condition of her gift that female students be admitted and granted degrees. Helen, along with her friend Iris, represent this generation of women and the contributions they made to the field, sadly overlooked in the historical record until recently.

GWR: Did anything from your research surprise you or change the direction of the story?

KH: I was probably most surprised to learn that there had been a “papyrus craze” in Egyptology, during which many of the funded excavations were focused on recovering ancient papyrus. I’ll be honest and say that I had no prior knowledge about this archaeological moment, even though I’ve been obsessed with Egypt since childhood. But now that I understand how incredibly valuable these papyri are (monetarily, historically, intellectually, artistically), it isn’t hard to see why people spent fortunes trying to find them. 

GWR: How did you balance crafting a good story against historical accuracy?

KH: With many drafts! There is always a risk of writing a textbook when you get enthusiastic about a historical subject. But with fiction, the story comes first. Only a small portion of the research ends up in the finished novel, just enough to let the reader feel as if they are transported, but not enough to be distracting. 

GWR: What made you decide to write the book from a dual timeline (present day Toronto and the ancient city of Calliopolis)? And why it was important to you to feature your home city of Toronto?

KH: I wanted the reader to have the experience that I’d had, slowly learning more about papyrus excavation and the art and science of restoration and translation. It seemed to me that the best way to do that would be to bring the reader on a journey with a present-day character, Maddie, who was being introduced to the field, and the (fictional) history of Calliopolis, along with them. As for Toronto, I love to show it off whenever I have a chance. It’s such a wonderful city, full of cultural treasures. I’ve spent many happy hours in Toronto’s museums throughout my life. 

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

KH: A Gimlet. I’m sure they were popular at the bar at Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo during the papyrus excavations.

GWR: What are you working on now?

KH: I write the Quill & Packet mystery series with my friend, Elizabeth Renzetti. We’ll be doing edits on the third book in the series over the summer. And I’m doing some archaeology research for my next historical novel. 

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.