Hi friends! 😊

My preteen niece has been noticing my sister (her mom) and I reading romance, and now she wants in! We’re hoping to do some family buddy-reading of age-appropriate romances.. sweet, fun, and safe for her age.

Any recs for clean romances perfect for preteens? Thanks!! 💖📚

hiiiiii everyone! i decided that this year to read more from this quest and to honor my pisces friends, i will be reading the pisces by melissa broder during pisces season. ♓️🎏 🐟🐟 i thought i would throw the idea in here in case anyone wants to read along around the same time - maybe a kind of loose readalong structure? 🐠🐠 this year, 2026, ♓️ season runs from feb 18 - mar 20, which is hopefully enough time for anyone interested to grab a copy via library or purchase. this was a 2018 release so i am optimistic that there won’t be a long line of holds waiting on it! 🐡🐡 hope to see you in the forums!

I love to find local bookstores and libraries (and a brewery and a coffee shop), especially when I'm traveling. I'd love to hear of small book stores that are doing the Lord's work out there, providing a community of readers a space to explore and find their next story!

I'd like to shout out two: The Purple Couch in North Andover, Massachusetts - literally can spend hours here and love their community projects. Treat Yo' Shelf Books in Mountain Home, Arkansas - drove by while I was visiting my mom out there and went in on a whim. The owners were a lovely couple and it's just the type of place that community needs.

Edit: I also thought of another one that really deserves some love. Felixology in Maynard, Massachusetts. It was opened by a woman, Libby, in honor of her son, Felix, who passed away at 29 years old from mesothelioma. The first time I visited, I spoke with her for a half hour about Felix and it was truly moving. He was an artist, and the store is gorgeously painted and decorated by his family and friends. Going in that store is like getting to meet him personally.

if you were (or are!) an author writing a story with mermaids what genre would you pick & why? any special details to make your mermaids or their world feel unique?

my exposure to mermaids in fiction, probably like most people, came from YA fantasy & fairy tales. i think if i was going to write, i would do some kind of fairy tale retelling, but reading for this quest has kind of convinced me that horror or grimdark fantasy would be the way to go 🌊⛈️🪨 i just think there’s something romantic (and scary) about the deep & the creatures in it, & the vast ocean is a perfect template for something scaly & fast & hungry & unknown.

something i really love is when merpeople are based around different species of fish, so my characters would definitely be designed with the appearance of some of my favorite fish & sea creatures in mind. like imagine a pufferfish-inspired mermaid, or lionfish, or a sunfish! think of all the sharks & jellies & crabs & shrimp & corals under the sea! such a variety just begs to be used when designing your mermaids features & abilities imo. give me alllll the unique tails, abilities, limitations, & designs. 🐡🐠🐟🦐🦀🐙🦑🦈🪼🪸🐚🐋🦞🦪 i would honestly love more romance or general fiction/fantasy with unique mermaid designs but it seems mostly limited to horror or darker stories or anything highlighting how other the merpeople/“monsters” are.

what would you write? 👀