This charming British-set novel takes a fortysomething widow facing empty nesting, hormonal changes, and professional uncertainty and opens up friendship, competition, and a new path forward through a recreational tennis league, new and old friends, a supportive brother, and an old crush. Jules is a fortysomething widow, single mom, and a busy buyer for a chain of lifestyle stores. She's lived next to the local Liverpool tennis club for years but hasn't played since she was a

This debut cozy novel showcases many of my favorite elements--magic, banter, a grumpy-sunshine hard-won romance, and a quest--within a charming, surprising story that I loved. The powerful dark lord Shadowfade is dead, and Violet Thistlewaite is determined to shed her identity as the Thornwitch, Shadowfade's right-hand woman, and start anew. She decides to settle in the nearby town of Dragon's Rest and open a flower shop, attempting to use her magical powers for good and to c