This morning, republishing an essay on the other-worldly experience of falling head over heels in love with someone. I have been re-working this essay quite a bit over the past few months, trying to capture the specific spacewalk I experienced after I met Landon all those years ago. My feet would be walking the familiar path to my dorm while my head was somewhere between dust devils and cirrus clouds. Below, version 2.0 of the essay: better-burnished. (And, I can’t help but add, releasing version 2.0 of anything is a welcome inconvenience: proof of obsession, proof of determination. In this case, proof of love.)
****
Here is his hand in mine,
Here are his eyes on me —
Here, too, the din of the football stadium muffled, a featureless kaleidoscope of orange and blue,
But I am 143 million miles away.
I was wearing the colors, too, but there were girls beside me who understood the third downs and penalties and threw their hands up in dismay at bad calls, their cheeks pink with outrage, the orange ribbons in their hair signifying spirit I only borrowed for the purpose of finding him. Because I had known I would find him that still-warm fall day, can remember looking for him, full of sibylline sense and swoon. In a stadium of thousands, the odds were stacked against us, but still, I’d craned my neck.
And then he was there, other-worldly and sun-crowned, by the exit onto Alderman and Whitehead, and he turned twice, the second time in recognition.
Then: the shortest Hyperion greeting, a half-hug, half-hand-grab, and his friends were paces ahead of him, wandering into the fracas, and he offered something to me over his shoulder — have a good first semester!, maybe, the brim of his hat low over his hazel eyes, but there was his hand in mine, as though blotting out the sun.
After, my companions were talking about some yard line or the muddy grass beneath their sandals, and I was wandering extraterrestrial, on a dizzy course past the high noon. I think of that, often, the way someone might have just heard terrific news, or enjoyed some private windfall, or fallen in love, and she’s orbiting several million private parsecs away, and you’re making a comment about the sod. The way you can be standing next to someone on Mars, and not know it.
+Obsessed with this novelty sweater. So cute thrown over a gingham dress or paired with a striped tank and white jeans. See below for styling inspo.
+Hill House is launching a Farmer’s Market inspired capsule collection today at 9 a.m. EST. I need more HHH like a hole in my head but I have to say, this little capsule has captured my imagination, especially in the wake of my “soft girl summer” intention. They have a Margot in the most perfect pattern ever (see a preview here in case you’re reading this before it goes live) but I’m really going to try to snag the Tessa suit in the same pattern (preview here).
+A perfect cleanser if you like something with a little exfoliation but need it to be soft / gentle. Has a great creamy but gritty texture that leaves your skin feeling so soft and refreshed. If you want something very gentle (no exfoliation), I love this one from The Outset.
+Inexpensive rash guards for toddlers in great solid colors, plus $20 swim trunks for boys in great patterns. Also impressed with the kids’ swim at Quince. These are a lot like Minnow and I like the color options, and my daughter is obsessed with this tankini ($19 and really cute patterns!). These ruffled one-pieces are also darling.
+Apparently this eye cream had a 3,000 person waitlist? Very intrigued.
+Ordered one of these bras after several Magpies reported liking it! Also picked up one of these!
+Jenni Kayne does it again — this dress is so incredibly chic in either (both) colors. I also love these suede slides — like elevated Birks.
+You can get the look for less on those sandals with these.
+These 6-oz juice glasses are my absolute favorite for drinking everything from juice to wine. We call them “stubs” in our house. Ha! For water, we love these cooler glasses (in the taller height) from CB2.
There’s a new summer look quietly taking over — the summer nightgown. Think billowy white dresses, morning dew, smocked bodices, rosewater mist, loose locks, and hemlines made for twirling barefoot in a garden.
It’s part cottage-core, part European coastal, and entirely effortless. These floaty silhouettes are comfortable enough to nap in, but polished enough for drinks al fresco — how I’ll be wearing them. How gorgeous is this Bonnie Nightgown from Hill House’s nightgown launch? Love the pale blue ribbon detailing. Meanwhile, this ethereal Orelle Nightgown from Doen reads poetic and earthy at once.
Look for less option for these midi styles: Petite Plume’s Ava.
Styling Summer Nightgowns for Day.
As with athleisure, you can transform the casual into daytime chic with some careful accessorizing. Below, a few ways to take nightwear out on the town.
My top rec for this vibe on a budget: Petite Plume’s Ava ($98) if you’re after a midi-length, and this ASOS ($38) if you’re after a mini. I’d style as follows:
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By: Jen Shoop
Next up in my what to pack series: Aspen and Vail. I would imagine my wardrobe recommendations for these Colorado gems will work well at any of the luxury destinations out West — Jackson Hole, Park City, Round Top, etc. These are places that combine high-end shopping and food with top-rate outdoor sporting and adventure, and have a hybrid wardrobe to match. Think: designer bags, practical hiking boots. A lot of American labels, too — I found myself reaching for Gap, Doen, La Ligne, Veronica Beard, Ralph Lauren last summer in Aspen. Mix and match with top performance wear labels and a sprinkling of European designer bags (a lot of Prada and Bottega spotted last summer).
I know Aspen best, having spent parts of around ten summers of my life there, so will anchor around their activities to give these outfit ideas some specificity and color. You can find all my favorite activities, restaurants, and other visiting notes in this guide.
At the rodeo, attendees really get into cowboy cosplay. You will feel right at home wearing a cowboy hat and boots, turquoise, etc. Other ideas for this venue: this $63 Gap bandana print dress; a lacy white dress like this or this with turquoise jewelry and a big belt or boots.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may receive compensation.
By: Jen Shoop
June 1st: welcome to chapter six of twelve. We’re halfway through, and summer and every other mossy thing in it waits for us. June is when my time begins to stretch, and generously. Later bedtimes, looser routines. If we’re late for camp, so be it. This year’s June looseness is particularly prized: I will have submitted the manuscript for my book, and suddenly I will go from running two creative processes to one. Is it wild to say I know I will miss the strenuousness of this time? That I rather like bending over my desk like some boarding school student over her prie-dieu? What can I say? My work ethic runs bone deep. And multiple things can be true: I can love this time, and also look forward to the rest after.
I try to set an intention at the beginning of each season: some word to anchor my days, to serve as a makeshift divining rod when I’m torn on which direction to take, which plans to say yes or no to, which experiences to prioritize. This summer, I want softness. A soft summer. The slow-fade of twilight into the dark bowl of the sky. Gentle wake-ups. Ripe seasonal fruit: peach, raspberry, watermelon. Lush leisurely reading on the grass. Breathable cotton. Any clothing that tells my body: relax, be free. Natural light. Uncaveated alone time. Soft serve in a cup. Music playing in the other room. Hydrated, happy skin. Grace in my interactions with others. Routines that give.
+Janessa Leone is offering $50 off its packable fedoras with code PACK50.
+I mentioned this last weekend too but I just LOVE LOVE LOVE this hand cream. And it comes in the prettiest bedside jar and you can buy refills for it rather than tossing the jar when it’s out. I think the 10% off when added to cart ends today or maybe June 3 — they only run this sale and one during CyberWeek so strongly rec.
+Also can’t stop speaking in exclamation points about these eye masks. They are literally the only eye product I’ve ever used that really does something to the dark undereye circles. Like it adds this sheen, glow, lightness to the area. It can really make you look awake even when you’re low on sleep. Use code JENSHOOP for 15% off.
+And now, an ode to the Hatch Restore. OMG. I’d heard buzz about this here and there but I am completely and utterly obsessed. I had been flirting with the idea of leaving my phone in a different room, or my closet, for some time, because I wanted to wind down without my screen and it is so tempting when it’s a few inches from my face. Even in an innocuous way — I’ll be wondering about the weather tomorrow, so I grab my phone to check, but then I read a text that takes me to Instagram or an email that sends me into my notes app and…you know how it goes. Anyway, the Hatch Restore arrived and gave me the perfect opportunity to test a screen-free bedtime. I’ve been using this for a week and I’m utterly in love. I can’t stop talking about it to Landon! The idea is that you pre-configure a routine on the Hatch. For me: I have 30 minutes of wind-down before bed, during which the Hatch gently dims its light until it’s time for lights out, at which point it switches from one set of sounds (you can select which you’d like for each) to another. I currently have Half Moon Bay waves crashing during my wind-down, then cricket-song while I’m asleep. Then I have it wake me up at 6:38 in the morning — my usual alarm time — and the Hatch will gradually wake you up by slowly brightening its light, and then playing a gentle sound (mine is birdsong) at the “alarm time.” It is the most gentle, sweet way to start a day. I am usually slowly roused by the light. What makes this product incredible is the quality. The sounds — the speaker — are high-fidelity, high-quality noises, and the light is this gorgeous amber-rose-gold-to-sunlight color range that feels muted and not artificial or blaring in any way.
I also love the easy manual buttons on the top and the sleek design. I can’t recommend enough. I’ve been sleeping happily without my phone next to me for a full week now and it’s given me such great calm. I enter the day with only my thoughts. I leave it in quiet, too.
+MAGIC THINGS ARE WAITING FOR US:This quote from Yeats felt very on-theme for us Magpies, dedicated as we are to noticing. I love the vision of a world of patiently waiting magic. I have a piece in my book (I just have to mention it here!) in which I write that “everything can be a welcome party.” The chair warming for you in the sun; the shoes waiting for your feet. It’s all waiting to celebrate your arrival.
+NIGHTGOWN SUMMER: Love the “nightgown summer” Hill House is spearheading with its latest capsule collection. I regret not snagging this style while in stock in my size. It’s just the ethos for me: bare feet, early morning, romantic and other-worldly. A Magpie wrote to me this past weekend saying that one of the reasons why she loves to follow me on Instagram is because of the way I romanticize my life. And I do. Every morning walk, every sitting at my desk, every small flower is an opportunity. The nightgowns in their collection make me feel that way: like I am leading a romantic version of my own life. I am going to share a full roundup of options for “nightgown summer” at different pricepoints this week, so stay tuned.
+LIVE THE QUESTIONS NOW: I loved the epigraph at the beginning of Suleika Jouad’s book, seen below. “Live your way into an answer” — amen! There is no other way. There are no shortcuts. There is just the one perfect path you are on, that will eventually lead you to the answer.
+WILD DARK SHORE MOOD BOARD: As I struggle through a bad book hangover from this month’s book club pick (can’t wait to discuss on June 15th; come ready to leave your thoughts and comments), I am surviving by working on the book review and coming up with all kinds of atmospheric “add-ons.” I had a complete blast putting together this mood board inspired by the book. Sends a shiver right through me!
+THE BEST MOVIE SOUNDTRACK EVER?: Just a reminder that Out of Africa’s soundtrack will do things to your heart. I have been listening to it a lot this week; the sweep, the scale, the outsized romance! I’ve been thinking of young Robert Redford because he’s who I dreamcast as Charlie from One Golden Summer.
+EYEING + BUYING: Spirited on by “nightgown summer,” I picked up this gingham dress this week. So cute with the smocking! I will be wearing for daytime, with strappy leather sandals. I also had to get my son this adorable EAST COAST sweatshirt. I honestly wanted to buy multiple of the patterns — so cute!
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By: Jen Shoop
Anatomy of a Dreaded Dentist’s Appointment Outfit.
As always, I look for small ways to cushion, or easy my way through, the unpleasant. Three suggestions for a trip to the dentist’s: bring a comfort audiobook (blurs out some of the noise, and gives you something relaxing to focus on); make the appointment for first thing in the morning; and dress in something that makes you feel spirited and strong. Thing: colors! stripes! regalia!
I also really layered on the talismans. My Tilly signet ring, my evil eye bracelet (25% off with JEN25), the pendant engraved with my son’s writing, my Jane Win courage coin…!
Per my post here, I wanted to be ready for anything: taking a walk with my weighted vest, running after my kids in the backyard, sitting outside and reading on a picnic blanket. (And I did all of those things!)
I am specifically hoping for one of the Loewe “pocket” bags for my birthday. (Landon?! Are you listening?!). They are so charming and highly practical for my lifestyle right now. Over the weekend, we took the kids to see the “Lilo and Stitch” movie (deeply heartwarming! — I enjoyed it) at the theater ten minutes from us, and I brought only this Celine phone sling! It was so liberating. Of course, my son was begging for wipes because of sticky candy fingers, but we made do. I think I’d love the Loewe because it’s a tad bigger — could hold mini wallet/card case, phone, keys, and lipgloss. Perfect!
Everyday Summer Bags for Mom Life.
I want to call out a sub-category of everyday purses: for moms of young children! Each of these bags are great schlepping totes that can fit a ton of essentials, but don’t sacrifice style/color! Each of these spark joy and would totally make a uniform of jean shorts and a tee!
Don’t forget pouches like these for sunscreen, snacks, toys, changes of clothes. Makes finding everything much easier and they are wipeable — and if they get destroyed, they aren’t so expensive as to be ultra-precious. Sharing more bag pouches at the bottom of this post!
If you’re more into the chocolate brown vibe for this summer, try this chic $104 tote from If Only If, seen below. Obsessed with her yellow dress, too…
Woven Bags for Summer.
I’m such a fan girl for a woven/straw bag. All my favorites below.
I own and love almost all of these pouches — I’m totally a pouch queen. I love this exact Minnow one for my own stuff — perfect petite but not too petite size — and the Pehr ones are fabulous for kids’ stuff. I often find myself using these (one for each kid) when I’m wrangling stuff for the pool, camp, tennis, etc. Great way to keep all of my daughter’s hair ties, SPF, spare socks, etc in one bag and my son’s gear in the other.
Last but not least, one easy way to transform a favorite all-year-round bag into something that screams summer: add a seasonal bag charm. There are so many cute/fun and on-trend options out there right now. A few of my favorites below.
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By: Jen Shoop
This May-cember has been flying by — I realized last week that I needed to get my act together because the last day of school, Father’s Day, my brother’s visit from Norway, and a weeklong family trip to Pennsylvania are going to be here in the blink of an eye. Trying to get ahead of things by planning out: something for Father’s Day; swimwear for my children; and FOJ outfits. I was delighted with myself because Mr. Magpie had mentioned that he’d always wanted a griddle (for pancakes, smash burgers, etc) and I set to work researching. I kept coming across the one from the brand Made In but ultimately went with this style from a small American manufactuer called Rocky Mountain Cookware, which has been around since 1902! There was an exhaustive conversation about its merits on some corner of Reddit, and the commenters were very compelling. Plus, the site is dated in a compelling way — you just know these people are focused on metal cookware and nothing else. Ha! Anyway, I ordered it and it arrived — and the box was fully emblazoned with the brand name, and Landon looked at it and said: “Happy Father’s Day to me!” Ha! Oh well. The thought that counts?
Below, sharing items to contemplate for the amazing dads in your life. Different price point, different interest — I tried to cover a breadth here. Landon own a ton of the items included in this roundup, and he is a very discerning guy. I feel confident in these picks!
TABLE KNIVES (EVERY TIME LANDON USES THESE, HE STUDIES THEM WITH AN AIR OF SURPRISE AND DELIGHT — JEN20 FOR 20% OFF) // CARDIO SHORTS (LANDON AND MY SON HAVE MATCHING PAIRS, SEEN ABOVE!) // TEE FOR A TENNIS FAN // YACHT LOAFERS (BOUGHT THESE FOR LANDON, TOO) // FANCY PASTA // THERAGUN (LANDON USES THIS DAILY) // POKER SET // SERUM (LANDON LOVES THIS AND WON’T STOP TALKING ABOUT IT) // DUCK CAMP HAT (LANDON’S “I’M A COOL DAD” HAT)
Even more picks below —
01. Ratio Eight coffee machine — they’re only making 800 of them. We do not own this but Landon mentioned there’s quite a buzz about it in the Reddit world.
02. Carbon steel griddle — what I ordered for Landon! Also good for camping and outdoors.
03. Steak knives — as noted above, Landon loves these. I swear he studies them with a look of delight each time we use them. They are SO SHARP. Beware. Use code JEN20 for 20% off.
06. Any and all Tracksmith — this long sleeve is a classic and can be worn many ways. Great for runners of course but also for any outdoor sports and rec guy.
07. Mini theragun — Landon uses this daily. Daily! He uses it before working out and after working out, and often before bed too! He used to suffer from really bad back pains and this has helped.
11. Mesh shorts that aren’t ugly. Landon owns these, too! I like the shorter inseam. Dare I say mesh shorts can be hot?
12. Crawfish hat. Landon owns in the blue crab motif.
13. For the husbands that try to steal your skincare — this serum. We’re both hooked, obsessed, gone. He’s been complaining all week that we’re almost done with the bottle; I restocked it for him!
14. Sueded loafers — bought these for Landon’s summer wardrobe and he’s been wearing them constantly. So handsome!
16. Classic, nice quality tee from Buck Mason. Landon mentioned the other week that of all the things I buy him, he loves the nice tees the most. He gets the most use/wear out of them and you can really tell the quality!
17. Bombas socks — I recently discovered these and I’m in love! Landon needs some, too.
18. Birkenstocks for summer. Another item I pushed on a reluctant Landon. Now he loves slipping into them to go down to the garden or grill, run the kids to school, etc.
19. Very upscale poker set. A major splurge but sometimes it’s fun to indulge ourselves in our hobbies! Lan does poker nights with his guy friends every few months — this would be a major upgrade.
20. The Aura frame — you can read all of my thoughts on my Mother’s day gift guide, but wow — my entire family loves this and yours will too. Just a beautiful keepsake.
25. Nike Free Metcons — I love these in the women’s version as well. They are the best gym shoe — really stabilize the ankle while doing squats, lunges, etc. I got Landon a pair of these!
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By: Jen Shoop
For as long as I can remember, my father has had a designated perch in his house — one seat on the sofa, slightly more depressed than the others, that has always been his home base. My dad permanently keeps his iPad and glasses on the table adjacent because that’s where he’s most likely to rest himself.
Do you have a favorite seat in the house? The spot that feels best to fall into after a long day? The nook that tells your body “everything’s OK”?
The first that came to mind for me was the top step from our back porch down through the tiered garden beds to our patio. It’s an odd choice, because we have an outdoor sofa, rocker, and arm chair — not to mention full dining table — steps away, but that flagstone step is my preferred aerie. It’s often warm with the memory of sun. But I like it best robed in full-sun at high noon, almost too bright to see. I love the blessing of the rays on my shoulders, the feeling of being surrounded by branches and birds, and the solidity of the stone beneath me. It immediately sets me right. Sometimes I even read out there until my bones protest and I find myself in search of a softer landing. But for most days, and most stretches of time I have for just sitting, it’s my beloved.
What about yours? Please share your safehaven, and how it cossets. I love to honor the spaces that make us feel our best.
+Back to Doen, though. Over the MDW, I treated myself to this gorgeous red gingham version of our favorite June top after seeing it on the glowing Ruby Campbell. I just love her summer glow and easy breezy vibe.
+BTW, Marea has such great pieces. I really love their Lake Sweater because it has more of a fitted/cropped silhouette that cinches in around the waist. And one of you wrote to say you think their pointelle pieces are better than Leset, and I got this tee, and I have to say, I got this tee and I might agree?! It’s a bit stretchier and more fitted. I’m also loving their white eyelet, like these shorts and this top!
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By: Jen Shoop
It’s the summer of gingham. (And also, sardines, butter yellow, crochet, and roping.) But gingham is somehow the tie that binds all these nano-trends together with its sweet, homespun, outdoor-picnic vibe: it’s just asking for bare feet and sunshine.
Gingham Summer Dresses.
I want to start with two standout red gingham dresses I’ve been ogling from afar —
Lastly, I am swooning over all things chocolate brown for summer. Love the idea of mixing and matching brown patterns with rattan and roping. It just works! Two favorite finds below —
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By: Jen Shoop
I hope you’re reading and loving Wild Dark Shore as much as I am — can’t wait to discuss in about two weeks! — but I also wanted to share that I have been side-carring (yes, we’re anointing it as a verb) with some lighter fare most nights of the week. I find that reading a frothy romance before bed dispels any worries I’m carrying from the day and guides me straight into peaceful sleep. It asks almost nothing of me after long days that seem to paw at my pockets. I think that a part of this has to do with the trope-density of the romance genre: familiar shapes, legible patterns. Ah, we’ve been here before. Katherine Center (author of one of my beach read picks below) recently commented: “The central question in a rom-com is never ‘will they or won’t they?’ Because they will. They definitely will!” I think this is a core part of the chamomile I find in romance reading: it is never whether they’ll get together; it is when. So it’s all effervescent speculation rather than true agita.
I will admit that I’m pretty quick to abandon ship if I’m not into a romance trope, not interested in the characters, or distracted by anything too heavy in the plot line. I generally DNF beach read books heavy on the grief motif. I have a lot more forbearance when I’m reading literary fiction — I usually know the effort will be worth it, or at least worth reflection. For these lighter books, I often feel a little manipulated, or dragged through the mud, when there’s something too intense on the docket.
Anyhow, for romance/lighter fare, I am a Kindle Unlimited subscriber so I almost always have something new queued up that is covered by the subscription that I can ping-pong over to without much guilt when I DNF something. (Although, I will be the first to say that I never feel guilty for buying a book even if I don’t finish it. I love to support writers in any way I can!)
My Top Rec for a Summer 2025 Beach Read (So Far).
The standout from my recent beach reading: One Golden Summer. Just as delightful as the last one, and probably even more resonant if enjoyed somewhere close to water. A must-pack if you’re going to a lakehouse this summer. This is my top pick for an easy, romantic, funny, nostalgic, slightly spicy summer read. The setting alone is spectacular! It has the feel of a teenage summer romance (slow build, wet bathing suits, dock dives!) but unfolds between two thirty-somethings with their own baggage, and the protagonist, a professional and acclaimed photographer, is smart and self-aware. I enjoyed the meta-fiction about how, as a photographer, the protagonist navigates the requests and demands of her clients and the reception of her work in the art world — I couldn’t help but imagine Fortune was writing about herself navigating parallel concerns as a writer.
I’m currently reading My Favorite Bad Decision by Elizabeth O’Rourk. The banter and friction is excellent so far, and I’m enjoying the backdrop of two fated lovers climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. Makes for interesting setting, pace, and serves as a built-in plot driver (rising action, climax, falling action — clever). Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, only one bed (tent), forced proximity.
Next in my romance/beach read TBR pile:
It’s A Love Story by Annabel Monaghan. Just came out yesterday! Description: “A former adolescent TV actress-turned-Hollywood producer whose “fake it till you make it” mantra sets her on a crash course with her past, forcing her to spend a week on Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love.”
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. (Release date: June 3rd.) I know a lot of us are enormous Reid fans, beloved for her The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six. In an interview, she described Atmosphere as follows: “It just felt like time for me to write a very high-stakes, dramatic love story…What is my Titanic?” I already pre-ordered this! I couldn’t help myself. I will be traveling to a resort for a week shortly after submitting my manuscript and I will be diving in. Description: “An epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.”
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. The queen of the beach reads! I absolutely adore Henry’s backlist (if you are somehow new to her, start with Book Lovers! So charming.) Description: “Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.” This book has gotten mixed reviews! A lot of talk about how this is a departure from her usual style, but then others have said it’s still got that signature Emily Henry joy and pleasure to it. I’m looking forward to it!
Back After This by Linda Holmes. This was a top rec from Magpie readers! A lot of you read and enjoyed it; will definitely get to this in the coming weeks. Description: “A podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating—but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love?”
Anywhere with You by Ellie Palmer. (To be released August 5.) I’m already looking forward to taking this with us to the lake at the end of the summer, when it’s released! Description: “A nostalgic, heartwarming romance about a Type-A woman who road trips through the Minnesotan woods with her non-committal childhood best friend . . . only for their long-suppressed sparks to start flying.”
The Love Haters by Katherine Center. Just released and have been hearing good buzz. Description: “Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past―now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim―but pretends that she can.Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along.”
Park Avenue by Renee Ahdieh. (Release date: June 3.). This one sounds fun: “Fans of Crazy Rich Asians, Schitt’s Creek, and White Lotus will get more than their fix of backstabbing and danger. A delectable and drama-filled thriller.”
A Few Thriller Picks, Too —
If you’re not a romance reader — well, can I convince you?! Ha. But if you’re not, my mom is an avid thriller reader and recommended The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis (about art theft at the MET) and Famous Last Words by Gillian McCallister (suspenseful domestic thriller).
Two other thriller releases on my radar this summer:
+With a Vengeance by Riley Sager (release date: June 10th): “One train. No stops. A deadly game of survival and revenge. In 1942, six people destroyed Anna Matheson’s family. Twelve years later, she’s ready for retribution.”
+Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell (release date: June 24): “three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.” You might remember her from None of This Is True, which I know many Magpies loved. I also enjoyed it but it was one of the first thrillers I ever listened to on audiobook and I didn’t really enjoy that experience? I think I prefer to read thrillers in paper.
Finally, one of my best guy friends just asked me to read this with him, saying he’d heard it described as a contemporary Bonfire of the Vanities. The book jacket describes it as: “A pulse-pounding novel of class, privilege, sex, and murder, from the New York Times bestselling author of Two Nights in Lisbon and The Expats.” I already bought it!
For More Dedicated Romance Readers —
A beach read I drank in big gulps last month: Lucy Score’s Story of My Life, described somewhat curiously as “Gilmore Girls Meets Schitt’s Creek.” I don’t really understand the GG reference but it is a small town, and it is comedic. I’d describe it more crisply with these handles: grumpy male love interest, fake dating, and the main character is a romance novelist herself, so there is a fun level of meta-fiction. This is true “genre genre romance” in my view. You might like if you’re a fan of Elsie Silver.
Along the “genre genre romance” / Elsie Silver lines, Jessica Petersen released the third installment of her Lucky River series in late April. These are spicy, sparkling cowboy romances. I find she reaches heavily for family trauma in this series, FYI.
Lastly, you might consider Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez. I know a lot of romance readers love Jimenez (including one of my sisters) but I’ve never read anything from her! This one garnered a lot of positive praise! Description: “There’s no such thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediate yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong . . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake.”
Book Lover Finds.
Not related to books, but had to mention that Dorsey is launching some new paracord pieces today — keep your eyes peeled! Their previous paracord sets sold through quickly and then eventually became available again via pre-order. They’ll have some chic bracelets this go around, for $200!
Onto book lover finds: I want all of the bibliophile items below, and I also think they’d be such fun gifts for book club members, or birthdays of friends you’ve made via book club.
+My favorite tabs for physical books. Love using these if I’m going to be discussing the book with someone else (book club!) so I can remember the bits that jump out at me.
+Gorgeous ex libris embosser! Also love this style. And if you’d rather have a sticker version, these are cute!
+A candle that smells like the library?! I need this. Olfactory notes: “A luxurious leather-scented candle laced with vanilla, drawing inspiration from an old library with leather hardbacks and dusty floors.”
+Frosted (reusable) “book lover” cups for your next book club! How cute?! The gals can take them home! And love these book-print plates for snacks.
While curating the finds above, I kept coming across gorgeous special editions and collectible sets that I’d love to see on my own shelves, and decided to put them all in one place here. I have also been noticing a trend in more contemporary romance novels of books with painted edges — fun joy-sparker. For example, take a look at the Katherine Center book recommended above with its aqua-painted edges. A fabulous lagniappe if I’ve ever seen one!
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By: Jen Shoop
Some of us have been talking in the comments section about this burgeoning “summer fashion vibe” that seems to incorporate a lot of adjacent nano-trends: sardines, crochet, jelly sandals, sunkissed hair, gingham. It feels like a European coastal summer, boho-adjacent. It all kind of goes together, but it’s difficult to subsume under one name. I am especially drawn to all the crochet pieces I’ve been seeing this season; it feels youthful and easy and beachy, even if I’m just heading to cocktails with girlfriends — as I was above, wearing Aligne! A Magpie reader wrote to let me know that this J. Crew Factory dress nails the vibe for less, and I also spotted this longer-length variation over at Varley in case you’re not loving the mini length.
05. This collared shirt offers a fun twist with a crochet detail against denim — so feminine!
06. Obsessed with this Gap crochet tank, which is already in my closet and has already been happily worn. The tomato red color is so good! And the matching pants — to die for!
