Jenna Bush Hager called her February pick, Maurene Goo’s “One & Only,” the perfect book for Valentine’s Day.
It’s the kind of book, she said, you can read in one sitting. So when that sitting is done, what else do you read?
That’s where author Maurene Goo’s picks come in. She compiled a list of other romances and thought-provoking reads that make for excellent followups to "One & Only."
What Maurene said: “Before we became friends, I was a huge fan of Rebecca’s books. In Five Years is one of my favorites and a huge inspiration for me tackling magic in One & Only. Her newest book is Once and Again and it’s about a family of women who can each, just once, turn back time. I mean? I think if books could be sisters, this would be ‘One & Only’s’.”
What Maurene said: "No one writes funny, lovable women like Annabel Monaghan. She’s the closest we have to a modern-day Nora Ephron. Her characters sparkle on the page and have such warmth—what I strive for in all my books as well. Dolly sends us to a small seaside town with a single mom and the son of the town’s fanciest family. I drank this book up like I do all of Annabel’s books, the love story tender and funny."
What Maurene said: “I am a sucker for time travel books and while this was more time bendy, it gives you the same chills and yearning that a good time travel romance does. Ricki Wilde is a florist who meets a mysterious man who seems a little…out of his time. Tia Williams has a knack for distinct voices (“Seven Days in June” blew me away with the different prose styles she used for flashbacks vs. present day), and this skill shines in this book—her scenes set in the Harlem Renaissance were so rich, they just blew me away. Also, have I mentioned this book is deeply romantic?”
What Maurene said: “This book is like ‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,’ if it was all grown-up and working in tech. The main character, Sara, is the founder of One Last Word, an app that allows you to send a message to people after you pass. But she accidentally sends hers out while alive. Park’s voice is sharp and funny and I adore this concept. Also, I clearly love a workplace-causing-romance-drama premise.”
What Maurene said: “I just finished this book this week and now need to look up everything Bastone has ever written. In Ready or Not, Eve finds out she’s pregnant from a one-night stand with a bartender. While she navigates pregnancy with a stranger, she finds herself falling for her best friend’s brother who is the golden retriever trope come to life. I laughed out loud so many times reading this book—not something I thought I’d be doing reading a pregnancy romance (also not my usual fave!). Love Bastone’s voice and can’t wait to see what else she writes!”