Why am I passionate about this?

I love being cozy more than just about anything – that’s why I keep writing books set in boarding schools in the fall! My books are best served with a cup of tea and a purring kitten to get you through the sad bits – which, as we all know, just make romantic endings even more satisfying.


I wrote

Ghosted: A Northanger Abbey Novel

By Amanda Quain,

Book cover of Ghosted: A Northanger Abbey Novel

What is my book about?

Hattie Tilney isn’t a believer. Yes, she’s a senior at America’s most (allegedly) haunted high school, Northanger Abbey. But ever…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Kiss Curse

Amanda Quain Why did I love this book?

Witchy goodness, the coziest town in the world, and an amazing romance – what more can you ask for?

Gwyn Jones is a witch who is perfectly content to keep working at her witchy shop in Graves Glen, and does not need to deal with Wells Penhallow, whose ancestral links to the town are the reason he’s opening a competing shop across the street from Gwyn.

Banter, snappy retorts, and a simmering tension underneath it all, especially when it turns out they have to work together to fight against forces bigger than the both of them??? What more do you need???

By Erin Sterling,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Kiss Curse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The follow-up to Erin Sterling's New York Times bestselling hit The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry.


Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she's running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she's started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there's only one problem-Llewellyn "Wells" Penhallow.

Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family's connection to…


Book cover of The Wicked Deep

Amanda Quain Why did I love this book?

This book is the equivalent of eating a batch of fresh chocolate chip cookies inside a drafty and most definitely haunted lighthouse on the Oregon coast as the waves crash against the shore and you pull your blanket a little tighter around you.

No one does atmosphere like Shea Earnshaw (No one, I said it) and this story of drowned girls off the Oregon coast will send a chill up your spine even as you’re reaching for your next cup of tea.

By Shea Ernshaw,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Wicked Deep as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Hocus Pocus and Practical Magic meets the Salem Witch trials in this haunting story about three sisters on a quest for revenge - and how love may be the only thing powerful enough to stop them.

Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow...

Two centuries ago, in the small, isolated town, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return from the depths, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may…


Book cover of Royal Holiday

Amanda Quain Why did I love this book?

A royal holiday getaway in the English countryside? Is there anything cozier than that?

This romance between the Queen’s private secretary and the mother of a royal designer is a whirlwind of hot chocolate, snowball fights, and everything pleasantly winter. (With some chaos thrown in for good measure, of course!) All of Jasmine Guillory’s books are amazing, but this is my favorite – and with older main characters, to boot!

By Jasmine Guillory,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Royal Holiday as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Reese Witherspoon, Oprah and Roxane Gay LOVE her! Readers love her!

Have you discovered New York Times bestseller and Reese's Book Club pick Jasmine Guillory yet?

'The queen of contemporary romance' OprahMag.com
'She writes the sexiest and smartest romances' Red Magazine
'Just as essential to a good summer holiday as SPF' Grazia

'Jasmine has done it again. A fun, engaging, light romance'

'The loveliest little snack from the talented Jasmine Guillory'

'Like a Hallmark movie in book form'
............................................................

IT'S THE CHRISTMAS ROMANCE YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS!

When Vivian Forest gets the chance to tag along on her daughter…


Book cover of The Beholder

Amanda Quain Why did I love this book?

Anna writes cozy romantic fantasies that feel like getting a hug from your best friend.

A Cinderella retelling (we love a retelling!) in which our main character, Selah, has to travel the world to find a husband to save her family’s legacy, this book will have you giggling and gasping all the way to the end. And don’t worry – there is a sequel, The Boundless, and it’s just as good.

By Anna Bright,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Beholder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

"Sparkles with beauty, intrigue, and romance."-Kiera Cass, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Selection series

Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match.

But after an excruciatingly public rejection, Selah's stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic to visit a series of potential suitors-and if she doesn't come home engaged, she shouldn't come home at all.

From the gardens of England to the fjords of Norge, Selah's quest will be the…


Book cover of Northanger Abbey

Amanda Quain Why did I love this book?

Is there anything better to read by a fireplace than Jane Austen herself? Northanger Abbey isn’t one of her most widely-read books, but I’m making a case for you to pick it up today.

It’s a delightful and at times hilarious spoof of the gothic novels that were popular at the time, but true to Austen, the romance at the center of it – between naïve and caring Catherine Morland and the original golden retriever love interest, Henry Tilney – is the beating heart of the story. (Even though Catherine probably thinks that there are actual beating hearts under the floorboards or something.)

Buy it, read it, and then read Ghosted a second time for good measure, to pick up any fun easter eggs you may have missed!

By Jane Austen, Keith Carabine (editor),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Northanger Abbey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Introduction and Notes by David Blair, University of Kent.

Northanger Abbey tells the story of a young girl, Catherine Morland who leaves her sheltered, rural home to enter the busy, sophisticated world of Bath in the late 1790s. Austen observes with insight and humour the interaction between Catherine and the various characters whom she meets there, and tracks her growing understanding of the world about her.

In this, her first full-length novel, Austen also fixes her sharp, ironic gaze on other kinds of contemporary novel, especially the Gothic school made famous by Ann Radcliffe. Catherine's reading becomes intertwined with her…


Explore my book 😀

Ghosted: A Northanger Abbey Novel

By Amanda Quain,

Book cover of Ghosted: A Northanger Abbey Novel

What is my book about?

Hattie Tilney isn’t a believer. Yes, she’s a senior at America’s most (allegedly) haunted high school, Northanger Abbey. But ever since her paranormal-loving dad passed away, she’s hung up her Ghostbusters suit, put away the EMF detectors, and moved on. If Hattie just tries hard enough and keeps that overachiever mask on tight through graduation, maybe her mom will finally notice her.

But the mask starts slipping when Hattie’s assigned to be an ambassador to Kit Morland, who’s just transferred to Northanger on―what else―a ghost-hunting scholarship. The two are paired up for an investigative project on the school’s paranormal activity. As they explore the abandoned tunnels and foggy graveyards of Northanger, Hattie starts to realize that Kit might be the kind of person who makes her want to believe in something―and someone.

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Brighter Than Her Fears

By Lisa Ard,

Book cover of Brighter Than Her Fears

Lisa Ard Author Of Brighter Than Her Fears

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Avid reader History nut Golfer Bike tour guide

Lisa's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

The 19th century women's rights movement and the rise of public education intertwine with one woman's story of struggle, perseverance, and love.

Alice Harris is pressed to marry a Civil War veteran twice her age when her family’s inn fails in 1882 in western North Carolina. She remakes herself by learning to farm tobacco, campaigning for the city’s first public schools, and immersing herself in the large and divisive Carter family. But marriage offers a tenuous promise of security. When tragedy strikes, Alice turns to the courts to fight for her independence and discovers an unexpected love.

Lisa Ard's debut…

Brighter Than Her Fears

By Lisa Ard,

What is this book about?

The 19th century women's rights movement and the rise of public education intertwine with one woman's story of struggle, perseverance, and love.

When her father dies and the family inn falls to ruin in 1882, western North Carolina, thirty-year-old Alice Harris is compelled to marry Jasper Carter, a Civil War veteran twice her age. Far from home and a stranger in a new family, Alice remakes herself. She learns to farm tobacco, mothers her stepson, and comes to love her husband.

However, Alice uncovers pending trouble with the family's land holdings, which threatens their livelihood on the farm. The growth…


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