Why am I passionate about this?

Besides a passion for vintage fashion, in writing Divine Vintage I was influenced by mixed-genre books wrapping around “soft” paranormal elements. No vampires, demons, or shifters. Just dashes of ghosts, magic, witches, and special abilities entwined with romance, history, and mystery. These books are meant to charm and enchant with a lyrical touch. I’ve listed a few faves below, ranging from bestsellers I read years ago, to a sister 2022 debut, to an author I just discovered and loved. One of the novels even encompasses my vintage fashion muse. My collection fills a small bedroom, and I always deck out in fun garments for my book presentations and signings. 


I wrote

Divine Vintage

By Sandra L. Young,

Book cover of Divine Vintage

What is my book about?

Tess Burton is always up for an adventure, and she’s risked her inheritance to open Divine Vintage boutique. While modeling…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Peach Keeper

Sandra L. Young Why did I love this book?

Sarah Addison Allen novels enchant readers with lovely prose, multi-layered, engaging characters, and a tone balancing gentle humor against melancholy. In The Peach Keeper, Paxton and Willa are forced to face and overcome their pasts, revealing frailties and strengths as they reluctantly link to solve a decades-old, magic-tinged mystery involving their grandmothers. I loved the unusual mystical quirks in the story, like two dozen snooty women unwillingly shouting out their secrets at a society club meeting. Allen further captures us with heart-rending romance as she builds the allure of the small town, Walls of Water, NC. I’ve been equally compelled by her books The Sugar Queen and Other Birds, a recent release. 

By Sarah Addison Allen,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather and once the finest home in Walls of Water, North Carolina—has stood for years as a monument to misfortune and scandal. Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite Paxton Osgood—has restored the house to its former glory, with plans to turn it into a top-flight inn. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, long-kept secrets come to…


Book cover of Practical Magic

Sandra L. Young Why did I love this book?

Twenty-five years ago, Alice Hoffman’s vivid novel lured readers to fall in love with the witchy, complicated, Owens family and led to a popular movie. Through the four-part book series, I’ve been spellbound by the deep, compelling characters and their magical abilities as their bonds stretch, fray, and re-align over generations. Hoffman’s prose leans somber, but in a beautiful, wistful way. In Practical Magic, we focus on sisters Gillian and Sally, raised by their eccentric elderly aunts. The sisters cope with their offbeat upbringing in opposite ways: one marries, stays, and faces tragedy; the other runs away. Yet their invisible ties bring them together to combat a looming darkness. Hoffmans a wonderful world-builder, immersing us into a town where the family’s magic is acknowledged, though not always admired. 

By Alice Hoffman,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked Practical Magic as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*25th Anniversary Edition*-with an Introduction by the Author!

The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, and The Book of Magic.

For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and…


Book cover of Blue Dahlia

Sandra L. Young Why did I love this book?

One of many of “the queen’s” paranormal/magical series, these novelsBlue Dahlia, Black Rose, and Red Lilyalso date back nearly two decades. I was especially drawn by the historical mystery, featuring the mournful ghost of a woman who’s been haunting a family home for centuries. Roberts skillfully draws the intrigue through the series featuring three strong women tied together by a gardening business. In the first book, Blue Dahlia, we meet determined, successful Roz Harper, who owns the family business, and her new employees. Stella is a young widow and Hayley a single, expectant mother. As their stories weave throughout the trilogy, we’re treated to romances and the linking thread of the spooky, historical mystery. 

By Nora Roberts,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Blue Dahlia as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Against the backdrop of a house steeped in history and a thriving new gardening business, three women unearth the memories of the past in the first novel in #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts' In the Garden Trilogy.

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young widow Stella Rothchild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots…


Book cover of Other People's Things

Sandra L. Young Why did I love this book?

I recently finished my first Kerry King novel, and I’ll definitely read more. I adored the flawed, quirky characters, the tentative, heart-fluttering romance between Nicole and Hawk, and her unusual ability. Though she views it as a curse, Nickle, as her family calls her, has overwhelming compulsions to “relocate” items. Not steal and keep. Just move them where they cry out to be. Her actions have landed her in plenty of trouble, especially now that she’s stolen money from her estranged lawyer husband. The test of a good book for me: I look forward to reading it each day, find myself whipping through many more pages than intended, and am compelled to tell my fiancé about it. This novel engaged and delighted me in all those ways. 

By Kerry Anne King, Kerry Anne King,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Other People's Things as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Whisper Me This comes a witty, magical story about improbable connections, difficult gifts, and the unexpected events that heal us and bring us together.

Jailbird. Klepto. Spectacular failure to launch. Nicole Wood's sticky fingers have earned her many names, but it's not that she's stealing-some objects just need to be moved elsewhere, and the universe has chosen her to do it. Still, being a relocator of objects isn't easy. With her marriage on the rocks, no real-world skills, and the threat of prison hanging over her head, Nicole is determined to change her…


Book cover of Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies

Sandra L. Young Why did I love this book?

As a recent debut, I wanted to include another wonderful new writer venturing into mixed genres. Misha Popp’s heroine pie-baker even wears flirty vintage dresses as she harnesses her family magic to off abusive men through deadly pies. I rooted for Daisy throughout, partly because she’s an avenger with a conscience, and because she’s always felt she had to maintain distance to hide her secret. How sweet to watch her grudgingly open up to friendship and romance, realizing they add a special spice to life. The well-drawn, diverse, likable characters pursue intriguing plot directions, supported by witty dialogue. And the pie descriptions are downright mouth-watering. No surprise, Popp is a masterful baker in her own right. 

By Misha Popp,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Daisy Ellery’s pies have a secret ingredient: The magical ability to avenge women done wrong by men. But Daisy finds herself on the receiving end in Misha Popp’s cozy series debut, a sweet-as-buttercream treat for fans of Ellery Adams and Mary Maxwell.

The first time Daisy Ellery killed a man with a pie, it was an accident. Now, it’s her calling. Daisy bakes sweet vengeance into her pastries, which she and her dog Zoe deliver to the men who’ve done dirty deeds to the town’s women. But if she can’t solve the one crime that’s not of her own baking,…


Explore my book 😀

Divine Vintage

By Sandra L. Young,

Book cover of Divine Vintage

What is my book about?

Tess Burton is always up for an adventure, and she’s risked her inheritance to open Divine Vintage boutique. While modeling an elegant gown from an Edwardian trousseau, her mind is opened to a century-old crime of passion. Visions—seen through the eyes of the murdered bride—dispute local lore claiming the bridegroom committed the crime. 

Trey Dunmore doesn’t share her enthusiasm for mind-blowing visions, yet the appeal to clear his family’s tainted legacy compels him to join her in exploring the past. Aided by the dead woman’s clothing and diary, they discover pursuing love in 1913 was just as thorny as modern day. As the list of murder suspects grows, the couple fears past emotions are influencing, and may ultimately derail, their own blossoming intimacy.

Book cover of The Peach Keeper
Book cover of Practical Magic
Book cover of Blue Dahlia

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Book cover of A Voracious Grief

Lindsey Lamh Author Of A Voracious Grief

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Why am I passionate about this?

Author Old book omnivore Author of dark tales Mom to 6 Ordinary saint Intuitive introvert

Lindsey's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

My book is fantastical historical fiction about two characters who're wrestling with the monstrosity of their grief.

It takes you into London high society, where Ambrose tries to forget about how much he misses Bennett and how much he dreads becoming as cold as their Grandfather. It takes you to the family's country manor house, where Mattie isolates and old ghosts start to come out of the woodwork.

It's a story about loss and depression; it's a story about friends who don't let you walk through the valley of death alone. 

A Voracious Grief

By Lindsey Lamh,

What is this book about?

Ambrose Bancroft returns to London society with his younger sister, hoping they'll leave ghosts of memory behind. They have only each other left. While Ambrose attempts to draw Mattie out, dragging her to balls and threatening to seek suitors for her, his sister recoils from his meddling. Finally, when Ambrose compels her to attend art class before she's ready, Mattie paints something horrific enough to banish them from society in public disgrace.

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