The Bookies Bookstore tells tales of fantasy, book clubs, bromance

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from The Bookies Bookstore in Denver recommends an unholy fantasy, a mystery set in a book club and a bromantic quest to slay a monster.

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From the publisher: High school English teacher Polly Goodman can talk about everything and anything with the women in her book club, which is why they’ve become her closest friends and, along with her veterinarian husband, the bedrock of her life. Her students, her fraught relationship with her mother, her struggles with IVF — Polly’s book club friends have heard about it all.

But when they give Polly an ancestry test kit as a joke, the results match her with a stranger. It is clear to Polly that this match is a mistake, but still she cannot help but comb through her family history for answers. Then, when it seems that the book club circle of four will become three, Polly learns how friendships can change your life in the most profound ways.

From Judy, bookseller: I thought I’d read a few chapters of this book and probably put it down. I was surprised to find myself happily engrossed in Polly’s life with her wonderful husband, caring friends, and job that she loves. Then out of the blue a family mystery arises! 

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From the publisher: Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Holy City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.

From Joe, store receiver: “The Devils” is one of the most engaging and fun ensemble adventures I have come across since palling around with the A-Team in the ’80s. I wouldn’t call this group of misfits and monsters friends per se, they’re not all that friendly (there are a few past-tense team members). But even though they are compelled by an unbreakable magic bond, there is little doubt they can get the job done.

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From the publisher: Juniper O’Reilly is good at only two things: demolishing a pint of mead and finding the perfect skincare routine. Everything else—taking care of the farm, bartering for goods, any sort of manual labor—falls to Juniper’s best friend, the absurdly capable, endlessly patient Mo Elmthorn.

But when Juniper accidentally volunteers them both for a quest to kill a fearsome monster, he knows he’s finally gotten in over his head. Juniper hates camping, he hates the dark, and there’s no way all these foraged mushrooms are going to sit well in his stomach. One thing he doesn’t hate? How good Mo’s thighs look in his questing pants—he doesn’t have time to think about that, though, with a monster to hunt and their futures on the line.

But monsters come in all shapes and sizes. When Juniper and Mo realize that the terrifying beast they’ve sworn to kill is just a scared little girl torn from her family, they’re off to find not only the true villain of the story, but maybe even a happy ending.

From Krista, store manager: Sometimes you just need a fluffy and whimsical palate cleanser when facing the horrors of being an adult. This book was a perfect escape, giving “Our Flag Means Death” vibes with a more fantastical backdrop. It’s sweet, not spicy, silly, not serious and a pleasant breath of queer fantasy air.

Type of Story: Review

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