Old Firehouse Books suggests titles from urban complexity to English kings
The staff from Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends books that touch on infrastructure, rom-com and the English monarchy.
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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 Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins recommends books that touch on infrastructure, rom-com and the English monarchy.
The Infrastructure Book
By Sybil Derrible
Prometheus Books
$26.95
March 2025
Purchase
From the publisher: One unforgettable journey through seven infrastructure systems across sixteen world cities.
From Sterling, bookseller: This is so exciting! Finally a definitive infrastructure book from a trusted expert that is accessible to laypeople and covers a whole range of structure types and functions, all using case studies from cities around the globe. Whether you’re a nerd or just want to attempt to understand the extreme complexity that makes up the modern systems that stage our lives, this is a great read for you!
Up Close & Personal
By Ana Holguin
Forever
$17.99
April 2025
Purchase
From the publisher: A jaded journalist challenges a celebrity fitness instructor to prove her job isn’t a scam in this swoony, sizzling rom-com for fans of “27 Dresses” and Jessica Joyce. Jo De La Cruz should be on top of the world. As one of spin’s hottest instructors, her workouts stream into thousands of living rooms, her waiting list is harder to access than Area 51, and even her hair has its own social media page. But Jo’s struggling from a decade in the spotlight—which is when she meets the annoyingly handsome journalist who claims her job is just yelling at people from a bike.
Converting a hater is a challenge Jo can’t resist. Only nothing about Silas Anders matches her expectations. He throws himself into her classes, he’s genuinely interested in Jo’s hobbies, and—most surprising of all—he knows what it’s like to struggle with mental health. But as buzz for the article skyrockets, Jo discovers that the man she’s been falling for may, in fact, be the one scamming her.
From Teresa, bookkeeper: When Silas agrees to write a story about Jo, he is not expecting to find a real person, with insecurities and more, under the pretty face. A masterpiece of the slow burn, Holguin has written a touching story about looking beyond the person’s outside persona, along with learning how to share yourself completely with the people you love and those who adore you.
The Pretender
By Jo Harkin
Knopf Publishing Group
$30
April 2025
Purchase
From the publisher: In 1480, John Collan’s greatest anxiety is how to circumvent the village’s devil goat on his way to collect water. But the arrival of a well-dressed stranger from London upends his life forever: John is not John Collan, not the son of Will Collan but Lambert Simnel, the son of the long-deceased Duke of Clarence, and has been hidden in the countryside after a brotherly rift over the crown—and because Richard III has a habit of disappearing his nephews.
Removed from his humble origins and sent to Oxford to be educated in a manner befitting the throne’s rightful heir, Lambert is put into play by his masters. He learns the rules of etiquette in Burgundy and the machinations of the court in Ireland, where he encounters the intractable Joan, the delightfully strong-willed and manipulative daughter of his Irish patrons, a girl imbued with both extraordinary political savvy and occasional murderous tendencies. Joan has two paths available to her—marry or become a nun. Lambert’s choices are similarly stark: he will either become king or die in battle. Together they form an alliance that will change the fate of the English monarchy.
From Allison, bookbuyer: The perfect blend of “Oh I know how this ends” (scared) and “Oh, maybe I don’t?” that makes good historical fiction great. Joan FitzGerald, a fictional but wholly fascinating addition (and a daughter of the very real Great Earl of Ireland), is sublime and a riot. John/Lambert/Edward is easy to root for even when he’s being a bit pathetic. A novel you can actually comp to Hilary Mantel’s “Wolf Hall” without having to lie.
THIS WEEK’S BOOK RECS COME FROM:
Old Firehouse Books
232 Walnut St., Fort Collins
As part of The Colorado Sun’s literature section — SunLit — we’re featuring staff picks from book stores across the state. Read more.
