RECOMMENDED: Ana María and the Fox by Liana De la Rosa is $1.99! Carrie and Shana reviewed this book and gave it an A-. Shana says,
I started Ana María and the Fox when I needed a book to distract me, and it was perfect for that purpose. I love historical romances with sparkling dialogue and characters getting into good trouble—this book has both. I burned through it quickly and I’m ready for a sequel!
Shana also mentioned this book in a recent Rec League for books with no third-act breakups! It has a 3.64-average on StoryGraph, with readers saying it’s got strong character development. Have you read this one?
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RECOMMENDED: Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant is $2.99! This is a Kindle Daily Deal and it’s being price-matched. Elyse & I really enjoyed this horror/sci-fi novel. We jointly reviewed the book and ultimately decided on a B. We loved the cast of characters, but found the ending anticlimactic.
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I am not in the mood for Christmas yet. Generally speaking, I’m not in the mood for Christmas on December 23rd even, but mid-fall is WAY too early. That said, my brain has been pretty tired lately and some Regency novellas sounded like the perfect way to unwind without investing in a full length novel. Since How the Duke Stole Christmas includes novellas by some of my favorite authors, I was willing to set aside … Continue reading How the Dukes Stole Christmas by Tessa Dare, Sarah MacLean, Sophie Jordan and Joanna Shupe →
The Wallflower Wager delivered many things I love with humor, pathos, and sexy times. It involves a woman who loves everything and everyone and a Very Bad Man who is helpless against her powers. It also involves animal rescue. While there are some structural flaws and the pace of the character revelations bothered me, I ate it up. Lady Penelope (Penny) Campion rescues animals that no one else loves. She is, at the start of the … Continue reading The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare →
I never thought I’d recommend a book because the hero grudgingly performs eulogies at doll funerals, but here we are. My life is weird sometimes. The Governess Game by Tessa Dare is so absolutely delightful that this review will consist almost entirely of squee. It will be laden with GIFs. I am basically incapable of talking about this book without my voice getting really high and squeaky. It’s like when I talk about puppies. That’s … Continue reading The Governess Game by Tessa Dare →
Welcome to Lit Wicks! This is where we pair an author’s backlist with candles to really immerse yourself in the reading experience. All of the candles featured in these post are from Etsy, which means there is often worldwide shipping and that you’re supporting independent sellers. The Etsy candle rabbit hole is one I have gone down many times. For April, we’re diving into Tessa Dare’s books! Confession time: I haven’t read any of Dare’s … Continue reading Lit Wicks: Tessa Dare →
Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare is $1.99! If you like historical romances with house parties, this book was mentioned in the comments of a Rec League post. Sarah gave this a C, citing difficulties with the heroine:
I loved everything except the heroine, Lucy. And despite my joy at discovering such elegant and delicious writing, and a collection of characters I eagerly pursued through the pages of the novel, Lucy’s complete idiocy, stubbornness, and determination to ruin herself in the eyes of society and in the eyes of the reader made it impossible for me to truly enjoy the book as much as I wanted. Because of her, the grade dropped bit by bit until the skill of the writing and the joy of the other characters were at outright war with my snarls at Lucy.
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The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare is a fairytale Regency that blends Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella and Batman. Seriously. And it’s amazing. I actually read it twice. The first time I was at home on a Friday night, enjoying a few rum and Cokes and unwinding. Apparently I can have exactly two drinks before I start loving everything and then forgetting I loved it. I woke up the next morning surprised to see … Continue reading The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare →
Two years ago one of my favorite podcasts, NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, dedicated an entire episode to romance novels. The host, Linda Holmes, was joined by two other NPR reporters and Smart Bitches’ own Sarah Wendell. The episode was 45 minutes of discussion of the romance genre and its many sub genres. I always enjoy the show, but what really impressed me in this installment was the uproariously good time the panel was having. … Continue reading Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare →
Destiny’s Embrace by Beverly Jenkins is $1.99! Jenkins is this year’s RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement awardee! Carrie read this one and gave it a B, saying that she wished she had read the previous books in the trilogy, but she loved the sense of place:
I loved how physical the world of the story feels – the blue sea in Cuba, the dresses, the parties, the dirt on the segregated train, the horses, and the discussions about American versus Cuban food.
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Do You Want to Start a Scandal is good. It’s so, so good. How good is it? It’s this good: I wake up at the ass crack of dawn on a Saturday because a big storm is rolling in and I’m getting pre-migraine twinges, so I take my usual migraine cocktail of Excedrin, ibuprofen and a muscle relaxer and plan on sleeping until noon. While I’m waiting for drugs to kick in, I start the book. … Continue reading Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare →
