Reviews by Grade: C-
Book Review

A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley

A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch

The first book in this series is not perfect, but I read it because I enjoyed the interplay between the main characters. For book two, the same happened: great interplay between the main characters but then things fell apart beyond that. Calladia Cunnington is the mayor’s daughter and the mayor has clear expectations for how Calladia should behave, expectations which do not include wearing athleisure and enjoying a casual brawl. Moments after book one ends, … Continue reading A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley

Book Review

Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Do Your Worst

I don’t want to write this review because I absolutely adored Danan’s first two novels. They were fresh and original and lovely. This novel is…well, it’s okay. That’s it. That’s the highest praise I can give it: okay. Riley Rhodes is a cursebreaker. It’s a family thing that her grandma started (but initially the impression is given that it’s much older than that). Her mom didn’t take up the mantle and now, in her 30s, … Continue reading Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

Book Review

Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

Hey, Hun

Hey, Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing felt right up my alley, despite not reading a ton of non-fiction. I watch a lot of anti-scam and anti-MLM content on YouTube and many podcasts I listen to fall into this category; it’s often the background noise while I’m gaming or reading. Hey, Hun tries to walk a fine line between gossipy memoir and cautionary tale and to me, failed on both … Continue reading Hey, Hun by Emily Lynn Paulson

Book Review

Best Men by Sidney Karger

Best Men

I think it’s safe to say that I am not the target demographic for Best Men, a romantic comedy between two Gay men in New York City. I say this not because I am a woman, nor because I live in the suburbs of Sacramento instead of in an apartment in Manhattan. No readers, I say this because I am OLD and the lives of these characters, all of whom are in their early thirties, … Continue reading Best Men by Sidney Karger

Other Media Review

Movie Review: Spin Me Round

I love every actor in Spin Me Round. I love the concept. I love the movie poster. I’d follow Alison Brie and Aubrey Plaza anywhere. I was primed for a gentle, undemanding but enjoyable B grade range kind of movie. So it is with tears in my eyes that I ask: What the heck happened? The following is a spoiler-filled review of a comfort movie gone as wrong as three-day old Olive Garden salad. The … Continue reading Movie Review: Spin Me Round

Book Review

The Reunion by Kayla Olson

The Reunion

I love, love celebrity romance, so it was an extra bummer that The Reunion fell so flat to me. I would go so far as to say it doesn’t even really qualify as a romance. It’s more of a book about the heroine’s journey to navigate her second act in Hollywood with some strong romantic elements. Even then, the emphasis on physical details and not emotional ones, plus a stereotypical “villain” made for a tough … Continue reading The Reunion by Kayla Olson

Lightning Review

Flesh and Stone by Emily Hemenway

Flesh and Stone

Flesh and Stone is a gargoyle romance, by which I mean that it is a romance between a human man who is turned into a gargoyle by a wicked witch, and a human woman. Also there is time travel, sort of. I longed for something truly weird, and it was kind of weird…but it failed to either be the kind of super incredible that makes you go “Oh wow, this is good!” or the kind … Continue reading Flesh and Stone by Emily Hemenway

Book Review

Along Came a Lady by Christi Caldwell

Along Came a Lady

Along Came A Lady is ridiculous, but initially I found it to be ridiculous fun. This Regency romance pits an etiquette teacher against a stubborn miner in a “Pygmalion” type story with a battle of wits and wills, plus a dash of “The Prince and the Pauper” and a smidgen of Poldark. Alas, the story went off the rails at around the 75% mark and soon began making even less sense than it did at … Continue reading Along Came a Lady by Christi Caldwell

Book Review

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

The Final Girl Support Group

WHY, YOU ASK, would I review this mass of TWs on a romance book website? It’s because I know a subset of our readers are all about embracing the “Bitch” in Smart Bitches, and this is a story about women who band together for physical and emotional survival and find ways to claim their stories in a world that does not support them. Unfortunately, Maya and I were disappointed by the presence of harmful stereotypes … Continue reading The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

Book Review

She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

She’s Too Pretty to Burn

She’s Too Pretty to Burn is an intriguing, but uneven read. It opens like a teen romance, and ends like a thriller, but the transition between the two is jarring and disruptive to the reading experience. It’s also supposed to be inspired by The Portrait of Dorian Grey which I didn’t get at all from the text. The novel centers around three people: Mick, a high school swim star with a troubled home life; Veronica, … Continue reading She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

Book Review

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala

Arsenic and Adobo

Lila Macapagal has moved back to Shady Palms after a hella-bad breakup, and is trying to help her aunt with her restaurant, which is in financial trouble. When Lila’s ex-boyfriend drops dead during his meal with his stepfather, the restaurant’s landlord, Lila becomes the prime suspect. She decides to investigate the nefarious ex to find out who really killed him. Lila is…not great at detecting. Lila’s investigation mainly rests on her going to different restaurants, … Continue reading Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala

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