So! Many! Awesome! Books! What's on your shopping list for the rest of May? Tell us about all your books!
Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen is $1.99! This is the first book in the Steampunk Proper Romance series and, as the name suggests, it has Beauty and the Beast vibes. Some readers felt there were 10 pounds of extra stuff shoved into a 5 pound book. However, there’s one review on Goodreads where the reader admits sitting in her car in a parking lot just so she can finish the book.
Summer is almost upon us (well, it is where I live), which is when a lot of people around here take vacations. I love spending summer hanging with my sister and her family at her campsite, taking day trips to Door County (the “thumb” of WI–think orchards, wineries, state parks, beaches, and cozy little main streets with boutique shops), and this year my husband and I are going to FL for a week to sit … Continue reading Vacation Knitting
It’s Wednesday! The week is half over! Firstly, let me thank everyone for the “staying cool” suggestions in the last links. Super helpful and it seems like you all enjoyed the tips and tricks as well. I had a lovely day walking around a vintage market and then quickly relaxing in some shade with a beer and empanadas. It’s also Memorial Day weekend in the States. Do any of you have plans for the long … Continue reading Links: Horses, Self-Care, & More
RECOMMENDED: Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas is $2.99! This is book two of the Gamblers of Craven’s series and is a lot of readers’ favorites on account of the hero, Derek Craven. However, some felt the heroine lacked the depth that the hero received. After seeing all the love for this book on Twitter, I read it and I totally understand.
It’s time for her ladyship and I to recap The Courtship. Me: Now, Pudding, you’re going to be good today and not yell out the window at the kids walking home from school, right? Right? Pudding: … Of course, Mother. Over at the Suitor’s House the dudes talk about the possibility of proposing to Nicole at the end of the show. Mr. Chapman admits the idea scares him “shitless.” Mr. Nazaire is not impressed and … Continue reading Elyse and Lady Pudding Watch The Courtship–S1 E9: Van Lifestyle
It’s time for another edition of Stuff We Like! We’re headed outside, and we have some recommendations to make that outside time more fun and festive – and safe. Want to see? Just click that image above or click right here, and come shop with us! And if you’d like to browse some more, we have a complete Stuff We Like archive, including past Gift Guides and other posts of our favorite items.
RECOMMENDED: D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins is $1.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! Shana and Tara joint reviewed this one and gave it a B+:
Tara: Although the pacing of the last half was off for me, overall I had a great time reading D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding. I love reality show romances and I love fake relationship romances, so I was thrilled that this book is like the old Reese’s tagline: two great tastes that taste great together. These characters are memorable and I enjoyed my time with them.
Shana: Damn, now I want a peanut butter cup. Overall, I loved this book. There was just enough fake relationship and reality show drama to keep me reading, and I enjoyed the family antics, and healing. This book might appeal to readers who like seeing a chivalrous person woo a reluctant heroine, and don’t mind a few loose ends. I’d happily read this again.
This HaBO is from Gloriamarie, who wants to track down this book: I am embarrassed to admit that I probably read this book within the last 6-9 months. I remember thinking vaguely as I neared the end that I should have made notes of the creative words and expressions employed by the heroine to avoid swearing. I think a maternal figure in her family was dead set against it. I remember nothing of the plot … Continue reading HaBO: She Doesn’t Curse
Midway through A Lady for a Duke, I started to panic. I was so in love with this historical romance and I worried that something would come along and ruin it. So I sighed with relief at the end of the last page. This book is pretty damn close to perfection, bitches. It works on so many levels. This is an exceptionally satisfying friends to lovers story, a queer fairy tale filled with longing and … Continue reading A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
RECOMMENDED: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert is $1.99! Kiki really loved this one and gave it an A:
Get a Life, Chloe Brown saw my expectations’ proffered hand and kissed it gently, and then proceeded to charm their pants off. In a tent. With s’mores. (Not with s’mores, because s’mores apparently are not a thing in the UK.) This metaphor got away from me, but you get the idea. This book is outstanding.
40-Love is part of the Marysburg series by Olivia Dade. Shana and I both enjoyed this romance between a tennis player in his twenties and a forty-year-old high school assistant principal on vacation. The book glories in having a fat heroine and addresses issues including chronic pain, the challenge of reinventing oneself, inequities in the American school system, and navigating romance across an age gap. Despite all these topics, however, the book remains light and … Continue reading 40-Love by Olivia Dade
RECOMMENDED: The Silence of Bones by June Hur is $2.99! Ellen reviewed this one in September and gave it an A:
I thought this book was amazing. I loved the prose, the characters, the mystery, and the setting. From a craft perspective I found this book masterful, and it took me on an intense emotional journey. I think this is a literal must-read for historical mystery fans provided they do not mind some violence.
