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Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake
RECOMMENDED: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall is $2.99! Carrie and I jointly reviewed this one and agreed on a B+. As a bisexual woman, I definitely felt seen by this book and I’m here for all the 2021 summer baking romance reads.
Fans of Casey McQuiston, Christina Lauren, and Abby Jimenez will love this scrumptious and sweet romantic comedy from the “dizzyingly talented writer” of Boyfriend Material (Entertainment Weekly)!
Following the recipe is the key to a successful bake. Rosaline Palmer has always lived by those rules—well, except for when she dropped out of college to raise her daughter, Amelie. Now, with a paycheck as useful as greaseproof paper and a house crumbling faster than biscuits in tea, she’s teetering on the edge of financial disaster. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way . . . and Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s most beloved baking show.
Winning the prize money would give her daughter the life she deserves—and Rosaline is determined to stick to the instructions. However, more than collapsing trifles stand between Rosaline and sweet, sweet victory. Suave, well-educated, and parent-approved Alain Pope knows all the right moves to sweep her off her feet, but it’s shy electrician Harry Dobson who makes Rosaline question her long-held beliefs—about herself, her family, and her desires.
Rosaline fears falling for Harry is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. Yet as the competition—and the ovens—heat up, Rosaline starts to realize the most delicious bakes come from the heart.
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Carry On
RECOMMENDED: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell is $1.99! The second book, Wayward Son, is also on sale and part of today’s Kindle Daily Deals so grab it while you can. Carrie gave this one a B+:
It’s really good teen angst, and the fantasy aspect and the romance is perfection. It was so poignant, it really spoke to my soul, and I had good book sigh.
Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen.
That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.
Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.
Carry On – The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.
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Empire of Sand
Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri is $2.99! This is an adult fantasy novel with some romantic elements. Though this is marketed as adult fantasy, some readers it felt like it was more YA. Empire of Sand has been on my TBR pile for a while; have you read this one? Aarya highly recommends it.
A nobleman’s daughter with magic in her blood. An empire built on the dreams of enslaved gods. Empire of Sand is Tasha Suri’s captivating, Mughal India-inspired debut fantasy.
The Amrithi are outcasts; nomads descended of desert spirits, they are coveted and persecuted throughout the Empire for the power in their blood. Mehr is the illegitimate daughter of an imperial governor and an exiled Amrithi mother she can barely remember, but whose face and magic she has inherited.
When Mehr’s power comes to the attention of the Emperor’s most feared mystics, she must use every ounce of will, subtlety, and power she possesses to resist their cruel agenda.
Should she fail, the gods themselves may awaken seeking vengeance…
Empire of Sand is a lush, dazzling fantasy novel perfect for readers of City of Brass and The Wrath & the Dawn.
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Geekerella
Geekerella by Ashley Poston is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! This is a YA Cinderella retelling with lots of nerdery and set at a convention. Readers found this one to be pretty adorable, but rather forgettable once they finished. Have you read this one?
Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.
Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.
Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.
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I see that Burial Rites by Hannah Kent is a KDD today. This is not a romance; it is the novelized story of the last woman executed in Iceland in the late nineteenth century. She is a murderess, or not? It is fascinating and engrossing. I also feel that, based on what I know of Iceland through my grandparents and through my cousins who live there, that Ms. Kent got a lot of the environment and social interactions right. I would recommend.
I had been on the waitlist for Carry On forever and by time I was able to get it I didn’t remember what it was about. I started reading and was like wha?? But I kept going and LOVED it! Seriously, so good.
For fans of Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas, the audiobook (narrated by Mary Jane Wells) was released recently. I picked it up yesterday on Apple Books for $4.99.
I thought that Geekerella was a charming, breezy story that went down easy, but I’m a sucker for any “You’ve Got Mail/Little Shop Around the Corner” type story. That drew me more than the Cinderella aspect. The heroine did have a bit of “I’m not like other girls” vibe that annoyed me, but she grew out of it as the story went on and I think that was a deliberate choice by the author. And yes, it’s very much an enjoyable love letter to fandome.
I also really liked the sequel (maybe even more?) but the third in the series fell a bit flat for me, personally.
I loved “Burial Rites” — poignant and powerful and completely draws you into a different time and place.
OTOH, “Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake” was a DNF for me. I couldn’t get past the lies she tells Alain when they meet. While I understand her wish to make a good first impression – and college dropout, unwed mother might not be considered a Good Look on first meeting a guy – her all-too-easily disproved exaggerations were a turn-off for me. Don’t know if this is an example of a situation where something potentially unforgivable in a hero is supposed to be charming and quirky in a heroine (ready too little to know how or if she matures/gains confidence in her reality). Their banter was fun, but once the lies began I put the book in a neighborhood Little Free Library and moved on to the next book in my massive TBR pile.