Scandal in Spring
Scandal in Spring by Lisa Kleypas is $2.99! This is book four in the Wallflowers Quartet. I can’t remember if this one or the first one was my least favorite out of the four, but that being said…they’re all very good.
Quirky and fun-loving American heiress Daisy Bowman is the last unmarried Wallflower. Her exasperated father has informed her that if she can’t find a husband by the end of her third London season, she will be forced to marry a man she hates—the ruthless entrepreneur Matthew Swift.
Daisy is horrified. A Bowman never admits defeat, so she decides to do whatever it takes to marry someone . . . anyone . . . other than Matthew. What she doesn’t count on, however, is Matthew’s unexpected charm, or the blazing sensuality that soon flares beyond both their control. And Daisy discovers that the man she has always hated just might turn out to be the man of her dreams.
But when a scandalous secret is uncovered, it could destroy both Matthew and a love more passionate and irresistible than Daisy’s wildest fantasies.
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RECOMMEND: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary is $2.99! This is a KDD. We had a great guest review of this one and Lisa the Librarian gave it an A-:
It was romantic, sweet, hot, funny, and original – everything I’m looking for in a romance. I can definitely see myself rereading this in the not-too-distant future.
Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.
After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.
Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.
Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.
But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you’ve never met.
What if your roommate is your soul mate? A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of ways.
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The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest is $2.99! Thank you to everyone who let us know about this sale; hopefully it lasts through today! Both Elyse and Aarya picked this one for February 2023’s Hide Your Wallet.
In this heart-fluttering romance by Kristina Forest, a shy bookworm enlists her charming neighbor to help her score a date, not knowing he’s the obscure author she’s been corresponding with.
Shy, bookish, and admittedly awkward, Lily Greene has always felt inadequate compared to the rest of her accomplished family, who strive for Black excellence. She dreams of becoming an editor of children’s books but has been frustratingly stuck in the nonfiction division for years without a promotion in sight. Lily finds escapism in her correspondences with her favorite fantasy author, and what begins as two lonely people connecting over e-mail turns into a tentative friendship and possibly something else Lily won’t let herself entertain–until he ghosts her.
Months later, still crushed but determined to take charge of her life, Lily seeks a date to her sister’s wedding. And the perfect person to help her is Nick Brown, her charming, attractive new neighbor, whom she feels drawn to for unexplainable reasons. Little does she know that Nick is an author–her favorite fantasy author.
Nick, who has his reasons for using a pen name and for pushing people away, soon realizes that the beautiful, quiet woman from down the hall is the same Lily he fell in love with over e-mail months ago. Unwilling to complicate things even more between them, he agrees to set her up with someone else, though this simple favor between two neighbors is anything but–not when he can’t get her off his mind.
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Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert is $1.99! This is Hibbert’s young adult debut and it was mentioned on a previous Hide Your Wallet. Shana just recommend this one on audio.
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors—and each other.
Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)
These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.
Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
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All of these are worthwhile reads. I liked all of the Wallflower books and ranked them the same and at this point can’t pick out if there were any I liked less than the others with the exception of A WALLFLOWER CHRISTMAS, which was good but not a standout.
I also really liked THE FLATSHARE and HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS, the latter even though I over-indulged in YA for a few years and kind of need a break from teenagers in school stories. Since I love Talia Hibbert I read and enjoyed it anyway.
THE NEIGHBOR FAVOR was also a solid, enjoyable read.
All definitely worth it, especially at these prices.
I enjoyed Kleypas’ Scandal in Spring (and the rest of the series). The ending wasn’t as satisfying as hoped, so I gave it 4 stars. I read this some years ago, so can’t remember the particulars other than I liked Daisy from the beginning and premise, as well as Mathew and how their romance played out.
I can’t express how much I loved The Neighbor Favor. We read it in my romance book club and it’s one of the very few books that we all loved. We spent the entire time just gushing about it. Very sweet romance, highly recommended. Anxiously awaiting the next book in the series!
All of these are great!
Kit Rocha’s entire Beyond series is on sale for $.99 each on all Amazon platforms until 12/24. O’Kane for life!
$.99:
– Cowboys Don’t Samba: A Gay-for-You, Enemies to Lovers MM Romance by Tara Lain
– Cowboys Don’t Ride Unicorns: A Gay Bull Rider, Toppy Femme, MM Romance by Tara Lain
– Waiting for Snow: Holiday Age Gap Small Town Romance (Sparks in Texas Book 7) by Mari Carr
I loved The Flatshare! (Apparently it is also now, or will soon be, a Paramount+ original movie?) The note exchanges work really well.
I do want to offer one content warning for The Flatshare (which is also discussed in the linked review). This is a bit of a SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER so want to be clear about that!
The content warning is for discussion of a past partner who was controlling/emotionally abusive. It’s a significant part of the plot and the character growth arc, so it’s not just a “I’ll skip this page” kind of situation.
I think that SCANDAL IN SPRING was one of the first Lisa Kleypas books I read. I enjoyed the whole series except for DEVIL IN WINTER because I just thought Sebastian was kind of a slime ball, but I’m clearly in the minority with that view!
THE FLATSHARE was a yes for me, but I frustratingly didn’t right down any notes about it. So I enjoyed it, but I don’t remember what I enjoyed about it.
THE NEIGHBOR FAVOR was a book I ended up putting down without finishing. The characters just didn’t grab me for whatever reason.
Since I know there are a lot of other MURDERBOT fans here – how are you feeling about the Apple TV+ adaptation? I felt as though my brain came to a sudden halt when I read that Alexander Skarsgård has been cast in the lead roll. This seems like terrible casting to me. Murderbot is explicitly not gendered. And unless someone realizes it’s a SecUnit, humans generally don’t notice or feel intimidated by Murderbot. Alexander Skarsgård is a huge, very muscular, and reads as very masculine. I’m just not seeing him as Murderbot. Not at all. Is it just me?
@Musical Trees – it is not just you! I would echo everything you say about how Murderbot is perceived in the books.
I ranted to my friend all about this, why are we casting an agender being this way? Why is the default “neutral” biped assumed to be masculine? There are no non-binary actors? There is no one with the necessary acting skills who reads as androgynous even? Aaargh.
@Musical Trees – I’m feeling good about it. I’ve been apprehensive about who they might cast, but I think Skarsgård could be good. I picture Murderbot as big or at least tall. It’s always looking down to talk to people and describes most humans as small and soft. Plus, it was designed to be a soldier so I’ve always pictured it as physically intimidating. We don’t really see random humans reacting to MB’s appearance, they’re all people who know it works security where being imposing would be an asset.
And, frankly, I think Skarsgård’s looks are just okay so I think he could pass as “standard, generic human” which is how MB describes its head.
Height is not an inherently masculine trait. Certainly humans could be seen as small and soft to a construct comprised of organic and inorganic parts for efficiency in security and bodyguard contracts (and a sarcastic AF being at that). But is MB referring to objective comparative size, or is it instead dryly commenting on how it’s a “big scary” SecUnit surrounded by “small soft” humans?
SecUnits are cheaply made and size is not always an advantage – in fact size can be detrimental to swift and agile action. Why spend extra resources on extra physical matter (which will increase the cost of long term maintenance) if it’s not necessary?
The armor SecUnits wear is functional and intimidating, however when MB chooses its own attire it is soft and comfortable with lots of pockets, and it blends in just fine with a crowd.
Also, it is curious that while many characters in the books are POC, and Murderbot describes its organic parts as “generic human,” the actor being cast is not a POC. Also also, shouldn’t the person playing MB be younger? SecUnits don’t age, they regenerate…
I don’t dislike Alexander Skarsgård, but I think he’s not the best choice for Murderbot.
Seen elsewhere in discussions around this casting
https://imgur.com/ZbtzsnH?r
@Musical Trees – Oh gosh same. I was very D:D when I heard, on the one hand I will actually get a subscription to support the show but otoh a lot of the qualities that make MB unique and appealing, Skarsgard doesn’t really come to mind for any of those (androgynous? anxious?). I always took humans ignoring/not being intimidated by SecUnits to signify their second class status, like they’re furniture – I think there are times when MB kind of flexes their physicality to get people to back off so I’m okay with them being portrayed as having physicality, but I wish they weren’t casting someone who reads as so straight-masculine. It makes me worry that they are going to lean too heavily into the ass-kicking action side of things and miss out on the humor and humanity of MB’s personality – plus it’s kind of a missed opportunity to get someone interesting in the role. Sometimes when people are cast you’re like “Wow! Where did they find this person!” or “Yes. Perfect.” I wish we could have that for MB.
Idk though, if they are attaching a pretty big name like Skarsgard then I suppose there is a lot of faith in the production, I hope they invest some of that into how to get across MB’s personality well, since so much of it is inner monologue.
Also…aahh…I just want Martha to earn a lot of money because she gave us this wonderful series, so I don’t want to criticize it but ALSO uhu 6_6
Martha Wells will be a consulting producer, so hopefully she’ll be able to ensure that MB’s lovable qualities translate to film.
I’m with @Musical Trees, @Penny, and @CK on the Murderbot casting. In a universe where most humans are shades of brown and Murderbot is neutral looking enough to pass in a busy crowd, I was hoping for more gender-neutral actor of color. I am glad M Wells has a work in series development, though.
Adding my vote to @Jennifer, @Musical Trees, @Penny and @CK on the casting. I just know we’re going to get tie-in editions of the book, with the actor on the cover, and that will just reinforce the tendency I see to code MB as male.
I am firmly in “The Book is Always Better Club,” though I will admit to some exceptions. But I don’t think the essence of MB – all the beautiful nuances and the subtle humor, and the anger over injustice (which is not expressed just by murdering people) – will translate well to the screen.
Glad I’m not the only one @Penny, @CK, @Jennifer, @LisaM! And yes, I 100% agree on the white thing in addition to the male/masculine thing. Still, I hope that @MaryK is right and the adaptation turns out well, especially with Martha Wells involved.