All these posts by Ellen:
Book Review

The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

I’ve said this on the site before, but during the pandemic, I’ve gotten more into contemporary romance, mostly because people getting to do things like attend in-person gatherings, see movies and plays, and eat at restaurants seems sexy and novel. My latest contemporary read was The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan, a companion novel to The Roommate. I have a lot to say on this one! Prepare yourself for a long review. (As a note, … Continue reading The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

Book Review

After the Gold by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese

Sometimes a book is pretty much exactly what you think it’s going to be, and that’s not a bad thing! When I started reading After The Gold, I was expecting a high-drama sports romance with lots of angst both about sports and not-sports, and this book totally delivered. After the Gold follows a figure skating pair team, Katie and Brendan, who are trying to figure out what to do both personally and professionally now that … Continue reading After the Gold by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese

Book Review

Winters Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Bitchery, I feel personally attacked by how good Winter’s Orbit was. I feel that this book could only be the result of someone, somewhere, telepathically spying on me and then tailoring a book directly to my personal interests. I mean, this is a bona fide queer science fiction slow-burn romance with an arranged political marriage, interplanetary political intrigues, a murder mystery, and a creepy and mystical intergalactic bureaucracy that must be placated. This book manages … Continue reading Winters Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Other Media Review

Squee From the Keeper Shelf: Final Fantasy VIII

If I had to pick one video game that had the most significant combined impact on me as a gamer and a romance reader, it has to be Final Fantasy VIII. FFVIII is essentially a romance novel in RPG video game form and it had an indelible impact in making me love tropes that are STILL major catnip for me, like settings that combine science fiction and magic elements, political intrigues, girls dealing with possibly … Continue reading Squee From the Keeper Shelf: Final Fantasy VIII

Book Review

The Stormbringer by Isabel Cooper

Once I got past the quite misleading blurb, I found The Stormbringer to be a lot of heartwarming fantasy fun with a hefty pour of romance. The story also contains some pretty bold character choices that I (mostly) appreciated. While I enjoyed it thoroughly, I think primarily due to the boldness of said choices, this is a book that will either really work for people or really not work for them. Let’s get into it! … Continue reading The Stormbringer by Isabel Cooper

Book Review

The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster

Sometimes a book is just exactly what you need right when you need it, and The Lord of Stariel was that book for me. I had been saving it up for a while because the blurb sounded wonderful, but I was nervous about whether it would live up to my expectations. One night in the weeks leading up to the US presidential election, I was in desperate need of a distraction and I finally started … Continue reading The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster

Book Review

When a Rogue Meets his Match by Elizabeth Hoyt

About a quarter of the way into When a Rogue Meets His Match, I realized the book was probably not going to be a particularly successful villain redemption or enemies-to-lovers romance. About three-quarters of the way in, I started to wonder what, exactly, the intended message of this book was, because it was verging in a startlingly uncomfortable way on emotional abuse apologia. Everything after that felt like too little, too late in terms of … Continue reading When a Rogue Meets his Match by Elizabeth Hoyt

Book Review

Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

I struggled with how to grade Song of Blood and Stone. I feel like the book did a few things unusually and phenomenally well, and I definitely enjoyed it (especially the latter half when the plot really picks up). However, I was left unsatisfied by some of the relationships and characters. While Song of Blood and Stone is not explicitly a fantasy romance, the romance element is such a major part of the plot that … Continue reading Song of Blood and Stone by L. Penelope

Book Review

My Last Duchess by Eloisa James

My Last Duchess is pure, frothy, Georgian-era historical escapism. Reading it felt like being wrapped up in a warm blanket while watching a picturesque snowfall outside. I can’t say it was particularly substantial or thought-provoking, but for the most part, it was a pleasure. This book is a prequel to Eloisa James’ ongoing Wildes of Lindow Castle series about the numerous Wilde offspring and their exploits. My Last Duchess tells the tale of how the … Continue reading My Last Duchess by Eloisa James

Book Review

A Stitch In Time by Kelley Armstrong

With its brooding hero, numerous ghosts, a charming-yet-haunted old house, multiple historical murder mysteries, and the beautiful but dangerous moors of England, A Stitch in Time was a fun and engaging book to start out my spooky season reading. Was it somewhat derivative and convoluted? Yes. But it was also delightfully atmospheric and endearingly quirky in its delivery of a number of gothic and paranormal romance tropes. It sort of reminded me of Crimson Peak … Continue reading A Stitch In Time by Kelley Armstrong

Book Review

The Silence of Bones by June Hur

Through reading (and loving) The Silence of Bones I’ve realized something about myself as a reader: I can tolerate a lot of dark, violent content in a book if the prose is pretty enough. And while the poetic prose is a definite selling point, the fact that The Silence of Bones is also an impeccably crafted mystery with amazing character work and an arc of profound hopefulness cemented its place in my heart as the … Continue reading The Silence of Bones by June Hur

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