This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviewed at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next … Continue reading Only One Tour Bus by Suleena Bibra →
What a time I had with this one! Lainey lives in a small lake-side town in Wisconsin. She suffers from chronic migraines and being part of the gig economy in a small town doesn’t exactly give her great medical cover. She works as a handyman, ride share driver, carpenter and, on the side for herself, an artist, living a hand-to-mouth existence. Her small town is known for the work of a famous architect and Lainey … Continue reading Married with Benefits by Ellie Palmer →
What a silly premise. A silly-goose premise, if you will. But what a delightful book. I was sceptical when I picked this one up. Really? A stuffed goose is a huge deal?! But I had enjoyed both of the author’s previous books that I’d picked up so I felt compelled to give this one a go too. And I am so glad I did. First – and this is included in the book, but you … Continue reading Wild Goose Chase by Sarah Adler →
This is not a happy book. The cover looks kind of whimsical and the title suggests a fun flirtation. You’d be wrong on both counts. This book is somber. But please, do not let that put you off. It is beautiful as well, in an aching kind of way. Neelu works on a reality TV dating series that’s set in tropical locations. She’s been based in LA since she and her mom moved there when … Continue reading Just a Highland Fling by Naina Kumar →
Oh man, I had a GREAT time with Fossil Feud! Rich in detail, drenched in chemistry and wonderfully, bitingly smart. Ripley is a private paleontologist. She dropped out of her PhD programme after some seriously nefarious shit by her then-boyfriend, Will, and moved from academia into the private sector. At the start of the story, she’s working on an Indigenous-owned ranch in Montana excavating fossils in a partnership with Cara, the ranch owner’s granddaughter. There … Continue reading Fossil Feud by Maggie North →
When I read the following scene near the start of Big Stick Energy, I knew I was going to have a good time with this hockey romance. The captain, Eric (our hero) describes his teammates getting off the bus by saying “I watch as they file toward the front, a procession of exhausted millionaires griping like toddlers before nap time.” It made me hoot with laughter. I thought, here was a sports romance that a … Continue reading Big Stick Energy by Sarina Bowen →
I have now read a grand total of two dark romances. The first was so utterly shit that I didn’t attempt the genre again for a few years. While it was a very popular book, it was not at all appealing, and afterward I wasn’t sure what were hallmarks of the genre and what was just bad writing. I see now how wrong I was. It was plain bad writing. Butcher and Blackbird is the … Continue reading Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver →
Dolly All the Time is set in the fictional seaside town of Whitfield, Rhode Island. The Whitfield family are the big, rich family in town and yes, the town is named after one of them. Stewart is the eldest son and desperate to prove to his family that he can be the new CEO and have a successful romantic life. As it is a family business, this is an important consideration for the board (made … Continue reading Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan →
I picked this book up for the following reasons: The colours on the cover – hello neon! The title – what could a ‘safari murder party’ be? The use of ‘safari’ in the title. I am a Zimbabwean/South African and while I have been on plenty of game drives and visits to nature reserves, I’ve never considered any of that a ‘safari’ even though they’re marketed as safaris outside of my region. Fletcher is an … Continue reading Safari Murder Party by Rachel Moore →
This guest review is from Danielle Fritz! Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project. … Continue reading Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade →
I listened to Hollywood Hookup on a recent plane ride, and while the tone of the narrative wasn’t really for me, I can say that the structure of the book lends itself really well to audio. Josie Days is a makeup artist on a hit musical sci-fi show starring five hot guys who are sequel fodder. They’re doing a charity celebrity date contest with said five guys and for hand-wavy reasons Josie gets roped in … Continue reading Hollywood Hookup by Christy Swift →
