I read Second First Impressions at exactly the right time. A big theme in this romance is healing from trauma and coming out of isolation, and at the time I read it I had just scheduled my first Covid shot. This theme resonated so much with me I found myself crying while I read, big fat tears soaking into my pillow, but it was a cathartic cry and it felt good. There were also moments … Continue reading Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne →
Hana Khan Carries On is part epistolary, part coming of age story, and all heart. Hana, aka AnaBGR, an aspiring broadcast producer, podcaster, and storyteller, is struggling on several fronts. There’s the difficulty in breaking into broadcast in general, there’s her racist boss who presumes to be #woke, her family’s struggling restaurant, plus her sister’s risky pregnancy. What she definitely did NOT need on this list was Mr. Silver Shades to come sauntering in with … Continue reading Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin →
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 →
CW/TW: abortion consideration and discussion, toxic family, discussion of miscarriage, pre-eclampsia Tara: I mentioned this book in a recent Whatcha Reading post with the comment “I’m only a third of the way through, but if you like the idea of an f/f romance with fat rep, knitting, friends with benefits, and a truly nonjudgemental dive into abortion vs opting to complete a pregnancy, this is the book for you!” And guess what?! Carrie was into … Continue reading Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl by Hettie Bell →
All Consuming was the sweet, hot, low-tension romance that I really needed this week. Kal and Hannah were a couple in high school, but broke up when Kal left for college. They reconnect at their ten year school reunion, and find that not only is the spark still there, but that time and experience have made them better able to love each other in the ways they both need. There isn’t a lot of conflict … Continue reading All Consuming by Jaci Burton →
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 →
Content warning: Grief and loss, neglectful parents Love at First is a contemporary romance about community and healing from grief, and what makes a home and a family. The story centres around a block of apartments in Chicago, and its two newest residents. Nora inherited her apartment from her Nonna about a year ago, but having spent all her summers there as a child, she views it with the affection of a resident of more … Continue reading Love at First by Kate Clayborn →
(Trust) Falling for You is a fun, sweet novella about two college professors with very, very different personal and teaching styles falling for each other on a Team Building retreat in the woods of Wisconsin. This retreat, incidentally, sounds both like an HR nightmare and the sort of thing guaranteed to result in multiple letters to Ask a Manager, and also precisely like something that someone in academic administration would decide was a brilliant thing … Continue reading (Trust) Falling for You by Charish Reid →
Content warning: Emotional and physical abuse of a child (off-page but discussed by protagonists), alcoholism and resulting neglect of another child (off-page, but discussed by protagonist), character orphaned by the Bali Tsunami Much Ado About You is a contemporary romance in what I can only describe as the wish-fulfilment genre. Evie, fresh off an online dating disappointment, ups sticks and moves from Chicago to the tiny village of Alnster in Northumberland, responding to an ad … Continue reading Much Ado About You by Samantha Young →
Content warnings: Lots and lots of grief and loss, also death of a secondary character Dearest Josephine is an epistolary novel about grief and coming of age, disguised as a paranormal gothic romance. It is a sweet, clever, beautiful book, and I adored it. In 1820, the recently orphaned Elias Roch meets Josephine DeClare at an inn, and falls instantly and passionately in love. But in the morning, she is gone, and he has no … Continue reading Dearest Josephine by Caroline George →
When I started Siri, Who Am I? I did not like it. I was grumpy, because I expected some realism and good detecting, neither of which are in this book. Then I settled into the story I was actually reading, which is as enjoyable and sparkly as one of the slushies that the protagonist enjoys. This is a goofy but also sharp romantic-comedy with a lot of references to pop culture, nerd culture, and the … Continue reading Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida →
