I read this book in snatched moments and stolen hours and I adored it. It features tropes that I’m not all that interested in: single dad, nanny x boss, and small town romance, but the writing is so immersive and rich that these didn’t feel like familiar tropes. They felt original and fresh. Like this was the first nanny on the planet to fall in love with her boss. THAT original. But I’m getting ahead … Continue reading Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone →
Cinder House is such a clever, inventive, re-imaging of Cinderella! This novella stuffs in a lot at the last minute, but other than that, it’s perfect. Here is how the book begins. It’s not a spoiler – I’m literally quoting the first words of the book. Ella’s father died of the poison in their tea. Ella drank less and so might have lived, and not turned ghost at all, if the house hadn’t shrieked for … Continue reading Cinder House by Freya Marske →
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 reviews 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 Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe →
Did you watch the Miss Fisher TV series and long for more of the same? I have something similar that might scratch that same itch: this book! It’s set in the sweltering summer of 1925 in New York City. It is stiflingly hot and the ceiling fans can only do so much. Meanwhile hemlines continue to rise and bathtub gin is a thing. Freddie, our heroine, has generational wealth but chooses to work as a … Continue reading Murder in Manhattan by Julie Mulhern →
The only way to review a book this late in a series is in a lightning review. There’s only so much you can say without spoiling the entire series. Suffice to say, spoilers for the preceding eight books lie ahead. It is finally Zeus and Hera’s turn! PRAISE BE! I was one of the chumps who thought this would be book 3. Anyone else? Can you believe?! Things are happening! The threat of Circe has … Continue reading Tender Cruelty by Katee Robert →
This guest review is from Lucynka! Lucynka is a long-time lurker, who has occasionally commented under a couple different names in the past. Over the last few years, she’s become really interested in the history of the romance genre, particularly those forgotten or oft-overlooked parts. You can find her on Bluesky @lucynka.bsky.social, or else over on her WordPress, where she blogs about “obscure bullshit,” including a lot of romance pulp magazines from the 1920s-’40s. … … Continue reading Love’s Magic Spell by Glenna Finley →
I was delighted when I saw this book was being released. I devoured book one in the series, Rules for Ruin, and ended that review with a note about how I was looking forward to the couple I guessed would be in the next book. I was delighted to be right! Nell is one of the earliest cohorts at Miss Corvus’ school and when she was younger, she felt destined for great things. But a … Continue reading The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews →
I’m continuing my adventures through the Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery series, but we’re heading directly to book four. I can’t be sure what exactly went wrong with my reading of the third in the series, but something definitely went wrong. Could be that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Could be that the story was as disjointed as it felt to read it. Whatever the case, I’m glad I persevered because … Continue reading Love Binds by Cynthia St Aubin →
What is this book about? Let’s give the blurb its moment to shine as it is one of the good ones (i.e. it matches the content of the book well) Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer … Continue reading An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister →
Gold Coast Dilemma is at its best when unpacking the culture, food, and family dynamics of a well-to-do Ghanaian-American family and the life of the central character, Ofosua. It is at its most infuriating when the characters face macro and micro-aggressions regarding race, gender, and mental health. And it’s least convincing when selling the actual romance between Ofosua and Cole. This romance is told from both Ofosua’s and Cole’s point of view, but Ofosua’s is … Continue reading Gold Coast Dilemma by Nana Malone →
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 reviews 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 Give Me a Reason by Jayci Lee →
