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 The Santa Claus Con by Lauren Kung Jessen →
Uncharacteristically for me, I picked something up that isn’t explicitly a romance. I’d seen TikToks and Instagram posts about this series from people who loved it. Yes, I confess the hype got me. When a friend sent me a gift voucher, I had the perfect excuse to buy the book and I’m so glad I did. (At only 149 pages and US$10/162.50 ZAR, it was tough to justify with the exchange rate being what it … Continue reading The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion: Volume 1 by Beth Brower →
Heather is one of those books that’s so hard to review because I want to say as little about it as possible while shouting its praise from the rooftops. It’s an intriguing and surprising mystery with a strong sense of place, and it also explores the bonds between sisters. If you liked God of the Woods you’ll like Heather (but Heather is better, IMO). The novel takes place in dual timelines between the present day … Continue reading Heather by Caitlin Mullen →
It is no secret. I love. This. Series. With each book that is released, I wonder, can this one reach the same heights as the preceding ones? Each time, I am shown in no uncertain terms that it absolutely can. Gabriel runs a gambling establishment in London. Ginny’s brother loses his entire, newly inherited fortune while gambling at that establishment. As the older sister who stepped into the breach when her parents died, Ginny travels … Continue reading Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long →
What Angels Fear has been mentioned positively a few times on the site but never reviewed. I became aware of the series when I received a marketing email for the 19th book in this series. When a series reaches that kind of number, there’s usually something special about it so off I went to the library for the first one in the series. It was initially slow going for me to get into but I … Continue reading What Angels Fear by CS Harris →
My experience with The Bachelor franchise is as follows: I edit the recaps from Elyse, which she’s been faithfully recording since 2017. That’s it. Now, I have watched two (2) episodes to fill in for Elyse, prompting the following questions: Why are they four hours long? Why are they on two subsequent nights sometimes? Why on sequential nights or on four hour nights are they stretching out TWENTY FIVE TOTAL MINUTES OF FOOTAGE into an … Continue reading Here For All the Reasons: Why We Love the Bachelor, edited by Ilana Masad and Stevie K. Seibert Desjarlais →
This book is a delight! I know the cover is not nearly as cute as the cover of the first in this series, Partners in Crime, but don’t be put off! Enemies to lovers is suspenseful, twisty, swoony and so so good. I don’t want to spoil anything about this story, so please refer to the cover copy below for the basics of the plot. I have so many wonderful things to say about Enemies … Continue reading Enemies to Lovers by Alisha Rai →
CW: Self-harm (historical), violence, death of secondary characters. AJ reviewed the first book in the series, Slippery Creatures and enjoyed it and so did I. There is a simple reason for this being a review of the next two books together rather than one: when I finished The Sugared Game I was in agony, desperate for the rest of Will and Kim’s story in Subtle Blood. This is the second time I’ve read this trilogy. It … Continue reading The Sugared Game and Subtle Blood by KJ Charles →
This book is exemplary. It can literally be held up as an actual example of what a romance novel should be. I am in awe. But before I wax lyrical about the many ways in which this book is excellent, let’s set the scene. Simon and Charlie are co-stars on a sci-fi TV series and for the seven years that the show has been running, they’ve been fighting, squabbling, and disagreeing. Simon is considering leaving … Continue reading Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian →
I’m not even going to pretend that I picked this book up by chance. I had meant to read it last year when it came out, but didn’t. I don’t know why. I don’t have a good reason. Post-Heated Rivalry TV show obsession, I remembered I had this novel waiting for me on my Kindle. I started it last night when I got in bed. I read it while I was pumping milk in the … Continue reading The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid →
Meet the Newmans is a novel set in 1964 that follows a real-life family playing a TV family. It’s about our authentic selves versus our public selves within the framework of the rise of second wave feminism. It also deals with queer identity. The Newmans, father Del, mother Dinah, and sons Guy and Shep, are a real life family who also play a sanitized version of themselves on TV. They are the perfect White, middle … Continue reading Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven →
