Angel in a Devil’s Arms is the second book in Julie Anne Long’s Palace of Rogues series, and it is adorable. I loved basically everything about it, from the ensemble of ‘found family’ at the Palace of Rogues, to the humour, to the sweetness and intimacy of Lucien’s conversations with Angelique, and most especially to the subversion of several very Old Skool tropes which are beyond ready to be retired. You don’t really need to … Continue reading Angel in a Devil’s Arms by Julie Anne Long →
Well this was just…neat! Bloodlust and Bonnets is a graphic novel in which a bloodthirsty Regency ingenue named Lucy teams up with Byron the poet and Sham, a vampire hunter, to fight vampires. The fact that Byron never seems to understand what’s going on, Sham is always lost, and Lucy would actually like to BE a vampire confuses the matter immensely, leading to hijinks and an amazing amount of red ink. At the start of … Continue reading Bloodlust and Bonnets by Emily McGovern →
Recently, I treated myself to a trawl through Bikini Books, a legendary secondhand bookstore in Gordon’s Bay, South Africa. It is the kind of shop that gifts you with surprises, if you take the time to look. One such book was The Coroner’s Daughter by Andrew Hughes. It is a whodunnit with the coroner’s daughter, Abigail Lawless, taking up the investigator’s mantle when those in authority aren’t brave enough to wade into uncertain waters. This … Continue reading The Coroner’s Daughter by Andrew Hughes →
Never in my life have I made grabby hands as ferocious as the ones I made when I saw Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction. This book describes the life and work of women in speculative fiction starting with Margaret Cavendish and ending with Jewelle Gomez (and shorter mentions of many others). This is out just in time for you to make your Halloween reading list and since it mentions … Continue reading Monster She Wrote by Lisa Kröger and Melanie Anderson →
I adored this book, but the title is misleading. As far as I can tell, “multiverse” is an exaggeration. This book is really about how Rory destroys galactic peace. Not even in the whole universe. Just a little bit of it. She does a really great job of it though. This character, and the supporting characters, and the narrator, and the entire book made me happy for every single second of the story and I’m … Continue reading How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason →
I was sold on this book when I heard it has a donut shop called Amazin’ Glazin’. Yes, sure, new small town romance by one of my favourite authors, whatever. But DONUTS, friends, are important. Unsurprisingly, the donut shop name is just one of the many things I fell in love with when I read Beautiful Dreamer, because I am thoroughly smitten with this book. Everyone in the tiny South Carolina coastal town of Dreamer’s … Continue reading Beautiful Dreamer by Melissa Brayden →
The Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory had me smiling from page one and kept me delighted all the way through. My joy was so palpable that I had coworkers asking me during my lunch break what I was reading because I don’t usually spend my lunch so lovingly enraptured by my cell phone. An extremely charming romance centered around two Black adults in their 50s who are thrown together during Christmas, The Royal Holiday is … Continue reading Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory →
Once in a while, you find a book that does exactly what it said it was going to do. The Queen of Ieflaria is one of those books. I bought it based on a Tumblr post which had the following summary, verbatim: “two princesses attempt to fight dragons and get married.” That’s what I wanted, and that’s exactly what I got. If you stopped reading and one-clicked based solely on that description, you won’t be … Continue reading The Queen of Ieflaria by Effie Calvin →
Before reading a book, I try to go in with an open mind and without judgments. “Try” being the operative word. Because sometimes, I hear about a premise and my eyes roll to the back of my head. No way, I think, no way in hell is this going to work. I shouldn’t even try to read this book because it won’t succeed and I’ll regret even trying. And when I heard about the premise … Continue reading One Day to Fall by Therese Beharrie →
CW/TW: Abusive romantic and familial relationships. Rhi’s ex is seriously menacing in a few parts, so take care of yourselves! Alisha Rai is beloved here in the Pink Palace, so I approached The Right Swipe with some apprehension and excitement. What if I didn’t love it? Would my new friends kick me out of this very cool book club? I’m not always a fan of contemporaries, and am not particularly drawn to stories where the … Continue reading The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai →
Well, that was just delightful. I loved every single minute of Brazen and the Beast, even the melodramatic bits. This historical is Book 2 in the Bareknuckle Bastards series and although I had no trouble starting here, I do plan to read the first book since they are closely connected. Lady Henrietta Sedley (Hattie) is still single at twenty-nine and determined to make this The Year of Hattie. It’s a four stage plan: Business, Home, … Continue reading Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean →
