Back when we used to take vacations (sigh, those wild pre-Covid days, how fun-filled they were…) they often began badly, what with trying to get packed in time and flying in coach and all the other bother of getting from one place to another. However, after a certain transitional period, the vacation would become enjoyable, perhaps even emotionally meaningful and moving. This is the experience I had with People We Meet On Vacation, a book … Continue reading People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry →
This review was brought to you in high-definition and surround sound by Crystal Anne with An E. Crystal is a Hufflepuff who works as an autism consultant by day and goes to Library School at night. She reads a lot, she cross-stitches a lot, and is always ready to make someone a reading list. NB: This book is currently .99 digitally for May the 4th! … Guess who’s back? This time with bonus Grogu gifs! … Continue reading Star Wars: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray →
The Nightborn is just a whole heap of fun, and was precisely what I was in the mood for this week. It straddles the genres of high fantasy and romance, and balances these elements beautifully, providing both a satisfying romance and a nicely twisty high fantasy plot. Branwyn is a Sentinel, a magically-enhanced warrior bound to a spirit sword and tasked with fighting demons and other monsters. She is sent on an errand of diplomacy … Continue reading The Nightborn by Isabel Cooper →
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 →
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 →
The Diabolical Bones is the second book in the Bronte Mystery series. I enjoyed the first book, The Vanished Bride, and the second book can be read as a sequel or a stand-alone. In The Diabolical Bones, the siblings (Branwell, Charlotte, Anne, and Emily) attempt to solve a mystery concerning a skeleton that is discovered walled up in a local mansion. To whom did the skeleton belong, who put it there, and why? The mystery … Continue reading The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis →
(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 →
The Wife in the Attic is a retelling of Jane Eyre where a lonely governess falls for her employer’s mysterious wife, and contemplates whether murdering him is the easiest way out of their predicament. For many of you, that’s all you need to know to one-click. Go forth and enjoy this audiobook which is available on Audible now, and as an ebook in Fall 2021. This book is a gothic delight. It’s unsettling but not … Continue reading The Wife in the Attic by Rose Lerner →
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 →
Jane Eyre is in my top ten favorite books and I’m very protective of it. I wrote a short book called Pride Prejudice and Popcorn: TV and Film Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, in which I concluded that any adaption can work as long as it stays true to the themes and characters of the source material. The Wife Upstairs is hard to review because how it works on its … Continue reading The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins →
I love made-for-tv Christmas rom-coms, and I’ve been soothing myself with them since Halloween. My expectations for these movies aren’t high, but every once and a while I come across one worth a rewatch. One of my faves this year is Christmas Ever After because of its catnippy premise—a romance novelist who falls for her cover model. It’s pretty much tailor-made for romance fans who like lighthearted holiday movies. Izzi is a successful author whose … Continue reading Movie Review: Christmas Ever After →
