Of Fire and Stars is a YA about two princesses who fall in love. It’s a fantasy-romance crossover that has delightful characters and a charming romance, but it needs more world building to fully succeed. Princess Dennaleia (also called Denna) is sent to the kingdom of Mynaria to marry the Mynarian prince. It’s a marriage that was arranged when she was born, and she has been raised to be a paragon of propriety at all … Continue reading Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst→
An Improper Holiday is a m/m romance novella set during the Regency period. Regency people weren’t all that big on the actual day of Christmas (this was post-mistletoe, but pre-Christmas trees, cards, and presents). However, Regency people loved to party, and they kicked off their festivities on Christmas night and carried on for twelve days. Apparently there was some controversy over exactly when the twelve nights actually started and stopped. I like to imagine that … Continue reading An Improper Holiday by K.A. Mitchell→
The Transatlantic Conspiracy is no Agatha Christie, but it’s an exciting, fun YA steampunk mystery set on an underground train, so I’ll take it. Despite the gorgeous cover, there are no cephalopods of any kind in the book. Otherwise, it’s fine. The plot is as follows: in an alternate version of 1908, seventeen-year-old Rosalind is ordered by her father to take the first ride on his new train, the Transatlantic Express. Her father designed this … Continue reading The Transatlantic Conspiracy by G.D. Falksen→
Star Trek Beyond is a fun movie that is also a mess. There are a lot of explosions and fights. There’s a pretty straightforward plot that actually sort of makes sense (this movie is much better than Star Trek: Into Darkness). It has a great cast but, as my daughter said, “It was good, but not great. I mean, it was enjoyable, but not Star Trek enjoyable.” Beyond has a plot of sorts, and the … Continue reading Movie Review: Star Trek Beyond→
Signs of Attraction is about two college students who have very different histories and experiences with hearing loss. When Reed notices Carli struggling in class, he befriends her and introduces her to his Deaf friends. Carli and Reed quickly become a couple, but Carli’s struggles to accept her hearing loss might undo everything. The main characters have not only different levels of hearing loss but also different family histories and means of coping. Reed is … Continue reading Signs of Attraction by Laura Brown→
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is a movie that makes a lot more sense if you know that it originally aired as a series of online episodes, a la Dr. Horrible. In fact, it would fit quite nicely into the universe of Dr. Horrible – the two productions share the characteristics of a low budget used creatively, a cast that seems to be having a wonderful time, and the concept that superheroes and villains have … Continue reading Movie: Electra Woman and Dyna Girl→
I would recommend The King’s Executioner for rabid fans of Vikings currently waiting for the next season, for readers super into tattooed bad boy Iron-Age heroes, or for folks who are tired of reading historicals set in the same time periods over and over and over. It’s a good book, but it wasn’t outstanding and more than anything it made me wish for more books set in this era. Anin is a young woman who … Continue reading The King’s Executioner by Donna Fletcher→
Oof. You guys. I apparently did not know what I was doing when I was picking my RITA review books. I honestly probably would have DNFed it, but I’d already DNFed my other pick and I was feeling weirdly self-conscious that the Bitchery would judge me for not being able to finish a book. So I pushed through. And now I just feel depressed and negative. Earls Just Want to Have Fun was never going … Continue reading Earls Just Want to Have Fun by Shana Galen→
This was my first book by Elizabeth Hayley. I never heard from this author before but I chose this book mainly because the hero is a cook. As a former cook myself I like to read books about cooks – does anybody do that? Like lawyers or teachers or spies? You know, you want to see if they got it right. Only me? Well, so here I go. The story is about Tim and Quinn … Continue reading Just Say Yes by Elizabeth Hayley→
So much of this book worked for me, but the ending did not. The ending made me realize I had problems before the ending. This review will start with the strengths. Jake was a well-developed character, and his PTSD seemed well-done. The flashbacks to Iraq seemed powerful and well-researched and vivid and compelling. All of his previous problems seemed realistic and my heart went out to him. I found all of the characters mostly likable … Continue reading A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade→
Teen vampire Della Tsang doesn’t have time for love. She’s too busy clearing her father’s name. But the charge against him – that he stabbed his own sister to death years ago – connects Della’s human family to her secret vampire community, especially her handsome bondmate Chase. So Della is forced to probe her own heart as she works to prove her father’s innocence. Many things keep Della and Chase apart: Della’s continuing friendship with … Continue reading Unspoken by C. C. Hunter→
