When I read the blurb for Pursuing Pandora I was overcome with a burst of excitement. I immediately messaged Shana, with the comment “this book sounds so bananas that I’m tempted to check it out” and she agreed that I must. Check this out: Corporate lawyer Winter Carlyle is the first to admit that she’s become jaded with romance after a very messy public breakup. When her bossy aunt asks her to visit a high-end … Continue reading Pursuing Pandora by Maggie Brown →
In Chasing Cassandra, the sixth book in the Ravenels series, railway magnate Tom Severin finally gets his turn to be the hero. I have been hoping for a book about Tom since he was introduced in the first book in the Ravenels series. After all, I love to read about a Sad Historical Businessman brought low by love! Unfortunately, while I enjoyed this book, it also pained me because I felt like it could have … Continue reading Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas →
As an Australian living in Melbourne, I always feel a bit sad that there aren’t more romances set in my part of the world. While there are plenty of amazing Australian romance authors out there, it seems that there isn’t much of a market for romances set in Australia…and so our local authors write stories set in the UK or Europe or the US – exotic for this reviewer, but rather a pity for everyone … Continue reading A Girl’s Guide to the Outback by Jessica Kate →
I love modern-day witches. I love queer romance. I love mysteries. I’m not typically a huge YA reader, but I like the first three things enough to give queer YA witch romance mystery These Witches Don’t Burn a try. While this book was not without its flaws, there was something quite fresh-feeling about These Witches Don’t Burn that I appreciated. It took a lot of common YA tropes, such as “I’m trying to be a … Continue reading These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling →
This book is kind of a weird read. I don’t mean that in a bad way. I think I mean it in a good way? It’s mostly charmingly bizarre. This book puts a lot of plates spinning in the air, and while some of them end up crashing to the ground and breaking, the show is fun while it lasts. The basic premise is that Grace and Sebastian are two scholarly nerds who are friends. … Continue reading My Fake Rake by Eva Leigh →
I keep reading books that are very hard for me to grade, because I have conflicting reactions to them. The Bridge Kingdom started out incredibly strong, but things that happened in the last 15% or so of the book soured the reading experience for me. The fact that I enjoyed the book quite a lot until that point made my disappointment even more intense. I’ve been a fan of Danielle L. Jensen since her debut … Continue reading The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen →
There is nothing I adore more than a grovel in a romance novel. Flirting, sexual tension, meet-cutes, meet-disasters, declarations of love… you name it, I love it. But none of those things are better than an epic groveling scene, especially when it has an alpha protagonist brought down to their knees and desperate beyond measure. It’s when you can really feel how much one protagonist (usually the one who has screwed up royally) loves the … Continue reading The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams →
CW/TW: Kidnapping, murder, stalking, the usual myriad evils of a serial killer. You know those paint by numbers pictures where number-by-number you recreate the Mona Lisa? The result is an imperfect version of a masterpiece. It’s not high art, but it’s still a satisfying exercise and, when framed, makes a lovely addition to a wall, even if only a bathroom wall. This novel is an imperfect version of a masterpiece, with a few wildcards thrown … Continue reading Safety Breach by Delores Fossen →
Esme Brett reviews romance on Instagram as @Feminist_Romance. She lives in New Zealand and is a devoted cat mother to Franklin. Her areas of expertise involve Buffy the Vampire Slayer, winged eyeliner, and red wine that’s less than 9 dollars. … Little Bridge is an idyllic island in the Florida Keys. Unfortunately, it’s also in the direct path of a category 5 hurricane. Most of the island population evacuate except for Bree Beckham, hottie Drew … Continue reading Guest Review: No Judgments by Meg Cabot →
Wooooow. This is a book with some serious “absinthe + Yeats” energy. I don’t know what happened, but it was certainly operatic. I liked the imagery but must post a STRONG TW: The Absinthe Earl is a fantasy romance set in 1882. I’ll let the publisher set everything up for you: Miss Ada Quicksilver, a student of London’s Lovelace Academy for Promising Young Women, is spending her holiday in Ireland to pursue her anthropological study … Continue reading The Absinthe Earl by Sharon Lynn Fisher →
The Grace Year is described as a “haunting, feminist YA speculative thriller,” and I mostly agree with that assessment. It’s twisted, memorable, and eerie (there is a tree from which severed fingers and other body parts hang). It’s a book you’ll be thinking about for days after you’ve finished reading, but it does struggle with being overly ambitious in subplots and when it comes to a satisfactory ending, it doesn’t stick the landing. There is … Continue reading The Grace Year by Kim Liggett →
