This guest review is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project. … Continue reading The Demon’s Queen by Katee Robert →
Death at Morning House is a YA that’s part historical mystery, part haunted house story. I enjoyed it, but I kept getting pulled out of the story because it seemed wildly implausible to me that the kids in the book were as unsupervised as they were. In the present day, Marlowe Wexler is struggling with teenage awkwardness and realizing her own queer identity. When the book opens, she’s house-sitting for a friend of the family … Continue reading Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson →
When I Think of You is a second chance romance that, while enjoyable, would have benefited from a 3rd person vs 1st person POV. I enjoyed the inside look into the film industry it provided, but found the storyline of the vengeful ex a little tiring and overdone. Kaliya Wilson has always dreamed of being a movie producer, but is stuck working the front desk at a studio, finding it difficult to get her foot … Continue reading When I Think of You by Myah Ariel →
I forgot where I heard about Yakuza Fiancé initially, but that cover was a strong motivator. Yoshino, the granddaughter of a crime boss in Osaka, and Kirishima, the grandson of a Yakuza boss in Tokyo are instructed to date (and possibly marry) to strengthen an alliance between the two families. Yoshino is a bit of a fish out of water, leaving Osaka to live in Tokyo with the Miyama family. She transfers to Kirishima’s school … Continue reading Yakuza Fiancé, Vol 1. by Asuka Konishi →
When I first read the description of The City of Stardust, it seemed like a tempting amalgamation of things I love in a quasi-dark academia package. Things I heard and read alluded to a magical mystery, vengeful gods, and a forbidden romance. Yes, I can confirm the book had all of those things, but wow, did it take a lot of time to get things done. Violet Everly knows her family is cursed. Once in … Continue reading The City of Stardust by Georgia Summers →
For context, you need to know that I’m a big paranormal fan, I enjoy fake relationships a great deal, and I love a steamy book. So this book should have been perfect for me and the first 60% absolutely was. Unfortunately, it hit the skids at about 70% and didn’t really get back on track properly after that. Mackenzie is an ER doctor in Denver and she’s a shifter and an omega. The rumours are … Continue reading The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson →
This is my first Vivienne Lorret historical romance. I picked it up because I feel like I’m forever chasing the Good Book Noise™ or rather Good Book Experience I had with Tessa Dare’s When a Scot Ties the Knot. I want a leading character who plays along with the lie of being betrothed, or dating, etc. It’s a slightly different flavor of fake dating with a little more oomph and tension. Rather than two people … Continue reading It Had to Be a Duke by Vivienne Lorret →
Man, I should have known better. Venus Merriwell was annoying as hell in the first book, but she was less annoying in the second, so I did hold out hope that she would be an interesting protagonist in her book. Alas! Alack! Woe! She was not. I still read the whole thing, though. Venus Merriwell’s great passion in life is the orphanage that she runs with her partners. They need to expand and with a … Continue reading Never Wager with a Wallflower by Virginia Heath →
This book drove me crackers but I still read the whole thing in a couple days. While it was as compelling as Matthews’ usual work, it brought me none of the joy. The reason for this is the role a character from a previous book played in this book. But first, let’s focus on this book on its own merits. Ivo Beresford is a young man with his eye on the future. He wants to … Continue reading Appointment in Bath by Mimi Matthews →
Y’all, this book is kinda bananas, but I also think it will definitely be some people’s catnip, so I have to Alert the Bitchery. I mentioned Velvet in Watcha Reading a while ago (like, a really long while ago before I was sucked into the vortex that was nursing school). I described it as having fanfiction vibes then, and I stand by that assessment. Like, it’s not obviously veiled fanfiction of anything in particular; it … Continue reading Velvet by Lisette Marshall →
This guest review is from Brigid F. Brigid is a Queer fantasy and romance reader who believes fantasy and romance make the perfect book cocktail. She reviews at Grimdark Magazine and loves writing fantasy and romance recs for blogs and media sites. They love curses, faeries, cozy witches, and wicked characters. … A Witch’s Guide to Fake-Dating A Demon is magical, demonically sexy, and at times very witty. It’s the ‘90s sitcom Sabrina the Teenage … Continue reading Guest Review: A Witch’s Guide to Fake-Dating A Demon by Sarah Hawley →
