After I finished Just Playing House, I immediately ran around telling everyone I knew to read it. I’m totally obsessed with this second chance + celebrity romance. It was cozy but with enough emotional twists and turns to keep me interested. Marley is a personal stylist with two goals. She wants to convince the department store where she works to promote her to a personal shopper for the rich and famous. And she wants to … Continue reading Just Playing House by Farah Heron →
Welcome back! We have quite the assortment today (though I feel like I say that every time). We have a graphic novel, a cyberpunk novella, organization non-fiction, and a mystery series that originally released in the 80s. Have you receive any good book recommendations? Please share them in the comments!
Welcome to Book Beat! Book Beat aims to highlight other books that we may hear about through friends, social media, or other sources. We could see a gorgeous ad! Or find a new-to-us author on a list of underrated romances! Think of Book Beat as Teen Beat or Tiger Beat, but for books. And no staples to open to get the fold-out poster.
RECOMMENDED: The Devil and the Heiress by Harper St. George is $1.99! Thank you to everyone who let us know about this one! This is book two in The Gilded Heiresses series and Elyse gave it an A-:
The Devil and the Heiress by Harper St. George is a tropey historical romance with light conflict. It worked totally for me, but lately I’ve needed less darkness and fewer obstacles for the main characters to overcome in my reading.
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Continuing my exploration of reality franchises that are favorites of romance readers, Shana joins me to talk about the Real Housewives franchise: her favorite Real Housewives locations and seasons, and what aspects of this reality franchise appeal to romance readers. We cover relationships, conflict, and the blend of fiction and “reality,” and some of the ethical considerations as well, especially with the Real Housewives of Dubai. Are you a Real Housewives watcher? Which ones? Do you … Continue reading 628. Real Housewives and Romance Readers with Shana →
RECOMMENDED: The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! Sarah read this one and gave it a B:
I liked the painstaking and careful character development of the first half more than the zoomy-zoom plot of the second half, but the foundation of historical fiction and incredible detail coupled with folk magic, ghosts, and negotiating with spirits made this an exceptionally fun, absorbing, and thoughtful story.
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I mentioned in the recent Whatcha Reading post that I think it was flchen1 (Hi! Thank you!!) who posted about Blood of a Gladiator in the comments a week or so ago, but I inhaled this book. I wrote in the post: “Ashley Gardner aka Jennifer Ashley writes great mysteries with very slow connections and growing emotional depth between the characters, and this book was excellent. It got me through some insomnia (perimenopause can fuck … Continue reading Blood of a Gladiator by Ashley Gardner →
Welcome back to Wednesday Links! How are we all doing? It is a week of ups and downs for me. My partner and I bought a house – yipee! It happened much quicker than we intended, but of course that comes with all the extra inspections, repairs, closing, etc. It is a lot and I’m incredibly thankful my partner is someone who doesn’t mind getting on the horn to talk to everyone while I swaddle … Continue reading Links: Colleen Hoover, Auctions, & More →
RECOMMENDED: Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron is $2.49! This was mentioned on a previous podcast and a previous Whatcha Reading. The second book of Aaron’s we’ve featured this week and the comments had good things to say about Aaron’s storytelling. Sarah loved this book:
Nice Dragons Finish Last is fast-moving fantasy adventure with outstanding worldbuilding. It’s an experience to read.
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Recently, I attended a book signing and discussion with Mae Marvel, the authors of Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous. Mae Marvel is a writing team comprised of Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare, a married couple. I was familiar with Knox’s work, but not Mare’s. Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is a lesbian contemporary romance about two friends from high school who reunite later in life. Katie Price was a theater kid … Continue reading An Event with Mae Marvel and Cats →
