There are so many great books coming out in June. Seriously, that's why we named this feature Hide Your Wallet.
RECOMMENDED: The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller is $2.99! Aarya loved this one and gave it an A-:
Try a sample of the first chapter; it hooked me instantly from the first paragraph and never let go. The Widow of Rose House is close to perfection and any lover of historical romance will adore this debut.
We only have two books for this installment of LIGHTNING REVIEWS, but that’s okay! I think you’ll still find a book here to add to your TBR pile. Both books are wildly different and received opposite grades.
RECOMMENDED: The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken is $2.99! What a coincidence, as this was my one pick for hilarious reading in our latest Ready Set Go. I also gave this an A-. Seriously, it’s so much fun:
The Blacksmith Queen is a bloody, feminist romp that exudes girl power in all forms, and I’m envious of its fantasy girl squad.
CW: The death of a child, sexual assault, suicidal ideation The Lost Ones by Anita Frank lured me in with the promise of a Gothic set in WWI, but the pacing was massively slow and the characters largely unlikeable. As a result, I only finished the book because I needed resolution on the ghostly portion. This book actually made me grind my teeth, and at one point my cat, Dewey, shut the book on me … Continue reading The Lost Ones by Anita Frank
Hero in the Highlands by Suzanne Enoch is $2.99! This is the first book in the No Ordinary Hero series and has an enemies-to-lovers element. Some readers thought the romance felt forced, while others loved Enoch’s writing. Have you read this?
CW lifted from the book: The Girl Next Door includes a description of a sudden past death of a partner. I (Tara) am a Chelsea M. Cameron superfan, so I was excited when Shana asked if I wanted to review this with her. Unfortunately, although there were elements I liked about The Girl Next Door, it ultimately fell a little flat for me. Shana hasn’t read Cameron, but her catnip is small-town romances where a … Continue reading The Girl Next Door by Chelsea M. Cameron
Today, I’m talking rakes, rakesses, and historically ferocious women with Scarlett Peckham. We talk about what she calls her feminist primal scream book, The Rakess, about steely steadfast cinnamon roll heroes, and we deep dive into what we love about characters who destabilize and unpeel one another emotionally and, uh, literally. Also: a sneak peek into what’s next in her Sirens series and for the Charlotte Street series! TW/CW: talk about sexual harassment, the price … Continue reading 407. The Privileges of Being a Rakess with Scarlett Peckham
Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness is $2.99! Fans of Harkness, please give me clarification. Can this one be read without reading the A Discovery of Witches series? Or is that essential to the story? If it’s the latter, Lara just wrote a great post about why the series is such a favorite for her.
This Rec League was sent into us by Deborah! Is there a good fantasy romance novel or series in which the heroine is normal and STAYS normal? I’m getting a bit tired of the Chosen One cliche and would like to read about a character who doesn’t have a billion hidden/latent talents and solves her problems like all us average plebs. Sarah: I think some of the Laurenston Pride books have heroines who are not … Continue reading The Rec League: “Normal” Heroines in Fantasy Romance
