
RECOMMENDED: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal is $2.99! This is a Kindle Daily Deal and I highly recommend you checking out the others, which include books by Harper Lee, Karen Abbot, and more. RHG read this one and gave it a B+:
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows is not a romance first and foremost, though there is a romance plot among the many others. It is, however, a story about women’s self understanding, and turning against the definition and enforcement of their sexuality to discover it for themselves.
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This month’s Romance Wanderlust is doomed to be incoherent, because every time I look at pictures of Positano, Italy, I start drooling and losing all capacity for speech. Like other Romance Wanderlust columns, this is neither a review nor an endorsement, because I haven’t been to Positano. I Googled, I saw pictures, I swooned, and here we are. Positano has been around for a long, long time, which is impressive since it looks like it … Continue reading Romance Wanderlust: Positano →

Welcome to Lightning Reviews, where we give you some quick, miniature reviews! Because sometimes we’re tired or a book might not require the typical 1000+ words of squeeing or raging. All of today’s reviews are by Carrie. She has two very interesting graphic novels and a movie staring Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw.
Persephone is a graphic novel that re-imagines the Persephone story from Greek mythology as a fantasy about science, magic, mothers, and daughters. It’s not a romance. Instead, it’s a coming-of-age story about a girl who has to emerge from her mother’s shadow and find her own identity. In this version, the world above (Eleusis) and the world below (Hades) existed in peace until Hades, Lord of the Underworld, became paranoid and launched war on Eleusis. Hades … Continue reading Persephone by Loic Locatelli-Kournwsky →
Betty’s Boob is a graphic novel about a woman’s emotional and physical recovery from a mastectomy. It’s joyous and body-positive. However, it doesn’t pull any punches with depicting the physical and emotional pain that Betty goes through along the way. Because of this, some people may find this book to be triggering rather than empowering – it depends on the individual reader. The book is almost completely wordless. Betty wakes up from a mastectomy and demands … Continue reading About Betty’s Boob by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau →
Bright Star (2009) is a historical romance between poet John Keats (played here by Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). It’s not a spoiler to say that Keats died young, so it’s not a happy movie. However, if you are in the mood for sexual tension, historical costuming, and some astonishingly beautiful cinematography, then this is the movie for you. It was written and directed by Jane Campion, who adapted Andrew Motion’s Keats: A … Continue reading Movie Review: Bright Star →

Welcome to Book Beat! Think of Book Beat as Hide Your Wallet, Part Two! In Hide Your Wallet, we talk about books coming out in a particular month that we really want to read. But there’s more to good books than just new releases! 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 … Continue reading Book Beat: BEA & BookCon 2018 →

Welcome back to Covers & Cocktails! I took May off because I was traveling for half of the month. If you’re new to the site, welcome! Covers & Cocktails is a monthly feature where I make a tasty drink to celebrate a new release. It’s just as fun as it sounds. This month, Nalini Singh’s Ocean Light is our drinking inspiration. If you haven’t read Elyse’s review yet, you definitely should. She did a great … Continue reading Covers & Cocktails Giveaway: Sanctuary →

TISSUE WARNING: this episode might make you cry. I got teary while recording it. Today I’m talking with author Laura Bradbury about her memoirs, her new novella project, and her liver transplant. I met Laura at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference in British Columbia, Canada, several years ago when they had me as an international guest. Laura had just published her first memoir, My Grape Escape, and was honored with an award during the conference. … Continue reading 303. There is So Much Heroism and Good in People: An Interview with Laura Bradbury →

RECOMMENDED: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is $1.99! This is a gritty fantasy with an anti-hero protagonist. I loved this book and it’s a lot of fun. I also believe it was recommended by Sarah’s husband on a previous podcast episode. It’s a lot of fun, but definitely is heavy on violence and some gross stuff.
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