TW/CW for the book and this review: discussions of infertility, death in childbirth. Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could read a Western that has a queer girl gang”? Well, guess what? I have great news. While I don’t typically read Westerns, I was drawn in by the blurb for Outlawed: The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada’s life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as … Continue reading Outlawed by Anna North
When I was seven or eight years old, one of the highlights of my week was laying on the floor in my living room and watching Dolly Parton’s variety show, Dolly. I was absolutely rapt and thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, with the very best, biggest hair ever. So you can understand why the hair was such a big deal to me, here’s a promo shot of Dolly from the … Continue reading Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton
Content warning: Grief and loss, neglectful parents Love at First is a contemporary romance about community and healing from grief, and what makes a home and a family. The story centres around a block of apartments in Chicago, and its two newest residents. Nora inherited her apartment from her Nonna about a year ago, but having spent all her summers there as a child, she views it with the affection of a resident of more … Continue reading Love at First by Kate Clayborn
Grey Dawn is an odd little book. It didn’t quite gel for me, but I admired its gumption. It’s always lovely to see an attempt to do something new with a story even if it doesn’t quite come together, and it had a lot of heart. The book takes place in two time periods, both in Philadelphia. In 1858, Chloë and Leigh met. In Chloë’s words: We were an unlikely pair: she, born in a … Continue reading Grey Dawn by Nyri A. Bakkalian
Confession time: I skip to the end within the first 10% of most books. (Please don’t yell at me. I’ve already been told by horrified friends that it’s a moral failing.) When I skipped to the end of Queen of Coin and Whispers, I was hit by one of the most compelling lines I’ve read in a long time: She loved me as I loved her, fierce as a bloodied blade. Does it give you … Continue reading Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran
(Trust) Falling for You is a fun, sweet novella about two college professors with very, very different personal and teaching styles falling for each other on a Team Building retreat in the woods of Wisconsin. This retreat, incidentally, sounds both like an HR nightmare and the sort of thing guaranteed to result in multiple letters to Ask a Manager, and also precisely like something that someone in academic administration would decide was a brilliant thing … Continue reading (Trust) Falling for You by Charish Reid
I was initially skeptical of the newest installment in Rai’s Modern Love series. The main character, Jia, is a social media influencer who creates videos about make-up. I tend to avoid novels about models, and wasn’t sure that I was millennial enough to appreciate this romance. But First Comes Like might be my perfect pandemic read. It has a more lighthearted, fluffier tone than Girl Gone Viral, with a heroine whose thirstiness made me smile, … Continue reading First Comes Like by Alisha Rai
The Wife in the Attic is a retelling of Jane Eyre where a lonely governess falls for her employer’s mysterious wife, and contemplates whether murdering him is the easiest way out of their predicament. For many of you, that’s all you need to know to one-click. Go forth and enjoy this audiobook which is available on Audible now, and as an ebook in Fall 2021. This book is a gothic delight. It’s unsettling but not … Continue reading The Wife in the Attic by Rose Lerner
Content warning: Discussion of a trans character who isn’t treated very well by the narrative. A Lady’s Formula for Love is a story about love, politics, science and the frustrations and difficulties of being a woman in 1840s England. It’s also a story about second chances, and reclaiming yourself after years of needing to be – or believing yourself to be – someone else. Perhaps most of all, it’s a story about claiming the right … Continue reading A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett
The Witch’s Heart is intense and magical. It is NOT a romance novel, although there are love stories in it. It is loosely based on Norse mythology. Since I know almost nothing about Norse mythology this book was full of surprises for me. Fans of Norse mythology might not get the same sense of surprise, but I think they will share my enjoyment of the rich world and characters. We begin with the story of … Continue reading The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Content warning: Emotional and physical abuse of a child (off-page but discussed by protagonists), alcoholism and resulting neglect of another child (off-page, but discussed by protagonist), character orphaned by the Bali Tsunami Much Ado About You is a contemporary romance in what I can only describe as the wish-fulfilment genre. Evie, fresh off an online dating disappointment, ups sticks and moves from Chicago to the tiny village of Alnster in Northumberland, responding to an ad … Continue reading Much Ado About You by Samantha Young
