This book is exemplary. It can literally be held up as an actual example of what a romance novel should be. I am in awe. But before I wax lyrical about the many ways in which this book is excellent, let’s set the scene. Simon and Charlie are co-stars on a sci-fi TV series and for the seven years that the show has been running, they’ve been fighting, squabbling, and disagreeing. Simon is considering leaving … Continue reading Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian
I’m not even going to pretend that I picked this book up by chance. I had meant to read it last year when it came out, but didn’t. I don’t know why. I don’t have a good reason. Post-Heated Rivalry TV show obsession, I remembered I had this novel waiting for me on my Kindle. I started it last night when I got in bed. I read it while I was pumping milk in the … Continue reading The Shots You Take by Rachel Reid
When I sat down to write this piece, I had no idea it would turn into a rant, but it did. My head swirled with thoughts and all of them were burning a hole in my stomach, desperate to be let loose. Release the Kraken! I shouldn’t have read this book. It irritated me MULTIPLE TIMES. It’s irritated me so much that I can’t even bring myself to do a recap of the premise like … Continue reading And Now, Back to You by BK Borison
I’m a big KJ Charles fan so it was inevitable that I would read this book one day. I read it this weekend and I had a great time, with a couple caveats. Aaron is a police detective in London in the 1920s. He is told about a graphologist, Joel, who can decipher people’s personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy. Aaron is sure that Joel is a charlatan or a con artist of some … Continue reading Copper Script by KJ Charles
Meet the Newmans is a novel set in 1964 that follows a real-life family playing a TV family. It’s about our authentic selves versus our public selves within the framework of the rise of second wave feminism. It also deals with queer identity. The Newmans, father Del, mother Dinah, and sons Guy and Shep, are a real life family who also play a sanitized version of themselves on TV. They are the perfect White, middle … Continue reading Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven
I picked this book up for a ridiculous reason: a misreading of the title. I read Dom-Con – a convention of doms and I found that idea hilarious. That notion was quickly dispelled when I read the cover again followed shortly by the blurb. I’m thankful for that silly mistake of mine because I had a lot of fun. Rae is a total newbie to the BDSM world when she rocks up to a BDSM … Continue reading Dom-Com by Adriana Anders
I had a tremendous amount of fun with this book. Not only is it actually laugh-out-loud funny, the heroine is perfection. Or to quote my Gen Z work colleague, she is goals. Slay. Let’s begin with the trauma that makes her who she is. Juliette Winters had two psychologists for parents who treated her more as a lab experiment than a beloved daughter. They published books about her! Multiple books! The result is that Juliette … Continue reading Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies by Jenny Elder Moke
My only exposure to the Bachelor franchise is Elyse’s commentaries/summaries of episodes. But apparently a book set in a Bachelor-like TV show works for me! With some caveats.… Georgia is a cast member of Love Shack, along with 19 other women, most of whom are in pursuit of the bachelor: Roland, a professional tennis player, who is currently not playing due to an injury. You don’t meet all of the women, obviously. It would be … Continue reading Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel
This guest review is from Friday! Friday is a long-time fan of romance stories and adventure films, lurking on this website for many years. Currently living in North Queensland with an alarmingly large library, and no plans to stop buying and reading interesting books. She has travelled extensively with varying degrees of satisfaction and would like to do more. Friday is a woman who wishes that ballgowns and armour were in fashion for daywear, but … Continue reading For Whom The Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn
Tarot for the Hard Work is one of the best tarot books I’ve come across in a long time! This book uses the Major Arcana (the first twenty-two cards in a tarot deck) to explore the role of tarot in helping the reader understand systemic racism and intersectional inequality and how to dismantle these oppressive systems. As much as I love getting my books from the library, I encourage readers to buy a copy of … Continue reading Tarot for the Hard Work, by Maria Minnis
I read this book in snatched moments and stolen hours and I adored it. It features tropes that I’m not all that interested in: single dad, nanny x boss, and small town romance, but the writing is so immersive and rich that these didn’t feel like familiar tropes. They felt original and fresh. Like this was the first nanny on the planet to fall in love with her boss. THAT original. But I’m getting ahead … Continue reading Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
