For the duration of my time with The Cloak and Dagger Club, there was one question which I kept asking myself: Why am I still reading this book? It was the same reason I finish every murder-mystery novel I pick up: I need to know who the killer is. Often this is to my detriment. I have dragged my suffering self through many a terrible novel just to know who killed the victim. It’s okay, … Continue reading The Cloak and Dagger Club by Jackie McMahon →
I made a tactical error with this book. While I originally picked this one up because of the cover (a clearly plus size main character? Sold!) I read the acknowledgements before writing the review. In that piece of writing, it became clear just how much of the author’s own life was put on the page. Big things. Life changing things. It made me look at the book differently. I really enjoyed Vera Stein is Fine … Continue reading Vera Stein is Fine by Julie Murphy →
I absolutely loved The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub so you can imagine my glee when she wrote a second book, The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet. Even the fact that it was a library book and my dog chewed up the cover and I had to pay for it did not lessen my joy. Here is the publisher’s summary of the plot: Awkward, plain, and overlooked, Mary Bennet has … Continue reading The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub →
The protagonist of Fabulous Bodies, Poppy, appears on the scene as a horrible person who has survived a horrible childhood. Early on, she meets someone who says, “I’m not a bad guy. I’m just a survivor.” Over the course of the novel, Poppy learns what the difference is. This story by Chuck Tingle is a gory horror-thriller that I absolutely ate up, but be prepared for a high body count and a lot of implausibility. … Continue reading Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle →
The blurb promised me a Regency Bachelorette (like the TV show). What I found was a bit different, but nonetheless a great time. It has been decreed by the powers that be (yes, I’m being vague on purpose) that Charlotte should marry by the end of the summer. She has her own reasons for marrying and can’t see her way out of this ‘decree’ anyway, so her gran invites a series of eligible suitors to … Continue reading Just for the Season by Rachel Griffiths →
When I read the following scene near the start of Big Stick Energy, I knew I was going to have a good time with this hockey romance. The captain, Eric (our hero) describes his teammates getting off the bus by saying “I watch as they file toward the front, a procession of exhausted millionaires griping like toddlers before nap time.” It made me hoot with laughter. I thought, here was a sports romance that a … Continue reading Big Stick Energy by Sarina Bowen →
I am RIDDLED with flu and seem to have spent most of the weekend waiting for my flu meds to kick in. To pass the time, I picked up Dearest Beast and it did a very good job of distracting me from my revolting sinuses and aching body. Rebecca works as a midwife in London in the early 1800s. Our hero Roger’s truly horrific 9-year-old daughter Fannie sets fire to Rebecca’s workroom (and house) through … Continue reading Dearest Beast by Felicia Grossman →
We are here, the end of the series. It’s been a fun time. But did the final climax (i.e. this book) live up to the promised drama suggested in the preceding books? I made a critical error with this installment. I’ve been more active on social media lately and I let myself get swept up by the hype around Shattered Gods so my hopes were impossibly high. It is a very rare story that can … Continue reading Shattered Gods by Katee Robert →
I read Hell’s Heart months ago, and my opinion of the book has only risen since then because I give extra points to any book that sticks in my head over time. Every time I think about Hell’s Heart I smile, even though all I really remember of it is that everyone is queer, everyone is in thrall to capitalism, and the characters spend their time hunting giant creatures through space. In other words, it’s … Continue reading Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall →
This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviews at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at _@thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next … Continue reading Bridgerton: Happily Ever After by Julia Quinn →
I persisted through this book for one reason: I NEEDED to know who the killer was. That’s it. That’s the only reason. As a mystery, it is compelling, twisty and enjoyable. As a romance, it made me want to throw my e-reader against a wall. So many of the secondary characters are total assholes. Truly. Even our heroine is a selfish dickwad. Across the characters, sometimes that asshole-ness is because they’re just assholes. For example, … Continue reading It Happened One Murder by Liz Lawson →
