The Wedding Date is charming and delightful, and it saved me from getting overly hysterical on a flight to Costa Rica. It’s not a perfect book, and I found myself giving the hero my “WTF” face a few times, but the awesomeness of the heroine thrilled me. To give you some context, for me, flying is essentially a panic attack from take off to landing. I can take two Xanax to soften the impending misery, … Continue reading The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory →
The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen is a psychological thriller with a twisty-turny beginning, but a failure to stick the landing. Trigger warning for rape and violence. Ellery Hathaway is the only living victim of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. Now an adult, and a police officer, Ellery has changed her name and moved to tiny Woodbury, MA where no one knows about her terrifying past. Then three people vanish from her small town, each … Continue reading The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen →
A Girl Walks into a Bar is a choose your own romance book, and I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that maybe this format either isn’t for me, or doesn’t particularly work in the genre. I’ve reviewed two similar books in the past. One, I hated. Another was cute and fun, but the awesome options were heavily skewed toward one direction. The first decision you’re asked to make in A Girl Walks into a Bar … Continue reading A Girl Walks into a Bar by Helena S. Paige →
Elements: Fire is an anthology of short comics by creators of color. All of the art is in black and white, with red accents. The result is visually striking and gives the anthology cohesion while also demonstrating a variety of art styles. All of the stories involve speculative fiction, including non-European-based fantasy and some “smash the dystopia” style science fiction. The best thing about this anthology is that it showcases so many artists and writers. … Continue reading Elements: Fire edited by Taneka Stotts →
This is an introductory novella to a series about women who all attended the MacLaine Performing Arts Academy in Washington D.C., and I’ll admit, I would have bought the novella on the strength of the cover alone. Isn’t it gorgeous? Bina MacLaine is the daughter of the founder of the Academy, and now that she’s an adult, she teaches dance there and manages a lot of the operations. She’s a year off a traumatically broken … Continue reading On Pointe by Shelly Ellis →
I’ve been trying to branch out in my reading this year, and so despite not being a sports person I read The Art of Running in Heels by Rachel Gibson. For the most part I enjoyed it, but I couldn’t get past all the sexist and homophobic comments, especially those uttered by the heroine’s father (who is also the hero’s hockey coach). Trigger warning for quotes in this review that include misogynist, homophobic language. Here’s … Continue reading The Art of Running in Heels by Rachel Gibson →
Oh, you guys. I have to review this book for you because I laughed so loud and so long that my husband had to kick me out of the room. This is the third Dahlia Moss book and every one seems to get better and better. In these stressful times who doesn’t need a book that makes you laugh out loudly and often? Dahlia Moss is NOT a private detective because she doesn’t have her … Continue reading The Questionable Behavior of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone →
This is a difficult book to grade. I finished it because I wanted to see what happened. At the same time, I was easily distracted while reading because I got bored being told everything. I was curious about the rules of the magic and the roles of difference characters, but I was also really uneasy and at times repulsed by the portrayal of those characters. Some existed without connection to context or larger meaning, even … Continue reading Deadly Sweet by Lola Dodge →
If you’ve listened to our We Look Ahead to 2018 podcast episode, you might have heard me fumbling for words over how much I enjoyed The Ones Who Got Away. I want to issue a warning that the book focuses on the survivors of a school shooting. It’s a touchy subject to tackle, especially in romance, but it was also one of the main reasons why I picked up the book. However, if you’re sensitive … Continue reading The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren →
I was so, so excited to read #Starstruck by Sariah Wilson. The premise of a fan interacting with her favorite movie star on Twitter, and that interaction subsequently leading to a romance, is all of my catnips. I love private lives vs public selves stories. Unfortunately this book suffers from underdeveloped heroine, an offensive remark about homosexuality, a very misleading message about being sexually active and a poor understanding of feminism. The book pissed me off. Rant … Continue reading #Starstruck by Sariah Wilson →
This guest review is from Poppy, who picked up Kulti after it was featured in a previous books on sale. This book is frequently recommended when it comes to sports romances and is an autobuy author for many readers, so we’re happy to finally have a review for it on the site! … I saw the sale for Mariana Zapata’s Kulti a few weeks ago on this site and one-clicked it pretty quickly. The story blurb … Continue reading Guest Review: Kulti by Mariana Zapata →
