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→
It is no secret. I love. This. Series. With each book that is released, I wonder, can this one reach the same heights as the preceding ones? Each time, I am shown in no uncertain terms that it absolutely can. Gabriel runs a gambling establishment in London. Ginny’s brother loses his entire, newly inherited fortune while gambling at that establishment. As the older sister who stepped into the breach when her parents died, Ginny travels … Continue reading Game of Rogues by Julie Anne Long→
I have now read a grand total of two dark romances. The first was so utterly shit that I didn’t attempt the genre again for a few years. While it was a very popular book, it was not at all appealing, and afterward I wasn’t sure what were hallmarks of the genre and what was just bad writing. I see now how wrong I was. It was plain bad writing. Butcher and Blackbird is the … Continue reading Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver→
I went to The Devil Wears Prada 2 hoping to get some feel-good nostalgia, but found the movie to be so disconnected from the present moment that I had a hard time investing in the conflict or characters. The acting is great, but the plot doesn’t stand the test of time. Set 20 years after the original, the movie addresses the death of print journalism when award winning journalist Andy (Anne Hathaway) loses her job … Continue reading The Devil Wears Prada 2→
The Trembling Hand: Reflections of a Black Woman in the Romantic Archive is a great book for people who are interested in the Romantics (in this context, I’m referring to artists who were part of the artistic movement known as Romanticism). Author Nabugodi assumes that you are already at least somewhat familiar with this movement and with the lives and works of William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge, Mary and Percy Shelley, John Keats, and Lord Byron. … Continue reading The Trembling Hand by Mathelinda Nabugodi→
Dolly All the Time is set in the fictional seaside town of Whitfield, Rhode Island. The Whitfield family are the big, rich family in town and yes, the town is named after one of them. Stewart is the eldest son and desperate to prove to his family that he can be the new CEO and have a successful romantic life. As it is a family business, this is an important consideration for the board (made … Continue reading Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan→
