This Time It’s Real is a YA celebrity romance that focuses a lot on identity and fitting in. Eliza Lin’s mother is a corporate crisis manager, and as a result of her mom’s career she’s spent her childhood living all over the world. Now she’s in Beijing, and even though she’s Chinese, she doesn’t feel like she fits in at her new school any better than her last one. Eliza’s passion is writing, and for … Continue reading This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang →
I loathe exercise. I don’t mean that I dislike it. I don’t mean that I talk about how much I hate it as a form of humble bragging i.e. “You know running is just SO HARD on the knees but it was SUCH A RUSH finishing the marathon in first place.” No, I really, really hate it. I would never, ever, ever have expected to fall in love with a book about exercise but…I think … Continue reading Work It Out by Sarah Kurchak →
I adored Something Wild and Wonderful, a sweet romance between two men who meet while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I thought it was a beautifully written, funny, warm, touching, empowering, and sexy grumpy-sunshine story. However, certain aspects of the book might make it a “love it or hate it” read. Readers should be prepared for discussion of homophobia in the context of coming out, and for one on-page instance of vocal homophobia. Sometimes … Continue reading Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly →
Verity and the Forbidden Suitor is not a stand alone book, y’all. I started reading and immediately flailed in a sea of characters that I might have cared about if I’d read the first book in the series. I was annoyed, but the book eventually settled down into an unabashedly romantic, and slightly gothic, story set in a racially mixed nobility reminiscent of Bridgerton. Dr. Theodore Darrington is a brilliant doctor with little patience for … Continue reading Verity and the Forbidden Suitor by J.J. McAvoy →
Content warning: Violence including gun stuff This is not an objective review because the Sookie Stackhouse novels are a foundational element of my psyche. I am positioned to love anything and everything that Charlaine Harris writes. That being said, I think I can make a pretty good case for why reading this book may be a good idea for the right reader – with a definite caveat in #4. I. A completely fresh book-world. This … Continue reading An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris →
Recently I devoured a book, and when I mentioned it, Shana squeed right back at me. So, enjoy our absolute squee-party about this book! Sarah: Shana, I just tore through Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade. Devoured the whole book in less than a day. Oh my gosh, there is so much to love about this book. The Pining. Top-shelf pine forest full of pining. For six years they live on that island for months and … Continue reading Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade →
Dr. Perfect is a low stakes, low angst contemporary romance that’s as much about loving what you do as it is about finding the love of your life. Ellie Frost set aside her passion for cooking to work as a manager for her motorbike racer ex. When he breaks up with her, she’s left with a huge gap in her CV, no severance and few options (he, of course, kept her off the books). Ellie … Continue reading Dr. Perfect by Louise Bay →
Dear readers, I would be remiss if I did not point out that Cassandra Khaw’s book The Salt Grows Heavy is about what happens when a horror story version of a mermaid teams up with a version of Frankenstein’s monster to burn it all down. It is, in its own blood-soaked, rage-fuelled way, a romance. There may not be many of us for whom this is our jam, but if it IS your jam, buckle … Continue reading The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw →
We have a word among the bitchery: catnip. Catnip in this context is not the plant, it is the trope, or group of tropes that is our personal drug of choice. The Mimicking of Known Successes is a queer science fiction romance/mystery featuring a woman who is of the Sherlock Holmes mode of detective and another woman as the Watson type, although unlike some versions of Watson, this one is intelligent and useful. I understand … Continue reading The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older →
It’s almost laughable at this point that I’m still reviewing Laura Griffin books. I could save everyone time and just write a one-liner: great book, read it. I really like these books. Deep Tide focuses on a character I’ve really enjoyed in this series: Leyla Breda. Her brothers were the heroes in the other books and I enjoyed them when they found their HEAs, but in this one, they were often a little one dimensional with some … Continue reading Deep Tide by Laura Griffin →
Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat is a stand-alone contemporary romance by the author of A Holly Jolly Diwali, which Elyse reviewed. Holly Jolly Diwali introduced Niki Randhawa, a young woman who had spent her life trying to be the perfect daughter. Jasmine and Jake rock the Boat puts the focus on Jasmine, Niki’s wild sister, who sees herself as a constant disappointment to her parents. I read Jasmine and Jake without having read Holly … Continue reading Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat by Sonya Lalli →
