Fake is a fake relationship celebrity romance that will either really work for people or not work at all. It’s tropey, has a first person POV that limits engagement with the hero, and also is largely absent of conflict. If you’re looking for something with a lot of character development and a good bleak moment, this book will not satisfy. If you want to enjoy a largely conflict-free celebrity-Cinderella fantasy and don’t need the hero’s … Continue reading Fake by Kylie Scott →
Bitchery, I am on a quest to bring you all of the fantasy romance and romantic fantasy I can get my hands on. As a part of this quest I finally picked up Vengeance Born, a fantasy romance from 2012 that has been on my TBR for a few years now. There were some things I quite liked about this series opener and some things that made me shake my head and sigh, but overall, … Continue reading Vengeance Born by Kylie Griffin →
Bitchery, I struggled with this book. Not with the reading of it, so much, but with trying to parse my feelings and opinions on it, which are complicated. I was very excited about this #OwnVoices book about a trans witch bound in a magical engagement with his childhood best friend, a fae prince. And the initial chapters really drew me in. I wanted to like this so badly!!! But I ultimately kind of did not. … Continue reading The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon →
Shana: When Tara showed me the blurb for an opposites-attract rom-com set in a sex toy store, I jumped on the chance to read it together. I’m glad I did, because Satisfaction Guaranteed is my first official Squee of 2021. Tara: Isn’t it the freaking cutest? This book made me laugh out loud and gave me so many happy sighs. But let’s start by telling everyone what it’s about. When Cade’s aunt Ruth dies, she … Continue reading Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters →
Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft is one of those books that feels as though it was written just for me. As a Mary Wollstonecraft fan, I’m always happy to see her getting some attention above and beyond her role as the famous Mary Shelley’s mother (Full disclosure: I am also a fan of Mary Shelley). This historical fiction novel tells Mary Wollestonecraft’s story from when she first stands up to her father … Continue reading Love and Fury by Samantha Silva →
I love the Penric and Desdemona series by Lois McMaster Bujold, and have listened to most of the novellas while sewing over the past year or so. My delight at learning that there was a new novel length Penric story was not measurable by current methods, even with all three of my tape measures. As of this writing, I am on my third fourth (oy) day of book hangover after finishing it. The Assassins of … Continue reading The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold →
Beth and Amy is a pitch-perfect retelling of Little Women / Good Wives from the point of view of Beth, Amy, and occasionally Abigail March. It completely captures the personalities of the March girls and their friends and family, while bringing them convincingly into the modern era. I loved it. Amy is returning to Bunyan for her sister Jo’s wedding to Eric Bhaer, and is apprehensive about seeing Trey Lawrence again. She has had a … Continue reading Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra →
How to Find a Princess is a playful retelling of Anastasia with a lovable cast of characters that made me smile. It pairs a reliable pragmatist with her catnip, a chaotic adventurer. If you found the first novel in the Reluctant Royals series a bit stressful, rejoice! The sequel has less angst, but it also has an abrupt ending. Makeda Hicks grew up listening to her grandmother’s stories of an affair with a man who … Continue reading How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole →
I didn’t expect this book to make me cry, but it did. Specifically, I got teary when I was reading the introduction and came across this sentence: “It shouldn’t require an act of feminism to know how your body works, but it does.” I felt equal parts furious, seen, and relieved when I read that. When The Vagina Bible was released a couple of years ago, I devoured it, paying special attention to the section … Continue reading The Menopause Manifesto by Dr. Jen Gunter →
Some books defy reviews and Forever Amber, written by Kathleen Winsor in 1944, is one of them. Should you read it? Darned if I know. There’s a lot of toxic crap in it, and it features an amoral anti-heroine. There’s also great historical detail, and I cannot tell a lie, I tore through this book as though it was a bag of Cheetos, in that I knew it was bad for me but I couldn’t … Continue reading Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor →
When Books Went To War, by Molly Guptill Manning, is a delightful non-fiction sure to delight the heart of any bibliophile and/or history nerd. The book is fairly short for non-fiction (the paperback is just under 200 pages not counting appendixes), and easy to read (it avoids jargon). It’s fascinating and heartwarming and informative. I loved this book and would suggest it for any avid reader. When America joined WWII, the troops had many problems, … Continue reading When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning →
