When I recommend Instant Loss Cookbook: Cook Your Way to a Healthy Weight with 125 Recipes for Your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker I do so with the caveat that this book really isn’t about weight loss. If you read the introduction, the author is open about the fact that she struggled with obesity, but the real reason she came up with these recipes is that her child was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis and as a … Continue reading Instant Loss Cookbook by Brittany Williams →
Content warning: Spring’s backstory contains abuse, including sexual exploitation, and Garrett is a former slave and child soldier. Both characters face racism, and this is a major plot point. Wild Rain is a lovely, tender romance between Spring, a horse-rancher living in Wyoming, and Garrett, a reporter for a Black newspaper who has travelled out West to interview Spring’s brother. Spring is independent, prickly, and extremely competent, and Garrett is charmed by her almost from … Continue reading Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins →
CW/TW: brief discussions of unidentified eating disorders and depression I cannot emphasize enough how hungry this book will make you. Accidentally Engaged might be my top pick for “don’t read while hungry.” Between our heroine Reena’s bread baking (there’s rye, there’s challah, there’s an ongoing battle with a sourdough starter) and her Indian and East African cooking, I was craving a feast pretty much the whole time I was reading this book. Reena is a … Continue reading Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron →
All Consuming was the sweet, hot, low-tension romance that I really needed this week. Kal and Hannah were a couple in high school, but broke up when Kal left for college. They reconnect at their ten year school reunion, and find that not only is the spark still there, but that time and experience have made them better able to love each other in the ways they both need. There isn’t a lot of conflict … Continue reading All Consuming by Jaci Burton →
An Unexpected Peril was, as expected, perfect vacation reading. Veronica and Stoker are assisting with the preparations for an exhibit at the Curiosity Club commemorating a mountain climber, Alice Baker-Greene. Greene died in a climbing accident in the country of Alpenwald, and the princess of Alpenwald has arrived in England for the opening of the exhibit, which is as much about the country as it is about Greene’s climbing achievements. Then, in short order, they … Continue reading An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn →
Sometimes a book is pretty much exactly what you think it’s going to be, and that’s not a bad thing! When I started reading After The Gold, I was expecting a high-drama sports romance with lots of angst both about sports and not-sports, and this book totally delivered. After the Gold follows a figure skating pair team, Katie and Brendan, who are trying to figure out what to do both personally and professionally now that … Continue reading After the Gold by Erin McRae and Racheline Maltese →
TW: child abuse, drug abuse, addiction and recovery Fans of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice might recall meeting Anne de Bourgh for a hot minute and also hearing her referred to incessantly by her domineering mother, Lady Catherine. The Heiress tells Anne’s story from her point of view, beginning in early childhood and extending through the entirety of her life. This book was not what I expected, but I loved it once I adjusted … Continue reading The Heiress by Molly Greeley →
TW/CW for the book and this review: discussions of infertility, death in childbirth. Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wish I could read a Western that has a queer girl gang”? Well, guess what? I have great news. While I don’t typically read Westerns, I was drawn in by the blurb for Outlawed: The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada’s life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as … Continue reading Outlawed by Anna North →
When I was seven or eight years old, one of the highlights of my week was laying on the floor in my living room and watching Dolly Parton’s variety show, Dolly. I was absolutely rapt and thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, with the very best, biggest hair ever. So you can understand why the hair was such a big deal to me, here’s a promo shot of Dolly from the … Continue reading Songteller: My Life in Lyrics by Dolly Parton →
CW: transphobia experienced by a character I recently got a Nintendo Switch Lite and my husband started sliding me links for games he thought I might like. One was for a dating sim with elderly people called Later Daters. I thought it sounded cute, bought it, and promptly forgot all about it for a month because I was addicted to Hades at the time. Holy smacks, was I ever right about it being cute, and … Continue reading Game Review: Later Daters →
Content warning: Grief and loss, neglectful parents Love at First is a contemporary romance about community and healing from grief, and what makes a home and a family. The story centres around a block of apartments in Chicago, and its two newest residents. Nora inherited her apartment from her Nonna about a year ago, but having spent all her summers there as a child, she views it with the affection of a resident of more … Continue reading Love at First by Kate Clayborn →
