Content warnings: Lots and lots of grief and loss, also death of a secondary character Dearest Josephine is an epistolary novel about grief and coming of age, disguised as a paranormal gothic romance. It is a sweet, clever, beautiful book, and I adored it. In 1820, the recently orphaned Elias Roch meets Josephine DeClare at an inn, and falls instantly and passionately in love. But in the morning, she is gone, and he has no … Continue reading Dearest Josephine by Caroline George →
There’s a theme to The Mystery of Mrs. Christie and it’s, “Maybe don’t fuck with your wife when she invents unsolveable ways to murder people for a living.” In a lot of ways this book is a historical Gone Girl, which normally would be my jam, but I found the suspense disrupted by the fact that this is based on a real event and I already knew what happened. Add to that, we spend a … Continue reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict →
When I started Siri, Who Am I? I did not like it. I was grumpy, because I expected some realism and good detecting, neither of which are in this book. Then I settled into the story I was actually reading, which is as enjoyable and sparkly as one of the slushies that the protagonist enjoys. This is a goofy but also sharp romantic-comedy with a lot of references to pop culture, nerd culture, and the … Continue reading Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida →
The Ex Talk is an enemies-to-lovers fake relationship romance set in the world of public radio. It is also something of a belated coming of age story. Shay Goldstein has been working at Pacific Public Radio for ten years, beginning as the ‘wunderkind’ intern, and rising to the role of producer of the station’s flagship show, Puget Sounds. She loves public radio for its ability to tell stories that connect personally with listeners, and for … Continue reading The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon →
When I first told Sarah I wanted to review The Heiress Gets a Duke, her response was, “But that’s a historical romance.” Yes, correct. Spot on. And, having worked with her for nearly a decade now (whoa!) it’s a fair point. I’ve been open about my aversion to historical romances. It’s not for any personal reasons, but often the tone isn’t for me and I overindulged when I first started in the genre. It’s rare … Continue reading The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George →
The Mask of Mirrors is a long and complicated book and I read it during a time of a lot of stress and very few brain cells. It is very high praise indeed when I say that it kept my attention and had me reading along to see what will happen next, while also pausing to linger on the amazing world-building details. This is a fantasy novel, the first in a trilogy, that begins as … Continue reading The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick →
Mr Right Across the Street is a very sweet, very hot, slow-burn romance. Mia Abbott is building a new life in Manchester, where she has moved after her last relationship ended in the kind of unpleasantries that lead to changing cities and phone numbers. For the first time in her life, she is living alone and far from her family, and she is enjoying the opportunity to rediscover herself as an independent woman. She is … Continue reading Mr. Right Across The Street by Kathryn Freeman →
This Guest Review is from Rachel C. Thomas. “I’m a freelance writer who lives in Western New York with my husband and a sassy rescue dog named Mieko. I was introduced to the library at a young age and it’s been my happy place ever since. My four favorite books are Dracula, The Haunting of Hill House, The Exorcist, and Interview with the Vampire, which should tell you everything you need to know about my … Continue reading Guest Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab →
Her Kind of Cowboy, from the Tying the Knot in Texas series, promises pit bulls and penguins, and it delivers on the pit bulls and somewhat on the penguins. What it does not deliver is a plausible, coherent, consistent storyline or plausible, in depth character development. Don’t get me wrong, I found it highly entertaining, but a large amount of my entertainment came from pondering the many odd things about it (and a couple of … Continue reading Her Kind of Cowboy by Dylann Crush →
If I had to pick one video game that had the most significant combined impact on me as a gamer and a romance reader, it has to be Final Fantasy VIII. FFVIII is essentially a romance novel in RPG video game form and it had an indelible impact in making me love tropes that are STILL major catnip for me, like settings that combine science fiction and magic elements, political intrigues, girls dealing with possibly … Continue reading Squee From the Keeper Shelf: Final Fantasy VIII →
Jane Eyre is in my top ten favorite books and I’m very protective of it. I wrote a short book called Pride Prejudice and Popcorn: TV and Film Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, in which I concluded that any adaption can work as long as it stays true to the themes and characters of the source material. The Wife Upstairs is hard to review because how it works on its … Continue reading The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins →
