This guest review was written by Crystal Anne With An E. Crystal reads a lot, cross-stitches, and is an autism consultant by day and goes to library school by night. She is a Hufflepuff, because honey badgers don’t give a shit. Crystal Anne also reviewed Slayer, the first book in this duology. … Well, folks, guess who’s back, back again. It seemed unfair to review the first in Kiersten White’s Slayer series and not hit … Continue reading Guest Review: Chosen by Kiersten White →
Content Warning: Sexual Harassment, #MeToo and the costs of reporting Undercover Bromance is an enemies to lovers story that plays with traditional romantic tropes in some clever ways. I have very mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed reading it, and I think it was trying to do some fairly interesting and ambitious things. And it succeeded in some of them; the recurring theme of fantasy/perfection as a romantic hero versus the authenticity/respect for … Continue reading Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams →
A Phoenix First Must Burn is a remarkable, uplifting, and interesting anthology of short stories by Black authors about Black women and non-gender-conforming people. The story styles range from Weird West to epic fantasy to dystopia, and many reflect the systemic challenges Black people face. However, the stories also give us characters who are triumphant, finding the best truth and self-actualization possible within circumstances that range from intensely constrained to sky’s-the-limit. Several characters are LGBTQIA … Continue reading A Phoenix First Must Burn edited by Patrice Caldwell →
This has a tantalizing premise, a vicar who’s also a rake, but reading it was a dreary slog. The amount of plot in Wild Wild Rake almost reached 1990s crazysauce level, yet it wasn’t a compelling read. I found most of the characters in Wild Wild Rake confusing, or unlikable. The hero was both. At the beginning of the book, Devan is a dissolute gentleman who’s cultivated a reputation as a womanizer, and publicly loathes … Continue reading Wild, Wild Rake by Janna MacGregor →
Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue is a delightful and tightly written novella (with a gorgeous cover!) about a kindergarten teacher developing a relationship with a student’s dad over a time period of about six months. There was actual guffawing coming from my direction and, granted I will acknowledge that I read it while drinking some spiked agua fresca which was more spike than agua fresca (my kingdom for a decent alcoholic agua de jamaica), I’m … Continue reading Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue →
Let’s get this out of the way – Clueless remains the best film adaptation of Emma, the novel by Jane Austen, to date, in terms of capturing the essence of the novel’s title character. Having said that, the current (2020) version offers sumptuous scenery, costuming, and staging, gorgeous cinematography, some adept historical touches, and nuanced acting. I sometimes disagreed with the film’s interpretation of Emma Woodhouse, but never with actress Anya Taylor-Joy’s actual performance, in … Continue reading Movie Review: Emma (2020) →
CW: Homophobia, racism, toxic family, disordered eating Big Girl Pill is the first book I’ve picked up in a long time where I didn’t bother to read the blurb before diving in. Even though the cover doesn’t do it for me, I wasn’t concerned because I’ve enjoyed KD Williamson’s other books (she’s most known for a series where she pairs up doctors and police officers, which is like catnip for many an f/f romance reader). … Continue reading Big Girl Pill by KD Williamson →
Salty, Bitter Sweet is more of a coming-of-age story than a romance, although romance plays a large part. This story involves a self-absorbed and privileged narrator and is told in first-person-present-tense. It also involves food, women learning to support each other in a male-dominated field, and a multicultural group of characters. Also a dog. So . . . kind of a mixed bag. Our story revolves around Isabella Fields, an American seventeen-year old who has … Continue reading Salty, Bitter, Sweet by Mayra Cuevas →
Content warning: Lockdown situation at a high school, emotionally absent/neglectful parents. Also, the main characters are professional athletes and talk/think about food and nutrition in a way that might be triggering for people with eating disorders. The thing that happens when you follow certain romance authors on Twitter for a while is that you find yourself slowly becoming obsessed with figure skating. This is a rather disappointing obsession to have in Australia, where the ISU … Continue reading Every Reason We Shouldn’t by Sara Fujimara →
After reading a slew of perfectly adequate but largely forgettable romances lately, reading The Lord I Left was a nice, trope-tastic surprise. Granted, I’d sign up for pretty much any story featuring a snowy road trip, but I got a lot more than that by the end of this book. Henry Evesham, Methodist preacher, former editor of a “evangelical news rag,” and a Lord Lieutenant tasked with investigating London’s sex trade, is saying his goodbyes … Continue reading The Lord I Left by Scarlett Peckham →
Upright Women Wanted (which my brain keeps reading as Uppity Women Wanted), is short but packs a powerful punch. This book about librarians leading the resistance in a war-torn dystopic American southwest may not be for everyone, but if the line, “Are you a coward, or are you a Librarian?” makes your heart sing then you should definitely check this out. Esther lives in Arizona, during a time similar to the Old West but with … Continue reading Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey →
