The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso presents a strong entry in the annals of badass fantasy heroines in the form of Queen Talyien of Jin-Sayeng. She is the first queen of her small martial country. During the book’s first sentence we learn that she is known as the “bitch queen” and the “She-wolf” because she murdered a man on the eve of her coronation and (purportedly) exiled the husband who was supposed to be … Continue reading The Wolf of Oren-Yaro
I’ve been salivating over A Cowboy to Remember for months. The actual story was quieter than I expected, but it also had feminist cowboys in Southern California, so I can’t be mad. As a regular fan of Weatherspoon, the tone of A Cowboy to Remember felt flatter than the cheeky dialogue of her recent books (Rafe, Xeni). I wanted more angst and laughs, but the book left me with the warm glow of having just … Continue reading A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon
Whiteout by Adriana Anders is a romantic suspense novel with elements of survival and espionage. The tropes are 100% Elyse-bait and the author’s ability to sell me on two people falling in love during some really dire circumstances was impressive. Despite this book being the first full book in a series, readers may want to read the prequel novella in Turn the Tide to be fully introduced to the secondary characters. The book opens in … Continue reading Whiteout by Adriana Anders
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James was the feminist, cold-case mystery I didn’t know I was waiting for. It has everything. It has intrepid amateur detectives. It has vengeful female ghosts. It has delicious justice and women coming together to deliver it. Added to all of that, the mystery was executed perfectly. In fact, here’s the one-line review I posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElyseIndeed/status/1228791553696698369 The book is set in two different timelines, 2017 and … Continue reading The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
In Chasing Cassandra, the sixth book in the Ravenels series, railway magnate Tom Severin finally gets his turn to be the hero. I have been hoping for a book about Tom since he was introduced in the first book in the Ravenels series. After all, I love to read about a Sad Historical Businessman brought low by love! Unfortunately, while I enjoyed this book, it also pained me because I felt like it could have … Continue reading Chasing Cassandra by Lisa Kleypas
A Taste of Her Own Medicine is both an erotic romance, and a post-divorce reinvention story. This book was earthy, sensual, and made sex in a garden sound strangely reasonable. Sonia is an herbalist and newly single mother who decides to start her own business after years of propping up her ex-husband’s career. She takes an entrepreneurship class, and falls into mutual insta-lust with her teacher, a younger man named Atlas. Yes, this is a … Continue reading A Taste of Her Own Medicine by Tasha L. Harrison
At one point in this book, the hero and heroine sip moonshine and slowly grind on the dance floor of a speakeasy, both of them dazed by the attraction that pings between them. The scene is languorous and sexy, and neatly epitomizes what I loved about White Whiskey Bargain. This is a book where heat builds slowly but intensely, featuring an emotionally mature couple who don’t let their fears keep them from exploring a romance. … Continue reading White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter
Daughter of the Sun is the second book in the Tales of Inthya series, but it stands alone, and does not overlap at all with The Queen of Ieflaria. It is a simple, sweet story about the power of kindness to inspire love and change. Orsina is a Paladin of the God Iolar, whose mission is to fight evil and in particular to banish Chaos Gods, who enthrall their worshippers and lead them into destructive … Continue reading Daughter of the Sun by Effie Calvin
Before we get into Birds of Prey, my experience, and what this means for moviegoers like myself, I’ll just give you the TL;DR portion of the review now. Go see it. The movie is fun, cathartic, has some amazing cinematography, and a kickass soundtrack. But there was a sadness that accompanied this movie, which occurred when I emerged from the theaters and made the dumbest decision of my life, which was logging onto Twitter. The … Continue reading Movie Review: Birds of Prey (2020)
Bitchery, I have a conundrum. I loved this book, then I hated this book, then I softened, and now I don’t know how I feel. First, the parts I loved: In its favour, we have a wonderful heroine in Miss Elizabeth Black, the headmistress of a school for middle-class girls in Victorian London. However, Elizabeth has more strings to her bow than the general public realise. Not only does she write ‘high brow’ silver spoon … Continue reading The Lady and the Highwayman by Sarah M. Eden
CW/TW: sexual assault, violence A Witch In Time is billed as the story of magically star-crossed lovers, both artists, cursed to be reincarnated and live out their doomed affair again and again throughout history. Based on the description and premise, I thought this book was going to be an atmospheric, poetic, romantic, and maybe slightly sad book with some occult elements. Not only was it not really any of those things, it was also an … Continue reading A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers
