This guest review is by Emma Holliday. Emma Holliday is a Berlin-based writer, blogger, and all-around creative type. As a teenager, she read romance ironically, but these days she loves happily-ever-afters with her whole heart. She’s a feminist, an Episcopalian, and a Hufflepuff. You can find out more about her on emmaholliday.com. … In for a Penny was Rose Lerner’s first book, and although it shows a little bit in the pacing, it was a delightful … Continue reading Guest Review: In for a Penny by Rose Lerner →
Susan “Sukey” Lazarus has been a favorite character of mine since I first met her as the sharp-eyed 12-year-old “medium” apprentice in An Unnatural Vice, the second book in the author’s Sins of the Cities series. Adult Susan, who is bisexual, reappeared nearly two decades later as the friend of one of the heroes in Any Old Diamonds, bent on revenge and just as perceptive. Susan was the engine of the riveting plot twist in … Continue reading Gilded Cage by K.J. Charles →
The Duke’s Stolen Bride by Sophie Jordan is about a young woman who wants to be a courtesan in order to support her siblings and needs a foxy duke to give her sex lessons. It’s not erotic, per say se, although I will say it’s hotter than a fair amount of historicals, and while I felt the hero and heroine had a ton of chemistry, I also thought the book relied too much on external … Continue reading The Duke’s Stolen Bride by Sophie Jordan →
Hard Chrome is a contemporary romance where a woman returns home after the death of her dad to take over his auto body shop. The shop also specializes in classic car restoration and repairs. Unfortunately, I realized early on this was going to be a perfect storm of “No thanks” due to rude and judgmental behavior from the protagonists that was offensive and reminded me too much of people I try to stay away from. … Continue reading Hard Chrome by Vanessa North →
Xeni was such a treat to read. When I heard this contemporary romance had a chubby Scot and an African-American witch, in a marriage arranged by a dead relative, I was all in. These characters felt realistic and like they could have been my friends, albeit the kind of friends who keep sneaking away to bone in the bathroom. Their romance was both completely absorbing and drama-free. It was like drinking an automatically re-filling glass … Continue reading Xeni by Rebekah Weatherspoon →
It’s meet-disaster for Laura Hayes and Alex Archer: Fascinated by water, Laura is at the local pond practicing her diving skills. Alex thinks she’s drowning and tries to “save” her, much to her indignation. Little does Laura know that wading into the pond to save her was an act of sheer courage on Alex’s part, connected to a past he’d rather forget. A Convenient Fiction is the third book in the author’s Parish Orphans of … Continue reading A Convenient Fiction by Mimi Matthews →
I am a simple human. I like robots. I like tea. I like reading about people falling in love, especially if they’re gay. So when I heard there was an f/f romance about a robot that runs a tea shop, I one-clicked so hard Jeff Bezos got a bruise. The Cybernetic Tea Shop is a novella set in future-ish Seattle. The year is never specified, but it’s mentioned that AI was invented 300 years ago, … Continue reading The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz →
Well this was just…neat! Bloodlust and Bonnets is a graphic novel in which a bloodthirsty Regency ingenue named Lucy teams up with Byron the poet and Sham, a vampire hunter, to fight vampires. The fact that Byron never seems to understand what’s going on, Sham is always lost, and Lucy would actually like to BE a vampire confuses the matter immensely, leading to hijinks and an amazing amount of red ink. At the start of … Continue reading Bloodlust and Bonnets by Emily McGovern →
Ignore your first impressions of the cover — yes, I’m already frantically googling that dress for the inevitable closing date of my Gothic mansion, but the cover doesn’t exactly scream romance novel. Rest assured, The Widow of Rose House is 100% a historical romance, complete with charming sequel-bait family members, protagonists smelling like sandalwood (it’s the heroine this time!), sex scenes with protection (more of this in historicals, please), and a central love story that … Continue reading The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller →
This is a joint review by Carrie and AJ. Wayward Son is the second book in a spinoff series — you might also want to check out Carrie’s review for the previous book, Carry On, and Sarah’s review for the book that started it all, Fangirl. Carrie: Wayward Son is the sequel to Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell. If you haven’t read Carry On yet, go do that. I’ll try to avoid spoilers for Carry On … Continue reading Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell →
Recently, I treated myself to a trawl through Bikini Books, a legendary secondhand bookstore in Gordon’s Bay, South Africa. It is the kind of shop that gifts you with surprises, if you take the time to look. One such book was The Coroner’s Daughter by Andrew Hughes. It is a whodunnit with the coroner’s daughter, Abigail Lawless, taking up the investigator’s mantle when those in authority aren’t brave enough to wade into uncertain waters. This … Continue reading The Coroner’s Daughter by Andrew Hughes →
