Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey is the first book in a new contemporary romance series about the inhabitants of Port Jefferson, Long Island. It has cute small town vibes, renovation elements, and a fake relationship. While Bailey’s writing and the fake relationship trope were what drew me to this book, my enjoyment was greatly offset by a trope that is my anti-catnip: the off limits best friend’s sister. Baseball player Travis Ford has returned … Continue reading Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey →
Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune is what I’d describe as women’s fiction with magical realism. It also has pages upon pages of yummy food descriptions. While the writing is evocative and every foodie’s dream, the weak romantic subplot, haphazard emotional resolution, and frequent repetition of phrases diminished a majority of the shine of the atmosphere and writing. Natalie Tan returns to her childhood home in San Diego’s Chinatown following the death of her … Continue reading Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim →
This guest review comes from Claudia. Thanks, Claudia! At sixteen, Claudia found her older cousin’s stash of Barbara Cartlands and assorted Harlequin-type romance housed in an old sewing cabinet and life was never the same! She loves history, so she mostly reads historical romance. Favorite authors include Meredith Duran, Mary Balogh, Miranda Neville, Elizabeth Kingston, and Rose Lerner. … CW/TW for attempted rape First off, the cover! To me, it pays homage to some of … Continue reading Guest Review: Rebel by Beverly Jenkins →
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is arguably one of the best bad movies I’ve ever seen. It’s terrible. It makes zero sense. It’s also completely aware of the fact that it’s terrible and makes zero sense, has fun with that awareness, and therefore transcends objectively awful into glorious F+ territory. This movie is a messy, ridiculous delight. This movie understands that we’re here for epic CGI battles between giant monsters and that we don’t need … Continue reading Movie Review: Godzilla: King of the Monsters →
NB: This guest review is from Reader Tara Scott. If you want to read her previous guest reviews (and we highly recommend that you do), you can see them all here. Tara reads a lot of lesbian romances. You can catch her regularly reviewing at The Lesbian Review and Lambda Literary and hear her talk about lesbian fiction (including romance) on her podcast Les Do Books. You can also hit her up for recommendations on Twitter (@taramdscott). … Continue reading Guest Review: Full English by Rachel Spangler →
Now THIS is how it’s done! Ayesha At Last is a lovely loose retelling of Pride and Prejudice, with a perfect mix of humor, heartbreak, misunderstandings, and humor. It’s a contemporary set in Canada and the characters are described with empathy and with plenty of surprises. Upon somber reflection it has some flaws, but the reason the flaws are so glaring is that most of the book is so perfect. The Darcy of the book is … Continue reading Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin →
This guest review is from Aarya Marsden. Aarya Marsden is a pseudonym for an Indian-American college student and long-time romance reader. Her favorite authors include Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh, Lucy Parker, Kresley Cole, Alisha Rai, Lisa Kleypas, Alyssa Cole, Tessa Dare, Meredith Duran, Mina V. Esguerra, Kate Clayborn, and many more. You can follow @Aarya_Marsden on Twitter, where she gushes about romance novels and is a firm advocate for a happily-ever-after. … Here’s my elevator … Continue reading Teach Me by Olivia Dade →
I love creepy shit–the creepier the better. The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent promised to deliver some of that creep, but as far as psychological thrillers go, it wasn’t that dark. This book was a little too tame for me, but I think it would be an excellent novel for readers who want to dip their toe into the psychological thriller genre without getting too scared. There is no on-page violence and… The Stillwater Girls … Continue reading The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent →
I Love You So Mochi is an adorable YA with a romance in it, although it’s more of a coming of age story than a romance novel. In this book, Kimi, a Japanese-American high school senior, visits Japan to Find Herself. In the process she connects with her Japanese grandparents, meets A BOY, sees cool stuff, makes things, and eats fantastic food. Kimi is a likeable and engaging heroine, everything is gorgeous, and now I’m hungry … Continue reading I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn →
TW/CW: Domestic abuse, murder, sexual violence. Most are off the page, save for the latter. The Rogue of Fifth Avenue is a spin-off series from The Four Hundred series, though this book operates just fine on its own. It has a phenomenally gorgeous cover and the hero is Frank Tripp, a charming lawyer who we’ve met in other books. I adored the heroine’s chutzpah and how she never wavered in doing what was right, but … Continue reading The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe →
This guest review comes from Claudia. Thanks, Claudia! At sixteen, Claudia found her older cousin’s stash of Barbara Cartlands and assorted Harlequin-type romance housed in an old sewing cabinet and life was never the same! She loves history, so she mostly reads historical romance. Favorite authors include Meredith Duran, Mary Balogh, Miranda Neville, Elizabeth Kingston, and Rose Lerner. … Katherine Wright’s family has been in the free-trade business, otherwise known as smuggling, for generations. She … Continue reading Guest Review: A Rogue by Night by Kelly Bowen →
