Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas is the romance novel equivalent of visiting an old friend and immediately feeling cozy and welcomed and nostalgic. It’s got witty dialogue, a self-aware and charming hero, a heroine is who slightly too pure for this world (but not so much as to be irritating), and cameos from Kleypas’s original Wallflowers. It’s not a perfect book; the conflict is weak and inconsistent, but I felt so happy and warm reading … Continue reading Devil’s Daughter by Lisa Kleypas →
TW/CW: Warnings for graphic violence, self harm, and child abuse. Wicked Saints is a young adult fantasy debut and it’s a goth kid’s dream. Seriously, if you have a thing for anti-heroes, dark magic, and things that are simply metal as fuck, this book is for you. There are some issues that are common in first books of a fantasy series. It took some time to familiarize myself with the world and the mythology, but … Continue reading Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan →
The Princess and the Fangirl is a romantic YA retelling of The Prince and the Pauper, set at a science fiction convention. This book, the second in the Geekerella series, includes a f/f romance and a f/m romance but is primarily about the personal growth of the two heroines, Jessica and Imogene. It is lighter than a piece of glitter but does a good job of capturing the crowded, crazy convention world. You can certainly get … Continue reading The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston →
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 laments about her senior honors thesis. … It took me an … Continue reading Guest Review: The Takeover Effect by Nisha Sharma →
The Takeover Effect is Nisha Sharma’s (My So Called Bollywood Life) first published contemporary romance novel, and focuses on three Punjabi Sikh brothers. This is the first in the series and the hero is the eldest brother. As one of my most anticipated books for the first half of 2019, I was eager to get started. While there are some really fantastic elements, I experienced confusion at the setup, a hero I didn’t warm to … Continue reading The Takeover Effect by Nisha Sharma →
This review is by Claudia. At sixteen, I found my older cousin’s stash of Barbara Cartlands and assorted Harlequin-type romance housed in an old sewing cabinet and life was never the same! I love history, so I mostly read historical romance. Favorite authors include Meredith Duran, Mary Balogh, Miranda Neville, Elizabeth Kingston, and Rose Lerner. … Elizabeth Kingston accomplishes a great deal with this book, and gives us a medieval world that feels fully fleshed … Continue reading Guest Review: Desire Lines by Elizabeth Kingston →
This is a really tough review to grade, because on one hand, I enjoyed the absolute heck out of this book. I highlighted so much I left horizontal marks on my reader screen. I laughed aloud so many times, twice loud enough to startle the dogs. I ran around the first floor delighted that I had gotten a sly reference to the Crows series, ridiculously proud of myself. I took pictures of my reader screen … Continue reading In a Badger Way by Shelly Laurenston →
This guest review is by Catherine Heloise. Previously, Catherine ranted about Shakespearean rockstars and loved Chase Me by Laura Florand. She has a food blog called Cate’s Cates, where she creates allergy-friendly treats, and she also runs the Stories Under Paris website, where she creates fictional stories based on the names of Paris Metro stations. How cool is that? … This novella gets an A for all the fun. Courtney Milan’s new novella, Mrs Martin’s Incomparable … Continue reading Guest Review: Mrs Martin’s Incomparable Adventure by Courtney Milan →
Even for my neck of the woods, this winter has been pretty miserable. February was one snow storm right after another, which is hell on my Fibro, but great for a Goodreads reading challenge, I guess. Kids here are probably going to school into July. Even the hardiest farmer, getting a fill-up and coffee from the Kwik Trip, will tell you, “It’s a badun out there.” So while buried under blankets and cats, drinking hot … Continue reading The Ruthless Gentleman by Louise Bay →
Elyse and I had to jointly review Burnout because we had so much to say about it. This book is nonfiction about the science behind stress, what it is, and how we deal (or don’t deal) with it effectively. Between the science and the practical applications, it’s incredibly informative, useful, soothing, and empowering. Sarah: Burnout seared my brain with essential information about how my brain and body work, and what specific things I can do to … Continue reading Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski →
Despite having issues with men and guns on the covers of my romance novels, this spy/intrigue romantic suspense with an enemies to lovers/forced proximity element and a cover model with an undercut prompted me to give it a try. However, I would liken my reading experience to watching a pulpy action movie. Sure, it’s fun, but one look at the details and it all falls apart. If you’re a reader who prefers their romantic suspense … Continue reading London Calling by Veronica Forand →
