Strange Love by Ann Aguirre is a delightfully weird, heartwarming romance featuring a virgin alien hero, an abductee heroine, and a talking dog. It’s a blend of Alien, The Bachelor and The Hunger Games. It’s also a middle finger to people who claim that romance novels are formulaic and rely on rich, handsome heroes to seal the fantasy. The hero in this book is Zylar of Kith Balak, a vaguely insectoid alien who comes from … Continue reading Strange Love by Ann Aguirre →
Wanna Bet by Talia Hibbert is a friends-to-lovers romance and it features–get this!–adults who have to do actual adulting in order to be together! Holy shit! Emotional accountability FTW! I am personally so sick of books that feature “all my emotional hangups are resolved because I want to put my dick in you!” as the solution to any internal conflict. In Wanna Bet? the hero and heroine had to do actual work on themselves in order to … Continue reading Wanna Bet? by Talia Hibbert →
Someone to Wed somehow manages to both be a feel-good read and full of emotional catharsis. It hurts so good, you guys. I had all the feelings. So many feelings. Like a number of Balogh’s books, it’s a romance about healing – especially creating the space in which to heal – and that’s a plotline that works so well for me. At the age of twenty-nine, Wren Heyden is firmly on the shelf. Up until … Continue reading Someone to Wed by Mary Balogh →
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare is a fairytale Regency that blends Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella and Batman. Seriously. And it’s amazing. I actually read it twice. The first time I was at home on a Friday night, enjoying a few rum and Cokes and unwinding. Apparently I can have exactly two drinks before I start loving everything and then forgetting I loved it. I woke up the next morning surprised to see … Continue reading The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare →
I should be in bed right now. I should be getting a good night’s sleep before I start my work week tomorrow, but I’m not. All hope of being productive today or tomorrow went by the wayside when I started Three Dark Crowns this afternoon. Since I started the book I’ve done nothing but read, and now I’m reviewing it late at night because OMG YOU GUYS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS. I am literally sweating right … Continue reading Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake →
I really, really enjoyed Going Deep by Anne Calhoun. It’s an excellent blend of romance and mystery, and it features a bodyguard hero, which I love. In addition, it’s pretty much free of violence, so if you’re iffy on romantic suspense because you don’t like violent themes, then this book is for you. Cady Ward aka pop superstar Queen Maud, is returning to her hometown for the holidays. She’s exhausted from being on tour for … Continue reading Going Deep by Anne Calhoun →
Prepare the squee mop y’all: this review is going to be soaked. Also I just realized how pervvy that sounds and I don’t care. First of all, it’s no shock that I loved, LOVED The Trouble with Mistletoe. Jill Shalvis is one of those authors that I turn to for comfort reads; her books are always sexy, funny and emotionally satisfying. She writes pure Elyse-nip. That said, The Trouble with Mistletoe might be my favorite book of hers … Continue reading The Trouble with Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis →
The Fifth Season blew my entire weekend. I had plans. I was supposed to, at least at some point, get out of bed and take a shower. Instead I stayed in my blanket fort and devoured this book. The most I managed to accomplish was feeding the cat and tweeting about how much I loved this novel. This was my first Jemisin, but lordy, it will not be my last. Not least of which because I … Continue reading The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin →
I have been waiting for this book for SO LONG and it was worth it. Every time Hoyt released a book in the Maiden Lane series I would gobble it up and then whine on Twitter “But when is Val’s book coming?” Well, it’s here now and it’s 100% what I was hoping for. Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt is one of those books that worked for me on all levels, but I can … Continue reading Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt →
To celebrate the release of Sarah Morgan‘s upcoming novel, Sleepless in Manhattan, Harlequin and Sarah M. have picked out a really fun set of Kate Spade desk accessories for a giveaway! We have, for one lucky winner, a copy of Sleepless in Manhattan, the first book in the “From Manhattan with Love” trilogy, plus: Top of the line pen set Strike gold pencil holder Gold dots pencil pouch Spiral notebook Confetti card set Strike gold stapler Office kit … Continue reading Giveaway: Sleepless in Manhattan and the Perfect Kate Spade Desk Accessories! →
I read Mad about the Marquess while at RT 2016, and the book was so good that it left me having sweaty anxiety about wanting to hide and read and go to all the panels all at the same time. Fortunately I was among my people at RT so sweaty reading anxiety is something everyone understood. “Elyse! Why are you sweating and breathing hard?” “I AM CRAMMING AS MUCH READING AS POSSIBLE INTO EVERY SPARE … Continue reading Mad About the Marquess by Elizabeth Essex →
