After I finished Just Playing House, I immediately ran around telling everyone I knew to read it. I’m totally obsessed with this second chance + celebrity romance. It was cozy but with enough emotional twists and turns to keep me interested. Marley is a personal stylist with two goals. She wants to convince the department store where she works to promote her to a personal shopper for the rich and famous. And she wants to … Continue reading Just Playing House by Farah Heron →
This is a hard book to review because there were a few elements that didn’t work for me, but I don’t think they’d stop other readers from loving Second Night Stand. But before I dig into everything I adored about this book, and how everything I didn’t like is my own fault, let’s describe the plot. Lillian is the aloof dance master of a Very Serious™ ballet company on the brink of disaster. Her backers … Continue reading Second Night Stand by Fay Stetz-Waters and Karelia Stetz-Waters →
This book made me swoon IRL. Reading it was a fever dream and not just because of the sex scenes. I was so immersed in it that the real world and its troubles didn’t even occur to me for the duration of the book. (I am anxious by nature, so this is a feat.) Lorcan St Leger had a rough start in life in St Giles, but through illegal (and now legal) means, he has … Continue reading How to Tame a Wild Rogue by Julie Anne Long →
Never Cross A Highlander has a one-click cover. Black Highlander stories are rare, and I’m glad this one offered some of the adventure and steam that dreamy cover promised. The book is slow in the middle, but there are swordfights, forced proximity while camping, sex by a waterfall, a hellion heroine, and a hard-headed hero who needed his family to tell him that he was in love. Here’s the book’s description: Ailsa Connery has waited … Continue reading Never Cross A Highlander by Lisa Rayne →
Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat is a stand-alone contemporary romance by the author of A Holly Jolly Diwali, which Elyse reviewed. Holly Jolly Diwali introduced Niki Randhawa, a young woman who had spent her life trying to be the perfect daughter. Jasmine and Jake rock the Boat puts the focus on Jasmine, Niki’s wild sister, who sees herself as a constant disappointment to her parents. I read Jasmine and Jake without having read Holly … Continue reading Jasmine and Jake Rock the Boat by Sonya Lalli →
The follow-up to Donut Fall in Love is an opposites-attract romance with a deeply introverted heroine and a larger-than-life hero. Although it can be read as a standalone, I enjoyed revisiting characters from the first novel. While I loved the romance, the depictions of the hero’s job fell flat, sometimes pulling me out of the story. Quiet, reserved Vivian Lao is going to be a bridesmaid in her roommate Lindsay’s wedding to actor Ryan Kwok. … Continue reading The Stand-Up Groomsman by Jackie Lau →
I’d never heard of a space opera before. Having just read my first, I’m not sure that I’m qualified to define it, but I can tell you that I absolutely love it! This is 429 pages of reading joy. That this is book one in a series fills me with delight – so many happy reading hours ahead! As I see it, a space opera seems to be part romance, part space adventure. Let’s dive … Continue reading Only Bad Options by Jennifer Estep →
Content warning: there is a fair bit of violence, some of it quite gory, because the adventure part of the plot involves killer zombie-golems, were-beasts, gladiatorial arenas, kidnappers and more. Quite a few minor characters die. There is, however, absolutely no sexual violence in this book, despite certain aspects of the premise that might suggest it. If someone asked me if I wanted to read a romance that was sweet and comforting and funny and … Continue reading Paladin’s Strength by T. Kingfisher →
(Trust) Falling for You is a fun, sweet novella about two college professors with very, very different personal and teaching styles falling for each other on a Team Building retreat in the woods of Wisconsin. This retreat, incidentally, sounds both like an HR nightmare and the sort of thing guaranteed to result in multiple letters to Ask a Manager, and also precisely like something that someone in academic administration would decide was a brilliant thing … Continue reading (Trust) Falling for You by Charish Reid →
The Ex Talk is an enemies-to-lovers fake relationship romance set in the world of public radio. It is also something of a belated coming of age story. Shay Goldstein has been working at Pacific Public Radio for ten years, beginning as the ‘wunderkind’ intern, and rising to the role of producer of the station’s flagship show, Puget Sounds. She loves public radio for its ability to tell stories that connect personally with listeners, and for … Continue reading The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon →
CW/TW: Kidnapping, murder, stalking, the usual myriad evils of a serial killer. You know those paint by numbers pictures where number-by-number you recreate the Mona Lisa? The result is an imperfect version of a masterpiece. It’s not high art, but it’s still a satisfying exercise and, when framed, makes a lovely addition to a wall, even if only a bathroom wall. This novel is an imperfect version of a masterpiece, with a few wildcards thrown … Continue reading Safety Breach by Delores Fossen →
