Welcome back to Wednesday Links! How are you all doing? I’ve been working remotely to keep an eye on Fig this week and much to my colleagues’ delight, they got to watch her scale the back of my gaming chair while in a meeting. I’m so excited that we are creeping closer to fall and I hope the heat is mostly behind us. I have a dear friend who firmly believes “sweat is an aesthetic” … Continue reading Links: Disability, Pokemon, & More
This book knocked me sideways with its charm, but nuts and bolts were falling apart for me from the second half. By the end I was infuriated with how some things were mishandled and other fucked up things were shoehorned in. A lot of what’s good about this book was really good, but the things that didn’t work for me downgraded my experience a lot. Matzah Ball Surprise is about Gaby and Levi who both … Continue reading Matzah Ball Surprise by Laura Brown
Shout out to Maya who shared her expertise on racialization and approved of Megxit Ranger! Thanks, Maya!!!! Headliners is the fifth book in Lucy Parker’s London Celebrity series, and it is not an exaggeration to say that I have been a squatting like a goblin in the corner, waiting to pounce on this book. I LOVE Parker’s style, and it’s absolutely worth picking this book up for her snark and wit alone. All the books … Continue reading Headliners by Lucy Parker
Generally speaking, I do not cry while reading. Oh, I’ll want to cry. I’m the opposite of stoic, but I’ve become skilled at holding back tears for one reason and one reason only: glasses. Once I start weeping, my frames turn foggy and any attempt to wipe them with my shirt generally makes it worse. Then, I’ll have to make a decision: do I continue reading without glasses and squint at my tablet, or do … Continue reading Open House by Ruby Lang
For the first three-quarters of the book, Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber was the gentle, reassuring romance I needed. Near the end I struggled with the treatment of a secondary character who suffers from mental health issues enough that it soured the book a bit for me. It still enjoyed it, but that short section frustrated me enough that it disrupted the overall romance. The book opens after tragedy strikes. Annie Marlow, a physician’s … Continue reading Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber
Good afternoon! It’s that time again: links time! I’m in a strange mood this Wednesday. It’s the year anniversary of my grandmother’s death and I have a lot of unresolved feelings. Very thankful I have a therapy appointment today and a book order came in at my local bookstore. … Sil of The Book Voyagers is at Frolic.Media discussing things to avoid when writing Latinx characters in romance. It hurts my heart to see hurtful Latinx … Continue reading Links: Great Doggos, Romance Swag, & More
Tess of the Road is a good book, but not the book I expected. Although there are adventures in the book, for the most part it’s a story about healing and forgiveness. Tess doesn’t even start on the road until page 88 and from then on it’s a long journey consisting of Tess considering her past and how she feels about it. There is some romance in it, but it’s not romance-centric. This book is … Continue reading Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
The Dark Affair is a dark historical that doesn’t involve ballrooms or ratafia, and features themes of addiction and madness. I’d say it’s what would happen if Bellatrix Lestrange started writing a historical romance and then Hermione finished it for her. Margaret Cassidy is a former noblewoman, now impoverished due to the Irish famine. Her parents are dead, her brother has fallen onto the wrong side of the law, and her world is collapsing. When … Continue reading The Dark Affair by Maire Claremont
Jill Shalvis is my go-to feel good author for contemporaries. I was stoked to see she had a new series coming out (Lost and Found Sisters is the first book in the Wildstone series). I enjoyed the book, but strictly speaking, it’s not a romance novel. So I enjoyed what I got -but I didn’t get what I expected. While I can’t fault the book for being tagged as a romance at places like Goodreads, I … Continue reading Lost and Found Sisters by Jill Shalvis
Sir Terry Pratchett passed away yesterday at the age of 66 from complications from Alzheimer’s. His death was announced on Twitter in a funny and touching and altogether perfect way, and all day and continuing through this morning, tributes both hilarious and poignant have shown up in every place where people with words gather to read and write words. Elyse had to tell her husband, who is a huge Pratchett fan, and says it was terribly … Continue reading Terry Pratchett: The End and The Beginning
