Second Chances in New Port Stephen is a delightful second-chance romance between two men in their forties who reconnect over the Christmas holidays. It’s not overly cutesy, and although a lot of the plot involves my least favorite trope (Poor Communication) and one of the characters is a little too self-centered for my tastes, I really enjoyed this book. Eli and Nick grew up in Florida together and dated in high school, long before Eli … Continue reading Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander →
I love, love celebrity romance, so it was an extra bummer that The Reunion fell so flat to me. I would go so far as to say it doesn’t even really qualify as a romance. It’s more of a book about the heroine’s journey to navigate her second act in Hollywood with some strong romantic elements. Even then, the emphasis on physical details and not emotional ones, plus a stereotypical “villain” made for a tough … Continue reading The Reunion by Kayla Olson →
The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb is currently $1.99! Elyse featured this book in November’s Hide Your Wallet saying it “sounded delightfully spooky.” It has a 3.86 -star average on GoodReads, and I noticed that when I was using Google to look up this book, one of the autocomplete suggestions was “Haunting of Brynn Wilder ending explained,” which cracked me up. Have you read this? Did you need an explainer for the ending?
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In this second chance romance, the food is more memorable than the love story. After reading First Love, Take Two, I was left feeling vaguely annoyed at the happy couple. But I also wanted to eat my way through Houston. Daniel and Preeti were each other’s first loves, until she let his wealthy Black parents, and her prejudiced Desi aunties, break them up. Preeti has weathered the ostracism and gossip in her close-knit Hindu community … Continue reading First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel →
Miss Lattimore’s Letter is a light, refreshing summer breeze of a book. While not much surprising happens, this Regency romance is consistently entertaining given it’s wry, well-intentioned, and down-to-earth protagonist. It’s eminently enjoyable, and, given its lack of serious conflict, also eminently forgettable. This book has a predictable plot with minimal angst and conflict, and the lovely, if simply sketched, characters give it a sense of reality. Sophie is gifted with common sense and a … Continue reading Miss Lattimore’s Letter by Suzanne Allain →
CW/TW: The hero’s client is a piece of work, who sexually harrasses his assistant, among many, many other women. This happens off the page, but we do see the fall out, and it isn’t handled as well as it could be. Proceed with caution. The Way You Hold Me is a gentle, low-tension, second chance romance between publicist Skye Palmer and crisis manager Garrett Steele. They dated ten years ago, but then Garrett’s mother died, … Continue reading The Way You Hold Me by Elle Wright →
Content warnings: Everyone in this book is reacting, one way or another, to the death of Susan’s mother at the start of the book. There is a character with disordered eating and she plays a large role in the book. Another character has untreated anxiety which manifests itself as hypochondria. There is also an enormous amount of snobbery and classism. 2020 seems to be the year for food-themed, contemporary re-tellings of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and … Continue reading All Stirred Up by Brianne Moore →
Drowned Country is the direct sequel to Silver in the Wood – indeed, it could almost be described as the other half of the story. It shares with it the dense, green atmosphere that feels almost more real than the real world, as well as the charm and humour of the characters. It is also absolutely impossible to discuss without spoiling Silver in the Wood terribly, because it starts where that story ends. Really, do … Continue reading Drowned Country by Emily Tesh →
Who’s That Earl is a light, fun, Regency romance that felt like snuggling down under a warm blanket. It is gleefully tropey. Jane Quayle, cast out by her family, makes her living writing wickedly erotic novels under a pseudonym. As if one pseudonym wasn’t enough, she also pretends to be her own secretary under a second pseudonym. She does all of this in a neglected Scottish castle in the company of two neurotic dogs and … Continue reading Who’s That Earl by Susanna Craig →
Content warning: This book has ALL the triggers, and I’m a bit worried I’ve forgotten one, but here goes. Abusive/manipulative/neglectful/controlling parents. Alcoholism. Suicide of a parent (witnessed by the child – off page, but remembered rather vividly). Forced marriage and rape (off-page). Infidelity. Hero is orphaned at an early age and is not acknowledged by his father’s family. Plane crash. People who stress you out just showing up and letting themselves into your apartment to … Continue reading Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev →
Trigger warning (for the book, not the review): There is a teen pregnancy in the book and the father and sister are trying very hard to make the girl have an abortion when she doesn’t want to. I don’t know how this resolves, because see the DNF grade. But if you have triggers around emotionally abusive families or around other people deciding your healthcare, proceed with caution. I picked up this book because it looked … Continue reading Mix Tape by Jane Sanderson →
