When Sarah asked me in an upcoming podcast episode how I felt about The Kiss Quotient, I had a sudden spout of verbal constipation. All of the words tried to escape my mouth at once. Sarah also would not let me submit a review that simply read, “Buy it. Read it.” I apologize for the squeeing that is about to coat your eyeballs, as I tell you a million reasons why this book is the … Continue reading The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
Both Sarah and Amanda read this book and wanted to review it, so ahoy, it is joint review time, wherein we review your meniscus AND this book. Just kidding. Only the book. Your meniscus is fine as far as we know. Sarah: This book is exactly what it says on the tin, which I have to appreciate. There is a fake boyfriend, and he is indeed a little grumpy, but he’s also consistently kind hearted, … Continue reading Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau
After the Wedding is the second novel in the Worth Saga, the story of a family trying to survive after disgrace. This book is the story of Camilla, the second oldest sister in a family of five siblings, and Adrian, a biracial man who runs a business and who becomes involved with Camilla in an extremely unexpected way. The first novel in the Worth Saga, Once Upon a Marquess , introduced us to the oldest sister, … Continue reading After the Wedding by Courtney Milan
Summer of Scandal is a romance that takes place in a made up town “located in a fictional island in the Spanish Caribbean.” It is set in 1911. The unusual setting, the Hispanic and Caribbean cultures, and the time period make for an appealing and refreshing romance with a couple of odd problems. Here’s the plot: Emilia Cruz is the secret author of a series of scandalous stories, including The True Accounts of a Former … Continue reading A Summer of Scandal by Lydia San Andres
Happy April! In New England, we’ve gotten a lot of rain and some snow. Great. It’s also my birthday month. What will I be doing to ring in twenty-nine, you ask? Well, right now the only thing on my calendar for my actual birthday is a 3pm therapy session. … Sarah wrote up a great summary and response to RWA’s statement on diversity. If you’re looking to read more books by authors of color this … Continue reading Links: Female-Authored Fantasy, Trivia, & Stacey Abrams
Let’s Talk About Love is a romance novel with an asexual heroine (specifically, a bi-romantic asexual heroine). Alice, the heroine, is a university student whose parents want her to become a lawyer, a career in which she has no interest. She has two best friends, Feenie and Ryan, who are engaged to each other, and she struggles with feeling like the third wheel. She also struggles with romantic relationships because she doesn’t want to come … Continue reading Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Happy Wednesday! The Northeast is due for another snowstorm and I was woken up by my cat biting me this morning. Is anyone else having the same crappy day? Anyway, here are some links to calm you down or to channel your rage! … I was glued to the Twitter mystery of Candace Jean Andersen trying to track down a woman of color who attended the 1971 International Conference on the Biology of Whales. Give … Continue reading Links: Muses, Tom Hiddleston, and More
The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert made me feel really good. It was the read I needed for a crappy day and it went down like a hot cup of tea followed by a cookie. The pacing was a little off at the end, but my appreciation for an emotionally-fluent hero let me overlook that. Also the heroine wears a Dolly Parton tee shirt to bed and fuck yea, Dolly Parton. I do want to add … Continue reading The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert
If the Dress Fits is a body-positive romance set in the Philippines. I loved the cultural elements, the food, and the body positivity. However, I was often exasperated by the heroine, who hurts a lot of people by believing that she cannot be loved in the romantic sense. Although this book is body-positive overall, TW for some discussion of fat shaming and internalized fatphobia. Our heroine, Martha Aguas, is an accountant who travels a lot … Continue reading If the Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman
Grab a drink and have a seat, because here come some compelling and powerful words and numbers. Bea and Leah Koch of The Ripped Bodice have compiled an inaugural report on the State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing. From their press release: In their first year and a half in business, the Kochs grew increasingly aware of the limited number of options for customers looking for traditionally published books written by people of color. … Continue reading The Ripped Bodice Report on Racial Diversity in Romance
Wanted: A Gentleman is a pure delight. It is a m/m Regency historical in which one of the two heroes is black and of the well-to-do merchant class, while the other hero is a white working class man – a lovely change from the Regency romance norm of rich white people. It manages to be realistic about the backgrounds and hardships of both men while still providing for a happy ending, or at least the … Continue reading Wanted: A Gentleman by K.J. Charles
