An absolute delight! I loved this even more than the first book, which is quite the feat for a middle book. Evie really comes into her own amidst the An absolute delight! I loved this even more than the first book, which is quite the feat for a middle book. Evie really comes into her own amidst the murder and mayhem, while Trystan is still befuddled by his feelings for her and trying to prevent the king from destroying the kingdom. The romance is as slow burn as ever—so many false starts!—but the kind where you know it’s going to be explosively good once Trystan stops kidding himself.
Characters: Evie is a 23 year old personal assistant. She’s the guardian for her 10 year-old sister Lyssa. Trystan is a 29 year old Villain. He has a frog named Kingsley who used to be a human prince. This is set in Rennedawn.
Content notes: nightmares, perceived death of MC (view spoiler)[faking via potion (hide spoiler)], murder, attempted murder, stabbing, physical assault, physical abuse of prisoner, battle, concern of drowning, imprisonment, kidnapping, arson, lacerations, skin burns (secondary characters), Mystic Illness (secondary character), past amnesia (FMC’s brother), FMC’s abusive father is incarcerated in the dungeon, misogyny (secondary characters), fear of the dark, family estrangement, severed heads and body parts, body commentary, vomit, pregnant guvre (dragon-like creature), animal abduction, animal harm, past disappearance and death of FMC’s mother (view spoiler)[but she’s alive! (hide spoiler)], FMC was forced to drop out of school at 13 by her father so she could take care of her sister, alcohol, intoxication (magical flower), casual ableism, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction...more
I’ve been eagerly anticipating Jen Devon’s next book ever since finishing the beautifully angsty Bend Toward the Sun. This is a slow burn second chancI’ve been eagerly anticipating Jen Devon’s next book ever since finishing the beautifully angsty Bend Toward the Sun. This is a slow burn second chance romance, laden with pining. It’s best to read BTtS first to get the full effect, otherwise readers might get lost.
Let me first say I really enjoyed this. It’s a strong sophomore effort that could have used another round of developmental edits to address logistical issues so it could really shine. But even when I was confused, I was very into Duncan and Temperance’s dynamic. I was rooting for them. I believed in their chemistry and their love for each other just as much as I believed they needed to get out of their own way. It was a joy to see the Brady family again and see what was happening with the vineyard.
I also appreciated that this is a second chance romance without many flashbacks. I have to wonder, however, if there’s a version of the manuscript where flashbacks were initially included because I have a lot of questions about what happened when they broke up. There are some hints here and there throughout the book but they never really hash it out so I’m still confused about what actually went down. (view spoiler)[Her parents paid him to stay away but he wasn’t planning on staying away but then she didn’t show up when they were supposed to meet up that night. So is that when they broke up, because she didn't show up for some reason? Also he never told her about what her parents did and then I’m not 100% sure how her chronic illness factors in, in part because we’re never clearly told what it is. It’s a blood platelet disorder but which one? How did it affect her after the diagnosis vs. now when it seems like something she just has to be aware of? It’s a factor in the breakup, at least on Duncan’s side because he worried about being able to pay any medical bills. But it doesn’t seem like they ever communicated about any of this and since their relationship was a secret (also still not clear why!), none of their friends or family could force them to deal with their issues as they were mostly none the wiser. (hide spoiler)] All this to say, it’s hard to know what to make of their second chance when I’m still unclear on what drove them apart or why they were still able to occasionally have sex over the years in spite of this.
It all speaks to unhealthy patterns. They have sex instead of communicating. Duncan never says no to her about anything. I needed to know why Temperance kept pushing him away but then going to him for sex. I also needed to know why Duncan didn’t try to win her back sooner if he’s been in love with her the whole time. They keep secrets from each other and from the Bradys and those omissions have ramifications. I really hope they go to couple’s counseling because there’s no evidence that these patterns won’t repeat themselves.
Temperance is also in an unhealthy pattern with her toxic parents. The book didn’t do enough to confront this and in fact even whitewashes their relationship. (view spoiler)[Her parents show up at the winery grand opening even though they weren’t invited. Then she and her sister become foundation board members, even though Maren has been estranged from them for years. What evidence do we have that they’re going to turn over a new leaf? How are they going to make up for decades of neglect and control? I didn’t buy any of it. Some parents need to stay estranged. (hide spoiler)]
The plot is meandering, which I didn’t entirely mind. It also pulled its punches when it came to the angst potential, which I minded greatly. Had we gotten more answers about Duncan and Temperance’s past, then their emotional arcs would have worked well for me. But since I was left with so many questions, I kept waiting for something to happen. Temperance hardly ever goes to work, spending a lot of time at the farm for being a doctor. This has the benefit of forcing her to interact with Duncan but left me without a clear idea of what her life actually looks like or how it can fit with Duncan’s. Additionally, there were timeline issues with what their ages are purported to be, if they did indeed break up 14 years ago.
Okay so that was a lot of where the book fell short but I did really enjoy this one. Duncan calls her “Teacup”, which made me giddy. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series!
Characters: Temperance is a 34 year old white pediatrician who wears glasses. Duncan is a 35 year old white farmer, family business manager, artist, and community college student. They broke up when they were 18. This is set in Linden and Vesper Valley, PA.
Content notes: nightmares, blood platelet disorder, vertigo, vomit, sprained wrist and mild concussion from being hit by falling tree limb, toxic parents, past emotional neglect and outsourced parenting, FMC’s sister is estranged from their parents, past bribery (view spoiler)[FMC’s parents paid MMC to stay away from her and he took it, intending to use it to beat them at their own game but it turned into a real breakup (hide spoiler)], possible orthorexia (FMC runs an awful lot), Addison’s disease (secondary character’s mother), past harassment by secondary character’s ex-husband, secondary character uses a cane (past accident), pregnant secondary character, secondary character has sole custody of his daughter, past death of grandparents (mention), past death of pet dog (mention), family planning discussion, on page sex, public sex, masturbation, alcohol, inebriation, hangover, pipe (secondary character), gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction...more
What I loved about this historical romance: 1. Jeremy is a treasure 2. Chloe’s plan for revenge on behalf of her dad’s stolen recipe 3. Chloe’s lists 4. What I loved about this historical romance: 1. Jeremy is a treasure 2. Chloe’s plan for revenge on behalf of her dad’s stolen recipe 3. Chloe’s lists 4. Chloe’s daily grief ritual, honoring her mother. 5. (view spoiler)[The whole town knew he was a Duke all along! (hide spoiler)] There’s a clue very early on that this might be the case and I was gratified to be right. 6. Honestly, everything about Wedgeford. The trials, the sizable Asian population, Chloe’s friends!
It’s too bad there aren’t more England Times romances like this; I’d read the subgenre much more often.
Characters: Jeremy is a 23 year old mixed race (Chinese and white) British Duke and virgin. Chloe is a 25 year old Chinese sauce purveyor and a virgin. This is set in 1891 Wedgeford Downs, Kent.
Content notes: reveal about parentage (view spoiler)[FMC’s father is actually her uncle; he raised her after her mom died and her mom never told him who her husband was after they were separated due to war (hide spoiler)], FMC’s father has rheumatoid arthritis, minor horseback accident (horse sprains legs but MCs are okay), racism, colonialism, ableism, ageism, past death of MMC’s father (typhus), past death of FMC’s mother when she was a baby, past death of MMC’s relatives (cholera, horseback accident, pneumonia, heart attack, sunk ship), body commentary, past immigration to England, past stolen recipe, pull out method for birth control, on page sex, masturbation, alcohol, inebriation, hangover, ableist language
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2020...more
4.5 stars. Jessica Joyce is now two for two in writing books that make me cry and I thank her for it.
Georgia broke up with Eli 5 years ago, shatterin4.5 stars. Jessica Joyce is now two for two in writing books that make me cry and I thank her for it.
Georgia broke up with Eli 5 years ago, shattering both of them. She’s lived by a list of rules ever since so that they can keep up appearances for their best friend Adam’s sake. But when Adam and Grace’s wedding hits one snag after another, including the mother of all snags with the wedding site burning down, Georgia and Eli wind up teaming up to figure out a plan B so Adam and Grace can still get married in a week. It’s the last thing she wants to do but she really will do anything to make Adam happy.
In the process, Georgia sees hints that Eli isn’t the same workaholic she left. He’s more attentive to her and her needs. He rarely has his phone on him. He’s just as devoted to planning this wedding as a way of making up for not being as helpful or available during the original planning. She doesn’t think she can trust him though, not enough to risk her heart or jeopardizing their friendship with Adam, which they’ve worked so hard to prioritize.
The resulting romance works through Eli’s workaholism, anxiety, and fear of not having enough and Georgia’s pathological inability to ask for help, people pleasing, and fear of abandonment. Digging into childhood wounds makes it sound like this is really heavy—and it certainly is emotional in places—but somehow Joyce manages to keep everything balanced. This is partly due to Eli actively being in therapy and Georgia having seen a therapist in the past. For as much as Georgia wants to delay or avoid certain conversations, Eli knows when to push her and when to hold space. They know each other well, sore spots, strengths, and all, and that means something different this time around. That said, I did spend much of the book yelling at Georgia to go back to therapy. Thankfully, she finally listened by the end.
There were three reasons I loved this: it’s a second chance romance without flashbacks, the strong emotional arc, and the embodied sex scenes. More authors should take a page from Joyce on that last one. She knows how to build intimacy and personalize sex to the characters as individuals and who they are together. You’d think that would be standard and yet good sex scenes have taken a real hit in this age of “smut”. Anyway.
There was only one part that didn’t work for me and that was the romcom shenanigans during wedding planning. The people Georgia and Eli meet were more like caricatures and the situations felt wacky instead of realistic, which was not in keeping with the tone of the rest of the book. The contrast was even stronger (view spoiler)[on Adam and Grace’s wedding day. Things go wrong then too but they made sense and they didn’t feel shoehorned in. (hide spoiler)]
The story kept surprising me, never going the predictable route. Georgia and Eli felt incredibly real and I was swept away in their respective feelings and insecurities. The ending could not have been more perfect! (view spoiler)[THE NOTES ON THE PAPER RINGS, MY GOD. (hide spoiler)] Jessica Joyce is cementing herself as an autobuy author. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
Characters: Georgia is a 28 year old white recruiter. Eli is a 28 year old white bank TMT associate who enjoys working on puzzles. They broke up 5 years ago after dating two years and first became friends when they were 15. This is set in Glen Lake and Rutherford, CA.
Content notes: anxiety, panic attack, past infidelity (FMC’s ex cheated), past maternal abandonment, past emotional neglect by FMC’s father, past childhood poverty (MMC’s dad lost job and parents subsequently lost their home and the family had to move in with his aunt), past parental divorce, pregnant secondary character, on page sex, alcohol, mild inebriation, diet culture, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction, mention of past death of secondary character’s dog
By all rights, I should have hated this. It has a love triangle, too many misunderstandings, the MMC behaves terriCW: rape, intimate partner violence
By all rights, I should have hated this. It has a love triangle, too many misunderstandings, the MMC behaves terribly…and yet I could scarcely put it down. What kind of magician is Judith McNaught?! To be clear: there are still major issues and it's not a book I’d recommend widely due to a few authorial choices. But it was such a refreshing change of pace to actually enjoy one of our Romance History Project selections.
Whitney is the reason to read this. She’s headstrong and spunky. She goes after what she wants, regardless of what others say. She doesn’t always have the best ideas—for instance, her inexplicable desire to marry the mediocre potato in human form Paul that lasts many years longer than necessary—and this can certainly get her into trouble but I’ll take this any day over the wet blanket helpless damsels we’ve read for this project so far. Her determination to eventually marry Paul is what leads her to take her time in Paris seriously, in the hopes that becoming the belle of the ball will translate well when she returns home to England. No matter what other people say, Whitney is going to chart her own course and make her own decisions. I loved Whitney. She had terrible taste in men but I loved her.
Enter Clayton who sees her from afar a few times and interacts with her once at a masquerade ball and decides that’s a good enough reason to contact her father behind Whitney’s back and pay off all his debts in exchange for her hand in marriage. But they’re not going to tell her that! Oh no, Clayton is going to pose as a new neighbor and win her over. He has dubious ideas about how to woo Whitney, however, and they do not get off on the right foot. He loves verbally sparring with her, while she just plain hates him. And I get it! Of course, this secret courtship goes awry and Whitney is not pleased when all is revealed.
Their dynamic was pure Rhett and Scarlett (Gone with the Wind) vibes. Add banter to the “I hate you, I love you” and a heaping pile of miscommunication and misunderstandings and you’ve got Whitney and Clayton. They both behave immaturely, creating a rather toxic relationship. There is partner violence on both sides (details in content notes) but Clayton holds all the power, to the point that Whitney will have to marry him or else her dad will go to prison. (Personally, she should have let her dad rot.) They’re always leaping to the worst conclusions and never questioning their reactions. Clayton acts in some horrific ways as a result of those wrong conclusions.
And that leads us to this book’s two infamous scenes: the riding crop and the rape. It’s important to note I read the original 1985 edition. Both of these scenes are about Clayton punishing Whitney for her real or perceived misdeeds.
When Clayton insists on riding with Whitney to a picnic, she gives him an untamed horse who is very fearful of riding crops. This is a bad idea on multiple levels. If Clayton wasn’t an accomplished rider, he could easily die. Luckily for him, he is. They’re bickering like usual, which eventually makes Whitney so mad, she goes to hit him with her riding crop. Only she strikes his horse instead. She’s immediately horrified. (There isn’t really any reckoning about how she shouldn’t have tried to hit him in the first place.) The horse spooks and it takes Clayton quite some time to get the horse back under control. Afterward, he confronts Whitney and when she refuses to apologize to him—even though she knows she’s in the wrong—he decides she must be punished. It’s either that or he’ll tell her dad what happened. Whitney agrees to be punished and he lays her over his lap, then strikes her with the crop. Once he’s done, he stands her back up and says he forgives her. Whitney privately marvels at how differently this went compared to when her father is angry at her.
There’s a lot happening in this scene. It would be difficult to read it today and not consider whether there are any BDSM implications. Although McNaught does not seem to have had BDSM in mind when she wrote it, there is definitely a power exchange happening. Clayton has all the power societally, even before she knows he’s a Duke and her betrothed. He can treat a woman however he wants so he could have dragged Whitney off and hit her with the crop whenever he wanted. Instead, he gave her the opportunity to apologize and then the choice of how to be punished. She submits to the punishment. Now is that still incredibly infantilizing? YES. She’s a grown woman and while she should have known better, she didn’t need to be physically punished to learn her lesson about not hitting horses. Abuse is still abuse. But Whitney’s takeaway is that it’s possible for someone to be angry with her and then forgive her, which is not something she’s experienced before. Rather heartbreaking, isn’t it?
Then there’s the rape scene. Whitney and Clayton get their wires crossed, with her heading to London and him deciding to cut his London trip early and returning to her town. There he hears the false claim that Whitney is engaged to Paul. He’s furious and heads back to London to confront her. Once he arrives, Whitney’s enemy immediately tells him about what a big slut Whitney is and even though he knows this girl hates Whitney, he believes her. His fury renewed, he forcibly drags Whitney out of the party and takes her to his home, then marches her into his bedroom. This time her punishment for having sex with other men will be rape. (Of course, Clayton has had various mistresses and sex partners for years but only Whitney’s “purity” matters here.)
There is no way to read this scene as anything other than rape. Whitney does not want this. She doesn’t even understand why he’s furious with her! There is no conversation, no consent. Just Clayton taking what he wants. (view spoiler)[After one thrust, he realizes that she is a virgin after all and that he was wrong. He immediately stops after that. But his actions would be wrong even if she wasn’t a virgin. As with every other awful thing Clayton does to her, they never discuss what happened, nor does he apologize. He thinks about how he didn’t mean to “hurt” her, he tries to comfort her. In his mind, what he did was “all but rape.” Except it was 100% rape, full stop. Just because he didn’t continue raping her doesn’t mean what he did doesn’t count. (hide spoiler)] It’s an upsetting scene and the lack of apology or true reckoning from Clayton made it difficult for me to root for him and Whitney to be together. When his brother later talks to him while he’s drunk and gets a confession of sorts, he’s shocked that Clayton would rape someone—and that’s the word that is used.
This is ultimately where the romance fell short for me: Clayton never does right by Whitney. The book sympathizes with him, with more time spent on him thinking about how his actions reflect on him than Whitney processing the rape itself. The rape isn’t even the end of him behaving horrifically! I can understand why Whitney might have found him to be the best of her mediocre options but I never believed in their love. For one thing, the ending was too abrupt after the last separation. For another, Clayton has not demonstrated that he’s grown and that he’ll treat her better in the future. There are no guarantees that he won’t come to the worst conclusion in the future and treat her abysmally again.
Granted, Whitney has her moments of immaturity and bad behavior too but we do see her grow as the book progresses. I only wish she’d found a partner that was her true equal. Sadly, good banter is not enough. However, I really did thoroughly enjoy reading this. It’s not perfect but Whitney kept me captivated.
McNaught’s contributions to the romance genre: McNaught is one of the four Js of historical romance, which includes Jude Deveraux, Johanna Lindsey, and Julie Garwood. She’s credited with giving us the modern Regency romance as we know it. At the time, historical romances were rarely set during the Regency and Regency romances tended to be short and on the sweeter side. McNaught’s Regency romance was full-length, emotionally intense, and sensual. It had an immediate effect on the genre at large. It also won the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Best New Historical Romance.
I would be curious to know whether McNaught ever read Regency Buck, which was the very first Regency romance, and whether that factored in to her writing WML or if it was something else that drew her to that setting.
Whitney, My Love is rather notorious in Romancelandia. It seems to have widely imprinted on people who read it as teens and I get it. I would have devoured this as a teenager and probably overlooked (or completely missed) its issues. It was wild to learn about its rocky road to publication. While the first published she published was Tender Triumph in 1983, WML was the first book she wrote. It was repeatedly rejected by publishers who felt it was too different from other Regencies. The joke was on them because it ultimately became a huge success when it was published in 1985, to the point that editors started requesting Regencies in the same vein. In fact, the market became so flooded with full-length historicals that McNaught started writing contemporary romance in 1990 instead. She enjoyed a successful career but it’s been decades since she last released anything. The Sweetest Thing was supposed to come out in 2018 but McNaught’s last published book remains Every Breath You Take in 2005.
There’s another way this romance is unusual: there are two editions. There’s the original, published in 1985. Then there’s the updated version, published in 1999, which changed the riding crop and rape scenes and included an extended ending. When the book was slated to be reprinted in hardcover, McNaught asked if she could add a longer ending. Once the publisher agreed to that, she got permission to also change the aforementioned two scenes…but not necessarily because she thought there was anything wrong with the way she wrote them originally.
McNaught conceded that the spanking scene made her queasy when she revisited it years later. However, while she shared her first draft included a “clear case of rape”, she does not believe there’s a rape scene in the final manuscript. In an interview with All About Romance in 1999, she said “I opted to avoid actual ‘rape’ by having Whitney inadvertently collaborate with Clayton (when she mistook his reasons for being angry.)” Sorry, Judith. That’s not how things work. She expressed frustration that readers label the scene as rape and concluded it’s because Clayton’s brother Stephen labels what happened as rape. No, darling. Readers label the scene as rape because that’s what it is!
McNaught claims that when she originally wrote this she wasn’t aware rape and partner violence were common occurrences for women. By 1998, she’d learned that wasn’t the case and that was the other reason she decided to revise the scenes. I am hard-pressed to believe she was not aware of rape or partner violence in the 1970s or that she really believed readers would chalk these scenes up to “fantasy” just because they’ve read Kathleen Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers.
I borrowed the 1999 edition from the library so I could read these scenes for myself and they’re as problematic as ever. Clayton still plans on hitting Whitney with the riding crop, going so far as to start bringing it down, only to throw it away at the last minute. The revised rape scene felt worse. He is angry and contemptuous. There is no justification for the way he treats Whitney leading up to the scene or during it. Whitney’s “imperceptible nod” is resignation toward his actions, not acceptance. She has no recourse or escape. And again, it doesn’t matter what she did or didn’t do: Clayton is wrong for raping her. I have no idea why McNaught is so adamant it’s not a rape scene when it so clearly is. Her revisions changed nothing. We were right to stick with the 1985 edition. That’s the one I’d recommend for anyone interested in trying this.
Lastly, I’ll close with this fact: Clayton and Whitney are the names of her children. They had to be teens while she was writing this book! I really wonder what they make of that choice.
Characters: Whitney is a white woman and a virgin; she is 15 at the start and 20 by the end. Clayton is a 34 year old white Duke. This is set in 1816 England, 1816-1820 France, and 1820 England.
Content notes: rape by MMC (view spoiler)[MMC believes FMC slept around so he removes her from a party, takes her to his home, and begins to rape her. After one thrust, he realizes she is a virgin after all and stops. He does not frame what he does as rape but thinks that he “hurt her” and that it was “all but rape”. FMC blames herself and thinks she deserves it, although she understandably doesn’t want anything to do with him after. (hide spoiler)], internalized sexual shaming (FMC believes she’s “dirty” after the rape), intimate partner violence (view spoiler)[FMC slaps MMC multiple times; one time is after he groped her without consent, the rest are during arguments. FMC arranges for MMC to ride on a dangerous horse [he could have died if he was a less trained horseman]. She tries to hit him with a riding crop but hits the horse instead. MMC then hits FMC with the riding crop as punishment when she refused to apologize. Both MCs regularly say they want to kill each other. MMC is physically abusive: shakes her, vise-like grip on her wrist and/or arm, yanks her arm after she falls, very rough when handling her during arguments. He threatens to keep her locked in her room. (hide spoiler)], minor/brief sexual assault (view spoiler)[FMC kisses Paul when he’s made it clear he’s not interested [she’s 15 and he’s 25]; MMC and Nicholas kiss FMC without consent. MMC also gropes her breast. (hide spoiler)], sexual harassment by FMC’s cousin, FMC stalks secondary character, one instance of physical abuse by FMC’s father (slaps her; MMC intervenes before he can do it again), emotional neglect by FMC’s father, infidelity (MMC and FMC get back together when he’s engaged to someone else), pregnancy, MMC initially tells FMC he doesn’t want the baby, FMC contemplates lying about being pregnant to get MMC back (she doesn’t send the letter; (view spoiler)[however, she doesn’t throw it away either and MMC later discovers it after she’s pregnant for real and thinks she slept with someone else before they married, concludes the baby isn’t his, and rejects her and the baby (hide spoiler)], FMC thrown from horse (she’s fine), animal harm (FMC accidentally hits traumatized horse with riding crop), false rumor MMC’s mistress died by suicide, past corporal punishment, lacerations (MMC crushes glass in his hand), father in debt, colonialism, purity culture, sexism, misogyny, slut-shaming, victim-blaming, fatphobia, gambling, past death of FMC’s mother when she was 5 years old, past death of MMC’s father, on page sex, alcohol, inebriation, excessive drinking, hangover, casual ableism, “manhood” as euphemism, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide, casual use of colonialist language (e.g. “hands locking like slave manacles on her arms”)
RHP ranking, so far: Whitney My Love (4 stars) Maurice (4 stars) Loyal in All (3.5 stars) The Moon-Spinners (3 stars) Gaywyck (2.5 stars) Loving Her (2 stars) The Black Lyon (1 star) No Quarter Asked (1 star) Regency Buck (1 star) The Sheik (1 star) The Flame and the Flower (1 star) The Lord Won’t Mind (1 star)...more
Both predictable and poorly executed. My guess is Prescott was trying too much to emulate Penny Reid that she lost what’s great about her own writing.Both predictable and poorly executed. My guess is Prescott was trying too much to emulate Penny Reid that she lost what’s great about her own writing. I probably should have DNFed but I was just so taken aback by the change in authorial voice and representation issues that I had to see how it would all play out.
Olive is a poor little rich girl hiking the Appalachian Trail and reckless to boot. I suspect we were supposed to view Olive as “spunky” but I never bought it. Her family views her as a rebel for some odd reason because she broke off several engagements and hasn’t found a job she likes. But then she doesn’t really need to work since her family is wealthy and she can just up and hike the AT for months on end without a concern. Must be nice. She ignores hiking advice from experienced hikers and rangers despite never having done any hiking before taking the AT on. This, of course, goes about as well as you might expect. If I’m too annoyed to appreciate a “snowed in” scenario, then you know it’s bad.
Then we have Jay, our white-passing grumpy hiker who has a big internalized racism issue with being mixed race. And look, this could be interesting to explore but not when it’s written by a white author and especially not when it's handled so clunkily. Jay has a Japanese mother and white father, the latter of whom died while he was young. He grew up in rural Tennessee and he and his sister were two of the few (or only? I can’t remember) Asian kids at school. However, Jay is white-passing, while his sister is not, and he tried hard not to let anyone know about his racial identity. To this day he is not comfortable revealing his Japanese heritage and he expects Olive to freak out when he tells her, even though she’s done nothing to suggest she might be a raging bigot. It's rough stuff. Besides Jay's mom and sister, everyone else in this book was white. He doesn’t have any Asian community aside from his mom and sister, who live in different parts of Tennessee. Why would he choose to be a ranger there and to further isolate himself? The other nods to him being Japanese were superficial and stereotypical. It’s just really not great representation across the board.
Frankly, it wasn’t good character work either. Olive and Jay are more caricatures than lived in characters. There were so many loose threads, like whether Olive ever confronts her ex-boyfriend or stands up to her parents. Beyond that, it was hard for me to buy the romance. Somehow it’s a slow burn and yet they both believe they’re in love after they spend two days in a cabin together. Such a disappointment.
Characters: Olive is a fat white AT hiker and president’s granddaughter. Jay is a 30 year old white-passing mixed race (Japanese) park ranger and ornithologist. This is set in Cades Cove, TN and the Smoky Mountains.
Content notes: off page death of FMC’s grandfather, internalized racism, past racism, blizzard, past fatphobia and fatshaming by FMC’s family, past fighting, discussion of internment camps, past death of MMC’s father (car accident), rodent carcass, on page sex, alcohol (secondary character), casual ableism, casual homophobia, gendered pejorative, gender essentialism, ableist language, mention of past death of FMC’s grandmother, mention of past death of MMC’s pet dog,
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2021...more
3.5 stars. You know, I’m enjoying this series overall but it has not worked its magic on me the way it has for most of my friends. I wonder if the fir3.5 stars. You know, I’m enjoying this series overall but it has not worked its magic on me the way it has for most of my friends. I wonder if the first IA series you read is the one that imprints on you? That’s Hidden Legacy for me. But my guess is Kate Daniels wouldn’t have imprinted on me unless it was the first shifter book I read. While the world-building is interesting as a whole (the vampire stuff alone!), I’ve read much more compelling shifter series and Curran leans too much into macho gender essentialist stereotypes for my taste. Kate is the reason to read the series, despite the aspects where it doesn’t hold up.
The inevitable battle with Roland was gripping but also a letdown? I must have read this on a real bloodthirsty day or else I’m tired of how much the final showdown is being dragged out. But it was interesting to learn more about Roland via Erra (and everything it took for Kate to bring her back, for that matter), as well as see Kate be tempted by power and domination.
Kate not wanting to plan her wedding got real old. It was a little too Not Like Other Girls for me. It’s really weird that Roland would be invited to her wedding; true, it wasn’t by Kate or Curran but I can’t imagine why Roman thought that was a normal thing to do. Not to mention that Kate would suddenly not want to kill her dad, even though he’s the embodiment of evil who has gone after her multiple times. All the other characters are like, “well, he is your dad.” NO. He is a sperm donor who first tried to kill her when she was in her mother’s womb. He has never meaningfully fulfilled a parental role in her life. They didn’t even meet until a couple of years ago! What in the actual revisionist history bullshit is this?!?!
That makes me question how the final confrontation is going to play out.
Characters: Kate is a 28 year old mercenary with tan skin. She’s the guardian of Julie, a 16 year old white girl. She has an “attack poodle” Grendel. Curran is a 34 year old white Beast Lord and lion shifter. This is set in Atlanta and Omaha.
Content notes: suicide attempt (secondary character), self-harm for blood magic, abduction of secondary character, off-page torture of secondary character, enslaved secondary character, abusive biological father, religious abuse of secondary characters, murder, attempted murder, attempted murder of infant, mass murder, crucifixion (secondary characters), past murder of children, past mass suicide by the Koorgahn, battles, physical assault, scorpion, secondary character ate children (past), blood, blood drinking (secondary character), plaguewalkers, lacerations, stomach wound, hyena bite, stabbing in heart (secondary character; survives), past forced medical experimentation and possession (secondary character), bigotry and speciesism toward shape-shifters, “half-breed” as slur for shape-shifters, xenophobia, animal death, animal skeleton hoard, vision of FMC’s future baby being murdered, past parental intimate partner violence (FMC’s biological father killed her mother who was trying to prevent him from killing FMC), past massacre of MMC’s family (he survived the attack), past death of FMC’s parents and guardian, fear of loupism (a virus that causes shapeshifters to become physically and mentally ill, to the point where most must be exterminated, even babies), necromancers, body commentary, fatphobia, diet culture, mentally ill secondary character, pregnancy epilogue, pregnant secondary character, childbirth, secondary character in wheelchair, vomit (human and animal), on page sex, alcohol, casual ableism, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide...more
Not as gory as Butcher & Blackbird but just as delightful! I still have no idea how this author manages to combine dark romance and romantic comedy anNot as gory as Butcher & Blackbird but just as delightful! I still have no idea how this author manages to combine dark romance and romantic comedy and make it work as well as it does. Lachlan and Lark had the best dynamic, slowly evolving from antagonists to lovers. This contains one of the best grovels (yes, an actual grovel!) I’ve read in a long time. Lachlan screwed up and once he realized it, he more than made up for his actions and showed that he changed. That’s how it should always go but too many authors proclaim they’ve written a grovel romance and completely biff the assignment so my hat is off to Weaver.
That said, the external threat was completely unnecessary. Not only was it unnecessary, it made me question Lachlan and Lark’s competence and you never want that for your contract and serial killers with secret hearts of gold. But seriously. (view spoiler)[They never once thought it could be Abe? Abe, the weird guy who came out of nowhere and is a little too intensely interested in them? There were too many logistical issues for him to be Harvey’s brother. I didn’t buy that connection one bit. (hide spoiler)] This means I really enjoyed myself up until the last 20% or so when the plot became more contrived. That also happened with B&B so I’m going to cross my fingers Weaver gets better editorial support for book 3.
Characters: Lachlan is a white Irish contract killer and leather worker who wears glasses. Lark is a white indie singer-songwriter and serial killer. She has an American Akita named Bentley. This is set in Boston.
Content notes: panic attack, past sexual abuse by school artistic director, past physical abuse and neglect by MMC’s father, infidelity (FMC’s ex cheated and messaged underage girls; secondary character cheating with his children’s nanny), great-aunt is dying of cancer (view spoiler)[she’s murdered via injection by villain (hide spoiler)], FMC is a serial killer of rapists and pedophiles, MMC is a contract killer (victims include drug dealer), home invasion and abduction, murder, attempted murder, removal of fingers and eye from corpse, locked in rotary batch oven, torture, drug assault, stalking, vehicular collision (to kill a guy), past patricide by MMC, lacerations, concussion, missing fingertip, needle (sews mouth shut), gunshot wound (secondary character), religious perversion and shaming, insomnia, fear of small spaces, FMC’s mom walks with a limp (injury from past home invasion), teeth, forced tube-feeding, animal abuse (dog bites villain and he kicks and then hurts him off-page; dog recovers), ageism toward great-aunt, past murder of FMC’s father (home invasion), past death of MMC’s mother, past death of FMC’s great-uncle, past immigration to the US, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussing STI prevention. MMC was tested but FMC does not disclose when her last test was. She’s on birth control.), on page sex, power exchange, degradation play, sensory play (ice cubes), choking, public sex, pegging (bonus scene), anal play, sex toy, alcohol, inebriation, casual ableism, casual acephobia, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide...more
Romcoms tend not to be for me but I love Scarlett Peckham’s historical romance and I was curious what a contemporary romcom would be like under her neRomcoms tend not to be for me but I love Scarlett Peckham’s historical romance and I was curious what a contemporary romcom would be like under her new pen name. If you’d presented a writing sample from this without telling me that fact, I never would have guessed Katelyn Doyle and Scarlett Peckham are the same person because the writing style and tone is entirely different. The first 100 pages were a slog but then the story finally settled in and the pages turned quickly enough after that. However, it never came together for me as a whole. I was thankful, at least, this didn't have much by way of nonsense shenanigans (the reason most romcoms fail for me) but it wasn't funny either.
Molly is a grumpy romcom screenplay writer to Seth’s sunshine family law attorney. She broke his heart at high school graduation and sparks fly when they see each other at their 15 year reunion. However, Molly doesn’t believe in romance while Seth is a hopeless romantic who gets serious too soon when he dates so it’s an uphill battle over the course of a few years for the stars to align for these two. I loved Molly for her acerbic wit. She was the reason I kept reading.
Molly thinks she’s incapable of love but she has friends she’s known since high school and she’s still trying to impress her toxic father so clearly she’s wrong. Her two best friends are in long-term marriages and she believes in their relationship so, even though her parents didn’t work out, she does have examples of loving relationships. (I would also throw Seth’s parents in to the mix since they dated for a few years in high school.) It really bothers me when romantic love is elevated above all else and I didn’t feel this did enough to push back on that notion. It’s unfortunately common within romance but that doesn’t make it acceptable. This also set Molly and Seth on a rather predictable path once they got together.
While I really enjoyed their banter and the dynamic of their relationship, Molly kept worrying she was going to break Seth’s heart putting him in the position of reassuring her. However, they never addressed safeguards for the relationship, like what would help them each feel more secure. I really wish Molly had returned to therapy at this point because she needed a safe place to process the changes in her life. Although I’m not sure therapy would have been enough because Seth really messed up. (view spoiler)[In proposing to her out of nowhere after only five months together, Seth showed he hasn’t really grown or changed his approach to relationships, nor has he really understood Molly’s fears. (hide spoiler)] I was so frustrated with him!! I think they’ll be okay in the end but I do hope they explore couples therapy because I’m not convinced they won’t repeat the same pattern again in the future.
The bones of the story wound up being enjoyable enough but the execution was filled with my pet peeves. It was written in present-tense, which didn't flow well. Both characters regularly break the fourth wall, which did nothing for me. Seth calls Molly “kid” when they are the same age. I’ve read a few romances recently that are very anti-divorce lawyer, which makes no sense. I liked how Seth countered Molly’s derision about his work, particularly pointing out that family law is more than divorce and that divorce doesn’t always represent a failure. Some marriages need to end and not all lawyers are dirtbags.
Lastly, there was a carelessness with the sense of humor that tended toward punching down. The story itself was unfortunately gender essentialist and casually acephobic. This author is more thoughtful in her other work so I’m not sure why that did not extend here.
Characters: Molly is a 33 year old white romcom screenplay writer. Seth is a 33 year old white Jewish family law attorney. This is set in Florida, Chicago, and LA from 2018-2021.
Content notes: anxiety, past panic attacks, FMC on antidepressants, toxic father, COVID-19, alcoholic secondary character, secondary character’s husband cheats and gets the other woman pregnant (they’d started IVF), IVF and fertility struggles (secondary character), past maternal depression, past acrimonious parental divorce (infidelity), parental pressure for grandkids, pregnant secondary characters, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI and pregnancy prevention), on page sex, video sex, sexting, sex toys, masturbation, alcohol, inebriation, hangover, excessive drinking, diet culture, STD stigma, casual acephobia, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction and suicide, mention of past weight loss after break-up...more
I hate to say it but I think this is where I have to part ways with this author. I loved her first couple of books but then she started leaning more hI hate to say it but I think this is where I have to part ways with this author. I loved her first couple of books but then she started leaning more heavily into romcom shenanigans, which I hate. At the same time, her books are wonderfully queer and super readable so it’s been hard to give up hope that she would return to what made me first fall for her writing. But here we are.
I found myself annoyed with so many things as I was reading. Truly and her parents are insufferable. Don’t even get me started on their annoying musical game. Truly read as much younger than 27, very immature. I didn’t understand how or why she idealized her parents’ marriage to the degree that she did or how she could get to adulthood and believe it was totally fine and not a red flag for two adults never disagreeing in the history of their marriage. She made their separation all about her without really asking them what led to that point or, here’s an idea, respecting that this is something they need to figure out on their own.
I was frustrated with all of her choices with her parents (parent trapping, really?!), as well as how she went straight from a six year relationship with a man who was clearly wrong for her into a relationship with Colin without much by way of reflection. Just because Colin is dreamy doesn’t mean she should avoid contemplating how she willfully stayed with—and even proposed to—a terrible man FOR SIX YEARS. Everyone in her life hated that guy! Let’s contemplate that for a while, Truly, and think about where else this level of denialism shows up in your life.
Colin is basically a wish fulfillment of a MMC. And I get the allure! He gets off on going down on her, pursues her despite her wishy-washiness, and tries to look out for her. Honestly, he was too perfect. Sure, there’s the toxic family situation where he should absolutely reinforce his previous no-contact status. That’s not explored to the depth that it could be but that’s not necessarily a character flaw. It’s a plot flaw. Similarly, Truly is fixated on Colin’s “mole-splattered skin”, the descriptions of which had me concerned about whether he goes to the dermatologist for an annual skin checkup. But also not a character flaw. I wish we could have known what made him tick and what his growth areas are.
As perfect as Colin was and as dedicated as he was to Truly, I’m just not sure she deserved him. They do have good banter and I appreciated that she would get tongue-tied around him and lose the ability to speak or put her foot in her mouth at first. But beyond that, I don’t believe she was ready for a relationship, much less that she would be a good partner to Colin.
This meta moment really summed things up perfectly for me: “Her editor found the romance unbelievable. I’m just not sure I believe these two characters will be together past the final page, her editor wrote.”
Other annoyances: -Taylor Swift references. My kingdom for white authors to stop doing this. -so much millennial slang -the economics: how did her parents afford a summer house in what appears to be an upscale area? Their background is in the theater. -More than an annoyance because I’m pretty sure I’ve pointed it out in all of Bellefleur’s books. This is a very white book. There might be a few “blink and you’ll miss them” characters who are POC but every character with significant page time is white. Also there aren’t really any other queer characters besides Colin and Truly? I guess Colin’s sister is (at least she goes home with a woman she met at the bar) but that’s it. I would have loved to see how Colin and Truly are connected to the queer community in Seattle. There wasn’t a good reason for this to have such an insular cast.
To end on something positive, I will say this was the hottest of her books so at least I went out with a bang LOL.
Characters: Truly is a 27 year old bisexual white historical romance author. Colin is a 32 year old 5’8 bisexual white family law attorney with ADHD. This is set in Seattle.
Content notes: infidelity (FMC walks in on her fiancé with another woman; they were technically “on a break”), parental separation, past family estrangement (MMC was no-contact until his mom had a cancer scare one year ago; his boundary to be around his brother and sister-in-law is holidays and special occasions only. His mother ignores this and invites them while MMC is at the lake house anyway.), MMC’s ex-girlfriend married his twin brother (not clear if they cheated but they were officially together a few days after the breakup), toxic family, MMC’s father is emotionally abusive, sexism, ageism, MMC has ADHD, pregnancy announcement (secondary character), FMC’s dad in remission from cancer (mention), past death of FMC’s grandparents (including dementia), on page sex, public sex, lake sex, biting, mild humiliation play, alcohol, inebriation, MMC quit smoking two years ago, ageist joke, casual ableism, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction, use of “the natives are restless” (quoting a song title for their annoying musical game but it is a racist, colonialist phrase and the game did not need to include it)...more
Another intense installment! I hope Kate and Curran can take a break someday from all this constant fighting and almost dying. It’s going to be intereAnother intense installment! I hope Kate and Curran can take a break someday from all this constant fighting and almost dying. It’s going to be interesting to see how their post-Pack life continues to evolve.
Characters: Kate is a 27 year old mercenary and city guardian with tan skin. She’s the guardian of Julie, a 15 year old white girl. She has an “attack poodle” Grendel and a 10 ft tall donkey named Cuddles. Curran is a 33 year old white Beast Lord and lion shifter. This is set in Atlanta.
Content notes: suicide (ghoul evading capture), dying MC (intracranial hemorrhage and stroke; recovers), self-harm for blood magic, missing person, abduction (secondary characters), imprisonment in cage (secondary character), murder, attempted murder, physical assault, gore, body horror, lacerations, severe skin burns, immolation (secondary character), necromancers, ghouls, reanimative metamorphosis (e.g. after they kill a wolf griffin, it transforms into a giant wind scorpion), high speed car chase and crash, past plague, vomit, past parental intimate partner violence (FMC’s biological father killed her mother who was trying to prevent him from killing FMC), past massacre of MMC’s family (he survived the attack), past death of FMC’s parents and guardian, secondary character recounts past attempted partner violence by colleague’s husband, bigotry and speciesism toward shape-shifters, casual and overt ableism, ableist slur, secondary character with one arm (cut off while protecting a pregnant woman), mentally ill secondary character, family estrangement (secondary characters), pregnant secondary character, on page sex, small penis insult, classist pejorative, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism (somewhat countered), ableist language, use of “buried the hatchet”, mention of man who flashed customers at the casino...more
New favorite Olivia Dade. While she’s known for her humor, I cried through at least half of this antagonistic neighbors-to-lovers romance. It’s not a New favorite Olivia Dade. While she’s known for her humor, I cried through at least half of this antagonistic neighbors-to-lovers romance. It’s not a romcom; it’s a gut-punch of feelings. And I loved it.
It’s too close to my heart to properly review it but I do want to address the way this deals with Athena’s depression. In many ways, this is a tale of wish fulfillment. Matthew and many of the townspeople immediately notice that Athena has been holing up in her home and not leaving. On day 7, Matthew figures out a way to break in via her 3rd floor window that’s been left ajar so that he can check on her. Now this is only possible in a small town and even then, it’s an extremely fast timeline to notice something might be wrong. However, the townspeople’s concern is the way people should respond to someone who might be depressed, breaking and entering aside. I can’t even tell you how much it meant to see people noticing and then taking action to help Athena. So often the follow through is missing when it comes to coming alongside someone with depression, if people even notice in the first place, and that can intensify and confirm the feelings depressed people have about themselves. Obviously, there’s more to it than that; we can’t be responsible for everyone and it takes more than good friends to lift someone out of an episode. But when people can show up, it means the world. Truly.
There is one aspect that was a bit of a gray area for me. When Matthew breaks in, he first ascertains that Athena is okay and then he helps her make some small decisions, like giving him permission to set up an appointment with a therapist and getting medication, and then he starts cleaning her house and making her food. The next day he gently suggests she take a shower or a bath. And when that prospect is overwhelming, he offers to help bathe her. At this point, they’ve become friendlier but Athena still views him as the jerk who broke off her engagement to his brother. It was surprising that she’d want his help bathing, even if he promised to remain aboveboard. I wasn’t certain whether she was too depressed to properly consent; it was certainly of how much she was struggling. But at the same time, this goes back to a very specific kind of fantasy and so I rolled with it. He helps her, they talk through how she’s feeling, and it wound up being a very moving scene. It might not work for everyone but it ultimately worked for me.
Characters: Athena is a 37 year old fat white bakery clerk and library temp who wears glasses. Matthew is a 39 year old white pediatrician and a virgin. This is set in Harlot’s Bay, MD.
Content notes: depression, suicidal ideation, anxiety, sibling parentification, codependency, past death of MMC’s toddler brother (pseudoephedrine intoxication), MMC breaks into FMC’s house due to concern of illness or harm, fear of storms, fear of heights, creepy dolls, cuticle picking, vaccination shots (patient), past child neglect (MMC’s parents gave up after his brother died; he took care of Johnny and no one took care of him), parental estrangement, past parental divorce (blamed each other for their son’s death), past death of MMC’s grandmother (emphysema), on page sex, voyeurism/exhibitionism, erotic dream, monster-f*cking audiobooks, alcohol, inebriation, past marijuana, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction, mention of pediatric patients who have died...more
All of the ingredients were there—I liked the MCs, great high stakes action—but this didn’t have the chokehold Mihalik’s books usually have on me.
ChaAll of the ingredients were there—I liked the MCs, great high stakes action—but this didn’t have the chokehold Mihalik’s books usually have on me.
Characters: Lexi is a 31 year old white recovery specialist and former soldier. Nilo is a Valovian teleporter and former soldier.
Content notes: PTSD, nightmare, panic attack, near-death experiences, physical assault of prisoner by FMC and secondary characters, murder, attempted murder, explosion, physical assault, missing team, imprisonment, torture (broken bones), misogynist slur, lacerations, vomit, past war, past death of MMC’s sister (combat), past death of FMC’s adoptive parents at 9 years old, past foster care, FMC ran away at 13 (gained access to trust at 18), unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI or pregnancy prevention; unclear if STIs exist in this world or cross-species pregnancy is possible), on page sex, bondage, erotic daydream, alcohol, pain medication, casual ableism, ableist language, MMC compared to an addiction...more
I couldn’t put this dark romantic comedy down! I inhaled it in one day. About the only time I can read about serial killer MCs is if they’re in it forI couldn’t put this dark romantic comedy down! I inhaled it in one day. About the only time I can read about serial killer MCs is if they’re in it for vigilante justice. Such is the case for Rowan and Sloane who target the worst of humanity and relish every second of it.
Rowan and Sloane’s banter and cat-and-mouse games kept me fully engaged despite the gore. This has a light touch overall regardless of it being about serial killers. At the same time, I’m a wimp and I couldn’t think too hard about any of the murders. This isn’t a completely accurate comparison but it’s like the author crossed ST Abby’s Mindf*ck series with the humor of Abby Jimenez. It didn’t make me laugh out loud but there’s a great dry wit. And again: the banter!
Rowan falls for Sloane almost immediately but she’s slower to come around. I love this sort of dynamic, on top of them figuring out if they can trust each other. Four years pass as they get to know each other and play their “game”. Given their backstories, this felt right. Once they finally give into their feelings, the chemistry was explosive! The sex scenes did tip a bit into fanfic territory ((view spoiler)[cock warming, anyone? (hide spoiler)]) instead of coming across as organic kinks. But since Rowan is basically my dream man (minus the serial killer part), I didn’t mind.
The first 200+ pages made for a 5 star read but the last 100 pages had pacing issues and I found the (view spoiler)[David subplot (hide spoiler)] to be unnecessary. The villains were fairly obvious choices I saw coming a mile away but I didn’t mind it until that last part. I was also puzzled as to how Rowan could take so much time off when he’s a chef and owns restaurants. Must be nice!
If any of this sounds at all intriguing, I’d suggest trying the sample and see how the writing style hits you. This won’t be for everyone but it was perfect for me. I look forward to reading book 2!
Note: to the best of my recollection, this is a white cishet novel. It is a relatively small cast with Rowan’s brothers and Sloane’s best friend, in addition to whoever their targets are. But there was still room to be more inclusive.
Characters: Sloane is a 23 year old white serial killer, artist, and data scientist with piercings (naval, nipples, clit, labia, and fourchette). She has a cat named Winston. Rowan is a white Irish serial killer and chef/restaurant owner. This is set in Boston and Raleigh.
Content notes: past sexual abuse (view spoiler)[The details are kept vague. School director preyed on FMC’s best friend. FMC was possibly abused too but her best friend got it worst. Once FMC learned about this, she killed the director. (hide spoiler)], vigilante justice (pedophiles, serial killers), murder, torture, body dismemberment, gore, skin ornaments, corpses, maggots, accidental and purposeful cannibalism (some characters know what they’re eating while MMC does not), physical assault, stalking, drug assault (laced drink), imprisonment, car accident, heart attack (villain), dislocated shoulder, lacerations, skin graft, vomit, nonconsensual voyeurism (hotel clerk spied on FMC’s room), ageism, lobotomized servant, secondary character using crutches (broken leg), diet culture (secondary character is a CrossFit fanatic), past child physical abuse, MMC’s father was an alcoholic and addict, past fratricide (MMC and brother killed dad), past death of MMC’s mother (childbirth), past emotional neglect (FMC’s parents), health code violation (sex in restaurant kitchen; restaurant hasn’t opened yet at least), unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI status; FMC has an IUD and neither MC has had sex with anyone else since they met 4 years ago), on page sex, fluid exchange, edging, cock warming, food play, masturbation, sex toys, alcohol, inebriation, hangover, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialist, ableist language...more
A weekend reunion with old college friends turns into a second chance-ish romance for two of them. I’m a couple years older than this gang so there waA weekend reunion with old college friends turns into a second chance-ish romance for two of them. I’m a couple years older than this gang so there was a lot that was relatable and brought back good memories of my college friends. (Although they went to school in the early 90s and I was late 90s.) This toed the line between contemporary romance and contemporary romance due to the pacing and concentration on the friend group. I would have liked more focus on Maggie and Gil and WAY LESS meddling from the friends. Quinn and Selah got on my last nerve.
I haven’t read the first book in this series and it seemed like I was missing a lot of context, like the death of their friend and what happened when Maggie’s mom died a few years back. I didn’t understand why everyone thought she was hiding on the island or why she’d feel the need to do so in the first place. Nor did I understand why (view spoiler)[Gil came on so strong. They slept together once in college! They haven’t talked the past few years, not even when her mom died! Just because they’ve had sex now does not mean he needs to immediately tell her he loves her and pressure her to start dating him. A cabin weekend where all your friends are around does not translate to instalove, my dude. On the other hand, I didn’t get why Maggie was so hot and cold either. All signs pointing to her wanting to try something with him until he asked and then she backpedaled, which made me less interested in seeing how things actually turned out for them. (hide spoiler)] It made for a whole lot of pacing issues and unnecessary obstacles.
Note: this is a cis white book. There is one gay man and his husband joins the group later in the weekend. No other queer people appear to exist on the island.
Characters: Maggie is a 41 year old white food writer. She has a dog named Biscuit. Gil is a 42 year old white history professor. This is set in Whidbey Island, WA.
Content notes: past divorce (both MCs), past death of friend (ovarian cancer), past death of FMC’s parents and grandparents, gay secondary character and his husband are using a surrogate to have a child, past infertility (MMC and his ex-wife were unable to get pregnant), dog vomit, on page sex, alcohol, inebriation, hangover, cigarettes (secondary character), past marijuana, ageism, fatphobia, diet culture, compulsory sexuality/acephobia, homophobic slur (in-group use), erectile dysfunction joke, STD stigma, slut-shaming, gendered euphemisms for genitalia, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide, casual use of “slave”
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Nook) Purchased: 2017...more
Rival art thieves—who had a hot night together three years ago—face off when they’re both tasked with stealing photographs from an upcoming exhibit atRival art thieves—who had a hot night together three years ago—face off when they’re both tasked with stealing photographs from an upcoming exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Due to a misunderstanding, Sloane and Jillian have relished sabotaging each other since parting ways. They are the embodiment of “thou doth protest too much.” This was SO GOOD!!!
The characters are sharp blades (ice royalty!!) and good at what they do. They dance around each other as they plan their respective heist and figure out how they can beat the other person at their own game. I cannot tell you how delicious this level of competency was. Should I have been cheering for art thieves this hard? I sure as hell did because they are thieves with a moral code who recognize how many museums and private collectors have ill-gotten gains. Sloane and Jillian have their own way of giving back and restoring justice. It just happens to be funded by theft.
The Art Institute of Chicago is my favorite museum so I could not have been more thrilled to read about a heist set there. I think this would be just as enjoyable even if you’ve never visited but being able to picture the different parts of the museum added to my enjoyment. Although I did laugh at how they kept calling the Bean “Cloud Gate.” LOL no one here calls it that!
I loved how inclusive this world was despite having so few characters. Sloane is nonbinary and while there are some nods to the care they take in public, there’s no misgendering. Add in a couple of twists and some close calls and you have a complete winner of a romantic suspense. Sloane and Jillian finally realizing how much time they’ve wasted? *Chef’s kiss*
Characters: Jillian is a 33 year old white art thief. Sloane is a nonbinary white art thief. This is set in Chicago.
Content notes: gunshot (blocked by vest), MCs sabotage each other (primarily past), family estrangement, Sloane’s parents’ company produced opioids (they destroyed the company), artist’s girlfriend went missing and was never found (past; (view spoiler)[by the end of the book, we learn she was an undercover agent and it was a honeypot setup (hide spoiler)]), past parental infidelity and substance abuse (secondary character’s deceased father), past childhood poverty, past death of secondary character’s parents, MCs do not want children (Jillian is on birth control), on page sex, alcohol, ableist language...more
INTENSE. The long-awaited showdown between Kate and her evil father Roland. This was equal parts satisfying and letdown. The choices made complete senINTENSE. The long-awaited showdown between Kate and her evil father Roland. This was equal parts satisfying and letdown. The choices made complete sense and set up some interesting possibilities for where the series will go next. (view spoiler)[But the vengeful part of me really wanted Kate to kill Roland, even though I knew it was unlikely she’d be able to do so…now. Will she be able to outwit him in the future? I can only hope. (hide spoiler)]
I was disappointed Curran and Kate are apart for most of the book. However, I loved her steadfast belief that he would come after her. AND THEN HE DID. (Very reminiscent of one of my favorite parts in The Kraken King by Meljean Brook. I have simple needs.)
There was one plot choice that really did not work for me. (view spoiler)[The crew is trying to escape the tower where Kate and Ghastek have been imprisoned. They’re so close to making it out…and then the vampire horde is too close so Christopher and Robert stay behind so they can close the gate and let everyone escape, which means certain death. Christopher is mentally ill and Robert is gay so we’ve got the Bury Your Gays and Bury Your Mentally Ill tropes. Robert’s husband escapes but that’s a technicality since Robert has way more page time in this book and, as far as I remember, he’s the first LGBTQ+ character to even have a significant role…seven books in but better late than never. The treatment of mental illness in this series has not been great so Christopher being re-traumatized by returning to the place where he was imprisoned to aid in Kate’s escape and then dying was especially bad. Now it turns out that Roland intervened and saved Christopher and Robert in order to lure Kate to meet him. But it still felt like a cheap plot choice. (hide spoiler)]
Characters: Kate is a 27 year old mercenary with tan skin. She’s the guardian of Julie, a 15 year old white girl. She has an “attack poodle” Grendel. Curran is a 33 year old white Beast Lord and lion shifter. This is set in Atlanta.
Content notes: past parental intimate partner violence (FMC’s biological father killed her mother who was trying to prevent him from killing FMC), sex worker killed her client (view spoiler)[it was a set up: Hugh broke into the hotel room and ordered her to murder her client or they would murder her (hide spoiler)], past child abuse (secondary character; FMC’s training as a child could also qualify), captivity, murder, attempted murder, physical assault, gore blood, corpses, monster attacks, axe wound, bullet wound (secondary character), broken bones, poison, self-harm for blood magic, starvation, wheelchair-user secondary character (paralyzed legs), ableism (countered), mentally ill secondary character, perceived Bury Your Gays and Bury Your Mentally Ill tropes (view spoiler)[we’re made to think a mentally ill character and a gay character sacrificed themselves so the others could escape a vampire horde but it turns out FMC’s father saved them in order to use them as leverage. (hide spoiler)], past genocide of Native people, infidelity (married secondary character hired a sex worker), Romani slur, bigotry and speciesism toward shape-shifters, past death of FMC’s parents and guardian, past death of secondary characters’ spouses, secondary character’s father was murdered in prison (past), pregnant secondary character, STD shaming, vomit, discussion of shifters and humans who engage in consensual bestiality, on page sex, casual ableism around mental illness, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide, use of “off the reservation” and “bury the hatchet”...more
Villains need administrative assistants too! The premise brings Natalie Zina Walschot’s Hench to mind but this is a historical fantasy romance take. WVillains need administrative assistants too! The premise brings Natalie Zina Walschot’s Hench to mind but this is a historical fantasy romance take. When desperate-for-a-job Evie stumbles across the Villain in the forest as he's being pursued by the guard, she does not expect him to offer her a job as his assistant but she settles into the role more than capably and proves herself to be quite the asset.
Trystan and Evie’s grumpy-sunshine dynamic reminded me of Damien and Amma in Throne in the Dark. I’m always going to be a sucker for a love interest humoring a villain and reassuring them that they are indeed So Scary. The villain here has done some actual villainous things, compared to Damien who was more likely to rescue a kitten than do anything truly terrible. But Trystan’s misdeeds are all in his quest for revenge against the king. While everyone else in the room knows Trystan and Evie are pining for each other, they don't have a clue the other person is interested! The best. This installment is chaste as a result but things are very, very promising between them and I can't wait to see how their romance develops from here.
The rat’s identity didn’t completely add up for me but I’ll spare you my many questions about the logistics. Although I will say, I knew (view spoiler)[there was something off about her dad’s illness. I’m just not convinced by the complete personality change. (hide spoiler)]
I didn’t ever laugh out loud but there is a great sense of humor and a light-hearted feel. Plus, there’s not one but two great “learning to hug” scenes! The world-building and magical system could have been deepened but at the end of the day, it was just a fun read.
Characters: Evie is a 23 year old personal assistant. Trystan is a 29 year old Villain. He has a frog named Kingsley (view spoiler)[who used to be a human prince. (hide spoiler)]
Content notes: emotional abuse and gaslighting (view spoiler)[FMC’s father betrayed her and used her job to aid the king without her knowledge or consent, going so far as to place a bomb where she worked; he also agreed to trade her sexual favors with her old boss (hide spoiler)], past workplace sexual harassment and stabbing (view spoiler)[FMC’s boss propositioned her and when she wouldn’t agree to be his companion, he stabbed her with a magical knife that causes her pain months later (hide spoiler)], murder, attempted murder, physical assault, bomb, breaking bones (secondary character), drug assault, poisonous serpent monsters, severed heads, venom burns, arrow graze, lacerations, bleeding, migraine, past imprisonment and solitary confinement, guard brutality (past and present), FMC’s father sick with Mystic Illness (view spoiler)[except it turns out he was faking the whole time (hide spoiler)], dragon has scars from collar, estranged family members, past death of FMC’s brother (accidentally killed by mom’s magic), past parental depression, past disappearance of FMC’s mother, colorblind secondary character, alcohol, inebriation, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide...more
3.5 stars. Huh. This was probably never going to be my favorite Kate Daniels book since I’d rather not read about pregnancy and the whole plot is devo3.5 stars. Huh. This was probably never going to be my favorite Kate Daniels book since I’d rather not read about pregnancy and the whole plot is devoted to Kate and Curran being hired to protect a pregnant shifter. But I figured I’d at least get Kate’s badassery (true), the world-building would deepen (yep), and her relationship with Curran would progress (*record scratch*).
I came around on Curran after the last couple of books and this one dashed all that progress to pieces. Instead of trusting his partner and telling her his plan with Lorelei, he instead let Kate think he was either a) cheating on her or b) planning to leave her. He lets Lorelei behave in extremely disrespectful ways and even encourages it. Meanwhile all these rival packs are picking on Kate since she’s not married to Curran and can see how Lorelei is blatantly trying to replace her. While I can see why Curran rationalized his actions as a way of protecting Kate, he never would have been okay if the tables were turned and he was watching Kate do that to him. Plus, the idea that Kate doesn’t know how to lie and that’s why he didn’t clue her in is LAUGHABLE.
Is it wrong that I want Kate to wind up with Hugh instead now? That sword fight, y’all!!! Yes, yes, they’re probably going to try to kill each other at some point but there’s no reason that couldn’t be turned into a hell of a redemption arc instead. She has way more chemistry with Hugh and he’s not any more duplicitous than Curran. Sigh. I know it’s not going to happen but I have no idea if I’ll ever warm back up to Curran at this point. They do not at all have a healthy relationship—including (view spoiler)[intimate partner violence (hide spoiler)] that is not acknowledged as such by the book—and that’s such a bummer.
I also didn’t care with the amount of casual ableism, especially regarding Christopher, or the choices made with Doolittle and Aunt B. I hope the next book will work better for me.
Characters: Kate is a 26 year old mercenary with tan skin. She’s the guardian of Julie, a 14 year old white girl. She has an “attack poodle” Grendel. Curran is a 32 year old white Beast Lord and lion shifter. This is set in Atlanta (in the US) and Gagra, Georgia (the country).
Content notes: attacker threatens rape, sexual harassment, suicide (attacker), intimate partner violence (FMC punches MMC. The book does not treat this as partner violence but it is. MMC is jealous and controlling. FMC’s biological father killed her mother when she was young.), nightmare, inhumane treatment of prisoner (set free), mentally ill secondary character, abusive pack leader secondary character (uses adult daughter as a bargaining chip), self-harm for blood magic, death of secondary character’s mother (sacrifices herself so others can escape), murder, patricide, attempted murder, gore, cannibalism (secondary characters), off-page massacre of village, physical assault, pirate attack, monster attacks, fire, past war, spinal cord injury (secondary character, (view spoiler)[nearly dies but comes through, however he is paralyzed and now uses a wheelchair (hide spoiler)]), lacerations, broken bones, secondary character loses her arm, loupism (a virus that causes shapeshifters to become physically and mentally ill, to the point where most must be exterminated so they won’t kill or rape anyone as a result of the illness), many shapeshifter child and teen shapeshifters die young from loupism, drug assault (sedative laced in water given to FMC after injuries), induced-coma for teen secondary character who went loup, pregnant secondary characters, C-section, family planning discussion, off-page hunt, mother slaps adult son (secondary characters), bigotry and speciesism toward shape-shifters, slut-shaming, secondary character transforms from male to female and back again (identifies as male), past death of FMC’s parents and guardian, past death of spouses and children (secondary characters), pressure for grandchildren (secondary character), vomit, seasickness, on page sex, shower sex, alcohol, pipe (secondary character), diet culture, casual ableism, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide...more
There aren’t nearly enough snowed-in one night stand-turned-one weekend stand romances and I’m glad Jessica Joyce recognized this need. This was such There aren’t nearly enough snowed-in one night stand-turned-one weekend stand romances and I’m glad Jessica Joyce recognized this need. This was such a cute novella! Claire and Connor had great banter and their early NYE celebration was such a nice touch. I loved the through line of what it means to take care with someone vs. living a smaller life out of caution.
Characters: Claire is a 29 year old white redheaded bartender and freelance copywriter. Connor is a 33 year old white senior product manager. This is set in Portland and San Francisco.
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