One Night in Hartswood by Emma DennyHistorical Romance/LGBTQ+November 7, 2023 by Mills & Boon Review by Kate H. One Night in Hartswood begins with both main characters lying to one another about who they are. William de Foucart, aka Penn, is fleeing an oppressive marriage arranged by his abusive father who needs this alliance and is repulsed by his son’s preference for men. Penn is posing as a servant. Raff Barden, who is supposed to be hunting his sister’s fleeing fiancé, Continue Reading
Review: Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callendar
Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen CallendarLGBTQ+, Contemporary RomanceOct 10, 2023Forever Books Review by Kate H. The contours of Stars in Your Eyes will be a bit familiar if you read a lot of Hollywood (or rock star or celebrity) romances. Fake dating goes with this territory like butter on bread. And recently, several romances have spilled ink on the darker side of being a celebrity: the exploitation of minors by their parents or predatory directors/producers/agents; blackmail, rape, Continue Reading
Review: Once a Rogue by Allie Therin
Once a Rogue by Allie Therin Roaring Twenties Magic #2LGBTQ+, Historical Paranormal RomanceAug 22, 2023- Carina Press Review by Kate H. I really resist romance books which are series that center on the same relationship. And when it’s been over a year since I read the previous books, I am always dubious that I will stitch myself back into the feelings, and the narrative. But without a doubt, I was sucked back within a minute of starting Allie Therin’s Once a Rogue, the sequel Continue Reading
Review: A Rulebook for Restless Rogues by Jess Everlee
A Rulebook for Restless Rogues by Jess EverleeHistorical Romance/LGBTQ+July 11 by Carina Adores Review by Kate H. Jess Everlee follows up her debut novel The Gentleman's Book of Vices with the second in the Lucky Lovers of London series, A Rulebook for Restless Rogues. It takes up two of the more interesting side-characters in the first book, David Forester, the manager of the queer club “The Curious Fox,” and his schoolboy compatriot, Noah Clarke, who frequently appears Continue Reading
Review: Big Gay Wedding by Byron Lane
Big Gay Wedding by Byron LaneLGBTQ+May 30, 2023 by Henry Holt and Co. Review by Kate H. Big Gay Wedding is like a romance novel that starts at the epilogue. Instead of the meet cute, the inciting action, turning point, and so on, we jump to right after the proposal. The focus of the story moves around almost the entire wedding party: the grooms, the moms, the grandfather and the sheep. Yes, the sheep. And when I say it moves around, I really Continue Reading
Review: Best Men by Sidney Karger
Best Men by Sidney KargerLGBTQ+ Contemporary RomanceMay 2, 2023 by Berkley Review by Kate H. Max Moody is missing a gay gene or two. He’s not interested in fashion; he doesn’t know where the nearest “drag karaoke bingo barbecue” is being held in NYC; and he is hopeless at wedding planning. But his best friend, Paige, has asked him to be her Best Man, and Chasten, her future brother-in-law, and the other Best Man is helping plan the wedding. Only guess Continue Reading
Kate H’s Mini-Reviews: Diversion Plan by Tag Gregory and Endless, Forever by E.M. Lindsey
Diversion Plan by Tag Gregory The book Diversion Plan is set in Portland, Oregon, and uses a court-ordered diversion program for drug and alcohol issues much in the way other romances might use getting lost in a blizzard or stranded on an island: as a chance for its main characters to really get to know one another. Brent, a workaholic who hews to the safety of routines after having survived an abusive, manipulative ex-boyfriend, is the manager at a hotel. Guthrie is the Continue Reading
Review: Love Thy Brother by Garrett Leigh
Love Thy Brother by Garrett LeighRebel Kings MC #4LGBTQ+ Contemporary RomanceMarch 29, 2023 by Fox Love Press Reviewed by Kate H. Garrett Leigh’s Rebel Kings MC series is unrelenting in the best of ways, and the fourth and latest installment, Love Thy Brother, is no exception. The recommendation to read it as part of the series and not a standalone is a wise one. For one, Leigh doesn’t do a lot of background at the beginning of the novel to catch Continue Reading
Review: Liar City by Allie Therin
Liar City by Allie TherinLGBTQ+ Fantasy/Mystery/ThrillerFebruary 28, 2023Carina Press Review by Kate H. Do you ever read a book with a certain expectation based on the way it is marketed, only to be disappointed, and yet … still love the book anyway? That is what happened to me with Liar City by Allie Therin. Liar City is the first novel in her latest paranormal series and is set firmly in contemporary times. What expectations did I Continue Reading
Review: Artfully Yours by Joanna Lowell
Artfully Yours by Joanna LowellHistorical RomanceFebruary 21, 2022Berkley PublishingReview by Kate H. Who are more diametrically opposed than an art forger and an art critic? Artfully Yours begins in the late 19th century, with Alan, aka Lord De’ath, the formidable art critic, declaring that the painting in his brother’s drawing room is not a Rembrandt, but rather a fake. Little does he know in that moment that the forger, one Nina Finch, is standing the room with him, posing as the Continue Reading