Reel by Kennedy RyanContemporary06/08/2021 Self PublishedARC Review by Melinda Reel is a story that at first I had difficulty putting my finger on what time period it was taking place in, and I think that was because the story felt timeless, something that I loved about this book. When Neevah is cast as the star in a new biopic that Canon Holt is directing, everything changes for her. We can tell from the beginning that both Neevah and Canon are passionate people. Canon is a famous Continue Reading
Pride Giveaway!
Happy Pride everyone! Smexy wanted to celebrate by giving away a fun pack of prizes. You could win: Rainbow notebook with lined pagesebook of Learned Behaviors by Jayce Ellisebook of Get It Right by Skye Kilaen1000 piece Pride themed puzzle by Cobble Hill, the puzzle has various queer history facts along with various Pride flags sprinkled throughout * Please comment with your favorite LGBT romance for a chance to win. Contest will be open from today, Monday June 7, 2021, and will run Continue Reading
Review: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
One Last Stop by Casey McQuistonLGBTQ Contemporary RomanceJune 1, 2021, by St. Martin's Review by Melinda I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It’s delightfully queer and set in New York, which combined was just one of the best experiences to listen to, although since I can’t travel right now did leave me feeling a little melancholy. August has just moved to NYC, and the atmosphere felt incredibly accurate. While I don't live there, I have visited yearly for about 10 years, and the descriptions Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson and Anne of Manhattan by Brina Starler
The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey WilsonNon-Fiction May 4, 2021, by Harper Review by Melinda I’m familiar with Casey Wilson because I’m an unapologetic Real Housewives watcher, which also makes me an unapologetic Bitch Sesh listener, Casey’s podcast, alongside co-host with Dana Schneider. I listened to an audio ARC of this one, and I would highly recommend listening to it, rather than reading it. Casey obviously is a talented actress and from her time doing the podcast is Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur & The Anatomy of Desire by L.R. Dorn
Hang the Moon by Alexandria BellefleurContemporary RomanceMay 25, 2021, by AvonAudio ARC Review by Melinda This was such a delightful book to read! Brendon was a side character in Written in the stars - the brother to the main character there. Brendon is basically a hopeless romantic, who believes in love, and is working to improve his dating app. And Annie is the best friend of the other main character, who thinks that true love is a farce and the everyone leaves, because that’s what Continue Reading
Review: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall
Rosaline Palmer Takes the CakeContemporary RomanceMay 18, 2021, by Forever Review by Melinda Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake is the start of a new series for Alexis Hall with Forever. The setup is one pretty much designed with me in mind because I love reality television and don’t mind saying it out loud. And my favorite category is competition reality shows, and even better are the soft ones. Give me GBBO, Pottery showdown, the Great Sewing Bee, Project Runway...you name it, I’m watching Continue Reading
Review: Totally Engaged by Mina V. Esguerra
Totally Engaged by Mina V. EsguerraContemporary RomanceMay 14, 2021, Self PublishedARC Review by Melinda I think Mina V. Esguerra is such a talented writer and generally I pick up anything she writes. But this book is really up there with one of my favorites of hers. Rose is a fashion entrepreneur who is pretty happy with her life and what she has. However, her mother is not as happy about any of it. Rose's entire immediate family immigrated to the United States, but Rose had aged out of Continue Reading
#RomBkLove 2021 Day 12: Weird and Wonderful Powers
Paranormal romance is the subgenre of my heart for so many reasons, I return to it when I’m stressed, when I’m happy, when I need comfort...so basically all the time. My theory is the genre and the subgenre you originally grew up reading is the one you subconsciously return to. I grew up reading Christopher Pike and Anne Rice so I love paranormal the most. One of the things I enjoy the most about paranormal books is the different powers they get to utilize. I love to see the unusual talents Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin & Farm of Fancy by Julianna Thorn
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma JalaluddinContemporary 4/13/2021 by Harper Avenue There is so much about this book that I enjoyed! There is a podcasting FMC that I just loved so much. I listen to an intense amount of podcasts so this made me fall for Hana early on. And Hana was just lovely and fierce from beginning to end. I also really enjoyed her family, who owns a hala restaurant and are her biggest fans. I loved watching them basically believe she could do anything she wanted. And the Continue Reading
Review: Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee
Meet Cute Diary By Emery Lee Contemporary YA May 4th, 2021 by Quill Tree Books Reviewed by Melinda I love the hell out of this concept. A teen has come out as trans recently and his brother has a little too enthusiastically embraced this fact, and they spend the summer in Denver together. Noah runs the Meet Cute Diary blog where he posts trans meet cutes and presents them as true HEAs. He begins to have online people come after the diary at the same time this summer - and the book - Continue Reading