Tell Me Anything by Skye KilaenContemporary RomanceSeptember 2, 2021, Self PublishedARC Reviewer: Melinda The absolute care Skye Kilaen takes with both her characters and her readers is incredibly apparent and it’s a beautiful thing to feel so...safe when reading. There are extensive content warnings at the beginning of this, which I appreciate so much. Isabel starts the book in a very bad space emotionally when she comes home from a 10-day trip only to find that her boyfriend had moved Continue Reading
Review: Our Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly
Our Favorite Songs by Anitha Kelly Moonlighters #2 LGBT Contemporary Romance September 1, 2021 - Self Published ARC Reviewed by Melinda This is the second book in the Moonlighters series, both of which are centered around karaoke, which honestly cracks me up because that’s not something I associate with good times. But these books make me want to go to a karaoke bar immediately. This one has a different tone than the first one, Sing Anyway, and is more angsty, which was nice to see because Continue Reading
The Psy/Changeling Channel: Bonds of Justice
Melanie: I was a little worried when I started this book because I had very little recollection of it other than Goodreads telling me I had given it a 5 star on my initial reading of this book. I’m super thrilled to say that upon rereading, this book totally holds up. Despite the fact that neither Max Shannon nor Sophia Russo are changelings and I tend to gravitate more towards the pairings where at least one of the MCs is a changeling, this book still worked for me, maybe partially because of Continue Reading
Review: For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes
For the Love of April French by Penny AimesLGBT Contemporary August 24, 2021 by Carina AdoresARC Review by Melinda This is a debut by trans author Penny Aimes for Carina Adores and there is so much to love about this book! As a trans woman April French has been through so much in her life. Luckily, she has a safe space she does go to quite a bit for kink and that is where she meets Dennis right at the beginning of the book. But it turns out that he is the new big important boss at her Continue Reading
Review: Foolish Hearts by Synithia Williams
Foolish Hearts by Synithia WilliamsJackson Falls #4Contemporary RomanceAugust 24, 2021, by HarlequinARC Reviewer: Melinda Foolish Hearts is the 4th in the Jackson Falls series, it’s loosely tied to the previous books but it can stand alone without any issues. I’ve loved this series because it’s just been incredibly soapy with messy characters and complex family drama. I love that Synithia Williams has allowed her characters to be dramatic or troubled or overly angry because those kinds of Continue Reading
Review: Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
Battle Royal by Lucy ParkerContemporary RomanceAugust 17, 2021, by AvonARC Reviewer: Melinda This book is the epitome of the grumpy/sunshine trope, I don’t know if I’ve ever read anything that could encapsulate it more. Every book I read by Lucy Parker I think okay, *this one* is my favorite, she can’t top it...and then I love the next one more? I don't know how she does it. Let me just list all the reasons you should read this book! The Baking Show - Operation Cake is a Continue Reading
Mini Reviews: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby and False Witness by Karin Slaughter
Razorblade Tears by S.A CosbyFictionJuly 6, 2021, by Flatiron LibraryReview by Melinda S.A. Cosby wrote a fantastic book last year - Blacktop Wasteland - that I didn’t think he could do again because it was that good, but I think I like Razorblade Tears even more, if possible. The book opens with a Black father, Ike, and a white father, Buddy Lee, burying their two sons who were married and had a daughter together. Neither father had 100% accepted their son’s homosexuality when they were Continue Reading
Review: Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) by Nalini Singh
Last Guard by Nalini SinghParanormal RomanceJuly 20, 2021, by BerkleyARCReview by Melanie and Melinda Melinda: We've been so excited for this book - and we're going to try to do this review without spoilers! Going into this book right away we know we’re getting a ton of new aspects in the Psy/Changing world because we’ve not only rarely seen much of the Mercant family, we’ve never seen the Rao family before. We’ve also never seen the Anchor designation in so much detail, and then on top of Continue Reading
The Psy/Changeling Channel: Novellas Part 1
This month, we bring you not one but TWO Psy/Changeling deep dives. This first one will focus on a few of the Psy/Changeling novellas. We’re trying to schedule them so that the novellas don’t spoil anything we haven’t covered in any of the regular deep dives yet. This deep dive will cover 3 novellas: Beat of Temptation, Whispers of Sin, and Stroke of Enticement, which all focus on DarkRiver Changelings. Later in the month, we’ll resume our usual Psy/Changeling deep dive with Psy/Changeling book Continue Reading
Audible Original: The Stand-in by Lily Chu
The Stand-in by Lily Chu July 15, 2021 by Audible Originals Contemporary Romance Reviewed by Melinda I wanted to listen to this audiobook as soon as I heard that Phillipa Soo was narrating this, because I’m a big fan of hers. She did a wonderful job infusing the story with nuance and context. The book opens with Gracie working in a job she hates, but that she needs to save money to support her elderly mother, who lives in a Residential care facility. Gracie’s been wanting to move Continue Reading