Under the Whispering Door by TJ KluneLGBT Contemporary FantasySeptember 21, 2021, by Tor BooksARCReview by Angela Last year's The House in the Cerulean Sea was a warm, wonderful, gentle embrace with the softest romance and I positively adored it. My anticipation for Under the Whispering Door couldn't have been higher, I'm writing this review in May if that tells you anything. And I have to say I enjoyed it just as much, for different reasons, but still had that feeling of comfort when I read Continue Reading
Melinda’s Mini-Reviews: Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston and With You Forever by Chloe Liese
Breaking Badger by Shelly LaurenstonHoney Badger Chronicles #4Paranormal RomanceAugust 31, 2021KensingtonARC Breaking Badger is the 4th in Shelly Laurenston’s Honey Badger series that I absolutely have loved. They’ve all been books that make me literally laugh out loud to the point that I can’t listen to these books in public because I always get awkward stares. Laurenston’s humor is definitely hit or miss, if you look up her reviews they are filled with either ‘what the hell is this’ or Continue Reading
Angela’s Minis- The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle and Battle Royal by Lucy Parker
The Royals Next Door by Karina HalleContemporary Romance08/31/21 by BerkleyARC This author is hit or miss for me, but I couldn't pass up a romantic comedy where the heroine's new neighbors are Meghan and Harry-inspired royals and her love interest is their bodyguard. That's just catnip for me as a reader. Piper Evans is a school teacher with a lot on her plate. When royalty moves in next door her life gets a whole lot more complicated. Despite living in a small town there isn't a real Continue Reading
Review: Tell Me Anything by Skye Kilaen
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: All the Best Nights by Hanna Earnest
All the Best Nights by Hanna Earnest August 24, 2021 by Carina Contemporary Romance Reviewed by Kate Disclosure: Hanna Earnest has been a friend for a little more than a year, but I had not read this book before receiving the ARC from Netgalley. Hanna Earnest is my friend, and to be perfectly transparent, because she probably won’t read this review: I mostly downloaded the ARC on Netgalley to see if I was mentioned in the acknowledgements. (I am, phew.) We’ve been in romance book 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
Review: The Good Lie by A.R. Torre
The Good Lie by A.R. TorreMystery/ ThrillerJuly 20, 2021Thomas and Mercer Review by Jen The Good Lie by A.R. Torre was a terrific, twisty, addicting murder mystery. Dr. Gwen Moore is a psychiatrist who specializes in helping violent, or potentially violent, people cope with their aggressive thoughts. She basically helps murderers or would be murderers. One of her clients and his wife are found dead. She knows her client had fantasies about killing his wife. It looks at Continue Reading
Review: Pretty Boy D by Rachel Jonas and Nikki Thorne
Pretty Boy D by Rachel Jonas and Nikki ThorneNew Adult Contemporary RomanceJuly 9, 2021 Self Published Review by Jen Pretty Boy D is the next smexy installment in the Kings of Cypress Point series by Rachel Jonas and Nikki Thorne. We’re working our way through the hot triplet brothers and Dane Golden is the star of this book. Dane, Pretty Boy D, is a beautiful, social media star/athlete who is rich, snarky, and to quote Bella from Twilight “unconditionally and irrevocably in 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