Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreenContemporary RomanceJanuary 28, 2025, by Berkley Review by Melanie There’s an ongoing conversation happening in Romancelandia these days about tropes and the over usage of them to write and sell a book. In reality, tropes can be quite gimmicky and an easy way to market a book. Put up a cute little Instagram ready graphic, surround it with a half dozen tropes contained within the book and there you have it, easy-peasy lemon squeezy! It’s quick and fun Continue Reading
Review: Only One Bed by Kati Wilde
Only One Bed by Kati WildeContemporary RomanceJanuary 15, 2025- Self PublishedKindle Unlimited Review by Angela My first thought when I saw that a new Kati Wilde book was coming for the new year was...YAY! An enemies to lovers, forced proximity, only one bed romance was just what I needed. For the most part this book starts out just as expected- with the FMC, Abbie Walker, taking some time for herself, away from her suffocating family, celebrating Christmas alone in an isolated Continue Reading
Review: Dark Restraint by Katee Robert
Dark Restraint by Katee RobertDark Olympus #7Retellings/Contemporary FantasyAugust 6, 2024- SourcebooksARC Review by Angela This series is hit or miss for me. Some of the main characters and pairings I love and some not so much. I keep coming back over and over again because I'm enjoying the ongoing series plot arc and really need to find out what happens. I'm also determined to get to Hera and Zeus's book. This is Ariadne and the Minotaur's story and it's really a tale of Continue Reading
Review: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
The Paradise Problem by Christina LaurenContemporary RomanceMay 14, 2024- Gallery BooksARC Review by Angela I have an up and down relationship with Christina Lauren books. When I love them I really, really love them (Beautiful Player and The True Love Experiment), but when I don't, I'm left scratching my head at why (Something Wilder). This book falls somewhere in the middle. I will admit that I read this straight through in one evening. It's compulsively readable. The banter Continue Reading
Review: Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana
Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh SbranaFantasy RomancePublished February 27, 2024- Harper Voyager Reviewed by Kate I so wanted Lore of the Wilds to be a slam dunk, and while there are certainly parts of the book that I loved, I don’t think that as a cohesive whole it was as good as it could have been. The first 40% or so of Lore of the Wilds was the best part of the book. Lore was exploring the library, figuring out the fae and trying to make sense of the world around her. This part was Continue Reading
Review: Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
Ready or Not by Cara BastoneContemporary Romance (Romantic Fiction)February 13, 2024 by Dial Press Review by Melanie I read this book in the span of two days which is shockingly fast for me these days when I read with my eyes. I simply could not put it down. If you are reading this review, you will undoubtedly be rather shocked when you get to the end of this review and see that I’ve given this book a letter grade of C-. Yes, that minus is important because this book is verging on a Continue Reading
Review: Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert
Midnight Ruin by Katee RobertDark Olympus #6Contemporary RetellingJanuary 16, 2023- SourcebooksARC Review by Angela This series has been hit or miss for me, but I keep powering through because I really want to know how the series plot arc concludes. This is a triad romance featuring Eurydice Dimitriou, Charon Ariti, and Orpheus Makos. If you are all caught up on the series, then you already know the history between the three--but most especially between Eurydice and Orpheus. Charon Continue Reading
Review: Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar
Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina KumarContemporary Romance January 16, 2024 by Dell Review by Melanie I always find it increasingly difficult to review books that aren’t 5 stars or 1 star but just sort of fall into that middle category that I like to label as forgettably meh or as my friend Melinda would term, “aggressively fine.” The real problem with this book actually lies with me because it’s time I finally admit that I just don’t care about the fake relationship trope in contemporary Continue Reading
Angela’s Minis- Reviews for books by Shelley Parker-Chan and Pippa Grant
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-ChanThe Radiant Emperor #2LGBTQ Historical FantasyAugust 22, 2023- TorARC After absolutely loving the first book in this duology, She Who Becomes the Sun, I was desperate to get my hands on the finale. This book is brutal. The main protagonists are dark and unrelenting in their separate quests- for power, for redemption, and for revenge. These are terrible people who repeatedly do terrible things. The story is told from multiple POVs and Continue Reading
Review: The Summer I Saved You by Elizabeth O’Roark
The Summer I Saved You by Elizabeth O'RoarkThe Summer #2Contemporary RomanceSeptember 14, 2023- Self-PublishedARC Review by Angela The Summer I Saved You is the second book in The Summer series and features Caleb, a friend of Luke's from The Summer We Fell, and his next-door neighbor, Lucie, a woman going through a divorce with two small children. This is billed as "An Angsty, Single Parent Romance", and it is... but, not to the degree of the first book in the series. This is more Continue Reading