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
Melanie’s Mini’s: Bidding for the Bachelor by Jackie Lau, The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon, and Secrets of a One Night Stand by Naima Simone
Bidding for the Bachelor by Jackie LauFong Brothers #2Contemporary Romance August 17, 2021, by Jackie Lau Books Quintessentially on brand for Jackie Lau with her trademark food and craft cocktail tour of Toronto, Bidding for the Bachelor is also her first foray into m/m romance. If you read the first book in the Fong Brothers series, Pregnant by the Playboy, you would have met both of these characters and there were hints of where the second book in the series was headed. Unfortunately, my 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: What We May Be by Layla Reyne
What We May Be by Layla ReyneLGBTQ Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense8/16/2021 Self PublishedARC Reviewed by Angela I ain't even gonna lie, I saw this cover and was IMMEDIATELY intrigued. I hadn't even read the blurb yet and I was already ready to jump right in. LOL. Okay, so then I finally read the blurb and discovered this was a throuple second chance romance and that pretty much sealed the deal. What We May Be starts off with a bang (literally), introducing its three main Continue Reading
Review: Fable of Happiness by Pepper Winters
Wow…ok, this book is really good. It’s also not really a dark romance, it’s more of a disturbing romance. Fable of Happiness by Pepper Winters made me squirm. Meet Gemma. She’s a famous, and very successful, climber who loves to conquer the undiscovered. Gem is often on her own in remote areas, looking for new boulders, mountains, and trails. She is single, has a brother and mother, and lives on her own. One day Gem finds a note on a message board about a boulder in Mammoth Cave National 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
Review: Heartbreak for Hire by Sonia Hartl
Heartbreak for Hire by Sonia HartlContemporary RomanceJuly 27, 2021, by Gallery Books Review by Melanie I tried hard to like this book. I thought the premise was interesting and clever and unusual to say the least. But ultimately, it broke down in the execution and by the end of the book, I was truly appalled by the actions of the MMC and could no longer support or even care about whether these people ended up together. In the course of reading a romance, if the reader stops being Continue Reading
Review: Isn’t It Bromantic by Lyssa Kay Adams
Isn't It Bromantic by Lyssa Kay AdamsBromance Book Club #4Contemporary RomanceJuly 20, 2021, by BerkleyARCReview by Angela I swear, this series gets better and better with each new release. When I picked up the first book in the series I expected a bunch of laughs and hijinks, especially given the title of the series as a whole and the premise that this was a bunch of guys getting together to research romance novels in order to help them with their love interests. And don't get me wrong, Continue Reading
Review: The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison
The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison Contemporary Young Adult July 13, 2021 by Inkyard Press Reviewed by Kate The Right Side of Reckless is the very first young adult contemporary novel I've reviewed, and as I was reading it, it occurred to me I have no idea how to review YA contemporary! I've reviewed plenty of YA fantasy before, and there's a lot to talk about there in terms of world building and such, and I've reviewed adult romance novels, but I feel sketchy talking about 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