Second First Impressions by Sally ThorneContemporary RomanceApril 13, 2021, by William MorrowReview by Angela It must be a very, very difficult thing for a debut novel to be a huge hit and beloved by many a romance reader. Expectations are set and readers want that same level of awesomeness over and over. Sally Thorne literally hit it out of the park with The Hating Game. Her sophomore effort, 99 Percent Mine, was just an okay read for me, mainly because the first chapter was so disjointed Continue Reading
Review: The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan
The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan Contemporary Romance April 6, 2021 by Berkley Reviewed by Kate The Intimacy Experiment is a novel with lots of promise. Unfortunately, I felt that Danan's sophomore book didn't quite deliver on the expectations I had. I'll start with what did work for me in The Intimacy Experiment. First, the characters. Naomi is a bad-ass boss bitch and Ethan is a cute cinnamon roll and neither of those things was the conflict between the two. I am a big fan of Continue Reading
Review: Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
Twice Shy by Sarah HogleContemporary RomanceApril 6, 2021 by G.P. Putnam Review by Melinda I am a huge fan of Hogle’s debut, You Deserve Each Other, to the point that I was unsure how I’d feel about her next book, which is unfair to Hogle, but I wanted to love this one just as much. But Twice Shy is completely different from YDEO - in such a wonderful way. Because YDEO has an incredibly distinctive voice and you either love it or hate it, and Twice Shy has a much quieter voice, but one Continue Reading
Guest Review: Always Only You by Chloe Liese
Today Smexy welcomes Alyssa (Hi Alyssa!) who is talking about disability rep in her latest read. You can find her on Twitter at @measuredandslow Always Only Yoy by Chloe LieseBergman Brothers #2Contemporary RomanceAugust 4, 2020 I was really excited to read this one; you don’t see Rheumatoid Arthritis or Autism, let alone both, in romance that often. When it does show up it tends to be in older characters or a reason for the femme character to be benevolent and caring (there’s a Continue Reading
Review: Careless Whispers by Synithia Williams
Careless Whispers by Synithia WilliamsContemporary RomanceMarch 30, 2021 Review by Melinda First of all, this series has the most beautiful covers, I can't stop staring at the forehead touch on this one! And the colors are so gorgeous and exactly how I imagine Elaina and Alex. I've been really looking forward to getting Elaina's story because we've seen glimmers of her in the first two books of the series and it was clear that there was so much going on there. She's been so career-driven Continue Reading
Angela Minis: Reviews for books by KJ Charles, Kerrigan Byrne, and Sara Desai
The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ CharlesLGBT Historical RomanceFebruary 24, 2021, by KJC Books Yeah, so I'm a KJ Charles fangirl. I admit it. Every new release I just want to grab up and read as soon as it hits my kindle, but on I also want to keep it in my pocket to look forward to when I need a pick me up after a bad day. The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting features the grumpy/sunshine trope to perfection. Robin Loxleigh, Mr. Charm, is in London with his sister in order to secure Continue Reading
Book + Wine Pairing: The Elite Kings Series by Amo Jones
I love to drink wine when I’m reading and thought it would be fun to try a new concept, book + wine pairing recommendations. Grab a glass and let’s begin. The Silver Swan by Amo Jones has been on my wish list for awhile and recently showed up as a freebie on Amazon. I’m a fan of dark romance and this book pushed all the right buttons. It was also absurd, completely improbable, introduced multiple characters and storylines, so many mysterious circumstances, relationships and numerous Continue Reading
Review: Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher
Meet Me in Paradise by Libby HubscherContemporary Romance/ WFMarch 23, 2021, by BerkleyReviewed by Angela Content Warnings: Cancer, death, grief I was not prepared for this book. Not at all. I went into Meet Me in Paradise thinking I was getting a contemporary romance with maybe some laughs and fun times set in a lovely tropical location. What I got was a deep, emotional story full of love, and sacrifice, and a woman's journey through grief to find herself on the other side. Meet Continue Reading
Jen’s Mini-Reviews: Reviews for Books by Sarah J. Maas, V.E. Schwab, Ilsa Madden-Mills and H. Hunting
I’ve read and/or listened to several books in recent weeks and thought a quick round up would be perfect. Two of these are WAY hyped and absolutely delivered for me. Two are sports romances that I adored, and one is an unfortunate DNF. Here we go… Hyped and Loved A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas was a super A+ awesome read. This entire series is all over TikTok and I feel like I’ve found my tribe. The ACOTAR books started as fun, adventurous YA reads with romance, but now have Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: All the Missing Pieces by Julianna Keyes and To Be With You by Jodie Slaughter
All the Missing Pieces by Julianna KeyesRomantic Suspense/Mystery ThrillerSeptember 21, 2020 Review by Melinda I've read this author before in more of a straight up contemporary romance genre so I was really interested in reading this but throughout the whole book I was unsure if this was romance or suspense so I kept thinking HEA or NO!?! Let me put your mind at ease that there *is* an HEA! Reese was a spoiled rich girl whose life got turned upside down when her father was sent to prison Continue Reading