Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn SolomonContemporary RomanceJuly 4, 2023 by Berkley Review by Melanie This is the third Rachel Lynn Solomon contemporary romance I’ve read and I think that’s enough data to conclude that she’s now an auto-read author for me. Her voice is just a perfect blend of biting wit and vulnerable self-doubt, her characters are beautifully rendered with layers of complexity and the romance just feels like a punch to the solar plexus. There’s so much care taken, Continue Reading
Review: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley
Role Playing by Cathy YardleyContemporary RomanceJuly 1, 2023 by Montlake Review by Melanie This is now the second Cathy Yardley book I’ve read and I really have to make time in my reading schedule to dive into her backlist. Her voice is sharp and funny and I love how she writes her MCs and the way her characters communicate like adults, no game playing. Well, no mind games, at the very least. Her author’s voice really works for me and this book just hits perfectly on every Continue Reading
Review: Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder
Will They or Won't They by Ava WilderContemporary RomanceJune 27, 2023 by Dell Review by Melanie I was a huge fan of Ava Wilder’s debut novel and was especially intrigued by the premise of her second novel, Will They or Won’t They, which, based on its description, happens to be a second chance romance, one of my favorite tropes. One could argue that it’s also an enemies-to-lovers trope but I would say this is more of a costars to casual sex to secretly pining to antagonistic costars to Continue Reading
Review: The Notorious Lord Knightly by Lorraine Heath
The Notorious Lord Knightly by Lorraine HeathThe Chessmen: Masters of Seduction #2Historical RomanceJune 27, 2023- Avon Review by Melanie I am a sucker for a second chance romance and for a revenge plot done well and Lorraine Heath’s newest achieves one of those very well and the other one to varying degrees of success. The FMC of the book, Miss Regina Leyland, has forever lived her life on the outskirts of the English nobility. Born as a result of the extramarital love affair Continue Reading
Review: Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin
Much Ado About Nada by Uzma JalaluddinContemporary RomanceJune 13, 2023 - Berkley Review by Melanie I’m not always super fond of Jane Austen retellings - they are usually a bit hit or miss for me - but I think I may be predisposed to loving Persuasion retellings since second-chance romance is one of my favorite tropes. Much Ado About Nada tells the story of Nada and Baz, who have a very storied past. The book is mostly set in the present day but does occasionally take a detour to Continue Reading
Review: Keyed Up by Sarah Estep
Keyed Up by Sarah EstepContemporary RomanceMay 4, 2023 Self-published Review by Melanie I discovered this book by sheer stroke of luck while scrolling through Instagram which is extremely unusual since I don’t actually spend a lot of time on Instagram. Somehow, the universe must have known that this book would speak to my personal reading id and check all my boxes. The author had done one of those posts with multiple arrows around the book and labeled each one with specific micro tropes Continue Reading
Review: The Duchess Takes a Husband by Harper St. George
The Duchess Takes a Husband by Harper St. GeorgeHistorical RomanceMay 23, 2023 by Berkley Review by Melanie The Duchess Takes a Husband, which, I’m guessing is the fourth and final book in The Gilded Age Heiresses series, features the much-anticipated story of Camille, the widowed Duchess of Hereford. The first book in the series, The Heiress Gets a Duke, actually opens with the engagement party of Camille and the Duke of Hereford and it’s made immediately clear that this is nothing Continue Reading
Review: Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler
Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah AdlerContemporary RomanceMay 23, 2023 by Berkley Review by Melanie I’ve been leaning hard into historical romance this year as my primary source of escape. However, Sarah Adler and I follow each other on Twitter, and having seen her discuss her contemporary romance on several occasions piqued my interest. I thought the setup was fascinating and it involved tropes that I normally love - road trip romance, only one bed, and forced proximity. Cut to me reading Continue Reading
Review: The Scandalous Ladies of London: The Countess by Sophie Jordan
The Scandalous Ladies of London:The Countess by Sophie JordanHistorical Romantic FictionMarch 28, 2023 by Avon Review by Melanie I struggled to identify what this book was because it really did not feel like a standard historical romance. According to Netgalley, it’s been categorized as both romance, which is honestly debatable, and women’s fiction, a term I personally loathe. For the purposes of this review, I’m going to label this book as Historical Romantic Fiction. One of Continue Reading
Review: Ana María and the Fox by Liana De la Rosa
Ana María and the Fox by Liana De la RosaHistorical Romance April 4, 2023Berkley Review by Melanie I’ve really been leaning hard into historical romances in the past few months. They’ve brought me comfort and a sense of escapism during a personally difficult time in my life. I’ve been lucky enough to discover brand new authors (Erin Langston) and new-to-me authors (Lorraine Heath) and also revisited familiar favorites (Beverly Jenkins). Liana De la Rosa is not a debut author, she has Continue Reading