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
Melanie’s Most Anticipated of 2021
Contemporary: Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron - out 3/2/2021; the cover is gorgeous, the heroine was introduced in Farah's debut novel, The Chai Factor and I'm excited for her story. Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert - out 3/9/2021; I adored the first two books in this series and am eager to delve into the final book. How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole - out 5/25/2021; I mean, just look at that gorgeous cover. I'll pretty much read anything Alyssa writes and this one is Continue Reading
Melinda’s Most Anticipated of 2021
PNR/Fantasy: The Devil You Know by Kit Rocha. Release Date: 8/31/21 Big Bad Wolf by Suleikha Snyder. Release Date: 1/26/21 Wonderstruck by Allie Therin. Release Date: 2/9/21 Last Guard by Nalini Singh. Release Date: 7/20/21 Historical: The Devil Comes Courting (The Worth Saga) by Courtney Milan. Release Date: 2/9/21 Contemporary: How to be Good by Chace Verity. Release Date: 2/02/21 The Girl With Stars in Her Eyes by Xio Axelrod. Release Date: 4/6/21 Twice Shy Continue Reading
Melinda’s Favorites of 2020
YA: A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow blew me away when I listened to it this summer. The worldbuilding she managed to do is astonishing considering it's about Black sirens but set in modern times. Combine that with a discussion of respectability politics and misogynoir as well as sisterly love. It's a book I wish I could re-read for the first time again, it's that good. You Should See Me In a Crown by Leah Johnson is delightful and made me so happy. The cover is just beautiful to look Continue Reading
Melanie’s Favorites of 2020
Contemporary: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert - cinnamon roll heroes were what got me through 2020 and very few authors do it as well as Talia Hibbert. When security guard Zafir Ansari's rescue of PhD candidate Dani Brown during a fire drill gone wrong goes viral (#DrRugbae 4ever), the two decide to fake a public relationship for the sake of Zaf's kids' charity with a side order of sexy times in private. I love the “lets bang to get her out of my system and surely I will not Continue Reading
Kini’s Favorite Books of 2020
2020 brought us many, many challenges. But the one thing that remained a constant reprieve for me from the challenges were books. I didn’t read as many as I hoped. I didn’t love as many as I usually do, but still the books were there when I needed them. I had a hard time coming up with this list for many reasons. The list doesn’t represent the “best” books but rather the ones I loved the most because they brought me joy and happiness while I read them. In no particular Continue Reading
Kini’ Friday Kisses- Mini Reviews for books by Kathy Douglass, Kate Meader, Kate Stayman-London, and Sarah Hogle
I'm back with some reviews. Reading and writing about books has been really tough lately. I know this slump is temporary but it still kind of sucks. You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle - I recently felt like I needed a comfort read so I picked this up for a re-read. The book held up on a re-read and it will still be one of my favorite books for the years. On a second read it was a lot easier to see how deeply Nicholas felt for Naomi. Grade: AAmazon l Goodreads Single Mom’s Second Continue Reading
The Chicks Gaslighter Album but make it Romance
Melinda and I have been DMing not stop about the new Chicks album since it debuted. We both love it. When Melinda pitched this list to me for a post on Smexy, I couldn't say yes fast enough. In the comments, tell us your favorite song from this album and what romance novel you would match it up with. Huge thank you to Melinda (@MelindaEdits) for this post. The Chicks released their 8th studio album on July 17th and I’ve probably listened to it at least 300 times since then. I can’t Continue Reading
Mid Year Update: Kini’s Favorites of 2020 So Far
I have been logging my books in a notebook. I haven’t been great about keeping up with the notes but I have managed to write down all the titles I have read this year. To date I have read 51 books and marked 19 as DNF’s, in total I have started 70 books this year. Last year I think I finished around 100, including DNFs so I am doing better than last year. Here is my list of favorites so far this year. The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa- This feels like a cheat because Angela also had it, Continue Reading
Review: You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle
You may know by now that enemies to lovers is one of my least favorite tropes. Two characters antagonizing and sniping at each other can often veer into meanness and that never works for me. The blurb for this also alluded to it being a relationship in trouble. I knew I had to give it a try and hoped for the best. BLURB: When your nemesis also happens to be your fiancé, happily ever after becomes a lot more complicated in this wickedly funny, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy Continue Reading