Amanda
(This has nothing to do with the book, but ugh, Goodreads, could you make it more annoying to switch editions? Or tell people when they've added duplicates? Or something?)Books like these are the reason Tessa Dare is on my auto-read list. This was so much fun, hilarious and still heartfelt - probably better if you've read the first two in the series, since all of those characters make appearances, even including the two proto-goth wards from [b:The Governess Game 36111620 The Governess Game (Girl Meets Duke, #2) Tessa Dare https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1517431977l/36111620.SY75.jpg 57700166] (delightfully). It's four stars because of the somewhat rushed pacing at the end, but that aside, this was exactly what I expect from Tessa Dare, and she delivered wonderfully.
I loved how the author translated/interpreted/not sure of the word here the Pride & Prejudice story into modern-day Pakistan (or modern-ish, this was set in 2000-2001, and I'm not sure whether that was so cell phones weren't widely available or for some other reason). I thought the changes in characterization from the original were also fascinating - the analogue to Anne de Bourgh is much more fun and plays more of a role here, while the equivalent to Charlotte Lucas is a little bit more scheming. I really enjoyed being able to view a familiar story through a different culture's lens. I'd love to see someone review this and [b:Ayesha at Last 43124133 Ayesha at Last Uzma Jalaluddin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544037862l/43124133.SX50.jpg 57683370] together, because this mini-trend is resulting in some wonderful books.
Georgette Heyer, minus the anti-Semitism, and with extra bonus gay romance! This book is a delight from start to finish (more so once you get the names of all the minor characters in order) and I hope there are plans for a sequel, because I love this lighter and less murder-y KJ Charles.
(Update 4/7/21: reread, loved it even more, pretty sure this is one of my favorite romances of any subgenre. So good.)
Loved this! I'm not sure if Rhi was supposed to be non-neurotypical (there's got to be a better way to phrase that), but I definitely got that vibe from some of her behaviors. This was a lot of fun to read - I kind of want a novella or something with Aunt Belle and her old flame who reappears in this book, since she was a delightful character. I also really liked Rhi and Samson and their backstories were both realistic and interesting. This series is something of a spinoff of the [b:Hurts to Love You 35068637 Hurts to Love You (Forbidden Hearts, #3) Alisha Rai https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1504987659l/35068637.SY75.jpg 56364085], the last book in the Forbidden Hearts series, and it's definitely less angsty than those were, though I also loved them. Alisha Rai is basically one of my auto-reads now. A brief note about the cover, since illustrated covers for romance are apparently ~~controversial~~ these days: this cover is adorable and I love it. The sex scenes here, though, are still very much in line with the rest of Alisha Rai's work (at least what I've read), so no decorous fade-to-black here. Not a warning, just a note in case that's something you'd prefer to avoid.
I had kind of penciled this in as a possibility for summer romance bingo (either as character name in title or next-door neighbor) and I didn't make it off of the library hold list in time, but it actually worked out well, since this isn't a romance novel, per se, even though that is definitely an element of the story. This was more about Evvie slowly learning who to let into her post-terrible-husband life, when she was keeping major secrets from even her closest (maybe only?) friend. I really liked Evvie and her growth throughout this book - Dean was a little less defined as a character for me. but was still an excellent romantic lead. And as someone who's gotten super-drunk and told a close male friend I thought he was secretly in love with me, I unfortunately identified hard with the super-cringey confrontation between Evvie and Andy. This wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it, and I want to visit Maine and eat all the lobster now.
(Probably more like 4 or 4.5 stars, bumping it up because of the Buc-ee's stop and the mostly realistic Texas geography.)
A lot of fun and a quick read, a really nice note to end summer romance bingo on for me. Love the nerdy heroine and how she doesn't have to change anything about herself or her interests in order to find love. I thought it was interesting how it was (entirely, as far as I recall) in close third-person with Olivia's perspective - alternating between the romantic leads seems to be a little more common, but I didn't mind this at all, though it did make his motives and qualms a little more opaque. I love that this road trip features a Buc-ee's stop; for any non-Texans who have read this book, Buc-ee's is a real place and it is amazing, though I don't personally care for the beaver nuggets. From the blurb, I was expecting this to be a bit more enemies-to-lovers than mutual pining, but I like both of those tropes, so I'm happy either way! This is the final book in a series - while I don't think my reading experience suffered from not having read the other three, this was enjoyable enough that I'm planning to go back and read the others.
(2109 summer romance bingo: road trip.)
Not bad, but strange pacing issues and also very much the 11th book in a series - I don't think reading all 10 that came before is necessary, but I wish I'd read the Jocelyn/Hugh book ([b:Just Not Mine 22619255 Just Not Mine (Escape to New Zealand, #6) Rosalind James https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405342428l/22619255.SY75.jpg 41345778] and maybe the Kate/Koti one ([b:Just Good Friends 16031899 Just Good Friends (Escape to New Zealand, #2) Rosalind James https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348096163l/16031899.SY75.jpg 21812181]), because those two couples play larger roles in this. Anyway. The MCs in this get together at about the halfway point of the book and there's basically no conflict between them after that, except a little bit when Marko discovers that Nyree is the stepdaughter of his previous coach, who he doesn't seem to be on the best terms with, but maybe that's something that happened in a previous book. The book isn't bad after that, but it's just weird reading a novel without much in the way of tension or conflict. I almost wish this had been about Ella (the “pregnant cousin” mentioned in the blurb), because I loved her as a character and I thought her journey was more interesting than the MCs, neither of which (again) have all that much conflict going on. (2019 summer romance bingo: “tarot”; doesn't fit any others that I can think of.)
This is a looser interpretation of “eloping” than I'd like, but here we are - there is an elopement but it's not the MCs, so it does fit, at least. Anyway. I enjoyed this and I found the historical note at the end really interesting.
(2019 summer romance bingo: “eloping,” loosely but that's what I've got; would also fit “roadtrip,” possibly.)
So cute, but I really feel like this could've been a full-length novel easily - there's a lot of exposition in the beginning that would probably have been more interesting/impactful/whatever if it'd been shown and not just told to us, like all the stuff about Callie's terrible boyfriend and her anxiety and how she can't stand working on desk with Thomas seems like it would be worth actually showing, at least for a bit. I also wish a little more had been done with the fake-relationship premise, because that's one of my favorite tropes and I feel like it was a little underused here. I could easily see myself giving this 4 or even 5 stars if it were longer, but as it is, it felt just too short to give me everything I wanted. I really liked the characters and the premise, though, I just wanted more. Novels for everyone!
(2019 summer romance bingo: “beach on the cover”; would also fit “show business” or “road trip,” depending on how loosely you're interpreting those.)
3.5, rounding down because I'm not a fan of first-person in romance, especially when the MC keeps referring to her “lady parts” or “girl parts” in her internal monologue. Like, you're not 12 and neither is the reader, and if we can have detailed descriptions of the lead dude's junk, let's stop with the cutesy talk, please.
Anyway. I wasn't sure I was going to like this at first, what with the alternating first-person and just how much of a jerk the hero was in the beginning, but once it got past that, it grew on me nicely and I learned some interesting things about apples. I might go back and read the rest of this series, because I really do like the setting, and most of the other potential leads mentioned in the story don't seem like they'd start off as grumpy as Griff.
(2019 summer romance bingo: “wine and spirits”; don't think it'd fit any other square except HEA.)
A loose adaptation of Pride and Prejudice to a modern-day Muslim community in Toronto. I loved the author's writing style and wanted to spend more time with these characters, especially Ayesha (of course). The whole mistaken identity at the mosque meeting that leads to Khalid being engaged to Ayesha's cousin was kind of silly, and I don't know why it would have persisted for that long, but I'll chalk that up to romance novel. Khalid's mother was a little one-dimensional and I would've liked for her to have an extra layer or two, but the rest of the major characters were so well-developed and seemed like real people. I'm excited to read whatever Jalaluddin writes next!
Two minor notes:
1) Cover LOVE - it's so gorgeous with the gold and purple and then that little pop of lipstick.
2) Re Clara: I don't quite know who she and her boyfriend were supposed to be in the P&P adaptation. Clearly Hafsa is Lydia and Tarik is Wickham and Khalid's mom is Lady Catherine, but I guess maybe Clara is Jane? Anyway, her boyfriend is a scrub and not worthy of her.
(2019 summer romance bingo: “title includes character's name”; could also count for “heroine smells like a flower.”)
(3.5, rounding up.) This is a pretty low-conflict short contemporary romance, but I enjoyed it -especially the bingo-qualifying sassy grandma and her Kindle full of erotic romance. I was worried Alex was going to be an asshole at first, but that passed quickly. This was refreshingly non-slut-shamey - they meet as a bar hookup and no one ever judges either one of them for that. I wish there were a little more conflict and/or this was a bit longer, because it's just about 200 pages and I wanted to spend more time with these characters.
(2019 summer romance bingo: “sassy grandparent”; could also count for “heroine smells like a flower.”)
Probably wouldn't have picked this up, but “read a book in the 500s” was a square on library summer reading bingo, and this looked interesting. I did enjoy it, more so when reading the chapters about bigger animals - ants, cats and dogs, and even babies. It got a little repetitive - biodiversity is good! being super-intense about disinfecting everything destroys good bacteria and makes the bad ones resistant! go outside and let your kids play in the dirt! - but that may have come across more because I read this in several big chunks instead of a chapter at a time. This isn't my usual thing, but I'm glad I chose this book to read (not least because it justifies my lackadaisical housekeeping style - I'm just cultivating biodiversity!)
A fascinating combination of memoir and history of the funeral industry. Maybe not for you if you're squeamish, as some of the descriptions are pretty gross (though nothing as intense as [b:Stiff 32145 Stiff The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Mary Roach https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347656489l/32145.SX50.jpg 1188203], if I remember correctly). Also, there's some description/discussion of stillbirth and infant death, if that's something you don't want to read about or listen to. The author reads the audiobook of this and her experience from “Ask a Mortician” really shows, as she's a very entertaining narrator.
3.5 stars, rounding down. This book is 20 years old, and it definitely shows in a couple of areas - some of the language used to describe the Native American characters is a little questionable, especially early on, and also two of the hero's friends basically torture a suspect into confessing to murdering the heroine's father (and the suspect says something like "I'd have confessed to anything to get out of there," which, yikes.) Also the Texas geography isn't great (Blanco County is much closer to Austin than it is to Dallas or Fort Worth), but that probably wouldn't bother normal people.
I thought the setting here was fascinating - I'm a native Texan, which means I took Texas History in seventh grade, but I don't ever remember learning about black Texans, particularly post-Civil War. It sounds like an insult to say this book was educational, but I absolutely learned a lot from it, while also being entertained. Jessi was such a unique, interesting character, and I loved the little community she'd been able to make for herself after being shunned by the “respectable” town society. (Side note: this cover is hilarious after reading the book. Jessi is described as having pretty dark skin, short-cropped hair, and wearing jeans almost exclusively. So, not so much the swooning damsel here.) Westerns haven't really been my thing before, but Beverly Jenkins Westerns might need to be an exception to that.
(2019 summer romance bingo: “cowboys”; could also count for “title includes character's name.”)
😍😍😍 4.5 stars, rounding up. The fat acceptance aspects of this were a little 101 for me, but I'm not the target audience here and I'm sure that there are a lot of readers that need to hear that, so it's not a big deal (though I will recommend [b:The Summer of Jordi Pérez 31246717 The Summer of Jordi Pérez (And the Best Burger in Los Ángeles) Amy Spalding https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1523305710l/31246717.SX50.jpg 51900047] as a contemporary YA with a fat heroine that's a little more advanced on that front.) ANYWAY. I love Sweetie and her friends and her complicated relationship with her mother and her Indian heritage. Ashish was a little more frustrating, but he's probably a convincing teenage boy in that respect? Everything Sandhya Menon writes is delightful, but I think this one is my favorite of them all. So far, at least.(2019 summer romance bingo: “prom”; could also count for “title includes character's name.”)
I read this in about two days - like my placeholder review said, it's Edwardian-era lesbians in a country-house murder mystery, which is several different flavors of my catnip all rolled into one. This isn't five stars only because the plots are really separate and I wish they'd been more intertwined; as it is, this is almost like two books in one, first the romance and then the murder mystery, especially since no one turns up dead until over halfway through the book. I just wish there'd been more slow burn on the romance and maybe a little more mystery to the mystery - though I really liked Pat, Fen, and Bill teaming up to solve it, it was all wrapped up pretty quickly. All that aside, though, this was such a fun book to read and I've thoroughly enjoyed my little three-book detour into KJ Charles. I'll definitely be reading more from her in the future!
I haven't read very much paranormal romance - in my mind (unfairly), it's all dudes shifting into odd animals and that's just not my thing. Anyway, hooray for romance bingo and KJ Charles, because this is not something I would have picked up on my own, but I'm so glad I did, because this was fun and unexpected. The plot was a little overstuffed and I had a few problems with the pacing, so I almost wish this were longer, because as it is it's kind of like "Remember all those characters you barely met three chapters ago? They're all EEEEEEEEEEVIL and working together and also all their names start with the same letter, so good luck keeping track of them!" I do like how this wasn't super-heavy on exposition - I don't know if it's an offshoot of an earlier series or something, but the world feels very lived-in, in a good way. The short story/epilogue at the end is also a lot of fun. I didn't expect to like this nearly as much as I did, but now I want to read more in this world.
(2019 summer romance bingo: queer paranormal; probably wouldn't fit anywhere else, except the free space/HEA or maybe “assassins,” but that's a stretch.)
Probably would have liked it better as a book instead of an audiobook - all the #hashtag jokes got irritating when she's reading the word “hashtag” out loud constantly, but I would've been able to skip over them if I were reading. On the other hand, the John Hodgman letter was great and it was really endearing hearing her crack herself up reading her own book.
(Disclosure: the author is a friend.) This book is so beautifully written and heartfelt and I just wanted to give Caroline and Georgia and even Matt and Toby gigantic hugs (and none for Jake, bye). I'm 36, so not at all in the target age range, but this book brought me back to that late-high-school feeling of wanting more, but not being sure what that “more” is or how to get it. I didn't have the same high school experiences as Caroline, so I didn't identify with her in that exact way, but the emotions were so real and so perfect. This isn't a heavy book at all or one with a Message, but it touches on some very real feelings and situations and does it all beautifully.
I was already planning to read more KJ Charles and now I'm definitely going to - I have [b:The Magpie Lord 34715150 The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies, #1) K.J. Charles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490703800i/34715150.SY75.jpg 24803707] next in line for summer romance bingo and I bought [b:Proper English 44420645 Proper English K.J. Charles https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554298689i/44420645.SY75.jpg 68974183] last month, I just can't figure out a way to make it work for bingo. Anyway! I think I would've enjoyed this more if I'd read the first book in the series beforehand, but that's on me and not the book. As it is, I had to spend a little more time than I liked early on figuring out who all the characters were and how they were related. That didn't really detract from my enjoyment of this, though - I loved the premise and the conflict was fascinating and not one that's easily resolved.(2019 summer romance bingo: on the page atheist; can't think of another square it'd fit well in, except the free space/HEA)
It's like a K-Pop Roman Holiday if that's what you're into! Alternating first-person POVs and overall short chapters help make this a quick read, perfect for summer. I was much more interested in Lucky as a character than I was in Jack - while they're both based on fairly classic romantic comedy tropes, I thought Lucky had more depth and was more developed as a character than Jack. I also didn't really buy his redemption or whatever you want to call it, since he never really confesses and doesn't seem to have any plans to until his hand is forced by his boss's text messages, which is pretty gross, all things considered. The spoiler-tagged situation here kind of soured me on the whole thing, but I think the storyline recovers pretty well and I'm happy with where everyone ends up (though really, Jack's whole family ~CONFLICT~ could've been resolved in a five-minute conversation a long time ago). This book was charming and I can see it making a great movie. Definitely worth a few hours of your time!
(2019 summer romance bingo: show business, though could also work for “takes place in multiple countries” or possibly “road trip.”)
(4.5, probably, rounding down.)
I don't mind cute/cartoonish covers, and it makes a lot of sense with this story and its lightly comic touches, but the clipart for the male figure's face here is just weird and doesn't match well with the rest of the cover for me, or with the description of Martin in the book. This is kind of a silly complaint, especially considering I read this on Kindle, but there it is anyway.
I haven't read this author before, or much contemporary like this (i.e. no one is royalty), but I really enjoyed this book a lot! There's not a lot of conflict, at least not between characters, so if you want romance with high drama, this probably isn't for you. Even the closest thing to a villain in the story doesn't appear very much and is dealt with pretty easily (and mostly off-page, which is a little unsatisfying, but not a big deal). I really like both the main characters, especially that they're a little older (mid-40s, so certainly not ancient, but not young, either) and settled in their careers. I also loved Rose's ex-in-laws and Martin's daughter, who were all a lot of fun, and the weird little side characters, like the all-goth girls' softball team and the English teachers who are just a little bit off (though they're right that Wuthering Heights is NOT a romance). It's not really magical realism, but it's just off enough to add some extra humor and fun. I'll be looking out for the next book in this series for sure!
(2019 summer romance bingo: “someone wears a costume,” (twice!) though it would also work for “prom” and possibly a loose interpretation of “sassy grandparent”)