Amanda
Halle! You are a lawyer (of some kind, it's not really clear) - do not talk to the hitman you've hired on your PERSONAL CELL!! Mafia romance isn't really my thing, but this one was enjoyable enough. I just can't read anything that touches on criminal law without putting my attorney hat on and yelling at everyone for doing dumb stuff.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: Mafia, don't think it would work for anything else.)
I really just adored this book so much - I raced through it, in part because the hold list at the library was massive and I didn't want to lose out before finishing, but mostly because this was just so enjoyable and FUN. It dealt with some pretty intense topics - definite CW for biphobia/homophobia/transphobia - but I thought it did a good job with those while also staying true to the tone the author was going for. I couldn't tell if Simone was intended to be neurodivergent or not, but I definitely read her that way, and that was an interesting layer as well. I need to buy this one so I have it on hand for a reread. I definitely want to come back to it.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: food on cover. Would also work for work rivals, loosely.)
Enjoyable, but it seems to be categorized/marketed/etc. as a romance along the lines of [b:The Boyfriend Project 52211784 The Boyfriend Project (The Boyfriend Project, #1) Farrah Rochon https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570712674l/52211784.SY75.jpg 73615834], with one guy dating three women at the same time and hijinks ensuing. I can't say a whole lot more here without spoiling, but that's not the case. The puzzle-box nature of the interlocking stories was really well-done, but this is not a romance according to the definition I usually use/see mentioned: central love story and HEA. The three POV characters make it kind of hard for any of the supposed love stories to be central, and while two of the three POV characters do end up with what could maybe be considered an HEA, I still didn't feel like either of those relationships were really all that developed. The plot was way more focused on the interlocking/multiple POVs and so especially Miranda's resolution felt pretty tacked on. Despite that, I did enjoy this! I really love O'Leary's writing - it's engaging and fun to read, and often funny. I would still recommend this, but just go in knowing that it's much more general fiction than it is romance.
Meh. Too much plot, too convoluted, and it really bothers me more than it should that the cover art has a petite dark-haired model when Lily is described throughout as blonde and buxom. The bath scene is a standout, but otherwise this was average at best.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: bath. Would also work for second chance or at a stretch for high tea or property inheritance.)
Really glad I got this from the library and didn't pay for it - the story was fine enough, though it could've benefited from being longer, I think, as it was well under 100 pages and I didn't feel like the world-building was all that well explained. The bigger issue, though, was the editing. I try not to be a dick about an occasional typo or grammar issue, especially in self-published works, but this was verging on incomprehensible at some points. It seemed to get worse as the story went on, or maybe I just noticed it more, but this really felt like reading a rough draft. An interesting idea and setting, but needed a lot of fleshing out and definitely a hard edit. Three stars for the premise but that's honestly generous, unfortunately.
(2022 Summer Romance Bingo: steampunk. Would also work for mistaken identity, made-up country, or work rivals.)
Fascinating memoir of addiction, recovery, and life in jail and after prison. I've followed Keri on social media for years and her writing and reporting on Texas prisons has been invaluable. I really appreciate in this memoir how she consistently highlights the privilege she benefited from, even in prison and on parole. Keri is obviously an engaging writer and I finished this quickly. I wanted it to be longer, but if you're interested in criminal justice, you need to read this book.
I feel like the MMC's secret was 1) WILD, but somehow also 2) completely irrelevant to the plot? It just seemed like it needed to be a thing so that there was a plausible reason for them to think the threats were for him, not her, but it's wrapped up so neatly it seems like it could've been taken out. And also, HOLY SHIT dude, this is like Mr. Rochester levels of fucked up behavior and that's never really addressed? I finished this book and immediately started rereading because the pacing was so weird - I honestly thought I'd missed something.
Most of what I want to say here is a spoiler, so I guess I'll just cut it here (CWs for this book also under cut): first of all, MAJOR warning in this book for child sexual abuse/child porn, also abduction and forcing someone into an asylum (sorry, I know there's better phrasing, but that's what it's called here), plus early on there's people held at gunpoint and also there's blackmail/threats. I don't feel like this book knew what it wanted to be - I was definitely here for the boss/assistant trope, with a side of "helping the person you love find their spouse." Then it took detours into secret sex club, sex to get it out of their systems, and ended with blackmail/Terrible Secrets, and of course there's an HEA. I got to the reveal of the blackmailer and was like "...wait, who?" and it's not like it took me forever to read this book, it was just SO overstuffed I forgot who this guy was supposed to be. He shows up in the Secret Sex Club portion of the book and then not again until the end, so if it was supposed to be a big shock, it completely flopped for me. I don't know. I liked what I thought this book was from the blurb, but not what it ended up being. Penelope was a great character, and it's kind of a shame, because this ended up not being that much about her at all.
(3.5, rounding up.) Brief note on the cover: this doesn't look like Tommy and Philippa as described in the book - Tommy is NB (with she/her pronouns), wears more pants than dresses, and has short hair, and Philippa is described as curvy and heavier, and shorter than Tommy. Normally I'd be annoyed at this, but I'm going to cut some slack for this being a pandemic release, plus this is actually an adorable cover with a sweet backstory: https://twitter.com/LaurenAbramo/status/1452983027664052240 Anyway. Never really got the McGuffin here but you don't really need to in order to follow the plot, which is full of heists and disguises and dramatic reveals and is a lot of fun overall. Somehow I missed that this is the second in a series, so I'm going to go back and read [b:The Duke Heist 53916141 The Duke Heist (The Wild Wynchesters, #1) Erica Ridley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591923531l/53916141.SY75.jpg 75327400] now that I know, because I do enjoy the Wynchesters as characters and the family banter. I wish there'd been a little more exploration of Tommy's NB identity, but what there was seemed well done to me. I wasn't really sure about the tone of some of the stuff with Philippa's parents - it seemed like it was supposed to be funny in a lot of places, but locking your daughter in her room until she agrees to marry someone you choose for her isn't great, actually?. A few minor nits, but I enjoyed this one a lot overall!
Considered DNF-ing this one because I really didn't care for the flashbacks at the beginning, though I did think it was an odd choice to have them stop before Finn supposedly abandons her, which is only discussed, not shown on page. This picked up considerably after the reveal of Lavinia's backstory and I'm very glad that Robin didn't turn out to be their son, because I saw that coming from a mile away and I'm happy I was wrong. I wanted a bit more development of the MCs, especially of Finn, but this was better than I expected from the first third.
(3.5 stars, rounding down.) Enjoyed the marriage of convenience trope here, but this didn't really have the heat level I've come to expect from Katee Robert - it's still definitely high heat, but nonetheless it's a step down from [b:Neon Gods 54659771 Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1) Katee Robert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610505010l/54659771.SX50.jpg 85280448] (though most things would be, honestly). I wanted a little bit of a slower burn from marriage to actually falling for each other, and I wanted a little more development of Eros as a character - I don't need on-page murdering or whatever, but some more about why he keeps calling himself a monster would be good. Having said that, I do love Psyche and I also love the relationship between all the women in her family, as fraught as it is sometimes. Eurydice better get herself a book, just saying.
Thought the beginning with the recovery from injury was a little bit long, but that's also not really a trope that I really care much for. I really liked Gillie and her independence and determination (and also that the identity of her parents wasn't an issue at all). This is also one of the few (maybe the only) versions of the secret baby trope that I've actually liked, so there is that. I'm reviewing all of these out of order and/or a couple of weeks after reading them, so my memory isn't the freshest, but this is a fun series.
Second chance isn't my favorite romance trope, but considering the “first chance” in this book is more along the lines of high school BBFs/sweethearts, I liked it in this one a lot. This was a lot of fun and funny, so I might even call it a rom-com. This entire series is just chill and sweet and I can't recommend it enough.
Started this series because apparently [b:Scoundrel of My Heart 52662535 Scoundrel of My Heart (Once Upon a Dukedom, #1) Lorraine Heath https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1596278892l/52662535.SY75.jpg 78469222] is a spin-off of the last book in this series, but when the series is about six illegitimate children all raised in the same household, I feel like starting at the beginning is a good idea (and having read the first three books now, it definitely is, considering how much they build off each other's storylines). I honestly didn't see the twist in this one about who Mick's mother is coming, and I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied with the resolution of that, but overall I did enjoy this one quite a bit.
A bit of a slow starter for me, but fluffy and delightful all around. If the next book is in fact Belle and Peggy (apparently it's Peggy, at least), I need Belle to dial back the drama about 50%, because she was pretty insufferable until the last 20% or so (and that's a generous estimate). Everything about this book is ridiculous and over-the-top, but she was just a pill. Anyway, other than the kind of slow start, I really enjoyed this. Alexis Hall does both humor and emotion so well, he's probably top of my instant-preorder list.
Oof, this one hit me hard - while I am not the daughter of a megachurch pastor, I was raised evangelical in rural-ish North Texas like the author, and this is very close to home. I can't count how many wedding showers I've been to like the one early in this book (though there wouldn't have been any wine at the ones my church held). I felt for Abigail and Caroline so hard throughout this. Growing up and realizing that the culture you were raised in doesn't have a place for your ambition is heartbreaking. This was gorgeously written and so compelling. I feel like these characters are people I know.
Really enjoyed this one - I haven't read a ton of the “helping your friend/enemy get engaged, whoops I love them” trope (which has to have a better name than that). Loved the chemistry between these two, and this set me off on a mission to read all the Sins for All Seasons books, since this is a spinoff of the last one. There are too many books to read and not enough time!!
Yet another Pride and Prejudice retelling (that's not shade, I can just think of at least three others I've read in the past few years, so it's a popular mini-genre at the moment). This is a modern era retelling, set in and around the NYC burlesque scene, and it dispenses with Mr. Collins/Charlotte/the Bingley sisters altogether. I liked the setting and of course, the story is a classic. The plot/timeline changed a little as well, specifically Lizzie and Darcy have hooked up and are basically together when the whole Wickham thing happens, at which point the story shifts to saving the burlesque company and doesn't have the whole aspect of family disgrace that was so powerful in the original P&P, which kind of shifts the stakes of the story in a way I didn't love. (Also I just realized there's no equivalent of Lady Catherine in this book either, which is a legit bummer.) All in all, this was fun, but as far as retellings go, I would recommend [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] or [b:Unmarriageable 39926661 Unmarriageable Soniah Kamal https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524485741l/39926661.SY75.jpg 61800121]. Probably 3.5 stars overall, rounding up. (2022 Summer Romance Bingo: dance. Would also work for property inheritance, loosely for architect.)