Be still my heart with this enemies-to-lovers second chance romance! Susan for president. She is just the absolute best and I bow down to her and her Be still my heart with this enemies-to-lovers second chance romance! Susan for president. She is just the absolute best and I bow down to her and her detective badassery and allergy to feelings. But even Susan can only suppress her feelings for Templeton (aka James, her first love) for so long. I have been looking forward to her story ever since first meeting her in An Unnatural Vice. No need to read that first but you’re in for a treat if you do. However, I would recommend reading Any Old Diamond before this one so you’ll have full context for jewel thief Templeton and his inner demons.
Characters: Susan is a 34 year old bisexual white detective. Templeton/James is a 33 year old white jewel thief. This is set in 1895 London.
Content notes: brief suicidal ideation, past pregnancy and miscarriage, past death of FMC’s lover, murder, physical assault, abduction, home invasion, past physical abuse of MMC by mine overseer who also kicked his dog, FMC shot and punched MMC in separate past incidences (related to his crimes), past defenestration of villain, societal homophobia/transphobia, misgendering of trans secondary character, past slut-shaming, past emotional abuse by MMC’s father, past forced conscription/MMC exiled to Australia by his father, past child homelessness (FMC taken off street at age 8), FMC’s mother died young and she never knew her father, past death of beloved great-uncle, past death of MMC’s mother when he was young, on page sex, alcohol, cigarillos (secondary character), gendered pejoratives, gender essentialist language, ableist language, mention of past intimate partner violence (secondary character), mention of past murder-suicide, reference to murderer who killed and mutilated women
Merged review:
Be still my heart with this enemies-to-lovers second chance romance! Susan for president. She is just the absolute best and I bow down to her and her detective badassery and allergy to feelings. But even Susan can only suppress her feelings for Templeton (aka James, her first love) for so long. I have been looking forward to her story ever since first meeting her in An Unnatural Vice. No need to read that first but you’re in for a treat if you do. However, I would recommend reading Any Old Diamond before this one so you’ll have full context for jewel thief Templeton and his inner demons.
Characters: Susan is a 34 year old bisexual white detective. Templeton/James is a 33 year old white jewel thief. This is set in 1895 London.
Content notes: brief suicidal ideation, past pregnancy and miscarriage, past death of FMC’s lover, murder, physical assault, abduction, home invasion, past physical abuse of MMC by mine overseer who also kicked his dog, FMC shot and punched MMC in separate past incidences (related to his crimes), past defenestration of villain, societal homophobia/transphobia, misgendering of trans secondary character, past slut-shaming, past emotional abuse by MMC’s father, past forced conscription/MMC exiled to Australia by his father, past child homelessness (FMC taken off street at age 8), FMC’s mother died young and she never knew her father, past death of beloved great-uncle, past death of MMC’s mother when he was young, on page sex, alcohol, cigarillos (secondary character), gendered pejoratives, gender essentialist language, ableist language, mention of past intimate partner violence (secondary character), mention of past murder-suicide, reference to murderer who killed and mutilated women...more
As with the first book, much of the suspense plot didn’t make sense. In fact, I started thinking much less of Chris’s detective skills. (view spoiler)As with the first book, much of the suspense plot didn’t make sense. In fact, I started thinking much less of Chris’s detective skills. (view spoiler)[He never once considered Hawe’s could have killed his partner before this?! That defied all belief. (hide spoiler)] It was interesting to be in Chris’s head this time and to learn more of his true backstory, especially the reason he’s so determined to find Isabelle’s killer. But there were a few developments where I would have preferred sticking with Hawes’s POV.
The hard part of romantic suspense for me is whether the suspense and romance are balanced. Because of the short timeframe (only a week and a half has passed!) and the sheer amount of thwarted murder attempts on their lives, on top of neither being sure they can trust each other, it was hard for me to buy the declarations of love at the end. Lust, sure. But I’m going to need more time to go by where they’re 100% sure they’re on each other’s side before I’ll trust it. That said, I think Chris and Hawes make a good team and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do when they’re no longer being betrayed by one another or people in Hawes’s organization.
This was more of a novella than a book and there were a few things that should have been more developed, such as Chris’s sister experiencing intimate partner violence. I’m assuming that will get more TLC in the next installment but it deserved more follow through here. There was an interesting development about who is really behind the takedown on Hawes and I’m eager to see if I’m right.
Character notes: Hawes is a 33 year old gay white CEO of Madigan Cold Storage and leader of an assassin organization. He has a black Bombay cat named Iris, who barely appeared in this novella, unfortunately. Dante is a 35 year old bisexual white ATF agent. This is set in San Francisco.
Content notes: violence, attempted murder of MC, bombing, murder, past death of 7 year old daughter (run over by drunk driver 10 years ago), MMC was teen father with sole custody, past suicidal ideation (after death of daughter), intimate partner violence (secondary character), recent death of grandfather, on page sex, alcohol, ableist language, reference to white supremacist involved in domestic terrorism, reference to human trafficker, reference to case where girl was held captive by a cult
Merged review:
As with the first book, much of the suspense plot didn’t make sense. In fact, I started thinking much less of Chris’s detective skills. (view spoiler)[He never once considered Hawe’s could have killed his partner before this?! That defied all belief. (hide spoiler)] It was interesting to be in Chris’s head this time and to learn more of his true backstory, especially the reason he’s so determined to find Isabelle’s killer. But there were a few developments where I would have preferred sticking with Hawes’s POV.
The hard part of romantic suspense for me is whether the suspense and romance are balanced. Because of the short timeframe (only a week and a half has passed!) and the sheer amount of thwarted murder attempts on their lives, on top of neither being sure they can trust each other, it was hard for me to buy the declarations of love at the end. Lust, sure. But I’m going to need more time to go by where they’re 100% sure they’re on each other’s side before I’ll trust it. That said, I think Chris and Hawes make a good team and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do when they’re no longer being betrayed by one another or people in Hawes’s organization.
This was more of a novella than a book and there were a few things that should have been more developed, such as Chris’s sister experiencing intimate partner violence. I’m assuming that will get more TLC in the next installment but it deserved more follow through here. There was an interesting development about who is really behind the takedown on Hawes and I’m eager to see if I’m right.
Character notes: Hawes is a 33 year old gay white CEO of Madigan Cold Storage and leader of an assassin organization. He has a black Bombay cat named Iris, who barely appeared in this novella, unfortunately. Dante is a 35 year old bisexual white ATF agent. This is set in San Francisco.
Content notes: violence, attempted murder of MC, bombing, murder, past death of 7 year old daughter (run over by drunk driver 10 years ago), MMC was teen father with sole custody, past suicidal ideation (after death of daughter), intimate partner violence (secondary character), recent death of grandfather, on page sex, alcohol, ableist language, reference to white supremacist involved in domestic terrorism, reference to human trafficker, reference to case where girl was held captive by a cult...more
A fun demigod-naiad workplace romance. Lyleia was hired as Castor’s EA because she’s naturally resistant to falling for him. Except oops, turns out shA fun demigod-naiad workplace romance. Lyleia was hired as Castor’s EA because she’s naturally resistant to falling for him. Except oops, turns out she’s not and he has a secret crush on her too! Add in some forced proximity, only one bed, and an ancient threat from her past. The next novella is about the wolf shifter alphas whose mating ceremony Lyleia and Castor attended…I want to see how they go from marriage-of-convenience to true love!
Characters: Lyleia is a white executive assistant and naiad. Castor is a white billionaire demigod. This is set in Austin, TX and Estes Park, CO.
Content notes: stalking (rejected suitor), brief sexual harassment, murder, attempted murder, drowning, attack on nymphs, past shunning/estrangement by nymphs (Poseidon and werewolf Kaios destroyed her spring after she rejected them. FMC faked her death after her family turned their back on her.), past death of MMC’s pregnant wife (his cousin burned her to death in their home), past infidelity and sexual assault by gods, employer-employee relationship (she planned on resigning), past death of MMC’s mortal mother, on page sex, wedding orgy in background (incited by werewolf pheromones released at the mating ceremony), alcohol, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialist language, ableist language, sex compared to addiction, mention of employee’s son who has leukemia, mention of employee’s mother going on hospice
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2020
Merged review:
A fun demigod-naiad workplace romance. Lyleia was hired as Castor’s EA because she’s naturally resistant to falling for him. Except oops, turns out she’s not and he has a secret crush on her too! Add in some forced proximity, only one bed, and an ancient threat from her past. The next novella is about the wolf shifter alphas whose mating ceremony Lyleia and Castor attended…I want to see how they go from marriage-of-convenience to true love!
Characters: Lyleia is a white executive assistant and naiad. Castor is a white billionaire demigod. This is set in Austin, TX and Estes Park, CO.
Content notes: stalking (rejected suitor), brief sexual harassment, murder, attempted murder, drowning, attack on nymphs, past shunning/estrangement by nymphs (Poseidon and werewolf Kaios destroyed her spring after she rejected them. FMC faked her death after her family turned their back on her.), past death of MMC’s pregnant wife (his cousin burned her to death in their home), past infidelity and sexual assault by gods, employer-employee relationship (she planned on resigning), past death of MMC’s mortal mother, on page sex, wedding orgy in background (incited by werewolf pheromones released at the mating ceremony), alcohol, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialist language, ableist language, sex compared to addiction, mention of employee’s son who has leukemia, mention of employee’s mother going on hospice
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2020...more
4.5 stars. I asked for books that would make me cry and Emma Barry pointed me in the direction of this novella. The prose was astoundinCW: miscarriage
4.5 stars. I asked for books that would make me cry and Emma Barry pointed me in the direction of this novella. The prose was astounding—I highlighted so many lines. It’s heartachingly good with a very earned conflict. Marriage-in-trouble books can be a tricky needle to thread but Florand nailed it. I loved watching them rediscover each other and see how they’ve changed and grown in their time apart. There are also some really tender and hot sex scenes. I will never see powdered sugar the same way, that’s for sure.
However, it did not make me cry, although I felt the potential a couple of times toward the end. Kai and Kurt were both astounded that the other person loved them, believing they brought nothing to the table, and that is always going to pierce my heart at least a little. Alas, my heart stayed as frozen as Kai’s was at the beginning. It’s possible specifically asking for a book that would make me cry messed with my expectations and the story’s ability to affect me emotionally.
The author deftly handled their respective grief and acknowledged the undercurrent of anger that affects them in different ways. Kai had never had anything bad happen to her before the miscarriages (this always floors me about people and characters alike) and this made her ill equipped to grieve. This contrasted with Kurt growing up in a home with a controlling, perfectionist mother who became even more of an ice queen after her own miscarriages, to the point where her husband left. That Kurt chose to do the opposite of his father—that what his father did was never anywhere near the table—was incredibly powerful.
You never know how a romance dealing with miscarriage will end. In this case, (view spoiler)[it’s fairly open-ended. Kai came across as resistant to trying the pregnancy route again to me but she did not completely close the door. They’ve also mentioned adoption as a possibility. I could just as easily see them deciding not to pursue anything. (hide spoiler)] I was so relieved about this choice and to see them resolve things but I found the actual ending to be on the abrupt side.
Characters: Kai is a white food stylist. Kurt is a white lawyer. They separated a year and a half ago
Content notes: past miscarriages (FMC, MMC’s mother), grief, past depression/postpartum depression, past suicidal ideation, generalized family planning discussion (including possibility of adoption but they don’t make a plan), marital separation, grief-related weight loss, MMC’s father left his mother after her miscarriages, on page sex, sensation play (snow!), gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide, mention of suicide as common in men after the death of their families
Merged review:
CW: miscarriage
4.5 stars. I asked for books that would make me cry and Emma Barry pointed me in the direction of this novella. The prose was astounding—I highlighted so many lines. It’s heartachingly good with a very earned conflict. Marriage-in-trouble books can be a tricky needle to thread but Florand nailed it. I loved watching them rediscover each other and see how they’ve changed and grown in their time apart. There are also some really tender and hot sex scenes. I will never see powdered sugar the same way, that’s for sure.
However, it did not make me cry, although I felt the potential a couple of times toward the end. Kai and Kurt were both astounded that the other person loved them, believing they brought nothing to the table, and that is always going to pierce my heart at least a little. Alas, my heart stayed as frozen as Kai’s was at the beginning. It’s possible specifically asking for a book that would make me cry messed with my expectations and the story’s ability to affect me emotionally.
The author deftly handled their respective grief and acknowledged the undercurrent of anger that affects them in different ways. Kai had never had anything bad happen to her before the miscarriages (this always floors me about people and characters alike) and this made her ill equipped to grieve. This contrasted with Kurt growing up in a home with a controlling, perfectionist mother who became even more of an ice queen after her own miscarriages, to the point where her husband left. That Kurt chose to do the opposite of his father—that what his father did was never anywhere near the table—was incredibly powerful.
You never know how a romance dealing with miscarriage will end. In this case, (view spoiler)[it’s fairly open-ended. Kai came across as resistant to trying the pregnancy route again to me but she did not completely close the door. They’ve also mentioned adoption as a possibility. I could just as easily see them deciding not to pursue anything. (hide spoiler)] I was so relieved about this choice and to see them resolve things but I found the actual ending to be on the abrupt side.
Characters: Kai is a white food stylist. Kurt is a white lawyer. They separated a year and a half ago
Content notes: past miscarriages (FMC, MMC’s mother), grief, past depression/postpartum depression, past suicidal ideation, generalized family planning discussion (including possibility of adoption but they don’t make a plan), marital separation, grief-related weight loss, MMC’s father left his mother after her miscarriages, on page sex, sensation play (snow!), gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide, mention of suicide as common in men after the death of their families...more
I’m so glad I gave this series one more chance. Jason’s story was worth it! The world-building continues to fascinate me as we got to see how Neha’s rI’m so glad I gave this series one more chance. Jason’s story was worth it! The world-building continues to fascinate me as we got to see how Neha’s realm works. However, the romance with Jason and Mahiya wasn’t as strong as I was hoping for. Where was their emotional connection? I didn’t need a profession of love from Jason—that wouldn’t have been in keeping with his personality—but their relationship needed to be more grounded and better paced in order for me to believe they had something long-lasting. Incidentally, Jason could be read as aromantic but I don’t think that was the author’s intention.
There were too many flashbacks and I didn’t care for the inclusion of Dmitri, Honor, and Raphael POVs. This series has fucked up ideas about family. I didn’t understand Mahiya’s feelings about Nivitri at all. She owes her nothing!
Characters: Jason is an around 700 years old angel and spymaster with brown skin and a tribal tattoo on the left side of his face. Mahiya is a 307 year old Indian angel and princess. This is set in Archangel City, India and NYC.
Content notes: emotional and physical abuse by FMC’s biological father and aunt (including father telling her he wished he had strangled her as an infant), past witnessed parental violence (MMC’s father abused his mother), past intimate partner violence (secondary character had husband’s wings clipped and kept him imprisoned for 300 years), blood vow, murder, murder of secondary character’s imprisoned husband, dismemberment, physical assault, battle, casualties, fire, corpses, blood, lacerations, acid burns (secondary characters), cracked ribs, skin burns, snakes, snake murder, past imprisonment with venomous snakes, past starvation as punishment, mentally ill archangels, past murder-suicide of MMC’s parents (father killed mother, then died by suicide in a fire he set), past isolation and neglect after MMC’s parents died (island was isolated and no one knew he was alone, nor was he strong enough to leave on his own), past forced C-section and execution post-childbirth of FMC’s mother (view spoiler)[except it turns out that was a lie and she’s been imprisoned all this time (hide spoiler)], past parental infidelity (FMC’s father cheated on his wife with her sister who became pregnant with FMC), casual and overt ableism, human secondary character transforms into vampire, past execution of secondary character’s adult daughter (harmed a child), past assumption that MMC was mute, no condom used for penetrative sex, on page sex, alcohol, casual acephobia, gender essentialist language, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide and addiction, casual use of colonialist language...more
This is a tricky one to review. I’m always here for seasoned romance and in this case, Dawn and Mike are in their late 40s. I wish the storyCW: cancer
This is a tricky one to review. I’m always here for seasoned romance and in this case, Dawn and Mike are in their late 40s. I wish the story I got matched the blurb: two classmates reconnecting twenty years later. Instead, it’s a cancer book. It felt like a case of bait and switch. Content warnings were sorely needed because I probably would not have accepted an ARC and would have waited to read this until later. (Nix normally includes content warnings with her books so I hope this information is disclosed in the final version.)
Dawn is diagnosed with stage 1 endometrial cancer and the book spends a good deal of time on her waiting for and then processing the diagnosis and treatment options (view spoiler)[she has a hysterectomy and it’s considered a surgical cure; she does not need chemo or radiation (hide spoiler)]. Then she decides her diagnosis will be too much for her old crush Mike to deal with, even though she’s given a great prognosis from the start. Instead of telling him about it, she winds up ghosting him, until her best friend spills the beans to him and he shows up to take care of her. I think we’re meant to think it’s so great that someone is taking care of her for a change but it only highlighted her codependency for me.
This is certainly a case of “your mileage may vary.” I used to be a medical social worker and I’ve walked alongside friends and family as they’ve dealt with cancer. As such, I have a lot of opinions about how it’s depicted in fiction. Someone without my background might not be bothered at all. The way cancer was introduced and then dealt with felt on the manipulative side but part of it may be that the blurb in no way suggested a heavier external conflict like cancer. I was truly taken aback by that, as well as by blatant HIPAA violations. People with cancer absolutely deserve to fall in love and get their own HEA so I’m not suggesting Dawn didn’t deserve that here. I just had a number of issues with how it was handled.
The other piece that was hard for me was Dawn herself. She was such a martyr and reminded me of a relative I’m estranged from. Her actions were supremely frustrating, especially when she refused help and when she decided to ghost Mike directly after sleeping with him, instead of telling him about her diagnosis. She of course didn’t have to tell him but to take what she wanted and then ignore him was unfair. Her internal dialogue was riddled with internalized ableism. It was hard to watch her treat him that way and it didn’t entirely make sense given her old crush. If you don’t have martyrs or codependent people in your life, you may experience her character differently.
Mike moves home because he and his sister worry about how their mother is coping after the death of their father. The first part of the book Mike makes different efforts to reengage her and to broach the possibility of therapy or seeing a doctor, none of which she’s amenable to. However, once he starts dating Dawn, this storyline completely drops. I found this concerning because his mom was either experiencing complicated grief or depression and she needed help either way. It should have been addressed on page, instead of a brief sentence in the epilogue where they’ve been able to get her out of the house a couple of times.
I usually enjoy Susannah Nix’s stories and I did enjoy parts of this. The idea of reconnecting with your old crush and the rush of him finally asking you out is such a relatable fantasy. I really wish the story had just been about Mike and Dawn reconnecting. It was also interesting to have a hero who feels like a failure for never having attended college and having two failed marriages and then taking practical steps to deal with those insecurities and work toward the life he wants. I was completely in Mike’s court as he figured out his next steps.
Character notes: Dawn is a 47 year old (turns 48) white yarn store owner. Mike is a 48 year old white network administrator at the library. This is set in Chicago.
CW: heroine is diagnosed with stage 1 endometrial cancer (view spoiler)[she has a hysterectomy and it’s considered a surgical cure; she does not need chemo or radiation (hide spoiler)], internalized ableism, HIPAA violations (view spoiler)[heroine’s ex-husband was a doctor (now retired) and he tells his former colleague Elizabeth about heroine’s diagnosis and asks her to look in heroine the day of her surgery (very murky). The violation comes in when Elizabeth then tells Sandra (who also works at the hospital) and Ashley (who used to work there and now lives in a different state). There’s no call for to violate the heroine’s confidentiality like that, even if she seems to enjoy their pre-surgery visit. (hide spoiler)], heroine divorced two years ago (ex cheated), hero has been divorced twice, hero’s second wife dealt with infertility (view spoiler)[he was okay with them not having children and she was not; there is some brief discussion of treatments (hide spoiler)], hero’s former mother-in-law goes on hospice and dies (breast cancer), hero’s father died of a heart attack earlier in the year, gendered insults, catty comments about plastic surgery, stereotypes about gay secondary character (and main character “knowing” they were gay because of it), reference to family who served during WWII
Disclosure: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Merged review:
CW: cancer
This is a tricky one to review. I’m always here for seasoned romance and in this case, Dawn and Mike are in their late 40s. I wish the story I got matched the blurb: two classmates reconnecting twenty years later. Instead, it’s a cancer book. It felt like a case of bait and switch. Content warnings were sorely needed because I probably would not have accepted an ARC and would have waited to read this until later. (Nix normally includes content warnings with her books so I hope this information is disclosed in the final version.)
Dawn is diagnosed with stage 1 endometrial cancer and the book spends a good deal of time on her waiting for and then processing the diagnosis and treatment options (view spoiler)[she has a hysterectomy and it’s considered a surgical cure; she does not need chemo or radiation (hide spoiler)]. Then she decides her diagnosis will be too much for her old crush Mike to deal with, even though she’s given a great prognosis from the start. Instead of telling him about it, she winds up ghosting him, until her best friend spills the beans to him and he shows up to take care of her. I think we’re meant to think it’s so great that someone is taking care of her for a change but it only highlighted her codependency for me.
This is certainly a case of “your mileage may vary.” I used to be a medical social worker and I’ve walked alongside friends and family as they’ve dealt with cancer. As such, I have a lot of opinions about how it’s depicted in fiction. Someone without my background might not be bothered at all. The way cancer was introduced and then dealt with felt on the manipulative side but part of it may be that the blurb in no way suggested a heavier external conflict like cancer. I was truly taken aback by that, as well as by blatant HIPAA violations. People with cancer absolutely deserve to fall in love and get their own HEA so I’m not suggesting Dawn didn’t deserve that here. I just had a number of issues with how it was handled.
The other piece that was hard for me was Dawn herself. She was such a martyr and reminded me of a relative I’m estranged from. Her actions were supremely frustrating, especially when she refused help and when she decided to ghost Mike directly after sleeping with him, instead of telling him about her diagnosis. She of course didn’t have to tell him but to take what she wanted and then ignore him was unfair. Her internal dialogue was riddled with internalized ableism. It was hard to watch her treat him that way and it didn’t entirely make sense given her old crush. If you don’t have martyrs or codependent people in your life, you may experience her character differently.
Mike moves home because he and his sister worry about how their mother is coping after the death of their father. The first part of the book Mike makes different efforts to reengage her and to broach the possibility of therapy or seeing a doctor, none of which she’s amenable to. However, once he starts dating Dawn, this storyline completely drops. I found this concerning because his mom was either experiencing complicated grief or depression and she needed help either way. It should have been addressed on page, instead of a brief sentence in the epilogue where they’ve been able to get her out of the house a couple of times.
I usually enjoy Susannah Nix’s stories and I did enjoy parts of this. The idea of reconnecting with your old crush and the rush of him finally asking you out is such a relatable fantasy. I really wish the story had just been about Mike and Dawn reconnecting. It was also interesting to have a hero who feels like a failure for never having attended college and having two failed marriages and then taking practical steps to deal with those insecurities and work toward the life he wants. I was completely in Mike’s court as he figured out his next steps.
Character notes: Dawn is a 47 year old (turns 48) white yarn store owner. Mike is a 48 year old white network administrator at the library. This is set in Chicago.
CW: heroine is diagnosed with stage 1 endometrial cancer (view spoiler)[she has a hysterectomy and it’s considered a surgical cure; she does not need chemo or radiation (hide spoiler)], internalized ableism, HIPAA violations (view spoiler)[heroine’s ex-husband was a doctor (now retired) and he tells his former colleague Elizabeth about heroine’s diagnosis and asks her to look in heroine the day of her surgery (very murky). The violation comes in when Elizabeth then tells Sandra (who also works at the hospital) and Ashley (who used to work there and now lives in a different state). There’s no call for to violate the heroine’s confidentiality like that, even if she seems to enjoy their pre-surgery visit. (hide spoiler)], heroine divorced two years ago (ex cheated), hero has been divorced twice, hero’s second wife dealt with infertility (view spoiler)[he was okay with them not having children and she was not; there is some brief discussion of treatments (hide spoiler)], hero’s former mother-in-law goes on hospice and dies (breast cancer), hero’s father died of a heart attack earlier in the year, gendered insults, catty comments about plastic surgery, stereotypes about gay secondary character (and main character “knowing” they were gay because of it), reference to family who served during WWII
Disclosure: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review....more
I really liked the behind the scenes of playwright and theater life but I lost interest about 100 pages from the end, which is right when Maggie and CI really liked the behind the scenes of playwright and theater life but I lost interest about 100 pages from the end, which is right when Maggie and Cam were finally getting it on. So that says something. Also did not care for Cam’s grand gesture at all.
Characters: Maggie is a white playwright. Cam is a 30 year old white Viscount and rake. This is set in 1816 London.
Content notes: past unplanned pregnancy and stillbirth, FMC is estranged from her parents (dad kicked her out due to pregnancy), past lavender marriage with closeted gay man (he died of a fever), patron-artist relationship, sexism, Orientalism, sex worker shaming, ageism, forgetting to eat, skipping meals (heartbreak), gambling, parental pressure for marriage and heir, on page sex, alcohol, inebriation (secondary characters), anti-fat bias, STI stigma, gendered pejorative, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction, casual use of colonialist language
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2020...more
Do I have a lot of questions about what I just read? Yes. Did I love it anyway? Yes. Am I forlorn IA hasn’t written the next book in this series yet dDo I have a lot of questions about what I just read? Yes. Did I love it anyway? Yes. Am I forlorn IA hasn’t written the next book in this series yet despite this one coming out several years ago? YES.
I am dying to know what Elara really is and how her power works and what Hugh is going to make of it. Then there’s Hugh’s ability to still do blood magic, even though Roland cut him off. (view spoiler)[Is he somehow related to Roland and therefore Kate??? (hide spoiler)]
Plus plus plus Elara and Hugh’s Moc-to-lovers arc is such a slow burn. This is more focused on the external threats than what’s between them but what’s between them is so promising. Their banter was top notch! They just have to figure out if they can trust each other—and Elara needs to be more forthcoming about the security risks. They don’t want to cooperate with each other which can be self-sabotaging.
This deals with Hugh’s past atrocities and the mind control. If not for the mind control, I’m not sure any redemption of Hugh would be possible because he did truly unforgivable things. Yes, Roland ordered him to do it. But now that he’s free of Roland’s control he has to really grapple with his actions and if he ever pushed back at Roland’s commands. Really get at the toll and cost to the people affected by what he did. And it’s no wonder that he couldn’t cope at all once Roland exiled him. Not only was he cut off from Roland, he’s no longer insulated from the atrocities he committed. Now I’ve never done anything close to what Hugh’s done but there was a lot in his experience of “the void” that reminded me of how it felt after I had to cut off some family members so my empathy for him was off the charts. It also helps that we get to see how much Hugh really does care for the Iron Dogs and the people under his care.
Speaking of which, I’m big into the Iron Dogs and people we get to know in The Departed (Elara’s people). There are some promising romances there. Fingers crossed we get the next book sooner than later.
Characters: Hugh is a warlord. Elara is a white witch with some kind of eldritch magic and she has white hair. This is set in Berry Hill, KY.
Content notes: self-harm for blood magic, concern of alcoholism (it’s unclear whether MMC actually has an issue or was using alcohol as a temporary way to numb out), depression (“the void”), nightmare, dream violation (FMC enters MMC’s dreams without consent), recent exile/rejection by surrogate father, mass murders, murder, torture, battles, hostages (secondary characters), physical assault, abduction, gore, attempted biological warfare, lacerations, needle (stitches), vampires, monsters, arson, animal death, animal sacrifice, enslaved and abused elephant god, past atrocities committed by MMC (murder, torture), past mind control by Roland, past child trafficking, past child homelessness and starvation, food poverty, past death of MMC’s parents (Roland became his surrogate father), past attempted filicide in the womb (secondary character), past intimate partner violence (secondary character killed his wife), religious bigotry, orphaned children, secondary characters and horse with facial scars, secondary character who is blind in one eye, deaf secondary character, mute secondary character, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI or pregnancy prevention; unclear what kind of birth control exists in this world), on page sex, FMC slaps MMC during sex (unclear if this should be considered partner violence; it is not impact play), alcohol, inebriation, casual ableism, small penis joke, acephobia (not countered), gendered pejoratives, gender essentialist language, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide and addiction, Harry Potter reference, appropriation of Indigenous colloquialism (“bury the hatchet”)...more
The food descriptions were the best part of this neighbors-to-lovers romance. There’s a great sense of community through the various townspeople and tThe food descriptions were the best part of this neighbors-to-lovers romance. There’s a great sense of community through the various townspeople and the fundraiser. The romance itself needed a lot of time to breathe due to Cella’s unfortunate martyr tendencies. Not my favorite. I wish the characters had had stronger emotional arcs; there was a remove to them that kept me from fully sinking into the story. There were also a bunch of logistical issues ranging from Max’s ability to own the restaurant property despite barely using it to Cella making Max a co-author on the cookbook without telling him.
Characters: Cella is a 32 year old white celebrity chef. Max is a 33 year old reconstructive cosmetic surgeon for nonprofit and chef. He had a beagle named Cujo. This is set in Longport, NC.
Content notes: past divorce, discussion of celebrity chef accused of sexual harassment, past death of MMC’s aunt, weight gain, fatshaming, past unstable childhood, past death of FMC’s father, recent heart attack (secondary character), past Vietnam deployment (secondary character), pregnant secondary character, secondary character pregnant after multiple miscarriages, family pressure for grandchildren, pregnancy epilogue, on page sex, alcohol, inebriation, hangover, cigarettes (secondary character, cigar (secondary character), STI stigma, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, casual use of colonialist language, use of “drink the Kool-Aid”
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2020...more
This wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Almost the first 70% of the book takes place the first time Lucky and Katie fall in love and subsequently breThis wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Almost the first 70% of the book takes place the first time Lucky and Katie fall in love and subsequently break up. Then we get the second chance romance in the last 30%. My preference would have been for the inverse of that, particularly since the first part includes (view spoiler)[unplanned pregnancy and stillbirth. (hide spoiler)]. The character work could have been stronger and I ultimately felt Katie deserved better from Lucky. (view spoiler)[They’ve been apart for 8 years and his sole motivation for coming back to her is because he adopted his nephew and wants her to be his mom?! WHAT FRESH HELL. They haven’t talked in all this time. He doesn’t know the ways she’s changed or grown or if they still have chemistry. Nor can he prove that he won’t let her down given his profession. He just goes straight to “be my nephew’s mom and get back together with me.” She should have left him in the dust! (hide spoiler)] In both sections, he could be quite coercive, which could be read as charmingly persuasive or something more nefarious. This includes song lyrics, which I largely skipped but could be enticing to someone else.
All that aside, I couldn’t put this down! It made me cry and I was invested despite its flaws.
Characters: Katie is a 21/30 year old white 3rd grade teacher. Lucky is a 22/31 year old white country star. This is set in Stillwater, OK.
Content notes: stillbirth, cracked ribs and concussion (fell off of roof), sexism, MMC adopts his toddler nephew, MMC met his birth mother who only wanted money and to pawn off his half-sister’s child (she is likely meth user and sex worker), past child neglect (FMC’s parents are uninvolved in her life and expected her to take care of herself starting at age 11), MMC was left at a church at 2 years old and adopted, alcohol poisoning (secondary character), germaphobia, slut-shaming, fatphobia, diet culture, past death of MMC’s half-sister by overdose (he never knew her), secondary character is estranged from alcoholic father (dad left his mom for another woman when he was little), infidelity (secondary character finds out her weekend fling is married), past divorce (secondary character’s ex-husband cheated), vomit, unplanned pregnancy, kid epilogue, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussing STI or pregnancy prevention; this happens in both timelines even though unplanned pregnancy resulted when they were first together), on page sex, sexting, truck sex, alcohol, inebriation, past cocaine use, excessive drinking (secondary character), hangover (secondary character), classist insult, plastic surgery shaming, kink-shaming, sex slave joke, sex work shaming, STI stigma, gendered pejorative, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2017...more
I was enjoying this Christmas romance until I realized it was a Gift of the Magi retelling and then my soul shriveled up and died. It’s not the novellI was enjoying this Christmas romance until I realized it was a Gift of the Magi retelling and then my soul shriveled up and died. It’s not the novella’s fault I hate that particular source material but here we are.
Characters: Yin is a 24 year gay Burmese restaurant worker and future nursing student. Ari is a 24 year old gay Congolese restaurant worker, soccer player, and future law school student. They’ve been together for two years. This is set in Ithaca, NY.
Content notes: past racism, past refugee camp, past stay in immigrant detention center, past death of Yin’s mom, past immigration to the US, on page sex, alcohol, ableist language
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2020...more
An absolute delight! I loved this even more than the first book, which is quite the feat for a middle book. Evie really comes into her own amidst the An absolute delight! I loved this even more than the first book, which is quite the feat for a middle book. Evie really comes into her own amidst the murder and mayhem, while Trystan is still befuddled by his feelings for her and trying to prevent the king from destroying the kingdom. The romance is as slow burn as ever—so many false starts!—but the kind where you know it’s going to be explosively good once Trystan stops kidding himself.
Characters: Evie is a 23 year old personal assistant. She’s the guardian for her 10 year-old sister Lyssa. Trystan is a 29 year old Villain. He has a frog named Kingsley who used to be a human prince. This is set in Rennedawn.
Content notes: nightmares, perceived death of MC (view spoiler)[faking via potion (hide spoiler)], murder, attempted murder, stabbing, physical assault, physical abuse of prisoner, battle, concern of drowning, imprisonment, kidnapping, arson, lacerations, skin burns (secondary characters), Mystic Illness (secondary character), past amnesia (FMC’s brother), FMC’s abusive father is incarcerated in the dungeon, misogyny (secondary characters), fear of the dark, family estrangement, severed heads and body parts, body commentary, vomit, pregnant guvre (dragon-like creature), animal abduction, animal harm, past disappearance and death of FMC’s mother (view spoiler)[but she’s alive! (hide spoiler)], FMC was forced to drop out of school at 13 by her father so she could take care of her sister, alcohol, intoxication (magical flower), casual ableism, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction...more
I figured out why the MMCs in this series aren’t working for me thanks to two recent Substack articles. First, a brief aside in Culture Study by Anne I figured out why the MMCs in this series aren’t working for me thanks to two recent Substack articles. First, a brief aside in Culture Study by Anne Helen Petersen. Celeste Davis then expanded on it in The men who like women and the men who don't. Yes we can tell.
Dmitri doesn’t like women. Nor does Raphael, for that matter. Dmitri doesn’t have any platonic relationships with women, nor does he respect them. Women are to be used for sex and discarded. He sexually harasses women, including Elena and Honor, even if they tell him they’re not interested. He doesn’t care about anything other than his own needs. Some of the toxic masculinity can be attributed to the erroneous ideas about what it means to be an “alpha male” that are put on steroids in PNR, especially series at the time this was written. Only men are part of the Seven. While there are female archangels, Raphael views them all as snakes who cannot be trusted; he doesn’t trust the male archangels either but there is one who is an ally of sort and his reasons for not trusting any of the men aren’t laden with misogyny.
It’s difficult to reconcile this with the flashbacks we get of Dmitri with his wife before he became a vampire. At one point, he did like women or at least, he liked his wife. Any lingering compassion and empathy was leeched out of him over the centuries since his wife and children were killed. His grief is tangible and not just because of the book’s reliance on flashbacks. He’s never moved forward, nor has he ever talked to anyone about how he feels. What happened to his family is a tragedy but it doesn’t justify how hard and cold he’s become. His misogyny was hard to take, as was the way he treated Honor, who is a fellow survivor. You would never know Dmitri experienced something similar based on the way he treats her. There’s no understanding of trauma whatsoever. He decides to track down her abusers but that doesn’t make up for the way he talks to her. I did not care for him one iota.
Honor needs therapy, not a relationship. Certainly not a relationship with Dmitri. I got my hopes up when she actually met with a therapist but then she almost immediately left the session. She eventually writes in the journal the therapist gives her but that’s really not enough to heal from what she went through. I don’t know mental health is so stigmatized in this world!
There are high stakes between Dmitri and Honor even amidst the case they’re investigating. She was tortured and assaulted by vampires and can’t stand to be around them, while he lost his wife and doesn’t want to lose anyone again, much less get involved with a mortal who will die. Perhaps if Dmitri hadn't been such an asshole, I could have bought their relationship more but they didn’t have any chemistry. Nor do they relate to each other in a healthy manner. I didn’t feel this did the story of a survivor justice, particularly not one attempting to give sex and a relationship a try for the first time since the attack. They can barely kiss without her being triggered and stabbing him (accidentally) but somehow they rush straight to sex. It wasn’t at all realistic.
Then there was the supposed reason behind their relationship. I have read my fair share of nonsensical PNR plots but this really takes the cake. (view spoiler)[Honor is actually Dmitri’s reincarnated wife Ingrede. Kind of?? They are still two separate people but Honor has Ingrede’s memories and can even speak their language. BUT HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?! Ingrede was just a regular farmwife. How on earth did she save her soul for almost 1000 years and then plop into Honor? When did it even happen, for that matter? Honor was abandoned as a newborn; did she already have Ingrede’s soul? Why Honor and not someone else sooner? None of it made sense.
Related: why did Kallistos wait almost 1000 years to avenge Isis? Heavy sigh.
Anyway. Dmitri immediately believes Honor about the reincarnation thing, which is wild since I sure don’t get it. Then they decide to get married and Honor says she wants to be Made into a vampire so they can be together forever. Dmitri and Honor only known each other a week or two! This kind of fast pace only makes sense if Honor and Ingrede are the same person but the book takes pains to tell us that’s not the case. What in the world?! (hide spoiler)]
I’m going to give this series one more chance or I’m bowing out.
Characters: Honor is a 29 year old vampire hunter and ancient culture and language expert with light brown skin. Dmitri is a white vampire and Raphael’s second who is almost 1000 years old. This is set in NYC.
Content notes: PTSD, dissociation, nightmares, flashbacks, past catatonia, intimate partner violence (view spoiler)[MMC holds FMC in the same position that her abusers did and almost bites her to punish her which triggers a PTSD episode and she beats him up, FMC pulls a gun on MMC, other trauma responses [e.g. FMC stabs MMC while attempting to kiss him because it triggers memories], image-based sexual abuse (FMC’s abuser took videos and photos of her and hung one in his bedroom), past rape, torture, and imprisonment of FMC by vampires (used her as their blood pet); past rape, physical abuse, and imprisonment of MMC by angel; implied incestuous relationship (or else inappropriate), between secondary characters (mother/son), sexual harassment of FMC and secondary character by MMC, off page attempted rape of secondary character (she killed him; he was a rapist out on parole), past child physical abuse and attempted sexual abuse (FMC stabbed her foster father to protect herself), MMC was Made into a vampire against his will (past), murder, attempted murder, torture, dismemberment, murdered missing women, secondary character attempted to murder her son, physical assault, past drug assault, mind control (secondary character), broken angel wings (secondary character), resuscitation (secondary character), corpses (some with maggots), lacerations, blood, blood-drinking, past castration of prisoners, MMC cut out the brand on his skin that was forced on him (past), Mentally Ill Villain trope, mental illness stigma (not countered), misogyny, toxic masculinity, fatphobia, past torture and murder of MMC’s wife and children (view spoiler)[vampire fed from infant, vampires raped wife and then burned down the house with her in it, vampire attempted to turn MMC’s son into a vampire but he was too young so MMC broke his neck to end his suffering (hide spoiler)], past massacre, medical privacy violation (MMC accesses her medical records and tests her blood for vampirism potential without her knowledge or consent), past orphanage and foster care (FMC found abandoned as a newborn), secondary character in wheelchair, vampires agree to be enslaved by angels for 100 years in exchange for immortality, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI and pregnancy prevention; unclear whether vampires are capable of either), on page sex, impact play, food play (honey), road head, biting, sex dream, past bondage, alcohol, casual ableism, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction, casual use of colonialist language (hide spoiler)]...more
Susanna Kearsley is back in rare form! I practically inhaled this. Andrew and Phoebe have never gotten along, all due to a misunderstanding. But when Susanna Kearsley is back in rare form! I practically inhaled this. Andrew and Phoebe have never gotten along, all due to a misunderstanding. But when Andrew is sent on a mission by the king and requires a scribe, Phoebe joins the trip in order to take care of her father while he works with Andrew. And of course she starts to see him differently! There were more than a few times when I wanted to knock some sense into her head but I really liked her as a character overall. She was a good daughter and loyal friend. I could not get enough of the way Andrew watched out for her, even when she was determined to believe the worst about him.
Andrew’s Second Sight was depicted with great aplomb. Kearsley’s last novel lacked this element so it was great to have it centered here, as well as the way this explored the dangers of letting people know about his gift. He’s also dyslexic, hence the need to bring a scribe with him, and this added another layer of nuance to both his character and the story. This doesn’t have a dual timeline but there are some compelling flashbacks to the King's Court through the eyes of Andrew’s prisoner. I don’t want to say much more than that, lest I spoil how magnificently everything unfolded.
My only qualm is the inclusion of the Magical Blind Person trope. A blind man gives Queen Anne a message from her deceased son Prince Henry. Now it’s very possible this really did happen—Kearsley’s books are well-researched, especially when it comes to the inclusion of real life historical figures—but as there aren’t any other disabled people in the book, I wanted to mention it.
Characters: Andrew is a 26 year old white Scottish King’s Messenger with the Second Sight and dyslexia. Phoebe is the 24 year old white Portuguese British daughter of a scrivener. This is set in 1613 London and Leith, Scotland.
Content notes: nightmare, sick father (view spoiler)[dies in his sleep toward the end of the book (hide spoiler)], emotionally abusive father (King), recent death of prince (poison suspected), attempted murder, physical assault, gunshot wound (child secondary character), past near-death experience (attempted mugging and multiple gunshot wounds), sexism, slut-shaming, Magical Blind Person trope, ableism, MMC has dyslexia, internalized ableism, chronic nosebleeds (secondary character), forced family separation (King sends his children away to be raised by others in spite of the Queen’s wishes and limits her access to them), wraiths, snake, classism, past death of MMC’s father, past death of FMC’s mother and brothers (plague), off page animal murder (hunting dog shot), fear of horses (FMC was trod on one as a child), MMC suspects his horse was abused by his previous owner, past death of Queen’s children, off page sex, alcohol, inebriation (secondary characters), gender essentialist language, mention of past miscarriage (Queen)...more
1. I hate Mr. Norrell. He is a bigoted odious man who never changes, nor is he called out for his behavior and views. 2. Strange isn’t much better. He’1. I hate Mr. Norrell. He is a bigoted odious man who never changes, nor is he called out for his behavior and views. 2. Strange isn’t much better. He’s a terrible husband and only cares about his studies to the detriment of everyone around him. He could have dealt with the man with the thistledown hair almost at the beginning if he’d bothered to pay attention! 3. Justice for Arabella and Lady Pole. 4. This did not need to be 850 pages. 5. Thank goodness for the last 150 pages, which finally kicked the story into gear. 6. Do I like Childermass the best?? Certainly compared to Norrell and Strange. He’s not fully off the hook because he worked for Norrell for YEARS despite how awful he was or doing anything to keep him in check. 7. The ending was a letdown. No consequences for Norrell or Strange, only the faerie with thistledown hair. 8. The actual best character is probably Stephen and he deserved a much better story. He’s the only Black character, as if no other POC lived in England. The way race is depicted is clumsy at best, racist at worst and I’m leaning toward the latter. 9. For that matter, what is the point of including racism, antisemitism, and sexism in a magical world?? Wouldn’t the presence of magic alter everything, including bigotry? Sometimes I suspect white authors include these elements for reasons beyond lack of imagination and that’s certainly the case here. 10. I also didn’t care for the anti-fat bias, treatment of mental illness, or ableism. 11. The footnotes were awesome though.
Characters: Jonathan Strange is a 28 year old white magician. His wife is Arabella. Gilbert Norrell is a white magician in his 50s. This is set in 1806 York and London, as well as various parts of Italy.
Content notes: self-harm for blood magic, transphobic violence (fairy strangles cross-dressing man), mentally ill secondary characters, attempted magical cure for mental illness, MC attempts to become mentally ill in order to talk to fairy, past suicidal ideation (secondary character), institutionalization (secondary characters), alcoholism, resurrection, death of wife, past and present death of family members (including children), murder, attempted murder, hanging, war, casualties, corpses, human eats mouse, physical assault, skin carving, knife wound, gunshot wound, lice, amputated finger, vomit, discussion of soldier’s leg amputation, infidelity (secondary character left her husband for another man), workplace abuse (servants), racist violence, racism, antisemitism, Romani slurs and prejudice, ableism, misogyny, sexism, free Black secondary character who was born enslaved, much older secondary character has a 15 year old wife, secondary character with 5 wives, classism, colonialism, gambling debt, hunting, ravens, animal harm, animal abuse, animal death, financial fraud, theft, past Crusade participation (secondary character), body commentary, forgetting to eat, alcohol, inebriation, opium, smoking tobacco, snuff, laudanum, casual ableism, anti-fat bias, gender essentialist language, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide and addiction, casual use of colonialist language, mention of Lord Byron having “seduced" his sister...more
A chaste small town contemporary romance with a strong first half that eventually devolved into the kind of inexplicable shenanigans I normally associA chaste small town contemporary romance with a strong first half that eventually devolved into the kind of inexplicable shenanigans I normally associate with romcoms; I would not classify this as a romcom. Daniel falls for Winnie the moment he sees her at the hospital where they work but Winnie is less than interested. He’s about a decade older, for one, and seems like a player. But Daniel is persistent and eventually that pays off. They’re both into comics, which was a neat way for them to bond.
Daniel is a medical resident who has chosen a rural medicine placement that happens to be in his hometown. Winnie is a midwife. The depiction of hospital life didn’t ring true for me (I used to be a medical social worker): Daniel calls her Nurse Baker, when no one refers to nurses that way. The nurses always refer to doctors as Dr. X even when they’re not in a patient room; only asshole doctors would require that. (Winnie’s doctor mom was the only one who qualified as that here.) I have other nitpicks but mostly I wanted to see what made this hospital’s rural medicine focus different from other places and that didn't happen. More attention was paid to Winnie’s pregnant patients, which is not my interest. However, it was nice to see a profession rarely depicted in romance.
Winnie’s mom is toxic but the book doesn’t seem to recognize just how inappropriate she is. Her behavior is rationalized as being a loving mother. Um, no. She doesn’t respect her daughter’s profession (until the very end), she’s cold and unfeeling, and she doesn’t seem to really care about Winnie’s wants or needs, only her vision for Winnie’s life. I really needed her to be called out more.
Lastly, I didn’t care for the ending. (view spoiler)[Daniel proposes to Winnie at the hospital WHILE THEY’RE BOTH WORKING. The least romantic setting and the least romantic proposal. Not only that, they’ve only been dating for a few months. And he proposes on the day that Winnie’s sex bet ends. (For inexplicable reasons, she tells her mom she and Daniel won’t have sex for eight weeks so she can prove to her mom that they're serious.) So is he proposing to her in order to make it okay for them to have sex in this world? That doesn't make sense either since sex isn’t depicted on or off page. Truly bizarre choice. (hide spoiler)]
Characters: Winnie is a 34 year old white nurse midwife. Daniel is a white medical resident with dyslexia in his mid-20s. This is set in Timber Falls, OR.
Content notes: toxic mother, harassment by FMC’s ex-boyfriend (including showing up at her workplace since she didn’t respond to his messages), secondary character’s husband is a serial cheater, minor bike accident (road rash), MMC has dyslexia and dysgraphia, ableism, ageism, MMC’s brother is autistic, pregnant secondary character and patients, childbirth (patients), childbirth epilogue (FMC), C-section, FMC’s doctor mother is anti-natural childbirth, various patient illnesses, vomit (patient), past death of FMC’s father (heart attack), alcohol, cigar (secondary character), cancer joke and other medical similes, STD stigma, diet culture, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide and addiction, mention of past childhood cancer (MMC’s sister), mention of past cancer scare (secondary character
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2021...more
Categorizing this as "you need therapy, not a relationship.” I started out really liking Quinn and not being sure if Logan was right for her and I endCategorizing this as "you need therapy, not a relationship.” I started out really liking Quinn and not being sure if Logan was right for her and I ended it liking Logan (except for his possessive, overprotective side) and not being sure Quinn was good enough for him. She really needed to work through why she picked such loser men and internalized their mistreatment of her before starting something with Logan. There were logistical issues and the emotional arcs needed to be fleshed out more in order for them to add up. The sex scenes were hot at least.
I didn’t read the book before this so characters appeared with brief mentions of something that happened in their respective books (maybe even characters from other series?). That could get confusing at times but otherwise this stood pretty well on its own. However, this is a completely cishet white world.
Characters: Logan/Bull is a 32 year old white bar owner, tattoo artist, and ex-con. Quinn is a 26 year old white bar waitress. This is set in Rocktown, MT.
Content notes: secondary character arrested for physically assaulting man with intent of roofying and raping his friend, MMC’s mother is an emotionally abusive alcoholic, codependency (MMC continues to give mom money), sexual harassment, FMC’s brother’s wife leaves him, sexism, misogyny, needle (tattoo), past infidelity (all of FMC’s exes cheated, including her fiancé), FMC breaks into MMC’s home when she hasn’t heard from him, employer-employee relationship (never discuss power differential, perhaps because she’s only working there temporarily), past incarceration (drug dealing), past bullying, past death of FMC’s mom (killed by drunk driver), past TBI from car accident (secondary character), past death of secondary character’s brother, MMC’s cousin used to be in foster care, MMC was raised by his grandmother after his dad left as his alcoholic mother neglected him, FMC’s brother is a cop, unsafe sex practices (FMC opens condom packet with her teeth), on page sex, phone sex, boat blowjob, alcohol, inebriation, excessive drinking, hangover, casual ableism, small penis joke, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, hyperbolic language around addiction
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2020...more
What a fun alien romance! Lois and Zir work at an extraterrestrial immigration center, Lois as an intake officer and Zir in IT. Lois believes Zir hateWhat a fun alien romance! Lois and Zir work at an extraterrestrial immigration center, Lois as an intake officer and Zir in IT. Lois believes Zir hates her…but it’s really a cultural misunderstanding. Pretty straightforward storytelling and the writing could have been tightened up but I pretty much inhaled it.
One complaint though: (view spoiler)[neither really wants kids and have an explicit conversation about it but then they adopt Taz, an orphan, at the end. It didn’t feel completely out of nowhere, as Zir did seem to have a connection to Taz when they found him. But it would have made more sense to revisit that conversation prior to the epilogue or else remove it altogether. (hide spoiler)]
Characters: Zir is a Violin (alien) refugee and IT tech. Lois is a 36 year old white ET immigration intake officer and polyglot. This is set in 2266 San Diego, CA.
Content notes: missing child (orphan who snuck onto a ship), adoption, off page ship explosion with mass casualties, temporary closure of Earth’s borders to aliens, MMC has hole in left wing (shot by aliens), past murder of MMC’s nephew (shot by aliens), MMC is an alien refugee who immigrated to Earth three years ago, fatphobia, family planning discussion (MMC doesn’t want kids, FMC is unsure), unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI or pregnancy prevention; FMC is not on birth control and it’s unclear whether humans and Volin can procreate), on page sex, alcohol, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language
*Love it or Leighve it* (aka cleaning out my Kindle) Purchased: 2018...more
I have been anticipating this ever since reading Every New Year! (It’s not necessary to read that first but you will have more context for what happenI have been anticipating this ever since reading Every New Year! (It’s not necessary to read that first but you will have more context for what happened between Mei and Miles.) I really enjoyed it but it wasn't as angsty or in-depth as I was hoping for.
This is a second chance romance for Mei and Miles. Miles divorced Mei three years ago and never told her (or anyone else) why. They're both still in love with each other and the wound is fresh despite the intervening years. They head to Paris to be with their friends Ezra and Candace (who get together in ENY) and it forces them to a) see each other and b) start to dig into why Miles left. It’s interspersed with flashbacks to various Valentine’s Days over the years and diary entries where Miles writes to Mei.
Your overall enjoyment is going to come down to how you feel about Miles’s reason for divorcing Mei. (view spoiler)[Miles’s dad died of a heart attack when he was only 31. Miles is a stressed workaholic and has chest pains while at work one day. It turns out it was a panic attack but before he gets that diagnosis, he starts to believe Mei would be better off without him so that she won’t be widowed like his mom. Even after the diagnosis and even though he gets a clean bill of health concerning heart disease, he cannot get rid of that belief. He opts not to tell Mei about his panic attack or his concerns, nor does he tell anyone else because he knows they’ll try to talk him out of it. Once he finally tells Mei his reason, she’s understandably pissed. They could have talked through everything three years ago. He took away her agency in deciding what’s best for her and what risks she wants to take.
Personally, I needed more connective tissue. Did Miles not consider this when he first fell for Mei? They had been together for 15 years by that point! This might be a continuity error but it might have made a little more sense if his freak out occurred when he turned 31. It wasn’t clear how closely he paid attention to his health before his panic attack and whether there were any potential markers of heart disease. Grief can twist our brains up, especially when we lose someone young like Miles did. But I was shocked that he had never really discussed with his mom what losing his dad meant for her. He had internalized all sorts of erroneous ideas about her being a widow. And that made me wonder all over again why he hadn’t talked to anyone about his fears! He did start seeing a therapist but not until after the divorce. He put himself and Mei through so much hurt and pain for nothing. (hide spoiler)]
Miles needed to do way more in terms of making things up to Mei. She let him off the hook far too easy. They needed less sex and more communication across the board. They have both been SUFFERING for the past three years, as if the divorce just happened. I didn’t care about Miles’s self-inflicted pain. But I was concerned about Mei and how very not well she was doing. But also we’re very different people: I would not have the ability to have sex with my ex-husband when I don’t know why he left me. (I can’t envision a second chance romance ever happening for me period. LOL.) Their horniness for each other is probably why they ran into so many problems in the first place. You can’t use sex as a way to escape important conversations! Or at least, you shouldn’t. I really hope their future couples therapy pays off.
The Paris setting was dreamy, all the more so since I finally got to go this summer. The friendships between the two couples are on the enmeshed side. I felt terrible for fifth wheel Jorge because Miles, Mei, Ezra, and Candace could be pretty obnoxious together. I hope Jorge will get his own story because he more than earned it after putting up with everyone’s respective ridiculousness and PDA.
Characters: Mei is a 36 year old Chinese American nonprofit employee. Miles is a 36 year old Black architect. They divorced three years ago. This is set in the Bay Area and Paris.
Content notes: depression, past panic attacks, past concern of heart disease, MMC divorced FMC three years ago, forgetting to eat, past death of MMC’s father (heart attack at 31 years old), MMC’s mother had a miscarriage after his dad died, family planning discussion, parental pressure for grandchildren, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI or pregnancy prevention; FMC later reveals she is not on birth control), on page sex, plane sex, 69, alcohol, inebriation, past marijuana, ableist language, mention of restaurant owner with dementia, mention of FMC’s father being estranged from his adoptive parents, mention of past death of grandparents
Disclosure: I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway from the author’s newsletter....more
Loading...
