This Sense & Sensibility adaptation was excellent. It manages to capture a ton of the minor characters and plot points, in a wildly different modern cThis Sense & Sensibility adaptation was excellent. It manages to capture a ton of the minor characters and plot points, in a wildly different modern context....more
Wow. Ok. This book was outstanding, full stop. The romance was incredibly satisfying on so many levels, and the story deals quite directly with issuesWow. Ok. This book was outstanding, full stop. The romance was incredibly satisfying on so many levels, and the story deals quite directly with issues of class and racial justice, the targeting of black folks by police, the justice system, challenges faced by refugees, academia….I mean. This book was written pretty much exactly at the intersection of several things I care about. It was masterfully done.
I could discuss the ways this book deals with social justice at length, but I also need to yell a bit about the romance itself. Easton and Patrice have so much chemistry I am surprised my kindle didn’t self combust. I loved each of them as individuals, their growth and vulnerability was beautiful, their love story had me near tears in a few places (when I wasn’t fanning myself).
One of my favourite things in this book is the mark of some of my absolute favourite romance novels: the way they fought and talked about difficult things. This book is obviously very different in style and content, but that aspect reminded me of the best of KJ Charles.
Plus this book has what is sure to be one of my all time favourite epilogues. I will be revisiting this book for sure, and I am eager to complete the series, which is also shaping up to be a favourite....more
I really enjoyed this You’ve Got Mail retelling by a Canadian author! I really liked the slow burn romance between Hana and Aydin, and really enjoyed I really enjoyed this You’ve Got Mail retelling by a Canadian author! I really liked the slow burn romance between Hana and Aydin, and really enjoyed the cast of characters. This book has romcom vibes. as well as more serious elements including on page Islamophobia. ...more
When I found out that the new edition of Waiting for the Flood would come with a longer novella companion piece about Marius, I was excited and intrigWhen I found out that the new edition of Waiting for the Flood would come with a longer novella companion piece about Marius, I was excited and intrigued. I never saw Marius as a villain, and was super curious to get to know him. It turns out Marius is in fact quite a difficult character in many ways. He is full of pain and self-loathing, and behaves quite atrociously. A very sharp contrast to Edwin, and to Marius’ love interest Leo in this novella.
Marius is a fascinating character, and I enjoyed his love story with Leo. My favourite part is hard to discuss without spoilers. I will say that I appreciated that there was a lot about compassion, understanding, honesty, and forgiveness in this book. That every person is worthy of being fully seen and accepted and loved. That people can live a situation very differently, and that without information or a full perspective, one can easily fill in the mental blanks in different ways. That it’s possible to come to understanding, resolution, and healing. That part gave me hope. I wish there was more of that in the world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC ...more
I really enjoyed this YA rivals-to-lovers, second chance romance between two people who want to be lead singer in their high school mariachi band.
RafiI really enjoyed this YA rivals-to-lovers, second chance romance between two people who want to be lead singer in their high school mariachi band.
Rafie is the main character, and he was the lead singer for his award-winning former high school’s mariachi band, and when he moves to a new city, he finds out that the lead singer of that school’s mariachi band is Rey, the boy he had kissed at last year’s competition and had been thinking about since then.
Rafie is confident and a bit egotistical in the way one can be at that age. He is also deeply hurt and grieving the loss of his abuelo, and feels immense pressure to live up to the promise he made his abuelo before he died that he would continue to be the best at mariachi. His single-mindedness brings him in conflict with Rey, and he needs to learn to deal with his grief and share the spotlight.
I really loved the relationship between Rafie and Rey, and found Rey to be so incredibly kind and patient. Rey faces some transphobia in the book, but I was glad that this was not a central source of conflict.
This book made me want to listen to some mariachi music!
Wowowow. Ok. This book made me laugh so hard I scared my dog more than once, AND it made me cry more than once. That is quite the feat. It has epistolWowowow. Ok. This book made me laugh so hard I scared my dog more than once, AND it made me cry more than once. That is quite the feat. It has epistolary elements with actual letters in it. The banter. The emotions. So good. I am super curious to reread via audio.
Check out the CWs if that’s something you seek out....more
Jen Comfort is solidifying into position as one of my favourite writers. She has a knack for writing sharp, funny, engaging, and steamy books filled wJen Comfort is solidifying into position as one of my favourite writers. She has a knack for writing sharp, funny, engaging, and steamy books filled with crackling banter and heroines who are somehow equal part competent and disaster. The MMCs are always their perfect match.
I loved both Maxine and Teddy. This is an A+ second chance romance. Maxine and Teddy met while filming a Jeopardy-esque game show and are brought back together for a tournament of champions.
Teddy is a buttoned up professor with mega academic credentials and a love of low ties. Maxine dropped out of school and is fully self taught, and a love of sky diving and risk-taking in general. Their individual growth and relationship development was excellent.
This book made me want to form a bar trivia group with some friends. Recommended!
Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC...more
I really enjoyed this last installment of this series, though it did not rise to the level of Total Creative Control, which is an all-time fave.
I espeI really enjoyed this last installment of this series, though it did not rise to the level of Total Creative Control, which is an all-time fave.
I especially loved getting to know Jay in this book. I loved the way he opened up to Tag while struggling with being fully vulnerable. I appreciated the class commentary in this book. ...more
My first book by Roan Parrish! I really enjoyed it. Jude is a pianist struggling with depression and disordered eating, and falls in love with Faron, My first book by Roan Parrish! I really enjoyed it. Jude is a pianist struggling with depression and disordered eating, and falls in love with Faron, a painter and tattoo artist. Jude’s mental health struggles felt really real, it was hard to be in his head at times. The sex scenes, and the first one in particular, were really well done. This book motivated me to practice more piano than usual. Looking forward to diving into this authors’ catalogue!...more
I really loved this hockey romance between Casey, an outgoing forward playing on Calgary’s NHL team, and Landon, a shy introverted goalie brought up fI really loved this hockey romance between Casey, an outgoing forward playing on Calgary’s NHL team, and Landon, a shy introverted goalie brought up from the farm team to replace the injured backup goalie. One of my favourite things about Rachel Reid’s writing is the humour and the camaraderie of the teams. This book delivers on that big time. I laughed out loud several times, the banter and teasing were on point. The growing attraction between Casey and Landon was really well done, and I loved how their relationship developed, and how they navigated their intimacy together. Quite low on angst. I will be revisiting this one, likely by audio next time....more
**spoiler alert** I am quite stunned by this book. It’s a romance that addresses healing, processing trauma, accountability, forgiveness, boundary-set**spoiler alert** I am quite stunned by this book. It’s a romance that addresses healing, processing trauma, accountability, forgiveness, boundary-setting, and developing self-compassion as a central parts of the story.
This year I’ve read a ton of romance, and I’ve also done quite a lot of reading about healing and mental health, and have worked on a lot of those things myself. Although my own experiences are very different, I really resonated with several themes in the book.
This is a fake dating romance between Mattie, a new rising Hollywood darling, and Logan, a former child actor with a bad reputation. It deals with quite heavy themes, so mind the CWs. Logan has a very difficult past and a lot of unresolved trauma. Mattie has his own baggage, and does his best to approach Logan with support and compassion. I loved them both as individual characters, and I loved the romance a lot.
*** This part is spoilery.
I really appreciated that Mattie was so supportive and well-meaning, and that the story addressed how this approach was not good for Mattie, and the need for him to have better boundaries and also take care of his own needs. The story also addresses the elements of saviour complex that were unhelpful. Logan has to process his trauma head on, and come to a place where he can be compassionate towards himself while holding himself accountable. So many other books would have approached these factors very differently.
Some of the take aways I took are mirrored in a lot of my non fiction reading. You need to process your own shit, it’s gonna suck to do it, but it is necessary. No one can do that for you. Healing is an ongoing process with no specific destination, you will continue changing over time as you develop more self awareness and emotional maturity. You will continue to fuck up, and you need to hold yourself accountable for what you own in a situation. Open communication and honesty is important, even when awkward and difficult, and even if you don’t get the result you would have wanted. Self compassion and compassion for others is essential to be well. You can’t be everything for others, you can’t fix others. You also have to take care of yourself, your needs matter. It’s possible to break out of cycles, and it takes work to do so. There are more but I’ll stop here. All this to say, it was remarkable how deeply this book resonated with me, and how closely the lessons I drew are mirrored in my non-romance reading this year. ***...more
Claire aka DocReads
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