Bookish Thoughts

This book was a ton of fun, which is all I want from a romance. The hero and heroine - Jon and Reggie - are well matched. They're both intelligent go-getters who of course have some issues. Meeting each other inspires them to work on their issues. And I actually really appreciated that at the end of the book they worked on their issues independently before reconnecting and committing to each other. It made the happy ending feel more earned and like it would last longer, as opposed to just being a vacation fling that would never survive contact with the real world.

I picked this book up for some fun fluff. A supernatural fantasy featuring a vampire and a werewolf (and ultimately a witch, but that's the sequel) was exactly what I needed this past Valentine's Day. I wanted something light and silly, and it is that. There are lots of fun puns and references to other books. When Lydia and Kitty Collins are introduced, you barely even need a character description because you know exactly who they are based on their names alone. The author was clearly influenced by Terry Pratchett. And much like a Pratchett book, all that fun and silliness is hiding a profound rage at the world. The social commentary is pointed, even as this world is, in some ways, safer than our own. Which is all to say that this book had a lot more depth and plot than I was expecting. But that didn't take away from the lighthearted fun, and it actually has me excited for the next installment in the series. I can't wait to see how Ursula, the witch who barely appears i...

 After taking two weeks to read my first book of 2022, I needed something quick. Romance novels always do a great job of filling that urge. They're easy to read, happy, and usually a perfect little palate cleanser. And this one definitely lived up to all those expectations. But as a romance novel it was sort of middle of the road. I liked Makeda a whole lot more than Beznaria, which probably comes down to Makeda getting the lion's share of the chapters. Her journey was more compelling and satisfying, and I was really rooting for her. Beznaria felt a bit more sketched in to me, and she went through a bit less growth. Not that she didn't change, but I have no real confidence that those changes were permanent. Which is a weird place to be with a romance novel. I also felt like the ending was a bit too abrupt. I could have used another few chapters to tie up some loose ends or an epilogue to assuage my fears that this relationship would never last in the real world. They had a ...

I know Bridgerton is a modern classic of the genre, but I'm finding this series to be way more uneven than I expected. The Duke and I was fun, The Viscount Who Loved Me was perfect and cathartic. I was really excited for An Offer From a Gentleman , especially since the cover implied similarities to Cinderella. But I was underwhelmed. It didn't help that I really didn't like Benedict. He's pushy and patronizing, and it drives the plot, but I really needed him to back off. Sophie was lovely, but I have a hard time with the whole "I won't be a mistress, just a wife" plot line. Maybe I'm just too modern. So this book was disappointing. But I bought the whole series, and they're fun and light enough for me to keep going. Especially since the next book is Colin and Penelope, which I cannot wait for. I also just found out that Francesca's book takes place after her first husband died, and I'm really interested to see a romance starring a widow.

The hero in this book, Anthony, lives with an intense fear that he will die young. His father and uncle both died before reaching 40, and he has convinced himself that he will do the same. It shapes his entire life, most notably when it comes to marrying and having kids. Quinn notes that this tends to be a male fear and that she worries the women reading her book won't be able to relate to it. But it struck home in a weirdly unexpected way. You see, my husband's father died young. As did his father. We used to joke, blackly, that it had been a few generations since a man in his family had made it much past 60. And as irrational as it was, I entered my marriage fully expecting to outlive my husband. He would occasionally point out that there was no reason to believe he would die young. Nevertheless, in my heart of hearts, I did believe it. Of course, by young, I was thinking 60. Not 34. And now I have this fear, just as strong, just as irrational, that I will also outlive my son...

I picked this up in anticipation of the Netflix series, and I actually managed to read it before the series hit Netflix. This story was lovely and hilarious.I love that the series focuses on a family, and I love the Bridgerton's as a family. They're so warm and happy, and I can't wait to read about each and every one of them finding love of their own. I also love the framing of Lady Whistledown. I'm excited to find out who she is. I'm also really, really excited for the Netflix series to drop. It's going to be just the thing I need in the week between Christmas and New Year's

This was a very cute story about growing up and being brave and not missing your chance. Deja and Josiah are best friends who've been working at the local pumpkin patch for the last three years. But now they're seniors and it's the last night, and Josiah still hasn't even spoken to the girl he's been crushing on for the last three years. Deja is determined to make him take his chance, and they set off on a fun night of adventure, finding new things and revisiting old favorites. It's all the fluff I expect from Rainbow Rowell with very little of the angst.

This book was absolutely delightful. It's a series of comics, charting the growing relationship between a vampire and a werewolf, from their meet-cute at a bar to happily ever after. It was a quick read. I read it in less than an hour (probably less than half an hour), and I had a huge smile on my face the entire time. This will be a good pick-me-up for years to come.

I adore Sarah MacLean, but this one took a while to grab me. Maybe it's just because I could see what was coming. Which is silly. I read romance for the predictability, and Sarah MacLean especially because I love what she does with the tropes. I guess I was just eager to get to the meat of it, and it started a bit slow. Mostly, though, I'm excited for what's coming next. MacLean has been laying the groundwork for her next series: Hell's Belles. I can hardly wait.

I've been wanting to read Courtney Milan for a while, though I'd been intending to start with her Brothers Sinister series. But then I came across this novel, her first, in a used book store, and I jumped at the chance. This was a cute historical romance. And while it does take place in London in the early 19th century like so much of the historical romances I read, it doesn't focus on the ton. The hero is rich, but the heroine is more middle class. She makes her living as a fortune teller, and it was nice to get a glimpse at how this other half lived back then. I liked this book, and I'll be keeping my eye out for more of Milan's work.

I just adore Alisha Rai. She's become an insta-buy for me. Every time one of her books comes out, I have to get it because I know I'll love it. She writes wonderful, warm, smart romances with killer sex scenes.  This one kicks off a new series that I'm very excited about. It's adjacent to the Forbidden Hearts series that I finished earlier this year. The heroine's brother was in the last of those books. But now we get out of that stifling small town in upstate New York and out into huge, anonymous LA. I'm glad that there's still a little bit of crossover from the characters in those books, even as Rai's moving into a different series. Really I just love Alisha Rai and all her books. I'm always happy when I'm reading them.

This was an absolutely lovely little paranormal romance. The heroine is a witch who was raised on a vineyard. She uses her magic to take care of the grapes and produce an exceptional vintage. Until someone turns her into a toad. The book opens as she's finally breaking the curse. She returns home to discover that many years have passed and that a new man has bought the vineyard. This new guy is willing to let her stay, but he believes in science not magic, and he doesn't want her casting any spells or other nonsense. But of course the two of them find a way to meet in the middle, figure out who cursed the witch in the first place, and raise the vineyard back up to its former glory with an exceptional vintage of wine. And they kiss and fall in love, too. Really, this whole book was just a wonderful bit of escapism.

For a while it seemed like my husband might be recovering. We had hopes that we'd be able to bring him home, that he'd be able to have some kind of life. At the beginning of July he had a really good week. Then it took a sudden turn for the worse. He got the hiccups and they wouldn't go away. He didn't sleep for over 24 hours because they were so bad. On Monday morning, the doctor gave him something to make them stop and it worked. He was finally able to sleep, and I sat by his bed and read and waited for him to wake up again. He didn't wake up, and so I read this entire book, in a single day, sitting at his side and holding his hand and wondering where my happy ending went. Lisa Kleypas still isn't my favorite romance novelist. I liked the emphasis on female friendship in this series and the relationship between the various wallflowers. But I kept feeling like the men were getting a bit shorted. I wanted more of the perspective and fuller arcs for them. Still I...

This is the book I was reading when I got the call that my husband was probably going to die. I'd been expecting to finish it that afternoon. But my life came off the rails, and it ended up taking another week to finish. I'm sure my mental state affected my enjoyment of this book, especially since the imminent death of my husband cast a pall on the romance genre in general. But I did finish it, and I even mostly enjoyed it. This was the last book in Rai's Forbidden Hearts series, which was more serial than I'm used to from romances. I appreciated that there were secrets and mysteries from the first two books that were finally tied up here. It gave me more of a reason to keep pushing through this book, since I was less a fan of the main couple. But that's mostly because of my own aversion to May/December romances than anything about these particular characters. I'm really looking forward to reading more of Rai's work. The heroine of the next book, The Right S...

This was an adorable romance novella that I positively inhaled. There were a ton of geeky references. Enough that it might have been annoying had it not played directly into my wheelhouse. I understood them all, so I loved them all, and I felt closer to the characters because of it. Alyssa Cole is just so good at writing fluffy, fun, inclusive romances. Rumor has it that she's also really good at brutal, angsty romances, so I'll have to check out her historical stuff when I'm up for it. In the meantime, I'm sad to have finished this series and excited that the first book in a spin-off series is due out soon.

This is the longest I've gone without updating this blog since I started it. I've got fifteen books waiting to be written about, which is the furthest I've ever fallen behind. I was already a bit behind when the doctors said my husband might only have a month left to live. That was six weeks ago, and while my reading pace has certainly slowed, it never quite stopped. At the moment things are more or less stable. Not getting any better, but not getting significantly worse either. And in this moment of calm I wanted to try and catch up on my backlog. But I'm starting with the most recent book I finished, Devil in Winter . I'll get to the others as I get to them. Time has stopped feeling linear in so many ways that I'm less concerned about this blog being perfectly chronological. Moreover, this book was surprisingly pertinent to my own situation. The heroine, Evie, spends a good chunk of the book taking care of her husband, Sebastian, while he convalesces after bei...

Alyssa Cole is one of the best writers in the romance genre today. She definitely has the best covers. In fact, I love her covers so much, that I kept putting off reading this book because I wanted a physical rather than a digital copy to display on my bookshelves. Until the coronavirus finally convinced me to just download the book (can't download a virus! Or, not that kind of virus). And I wish I'd just sucked it up and read this book sooner. This is a very sweet second-chance romance that plays with the established structure a bit. Likotsi's chapters are all in the present, detailing her second meeting with Fabiola months after their all-too-brief relationship ended. Fabiola's chapters take us back to that whirlwind romance and her reasons for deciding to break it off. It's a sweet story about love at first sight and how frightening that intensity can be.

I must have adjusted to Lisa Kleypas' style, because I liked this book a whole lot more than the first one. I don't know that the hero actually had more scenes, but what he had seemed better paced. I actually felt like I got to see his arc rather than assuming that it happened off-page. But the majorty of the book was still devoted to Lillian and her friends. And it's the friendship between the wallflowers that really make these books special. Lillian is a fantastic heroine. She's rash and brash and full of energy. She doesn't like rules that make no sense, though she learns to appreciate that sometimes she doesn't know the reason behind a rule. Sometimes, of course, the rules are simply outdated and she's there to point that out. She's also wonderfully innocent - she has no idea how much she doesn't know - and that leads to some fun scenes as well. There are also a handful of scenes that give us glimpses into the heads of characters other than t...

Sometimes you find a book at exactly the right time. In the wake of my husband being admitted to the hospital, I reached for a romance novel. I needed something light and cheery to escape in to. This certainly didn't let me down on the fluff or the happy ending. It did hit a lot closer to home than I was expecting it to, though, and I ended up crying a whole lot. In a good, cathartic way. See, the heroine of this one, Sadia, is a single mom. I'm lucky enough not to have her money woes, but I do have her hectic schedule. Her all-consuming worry about her kid, her need to drop everything when her kid is sick and her inability to actually do that, her simple pleasure in just snuggling up with her kid to watch a movie. I plan everything down to the last minute, just like she does. I do my best to snatch time for myself whenever I can, and I've trained myself to recharge off of 10 or 20 minutes of me time, because that's all I can put together. And then one thing goes wr...

I've read a decent number of romance novels at this point by several authors, both historical and contemporary. They've all followed the same format - alternating chapters between the hero and the heroine - and I started to think that was standard across the genre. Then I picked up my first Lisa Kleypas book and discovered a story that was 90% from the heroine's point of view with only the occasional insight into what the hero is thinking or feeling. It threw me for a curve, and I'm still disappointed that I didn't get to spend more time with Simon. I think he had an interesting arc going from bachelor to husband, and I'm sad that it mostly happened off-page. But I shouldn't expect all books in a genre to conform to a certain style - especially since I often seek out books that play with style and format on purpose. The lack of Simon also gave us a lot more time with the Wallflowers - Annabelle and her friends and their hunt for husbands. This ended up b...