4.5 out of 5 stars (the single book I have reread) Ok so. This book is the definition of “I know it’s toxic, but I can’t deny the attraction.” It’s one of the few books I have reread, which says a lot since I’m always hunting for new books. The cold, morally questionable billionaire and a sunshine artsy girl with unresolved trauma, I eat it up. Finished this book in one sitting. Both times. Yes, it is toxic. If a man like this showed up in real life, I would walk in the oppos

4 out of 5 stars (emotionally…maybe 5/5) A delicious, aching slow-burn set in a small town. Archer’s Voice  follows trauma-filled Bree Prescott and silent, isolated Archer Hale. I loved this book. I’ve been thinking about it a lot again recently. It’s a tender, devastating, easy read with the iconic line, “Don’t run from me, I said. I can’t call to you. Please don’t run from me.” What I loved: I absolutely adore how we learn Archer’s story bit by bit, it was like slowly pieci

5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: This book is a wonderfully plotted, concisely written, enthralling blend of adventure, romance, fantasy, and (lots-of-creative-license-taken) history. It begins a bit slowly: our heroine Na’amah is a young, innocent girl who takes a bit of patience to get used to initially (she’s just that green and naive). But... and this is a big but... like a classical concerto, it really builds, and though the anticipated flood (the title does after all

5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: A novel within a novel with little stories nested in between, this is an intricately woven tale about two sisters’ loves and lives, spanning over six decades. There are three distinct sections to this novel: a series of flashbacks by an octogenarian who initially claims she’s unsure who she is or why she’s cataloguing all of this, a series of local newspaper articles detailing the social events, political ambitions, and deaths of some of the

Full Disclosure, my basis for judgement:  As usual, I haven’t read everything by Olivia Hayle, but I have read a LOT: 5/6 New York Billionaires (5/5 of the main ones, I skipped the  12 Days of Bossmass because I don’t usually enjoy those novella/extended epilogue type of books): Think Outside the Boss, Saved by the Boss, Say Yes to the Boss, A Ticking Time Boss, Suite on the Boss 3/3 Connovan Chronicles:  Best Enemies Forever, The Perfect Mistake, One Wrong Move 1/4 Seattle B

2.5 out of 5 stars Because You’re Mine  is split into two parts.  In the first half, we have wonderfully believable protagonists (an innocent, overly optimistic girl of eighteen and a famous, jaded theatre actor) who meet, are drawn to one another, and fall in love.  The characters are well developed, the story is engaging, and there’s just the right amount of side plot and theatre details to fill out the landscape. Then comes the second half.  After a two-month time lapse, o

2 out of 5 stars (and the yearning did all the heavy lifting ) Give Me a Reason is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion , following Korean-American actress Anne Lee as she returns to the  U.S. and reconnects with her first love, firefighter Frederick Nam, ten years after breaking up to save her family from bankruptcy. It’s a contemporary second-chance romance with lots, and I mean LOTS, of yearning.  I hate to say this, but I genuinely think that the cover art migh

I was sooooooo close to not finishing. And I almost always finish. The general theme and idea for this book was on point (anonymous dating app, best friend’s brother, and office romance) and intriguing, but the execution? Not so much. The first chapter, where you can already tell how head over heels June is for Beau but she feels like they could never be together? I loved it.  That being said, the chemistry and reasons why  they couldn't be together felt so forced, which real

5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: While I don’t think that this book is for everyone (not even everyone who normally likes historical romances), it’s well-written, excellently executed, and sparkles with both wit and a certain melodramatic flair (costumes, scandals, and runaways -- oh my!). Chase has given us a strong, thoroughly independent female who’s ambitious and driven... about dressmaking, as well as a boring (initially classified as just plain stupid) male lead whose

0.5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase This is a bit of a fake-out. Calling a series of women fallen implies to me that they actually should be... fallen, and thus different and distinct from the youthful virgins and/or managing spinster virgins we so often get within the genre. Instead, this particular novel would probably be more enjoyable for a male, rather than a female, reader: Zoe, our heroine, is a girl who’s spent the last 12 years in a harem, being trained by experts in

Hilarious, Witty and Heartfelt 4.5 Stars So this is a super solid romance with chaotic side characters (Weronika and Lorelai get shout-outs), some lovely found family (the Grad or Die girls, the stray who she names The Dog) some lovely rebound/revenge stuff (where she's getting over not only her cheating ex, but that she let that happen for so long) some light family tension (this part was refreshing, instead of the stereotypical Chinese Tiger Mom, Daisy's mother is actually

Full Disclosure, my basis for judgement:  I haven’t read everything by Elle Kennedy, but I have read a LOT (maybe too much?) because I feel like even when sometimes the MMC can be a little interchangeable, Kennedy always delivers on the well-written spice, the just-enough-drama/trauma to keep things interesting and there's often actual emotional development. That said, before I delve into the whole thing, here are the 20 books this post refers to: 4/4 (or 5 I guess) of origin

2.5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: There are some lovely details and characterization, not the least of which is a female protagonist who is ambitious, confident, determined, and very, very intelligent. The way she’s described she could almost be the male lead, which is kind of great! Also, there are some nice side plots and characters who are interesting and are allowed to act in sometimes surprising ways... but what ultimately weighs this novel down is a male protagonist

4.5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: This is a book full of details: the art, the poetry by Byron (down to his inconsistent spelling style), the Italian, the politics around divorce, the fuller-than-full list of supporting characters.  At its heart beats a well-drawn, but thoroughly unlikely pair of protagonists: a disgraced divorcee who now lives the life of a courtesan, and a spy-like man who wishes he could retire. Ultimately, they’re two people who are both prostitutes...

2 out of 5 stars Shorter Version: Though this has the trademark Heyer wit as well as the thoroughly well-crafted setting and side characters that you would expect, it’s just not very... romantic. Horry, the heroine, comes across as gullible and annoying, and though Rule is interesting in a typically controlling-stereotype way, it’s almost upsetting to see him fall for her. It’s unfortunate because it’s an interesting twist on the standard romance -- they marry for convenience

1 out of 5 stars Shorter Version (spoilers even here): Great set of characters, interesting situations, well-written action scenes that focus on showing and not telling... so why the low rating? Cringe-worthy set-up (ex-fiancee journeys from America to London and falls in love with her dead fiance’s younger brother), followed by eye-roll-inducing situations (wedding night in a brothel? check, hyperbolically maniacal villains that are set up to make fatal errors? check, check)

4 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: While this is far from my favorite Lisa Kleypas, it is a solid, very enjoyable read -- it’s got the self made man she’s so good at creating. The man who doesn’t belong amongst the aristocracy because he’s bought his way in, and will never feel completely comfortable, as well as the well bred English rose of a heroine he’s trying to woo. What keeps this from being a more highly-rated read is that the heroine just isn’t as likeable as usual...

5 out of 5 stars Cut to the Chase: This is a great example of animal-attraction/tyrant-male-is-tamed historical romance. I don’t always like the overly-dominant male hero (who, of course, has the tragic childhood backstory), but this was just one of those stories where you really get behind the characters. There’s a point at which a writer really has worked through and past the cliche to get to the heart of characters, and I think Chase really has achieved that here. You’ve g

2.5 out of 5 stars (because I have a heart)  This is a contemporary second-chance romance where two childhood friends are reunited by a death in the family. The plot flips between the two timelines of “then” (starting when they’re 13 and 14 years old) and “now” (roughly 15 years later). So many people recommended not just this book but Christina Lauren I was… unpleasantly surprised by how little I enjoyed it. The childhood sections were cute, but honestly? Kind of bland. Two