Romance Books

No, no, it's too cruel!

(And really goes with what I #AmReading right now, Long Live Evil.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_w98hZjZK0

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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed The Forgotten Dead by Jordan Hawk in a terrified kind of way. 😂 Seriously scary! Also very casually queer, and with a delightful, light on steam m/m romance between a trans Professor of Paranormal Studies (or some such) and a paranormal investigator who's suppressing his own powers. Made me cry a lil once I was done shrieking. (I am extremely wimpy so YMMV.)

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#WhatchaReading ? I'm finding My Roommate is a Vampire a fun, easy read, but am unconvinced by the romance. Not feeling the undead chemistry. 😂

Also in The Perils of Lady Catherine De Bourgh, which is rather funny -- Mr. Collins two children are named "Catherine" and "De Bourgh" 😂 -- and I hope we will finally get to a little romance for Miss Tilney and Mr. Darcy, who has taught himself to mask 🙁 in order to court her, silly autistic boy. She already likes you!

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I managed to get a review finished for the first time since I had covid! It might be just because this was so easy to criticize. 🙄

Stay by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen.

https://willaful.wordpress.com/2024/09/22/tbr-stay-by-elle-kennedy-and-sarina-bowen/

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#WhatchaReading ? I'm reading Stay by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy and liking it, except I am totally earwormed now.

#JustDance #IYKYK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdtjOSWAw5A

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#WhatchaReading ? I finished Right Where We Left Us, a second chance romance which has some lovely writing and great romantic moments. I was impatient with the characters though, for hiding so much and being so difficult. Might be my mood. Wonderful, memorably romantic ending.

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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed The Art of Scandal by Regina Black, an older woman/young man romance about a Black woman who gave up her art and interests to help her white politician husband, and has to rediscover herself. The milieu is wealthy socialite families, but the characters are strong and relatable. Lovely writing, though it's a bit claustrophobic how every single character has history with everyone else; I'm surprised her next book isn't a sequel.

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"men always supposed their feelings were much too complicated for any one to understand them."

#WhatchaReading ? I finished But Not For Me, an oldie by Mary Burchell. It seemed derivative at first, managing to evoke both Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre in the first 15%. And I thought the heroine fell in love without enough build up . But I liked that it had one of Burchell's emotional and volatile heroes; rather than a closed book.

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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed Come As You Are by Jess K. Hardy, a romance with middle-aged characters! (Though still in great shape.) FMC is trying to save her father's ski hill, which her evil corporate ex is trying to buy out (boo!); MMC is a former addict who runs a sober living home and wants his guys to work for her. I liked how hard they work on overcoming their fears and communicating.

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Anyone managing to read? If so, #WhatchaReading ? After many a yawning DNF, I was so relieved to be engaged by New Adult romance A Guy Like Him by Amanda Gambill. (On KU.) Could've used some editing, especially for authorial tics, but the opposites-attract relationship is well drawn, and its progress from a fling to forever feels right.

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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed the dated charm of Across the Counter by Mary Burchell, where the up-and-coming shopgirl gets promoted and gets to eat in the assistant buyers dining room! Which begs the question, how many separate dining rooms did they have?! No huge fireworks, just a nice, slightly angsty fake engagement romance.

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#WhatchaReading ? I finished Bass-Ackwards by Eris Adderly, which would be an excellent choice for this month's "Bananapants" #TBRChallenge . (Alas, I already read a truly terrible Harlequin Presents.) This is very fun smut if you can get past the premise (not everyone can.) The strong characters and sharp writing also make it work as romance.

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Came across an odd sentence in the Harlequin Presents I'm reading for the #TBRChallenge . It says the heroine's dress makes her look "very feminine, but hid none of her curves."

Might just be a careless way of writing but it implies that the "femininity" of the dress comes from an air of modesty and that demonstrating you have curves is generally considered unfeminine. Unless you do it just right.

Weird.

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#WhatchaReading ? I'm halfway through Behind These Doors, a queer historical (with some polyamory) involving class issues and women's suffrage. One main character is a "nob," the other a reporter who was raised "above his station" and feels like neither fish nor fowl. It was edited by K.J. Charles so you know it's good. :-)

On KU, supposed to be part of a series but I think there's only the one so far.

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If you ever wanted a version of Dionysus in Wisconsin that was short, set in 2010, and replaced most of the magic with discussions of philosophy, I've got a new short story out! It's free and full of whimsy (and existentialism). It's a slow burn, friends-to-lovers, dealing with depression, café AU version of DIW. You can find it on my website in both epub and pdf formats: http://ehlupton.com/extras/

It's on Goodreads here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214203425-dous

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#WhatchaReading ? I found Level Up by Cathy Yardley a bit of a slog. She's reworked some of the same themes (career vs love, introversion vs isolation) in later books more successfully, and the geeky elements feel more authentic in her later books too, IMO. (Though perhaps that's just because game design isn't my thing.) Also needed some editing. Not sure I'll continue this series.

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#WhatchaReading ? I read The Wedding Dress by Mary Burchell, one of the follow-ups to Under the Stars of Paris and inevitably a bit meh in comparison. The great design house setting is fun but the romantic relationship seems largely based on Daddy Issues.

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Ooo, I saw Alexis Hall's newsletter just in time to buy the new edition of Glitterland for $1.99. Sadly the sale expires in 50 minutes, so sorry I was not more on top of things.

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#WhatchaReading ? I liked Funny Story by Emily Henry enough to write a review, damn! 😂

https://willaful.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/funny-story-by-emily-henry/

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Been reading Forever My Girl by Heidi McLauchlin but giving up and deleting it because the MMC can't have a single thought about a woman that isn't misogynistic as hell. They all want him, they're all trying too hard, they all make him sick. He makes me sick.

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#WhatchaReading ? I was up all night 🥱 finishing You Should Be So Lucky. Amazingly, it's somehow not a letdown after the gorgeousness of We Could Be So Good.

The themes are around living an authentic life in a highly closeted time, and it's complex and believable. There are tropes too but not obnoxiously or pointlessly. And really well drawn, relatable characters. And pretty swoony romance too. 😂

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3 free months of #KindleUnlimited ! Seems to be international. Works for returning subscribers but not current. Link in the link.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RomanceBooks/comments/1cnzoii/free_3_months_kindle_unlimited/

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#WhatchaReading ? Wow, the bleak moment in The Breakup Lists was even worse than I expected, though actually worked really well with the story arc. I found it overall a good read, though too repetitious and with a bit of a deus ex machina ending; I would've like to see the main character really pursue what he wanted.

Has what seems like very good #deaf representation, is very #queer , and very geeky about high school theater. And a sweet romance.

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I finally finished a book, thank Maude! After almost DNF'ing Wildfire because it seemed too similar to Icebreaker, I gave it another shot and wound up liking it considerably more than the first book. The characters are sweet and relatable, and the summer camp setting is cozy. Even the inevitable references to the romance genre were less annoying here, because the heroine actually learned something from her reading. 😂

#WhatchaReading ?

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Friends, #WhatchaReading ? I finished The Other Side of Disappearing and think it'll be one of my top romances of the year. I loved the plotting, the richness of the themes and the really satisfying way things came together in the end.

Also read The Brunellesci Baby because what's a vacation without a Harlequin Presents? It's a pretty good one, tropey but with some individuality.

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