Reading Update: Page 1

A new Eloisa James series! 

Dominic had his bride picked out, suitable and willing to take care of the twins he's now guardian to. 

Then, the prospective bride eloped. 

So what's a Viscount to do? 

Why marry her sister, of course! 

Torie has always wanted to marry for love, but for the sake of the twins, she agrees to Dominic's proposal. And just maybe, Torie might get what she's always wanted as their heated debates fuel their passionate kisses, and an arrogant viscount's heart gets stolen. 

Viscount in Love by Eloisa James preorder (July 23rd) link

Sweet potatoes Taco Bowls recipe

Advice Review: Shadowlight

Shadowlight by Lynn Viehl
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is apparently a spin-off series. 

I highly recommend reading Darkyn, the series it spins off from. 

Otherwise, you'd be like me and have no idea what in the total Earth is/was happening.

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Review: Don't Look Back

Don't Look Back by Rachel Grant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

With both parents now dead, learning the truth wouldn’t hurt anyone except herself. 

Don't Look Back is third in the Evidence: Under Fire series, and while you'd miss out on arriving fully in the know about interpersonal relationships of characters, I didn't have a problem starting the series with this installment. There's enough nudging in of recaps to get new readers in the know and the beginning gives a flashback to a big moment between our leads, Kira is rescued by Rand; readers of the series will feel like they're just picking up where the last book left off. If you've been a reader of Suzanne Brockmann or binged through the tv shows The Night Agent, The Old Man, and Bodyguard (British), then you're definitely going to want to pick this up. 

She was flattered he wanted to date her, but she had no doubt he would crush her heart even more than her first love had. 

Kira's father has died and she's found some papers of his that leads to many questions as to why he took so many trips to the island of Malta. With how sheltered her parents kept her, she always wondered if her mother defected from East Germany and her father smuggled her into the United States. After getting kidnapped by a billionaire terrorist and almost dying (#2 Trust Me), Kira decides it's time to get her first stamp on her passport and find answers on Malta. Helping out one of her friends, she's set-up to teach three classes on a military base about respecting and protecting artifacts to soldiers, when she comes face-to-face with Lieutenant Commander Randall Fallon, the Navy SEAL who asked her out before she was kidnapped, ended up rescuing her, and then ghosted her. 

“Kira, I’m pretty sure I’ll follow you anywhere.” 

Rand is pretty sure Kira's father kept him away from her by deleting his emails and sending a fake email from “Kira's boyfriend” to get him to back-off. When he see's Dr. Kira Hanson will be on base, he's not going to let this second chance go. As she's shooting him down a second time, they hear actual gun shots and suddenly Kira's life is in his hands again. Since these two previously met in the prior book, Rand's attraction is already built-in and while there is an issue from a previous relationship in Kira's past that has her scared to give Rand a chance, she's also already attracted to him, I missed seeing some of their building attraction. While these two spend the vast majority of the story together, Rand ends up following Kira to Malta, reprising an undercover role, and they have some steamy open-door scenes, the romance still felt like only around 30% of this story, this was heavy on the suspense. 

She paused, pulling him to a stop. She turned and rose on her toes and kissed him. Brief and soft. “I really like you, Randall Fallon.” 

If you're into the suspense side, though, you're going to love this. When Kira goes to Malta to search out secrets, she gets way more than she bargained for. Even though her dad went to Malta multiple times, he told Kira he was trying to recover art stolen by Nazis, she discovers her father was involved in spy games. At around the midway point of the story, a big reveal happens and Kira is spun into a world of conniving Russian oligarchs, family secrets, and trying to stop an attack on United States soil. As this is an ARC, I don't want to spoil too much of the suspense plot threads, but just know, some you won't see coming and some tie back into book two. It's all suspenseful and at times the cast of characters really blows-up but it's tightly plot contained enough that, you won't need sleep, you'll need answers. 

Her past was a mess, but he offered her a future. She wasn’t alone anymore. 

The research additives, Malta setting descriptions will fascinate you, military jargon and actions give a good enough realism feel, and, because I'm a history nerd, I enjoyed one of my favorite named summits, Seasick Summit, getting a shout-out. Rand did his part as the strong, capable, little hot piece that uplifts and believes in the heroine. I thought the multiple mentions of Kira's social anxiety and feeling shy felt a bit overdone, as her character never showed anything but self-assured and her not believing Rand really wants her felt a little forced as he was always the one to ask her out and pursue. Together, they worked appealingly. The story takes place only a little over a week, and while I could have stood for more romance focus/development, the suspense was suspense-ing, this was packed full of plot threads weaving in, out, and together, delivering a heck of a ride.

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60%

Live look-in as to what it's like at Casa Whiskey right now as I talk about the plot threads in this to my partner

Reading Update: Page 1

 

Red wine, Rottie socks, and romantic suspense. 

Had plans for this Thursday afternoon, but it won't stop raining, so oh no, staying in to read. 

Kira's embarking on a journey trying to find answers about her father's clandestine work recovering stolen art when she comes face-to-face with Rand, a Navy SEAL who saved her six months ago. 

Rand's not forgotten the shy art historian, and when he learns about her trip to track down thieves on her own, well, he's inviting himself along. 

Action and emotions are going to be heating up, can't wait! 

Don't Look Back by Rachel Grant preorder (July 19th) link

#TBRChallenge Review: High Energy

High Energy by Dara Joy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

*This is a #TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion. 

Zanita scrunched her shoulders and warily glanced around the room. She had no idea what he had been talking about, and now she had no idea what she had been talking about. But he thought he knew what she was talking about. 

I'm going to start by saying that 97% (admittedly not up to Tyber scientific standards) of this story is goofy fun, which makes the extremely dark moment at 90% whiplash the hell out of you. I'm going to try and recapture the light fun I had reading for most of the story but I can't help but feel that 90% moment as I look back at the story. Buckle your seat-belts, because Mario Cart wishes it had banana peels to make you spin-out the way this book does. 

Tyber stared at her, speechless. Again. When he did speak, his voice held a note of awe. "You are completely non-linear, Zanita." 

Zanita is a reporter for her local paper, in which her grandfather is the editor. She's been regulated to soft stories as her grandpa doesn't want her in any danger. In an effort to break out and maybe get picked up by a bigger newspaper, she decides to go rogue and investigate Xavier LaLeche, a man claiming to be able to heal with psychic energy. However, Zanita is a bit left of center and she mistakes signing up for the psychic seminar with a physics one, taught by the world renowned Tyberius Augustus Evans (I will refrain from always typing out his full name, but know in my heart I am). Tyber is delightfully confounded attracted to her and he's pretty much instaloved from the moment they speak. Zanita's favorite saying at the moment is “Men, boil them in oil!” and wants nothing to do with a relationship, but Tyber is a Chris Hemsworth look-a-like with a PHD, she's only human, folks! Tyber creates situations to get her back in his orbit, a movie night, and a pool party, where she's the only guest!, you sly Dr., you, and when he learns that she's trying to investigate LaLeche, he comes up with a plan to help her, make sure she's safe, and work to lower her guard towards a relationship. 

He was shameless. An unconventional, incredibly alluring, no-holds-barred kook! Zanita really liked him. 

The plot of them investigating LaLeche is definitely there but, it's also kind of loosely strung together. Your enjoyment of this is going to hinge on if you want bananapants additives, Tyber lives in a reworked Victorian mansion that has a labyrinth of mythological topiary creatures and generally sounds like the Winchester mansion, Tyber's bed is a giant oyster, maple syrup is at one point drizzled down into her bush (seriously, this seems more logistically problematic than sexy??), and Zanita can't get any sleep in the beginning because of The Hogs (rogue pack of pigs) and goofy side-characters, Tyber lives with a former scientist that now thinks he's the cook on a pirate ship, talking/acting accordingly, a cat named Hambone, that well, this was Zanita meeting him: "And this is Hambone." The cat raised a chubby paw. Zanita knelt down to shake his paw. "Hi, Hambone, pleased to meet you." She swore the cat grinned at her, an aunt of Zanita's that might just put a Lady Danbury in her place, a little kid that when asked what his father does, he answers with: He replied innocently, "He does women.", and a My-Maggy, which frankly, I'm not totally sure where she came from but she's described as a “battleaxe” once, so welcome to the party. 

For the first time in her life, she lost her inhibitions; she screamed and hollered and had one hell of a time. 

These two had off-center byplay that I enjoyed and you're also going to get some steamy scenes. Can I just say, can we get back to the main female character getting to “screamed and hollered and having had one hell of a time”? I mean: He slid into her like a steel pylon through molten ore., we used to be a proper genre. I really enjoyed their brand of chemistry, sure it's goofy interactions with physics cross-talk at times but there was absolute sweetness in the way Tyber handled Zanita: Zanita never knew if it was Tyber's regular routine to sit on the porch swing at that hour, or if he stopped his work just to wait for her to come home so they could sit and unwind together after the day. All she knew for sure was that she began looking forward to their quiet hour before dinner. And tell me why this goofy little scene had my eyes watering out of nowhere: Courage. She sucked in a deep breath. "Tyber, we need to talk about this—" 

"Hey, look," he interrupted her, "one of the tropical fish is staring straight at you with a strange glint in its eye." 

"Where?" She peered over her shoulder at the tank. 

He swooped across her. "Zanita, really, how could a fish affect a strange glint?" His eyes danced with mirth. And something else. Something suspiciously close to the quarter deck. 

"If they're your fish, they could. Get off!" 

"Know how fish kiss? Like this." His open mouth covered her own. He raised his head, strands of his hair brushing across the peaks of her breasts. "They look like this, don't they?" Pressing his lips together, he sucked in his cheeks, causing his lips to bow out like a fish's mouth. Leaving his mouth tightly closed, he moved his pursed lips up and down while crossing his eyes. It was the funniest thing she had ever seen. Peals of laughter caused her to clutch her stomach. Tyber untied the sash on her robe, bending over to nibble her midriff with his undulating fish lips. Zanita couldn't stop laughing. It tickled and every time he raised his head to stare at her with those crossed eyes and moving lips, she was gone. 

Zanita is about to say that she thinks she should move out of Tyber's house, she feels herself getting too attached and is ready to run, Tyber feels her fear and with a little panic of his own and understanding of her, he distracts her and brings her back to him. You can read manipulation in his actions throughout the book, sure, but this is also romance fiction, so I inherently know (also add in some of those emotional nuances) that Zanita loves him, so you can also read his love and understanding of her. It could read corny but I've been reading some newer contemporary romance that could use a return to some of this sweet and “corny” fun between two people falling in love; fun can have depth, too! 

 "To remove the temptation from you; it's obvious to me, Tyber, you can't help yourself from acting like a boyfriend." 

Think. Think. "You've got this all wrong, baby." 

"I do?" 

"Yes. I'm not acting like your boyfriend. I—" Think! "I'm conducting an experiment." 

"An experiment?" 

Her brows furrowed as she mulled this over. "What kind of an experiment?" 

What kind of an experiment! I'm testing my sanity. "It's… it's an experiment on… High Energy." 

Now, on to that ending, it was a bit rushed in regards to how they find out the way to prove that LaLeche is a fraud and without much fanfare, Zanita writes her article. The article angers LaLeche in a way that has him acting out a villain that felt wildly too dark for this story. 

<spoiler>He traps Zanita in her apartment and physically acts to rape her until she fends him off by saying that the FBI is onto him.<end spoiler> 

Oops, yeah, I forget to say that the FBI is sideline in this. The real fear felt by Zanita in this moment was heavy hitting, made even more so by how the previous 90% of the tone was goofy fun. This dark moment just didn't fit and honestly threw me enough that I lost a ton of the light fun I was having reading this and colored my experience. We get Tyber comforting her and dealing with LaLeche (he does literally dick punch him before the FBI arrests him, so slight return of good feelings) and then Zanita finally making a move, which I loved, Tyber deserved that after all the putting himself out there he did. I did see this has a sequel, with Tyber and Zanita back in action, and if I ever feel like goofy fun again, I'll probably read but I'm not sure I'll be able to fully relax as I'll be on guard for another really dark moment. 

*I was in love with the Tyber tightie whitey book cover but my god, look at that Kindle cover. THE LIGHTENING

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Review: Blood and Mascara

Blood and Mascara by Colin Krainin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

“On the dotted line I’m Calvin Goldberg. People called me Cal until the ’76 Olympics. After I got the bronze, well, someone thought Bronze Goldberg sounded funny.” 

Blood and Mascara was a story with all the noir hallmarks, a seemingly broken down PI, women at every turn, murder, and mystery. The first half felt a little lighter blue noir as we get to know our PI Bronze, he's traveled a heck of a road, from a Judo bronze medalist, to an investigative reporter who solved a serial killer case, to only be almost killed by that killer, to alcoholism to cope with what he saw, fired from his job, to four years of sobriety and working as a PI. There's a sense of hope through Bronze as he has been sober for a while and building up romance between him and his upstairs landlady, Iris. This all gets derailed though, when an adultery case he was working on has Bronze the last man to see a congressman alive before he was murdered. Suddenly, he's working with his old detective friend Roth, and the FBI as they try to untangled a mystery that could involve an international hitman called “The Machine”, which leads into a second half that skips right over gritty and into dark noir. 

Of course it wouldn’t balance the scales. Not even a little bit. (There was no one watching the scales.) (There were no scales.) 

As with any good noir, the atmosphere is key, set in 1997 Washington D.C., most of the atmosphere is felt through the characterization and writing style. Bronze smokes his cigarettes, with alcohol always haunting, and he has his share of women playing roles in his life. This had multiple character povs, with Iris getting the second most to Bronze, and she supplied her own brand of world weary, with wanting to keep changes in her writing career, being middle aged, and deciding if she actually wanted Bronze, or the idea of him. The story is laced through with more and more information to what lead to Bronze becoming an alcoholic and losing his job, the final massacre committed by the serial killer, but we don't get the full picture until the end. This story utilized the style of focusing on a character to only fade out to a flashback to give another puzzle piece to why they are the way they are, if you're a timeline linear reader, you'd probably struggle. 

You’re young and in pain. Then you’re old and hopeless. 

With the flashbacks that were giving us character pieces, the main murder mystery is playing out and comes fully into play in the second half. It was a bit convoluted with some moving parts but things come into focus as Roth, Bronze, and Iris hone in with their investigation. I thought the ending moment where Roth info dumps the hows and whys of the tale felt unneeded, by that time it was pretty clear what had happened and this felt a little dumbing down. What I also felt wasn't needed, was the serial killer's pov as he commits the massacre. We're all aware of how these men feel about women, I didn't need to sit so long in his thought manifesto, which felt less like character development and more gratuitous. Between this and Bronze's “awe of women” that he mentally hashes through, I was somewhat worn out on how women were being discussed; it's not enough to make you put the book down, but, being a woman myself, it's an exhaustion that I don't search out to feel in fiction. 

The main character in a story must believe in a lie. The big lie that will come undone in the end. 

The ending gave us a ramping up that flew back and forth between life and death situations, answered all the questions, and after all the dark and grisly, returned to it's more beginning little light with some hope. I enjoyed feeling the noir atmosphere, the mystery came close to having one too many knots, but Bronze was a character that was memorable and I'd go with him anytime on an investigation.

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40%

How do you apologize for not being who someone thought you were? How do you apologize for that when you wish with every molecule in your body that you were the person Esther imagined you were the first time she walked fresh-faced into your office, beaming and babbling over all the well-gee-mister-just-amazing crime stories you’d broken?

Reading Update: Page 1

 

A little bit of tacos and noir mystery for this cloudy and rainy Sunday. 

Bronze (that name) is our "soft-boiled private detective in a hard-boiled world", 1997 Washington D.C. 

Like all P.I.'s a femme fatale has gotten him swept up into a murder mystery and the target of an assassin. 

Murder, mystery, and added bonus, obsessive attentions of his landlord who's also a romance novelist?? 

You, s.o.b., I'm in 🕵‍♀️ 

Blood and Mascara by Colin Krainin preorder (July 9th) link

Hot Honey Chicken Tender Tacos recipe

Reading Update: #TBRChallenge

 It's Friday and I'm treating myself with starting this month's #TBRChallenge. The theme is Bananapants!, so, obviously, it's the month I've been looking forward to the most (September's Drama! is a very close second). 

I've sweated and panicked, is my pick Bananapants! enough?? I've also probably changed my pick a half dozen times. But with a synopsis like this:

HE’LL TEACH YOU SOME THINGS YOU NEVER IMAGINED…When a reporting job accidentally leads Zanita Masterson to genius extraordinaire Tyberius Augustus Evans, her world is turned upside down. The rogue scientist is six feet plus of piercing blue eyes, rock-hard muscles and maverick ideas, and the notion that this man is seriously interested in her seems insane. But a steamy night of monster movies, cookie-dough ice cream, and hot, wild love is almost enough to convince her that the passion-minded professor is determined to woo her with his own masterful equation for sizzling ecstasy and HIGH ENERGY!

There has to be some Bananapants! going on in this, right?! I mean we're not out here putting Tyber on the cover in tighty whities (I refuse to believe it's simply a sheet, that placement!) and tagging, Paranormal, Science Fiction, Romance, and Erotica, because we're light footing around.

I can not wait to see what everyone else picks for this month, I hope we're all out here slipping and sliding, not even able to standup from all the bananaing.

LET THE BANANAPANTS! COMMENCE

2024

#TBRChallenge Previous Reads

January Once More with Feeling - Gold Ring of Betrayal by Michelle Reid

February Furry Friends - Pack Challenge by Shelly Laurenston 

March Not in Kansas Anymore - Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

April No Place Like Home - Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer

May With a Little Help From My Friends - Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi

Sound like fun? Can jump in any month! Hosted by the wonderful WendyTheSuperLibrarian

Review: Finding Mr. Write

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.3 stars 

Chris Stanton had a job interview. To be a writer. Or, at least, to play one for author photos. 

Finding Mr. Write was a story about what you'll do to achieve your dreams, with the complication of finding love along the way. Daphne has sent out her manuscript, a young adult story about a girl surviving in a zombie apocalypse but doesn't get any takers, until she creates a male pen name with a MFA. Suddenly there's a bidding war and Daphne finds herself planning with her bestfriend how “Zane Remington” can exist. 

Chris is trying to save his business and reputation after partnering with an old college buddy who, it's now revealed has a coke habit. When one of his accounting clients, who is a lawyer, offers to help but in return wants him to pose as an actor, posing as an author, he jumps at the chance. 

Daphne hates how she's regulated herself to the sidelines of her own success, Chris hates how pretending to be Zane could be keeping him from exploring these feelings he's having for Daphne, and both want to start mixing business with pleasure. 

He had something with Daphne. Something he’d been looking for, even if he hadn’t realized it. 

If you're already a Kelley Armstrong fan from her mysteries and thrillers, this would be a good pickup to dip your toe into rom-com. This did have a lighter side with Chris trying to pretend to be this tough outdoorsy guy, when he's really a math geek, with a specialty in baking brownies, and who matured into his looks really well. The subterfuge between him pretending to be an actor who can pull off a Zane type to Daphne, gets resolved in the first half, allowing them to be their selves and showcase some of the flirty by-play between them, which worked well. 

A sweet and smart guy who wasn’t afraid to get a little silly. 

As someone with both feet firmly planted in the romance genre, this had romance but more of the logistics, rather than heady, heavy emotion. These two are immediately physically attracted to each other and as they start to get to know one another, Chris having to stay at Daphne's cabin for a few days for a magazine shoot and going on a book tour together, they talk and start to realize they play off each other well. The problem is their working relationship, Chris pretending to be the author Daphne is and how Chris lives in Vancouver while Daphne lives in the Yukon. There's some emotional fear from Daphne's past over her last boyfriend saying he was all in but then bouncing after her mother was diagnosed with cancer that comes into play for a third act break-up but Chris, for his part, is mostly all-in right from the beginning, just wondering who will live where to make things work. This had both their povs, which I greatly enjoy, but it was written to keep a lot of the relationship development in their heads, we're told a lot but not shown to feel more. You'll also get some hot and heavy foreplay but then a slammed door in the face until the next morning for physical scenes. 

She took hold of the front of his shirt and pulled her to him, and before he fully registered what was happening, Daphne was kissing him. 

While the first half was setting up their working relationship, physical attraction, and getting to know, the second half has Daphne wanting to come clean that she's the real author. If you're an author reading this, the career workings, how men authors get treated differently and how the merry-go-round at publishing houses can be, will probably have you locked in and raising toasting a glass, as you drink deeply from it in commiseration. As a reader, it worked to fill out Daphne's character and world. There's a blackmail scene to force their resolution to Daphne and Chris' working relationship problem, Chris causing the third act breakup, and then some work by Chris but still felt like a quick forgive by Daphne. 

“That’s all this is,” he says. “Our first chapter. Pen to paper with the hope of finishing the story.” He met her gaze. “Do you want to start a story with me, Daphne?”

Like I said, if you're already an Armstrong fan, this would probably be a good pick to dip your toe into contemporary romance, a lot of the story focuses more on the logistics of how these two can be together, rather than heavy emotion development. This had cute light moments with some deeper commentary on what it means to be in the business of being a writer.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

This Tuesday feels like a Monday, so let's spice things up 

Daphne's plan to sell her book works a little too well, and now she needs an actor to represent her pen name. 

Chris had a bad business partner, so to help him get out of it, he finds himself doing a favor that requires him playing an actor who's playing an author. 

These two are hiding and pretending with everyone, but with each text, phone call, and meeting, they get a look under the masks, and begin to like what they see. 

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong pre order (June 25th) link

Firecracker Ground Chicken recipe

Quickie Review: Lassiter

Lassiter by J.R. Ward
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“I haven't stopped thinking of you,” he said. “I might have been gone, but I took you with me.” 

I've only read the first ten books in the BDB series, so while I've got a firm footing in the world, I'm not up-up-date on the latest happenings, which I think may have helped me here? Where I left off, Lassiter was just being introduced, so I haven't had to suffer and wait with all you for his book all these years, the anticipation building. The war with the Lessers seems to have been settled? But, oh wait, Lash is back? The only disappointment I really felt about this is that I've missed the climatic war ending, but oh boy can I see you all feeling manipulated that, record scratch, it's not over? 

“Wrong deeds for the right reasons,” she intoned. 

There were the,usual, numerous offshoot threads going on in this, and since I didn't come into this with a big connection with Lassiter and/or Rahvyn, this might be why I enjoyed the story. I can't say I ever really felt like I knew Rahvyn, she seemed too ethereal(?) good to me. It seems I came in after they've already connected and have love formed between them and this was just about Lassiter accepting that he could have Rahvyn in his life. It felt a little disconnected that Devina seemed to play a huge part in keeping them apart, but there was never a big battle scene or anything between them? It was just Lassiter figuring out that the curse kind of worked in his favor and instead of staying away from Rahvyn, he should be with her. 

“I bonded with who I thought you were,” he whispered. “But yeah, I'm in love with who you actually are.” 

That third act breakup, with Rahvyn pushing Lassiter away, felt so forced and contrived, she asked questions but didn't really stay and listen for the answers. I didn't get how it seemed important that Lassiter didn't have his halo and then suddenly, he did? This just felt like a rush job to do what happened to Wrath (oh my gosh, I see what all the emotion was about now!) and get that thirty year jump so the kids can be grown up. I've been dying for Nalla's book years ago when I read Zsadist, so, I'm not completely upset, lol. Anyway, it was fun to check in and see where things are and the world still keeps my interest because the world-building has such width and breadth. I do wish there was a new enemy, because it does feel like another Lessening war is rinse and repeat, but my attention is remained caught and I'll still be checking into this series.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

I've only read the first ten books in Black Daggger Brotherhood, so I have no business reading this. However, I won a copy on GoodReads and it's about a fallen angel. I'm all in 😇 

I'm also armed with reviews written by a friend, Melody, on GRs to help me out with what has happened; romance reading, takes a village!

Lassiter by J.R. Ward purchase link

Sausage and Pepper Pasta with Broccoli recipe

Was a big fan of this one (as always, used turkey sausage)

Review: The Stars Too Fondly

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

And there it was, looming over them like a skyscraper, steepled black against the starry sky: Providence I. 

Twenty years ago, a crew was assembled and placed on a ship that had the newly harnessed black matter engine that only the chief engineer, Halvorsen, seemed to understand and was set to take off for an exoplanet that could sustain life. Horrifyingly, the world watched as their hope for an escape from an increasingly weather destabilizing Earth, was poofed out of existence, literally. As Halvorsen did the countdown and got to one, the crew and passengers disappeared. Halvorsen went into hiding and one year later disappeared. Now, in 2061, Cleo and her friends, Kaleisha, Abe, and Ros, execute their “Space Heist” plan and break into the facility that houses the spaceship Providence I. Only, as they search for clues to what happened, the heist is on them and the spaceship's dark matter energy fires up and they're suddenly on the way to the exoplanet. With the help of a hologram, courtesy of the ship's original Captain, Billie, who uploaded her brain into the ship's computer, Cleo and her friends will work to discover the truth of what really happened, traverse space and time, and fight for progress with love. 

And four of them decided, idiotically, that if no one else was going to solve the mystery of Launch Day, they were going to do it themselves. 

The Stars Too Fondly was a scifi story that was told almost exclusively through dialogue, leaving character development feeling not as there to me, thus bereft that I knew these characters. The first half is told a lot from Cleo's point-of-view, as she talks to her friends, readers learn a little about the world in 2061, how Earth is heading more and more towards desolate. There were also archived documents from communications between the captain and the chief engineer, with newspaper stories to create kind of flashbacks to let the reader on what happened in the past in between the chapters; while informative, I did think it hurt some of the flow for me. One thing that didn't quite make sense to me, the horror of not understanding what happened with the Providence I launch, is said to keep anyone from wanting to try such a thing again but the excitement of building it was also said to have inspired the new generation to all become STEM graduates? It's alluded that the companies are scared, so they see no profit but all these STEM graduates haven't inspired or gained scientific knowledge to build up a space program again, when it seems direly needed? I also struggled mightily with the vibe of this, the first problem, the characters were all late twenties but this definitely has a Young Adult feeling to it and the second, vernacular doesn't seem to have changed at all in the future. I don't know if this is a futuristic version of The Tiffany Problem, but “dude, slow your roll”, “pray tell”, and “It helped, she quickly learned, to think of the passing days aboard Providence I like a montage in an eighties movie— a training montage, a getting-the-team-together montage, a “dancing and sock-sliding through the empty rooms” montage.”, said by a twenty-seven year old in 2061 doesn't trip you up and take you out of what is a scific story, like it did me, then you'd probably enjoy this more than I did. 

“My friends call me Billie.” The hologram blinked at her. 

Once the ship takes off, you get some of Cleo excited to be on the space adventure and Kaleisha angry, because she had a good life on Earth and didn't want to leave. Abe and Ros are around but, for the most part, aren't focused on for too much of the story in the first half. The second half gets more scifi and we get more of it told from Billie's pov, I wasn't a STEM student, so the science parts sounded somewhat believable for a scifi fiction story, but I have no idea if they'd pass a sniff test to others in the know. The second half answers some questions with Halverson accessing powers from a different dimension, that he was warned away from and the consequences of his ignoring. Cleo and her friends get powers from the dark matter engine and those powers help them immediately, Cleo and Kaleisha suddenly can get the ship to jump in distance so the original seven years to get to the exoplanet, will only take a few months, handy. Cleo can also see into the past and future, with Ros getting some of that future ability too. It gets a little hard to follow in that way scifi can, but it becomes clear that Cleo and her friends are working with what gave the warnings against Halverson, whose disappearance gets answered, along with what happened to the passengers of the ship. 

But anyone with half a brain— like, say, tiny lesbians with mommy issues and a fear of commitment, or starship captains who have lost everything— knows that love can hurt too. 

The romance aspect wasn't filled out or developed enough for me and it's going to hinge on if you think a programmed hologram representing an uploaded brain can be sentient. Cleo and hologram Billie are snarky with each other and then a little into the second half, I guess that snark was love, not sure I can say I felt it. It becomes even more your mileage will vary when Cleo finds out what happened to the passengers and her and her friends fight to rescue them, bringing the “real” Billie into the picture. The ending gives us a battle (with an extremely found quick answer for defeating), a sex scene that felt forced in, and an abrupt back home. This explored different dimensions, profit and progress, and what constitutes love and it's power, but I think it got lost on its way more than landed.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

It's Thursday, let's head to space 

Trying to find answers to a twenty year mystery of why a crew vanished without a trace, Cleo and her friends have "accidentally" stolen a spaceship when it's engines start on their own and takes them on the journey of their lives. 

Deep space, mysteries, twisting laws of physics, and Cleo having to face that combative relationship with Billie might be covering for a different type of tension. 

The Stars Too Fondly by Emily Hamilton preorder (June 11th) link

Naan Pizza with Peaches recipe

2024 Reading Romance Challenge

I decided to add another challenge to my list this 2024 and  That's What I'm Talking About (Twimom227) posted about this on Mastodon, and I'm going for it! 

As it goes on all year, there is still time to signup (Sign-up Post). 

You all know I can't say no to a bingo game :)  Join us!

3rd and 4th Bingo!

Clicking on book title takes you to my review

STEM/Bluestocking - Principles of (E)motion by Sara Read

Animal on Cover - The Bright Spot by Jill Shalvis

Sports - Undecided by Julianna Keyes

TBR over 1 year - Gold Ring of Betrayal by Michelle Reid

SciFi/Fantasy - Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson

Fake Relationship - Her Adventures in Temptation by Megan Frampton

Celebrity - When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

Blue Dress on Cover - The Blackest of Hearts by Emma V. Leech

Waterfront on Cover - The Summer Book Club by Susan Mallery

MC name starts with "S" - Pack Challenge by Shelly Laurenston

Witch/Warlock - Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Small town - Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer

LGBTQ - Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun

Medical Profession - After Hours by Cara McKenna

Necktie on Cover - You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

Single Parent - Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi

Food on Cover - Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau

Royal MC - A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Non US/UK setting - Don't Look Back by Rachel Grant

Quickie Review: A Shadow in the Ember

A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

Roped me in with the fantasy world in the beginning, started to lose me in the middle with every stupid time Sera put herself in obvious danger, recaptured my attention with those scorching sex scenes, and then pulled me back in with those reveals that will make the series. 

Probably needs a little more filling out of the outside fantasy world 

Does it feel like their talking slips into too casual for a fantasy world setting? 

Sera needs to stop being purposefully TSTL so Ash can smoke in to save the day 

Felt a little stretched out in the middle 

Ok, I looked to see how long the series is, 4 books at 600 pgs each???? Y'all. Who rec'd this book to me? I just want to talk. 

I'll probably read the next in the series, because I do feel interested after those revealed plot points but for friends that have read this series, is there really enough story here for 600 pgs in each book? I don't want to dragged through endless filler.

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Review: Bright I Burn

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Now, I am my own creation, and it’s far too late to change me. 

Told in a lyrical and bard style, Bright I Burn breathes historical fiction life into the first recorded person condemned for witchcraft in Ireland, Alice Kyteler. The story brings readers in when Alice is nine years old in 1279 Kilkenny, Ireland. At this age, Alice learns an important truth of how woman are valued, their ability to give their husbands heirs and to always remember to stay at least one step ahead of the men in her life. Her desirability is a hindrance, first avoiding her father, and a help as it leads to her being able to marry who she wants. I liked how the story did touch on Alice's privilege, class and race, and how that protected her at times. From this important formative year, the story jumps year to year as Alice grows, plotting, planning, and maneuvering to gain riches for herself and her son, knowing this leads to protection and choices. 

Successful women don't always fair well in history, though, and knowing an important part of the historical outcome, each year that goes by, with Alice marrying and playing a part in her widowhood, jealousy, envy, and anger grow among the townspeople and certain men in power, there is a feeling of dread. There are moments, where you want to start to agree with her son, have her be less for safety, but then you rally and know she shouldn't have to. However, Alice isn't portrayed a perfect character, she has pride, desire, and selfishness, making her all the more accessible. She feels stifled by her first husband, has her sexual liberation with her second, grows more centered with her third, and lets some of her rage out on her fourth. 

The story was throughout good with dripping with disdain pointing out the hypocrisy of the church and it's clergymen. When Bishop of Ossory, Richard Ledrede arrives in Kilkenny, you could feel the rising tension and building fervor of him using economic strife and men's fear and want to control women, from the pulpit to slowly poison. Alice in her late fifties/early sixties alluring and intimidating men, them not knowing how to deal with these feelings causing anger, felt like a tale as old as time. While the true historical texts don't know what ultimately happened to Alice, I liked the ending the author imagined. An historical fiction story that took a real life and imagined filled in places, it will make you want to rage and, maybe, wish for a time that poisoning wasn't so detectable.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Every summer, I have to make some kind of Creamsicle dessert, so what pairs better with a witchy book than whoopie pies? 

It's 13th century Ireland and Alice has managed to build a successful business from scratch. 

We know what that means, "She's a witch!!" 

Inspired by the first recorded person in Ireland to be condemned a witch, this gives a voice to women lost to history and who dared. 

Bright I Burn by Molly Aitken preorder (June 6th) link

Orange Creamsicle Whoopie Pies recipes

Review: Pardon My Frenchie

Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Thank goodness she had an iron-clad list of reasons why men were off the table, because Mrs. Frances’s grandson had her reconsidering her life choices. 

Pardon My Frenchie was a story about two leads that had a million and one things on their plate. Ashanti is the caregiver for her two highschool twin sisters, her parents both died from separate incidents six years ago, trying to expand her doggy daycare business, and get her newly popular homemade dog treats side business going. Ever since her ex jeopardized her having custody of the twins, her father's aunt is constantly a stress as she wants to get custody of the twins, Ashanti has sworn off men. I get it, with her schedule, I don't see how she would really fit anyone in. However, this was marketed as romance, so the readers have to be thrown a bone, enter Thad, the grandson of one of Ashanti's regular customers and the new caretaker of his gram's poodle, Puddin'. 

It was the freckles. A smattering of freckles on a woman’s nose and cheeks got him every damn time. 

Thad is fresh out of a fifteen year military career and has a business plan with his friend to open up a bar that would cater to active, former, and retired military. He's not a fan of his gram's poodle and really not a fan of how much doggy daycare costs, causing him and Ashanti to oil and water in the beginning, and especially when Thad ends up buying the house Ashanti had planned on buying to expand her business to. However, they get forced together when Puddin' and Ashanti's dog Duchess, go viral for their cute antics on the live daycare feed. Both need the publicity coverage to drum up interest, which will hopefully lead to money, Ashanti's trying to win a business loan venture contest and Thad's trying to get his new business name out there. 

“He’s so annoying,” she said, setting the phone on the counter. Ashanti caught herself grinning and immediately stopped. 

There's slow burn and then there is me checking to make sure this was tagged as romance. The first fifty-percent of this you will get next to zero romance, it's all introducing and hanging on for the ride that is Ashanti and Thad's busy lives. I happen to gel with this author's writing, it's so smooth, draw you in, naturalness between character interactions, and my kind of readable, that I still flew through this first half, but still, where was the romance? There's some thinking the other is hot and a little back and forth, but you won't get much more than that. At the halfway point, Ashanti and Thad finally spend time together as they travel to New York City for a press junket about their dogs and promote their businesses. There we get a kiss and bedroom scenes but I'm not sure I truly felt the connection between these two to really enjoy them. Their talking to get to know one another was a good amount of Ashanti laying out her troubles/trauma from her parents dying, stress of aunt trying to take twins, and one of the twins not talking to her when something is obviously wrong. There was just so much going on in these characters lives that the romance was like number ten on the going to get to list. 

She found him attractive enough when he was being a surly curmudgeon. She would not be able to handle funny and charming. And gorgeous. She couldn’t forget gorgeous. 

When they come back from NY, Thad doesn't let Ashanti have all the other issues cutting in front of the romance fun, the house he and his friend/business partner bought has a slew of issues that is threatening to push back the opening date they wanted and a seemingly innocuous issue that was brought up earlier, really comes into play with Thad learning something about his beloved grandfather, causing some emotional turmoil. You'd think this would all be enough, but oh no, Ashanti comes back in and that drama that was brewing with one of her sisters, bewildering blows up at around the ninety percent mark. Why was there so much added, taking away the vast majority of room for the romance to build and develop? 

She let herself into the room and closed the door, pressing the back of her head against it like the lead actress in a sappy rom-com. 

A last second drama with Ashanti's business has her realizing that she must get things in order and we get a great happily ever after with her business life and then finally a little bit of time with Thad for a good happily for now (the epilogue does expand on this some). If you're someone who wants the romance immediately, you'd probably struggle to hang in there with this one but you do get some payoff in beginning second half, before these two get busy (not the good kind unfortunately) again with their businesses and life issues.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Book Club meeting later today, so, obviously had to try a slice of the cake I'm bringing!

I'm more of a big dog person but look at that adorable little Frenchie! 

 Ashanti and Thaddeus' dogs have a budding romance that has become a viral sensation but their owners? Thaddeus just bought the building Ashanti wanted to expand her business (Barkingham Palace 😂) into. 

We've got some static, push-pull, 🔥 tension, and adorable doggies! 

Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon preorder (June 4th) link

Strawberry Limeade Cake recipe

I cut the recipe in half and still worked out great

Review: Summertime Punchline

Summertime Punchline by Betty Corrello
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

For many years, I'd had a single goal in life: never ever move back to Evergreen, New Jersey.

It feels like Delfina is finally getting her big break when she gets a coveted slot at a make you or break you comedy festival. Wanting to really hone her set, she quits her job at a pub and comedy club, only to walk in on her boyfriend of three months with her roommate. Suddenly, Del is jobless and homeless and on her way back to the hometown she never wanted to see again ten years later. 

We disagreed, we argued, we sometimes found ourselves alone and then things happened that were never mean to happen. That was it. 

Told all from Del's point-of-view, Summertime Punchline had all the highs and lows of being late twenties, your friends all in different places in life, coming into who you really want to be in your career and personal life, finally dealing with those pesky childhood traumas, and an added bonus of a second chance romance. Del was raised by her grandmother, her parents were substance abuse addicts, her mother fatally overdosed when she was young and her father was a deadbeat flitting in and out of her life. While this didn't really deal with Del missing her mother (she was very young when her mother died and her grandmother sufficiently filled the role for her), she did have unresolved issues with her dad. Her issues with him not being there for her when she was a child ebbs and flows throughout the book, finally looking at how it effected her and then how she feels and is willing to move forward now that he has been clean and sober for years. It was a little bit of a different take, with Del wanting to forgive him, and while I'm one to lean more sinking into the hurt, pain, and staying behind walls characters, I did enjoy this kind of restoring route of Del's moving on. So, if you're looking for a forgiveness and willing to build daughter-father relationship, this would hit those points for you. 

Flirting on a Ferris wheel was one thing, but sharing bunk beds? 

Pretty early in the beginning, Del runs into Eddie, her high-school nemesis, friend, and crush. There are flashbacks in this that stretch throughout the whole book to show moments in their friendship that lead to them being close and also ending up not talking for ten years. It's basically that high-school relationship of two kids that have strong feelings but don't have the maturity to deal with them yet, along with not the best home-life mucking things up even more for them. We do get more of an insight into who Eddie's character is in the later second half of the book, as Del and him talk, exposing to readers his story. I did feel some chemistry between them and was rooting for them to get together, they at turns had some good by-play and steamy scenes but I still have to lean this is more Del's journey than Del and Eddie together; a good romance but not the main point. 

His next words came out slow, dark eyes burning into mine. “No games.” 

If you remember me being excited about the mention of the tv show “Hacks” in the blurb, well, it was a little less in there than I expected. Del's move back to Evergreen and staying with her grandmother is for her to be able to rewrite her whole set, because it was all about her relationship with her boyfriend and after the breakup she can't do those jokes anymore. The story seemed to constantly want to stay away from Del actually doing or focusing on this, the moment that really only corresponds is the moment she realizes that she's made her set jokes all about her, making the joke on her, and she doesn't want to do that anymore. However, it doesn't seem like she really wants to be a stand-up comedian too much either because then we get how she is a great singer and maybe wants to be a musician too? It felt a little bait and switch, but she ends up morphing into a kind of Bloodhound Gang comedian with writing songs that are funny. (She performs a song about her crappy dad memories and everyone was hooting and hollering in the audience, didn't really tickle my funny bone but, ymmv) 

I felt the ending rushed the resolving of the issues that Del had been wading through, ending up dampening some of those satisfied feelings you get after journeying with the character. This had more of a happily-for-now (an epilogue does expand on this more) but you'll still enjoy how Del and Eddie end up. This was a great beach read that had those summertime vibes (boardwalk ferris wheel!), secondary characters you'll love (Alfonso! I want a Nan and Alfonso romance stat), a romance that was slow in the making but all the better for it, and main character Del coming into her own in the best way. A debut that makes me exited for what comes next from the author, pick it up this summer!

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