willaful

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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Friends, #WhatchaReading ? I read Mrs. Milner Gets a Kitchen by Jane Hadley. Ping @SuperWendy -- it's a 1950s historical set in a "from the old country" American neighborhood!

A divorced mother dealing with a lot of social pressure & stigma falls for the sweet and sexy contractor installing her gloriously 1950s kitchen.

I enjoyed it very much. Available for free by subscribing to Hadley's newsletter: https://janehadleywrites.com/

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#WhatchaReading ? I've been catching up on series I previously DNFd. Read Duke of Desire by Hoyt -- still way too emo and icky for me, I should've let it lay. Reading Cross Breed by Leigh -- ehh, she sucked me in.

Also started Expiration Dates by Serle but I'm finding the structure frustrating. I want to know what happens now, not what happened every other time! I suppose it will make sense as a novel, so maybe I should save it for another time.

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#WhatchaReading ? I finished A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams, which reminded me a bit of One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston -- both use a fantastic scenario to engage with some lesser known history.

This was often sweet and funny, and the tributes to 1920s Harlem and Black musicians are lovely, but the tone mixture of goofy romcom and high stakes fated love didn't gel for me.

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#WhatchaReading ? Mentioning Erin Satie got me to check and see if she had anything new out, and I found a suspenseful fantasy novella about an imprisoned rebel leader/witch being rescued by friends (or a lover?) she no longer remembers. It's not very well rated, which I hope doesn't mean it has a sad ending or something. :-( Possibly just that it's not her usual genre.

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#WhatchaReading ? I just finished The Oak and the Ash by Annick Trent. I thought the first in the series was good but had plotting issues; no complaints about this one! Realistic portrayal of the lives of 1800s queer working people, with a sweet, slow burn romance. (Hard to have anything else for them!) For a comp I'd give Erin Satie, because of the focus on period technologies and intellectual interests.

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OMG, the mmc of Role Playing by Cathy Yarley uses a fleshlight. That's breaking such a verboten romance rule I hadn't even realized it was a rule.

(He is demi-sexual and not sex-averse and it is such good rep!)

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#WhatchaReading ? I've been having trouble concentrating, so broke out my emergency Cate C. Wells, The Stone Wolf's Rejected Mate, and it's doing the trick.

I like how her romances are kind of old skool -- the drama and angst can be really cathartic -- but without the annoying tropes and outdated writing styles of many older romances. Old skool for the modern reader. 😂

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#WhatchaReading ? I started a Mary Burchell, Tell Me My Fortune. Fun cast of characters. So far wondering what on earth he sees in her...

Also started Scrap Metal by Harper Fox but it's a bit heavy for my current state of mind.

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#WhatchaReading? Betrayal/remorse is my romance catnip and historical My Deceitful Duchess by Aydra Richards is a pretty good one. (Not as OTT as Exit, Pursued by a Baron.) But I was irked by the "romance hero Aspergers" portrayal, partly because it's such a cliche and doesn't go into any of the real issues, and mostly because if you're going to write an autistic love interest, take the opportunity to have him react in different ways!

cont.

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#WhatchaReading ? I finished Every Time I fall by Lexi Ryan. TBH, I had intended not to read her again, because the last book was anti-abortion, but I could not resist the gorgeous fat woman on the cover of this. (And I got it from the library.)

Characters have loved each other forever, but each has bad insecurities that make them think the other could never want to be with them. cont.

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#WhatchaReading ? I read the sweetest YA graphic novel romance, Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy. An insecure hockey player being bullied by her team captain asks a theater kid who's often taunted for being gay for help with dealing. He's actually pan and totally falls for her passion for her sport. There are also parents and best friend problems. Thoughtful & engaging.

I don't love the aesthetic but the art is very effective at conveying emotion and bits of humor.

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