Amanda
(3.5, rounding up) I love the narrative voice of this book - I really want to go have a drink with Gina Pazcoguin now and get even more backstage-at-the-ballet stories. I wish the narrative had been a little more sequential, since I'm not familiar with her career and as a result I wasn't really sure what happened when, which isn't the biggest deal, but did get a little confusing at times. I also wanted a little more about everything that happened with the former director and some of the male dancers, which is all alluded to but not really directly addressed. Despite all that, I really did enjoy this! It was gossipy and fun and not at all taking itself seriously. Super-fast read and definitely worth the time.
Finished this a few days ago, completely forgot to review, whoops! First of all, marking a book set in the mid-90's as “historical fiction” hurts my soul in a very old-millennial way, but I think the rule of thumb for that is twenty years before the publication year, so it definitely fits, I'm just a crone. I really enjoyed this story, but I thought the pacing was just a little off - there was so much time spent on Ithaca that it seemed like the latter parts of the story didn't get as much focus/attention/development as I would've liked. This is one of my Book of the Month choices, and I hesitated on getting it because they described it as “inspirational,” which is usually code for religious, specifically Christian (sometimes specifically evangelical). Luckily, none of that here, just hurt people finding their way to each other and to making the best life they can together.
This is another one where I felt like I needed to read the first book in the series in order to get the full experience - Brian is apparently a character in [b:Pregnant by the Playboy 52901471 Pregnant by the Playboy (Fong Brothers, #1) Jackie Lau https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585873892l/52901471.SY75.jpg 79192229] and there's history/a backstory between him and Cedric's brother that is mostly referenced instead of detailed here. It's not too hard to figure out the situation, though. I liked the slow burn and how the friendship developed before any hookups - nothing wrong with the other way, but this was a nice change of pace. Loved Po-Po, Cedric's grandmother (Jackie Lau is extremely good at interfering grandparents) and Brian's new direction in his writing. Also, now I want dumplings and muffins, so read this with a snack close by!(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: date auction, would also work for friends to lovers or holiday that's not Christmas.)
I probably should have read [b:The Austen Playbook 42279630 The Austen Playbook (London Celebrities, #4) Lucy Parker https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550200262l/42279630.SY75.jpg 63884092] before this one, since it follows pretty directly after that and deals with the fallout from a pretty major plot point in that book, but reading them out of order is on me, whoops. I just love Lucy Parker's writing - it's so smooth and easy to read, and she's so good at banter between characters. This wasn't my favorite of this series (I think that'll always be [b:Act Like It 25750546 Act Like It (London Celebrities, #1) Lucy Parker https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437804753l/25750546.SY75.jpg 45592892]), but I really enjoyed this one, even missing some of the context.(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: cover has snow on it, would also work for reporter.)
(3.5, rounding up.) Cute enemies-to-lovers story that can easily be read as a standalone. Not as much fun as [b:There's Something About Sweetie 35583527 There's Something About Sweetie (Dimple and Rishi, #2) Sandhya Menon https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539796761l/35583527.SY75.jpg 57017289], which is my favorite in this series, but still extremely worth the time. (Side note: please do not adopt a wild baby possum, they're not pets and I'm pretty sure they can carry rabies.)(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: fake dating, could work loosely for construction, would also work for non-Christmas holiday.)
(3.5, rounding up.) This is a rom-com that really qualifies as a rom-com - it was actually funny enough that I laughed out loud. It looks like this was originally published in 2013, and there are a few things that haven't aged all that well, like a relationship between a 17-year-old and an adult man (mentioned, not seen) that's supposed to be comedic but wasn't, and some transphobic-sounding comments about a lesbian contestant in the town beauty pageant but nothing egregious enough to make me stop reading. This was really cute and sweet, but I have to downgrade a bit for it being completely fade-to-black on anything besides kissing - I'm fine with varying heat levels but I like at least some heat, you know? I loved Friday's voice as a narrator and the backdrop of a union organization drive (though I did think some things were wrapped up a little too neatly in the end). I don't know if I would've picked this up if not for romance bingo this year, since small-town isn't really my thing, but this is a fun little standalone romance.
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: down on its luck small town, would also work for educator, karaoke, or wardrobe malfunction.)
The slow burn was a little bit too slow for me in this one, which isn't something I usually say. I also feel like the book took too long to reveal the source of Jasmine's commitment issues (though to be fair, they were alluded to throughout). I really liked how everything wasn't completely perfect at the end, but Jasmine and Rahul were both trying. This isn't quite as delightful as the Brown Sisters series, but it's Talia Hibbert and she won't let you down.
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: friends to lovers.)
I don't usually read category romances, and probably wouldn't have picked up this one, but it was recommended for romance bingo in the “stable romp” category, so why not? (Also, that cover is so good!!) Waaaaay too much setup for a subsequent book in the series in this one - something like an entire chapter is about the characters in that book, which I am not going to read and did not enjoy having all the exposition for that book crammed into this one. I liked the friends to lovers plot here, even though there was a fair bit of “you dopes, just talk to each other!” going on. Honestly, sometimes I find a little yelling at the characters fun, so that's not a bad thing. I didn't love the weird shaming of some of the other female characters for daring to have bigger breasts or wear makeup; I'm always here for a tomboy/less femme FMC, but miss me with that “not like other girls” business, please. Anyway, this was a perfectly enjoyable way to pass a couple of hours, even though I won't be reading the rest of this series.
(Random side note from a Dallas-area native: what luxury hotel are they staying at that's apparently in Dallas, but an easy drive to the Cowboys' stadium in Arlington?? Downtown Dallas is 25 minutes away without traffic, and Arlington is ... not known for its luxury accommodations, to say the least.)
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: “stable romp,” would also work for friends to lovers, date auction, or fake dating)
This is a strange little book, but not really in a bad way. Just not what I was expecting from the blurb - I honestly didn't know this was a fantasy novel until I started reading it, and even then I didn't know right away. I could've done without Rose's chapters, since I don't have a lot of patience for poetry like this and they were so elliptical and strange it was hard to tell what, if anything, was important to the story. It's also hard to call this a romance, when there's a HFN at best between Ivory and her love interest, and the major plot is more about the circus and the threats to it, instead of their relationship. (I do love the queer/poly/non-binary rep, but the romance here isn't the central aspect of the story, that's all.) I liked the found-family of the circus as well. Overall, this was a fast read and an odd book, but one I'm glad I read.
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: circus, could maybe work for friends to lovers, or loosely for tattoos.)
Felt something like a retread of [b:Neon Gods 54659771 Neon Gods (Dark Olympus, #1) Katee Robert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610505010l/54659771.SX50.jpg 85280448], despite being written before that (and being an MMF menage instead of M/F couple), but the basic plot was pretty similar: evil Zeus, Hades taking revenge on him by corrupting someone (son here, fiancee in Neon Gods), said corruptee is there willingly and thoroughly enjoys it, lots of kink and sex, HEA. It's been a long time since I saw the movie Hercules, and maybe a rewatch would've been in order here, since this is essentially numbers-filed-off fanfic (no shade at all, but it is what it is). I wanted a little bit more of a backstory on Meg and Hades's relationship, but this was a lot of fun and definitely high heat.(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: demigods, would also work for revenge quest.)
It was fine? I didn't enjoy Violet as FMC as much as I liked August in the first book in this series, and I thought her whole plan for escaping was pretty harebrained, but the road trip parts of this were fun. Pretty standard historical, though I do like the Gilded Age setting for a nice change of pace.
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: happily ever after, would also work for Gilded Age.)
Maybe 2.5? This is the sixth in a series of 20+ books, so there are side characters and setup for future stories all over the place, along with cameos from the couples in previous books. This one was written in 2011 but already hasn't aged all that well, what with this entire town seemingly full of gorgeous single women, but amazingly, no lesbians (not even the fire chief, who goes by “Charlie,” wears cargo pants, and says she's sworn off men). There's one bi character, but she's kind of a joke - at least her hitting on and kissing the FMC seems like it's intended as comedy, and the MMC jokes about "girl on girl," so it's hardly a serious exploration of the topic. Anyway. This was fine? I'm not a huge fan of small-town romance in general (or anything that could be described as “cozy,” really), so that's not entirely the book's fault. None of the characters seemed all that deep or layered to me, though, and I wasn't all that invested in this story.
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: triplets. Would also work for construction or friends to lovers.)
Didn't quite live up to [b:Boyfriend Material 50225678 Boyfriend Material (Boyfriend Material, #1) Alexis Hall https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575987260l/50225678.SX50.jpg 73590298], but it would be hard for almost anything to live up to that, since it's one of my recent favorites. Really enjoyed Rosaline and her journey in this book - probably would call this rom-com instead of romance per se, since it's all from Rosaline's POV and focuses to a large extent (though not exclusively) on her journey through the competition and to the truest version of herself. Loved Amelie so much, even though I don't usually love kids in romance; she was weird and hilarious in the way real kids are (though maybe the tiniest bit precocious). No pun intended, but I devoured this one. (2021 Summer Romance Bingo: “protagonist smells like freshly baked bread,” would also work for reality TV, friends to lovers, or tattoos.)
Got this from the library, but ordered my own copy before I'd even finished. As a victim of 7th grade Texas history, I only learned recently just how wrong (and honestly, racist) the traditional story of the Alamo really is - the authors refer to it here as the Heroic Anglo Narrative, which is a perfect description. I remember watching the movie where Alec Baldwin plays William Travis and reading Texas History Movies (though thankfully not the version with racial slurs) in middle school, and it's ridiculous that was what I was taught in the mid-90's, and even more so that it could still be the case today. I think one of the best things about well-written history is that it makes you want to read more, and this book definitely does. There's so much history we never learn.
I thought the second half, about the modern history of the Alamo's history, was a little bit weaker, but it also has some unexpected resonance with current events and the BS controversy about “critical race theory” (aka teaching honest American history) that's going on now. This was a fascinating book (with WAY more Phil Collins than you'd probably guess for a book about Texas history) and you should read it because it's excellent. If you need another reason, though, reading it will really upset Dan Patrick, and anything that pisses him off makes me happy.
Cute, but ran into my usual novella problem - this was barely 100 pages and I wanted more conflict/development, something! There's nothing wrong with two likable characters falling in love, but this was kind of like a doughnut: delightful while you're eating it, but not a lot of substance.
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: holiday that is not Christmas.)
(3.5, rounding up.) Cute, but I wanted a little more growth/development from the main characters - Skye is a great lead but seemed weirdly naive about how Instagram/reality show celebrity would work, both for Henry and herself. The villains were very one-note as well, and I wish there'd been a bit more development for them, especially the mean judge.
(2021 Summer Romance Bingo: reality TV, would also work for friends to lovers)
