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A Year in Reading: 2020
As usual, I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge for the year to 50 books. That’s about a book a week, and combined with novellas and graphic novels, I usually end up with a final tally of around 100 books. Not bad. Makes me feel like something in my life is productive, and reading will always…
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Review: Permanent Ink (Art & Soul #1) by Avon Gale & Piper Vaughn
I will admit to being tentative going into this book based on the back-cover description. An age gap between two consenting adults doesn’t bother me, but I didn’t want or need a lot of angst related to Poe being the son of Jericho’s best friend. Luckily, the perk to everyone being an adult is that…
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Review: Say You’ll Be Nine by Lucy Lennox
Like most people in the United States who don’t have a crafty bone in their body, HGTV is basically crack to me. No surprise, then, that I would dive into a contemporary romance featuring a fake relationship and a renovations YouTube channel (also, my parents are doing work on their house and I’m tired of…
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December Wrap-Up & January Goals
Hey, we did it! If you’re reading this, we survived the train wreck that was 2020. I sincerely hope that your loved ones fared as well, and that we all do much better in 2021. I’m keeping expectations low and assuming that I’m in for another year doing a lot of reading and playing video…
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Review: Wrecked Series by Kelly Fox
Sanctuary (Book 1) I’m a former military brat and current military spouse. I spent over a decade as a medical editor in rehabilitation, which included a focus on prosthetics. I hesitated over reading Sanctuary because I know I can be picky about books with either of those themes, much less combined. I’m so glad I…
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Review: Pendulum (Kingdom of Night #1) by Joel Abernathy
I made it a goal to read more M/M books written by male-presenting authors, and this trilogy looked like a great choice that featured lots of my favorite things in the paranormal romance genre. On the plus side, this book was well-written, and it was easy enough to get swept along in the plot. However,…
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Review: Reagan Through the Looking Glass (Hacking Wonderland #1) by Allyson Lindt
This is a short novel that ends in such a way that it could have easily been combined with the sequel to create a complete book. It does not end on a cliffhanger, though; I look forward to reading the conclusion, but I didn’t feel the urge to dive into it immediately. Reagan (“Alice”) immediately…
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Review: Four Ever by Sloane Kennedy
Why stop with all the drama and baggage of two characters at a tipping point in their relationship with each other when you can have double the fun? Include some healthy doses of physical, mental, or emotional trauma in every character, then sit back and wait for the fireworks. Pardon my snarkiness (which that cover…
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Review: The Experiment by Rebecca Raine
As a professional medical editor for the day job, I thought it was hilarious that the sections of this book were labeled according to the sections of a journal article, down to the “Methods” and “Limitations.” Even better, the headings accurately reported what part of the plot the section covered. This conceit was cute while…
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Review: How to Hack a Hacker (Unholy Trifecta #3) by A.J. Sherwood
Read my review of Unholy Trifecta #1, How to Shield an Assassin Read my review of Unholy Trifecta #2, How to Steal a Thief The few problems I had with the previous books in this series spilled into the conclusion of this particular found-family all getting their happily ever after. Not every author wants to…
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Review: Dedicated (Rhythm of Love #1) by Neve Wilder
This book is a friends-to-lovers romance that swerves strongly into “idiots in love” territory, which means I had a blast reading it. Individually, Les and Evan are well-written, complex characters with a strong history of friendship currently on the rocks. They both approached stardom differently, so it makes sense that this book opens with them…
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Review: Royally Screwed by Lynn Van Dorn
This novel is one of those books that would probably have better reviews if the back-cover description was a bit more comprehensive. Some aspects of this book that verge strongly into light BDSM territory are not going to be for everyone. The early chapters showing the characters as they age together place it firmly in…
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Review: Folk Lore Series by K.A. Merikan
Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Book 1) Potential readers should heed the “dark” warning in this book’s description because more than a few scenes are not for the faint of heart. Merikan dives deep into Slavic mythology to draw monsters to the surface, both paranormal and utterly human. Adam and Emil pay the price, time…
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Review: Natural Twenty (Roll for Love #1) by Charlie Novak
This book features an incredibly sweet romance between two geeky business owners, featuring delightful secondary characters and an adorable dog. Book protagonists don’t exist in a vacuum, and sometimes it’s nice to have their friends cheering along with you for that happily ever after. In this particular story, Jay and Leo face very real-world obstacles…
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Review: Their Nerd (Two Plus One #1) by Allyson Lindt
While this book contains many of the typical elements of an MMF menage romance, it solidified my opinion that the menage stories I most enjoy are those in which each individual relationship evolves and has an arc as much as the overall trio does. In this instance, what starts as a sexy narrative to accompany…
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Review: Chadwick Series by C.P. Harris
Surviving the Merge (Book 1) I’m all for atypical romance novels, now that I find myself with enough familiarity with the genre to recognize the usual plot beats. If you’re intrigued by a story that drops you immediately into the dark moment and doesn’t quite let up until the unexpected ending, look no further. However,…
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November Wrap-Up & December Goals
I swung into November, literally, by attending an amazing sword technique workshop hosted by the Highlander himself, Adrian Paul, on Halloween. If the Sword Experience comes to your area, I can’t recommend it enough. I learned a lot, and what I was already familiar with was a lovely refresher. I look forward to incorporating those…
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Review: Heart of the Steal by Avon Gale & Roan Parrish
This story is not quite an “enemies to lovers” story because the characters would never have been on opposing sides had Vaughn exercised a modicum of common sense. However, Vaughn does what Vaughn does best (bend the rest of the world to his whims) and ends up with a perturbed FBI agent rather than an…
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Review: He’s Come Undone
“Appassionata” by Emma Barry As a person who also experiences anxiety (though of a different type than depicted here), Kristy’s journey spoke to me on multiple levels. I appreciated how she related to her life’s various elements, from her artistry to her agent to her old “friend” Brennan. I enjoyed even more how Brennan did…
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Review: Abstract Love by Sara Dobie Bauer
Disclaimer: I am friends with the author; however, I purchased this ebook at full price. I’m generally not a fan of the “enemies to lovers” or “gay for you” tropes in romance novels, so this book did not initially appeal to my taste. Except Bauer has repeatedly proven what an excellent author she is, so…
