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Book Review: Gravity by Tal Bauer
Every book I’ve read by this author has been vastly different, but all have been fantastic, and Bauer brings that same storytelling skill to the hockey romance subgenre. In fact, he also completely nails what appeals to me about this subgenre in a discussion between the two main characters about the game of hockey itself.…
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Book Review: Making the Rules (Triskelion #3) by Jodi Payne & B.A. Tortuga
Read my reviews of the previous books in the Triskelion series: Breaking the Rules (#1) Making a Mark (#2) I’m so spoiled by authors that release books close together that waiting a year for the final installment of this trilogy was brutal—but absolutely worth the wait (and luckily, I had plenty of other books by…
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Book Review: Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes
When I decided to try my hand at paranormal romance, I knew I’d have to learn everything I could about the structure of a romance arc in order to tell a successful story. In every place I asked for recommendations on romance craft books, the top answer was always Romancing the Beat. It’s a slim…
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October Wrap-Up & November Goals
October vanished in a whirlwind of trying to get everything done before leaving for my 10-day trip to Israel, then the vacation itself. Did I get everything done? Of course not. But I had a fantastic time meeting many family members from around the world and checking items off the bucket list, so it was…
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Book Review: Senseless (The Game #9) by Cara Dee
Read my reviews of previous books in The Game series: Top Priority (#1) Their Boy (#2) Breathless (#3) Doll Parts (#4) Out of the Ashes (#5) The Shepherd (#6) Adrift in the Embers (#7) Hostile Takeover (#8) When Dee dove back into writing this series with a vengeance, she took the premise of one book = one month = one Game and completely…
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Book Review: Like I Wished (Heather Bay #2) by Charlie Novak
Read my reviews of the previous books in the Heather Bay series. There are a lot of characters in the delightful found family created by Novak for this series, but each is so distinct that they are easy to keep track of. Just a hint of the relationship for this book is teased in the…
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Book Review: Devil’s Mark (Reckless Damned #1) by Lark Taylor
I enjoyed this solid debut by a new author (I’m not sure whether they have anything under other names) with a different-enough take on demons and angels to keep things fresh while staying rooted in the familiar. Using this element of the supernatural can get bogged down by religion, but Taylor’s world doesn’t automatically assign…
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Book Review: The Kite by N.R. Walker
I love this author and I love many of the tropes in this book, so my only regret was not reading it sooner than I did. Asher and Harry live a specific type of life and know each other by reputation. When they’re dumped together immediately and violently, Harry isn’t sure he’ll make it out…
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Book Review: Shattered Pawns Series by Jennifer Cody
This post includes reviews of the following books in the Shattered Pawns series: Pass (Shattered Pawns #1) I fell in such love with this fascinating urban fantasy world that I devoured this trilogy soon after finishing the first one, Diviner’s Game. A previous antihero, Tio, is now solidly in the hero camp, and I loved…
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Book Review: Rising Tide (Broken Chains MC #5) by E.M. Lindsey
Read my reviews of the previous books in the Broken Chains MC series. This conclusion to the major conflict facing the Broken Chains MC and the final relationship we’d been teased was absolutely worth the wait. I wasn’t able to re-read the previous books, but I had no problem slipping back into this world with…
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Book Review: Safe and Sound by E.M. Lindsey
I had a feeling this particular Lindsey title would be chock full of angst, and I was absolutely right. This is not a complaint. Every bit of the pain these characters undergoes is directly relevant to the plot and affects their hard-fought and deserved happily ever after. It’s just the getting there that involved a…
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Book Review: Attraction (Mobsters + Billionaires #3) by Kelly Fox
Read my reviews of the previous books in the Mobsters + Billionaires series: This book made me realize why I don’t usually go in for mafia romances – because often, the characters in those don’t realize that they are clichés. Here, Fox makes all of her mobsters (and her billionaires) extremely self-aware of the roles…
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Book Review: Flames of a Falling God (Misbegotten #1) by Searby Gray
Because of *gestures at the world* I haven’t read any sorts of dystopian or post-apocalyptic books in a few years. But this book has been on my radar for a while, and since the author is relaunching the series, I wanted to check it out (quick note on timing: I read this book and wrote…
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Book Review: Storm Front (Immortals Descending #1) by Iris Foxglove
I started reading the books set in this fantasy world because I was interested in how the authors play with the biological power exchange facet. Now that I’m happily sucked into the third series, I’m almost entirely here for the worldbuilding and amazing characters and relationship they have developed. The power exchange bit is a…
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Book Review: The Emotional Craft of Fiction by Donald Maass
I’m not a huge craft book consumer, but I wanted to give myself a refresher course on certain topics before I shift genres for my next series. The Amazon algorithms fed me this option, and I snapped it up based on the price point and author. This book is an easy read that I devoured…
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Book Review: Best Served Cold by E.M. Denning
One of my favorite books by this author is called Murder Husbands, so I knew I had to check out her dark romance featuring a literal demon. I was not disappointed, and this book is a perfect way to enjoy the spookiest month of the year. Note, however, that I primarily call this a dark…
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Book Review: The Fae Queen’s Captive (Peculiar Tastes) by Sierra Simone
I’m traveling on Halloween this year, so I’ll admit that I’m not as hyped for the holiday as I usually am. Reading this unexpected dark romance changed all that in a heartbeat. The opening events are the perfect welcome to the spooky season, evoking horror tropes of the final girl while simultaneously instilling a sense…
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September Wrap-Up & October Goals
Another month passed in the blink of an eye, and as usual, my ambition outpaced my ability, but I’m still pretty satisfied with how September went. In another of the endless attempts to better wrangle the multiple goals I have every month, I took a cue from a fellow author and started to use the…
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Book Review: Getting Signed (Model Love) by Colette Davison
Read my review of a previous book in the Model Love series, Couture Crush by Charlie Novak Davison’s entry into this shared-world series is another sweet, low-angst story. Pretty much everything about this tale of an aspiring model falling for his best friend’s brother was predictable, and I say that as both a pro and…
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Con Report: FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention 2022
Sorry for the delay with this post — the spouse and I got home very late Sunday night, and the day job is trying to eat me alive this week. But I had an amazing time at FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention 2022, and I’m happy to share some memories with you. Thursday We left…
