Tag: reading
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Review: Secrets of Charlotte Street Series by Scarlett Peckham
The Duke I Tempted (Book 1) The time period of this book was a bit earlier than the historical romance I’ve been reading, but I’m so pleased I took a chance on it anyway. Westmead and Poppy stole my heart, separately and then together. The arc of their relationship surprised…
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Review: Demons’ Muse Series by Auryn Hadley
The Kiss of Death (Book 1) The “angels are bad, demons are good” trope is not unfamiliar in paranormal romance, but this series puts a different spin on things by including a unique magic system, multiple dimensions, and a new way to look at how angels and demons affected religion…
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Review: It’s Complicated Series by Brill Harper
All Together (Book 1) When I snagged this book, I figured I was taking a risk because the combination of college students and romance usually means plenty of angst and immaturity. But when I started reading, I was immediately sucked into the story through the sheer force of personality of…
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Review: Comes in Threes Series by Elia Winters
Read my review of book 1, Three-Way Split. Just Past Two (Book 2) Even though I enjoyed the story, relationship, and writing in the previous book in this shared-world series, I didn’t rush right into book two. Based on the premise, I figured the “dark moment” would be fraught with…
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Review: The Threefold Tie by Aster Glenn Gray
This short novel is perfect for anyone looking for a historical romance with lovely character development and interaction. I thoroughly enjoyed each of these characters, individually and together. The point-of-view switches and overlapping timelines show the perspective of each lead and their developing arcs to excellent effect. This book is…
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Review: Behind These Doors (Radical Proposals #1) by Jude Lucens
Though it focuses on a single relationship between two characters, this book made me fall in love with multiple characters across multiple relationships, all of whom had their own detailed lives and agency. Lucens balances an intricate drama of love, friendship, polyamory, and heartbreak in one of the best historical…
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Review: Arranging Paradise Series by L. Rowyn
A Rational Arrangement (Book 1) There’s a diamond in this book, but it’s smothered by the occasional downside to self-publishing. On the surface, the author did everything right. Great cover, no blatant typos, solid plot, well-developed characters, unique world building elements. Unfortunately, this is where I plug the need for…
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July Wrap-Up & August Goals
Steel Victory 2.0 Now Available! Buy links and other info The revised edition of the first Steel Empires novel includes: Author’s preferred text for Steel Victory. Foreword by award-winning author and editor Lee Murray. “The Reluctant Master”: A previously unpublished story featuring Victory and Mikelos in the early days of Limani.…
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Review: Spirits Trilogy by Jordan L. Hawk
Restless Spirits (Book 1) I’m diving into another series by Hawk, and I couldn’t be happier. He’s proven time and time again to be a storyteller I know I will enjoy, so I was excited to start fresh with a new batch of characters in another historical paranormal romance setting.…
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Review: Thalanian Dynasty Series by Katee Robert
Theirs For the Night (Book 1) This short novella is intended to introduce the reader to the characters of the Thalanian Dynasty, a freebie so that readers are hooked enough to buy the full-length follow-up novel. (Full disclosure: It worked on me.) The events within are sexy and steamy, and…
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Review: “American Squire” (New Camelot #5) by Sierra Simone
This short story ties together the worlds of New Camelot and Thornchapel by following a former White House assistant on a mysterious errand to England. The actual interactions portrayed between Ryan and Sidney are both sexy and sweet, as appropriate, and I’d happily read more about their burgeoning relationship. What…
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Review: Hexworld Stories by Jordan L. Hawk
“A Christmas Hex” (Book 2.5) This is one of those stories that could have worked any time of year — but the fact that it occurred around Christmas made it all the sweeter. After reading the full-length novels in this series, it was easy to forget that witches and familiars…
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Review: Cards of Love: The Moon (New Camelot #4) by Sierra Simone
This short and sexy follow-up to the New Camelot trilogy does much to explain Merlin’s role in the whole situation. It portrays two very different relationships across time in a way that also shows off how Simone uses point-of-view to amplify her storytelling. I do have some questions about the…
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Review: Not Quite Hunter (Not Quite #3) by Kaye Draper
Plenty of things happened in this installment to the Not Quite series, but in the end, nothing changed. I didn’t see much character development, and though Sam had a sexy interlude with a new character, nothing about the conclusion hinted that there might be more to the relationship. I got…
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Review: American King (New Camelot #3) by Sierra Simone
I honestly did not expect this book to affect me as much as it did. I tore through it in a single afternoon, enjoying the spring air on my front porch, and had to go inside for fresh tissues twice. At about the 90% mark, I texted a friend to…
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Review: Harvest of Sighs (Thornchapel #3) by Sierra Simone
All books have a dark moment, right before things get better. This book, the third in the Thornchapel series, ends in the ultimate dark moment. Relationships were not great during this book. They were intense and hopeful and painful and tragic, making me fall in love with each of the…
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Review: American Prince (New Camelot #2) by Sierra Simone
I like Greer Galloway. She’s an okay character. She’ll do well as the First Lady (once she ever gets to fulfill the role). Her history(ies) with Ash and Embry were intriguing and their future will, I’m sure, be equally so. But she’s got absolutely nothing on Embry Moore. The history…
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Celebrating Steel Victory 2.0: Free Online Workshop!
To celebrate the launch of Steel Victory 2.0, the fancy hardcover edition of my first book chock-full of special bonus features, I’m offering my popular alternate history workshop online for the first time ever! I have previously only shared this interactive presentation at live events. For this online special on…
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Review: Feast of Sparks (Thornchapel #2) by Sierra Simone
I devoured books 2 and 3 in this series in a single day (plus a few hours because it was VERY late when I finally went to bed). On the one hand, tangling apart my thoughts of each book might be difficult. But this book ends in a stunning revelation,…
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Review: American Queen (New Camelot #1) by Sierra Simone
I adore Arthurian literature, but not all of it. Lancelot has especially never been a particular favorite, for much the same reason Simone explains in this book: He’s a fanfic self-insert by the French so they could play with chivalry in a set of tales too old for such a…