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triviareads · 8 months

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ARC Review of The Duke Gets Desperate by Diana Quincy

Summary:

Raya Darwish unexpectedly inherits her late cousin's castle, much to the displeasure of Anthony, the Duke of Strickland. Stick's father should have passed the castle onto him, but instead chose to leave it to his wife, who left it to Raya, an American interloper. Now Raya and Strick are forced to work together to bring the crumbling castle and the lands surrounding it back to life...

My review:

First, as a daughter of Asian immigrants, I deeply appreciated the Arab-American rep we got with Raya and her aunt. Raya was born and raised in Brooklyn and is pretty American in her attitudes (as Strick derisively points out every time she brings up ways to monetize the estate), but she also holds onto the Palestinian culture of her parents. I appreciated the references to the food she enjoyed back home, as well as her describing how her parents took care to protect their daughter's modesty, something that is culturally very important from my understanding. Raya's Auntie Majida reminded me fondly of all the aunties in my life, particularly in the way she melds her Arabic and English when speaking (Diana Quincy also wrote Majida's accent into her dialogue), as well as her attitudes towards certain, uh, *improprieties* lol.

Regarding the romance of it all, I enjoyed this variation on the enemies to lovers trope. The management and ownership of the castle and its surrounding estate is the main point of contention between Raya and Strickland— which is not so lighthearted as a petty grudge, but neither is it something super intense or horrific. And it makes sense: Of course Raya's entrepreneurial American spirit would clash with Strick's aristocratic English attitudes, but they're forced to work together anyway. Which leads to an abundance of sexual tension between them.

There's this particularly great period of time between them where there's just.... unmitigated horniness on both their parts (but of course they don't act on it minus the time he's like "show me your tits" and she's like "...yeah why not") where Strickland keeps trying to use his sexual wiles on her to persuade her to marry him, and Raya keeps inadvertently turning him on by using business lingo. He delivers what might be the most and yet the least persuasive proposal in HR history which goes something like this: "I want to fuck you so bad it hurts. I cannot wait to be inside of you. Ergo, marry me."

Luckily, Raya is a smart gal and before agreeing, she takes care to secure her legal right to the castle using an actual solicitor thanks to property right laws that have changed recently. See, this is why I like historical romances set in the Victorian era (this is set in the 1880s): there's far more potential for racially diverse characters, as well as feminist themes, even if they're subtle. Raya getting a legal agreement on paper and making Strickland sign it to protect her rights absolutely counts.

There is also a mystery aspect to the plot, though it doesn't pick up until more than halfway through the book. Raya's late cousin died under mysterious circumstances by falling off the top of the castle, and this is related to Strickland's missing artifacts (which he's passionate about excavating and collecting). In addition, there's a bunch of will-related issues which also serves to drive a wedge between the couple. Does Strickland also attempt to use sex to grovel? Absolutely. Speaking of which—

The sex:

This book has solid sex scenes, and Diana didn't skimp on the foreplay (I'd argue the foreplay was the best part). I really liked this scene where in order to "seal" their bargain, Strickland asks to see Raya's tits (like I mentioned earlier) and goes to town on them. Specifically, the wording here is that he "clawed" at her bodice and tbh I find that level of desperation very hot.

The standout sex scene is probably when he covers her in Anglo-Saxon-era gold jewelry and then proceeds to finger her while making her watch them in the mirror. That being said, the unsung hero sex-wise might be Strickland's dirty talk. Like, man has some hits including "your quim wants to be friends", "I'm going to enjoy your sweet tits every day until we're old and grey", and "I'm going to keep burying myself in you until I'm too old to move". The future-forward dirty talk really did it for me. Bravo Anthony.

Overall:

I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone, and specifically anyone looking to start their historical romance journey. This is your quintessential "enemies to lovers" historical romance complete with a smart, plucky heroine, a hero that's initially arrogant and suspicious of the heroine but falls HARD for her later on (and that's after him panting after her for a good chunk of the story), and a plot that really makes you reassess the role of the aristocracy by this time period. Like, no longer are dukes infallible beings; they have to deal with money loss, railroads buying them out, possibly opening their homes up to tourists, and so on. For me, it was this aspect of the plot, combined with the dynamic between the hero and heroine, that really sealed the deal for me.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

#diana quincy #netgalley #arc #arc review #historical romance #avon books #avon #Harper Voyager #romance novel

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livzletlivz · 22 days

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Wilde For You - A Landscape Of Love

Tough on the outside, with a heart as big as Wyoming. Protective to the core, fairness and kindness running in blood. And when the tough have to wage a battle for love, heart and soul takes to the knees. Let’s meet the Wilde cousins running the Dark Horse Dive Bar. Jax Wilde loves his close knit family, his ranch and the Dark Horse Dive Bar that has been in the family. A cowboy to the core and…

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#Alima Kanumilli #alima livzletlivz #Avon #Book Reviews #Dark Horse Dive Bar Series #Harper Voyager #Jennifer Ryan #Netgalley #Romantic Suspense #Wilde For You

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lilibetbombshell · 1 year

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ash-and-books · 4 months

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Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!

Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.

It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.

“Let’s get them together,” she says.

It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.

“It’ll be easy” she says.

There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.

But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?

Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.

Beth’s not mature enough for this…

Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé.

That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.

Review:

A debutante desperate to snag a wealthy husband least her mother and her end up destitute finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn't be, a fellow debutante... who's father also has a complicated history with her mother. Beth is anxious to find a husband in her last season, she needs the money to make sure her mother and her can still keep their house. Yet when she meets Gwen, a charming and beautiful debutante who has no intention of finding a husband, Beth finds herself falling for the first time in her life. To make matters a bit more complicated, what started off as friendship and hopes to get Beth's widowed mother to marry Gwen's father, a romance that had happened in their past, Beth and Gwen find themselves falling for each other. Beth and Gwen want to fix the twenty year old heartbreak between their parents yet also deal with their own complicated situation when a handsome suitor offers for Beth's hand....and Beth will be forced to choose between financial stability in a loveless marriage, or living a scandalous life but with the girl who has her heart. This was a really cute parent trap/ forbidden romance book. Beth and Gwen are both dealing with difficult situations, particularly Beth. They love each other but in a time where such a relationship would be hard to have they have to find a way to be together and find out how to make their parents happy. This was a really cute historical sapphic romance and I did love how Beth and Gwen schemed to be together and constantly fought for one another.

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

#book review #bookish #lgbtq reads #sapphic books #don't want you like a best friend

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a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit · 7 months

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Book Review: The Hurricane Wars (The Hurricane Wars #1) by Thea Guanzon

The Hurricane Wars is a heady, political, action-packed fantasy with two characters who are forced into an alliance (aka: an arranged marriage) even though they're heirs poised on opposite sides of a decades-long war, and despite having started out intent on destroying one another. Talaysn is a wily solider who can access light magic. Alaric is an inscrutable prince of the Night Empire who can summon shadows. Similar to The Bridge Kingdom, the two of them are brought together by circumstance and necessity, forcing them to band together for the peaceful survival of The Continent.

However, things are never as simple or as smooth as they seem. Not only are there secrets to unravel, political schemes to dodge, and rustling feelings to subdue, but there is a magical storm brewing in this world that Talaysn and Alaric must learn how fight. Not to mention win. And soon...or else they'll all be doomed.

I found this to be engrossing for the most part. I particularly liked the Filipino history that was infused into the setting and climate. There was also some satisfying commentary on the sacrifices of war, the degradation of colonization, the drive to protect and preserve culture. I liked the enemies to reluctant allies to lovers of it all too, of course. That's my literary catnip!

I did struggle to fully settle into the world building, though. It felt a little helter-skelter at times, with there being too much information dispensed at once sometimes and then at other times not enough. The bare bones of the magic system were there, rife with names, with functions, with potential, but it never took off or developed to the extent that I was hoping it would. That made it hard to fully immerse myself in this world.

That said, this was an enjoyable read overall and it had a lot of tropes that will resonate with folks. And that cliffhanger! Oof! You'll be clamoring to know what happens to Talaysn and Alaric next!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my review.

3.5/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

#ashlee bree's book reviews #the hurricane wars #thea guanzon #arcs #fantasy #romance #new adult #recs: ashlee approved!#read june 2023 #coming october 2023 #bookblr #booklr #book reviews #book recs

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 9 months

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🦇 Tastes Like Shakkar Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❝ "As a wedding planner, I have learned to appreciate blunt honesty. I mean, what's sexier than that? Being completely transparent and straight with another person takes a kind of fearlessness, doesn't it?" ❞

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite Shakespeare play (or retelling)? ❓ 🦇 Bobbi Kaur is eager to plan a blow-out, unforgettable wedding for her best friend. Unfortunately, she's paired with Benjamin “Bunty” Padda to complete the task; the groom's best friend and man who derailed her career as a wedding planner. After Bunty refuses to cater a previous wedding for her, Bobbi's boss and uncle loses his faith in her ability to one day manage the business. The Kareena Mann and Prem Verma (#Vermann) wedding could be her chance to prove herself and win an account with one of the biggest venues around. To make matters worse, someone is trying to sabotage the wedding. Despite their constant bickering and the shaadi saboteur's best efforts, can Bobbi and Bunty call a truce and (with the help of a few sleuthing, meddling aunties) turn the Vermann wedding into a happily ever after?

💜 How do I bottle up all my love for Nisha Sharma, Bobbi, and Bunty in a concise review? Oh, let me count the ways... (whoops, wrong play). "There's a skirmish of wit between them" is far more accurate. Tastes Like Shakkar picks up from the scene we missed in Dating Dr. Dil, when Bobbi and Bunty speak alone at Kareena's birthday party. A moment of misunderstanding flares into hostility, even though Bobbi and Bunty have more in common than they realize. Sharma does a stunning job of pulling from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing while staying true to her Punjabi-American characters. So many books are categorized as romcom more for the situational comedy than actual laugh-aloud moments, which Sharma brings in spades. Bobbi and Bunty have all the wit and sass of their Shakespearian counterparts, but they bring the heat, too. This sweet, sassy story has a flare of spice that's bound to get your blood pumping. Whether Bunty is cooking up a storm in the kitchen or not, there are plenty of mouthwatering moments to spare.

💜 Bobbi's independence and ferocity are inspiring, while Bunty's foodie notes, text, and willingness to SHOW he's falling first are heartwarming. The layers of similarity between them—taking on familial obligations while trying to prove themselves—bring Bobbi and Bunty together when internal and external forces try to drag them apart. The aunties are, as always, a hoot, and Bobbi's curvy representation (and better yet, PRIDE) warmed my heart.

🦇 As much as I loved the story's mystery element, I pegged the shaadi saboteur the moment Bobbi chooses her first suspect. Sharma leaves plenty of little breadcrumbs for readers to follow. Though there's a TON of sizzle and spice (I'm fanning myself at the thought of that throne scene), I do think it was rushed, almost entirely resolving the animosity between them with smut.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Shakespeare retellings, @sonali.dev / Sonali Dev's The Rajes series, or @saradesaiwrites / Sara Desai's The Marriage Game series! Any rom-com lover is bound to fall in love with Bobbi and Bunty!

✨ The Vibes ✨ 💞 Enemies to Lovers 🤏🏽 Forced Proximity 📜 Shakespeare Inspired 🔍 A Dash of Mystery 🪷 Desi/Punjabi RomCom 💐 Chef x Wedding Planner 👗 Plus-Sized Female Lead 📚 Second in a Series 💜 Contemporary Romance 😂 Banter & Humor

❝ "My body says 'let's go on an expedition!' while my brain is shouting 'evacuate mission!'" ❞

🦇 Major thanks to the author Nisha Sharma and publisher Avon Books/ Harper Voyager US for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

#book lover #book review #book blog #shakespeare #mystery #book: tastes like shakkar #author: nisha sharma #romcom #romance books #romance novels #romance #shakespeare retelling #battyaboutbooks #batty about books

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olivias-shelf · 1 year

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I had been following the blog posts that Meg Cabot had been posting during the early stages of the pandemic, so I was pretty interested in reading this book, even though I don't really have much interest in reading pandemic books in general.

Overall, this was a pretty lighthearted, nostalgic read. I enjoyed the feeling that you were catching up with these characters as Mia had to navigate the progressively more ridculous situations that her friends (and sometimes her) would get themselves into.

However, while there were many challenges that Mia faced that were based in real-life problems (anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, and protesters on mandates) that were resolved in a very fairytale-esque way. If you're looking for something more realistic, this book might not be for you.

A thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon Impulse, and NetGalley for the ARC.

#the quarantine princess diaries #the princess diaries #meg cabot #arcs #bookblr #book reviews #five star reviews

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whimsicaldragonette · 2 years

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ARC Review: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian (The Queer Principles of Kit Webb #2)

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Publishing Date: June 7, 2022

Synopsis:

Cat Sebastian returns to Georgian London with a stunning tale of a reluctant criminal and the thief who cannot help but love her. Marian Hayes, the Duchess of Clare, just shot her husband. Of course, the evil, murderous man deserved what was coming to him, but now she must flee to the countryside. Unfortunately, the only person she can ask for help is the charismatic criminal who is blackmailing her—and who she may have left tied up a few hours before… A highwayman, con artist, and all-around cheerful villain, Rob Brooks is no stranger to the wrong side of the law or the right side of anybody’s bed. He never meant to fall for the woman whose secrets he promised to keep for the low price of five hundred pounds, but how could he resist someone who led him on a merry chase all over London, left him tied up in a seedy inn, and then arrived covered in her husband’s blood and in desperate need of his help? As they flee across the country—stopping to pick pockets, drink to excess, and rescue invalid cats—they discover more true joy and peace than either has felt in ages. But when the truth of Rob’s past catches up to him, they must decide if they are willing to reshape their lives in order to forge a future together.

My Rating: ★★★★★

***My Review and far too many Favorite Quotes below the cut:

My Review:

This book is EVERYTHING. I live and breathe books and I would be happy to never read another book and just live in this one. It's that good. But more than that it's the perfect book *for me.* Like Cat Sebastian knew it's been rough lately and wrote it just for me. I'm predicting it makes it *at least* into my top 5 books this year. It’s a cleverly disguised Robin Hood and Marian book. It’s the *perfect* Robin Hood and Marian book. I want to paper my walls in quotes from this book (and I probably highlighted enough to do just that - a full 11 single-spaced pages of them!!) and just live in this story from now on. Is this because I love Robin Hood stories? Yes, partly. But also I love queer love stories and Cat Sebastian's writing in general, and the Queer Principles of Kit Webb in particular, so this was just the happy convergence of all of my favorite things. This is an *excellent* queer love story. Both leads are bisexual and Marian is probably some flavor of asexual and the dynamic is very much a dominant/aggressive/in charge Marian and a submissive Rob who only wants to please her. That stable scene! She pins him against the wall! Flip the gender status quo of historical romance why don’t you? I LOVE it. I love how Marian is the prickly and closed-off and responsible one in this relationship, and Rob is friendly and charming and is distracted by kittens. And, now that I think of it, this is yet another case of me falling completely for a grumpy / sunshine trope. Another reviewer pointed out that this book in a nutshell is ‘disaster bisexuals’ and ‘be gay do crime’ with a side of ‘eat the rich' and if that isn’t Marian and Rob I don’t know what is. I can't top that as a description. I see hints of future books of 'be gay do crime' and i just want to say YES PLEASE. And baby Eliza will be raised by four doting queer parents and immersed in planning of heists before she can talk. I desperately want more books in this world, with these people. *Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an e-arc for review.

***You can find my review of book 1: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb below:

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (Book 1)

**Note: I highlighted literally 11 single-spaced pages of quotes so obviously I can't include them all here. I have consolidated as much as possible but it will still be rather long. But trust me - you want to read these. They will absolutely make you want to read this book.

Although, if you don't want to read them, that's fine too. This is the last section of the review for a reason.

Favorite Quotes

Now he was increasingly drawn to the charms of a soft mattress and clean sheets, and wasn’t that a depressing thought.

—

What a trick it was to be able to say I beg your pardon in a way that meant fuck off and die, and to look serene and saintly while saying it.

—

The memory made him feel both wistful and somehow homesick, in the way that happy memories too often did.

—

“I think we’re still in the cave, hitting one another with sticks,” Rob went on. “I know that I broke the law when I stole from those arseholes at the tavern this afternoon. But how is what I did any different from putting poor men into debtors’ prison? What I did is comparatively gentle. A targeted tax on rich men who behave badly. It’s very civilized, actually.”

—

He was lost, and he had been from about the first time she sent him a scathing letter –what kind of person did that to a man who held her future in the palm of his hand? – and followed it up with trivia about that Italian fellow and his peculiarly organized version of hell.

—

“In the winter, you can imagine that the land could become anything. In the summer, all that’s left is for winter to come.” Rob had never heard anyone express anything of the sort and didn’t know what to say, or even to think, beyond reflecting that if anyone were to enjoy an uninterrupted view of mud and dirt it would have to be Marian.

—

She moved so slowly and deliberately it was as if she were inventing the concept of kissing right there on the spot, as precisely as if she were counting change in the marketplace. He kissed her back with none of those qualities, with nothing but profligacy.

—

He wore rainwater and mud the way other men wore silk coats, only better, and she wanted him.

—

And now he was looking at her as if she were a cake, if cakes were also religious icons, and she was possessed of a mortifying certainty that she was looking at him in precisely the same deranged manner.

—

Rob knew better than most that sometimes nothing could salve your conscience. You just had to live with the guilt and find other ways to be the kind of person you wanted to be.

—

But when she looked at him, what she felt wasn’t attraction. Or it wasn’t only that. It was a bright spark, something warm and glowing that took up residency in her chest and refused to budge. It was something like contentment, only sharp and with teeth. It was the urge to wrap her hand around his arm and not let go. It was the knowledge that he would let her.

—

The idea that she was planning to go into mourning for a man she had killed with her own hands, while – regardless of what she said – robbing, extorting, or otherwise dealing feloniously with another man, made Rob feel faintly dizzy.

—

“Gentlemen typically don’t extort money from their tenants,” Marian retorted. “That is precisely what gentlemen do,” he pointed out, exasperated. “It is practically the entire point of gentlemen.” She opened her mouth as if to protest, then frowned. “Fair.”

—

It was a dark day indeed when he wanted to congratulate an aristocrat for simply remembering that servants were human beings.

—

In his arms she felt as sharp as a knife and as sure as a promise and he never wanted to take his hands off her.

—

And he didn’t try to hold it back, either. His friendship was like a creeping ivy – all one had to do was let it be, and it covered the whole barn.

—

From where she lay, she could see at least half a dozen scars on his arms and back. He spoke of them as if he didn’t mind them, and she thought she understood – what were the pair of them, after all, but a collection of things gone wrong and then, slowly, made right again.

—

“Well, she did leave me tied to a bed all night,” Rob offered as an explanation. “It’s how I make all my friends,” said Betty.

—

“Running away?” Rob scoffed. “I’m not running away from anything. I’m refusing to participate in inherited wealth.”

—

“They’d suit you perfectly well if it were twenty years ago.” He sank into a chair by the fire. “And if you were a provincial spinster who drank tea without any sugar and terrified all the neighborhood children.” Marian, momentarily impressed with this aesthetic success, preened a little before remembering why she needed to speak to Percy.

—

He wore a blue suit of clothes so fine that Rob wanted to set things on fire.

—

It would not, however, accommodate Marian’s father and his household, and indeed the idea of cramming an elderly earl, a highwayman, a baby, the bigamous wife of a duke, and whatever on earth Percy considered himself these days under one roof was too farcical for Marian to take seriously.

–

She was certain that most women felt something warmer for their children, something less sharp and jagged. Marian wasn’t much given to warmth, but whatever she felt now – a champagne lightness mixed with the usual knife-sharp protectiveness – felt like enough.

—

Her laughter was rare and precious; it was the sound of church bells, the sound of coins dropping into a pocket, and he wanted to save it in a bottle and wear it close to his heart.

#queer books #cat sebastian #the perfect crimes of marian hayes #the queer principles of kit webb #robin hood #queer romance #historical romance #regency romance #disaster bisexuals #be gay do crime #eat the rich #shilo reads #arc review #netgalley

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celticbarb · 1 year

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Book:For a Scot’s Heart Only

Author:Gina Conkle

Series:Scottish Treasures, Book #3

Publisher:Avon and Harper Voyager

Release Date:April 25, 2023

Overall Rating:5 Gold Stars

Blog Rating:5 Saltire Flags

England 1753

The Scottish Treasure saga continues in the third and final book of this epic series. Therefore they continue looking for the last part of the lost Treasure of Arkaig, also known as the missing Jacobite gold.

In this book it centers around Jacobite Mary Fletcher, who cares for her younger sister Margaret, although their age difference is very great, so she is more a mother than a sister in many ways. Mary is now a corsetière who is a proprietress and owns “Fletcher’s House of Corsets and Stays” where her dying mama taught her to be an independent woman and never rely on a man ever! Mary lives a life of commitment and allegiance to her sibling, The Scottish league she belongs to, plus the Highland clan that took her and her sister in long ago. Mary pursues the service of previous league members, where they search for the gold that was stolen by Cumberland’s soldier’s during the uprising after the battle of Culloden.

Therefore these women aid the Scottish people who are living in England against their will. The league helps them by getting them any of the needed supplies like clothing, food and medical supplies which helps these suffering Scottish men, women and children. The treasure of Arkaig, gold was originally sent by the French to support Bonnie Prince Charlie’s rebels. Mary and her friend Cecelia’s search a brothel looking for clues for the missing Jacobite gold. While searching, she reunites with whaler Thomas West, who saves Mary from being accosted by a drunken sea captain.

Thomas West, also known as the Sea Wolf-Whaler originally we met in “The Scot Who Loved Me.” It was obvious that previously Thomas and Mary had an immediate attraction to each other. Now Thomas has troubles of his own with his family’s inheritance being in serious jeopardy! Therefore Thomas is thrilled when he is reunited once again with the bonnie lass-Mary Fletcher, plus it is the one person who owes him a wee favor as it couldn’t happen at a more convenient time! However Thomas soon gets involved in Mary’s dangerous escapades which were no easy tasks with even sneaking illegally into a lord’s home! However their attraction soon becomes something much more. Furthermore the black hearted Lady Denton reappears where her cruelty and deception knows no bounds!

Who will win this game of cat and mouse with danger at every corner? Will these Scottish female treasure hunters seek the missing treasure they desire? Is Mary and Thomas’s love a fleeting thing or a love that lasts forever? Read and find out the conclusion of this spectacular series finale!

Readers won’t be disappointed with this riveting action packed, page turning romantic mystery! It kept me glued to my seat. A book I absolutely loved! This is my third consecutive book in this magnificent series and another I absolutely loved. It has all the elements readers love. Furthermore it blends true historical facts with a fictional romantic adventure that will touch readers hearts.

The Complete Scottish Treasures Book Series

1. The Scot Who Loved Me

2. A Scot Is Not Enough

3. For a Scot’s Heart Only

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader’s copy from Avon and HarperCollins Publishing. I voluntarily agreed to do an honest, fair review and blog through Netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

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rebeccaheyman · 2 years

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A slightly rocky return

Review: The Return of the Duke by Lorraine Heath (Avon, 26 July 2022)

The third installment in Lorraine Heath's Once Upon a Dukedom series has all the components of a great historical romance -- but it suffers by comparison to its predecessors.

Three-sentence summary: Marcus Stanwick was supposed to inherit his father's title, Duke of Wolfford, but when the family patriarch is convicted of treason, their titles, funds, and property are stripped away. Marcus's mission to uncover the truth of his father's betrayal leads him to Esme Lancaster, his father's mistress, who turns out to have a more complicated role in the treasonous plot than Marcus could have imagined. Whispers of a new plot to assassinate the Queen bring Marcus and Esme together to stop a regicide and restore the Wolfford honor, and maybe even bring two people accustomed to living in the shadows back into the light.

If the "son + father's mistress" pairing sounds like a bridge too far for your romance-loving heart, you'll have to get through a solid 20% of the novel to have the ick-factor resolved. Because of the slow emotional start, and the anger/resentment fueling Marcus and Esme's initial physical relationship, the narrative can seem abrasive through Act I. Was it worth it in the end? Absolutely. But if you're coming down from the stratospheric high of The Duchess Hunt (Once Upon a Dukedom #2), you may find The Return of the Duke hits slightly off-center.

Notably, this book more than the others in series features characters from Heath's Sins for all Seasons series. If you've read it, I'm sure you'll be happy to see the veritable roll call of characters name-dropped throughout. But if, like me, you haven't read Sins for all Seasons, you might wonder why you're being treated to brief, two- to three-sentence biographies of a bunch of people with no bearing on the story. The only explanation I can see is that Heath knows we won't be able to resist reading Sins from start to finish while we wait for her next new release.

#lorraine heath #the return of the duke #historical romance #reading #books #books recommendation #book review #netgalley #avon harper voyager

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triviareads · 10 months

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ARC Review of Tastes Like Shakkar by Nisha Sharma

Summary:

Wedding planner Bobbi Kaur is determined to make sure her friends Kareena and Prem's wedding goes off without a hitch, even if it means working with popular chef Benjamin 'Bunty' Padda. Bobbi and Benjamin may not have gotten off to a great start, but doesn't stop their mutual attraction. As they try to solve the mystery of who's sabotaging the wedding, they quickly fall into a relationship even as they know there's a deadline approaching...

My review:

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I was expecting based on some of Nisha Sharma's earlier books that I've read including Dating Dr. Dil, the book prior to Tastes Like Shakkar. I thought Benjamin and Bobbi were solid characters individually, I bought their chemistry, and I really liked the background cast of their friends and The Aunties.

I'm not going to lie, I initially thought a "shaadi saboteur" would make for a really hokey plot, but I was invested because I was firmly on Bobbi and Benjamin's side and rooting for their success. I think that conflict's resolution might have been a bit rushed and contrived, but until then, it worked. Also, Nisha mentioned in her acknowledgements that she wanted to explore the concept of "family managers" in Indian culture namely, when children feel like their value to the family is conflated with the help the provide which is... so so accurate. The shaadi saboteur plot really pushed that idea to the forefront of my mind while I was reading, because Bobbi was determined to prove to her value to her family and her friend whose wedding she's planning to the extent where she thinks that's all she's worth. Benjamin had a similar conflict with his own dad who, get this, runs a frozen naan empire.

Regarding Bobbi and Benjamin's relationship, the blurb pushes the "enemies" aspect of their relationship but in actuality, they know pretty early on that they have sexual chemistry, and after the first time they have sex, they're basically in a relationship. It's fairly early on in the story, but I actually liked that. The plot took the time to explore their growing relationship and you could understand what drew them to each other, and perhaps more importantly what kept them together which, in my opinion, might have been how they handled the long-distance aspect of their relationship.

I love how Nisha wrote the long-distance relationship in an epistolary format, like, that's what convinced me they should stay together. There were texts, cute little notes, checking in on each other, Benjamin ordered Bobbi food when he knew she'd forget, and of course, there had to be phone sex. Which I thought was pretty solid all things considered. Speaking of sex—

The sex:

Here's my thing: Authors can sometimes get weird about people of color and sex, and even moreso about people of color and kink. I think it's this paranoia about how they're depicting the characters' sexuality, their bodies, and how "correct" they're being about the sex (oh and some strange detours into multilingual dirty talk in a way that fetishizes the language) that gets in the way of writing sex scenes that are actually... sexy. But I thought Nisha handled this potential pitfall really well here. The fact that Bobbi isn't conventionally skinny? It's touched upon just the right amount and her body is described during sex, but Nisha never harps on it. The fact that Benjamin enjoys bondage during sex? He explained it to Bobbi frankly, checked in with her, but otherwise it was no big deal. Their desire for one another was frank and explicit. There was no place for coyness here. I only wished some the scenes themselves could be a little longer.

Stand-out moments include:

a) First sex scene was at the 44% mark and that made me happy. It was a storage room oral moment on those decorative throne things they make South Asian brides and grooms sit on during their wedding reception which I thought was hilarious

b) A blowjob scene that surprised me because she was laying down and he like, actually straddled her chest and went for it, which I don't see in a lot of contemporary romances.

c) At one point during sex they were looking at themselves in a mirror and Bobbi likened herself to those women in old Indian paintings with their hips and stomachs out and I just thought that was really beautiful and body-affirming.

Overall:

This might be one of the best rom-coms I've read in a long time. It accomplished exactly what it set out to do: You got that desi rep (specifically that Jersey desi rep— iykyk) with a solid cast of Indian characters, a great romance that's probably as hot as any rom-com will ever get, and plot that was funny and sweet in equal measure. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who's remotely interested in this genre.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

#arc #arc review #netgalley #nisha sharma #contemporary romance #avon books #avon #Harper Voyager #romance novel #desi tumblr #desiblr

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livzletlivz · 2 years

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Surrendering To Hunt - Heart And Soul

Surrendering To Hunt – Heart And Soul

Tough on the outside, with a heart as big as Wyoming. Protective to the core, with justice and fairness running in blood. And when the tough have to wage a battle with love, heart and soul takes to the knees. Meet the oldest of the Wilde brothers, Hunt Wilde. A lawman to the core and serving justice with fairness, his heart beats for Cyn Wilson, as wild as Wyoming. Vibrant as the colof of her…

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#Alima Kanumili #Alima Kanumilli #alima livzletlivz #Avon #Book Reviews #Contemporary Romance #Harper Voyager #Jennifer Ryan #Netgalley #Romancing Life With Alima #Surrendering To Hunt #Wyoming Wilde Series

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lilibetbombshell · 1 year

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ash-and-books · 3 months

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Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb: Sue Lynn Tan’s highly acclaimed, bestselling Celestial Kingdom duology is expanded with this new compilation of stories from before, during, and after the events in Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior, all from the perspectives of beloved characters.

Return to the Immortal Realm, a world of gods, magic, and legendary creatures—and embark upon new adventures of valor, danger, and love.

Tales from the Celestial Kingdom collects nine spellbinding stories—two previously published, seven original, including the epilogue to the duology—set in the enchanting world of Sue Lynn Tan’s stunning debut. Filled with magic and mythology, friendship and love, these stories intertwine through the past, present, and future of the two novels, told from the perspectives of multiple characters, including Chang’e, Shuxiao, Liwei, and Wenzhi.

With beautiful illustrations from Kelly Chong throughout, these wondrous tales make the perfect complement to Sue Lynn Tan’s breathtaking series.

Review:

A collection of stories that expands the world of the Celestial Kingdom, delving into the past and present of the characters. Returning to the Immortal realm this book gives you nine stories, two previously published, seven original, and the epilogue to the duology. I had a blast reading this and getting to see more of the characters from the duology. I loved getting to see more of Wenzhi and Xingyin together and what happened to them after the series ended. I thought this collection was a really nice touch to see the stories of Xingyin's parents and what lead to them events that start off Daughter of the Moon Goddess as well as the thoughts of Liwei as he takes the position of Emperor and his emotions as he decides what to do with Wenzhi. I enjoyed reading this and getting to delve back into the world and see the characters again. This is definitely a book that should be read with the duology!

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Harper Voyager for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

#book review #tales of the celestial kingdom #book

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