Romance Quick Reviews

To Love a Prince by Rachel Hauck (2020)

When they were children, Daffodil spent a lot of time with the royal family, particularly Prince Augustus, but when she inadvertently stumbles across a royal secret of epic proportions, the Queen banished her.  Now 18 years later, she runs into Gus and they pick up right where they left off, and maybe a bit more.  This was actually a contemporary novel, which I perhaps wasn't expecting at first.  I loved learning about Daffodil's career as an art curator, but the relationship between her and Gus was the heart of the book.  Neither has had great luck in love, and when they meet again, both quickly realize that it's what they've been searching for all along; now they just have to convince the Queen that it's a good match.  This was a sweet and well-written story.  I wanted to know what the big royal secret was, and it was pretty surprising, although not totally dealt with well, in my opinion.  The book is Christian fiction, which didn't really come up often until the end of the book and helped explain some things.  3.5 stars

Squeeze Play by Aven Ellis (2017)

 

Recent college graduate Hayley has found her dream job at a Washington, D.C. nonprofit.  She has no plans to start dating, until she meets professional baseball player, Brody, who challenges her in the best ways.  I didn't love this book, but I did think it was a cute read.  Hayley was a bit of a mixed bag for me - I feel like she tried to portray this really mature demeanor, but she still seemed immature in a lot of ways.  I appreciated that she wanted to better herself and her career, and she seemed to have a pretty solid plan of doing that.  The relationship between Hayley and Brody was sweet with just a little bit of heat.  I loved their banter and the way they challenged each other on what they wanted out of life.  The support and honesty they showed each other was really inspiring.  That said, the writing was a bit simplistic and repetitive.  Their conversations often felt a bit unrealistic and too sugary sweet.  What little drama there was was solved way too quickly and easily.  3 stars

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Can't-Wait Wednesday: A Spindle Splintered

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

 

A Spindle Splintered

Alix E. Harrow

Expected publication date: October 5, 2021

USA Today bestselling author Alix E. Harrow's A Spindle Splintered brings her patented charm to a new version of a classic story.

"A vivid, subversive and feminist reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, where implacable destiny is no match for courage, sisterhood, stubbornness and a good working knowledge of fairy tales." ―Katherine Arden

It's Zinnia Gray's twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it's the last birthday she'll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia's last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate.  - from Goodreads

I love a good retelling, and this sounds like a fun one!

Quick Reviews

Meet Me in Bombay by Jenny Ashcroft (2021)

In 1913, on the eve of World War I, Maddy and Luke meet in Bombay, India.  Their whirlwind romance and marriage are interrupted when Luke is called to serve in the war.  An injury causes him to lose his memory of his wife and child; will Maddy ever find out what happened to her husband?  I really enjoyed this book because it had a little bit of everything - romance, family secrets, amnesia, mistaken identity.  I liked the interspersed chapters of Luke in the hospital, desperately trying to remember who he is, with Maddy clinging to his memory while almost everyone around her encourages her to move on.  The writing was beautiful, elegant, and so atmospheric - I could really feel the heat and humidity of the Bombay days and nights.  Although I thought the ending was a little abrupt, I really enjoyed this story of family and love.  4 stars

Santa Monica by Cassidy Lucas (2020)

 

Secrets abound after a handsome physical trainer is found dead.  The blurb for this book compares it to Liane Moriarty, and I found that to be a pretty accurate assessment.  This is definitely a domestic drama, with a splash of murder mystery thrown in.  The novel starts with Zack's half-sister, Lettie, finding his body, and then it flashes back to the months before his murder.  Lettie, an illegal immigrant who relies on Zack to keep her and her son in the United States, is just one of the women in Zack's life.  There's also Regina, who is in debt and trying to start a business with him, while also doing some shady things, and Mel, who is new to the Santa Monica area, doesn't quite fit in, and finds herself very attracted to Zack despite her marriage.  I loved watching how all the characters are intertwined with each other.  Each has secrets that would be very harmful if they got out.  I thought Mel was a little too over-the-top and there was too much political talk, but the story moved quickly and held my interest.  4 stars

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: What Once Was Mine

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

 

What Once Was Mine

Liz Braswell

Expected publication date: September 7, 2021

The 12th installment in the New York Times best-selling series asks: What if Rapunzel's mother drank a potion from the wrong flower?

Desperate to save the life of their queen and her unborn child, the good people of Corona search for the all-healing Sundrop flower to cure her—but mistakenly acquire the shimmering Moondrop flower instead. Nonetheless it heals the queen, and she delivers a healthy baby girl with hair as silver and gray as the moon. With it comes dangerous magical powers: the power to hurt, not heal. For her safety and the safety of the kingdom, Rapunzel is locked in a tower and put under the care of powerful goodwife, Mother Gothel.


For eighteen years Rapunzel stays locked away, knowing she must protect others from her magical hair. But when she leaves the only home she's ever known, wanting only to see the floating lights that appear on her birthday, she gets caught up in an adventure across the kingdom with two thieves—a young woman named Gina, and Flynn Rider, a rogue on the run. Before she can reach her happy ending, Rapunzel learns that there may be more to her story, and her magical tresses, than she ever knew. - from Goodreads

I have been loving the Twisted Tales series, and now it's Rapunzel's turn!

 

Mid-Year Check-In: 2021 Resolutions

How is this year already more than half over??  Seriously, though, it's a good time to check in on the bookish and blogging resolutions I made at the beginning of the year!

1. Bring back my Try It series.  I actually did one of these back in February, where I tried out the genre Nordic Noir (and really enjoyed it!).  I have at least one more on my list that I want to try this year, too.
   
2. Read one book from my shelf of unread physical books per month.  Pass so far!  There was even a month where I read three books from that shelf.  Unfortunately, I keep borrowing books from my sister, so it looks like I'm not making a lot of progress!
   
3. Keep growing my Instagram account.  My Instagram account has grown at least 20% since the beginning of the year!  I'm enjoying participating in photo challenges and sharing what I'm reading on a more current basis than my monthly recaps here allow.
   
4. Host a giveaway. Pass!  I hosted a giveaway for my 5th blogoversary in April.  Thank you to everyone who participated!
   
5. Attend at least 2 bookish events.  I attended a virtual book event hosted by the Morristown Festival of Books with VE Schwab back in February, which was really fun, but I've been slacking ever since.  I feel like I don't keep up enough with finding virtual events.  I'm really hoping, though, to attend an in-person event later this year.
   
6. Do more to promote books/authors I love.  This was kind of an amorphous goal, but basically what it boiled down to was that I wanted to be more involved in the bookish community.  I've participated in a couple blog tours this year, and I've also signed up to be a part of the blogging communities for Smartypants Romance and author Staci Hart.  Staci Hart is an author I love, so it's been fun helping promote her 2021 releases.  My sister introduced me to Smartypants Romance and through them I've found some amazing new authors and books.

I'm actually pretty surprised at how well I've done at my resolutions so far!  My reading really slowed down for a couple months, but I feel like I'm getting back into the groove and I'm excited to see what the rest of the year brings!

How are you doing on your reading/blogging goals?

 

Fiction/Nonfiction Mini-Reviews: The Mr. Darcy Edition

Dating Mr. Darcy by Kate O'Keeffe (2020)

In order to promote her activewear line, Emma joins a reality TV dating show where the women compete to win the heart of their own "Mr. Darcy," in this case an English aristocrat named Sebastian.  Only intent to stay on for a short time, she unwittingly begins to fall for him.  

 

I love Pride & Prejudice retellings, so I was eager to try this one out.  Unfortunately, I had some issues with the story.  Emma often comes across as obnoxious and immature (seriously, how many times can one person say "dude"?).  She's so obviously not on the show for the right reasons (although, to be fair, how many dating reality show participants are?) that I'm surprised they didn't kick her off immediately.  She tries to be the comedian of the group, but she's so sorely unfunny.  The plot is rather predictable, as well.  I did, however, enjoy the reality TV show aspect and getting to know the other participants (they range from totally crazy to totally sweet).  I also liked watching Emma and Sebastian learn about each other and their completely different worlds.  So, overall, a bit cheesy and predictable, but for those who enjoy clean, low-angst romances, it might be worth a try!  3 stars

There's Something About Darcy by Gabrielle Malcolm (2020)

 

Mr. Darcy, introduced in Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, is probably one of the most popular and enduring characters in literature.  In There's Something About Darcy, Gabrielle Malcolm explores different aspects of the character, how he may have inspired other classic characters, and his impact on modern novels.

I feel like I was expecting something different from this nonfiction book.  I think I expected more analysis and while it was obvious the author had done her research on Darcy and the myriad of ways he shows up in pop culture, the book often just felt like a laundry list of books and movies.  Malcolm recounted the plots of many books and it just felt extraneous at times.  I think she's also put a lot of stock in the Colin Firth version of Mr. Darcy; I've never seen that adaptation and it clearly hasn't impacted my enjoyment of the original book and the many retellings I've read.  I liked her analysis of the original Darcy character and how he was been influenced by the time period Austen lived in, but I suppose I wanted more about how the character's (and original story's) universal traits have an almost timeless appeal that still translates today, especially considering the many modern retellings that have been published just in the last couple decades alone.  3 stars

* This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

Can't-Wait Wednesday: Velvet Was The Night

Can't-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings and helps us spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating!

 

Velvet Was The Night

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Expected publication date: August 17, 2021

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a “delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir” about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find.

1970s, Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest issue of Secret Romance. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger.

Her next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.

Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for Leonora at the behest of his boss, a shadowy figure who commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes violence and loves old movies and rock ’n’ roll. But as Elvis searches for the missing woman, he comes to observe Maite from a distance—and grows more and more obsessed with this woman who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.

Now as Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora’s disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies all aiming to protect Leonora’s secrets—at gunpoint.

Velvet Was the Night is an edgy, simmering historical novel for lovers of smoky noirs and anti-heroes. - from Goodreads

I'm really interested by the noir feeling of this book!