Skip to main content

2021 First Quarter (Mostly) Romance Reading Round-Up*






Contemporary Reads for Lovers of Lists (& Rules to Break) to Add to Their TBR Lists

How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams 

Much Ado About You by Samantha Young 

Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan 


Revenge/Retribution 

The Devil in Her Bed (Devil You Know #3) by Kerrigan Byrne (historical) 

The Last True Gentleman (True Gentlemen #12) by Grace Burrowes (historical) 

Triple M Murder by Carmen Cady (contemporary supernatural romantic suspense)

-involuntary compliance trigger warning


Contemporary Meta Paradise for Trope Lovers 

Truth, Lies, and Second Dates (Danger, Sweetheart universe #3) by MaryJanice Davidson 

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur**  


Faux-mance Gone Real  

First Comes Like (Modern Love #3) by Alisha Rai (contemporary) 

Someday My Duke Will Come (Isle of Synne #2) by Christina Britton (historical) 


Nonconformists in Love 

The Worst Duke in the World (Penhallow Dynasty #5) by Lisa Berne (historical) 

40-Love (Marysburg #2) by Olivia Dade (contemporary) 


Partners in Crime/Solving 

An Unexpected Peril (Veronica Speedwell #6) by Deanna Raybourne (historical) 

  • It's playful and buoyant despite the serious nature of the crimes committed.  

Under the Alaskan Ice (Alaska Wild #2) by Karen Harper (contemporary) 


Epic Supernatural Sagas 

A Court of Silver Flames (Thorns and Roses #5) by Sarah J. Maas 

Wild Sign (Alpha and Omega #6) by Patricia Briggs 

  • no Moira and Tom cameos:-( 


Food Fights as Foreplay 

Act Your Age, Eve Brown (Brown Sisters #3) by Talia Hibbert 

Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting 

  • Blaire and Ronan bring the slow burn heat. Blaire is unapologetically a boss. Ronan’s initial high jerk factor receives a clever, believable treatment.  


Non-fiction 

Resources and Strategies for People Who See the World from Different Angles 

At Home with Dyslexia, A Parent’s Guide to Supporting Your Child by Sascha Roos 

Overcoming Dyslexia by Drs. Sally and Jonathan Shaywitz  



#CardynBrooksReviews #books

Act Your Age, Eve Brown (Brown SIsters #3) by Talia Hibbert 

Contemporary romance 

Avon, March 9, 2021 


Feeling down? 

Read AYA,EB to elevate your mood. 


Feeling joyous? 

Read this book to celebrate love and the value in being different. 


In chapter ten Jacob thinks, “... why the world would be a much better place if they stopped congratulating themselves on being normal and started to accept that there were countless different normals, and Jacob’s was just as fine as everyone else’s.” 


Eve and Jacob’s utterly charming love story is an absurdist romp that perfectly blends laugh-aloud humor with emotional complexity and profound social commentary.  




A Court of Silver Flames (Thorns and Rose #5) by Sarah J. Maas 

Supernatural fantasy

Bloomsbury Publishing, February 16, 2021 


This installment moves the Thorns and Roses series from YA to Adult fiction in its development of its recurring themes. More complicated political intrigue and consequences, generational cycles of trauma and oppression, plus rival supernatural forces frame and deepen the interpersonal and romantic struggles of these beloved, and sometimes despised, characters. Nesta has been spoiled, petulant, and self-centered from her first introduction, which makes it difficult to cheer for her as her self-indulgent wallowing continues through most of the first section of A Court of Silver Flames. That’s a significant element of the brilliance of her characterization as a foil for Cassian’s patience, his insistence that she is lovable and worthy of being loved; she’s worth the significant effort required. For readers who feel exhausted by Nesta, hang in there until Part II because S.J.M. delivers an impressive and entertaining story arc of transformation and redemption. Fingers crossed that Morrigan’s journey is next.




* My personal down-time reading (mostly) not reviewed for #CardynBrooksReviews #books, Edelweiss, NetGalley or RomanceDailyNews.com 


** There were two dozen or more folded corners on otherwise pristine pages of this borrowed library volume of Written in the Stars. For shame, unknown inconsiderate book vandal! That’s why bookmarks exist! (Fingers crossed that unfolding the corners, then stacking volumes of encyclopedia on top of the book reverses the damage.) #Bibliocrimes #BookBorrowerFelonyViolation #DIYbookrepair  






 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Legacies of Octavia Butler & June BAC Issues

It's so exciting to read about a trailblazer who was ethical, thoughtful, generous, and funny in addition to being diligent and multifaceted.   [Positive Obsession atop a bookstack of 7 books - The Last Lady B spine showing, then 6 books showing page edges; Communion propped to the left of the bookstack]  Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Morris  non-fiction biography  Amistad, 2025  Opening with a quote from Parable of the Sower, this biographer uses every word in the O.E.B. chronology, author's note, introduction, six chapters, epilogue, and acknowledgements to engage readers in an intimate personal study of this extraordinary, talented, driven woman who was vulnerable and complicated in her brilliant humanity. The author's access to the O.E.B. archives adds layers of emotional depth that enrich the context of the details of the author's personal life and creative and professional development. from the Author's Note:...

When What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Funny

Need to laugh out loud? To feel inspired? To feel seen? To feel encouraged to pursue your heart's most ambitious desires despite overwhelming odds against succeeding?   Read Zarna Garg's memoir, which offers an intimate, compelling coming of age, immigrant's journey, family saga, and keen observations about humans and life as experienced by a hilarious, intrepid individual.  [front cover of "Zarna Garg, This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir" showing the Statue of Liberty holding the author in her arms with the New York City skyline in the lower half of the background]  This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg  non-fiction memoir  Ballantine Books, April 2025  Universal themes of family love and family conflict, support and abandonment, grieving as a years' long process with lulls, parenting and being parented (or not), finding your people in friendship, romance, community presented and dissected with the author's sharp wit ...

New Arrivals Giving BRBF Vibes + BAC Issues

Even as my friends and I enjoyed a fantastic community event yesterday in and around the Bowie Branch of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System, there was envy in my heart for all of the attendees and participants at the Black Romance Book Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. Reports of issues of crowding just made me happy for the event organizers' success while they posted apologies and corrective strategies for crowd control during the last day.  In the meantime, the new arrivals shelves at the closest library in the neighboring county offered a variety of books by BRBF authors. "Where the Melanated Are Celebrated" indeed.   [9 books, from left to right: Positive Obsession, Communion, Big Girl Blitz (atop a bookstack), The Started Ex, Fire Sword & Sea, Leave Your Mess at Home, Archangel's Eternity, It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, First Sign of Danger]  Currently reading Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Mo...