Skip to main content

Rocky Relationships

Have read & will read books 
[5 books, from left to right: front hardcover up of Murder in Berkeley Square; paperback spines up of Love Delayed, The Wingman, Love You a Latke, I'll Be Gone for Christmas] 

Murder in Berkeley Square (Lady Worthing #3) by Vanessa Riley 
historical mystery 
Kensington Books, September 2024 

An array of privileged people snowed in together with a killer tests Lady Worthing's and her fellow sleuth's powers of deduction in this lively installment that offers twists, turns, and reversals of fortune. Shocking departures and arrivals also included. As always, the author's (research) notes provide insightful context. 

[bookstack of 3 paperbacks: Under Loch and Key, Mr. Nice Spy, Twisted Knight] 

Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson 
contemporary romance with supernatural elements  
Berkley, December 2024 

In addition to an irresistible combatants-to-lovers romance, Keyanna and Lachlan's love story offers readers an inventive twist on popular fantastical lore and nuanced layers about difficult choices, painful consequences, grief, and figuring out how to move forward in healthy ways. It's also very funny, tender, and sexy. 


Mr. Nice Spy (My Spy #2) by Tiana Smith 
contemporary romantic suspense 
Berkley, November 2024 

The results of a DNA swab put Andee Paxton, pyrotechnic engineer, in explosive danger from multiple sources. It's even odds whether her incendiary chemistry with Officer Adam Chan will save her life, or end it. Organic setup of multiple layers of risk, reward, vulnerabilities, and unconventional advantages make their love story an entertaining mashup of romance and thriller suspense tropes. Contains one of the very best universal integrations of disability as a regular fact of everyday life throughout their adventures. 


Twisted Knight (Tangled Hearts #1) by K. Bromberg 
contemporary romance 
Bramble, September 2024 

Who's the player and who's being played? 
Rowan and Holden battle it out to see who has the hardest heart in this first installment about avenging family honor and continuing family legacies that ends on a shocking cliffhanger that'll torment readers with speculations until book two later this year. 


If I Stopped Haunting You by Colby Wilkens 
contemporary speculative romance 
St. Martin's Griffin, October 2024 

Moonlighting meets Hart to Hart meets Scooby Doo and Ghost in this adversaries-to-lovers meta atmospheric, contemplative romance mystery that examines ethnic gatekeeping in mainstream publishing, and society in general. 

from chapter 15: 
... There will always be someone who says otherwise, but they're buying into a system created by colonizers. 

from chapter 16: 
Because the publishing industry wants you to fight. They want there to be one of you, and you two were scrabbling for that spot... 

from chapter 32: 
... By limiting the number of Native books being published, we've been pitted against each other since the beginning. 

Pen and Neil's ongoing debate about what, if anything, successful authors from underrepresented marginalized and stereotyped groups owe to their communities resonates as particularly relevant. 

Happy Reading the Human Diaspora!  



 
 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen Delivers All the Feels

Black love. Black joy. Black drama. Humanity in its vast melanin array.   [front cover of a paperback ARC for The Best Man: Unfinished Business; silhouette of three adults] The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen  adult contemporary fiction with romantic elements  Storehouse Voices, July 2025   First, dedicated fans of The Best Man franchise and its beloved characters need not fear how they’re treated in this first of three novels. In fact. One thread of Harper’s storyline seems to reflect the real-life author/screenwriter/director’s battle to protect and maintain the integrity of The Best Man universe. Mission accomplished.  Second, once readers - fans or not - start this novel they won’t want to stop. The compulsion to re/watch The Best Man movies and limited series and maybe even to reread this book while anticipating the release of book two in 2026 will prove difficult to resist.  Who are you?  Who are your people?...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hot Love in the Kitchen & Travelling Through Time

Redemption of the Heart by Moni Boyce contemporary romance Love Snacks Publishing  8 January 2019 Despite addressing heavy themes of domestic violence, incarceration, and grief, Redemption of the Heart is a charming and sweet spicy read in the tradition of a 21st-century interracial homage to Janet Dailey’s monthly romance era. Gemma’s open-hearted ingénue contrasts starkly with Alex’s jaded workaholic. They struggle with a variety of challenges, but ethnicity isn’t one of them—a spin that feels particularly modern. Once readers commit to their suspension of disbelief regarding the cascading impact of lacks in due diligence by several characters, it’s easy to settle in to enjoy this love story. The recent public debate about the pros and cons of Gillette’s “We believe the best man can be” campaign ties in with the contradictory messages in the story threads about toxic masculinity. There’s a scene in which Alex apologizes to someone who was openly bragging among cowork...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Million Lives Book Festival - An Unfortunate Exception, Not the Event Rule

[2 decorative stickers on lined writing paper from left to right: a round smiley face arranged upside down to look like a frown and a round smiley face arranged right sight up] By now most bookish folk and others have heard about the inaugural A Million Lives Book Festival held at the Baltimore Convention Center last Friday and Saturday. To recap: according to participating authors and attendees many promises were made and almost all of them were broken.  As outreach director and co-organizer for The Write Women Book Fest scheduled to host its 6th event Saturday, July 19 & Sunday, July 20 of this year at the Bowie Comfort Inn & Conference Center in Bowie, Maryland, U.S.A., my reaction to the feedback being shared about A Million Lives is nightmarish. Even though we aren't connected to it in any way or familiar with the event organizer or her company, our completely unrelated event has felt some minor residual effects because people are worried. And that's an understanda...
Post a Comment
Read more