Heartstopper, Vol 2 by Alice Oseman

April 7, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Heartstopper, Vol 2 by Alice Oseman
Publisher: Graphix
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Ages 14+, LGBTQ, Romance
Rating 4 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Nick and Charlie are best friends, but one spontaneous kiss has changed everything. In the aftermath, Charlie thinks that he’s made a horrible mistake and ruined his friendship with Nick, but Nick is more confused than ever. Love works in surprising ways, and Nick comes to see the world from a new perspective. He discovers all sorts of things about his friends, his family… and himself.

The boys are back and trying to navigate this thing called life. The thing called love.

I’m in love with this series because Nick and Charlie are so realistic. I see and feel the struggles in them. I understand where they’re coming from and why they react the way they do. Why? Because yes, it’s shown in the pictures – it’s a graphic novel – but also the heartfelt way the author conveys these things. I’m right there with Nick and Charlie. It’s refreshing.

It’s also a good story for young people who are trying to sort out how they feel – all across the spectrum. We’re all human and we get shy. We make mistakes. This book shows that. I liked that this one, in particular, really spotlighted Nick and his struggles with understanding he’s bisexual. It’s a real struggle that’s hard to deal with if you’re feeling alone and confused.

If you like a sweet romance, a sweet LGBTQ one with two young men navigating the world with the changes in their lives, then this might be the one for you.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Forever Heart by Diana Bolianaz

April 6, 2023 By 6 Comments

The Forever Heart by Diana Bolianaz
Publisher: Tellwell Publishing
Genre: Literary Fiction, Romance
Rated: 3 stars
Review by Rose

Liza is a beautiful nineteen-year-old girl who comes from a strict Mennonite background. She lives at home with her mother, brother and domineering father. When Liza meets Melvin, a handsome young Black journalist, they fall madly in love. She has to keep the relationship a secret from her family because she knows her father would never approve. When Liza becomes pregnant, her world is turned upside down.

This book reads more like a third-person memoir of Liza’s life than a romance…almost a “as told to” story. The main character shows a lot of growth during the course of the book. The supporting cast are good friends for her, and the story itself is a fascinating look at a young adult from a strict family who is breaking out on her own. There’s the dawning of young love, and also the heartbreak that can also come along with that.

However, the style of the writing is very “tell not show.” There are some editing issues that took me out of the flow of the story. This could very easily be because I was an editor in a previous life, so I’m a bit more sensitive to things than a lot of readers.

When Liza meets Melvin, she falls and falls hard. I liked the way, though, that even though they both fell in love quickly, they took the time to let the relationship develop. Melvin introduced her to his family and other people that helped Liza develop into a strong woman. The book did have some special moments, such as the lessons she learns from the people she meets. For a slow, sweet look at Liza and Melvin’s lives, give The Forever Heart a try.

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Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

A Union Like Ours: The Love Story of F. O. Matthiessen and Russell Cheney by Scott Bane

April 5, 2023 By Leave a Comment


A Union Like Ours: The Love Story of F. O. Matthiessen and Russell Cheney by Scott Bane
Publisher: Bright Leaf
Genre: Historical, Biography, Non-Fiction, LGBTQ
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

After a chance meeting aboard the ocean liner Paris in 1924, Harvard University scholar and activist F. O. Matthiessen and artist Russell Cheney fell in love and remained inseparable until Cheney’s death in 1945. During the intervening years, the men traveled throughout Europe and the United States, achieving great professional success while contending with serious personal challenges, including addiction, chronic disease, and severe depression.

During a hospital stay, years into their relationship, Matthiessen confessed to Cheney that “never once has the freshness of your life lost any trace of its magic for me. Every day is a new discovery of your wealth.” Situating the couple’s private correspondence alongside other sources, Scott Bane tells the remarkable story of their relationship in the context of shifting social dynamics in the United States. From the vantage point of the present day, with marriage equality enacted into law, Bane provides a window into the realities faced by same-sex couples in the early twentieth century, as they maintained relationships in the face of overt discrimination and the absence of legal protections.

Two men who want to be together finding a way to make it work.

I’d never heard of activist F. O. Matthiessen and artist Russell Cheney until I picked up this book. I was intrigued by the way these two managed to navigate life and a relationship during the early 20th century. I can’t imagine being them, with the laws against LGBTQ people, the hatred and the harshness of trying to be authentic at the time.

I loved that there are pieces of their private correspondence in amongst the rest of the story because it made the men seem more real, not just a story to be told.

I liked, though that seems odd, that these men were human and struggled. I know that sounds strange, but it made them more human. There’s success, but there’s also the problem of healthcare at the time, how to handle depression and the general atmosphere of the world at the time. I liked seeing how they navigated these choppy waters and still managed to stay together. It was refreshing.

If you’re looking for a book that’s not like the rest with a couple that proves love is real, then pick up a copy today.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Wedding at Moonglow Bay by Lori Wilde

April 4, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Wedding at Moonglow Bay by Lori Wilde
Publisher: Avon
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

It wasn’t the wedding night she’d expected!

When Samantha said “I do” to Luca Ginelli, she knew she’d found a reliable soulmate—a strong, sexy man who’d stand beside her through thick and thin. And so she’d started her wedding day filled with joyful expectation, only to have her dreams shattered when the man she married years before shocking, unexpectedly, reappears, insisting she was still his wife!

Seven years before, Luca’s brother, Nick, had stubbornly set off in a sailing adventure, ignoring the pleas of his young bride and all common sense. He’d disappeared without a trace; everyone thought he was dead—but now he’s expecting to pick up where they’d left off. He’d once been Samantha’s “lightning strike,”—the person you know is the one from the moment you first see them.

But seven years is a long time and so much has changed. Now Samantha is faced with an impossible choice and no matter which decision she makes, it threatens to shred the very fabric of the one thing she holds most dear—family.

Lori Wilde’s latest novel does not fail to elicit tender emotions. The Wedding at Moonglow Bay tells the tale of an impossible situation. Samantha, a widow, marries her dead husband’s brother. All goes well until her husband shows up after missing for seven years and having been declared legally dead.

What can Samantha do about this mess? To complicate things, she has a child from her first husband, but she is better suited to her second husband. As the story unfolds this is reinforced. It seems like a simple choice, but Samantha has other people to consider in making this decision, and Lori Wilde has done well showing this.

Secondary characters add controversy and sometimes support for the struggling Samantha. Some of them surprise her. Who can she trust? This book makes a successful exploration of relationship dynamics while giving readers a descriptive sense of place. The theme of personal growth underlies the story and adds layers to it because more than one character faces harsh realities and must find a path forward.

For fan of contemporary romance, why not check out this latest installment of the Moonglow Bay stories?

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

Luke Blackmon’s Rose by Mary Patterson Thornburg

April 3, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Luke Blackmon’s Rose by Mary Patterson Thornburg
Publisher: Uncial Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

To guard herself from the perils of her own sensuality, Rose married a man she didn’t love. Now, two years after his death, she’s not sure she can really love anyone. She’s not even sure she cares…

To achieve what he’d always known was his birthright, Luke had to struggle against tremendous odds. But when science discovered a way to access the past, a powerful bureaucracy found a way to use Luke. Now, torn from his own time, everything and everyone he knew, he can see no reason to go on living…

An instant of attraction, uninvited but inescapable, brings Luke and Rose together. Together, they discover the strength to love, the will to trust and hope. But will these things be enough to carry them over walls of suspicion, guilt, bigotry, and hate?

Soul mates aren’t a myth. They’re very real.

The romance made me smile. This was a good example of how to write instant attraction in a realistic but still romantic way. I found myself silently cheering Luke and Rose on long before I could cohesively explain why I wanted them to end up together so much. All I knew was that their personalities appeared to be a perfect match and I wanted them to live happily ever after together. Yes, additional reasons why they were well suited to each other did show up, but I was pleased by how quickly the author made it clear that these two had something special and rare together.

After I’d read the first few chapters, I found myself searching for this title online to see if I’d accidentally requested a later book in a series because of how often the narrator shared facts about the characters and storyline without explaining why they had occurred. From what I could tell, it was not part of a series. To give an example of the sort of plot twist that made me wonder this, the two main characters ended up escalating the physical side of their relationship rapidly after they met. That isn’t an inherently negative thing, of course, but it was something I found surprising based on the conservative era Luke came from and how cautious Rose was about sensual matters in general. I would have happily gone with a much higher rating if this sort of stuff had been explained better as the plot itself was well paced and had all sorts of interesting ideas about time travel embedded in it.

Speaking of time travel, I loved the way this book explained how it worked. I can’t go into a lot of detail about the actual mechanics of it without giving away spoilers, but Ms. Patterson Thornburg came up with clever answers to some of the most common pitfalls of dragging a character of their time period and into a different one. I especially liked her answer to how someone is supposed to accomplish everything they need to in their original lifetime if they’re whisked away to a new one. It’s always nice to read stories that take the practicalities of such things seriously and give the audience logical explanations of why they don’t necessarily have to be a problem.

Luke Blackmon’s Rose was a quick and breezy read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , ,

Capitol Secrets by Maureen Dean

March 31, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Capitol Secrets by Maureen Dean
Publisher: Putnam
Genre: Recent Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Laura Christen aspires to become the first female speaker of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill. She and her beautiful daughter, Catsy, are in for a rough sprint. Has Laura’s past been impeccable and golden? Or are some long buried secrets about to unfold?

Lusty, dangerous and intoxicating.

I have to admit I picked up this book because I’d been watching a documentary on John Dean, Maureen Dean’s husband, and found out she was an author. I wanted to know more about what she’d written, so I looked her up at the library. This is one of the three books I found. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get when I started reading it. Could be good. Could be bad. But why not try it?

Man, oh, man. I was blown away. This is a tawdry, intoxicating thriller of a story. It’s evident that the author moved and shook in the circles written about in this book because it hits rather closet to the bone. I have to mention this is a political thriller, but it’s not so much focused around politics and picking a side. It’s about a woman trying to be speaker, the powers that be trying to keep her from it, her past getting in the way and a whole lot more. Politics are really a sidebar.

Laura Christen wants to be speaker, but she’s made some interesting deals in the past and has some skeletons in her closet. What politician doesn’t? I liked the intrigue and thriller aspect of this story. There are tawdry bits, but I expected that and it only enhanced the story. There’s a lot of bargaining, wheeling and dealing and subterfuge in this world and the author really showed that.

This was an unexpected story that I loved. I will be reading more by this author. I suggest you do, too. Discover this hidden thriller gem.

Recommended.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

Synchronicity by Shelby Morgen

March 31, 2023 By 1 Comment


Synchronicity by Shelby Morgen
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Jody’s won the masquerade costume competition for four years running. She should be a shoo-in for first place this year, as well, except that she’s being badly upstaged by a tentacle monster costume. Tara’s got to come to the rescue or it’ll be one miserable drive home. Besides, Jody’s a fantastic costumer, and she deserves all the attention she’s not getting. When Tara springs into action to divert the audience’s attention, the last thing she expects is a chance to experience some real live tentacle play herself!

Only problem is, her Tentacle Monster’s costume doesn’t come off. He’s really a shape shifting alien on the run from some real live alien bounty hunters dressed in what look like leftover eighties costumes from the set of Flash Gordon, and now Tara’s got to help him escape, or she could end up crated off to Zenon to stand trial for aiding and abetting a fugitive.

Where are the Men in Black when you need them, anyway?

An alien quickie? Yes, please!

I love the work of Shelby Morgen and this book didn’t disappoint. It was just as I expected. A little wacky, fun and sexy. There’s a monster, in this case, an alien, and it’s hot. How can you go wrong?

I liked the idea of the story being set at a convention in a costume contest. I’ve often wondered what would happen if an alien or vampire showed up at one of those things. Now I know. It’s hot! Morgen writes the scenes with humor and makes them believable. I loved it.

Tara and ‘Richard’ are a good pairing. I liked the way he swept her off her feet and made the encounter memorable. I certainly won’t be forgetting.

This story is quick, hot and fun. If you’re looking for those things in a short story, then look no further! You’ve found a good one.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sweater Weather by Alex Winters

March 30, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Sweater Weather by Alex Winters
Hotbloodeded Holidays, Book 1
Publisher: Luminosity Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Holiday, LGBTQ, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

“Oh, the weather outside is… sexy!”

At the ripe old age of thirty-seven, Colton Masters has given up on romance, especially during the holidays. A confirmed bachelor whose job staging high-priced homes for a successful local realtor has him rolling in dough but lacking in social graces. Colton is perfectly content spending another Christmas home alone, watching, well… Home Alone! That is, until he sees his sexy young neighbor, Memphis Nash, streaking across the back porch wearing nothing but an ugly Christmas sweater — literally!

A millionaire entrepreneur who’s staggeringly rich and online famous for knitting ugly Christmas sweaters on camera wearing only… ugly Christmas sweaters, Memphis is mortified that he’s been spotted in the wild — and in the buff — by his silver fox of a neighbor. Or is he? Memphis immediately pretends to “borrow sugar” from sexy Colton, if only to make sure he hasn’t called the cops on him for indecent exposure! Thus begins a playful back and forth of introductions, flirtations and, ultimately, an invitation over for a holiday sleepover-slash-pajama party, with only the two horny neighbors in attendance. Suddenly, Colton and Memphis can’t wait to unwrap one another… one ugly Christmas sweater at a time!

Cute holiday read!

I’ve read others by Alex Winters, and I knew what to expect from this story and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s quick, the writing moves along pretty well, and I wanted to see what would happen for the characters. It was a cute holiday read.

Memphis is famous for Christmas sweaters and uses an original way to market them. I liked the originality. Colton is perfectly happy to be on his own. Then he sees Memphis and things change. I liked the organic way they got together. It was cute.

I wasn’t so much a fan of the age gap in that it wasn’t much of a gap. Yes, there’s a 14-year difference, but Colton being 37 wasn’t really that old. I liked that they were from two different perspectives in life, but bringing up the age difference was a bit much. It didn’t feel authentic at times.

Still, the romance between them sizzles and even though this is a short story, it was satisfying. The author found the right balance of getting the characters together and the rest of the story. I liked it.

If you’re looking for something hot this spring to warm up a cold evening, then this is the short story for you.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Wild Ones by Kira Stone

March 27, 2023 By 1 Comment


Wild Ones by Kira Stone
Publisher: Changeling Press
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBTQ
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

Billy has always been a loner, but after being bitten by a ferocious wolf, his need for solitude becomes even greater. He can’t get a handle on the wild forces now running through him. He makes the best of it by carving out a territory in the Canadian wilderness, but he’s far from happy with his lot in this strange, new life.

Luc knows Billy is just the guy he’s looking for. His small pack is made up of men who are special even among weres. Their ability to control the elements — air, earth, fire and water — makes them uniquely qualified to act as spirit guardians. But presently there are only three, and they need Billy to complete them or Luc will lose much more than his position as alpha.

It’ll take a lot of fast talking to convince Billy to join their pack, but first the Wild Ones will have to catch him…

Whoa, baby. This one is hot!

I wasn’t sure what I was in for when I picked up this book. Shifters? Yes! Hot guy on guy action? I’m in. They’re all in this together? Sold!

I liked the writing of this story. It moved along at a great clip and kept me intrigued throughout. I wanted to know how this would play out. I’m glad I kept reading. This one was hot, and I want to know more about this pack.

The pack, The Wild Ones, aren’t an average wolf pack. They each have an element they manipulate and have to come together as four to make things work. I liked the impatience and bit of fighting between them because it made them more real. I also liked that Billy didn’t just roll over and submit to them. The fight was good. I also really liked the way the four came together. I got that there were two main couples, but they all worked together and when they had their foursome…oh man.

If you’re wanting a shifters story that’s a fresh take, then this is the one for you. I recommend it.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Maggie’s List by Brittany Severn

March 24, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Maggie’s List by Brittany Severn
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When Ivy loses her twin sister, Maggie, to cancer, she discovers a secret journal to be read after her death. Ivy discovers that Maggie has a bucket list that she was unable to complete. To honor her sister, Ivy sets out to complete it on Maggie’s behalf.

As Ivy works through her grief, visiting all the places Maggie never got to see, she finds herself in Scotland. Eager to tick off a few more items on her list, Ivy teams up with Evan, a handsome tour guide. Pouring her heart out in the journal, Ivy soon realizes that her old life is gone, but a new one might be ready to begin.

Every day is a fresh page in the book of life.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that showed how many loose ends surviving relatives must tie up after someone dies. This can be something as simple as cleaning and organizing a bedroom all the way to far more complex tasks like, say, finishing a bucket list. I was especially intrigued by the way Ivy’s grief leaked through sometimes as she checked these tasks off her to-do list. This was such a realistic approach to the process of grieving and healing after a terrible loss.

I would have liked to see more character development in this novella. While Ivy was an interesting protagonist, there wasn’t enough time spent exploring how she changed as a result of her sister’s death and the trips she took after the funeral. There was plenty of material for her to work with. I simply needed to see more examples of her personal growth in order to feel comfortable giving this a higher rating.

The romance was handled nicely. Grief can be all-consuming, especially when someone as young as Maggie dies, so I was curious to see how the author would balance Ivy’s grief for her twin with her budding romance with Evan. Luckily, the romantic scenes were handled sensitively and gave Ivy plenty of time to say goodbye to her sister before she thought of what she wanted to do with her life next. It was also cool to see space left for a possible sequel. I don’t know if Ms. Severn has one in the works, but I’ll happily read it if she does!

Maggie’s List made me smile.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,
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