For #RomanceReviews 16 I'll be reading A Power Unbound by Freya Marske.
I'm expecting this to be an Edwardian m/m romance with some kink, a light grumpy/bratting dynamic and some sexual healing, based on their connection in the previous book.
Background: I read A Restless Truth (#2 in series, f/f, great read.) but not the first one, because I don't usually go for m/m and also I do what I want. However, A Restless Truth made Jack Alston aka Lord Hawthorne sound hot in this tortured bisexual rake way, and Alan Ross was extremely entertaining. We love a scrappy porn dealer.
CW: disability, survivor's guilt, suicidal ideation, bdsm including consensual non-consent.
I finally finished A Power Unbound, time for the #RomanceReviews rundown.
TL;DR yes Jack and Alan, please sit with us.
I loved it.
This had the elements I think of as defining a true romance, both physical chemistry and emotional connection, but it was also definitely a concluding volume of a trilogy and wouldn't read well as a standalone.
I loved the way the author explored the implications of class difference and how Jack and Alan handled IRL power imbalance. A lot of romance authors use the rich character's money to simply fix the poorer character's everything, and this conclusion felt way better than that.
Glorious roleplay and dirty talk. The way they were mindful to keep their mutual mockery mutually enjoyable really warmed the cockles of my cold, dead heart. Just an awesome dynamic.
As a USian, the problems posed by living in a society in which gay sex was illegal seemed Quite Relevant.
OK, we're going to roll into April with #RomanceReviews 15. As (hopefully) a delightful little palate cleanser, I'm reading When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein.
This is possibly my favorite trope of all time, so that title is a lot to live up to. I'm expecting this to be a straight romance between a curvy woman writer and a grumpy former soccer player. The preview is giving me "Talia Hibbert but white" vibes, and it looks like Talia herself gave it a positive quote, so we'll see how that goes.
OK, I finished When Grumpy Met Sunshine and it's time for the #RomanceReviews roundup.
TL;DR
Alfie and Mabel can sit with us! Mabel is hilarious and Alfie can braid hair (also holds the coveted gold star consent rating).
This is my favorite Charlotte Stein to date, I hope she keeps going in this vein.
I'm really glad I hung in there for the ending, which was highly satisfying. The middle had more angst than I really like, in terms of 1) fat woman doesn't believe a famous sports guy could genuinely be interested in her, 2) internet hate, 3) a man has feelings he hides bc patriarchy. I found it all too realistic, just not pleasant.
Fortunately the dirty talking and their chemistry kept me going, and she stuck the landing, which involved a lot of Actually Talking It Out. It also left me with a nice sense of having called it.
I'm reading Hot Blooded by Heather Guerre, which I think will be a straight romance between a vampire and a paid blood donor.
I'm intrigued because this has consensual non-consent which can be super hot if done right, and also somebody on romance.io complained it was too "woke." So you know I'm there for that.
This was a romance between a male vampire and a woman, but I'm hesitant to call it a straight romance because they're both bi/pan. Any respectful insights on this?
Verdict: Amos and Tessa can sit with us sometimes but idk if we're going to have a lot to talk about.
The main themes were consensual non-consent and the parentification of oldest daughters. I liked that we got to see some mutual planning of the CNC and that it was clear both parties were enthusiastically interested. There was a really sweet moment where they both dropped out of scene for a second to kiss and be affectionate and then went right back to it. D'aww!
Tessa's emotionally abusive family was written really well. I didn't like the resolution or find it satisfying, but whatcha gonna do.
I found I was interested in what would happen next but not very invested in the characters or their relationship.
For #RomanceReviews 13 I'm going with my first historical, A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall (any pronouns).
The premise is that Viola is presumed dead at Waterloo and transitions, and then when she reconnects with her bestie Justin, they have Feelings.
I'm hopeful because the reviews say she isn't outed (important! too anxiety-provoking for me) and also the author is queer (and wrote this great article about expectations and handjobs https://allaboutromance.com/give-hands-friends-alexis-hall-guest-post/ ) The whole concept of running away from the army to live her best life is v compelling, I'm amped.
I'm expecting this to be a somewhat angsty romance and I can't wait to finish it so I can contentedly read the small novel of a review someone wrote on romance.io (you have to scroll more than once).
K, finished. Here’s my #RomanceReviews recap of A Lady for a Duke.
TL;DR they can both sit with us, and I think Gracewood (Justin) already has my number. Would read more from this author.
The long version: Alexis Hall (any pronouns) writes hilarious characters. There was a lot of angst around Justin’s addiction and PTSD, as well as Viola’s isolation to keep herself safe, but there would be amazing banter dropped at strategic intervals to defuse the tension and we’d be back on track.
Miranda and Lady Marley were fantastic side characters, and I loved the moment when another woman called Viola “missish” and she found it gender affirming. ❤️ :transgender_flag:
Lots of really lovely prose which is basically the best part of historical romances.
Justin was a real mixed bag, he was so in love with Viola but also blissfully ensconced in his privilege. “Fuck the world. I will change it for you if I have to.”
#RomanceReviews 7 is some more #ChristmasSmut , Eat My Moon Dust by Etta Pierce. I'm going to keep reading these things until I get sick of 'em or it's 2024.
I'm hoping this will be a good palate cleanser. We have aliens, we have my favorite trope (grumpy & sunshine), and we have Christmas.. FFS, what else could one ask for!
I think this is going to be straight-ish with some creative anatomy nonsense. Here for it.
Eat My Moon Dust was the #ChristmasSmut I needed. We had found family, we had romance, we had hunky single dads (Hallmark, natch), and what Christmas romance would be complete without alien tentacle sex. Obviously.
I liked both of the main characters, which is no surprise because I. Love. Sunshine/grumpy. Grumpy quote of the book: "no one would ever measure up to my little cyclone of chaos and rainbows." D'aww.
Do recommend for those interested in consensual alien relationships and not averse to steamy creative anatomy scenes. I would read more by this author.
The author has content warnings here: https://www.ettapierceromance.com/content-notes and I would add that puberty is also a minor theme, there is an incident where a tween crosses touch boundaries with another tween but it is resolved, and somnophilia.
#RomanceReviews 4: I'm going with a palate cleanser of an actual #romance this time: Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. I listened to the previous book in the series and it was sweet, hilarious, and British (they chose the narrator well).
I'm expecting this to be a straight, interracial romance with at least one neurodivergent character.
Alright, here is my #RomanceReviews roundup for Act Your Age, Eve Brown. Loved it.
As expected going in, it was sweet, hilarious, interracial and British. So British. The banter had me cackling repeatedly as I tried to do housekeeping. This was a little bit of an enemies-to-lovers plotline.
Both (straight) neurodivergents were really truly into each other. This was what I think of as a true romance, with deep emotional and sexual attraction.
Him: “Is it terrible that I’m going to fuck you on this desk?”
Also him: “He wanted inside her confetti-strewn head every chance he got. It was the only foreign country he could remember wanting to visit.”
*swoon
I love that Talia Hibbert writes neurodivergent people and fat people as genuinely desirable and competent.
Good consent, 5 stars, would totally fuck this guy.
OK, here we go with the second #RomanceReviews
I'm optimistic this will be better than my first pick.
This sounds like it will be a straight-oriented romance, with the classic "sneaks onto a pirate ship as a man" trope (I love it. Shut up.) and also shapeshifting, so I bet there will be some gateway drugs to queerness here. Some light genderbendery?
I am totally fascinated that the GoodReads crowd seems better able to identify the kinks here than romance.io, although GoodReads does get more traffic.