• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Lockset by Brenda Murphy | ARC Review

    8th October 2020
    Cover of Lockset (Brenda Murphy)

    Lockset (University Square #2) by Brenda Murphy

    Content warnings: death of parent, infidelity (side characters), homophobia, arson, drug addiction, violence, blood

    This is book two of Murphy’s new series University Square, and while there are a few recurring characters, it can absolutely be read as a standalone. But book one On the Square (review) has a wonderful storyline with a Blasian butch (focusing on her Chinese roots) that is worth a read.

    Eun (은) Park (42, lesbian), an attorney in Chicago, is estranged from her family because of her sexuality. When her father calls in hopes of reconnection, Eun gives in and agrees to visit. However things don’t go as planned, and Eun soon finds herself back home, fatherless, and meets a sweet butch Morgan Wright (42), who is taking care of Eun’s father’s dog Rudy, at the worst possible timing for dating. The chemistry between Eun and Morgan is undeniable, but Eun has a life back in Chicago and Morgan’s locksmith shop is in this small town. The pair has to decide if their encounter is merely for sex, or something more.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust | ARC Review

    27th September 2020
    Cover of Girl, Serpent, Thorn (Melissa Bashardoust)

    Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust, read by Nikki Massoud

    AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

    Content warnings: kidnap, torture, murder

    This is a breathtaking and artful retelling of Persian mythology and fairy tales. From the beginning of story, I fell in love with Bashardoust’s writing and Massoud’s narration.

    Yeki bood, yeki nabood. There was, and there was not a cursed, poisonous girl named Soraya (18, bi+). She was the young shah’s twin sister, but kept away from everyone because of her venomous veins, deadly upon touch. When the shah captured a div—parik Parvaneh, Soraya knew she owed herself to seek answers of her own curse from the prizoner. And then there was Azad, a young man who understood her, giving Soraya the unconditional acceptance and love she craved the most, despite her poison. As she learned that the only way to undo her curse was to put her family’s lives at risk, would Soraya exchange their safety—a family who were ashamed of her monstrous quality—for her own human self, or keep herself tucked away for the rest of eternity?

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  • Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Best Lines by Nicole Pyland

    25th September 2020
    Cover of The Best Lines (Nicole Pyland)

    The Best Lines (Chicago #1) by Nicole Pyland

    Dr. Eva Dash has just lost her job as a professor at her alma mater. That seems to leave her with no choice but to leave the city she considers home. When restaurant owner Ember Elliot shows up in Eva’s life, Eva is fascinated by this mysterious, former player. The preamble to their connection is a napkin note that leads to more notes. As both struggle with their unknown professional futures, what will become of their relationship?

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    While My Heart Beats by Erin McKenzie | ARC Review

    20th September 2020
    Cover of While My Heart Beats

    While My Heart Beats by Erin McKenzie

    CW: war, off-page deaths of family

    This is a beautiful historical romance across classes set in WWI Great Britain and France.

    Ellie Winthrop is high-born, a feminist, and holds big dreams during a time women cannot even vote. Her mother is eager to marry her off at twenty-two, but Ellie enlists in Volunteer Aid Detachment. At the hospital, she meets Johanna Lennox, a working-class, twenty-four-year-old nurse with a no-nonsense attitude. As the pair gradually become friends, they can no longer resist their yearnings for each other’s bodies. But with Ellie’s mother pestering Ellie with marriage, Johanna wonders if she, being poorer and a woman, could ever be good enough for her.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi | ARC Review

    20th September 2020
    Cover of The Silvered Serpents

    The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi

    CW: dismemberment, torture, blood Forging, off-screen killings, emotional abuse, alcohol, (possible) panic attacks, antisemitism, racism, suicide of a very minor character, bombing, manipulation

    I love the tagline, “They are each other’s fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope.” Upon finishing, I realized just how true it is.

    “We debase ourselves for the ones we love.”

    Laila
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