Well, well, well. Look who’s back. Sorry y’all. This post is so delayed that I wondered if I should just skip it. But it was a good month with a few fun buddy reads, I thought it’d be great to still post this and share my reading buddies’ reviews.
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The Clinch by Nicole Disney | ARC Review
The Clinch by Nicole Disney
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, January 12th 2021
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 280 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
Content warnings: graphic sex, blood, d slur, homophobia/homomisia, child abuse, minor character drug addiction, mention of prostitution, recreational drinking, uses of ableist language, hospitalization
Written in present tense, The Clinch is an incredibly vivid rivals-to-lovers sports romance, charged with immediacy.
Eden Bauer (27, gay) holds an undefeated record and is the reigning UFC featherweight championship. When newbie pro Brooklyn Shaw (22, biracial, Black) challenges Eden for a title match, Eden reluctantly agrees. Their rivalry is strong, but when post-match Brooklyn comes knocking on the door of Eden’s gym, will they be able to put aside their differences and work together?
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The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins | ARC Review
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins
- Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, January 5th 2021
- Genre: Thriller
- Format: eARC
- Page Count: 304 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
// tl;dr: very cishet & white (0 queer characters & 0 poc); messed up world of rich people and master manipulators with mysterious deaths
Content warnings: on-page murder, mentions of drowning, blackmail, manipulation, forced captivity, infidelity, blood, alcohol abuse
[background music: taylor swift’s no body, no crime]
Everything is a sham and our seemingly lovable characters are actually master manipulators.
It’s thrilling to read, and I couldn’t stop at all.
Jane (23), who grew up in the foster care system until she aged out, walks dogs for the rich people in Thornfield Estates. When by chance she meets Edward “Eddie” Rochester (30s), a handsome recent widower who doesn’t entirely fit in with the rest of the neighborhood, she desperately wants him—him and the new life he could provide—because no one should ever know that Jane isn’t really Jane. But she isn’t the only one who has dark secrets from the past.
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November 2020 Wrap-Up
Happy New Year, folx! Where did December go? I don’t know, but I sure am glad 2020 is gone. Last month was a blur for me; I finished my first ever semester as a PhD student and took a lot of time off for some much needed sleep—I am sure I was sleep-deprived during the semester. So here we are at 2021 and I’m doing a November wrap-up. Expect a December one in a few days and I am also drafting a 2020 wrap-up, which is probably going to be huge.
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Hotel Queens by Lee Winter | ARC Review
Hotel Queens by Lee Winter
- Publisher: Ylva Publishing, December 2nd 2020
- Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 319 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
Content warnings: blackmailing, homophobia/homomisia, misogyny, abuse, manipulation, mention of drugs
This is my second Winter’s book and I am so thrilled to continue with my recent streak of wonderful reads.
VP of the Europe division of Hotel Duxton International Amelia Duxton (46, lesbian) has been sent stateside to deliver a speech at a conference in place of her brother Oliver, VP of Duxton USA. At the conference at Duxton Vegas, VP of Grand Millennium Hotels Kai Fisher (43), The Closer, arrives from New York in an attempt to negotiate a deal on Mayfair Palace, which the Duxtons are also after. Both VPs are in Vegas for work-related projects; neither expects to find the other, one fire, one ice, in steamy encounters.
