• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Beyond the Lights by Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue | ARC Review

    14th October 2020
    Cover of Beyond the Lights (Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue)

    Beyond the Lights by Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue

    Content warnings: mention of death of a side character’s parent

    Beyond the Lights is a cute novella with great potential. I liked the premise but the writing style threw me off a little and the plot was a bit more absurd than I had expected.

    Sawyer Johnson (23) is convinced that she is in love with actress Amy Mitchell, whom she has never met before. When she announces her plan of going cross-country to find Amy, her best friend Autumn Thompson (~23, lesbian), who is secretly in love with Sawyer, decides to tag along, hoping for some quality time together. All plans go out the window as they run into Amy filming a movie in a small town in Montana.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews

    Home by Kris Bryant | ARC Review

    9th October 2020
    Cover of Home (Kris Bryant)

    Home by Kris Bryant

    Content warnings: gun, off-page animal abuse, loss of father to cancer (prior to story), missing person

    Home is a very sweet second-chance romance that will make you smile. It is an angst-less joy, perfect for a bad day.

    Sheriff Natalie Strand (~35, lesbian) isn’t looking for love, and she tries to pretend she didn’t spend half her life thinking about the girl who kissed her and disappeared. Recently divorced Sarah Eastman (~35, lesbian) moves back to small town Spruce Mountain with her six-year-old daughter Harley to regroup. When the pair runs into each other, they are instantly thrown back to that night seventeen years ago.

    Read More
  • 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.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The X Ingredient by Roslyn Sinclair | ARC Review

    17th September 2020
    Cover of The X Ingredient (Roslyn Sinclair)

    The X Ingredient by Roslyn Sinclair

    Content warnings: non-consensual kissings between the main characters, one instance of bi-erasure from a minor character, underlying misogyny from antagonists. Note that ableist language is also present in the book (crazy, insane, mad, blind).

    Sinclair definitely surprised me with The X Ingredient. I don’t normally do well with ice-queen, age-gap, office romance, but I wanted to try anyway. And I am so glad I did.

    Read More
  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven | ARC Review

    16th September 2020
    Cover of The Holiday Detour (Jane Kolven)

    The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven

    Content warnings: misgendering from main character and minor character, car accident, recalling parental loss

    As someone who is both genderqueer and sapphic, The Holiday Detour is very difficult for me to review. I wanted to love it so badly but I didn’t. I appreciate Kolven writing a sapphic story featuring an f/gq relationship however, so I rounded up my rating. There are too many issues that kept me from fully enjoying the story, but it was nonetheless chaotically entertaining.

    Read More