• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    ON THE ROCKS by Georgia Beers | ARC Review

    7th December 2021
    Cover of On the Rocks (Georgia Beers)

    ON THE ROCKS (A Swizzle Stick Romance #2) by Georgia Beers

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    3.5 stars rounding up.

    This is the second book I’ve read this month featuring an elementary school teacher main (the other one is Marry Me by Melissa Brayden; my review here), and gosh, why aren’t there more books with frazzled teachers and trouble-making kids?

    Vanessa Martini (33) knows what she wants in a woman: not her students’ mom, not under 35 years old. But when she met Grace Chapman (29, bisexual), mother of the headache named Oliver, they connected better than expected. Too good, actually. Could the worst timing of Grace going through divorce while Oliver is in Vanessa’s class turn out to be the best time for them to date?

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    SHAKEN OR STIRRED by Georgia Beers | ARC Review

    30th November 2021
    Cover of Shaken or Stirred (Georgia Beers)

    SHAKEN OR STIRRED (A Swizzle Stick Romance #1) by Georgia Beers

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    A new series with gay cousins and I’m so here for it! Shaken or Stirred is the first book in the Swizzle Stick Romance trilogy featuring cousins Julia, Vanessa, and Amelia Martini, respectively. I love this trio and am excited for Vanessa’s (On the Rocks) and Amelia’s stories because Vanessa is such a fun person who is an elementary school teacher and Amelia is in her late forties (48 in Shaken or Stirred) who takes zero bullshit. While Vanessa and Amelia seem to have more personality to them, Julia is… a business owner who is a workaholic. Maybe not the most intriguing character, her story was still an enjoyable one.

    Julia Martini (38) just bought Martini’s from her uncle and reopened the bar. When Savannah McNally (34), who works as a caretaker, comes in for a drink one day, sparks fly. But there is something going on between the Martinis and McNallys on top of other issues within their own families. Will Julia and Savannah retreat to their comfort zones and miss out on this chance of love?

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    MARRY ME by Melissa Brayden | ARC Review

    19th November 2021
    Cover of Marry Me (Melissa Brayden)

    MARRY ME by Melissa Brayden

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Ally and Megan’s chemistry was off the charts! From their first kiss to all the intimate scenes, I felt warmth in my stomach—always a good sign that the romantic connection is well-written.

    Allison “Ally” Hale, a fourth grade school teacher, and Brent Carmichael, eldest son of the rich Carmichael family, are getting married. With Ally’s parents’ financial security on the line because the Carmichaels have the power to make or break their oatmeal bars, no one expected Ally to develop feelings for the locally famous wedding planner, Megan Kinkaid (Black, biracial), a friend of Brent’s. Should Ally ignore her growing attraction to Megan, or shoot for a chance of having a happier future?

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    THE TELL TALE by Clare Ashton | ARC Review

    1st October 2021
    Cover for THE TELL TALE (Clare Ashton)

    THE TELL TALE by Clare Ashton

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    The Tell Tale is a historical fiction with many awesome queer reps, and it is the quality mystery we need!

    The year is 1971 and Beth Griffiths (~38) has returned to the village of Foel with her daughter Nia at the same time people start getting anonymous notes that reveal secrets of their past. Lady Sophie Melling (~38), who recently inherited a manor from her late father Lord Melling, is also back in the village. And the villagers are pointing fingers, desperate to find out who is the tell tale as more and more details about what happened in Foel twenty years ago begins to unveil.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    IN THE WATCHFUL CITY by S. Qiouyi Lu | ARC Review

    31st August 2021
    Cover of In the Watchful City (S. Qiouyi Lu)

    IN THE WATCHFUL CITY by S. Qiouyi Lu

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    In the Watchful City is an Asian-centric adult queer fantasy novella about living (and death) with a heart-racing ending.

    The main character Anima (æ/ær/ær) is part of the city’s surveillance system the Gleaming (think The Matrix), one of the eight nodes in the inner sanctum. When æ meets Vessel (se/ser/ser), who carries a qíjìtáng full of knickknacks and memories from different people, ær curiosity brings ær to realize that there is more to life than guarding the city of Ora.

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