• 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.

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  • 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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  • 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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