It wasn’t too long ago that, upon reading a highly enjoyable seaward romance, I thought to myself “this is a niche I want to explore.” Lo and behold, I happen upon a recommendation for Almost a Scandal, only to find it was already on my TBR, and away we go! This was a true delight — about 4.5 stars, and I honestly can’t think of a good reason why I’m leaving off that last .5, other than some nebulous form of contrarianism. But let’s not quibble — […]
Pretty great YA fantasy
I was so pleasantly surprised by this YA trilogy, an example of a series that, in my opinion, actually gets better as it progresses rather than buckling under its own weight. This is partly achieved by Rae Carson’s sound vision, giving each book its own arc (which is no less important for being contained within the scope of one installment) within the larger narrative, but also by having that larger narrative be the product of genuine character and plot development rather than a series of […]
A Tessa Dare book with reformed pirates!
I call this one a solid 3.5 stars. It started out really strong for me, and finished slightly less so for reasons I can’t put a finger on, but I’ll get into nitty-gritties after a quick plot summary from Goodreads: “Desperate to escape a loveless marriage and society’s constraints, pampered heiress Sophia Hathaway jilts her groom, packs up her paints and sketchbook, and assumes a new identity, posing as a governess to secure passage on the Aphrodite. She wants a life of her own: unsheltered, […]
“Googling ‘what to wear to an orgy’ had resulted in little assistance.”
I picked up A Gentleman in the Street because I had read that it’s pretty good erotica (check) with a reversal on the rich-guy-poor-girl scheme (check) AND the heroine is very experienced and the guy doesn’t have a problem with it (check.) So if that sounds like something you’d want to read, it’s worth checking out this book. Goodreads says: “Billionaire businesswoman Akira Mori can get anything and anyone her heart desires. Anyone, that is, except for a certain aloof author who has been dominating her […]