CBR10Bingo: Dream Vacation (BINGO!) Emily X.R. Pan’s The Astonishing Colour of After begins with teenager Leigh recounting the day her mother died from suicide, leaving a crumpled note in the trash with a crossed out message: “I want you to remember.” Soon after, a mysterious red bird leaves a gift for Leigh: a package filled with mementos of her mother. Leigh convinces her father to take her to Taiwan for the first time to meet her mother’s estranged family, secretly hoping she’ll also be able […]
Cute But Not Quite the Inspiration I Needed
While I had intentions of re-reading a certain novel around Veterans Day, it didn’t quite pan out, and I instead took a break for a fluffy romance novel. Tessa Dare is one of those romance authors I consider generally reliable, although she can be hit or miss for me. I absolutely love a few of her novels while others are just fine. From reviews, I saw that this one was generally entertaining but not necessarily hitting all the right spots for readers. And I have […]
Romancing on DWTS
After my traumatic reading of The Liar’s Club, I was eager to get back to some unrealistic, but fun and romantic stories with a fairy tale ending. I don’t watch much television anymore (unless I can get it on Netflix), but when I did, I was a sucker for Dancing With the Stars. Being a bad dancer myself, I feel like I can really appreciate the talent of the professional dancers on the show. And there’s something about the pairing of professionals and other famous people that […]
A scandal in London
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve found that when I’m backpacking, I do very well with romances. They are entertaining enough to keep my attention in physically uncomfortable circumstances, when exhaustion can make it hard to focus. And as long as I avoid thrillers, they are not scary enough to make me nervous when I’m sleeping alone in the woods. Knowing I was going on a trip, I picked up A Scot in the Dark (2016) by Sarah MacLean. Lillian Hargrove is a beautiful red-haired […]