March 5, 2021

What Janine is Reading: Fall 2020

JanineBook Reviews#ownvoices / Arranged Marriages / California / Chef / coming-of-age / cops / m/m mystery / Missouri / Muslim / POC / POC author / police procedural / Reading lists / revenge porn / South-Asian / YANo Comments

More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood Jayne’s review of this #ownvoices YA novel got me to pick it up and I was glad I did. Danyal Jilani is a good-looking and sweet nineteen-year-old in his senior year of high school (he was held back a year ... more >

February 27, 2021

REVIEW: The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

JanineBook Reviews / C Reviews#ownvoices / aliens / bigotry / environmentalism / far future / LGBTQ / POC / Science Fiction / SF / Smugglers / students5 Comments

Dear Charlie Jane Anders, This book takes place on a January, a tidally locked planet, meaning that one side of the planet always faces the sun and on the other side it’s always dark. In the small temperate zone where night and day meet lies Xiosphant, a city of people ... more >

February 17, 2021

Bridgerton: A Discussion, Part III

JanineBook Reviewsaristocrats / Bridgerton / Duke / England / fake relationship / families / high society / ingenue / joint review / joint reviews / Long Regency / mistorical / Scandal / television series / tv adaptation25 Comments

This week we discuss Bridgerton in five posts. You can find the first two here: Part I is centered on the show’s worldbuilding and production values, on its treatment of race, and on Lady Whistledown. Part II focuses on the show’s matriarchs–the queen, Lady Violet, Lady Danbury, and Lady Featherington. ... more >

February 16, 2021

Bridgerton: A Discussion, Part II

JanineBook Reviews / Film Reviewsaristocrats / Bridgerton / England / families / high society / joint review / joint reviews / Long Regency / mistorical / mothers / POC / queen / sex education / television series / tv adaptation11 Comments

Our Bridgerton discussion, which began yesterday with a conversation about the show’s worldbuilding, its treatment of race, and Lady Whistledown, continues today. Today we discuss the show’s matriarchs–the queen, Lady Violet, Lady Danbury and Lady Featherington. –Janine   Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) Janine: The show’s choice to cast a Black ... more >

February 15, 2021

Bridgerton: A Discussion, Part I

JanineBook Reviews / Film Reviewsaristocrats / Bridgerton / Duke / England / families / gossip columnist / high society / ingenue / joint review / joint reviews / Long Regency / mistorical / POC / Rape / scandal sheets / television series / tv adaptation38 Comments

Please welcome my friend Layla, who is joining DA as an additional book reviewer. When we were watching Bridgerton, Layla and I texted back and forth about it. It was so much fun that we decided to write a series of posts that included our thoughts on different aspects of ... more >

February 10, 2021

REVIEW: Hazard and Somerset: Off Duty by Gregory Ashe

JanineB- Reviews / Book Reviews#ownvoices / action / Contemporary / LGBTQ / Missouri / mystery / police procedural / Private-investigator / romantic / Small Town Romance3 Comments

The following review contains spoilers for some of the books in Gregory Ashe’s Hazard and Somerset gay mysteries. If you are interested in reading the book and want to avoid spoilers, avoid this page and visit my review of book one, Pretty Pretty Boys. Content warning: Dear Gregory Ashe, This ... more >