JayneB- Reviews / Book ReviewsAsian characters / Canada / Cider Bar Sisters / Contemporary / engineer / family relationships / food / grumpy / sunshine / interracial-romance / LGBTQIA characters / POC / POC author / sex positive / TorontoNo Comments

A grumpy/sunshine rom-com! When small-town engineer Amy Sharpe inherits a house in Toronto, she decides it’s the perfect opportunity to start over and go back to school. Away from the family that takes her for granted, away from the ex who expected so much and gave little in return. The ... more >

JanineBook Reviews / C Reviews / C- Reviewsbullying / Contemporary / fake relationship / Photographer / self-reformation / Small Town Romance15 Comments

Dear Cate C. Wells, This contemporary romance came up after I did not finish the first book in this series, Hitting the Wall. Commenters on the review described this one as better and I was in the midst of a three-month free trial of KU, so I decided to give ... more >

JayneB+ Reviews / Book ReviewsContemporary / estranged family / family relationships / found family / Los Angeles / omniscient voice6 Comments

When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a ... more >

JennieBook ReviewsContemporary / historical romance / New Adult / Reading lists / Series / Thriller/Suspense20 Comments

I’ve been doing quarterly “what I’ve been reading” posts pretty faithfully for a while now. Usually I have close to ten books on the list, but for various reasons I haven’t been reading much, and so I only have three to review (I also reviewed two books with Janine – ... more >

SiriusB Reviews / B Reviews Category / Book Reviewsghosts / m/m suspense / paranormal m/m romance / The Spectral Files series4 Comments

Rain Christiansen isn’t sure he’ll ever fully understand the supernatural. But he’s finally finding his groove as a reluctant medium and cold-case detective. That’s not to say everything is going smoothly—there’s a wedding in the works, after all. He’s finally taking that enormous step with fellow detective, Daniel McKenna, and ... more >

JayneB+ Reviews / Book Reviewsaddict / Contemporary / Dark / Drugs / dysfunctional family / First-Person / horror elements / murder mystery / nanny / New-Jersey / Paranormal / present tense / Young-Adult6 Comments

From Jason Rekulak, Edgar-nominated author of The Impossible Fortress, comes a wildly inventive spin on the classic horror story in Hidden Pictures, a creepy and warm-hearted mystery about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets. Fresh out of rehab, Mallory Quinn takes ... more >

JayneB Reviews / Book ReviewsAnthology / Asian characters / Australia / Contemporary / Historical / Hong Kong / India / Indian characters / LGBTQIA characters / LGBTQIA romance / POC / POC author / short stories / South-Asian / Time-Travel / USA2 Comments

Even time travel can’t unravel love Anthology of inclusive tales of people through time looking for one another and for ways for the world to be better. Time-travel is a way for writers to play with history and imagine different futures – for better, or worse. When romance is thrown ... more >

JayneB- Reviews / Book Reviews / C+ ReviewsChinese American heroine / coming-of-age / Dark Fantasy / diversity / First-Person / Historical / Hollywood Golden Age / lesbian heroine / LGBTQIA characters / Magical Realism / monsters / POC / POC authorNo Comments

From award-winning author Nghi Vo comes a dazzling new novel where immortality is just a casting call away It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic. “No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers.” Luli Wei is beautiful, talented, and desperate to be a star. Coming ... more >

JanineConversationsbad dialogue / dual-timeline / exposition / flashbacks / infodumps / nonlinear timeline / prologues11 Comments

Janine: Every book requires exposition (the conveying of background information) but sometimes it’s handled well and other times clumsily. Multiple techniques can be used and authors often employ more than one in the same book. I thought it might be fun to share our thoughts about them. For the sake ... more >

JayneBook Reviews / C+ Reviewsclass differences / England / Historical / lesbian heroine / LGBTQIA characters / LGBTQIA romance / London / non binary / Regency / When the Blood Is Up seriesNo Comments

Lady Agnes is a scandal, thanks to her sister’s marriage to a prizefighter. Or rather, she should be, but as a charitable spinster-to-be, she remains firmly invisible, even to those she loves. Always dutiful, Lady Agnes should be the toast of her family, but only if she marries well. Finding ... more >