Suzanne

Suzanne

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Review: Marry Me by Midnight, by Felicia Grossman

[fa icon="calendar'] Aug 16, 2023 11:01:33 AM / by Suzanne posted in review

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We've been fans of Felicia Grossman's books since the beginning, but I think she's outdone herself with Marry Me by Midnight. Since the death of her father, businesswoman Isabelle's place in the family surety business is at risk. She needs to marry, but she also needs to make sure the man she gives that much control to won't steamroll her or squander her money. Fending off the advances of the Barab brothers, who own the other half of the business, she hatches a plan: she'll hold a series of balls at which she will entertain suitors from the Jewish community... and pick one by midnight at the final ball.

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Mini-Reviews, Second Chance Romance 8-9-23

[fa icon="calendar'] Aug 9, 2023 7:20:00 AM / by Suzanne posted in review

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These mini-reviews are all second-chance contemporary romances. Those of you who know my reading preferences might be surprised to learn that I liked and recommend all of them. One of them is maybe cheating a bit, but I'll get to that in the post.

I read all four of these in the last month and have determined I require most of the following criteria:

  • A convincing reason the couple separated.
  • That obstacle must be surmountable and not something that will come up again. If they've already broken up once, I will not settle for a Happy for Now ending.
  • Equal amounts of suffering for both characters. I hate when one character has been miserable for a decade and the other was happily pursuing their dreams. (If both are happy in the interim, that's fine!)
  • Some kind of flashbacks or enough exposition that we get a good feel for the foundation of their relationship. This is my preference for novellas, too.

 With those very me-specific requirements in mind, here are my reviews of Jana Goes Wild, Happy Place, The Seven Year Slip and Snow Place like LA! I also wrote about Julie Soto's debut, Forget Me Not back in May and I think the same list above applies to that book, which is probably why it worked so well for me.

Ratings are based on whether or not I recommend them to fellow readers -  DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read It, Read It Soon.

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Top Off Your TBR: August 2023

[fa icon="calendar'] Aug 6, 2023 3:45:03 PM / by Suzanne posted in new releases

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Lots of fun releases on the way in August! For example, I was lucky enough to read an early copy of Regina Black's debut, The Art of Scandal, and I think you should read it. More about that below.

I'm trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer so I'm keeping this short! Hope you find something great to read this month.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Top Off Your TBR: July 2023

[fa icon="calendar'] Jul 7, 2023 2:30:00 PM / by Suzanne posted in new releases

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Here in the Northern Hemisphere it's the hottest month of the year. I'm trying to push the non-urgent responsibilities away and spend more time in my garden and with friends and family. That means less reading and that's fine by me. Books don't spoil! I'll still be chipping away at the newest Shop Your Shelves board, but some of these July releases are sneaking onto the TBR anyway.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Shop Your Shelves Summer 2023

[fa icon="calendar'] Jun 30, 2023 9:57:49 AM / by Suzanne posted in bingo

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New quarter, new Shop Your Shelves board! Once again, I reused some squares, but some are brand new! I also added some that are much more open to interpretation, so make sure to read the square descriptions. One change to the "rules" - I moved re-reads to the Don't section. Like reading new books, re-reads are great... but not the point of this particular challenge.

Below you'll find rules, explanations for the squares and a link to square and story boards.

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Review: Queen of Dust, by H.E. Dare

[fa icon="calendar'] Jun 28, 2023 9:27:47 AM / by Suzanne posted in review

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I pitched this book to one of my reading Discord servers as "if Jessie Mihalik wrote erotic romance." I didn't mention that the FMC reminded me of Inara from Firefly, but that too!

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Review: Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up, by Charish Reid

[fa icon="calendar'] Jun 15, 2023 3:31:00 PM / by Suzanne posted in review

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An adjunct professor and a widower find love behind the bar in Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up.  Charish Reid is an auto-buy/auto-read author for me because of her skill with character building, humor and tension. I was a little hesitant to pick this up because I don't enjoy books with lots of alcohol, but I'm happy to report this book strikes just the right balance by focusing on the workplace dynamics rather than endless descriptions of alcoholic drinks. If that's a concern for you, have no fear! I would put this in the same category as Natalie Caña's stellar debut, A Proposal They Can't Refuse, but with more heat.

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Top Off Your TBR: June 2023 New Releases

[fa icon="calendar'] May 30, 2023 7:21:27 PM / by Suzanne posted in new releases

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June is often a pretty light month for new books, but I'm thinking it's not this year? Or maybe there are just a bunch I happen to be excited about this time around. There's not much better than sitting in the shade with a good book and listening to birds, so I'm going to hurry up and finish this post so I can go do that!

Wishing you all the good things and the strength to fight against the bad ones. Pride is a tough month this year, so please remember to advocate for your queer and trans siblings.

This post contains affiliate links.

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Contemporary Romance Reviews, 5-29-2023

[fa icon="calendar'] May 29, 2023 5:41:47 PM / by Suzanne posted in review

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More mini-reviews!  Reviews of Something Wild & Wonderful, Forget Me Not, Yours Truly, and The Enchanted Hacienda.

Ratings are based on whether or not I recommend them to fellow readers -  DNF (Did Not Finish), Pass, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary), Read It, Read it Soon.

 

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Witchy Paranormal Rom-Com Reviews, 5-9-23

[fa icon="calendar'] May 9, 2023 8:38:28 AM / by Suzanne posted in review

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More mini-reviews! This time it's all witchy paranormal rom-coms with reviews of Witchful Thinking, A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, Mr. and Mrs. Witch.
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