K.J. Charles starts a new series with The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen, an historical gay romance set in rural Kent, England. Gareth and Joss are together for a couple of blissful weeks at a London meeting house for gay men, but when Joss says he needs to go back to Kent for a while to tend to his business, Gareth breaks things off entirely. Gareth's father, a selfish nobleman, left young Gareth with his uncle when his mother died and started a new family. Gareth quite reasonably has abandonment issues and doesn't want to be left by another person he loves.

Harper Collins Romance Mini-Reviews

After three long months, Harper Collins and the HCP union reached an agreement! That means us bloggers and reviewers can safely post coverage of Harper Collins books without crossing the picket line.

Among other things, the union secured wage increases for staff, which led the other big NYC publishers to increase wages. I mention this because unions aren't just good for the people in them, they're good for labor overall. I urge you to support the unions around you, even though it's "inconvenient" at times. I was really disappointed in my peers who continued promoting HC titles, reviewing them on Goodreads, etc. during the strike. Let's do better, friends.

On to the books!

I've fallen so far behind on reviewing books that I decided the only solution is to publish a big list of little reviews! These are primarily f/m contemporary romances, with a sapphic historical fantasy and two f/m contemporary fantasies thrown in.

You'll notice that the content warnings are sparse and well, that's because it's been a while since I read the books. If you have questions about anything in particular, please let me know and I'll do some research for you!

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.

I was pleasantly surprised by Not the Witch You Wed. This fake engagement romance is what I thought we were getting with that big crop of paranormal rom-coms that includes The Ex Hex, Payback's a Witch, and all the others. It's funny, sexy and generally a good time. It doesn't take itself too seriously and while there are internal and external obstacles in the protagonists' personal and romantic arcs, it's not a heavy book.

Time for a YA fantasy round-up! I'm very behind on these reviews, so I hope you're ready for a bunch of magical, murderous teens! Read on for short and sweet reviews of:

• This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra, #1), by Emily Thiede
• Belladonna (Belladonna, #1), by Adalyn Grace
• A Far Wilder Magic, by Allison Saft
• The Liar's Crown (Dominions, #1), by Abigail Owen
• Edgewood, by Kristen Ciccarelli

I also want to warn folks that I read most of these before or around release date, so my recollection of the content warnings is kind of fuzzy. I apologize if I've missed some.

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

The Orc from the Office is the book for you if you like:

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

More mini-reviews!  Within These Wicked Walls, Dirty Plays, If This Gets Out, Smash & Grab, The Belle and the Beard and Uncommonly Verdant. That's a YA f/m fantasy, two f/m contemporaries, a YA m/m contemporary, an m/m paranormal contemp, and whatever you want to call an f/m tree romance.

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

I'm glad a couple of my reviewer friends read Julie Tieu's The Donut Trap before I did, because I went into this novel with the expectation that it's more a coming-of-age story than a romance. The romance between Jasmine and Alex is definitely a big part of the plot, but the novel is told from Jasmine's point of view and Alex is missing from chunks of the book. Instead, the relationship between Jasmine and her parents and Jasmine's overall post-college funk is the focus of the story and if you read it with the right expectations, it's a really solid debut.

The Ex Hex is the book I needed during the Spooky Season. I read a couple horror novels and considering the amount of horror in the real world, I was struggling to pick up just about anything. The Ex Hex to the rescue! This book has some flaws, but I ended up liking it quite a bit and look forward to more from Erin Sterling/Rachel Hawkins.