Sometimes when I read a historical romance (especially a Regency), I have to remember that some of these books are not based on reality.* In this alternate reality for regencies, there can be some notable suspension of disbelief (e.g., maids and governesses marry dukes, women are crimelords, earl’s sisters run off to join Scottish bandits). I really enjoyed Claiming the Highlander's Heart, it was the warm and fuzzy I needed, but it does demand you accept extreme behavior from a character you barely know in the first few pages, and that’s pretty much my only complaint.

This review might become a rant, I apologize in advance. 

Out, Proud, And Prejudiced is a pretty direct retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Bennet is a student at a hospitality vocational school, struggling to pay the rent, and living with four other students (Jamie, Kofi, Leon, Charlotte), their landlord, and a cat (Mopsy). He’s also worried about getting a job in event planning after he graduates. Then, Tim and Darius stroll into town. Tim immediately falls for Jamie, and Bennet and Darius immediately butt heads.

What Kind of Day is a lovely gentle read about two people becoming who they want to be with some assistance from each other. Naya runs small, specialized tours around Manila and the Philippines, and one day Ben appears. He has just resigned from his job working for a senator when he sits down in Naya’s van. The book takes place over months, but really three or so days.

So, this book... I have a mess of thoughts on it. And I have a lot of content warnings, and if you too are on the asexuality spectrum and want to read this book, my content warnings for you are at the bottom. There’s a lot to take in and process.

You know when you expect one thing from a book and you get something else? That was me and THE HENCHMEN OF ZENDA. The biggest misunderstanding we had was that I thought it would be a romance, but it was more of a suspense/adventure story with some romantic elements. And it's weird to review a book that is not a book I would normally read.

LEAH ON THE OFFBEAT will most often be referred to as the sequel to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is both true and unfair to the book. First, I adored Simon vs. when I read it, it filled a warm and fuzzy gap that I needed. LEAH ON THE OFFBEAT is not that book, but that sort of makes it better because it’s true to Leah. (To be fair to this book, I will not mention Simon vs. again.)

The story is about Leah Burke, a senior in high school who is a prickly, opinionated, fat, bisexual girl. She also happens to have a very big crush on her friend, which complicates how she navigates that friendship. And one of the best things about this book is the fact that no one tries to change Leah into a cheerier version of herself. They appreciate her for her. And similarly, Leah is very comfortable with herself, even if she is not out as bisexual to her friends. 

SQUARED AWAY is the fifth book in Albert’s Out of Uniform m/m series, which is about Navy SEALs falling in love. Showing up for a series on the fifth book is just as unlikely for me as reading a series with characters in the military (usually too stressful for me), but in this book, Albert wrote a demisexual character, and I will read almost anything with a character on the asexuality spectrum.

Something I love about Georgia Beers’s books is all the heart that she puts into her stories. Her characters are decent people falling in love in gentle ways. For those reasons, I was ready to love BLEND, but it ended up feeling a bit flat.

THE COVERT CAPTAIN is a Regency-set romance between Captain Fleming, a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, and Lady Harriet Gresham, the sister of Fleming’s superior officer. They are thrown together after Fleming joins her superior officer at his house. And yes, the big secret about Captain Nathaniel Fleming is that she was born Eleanor Fleming, taking over her dead brother’s identity to escape her home. This is not a spoiler.