Some books feel like they were written for you, as if an author is eavesdropping on what you want in a book and what you like in books, and part of me wants to accuse Ruby Lang of bugging my house. Playing House is charming and almost breezily free of plot. It’s two messy people going through big changes in their lives and finding each other at the right time.

Little reviews of The Love Song of Sawyer Bell, Waiting for Tom Hanks, and Evvie Drake Starts Over.

New Ink on Life is an f/f romance that manages to be both sweet and gritty, harrowing and hopeful. Before we go further, please note that if reading about characters in cancer remission will be difficult for you, you may not want to continue with this review (or the book, naturally).

School starts at the end of this month for much of the US. This means one of three things:

1) Time to read as many books as possible! Get them in that Ripped Bodice Bingo card before vacation ends!

2) School will be back in session and your kids will be gone so now you can finally read!

3) Nothing new, but let's read a bunch of books while eating peaches and soaking up the last of the summer sun!

No matter what, the message is that you can read these new books we're excited for AND you get an exclamation point.

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There are few things Rhiannon Hunter won’t do to get a shot at outmaneuvering her competitors in her quest to buy Matchmaker, but when the sweet and sexy man who ghosted her after talking her into a rare second date turns out to be the new face of the company, she has reevaluate a lot of her plans. Samson Lima walked away from football after seeing his team routinely mismanage his best-friend’s concussions and has spent the last five years caring for his uncle Aleki as he suffered from CTE-related dementia, except for that one night he spent with Rhiannon. Samson is just starting to come out of the fog of grief, and trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life, and the one thing he knows is, he wants to spend time with Rhiannon again.

I don't read a ton of small town romances because many times that can be code for middle of America white small town and I'm not interested in that. Happily, K.M. Jackson's Sugar Lake series is definitely not. Jackson's writing of family dynamics shine particularly when Kellen's love for his grandmother is allowed to take center stage, as highlighted by his hesitations and actions.

Inaugural Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction Announced 

Hazel’s been dreaming about a girl who - except for hair and eye colour - looks exactly like her for as long as she can remember. But the dream girl never says or does anything extraordinary, so Hazel has accepted it as a slightly odd thing and otherwise leads a normal life. She has some healing abilities and uses them in her work for surgeon Sam McInnes. He’s rich, charming, good-looking and way out of her league. But then her dreams are beginning to worry her. The girl in it is showing signs of fear and madness. Hazel’s life gets turned further upside down when the mysterious Count Petrescu appears. He tells her that he’s from Romania and that she has a twin-sister there…one who looks exactly like Hazel, except for hair and eye-colour and who is slowly going mad. The Count is convinced that Hazel is her only hope. He asks her to accompany him to Romania and she agrees - and so does Sam who does not trust the Count and fears he might not have the best interest of Sam and her twin at heart.

The trouble with this book is that both the romance and the fantasy seem quite half-hearted. Hazel already feels more than friendship for Sam at the beginning of the book, but she’s also convinced that the difference in status means that there is no chance of a romantic relationship between them. And she’s not terribly bothered by that…or bothered at all. Now I am very much here for characters who won’t let themselves be defined by being unhappily in love but Hazel’s feelings for Sam seem more like a celebrity crush - something she is fully aware is impossible but nice to daydream about occasionally.

Sam, meanwhile, sees her first as a very competent co-worker and then as more but doesn’t think she feels the same way, so he shrugs and moves on. So, it’s quite fitting that when they find out that their feelings are in fact reciprocated, they essentially go well, that’s great, kiss and then go back to business as usual. Even in a book that is more fantasy than romance I would have expected emotions to play a bigger role.

I admit, if the fantasy part had been good, I’d still have enjoyed this book and even recommended it with the caveat that it’s not much of a romance but that at least Sam and Hazel are likeable characters. But sadly, the fantasy plot was also lacking… mostly lacking tension.

Hazel and Sam quickly agree that the count has some sinister motives but Hazel still wants to accompany him to help her sister. And so, they travel together…and at no point is there any doubt about the count’s sinisterness. So as the reader, I also wasn’t exactly on the edge of my seat, wondering if he’s one of the good guys or not. There was, of course, the question of what his plan was but most of the time it wasn’t treated as a particularly pressing question. They occasionally bring it up, acknowledge that they have no idea and then…shrug and move on. This seems to be a theme. (Granted, they do make attempts to find out more but when those are fairly unsuccessful they…you guessed it).

All that leaves us with a book about two people who…just get through the plot but - with some exception - have few strong emotions about the things happening around them. And that results in me also not feeling much about it.

Content Warnings: murder, mention of attempted sexual assault

In a surprising turn, I might actually be a fan of historical fantasy/paranormal romances. Spellbound is the second such book I’ve read this year (three if we count The True Queen) where I slip easily into the story and never fight the setting. The worldbuilding in Spellbound is complete and unobtrusive, so there’s never a sense of missing a detail or puzzle pieces that don’t fit. But the best thing about the book is actually the relationship between Arthur and Rory.

July in the United States means heat, humidity, and large swaths of the population shooting off fireworks for a solid month terrorizing animals and keeping me up at night.  It’s also my busiest time of year at The Day Job, with a variety of budget-related tasks and conference season hitting full swing. This year I’ll be soaking up some of that heat and humidity in New York attending RWA.  Yes, I’ll be there - as will some of the Love in Panels crew. If you see us milling about, be sure to say hello! So what books look good for potential reading on my long (loooong) flight to the Big Apple?  This month self-publishing takes front and center!

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