Three mini-reviews of three very different books: a paranormal novella, a contemporary romance, and the debut novel from Hank Green.
KJ Charles newest novel is a sweet, tender, funny and unapologetically queer polyam romance. Readers of Heyer’s classic regencies will recognize Charles playful nods to Heyer’s style throughout the novel from its character types, distinctive slang and energetic resolution. Long-time Charles readers will find delight in the depth of characterization, her scene-stealing secondary characters and her complex emotional conflicts even if no one is gruesomely or mystically murdered.
A Taste of Agapi is a gay romance between two college students in Greece. Reading it felt like going on a summer abroad. It's a story filled with sweetness: Really wonderful, supportive friends! Comic book stores and superhero debates! So! Much! Coffee! (The Greeks all drink frappes all day every day, and hardly ever go to class. They spend alottt of time lounging around in cafes drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.) Really adorable welcoming-at-the-airport-
Arrivals-gate scenes. Wonderful, loving, accepting responses to someone coming out (and no negative responses). Tent sex! (First time naked with another man, first time having sex at all tent sex!) Tired boys who haven't been sleeping finally getting rest together, and the sexual tension that ensues. There's also drinking games, drunken nights at a club, spin-the-bottle on a camping trip, and sooo much delicious Greek food!
Something a little different today - a subscription box review!
You know how the last couple of weeks (years, let's be real) have been AWFUL? Well, I have found the cure. It's $4.99 and it's available wherever you buy your eBooks.
If I Loved You Less is a lovely retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma that stays very true to the original novel. Theo is a social butterfly in Hanalei, where she runs her father’s surf shop. Upon meeting Laurel, Theo takes control of Laurel’s life by finding her jobs and attempting to matchmake Laurel with eligible men without great success. Meanwhile, her friend, Kini, watches Theo make mistakes and stumble, trying to help Theo become a better person. So, if you are unfamiliar with Emma, this is totally a slow burn friends to lovers story.
The first in what I hope is a series, JN Welsh's In Tune is an enemies-to-lovers romance set in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene. The hero, Luke, is a DJ from Chicago who is embarking on a world tour and needs someone to manage him. (Though Luke isn't from the Netherlands, I pictured him as Afrojack, complete with soul patch.) The heroine, Leona, is on a year-long break from the business after a horrible breakup with a producer named Paul Reeves. Her boss and longtime friend, Abe, pulls her back in because Luke's agent wants Leo to manage the tour and Abe's business is in financial trouble.
I adored the first book in this duology and so I had high expectations for this romance. I was eager to go back into this world and and explore the flip-side of the tropes from the first book. Unlike Galen and Olivia who meet during an assassination attempt and grow in to love and trust, Sabine and Lyre have been partners and friends for decades. Again Harper works to upend trope expectations while leaning into others. I loved the contrast between Lyre and Sabine’s styles and how that played into the way their romantic conflict were resolved. I am looking forward to more queer romantic adventures from Harper and I hope we see more like this from Carina Press in the future.
As I mentioned in my mini-review of the first book in this series, Beyond Scandal and Desire, Lorraine Heath writes emotional, soapy historical romances with plots that can be over-the-top at times. This means that the author's entire body of work is hit or miss for me, but this one was a hit.
