Satisfaction Guaranteed is an opposites-attract contemporary WLW romance between a free-spirited artist/sex toy salesperson and a buttoned-up accountant/gallery manager. When Cade Elgin's aunt passes away and leaves her half of her sex toy store and house, Cade plans to sell it and move on with her life. But there are two major problems. First, there's the fact that the house has two mortgages and the shop is in so much debt that the "inheritance" is really just a few hundred thousand dollars of negative money. Second, there's Selena. Selena is a non-practicing painter who has been renting from Cade's late aunt and also working in the shop. She's the other inheritor and she really doesn't want to sell. Cade being a numbers person wants to just clean her hands of the whole mess, but Selena talks her into giving it one big try.

What the Hex was so much fun! Listened to it in one afternoon because it made my ears so happy.

More mini-reviews! Reviews of Ariadne, Blade of Secrets, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, The Wolf and the Woodsman, Black Water Sister and Some Girls Do. This is a really mixed selection: a Greek myth retelling, a YA fantasy, a short story collection, two adult fantasy novels and a YA contemporary 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 was excited to read Sweethand ever since N.G. Peltier shared the blurb and cover, so I preordered it and then gleefully downloaded an audio review copy when that option came up. The premise: enemies-to-lovers with a music producer and a baker who have to work together as best man and maid of honor at a wedding? It's like 5 kinds of Suzanne catnip. Besides, from the minute I read this f/f PNR flash fiction on her site, I was eager for more of her work. It's delightfully queer and steamy.

More mini-reviews! Reviews of The Soulmate Equation, Second First Impressions, People We Meet on Vacation, Reborn Yesterday, Deal With the Elf King and From Blood and Ash. That's a whole lot of straight white people books, three of them fantasy and three of them contemporary.

I'd like to note here that more than half of these reads were at least in part for reader advisory at the library where I work. I'm now the "romance person" which means I'm choosing what to add to our tiny collection and patrons come to me for recommendations. This is great! But I've got to read buzzy books and sometimes they're aggressively fine. It is what it is.

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.

Before I talk about The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, you should know that I'm friendly with Cat Sebastian and that I received an audio copy of this book from the publisher for review. I did, however, preorder a copy of my own because I want this loveliness sitting on my bookshelf.

More mini-reviews! Reviews of Best Laid Plans, Twice Shy, A Stitch in Time, The Unbroken, and Sing Me Forgotten.  That's an m/m contemporary, an f/m contemporary, an f/m gothic time slip, an f/f fantasy, and an f/m YA fantasy.

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.

While I was listening to Last Night at the Telegraph Club, I would occasionally pause the book just to think about how much I loved it. When was the last time I read a book like this? A book that had me crying on my way to work and begging for just a little more time at the end. A book that seamlessly weaves a romance and coming of age story with political and social upheaval and the complicated identities and loyalties of a Chinese-American lesbian girl in the McCarthy era? The answer is "never".

There are certain themes or tropes that only work for me in certain moods, such as the rock star protagonist or music scene setting. I got into that mood in April, however, and two music-themed books kept me company on my new commute. They don't have much in common beyond the music scene, but I did find it interesting that both use Daisy Jones & The Six as a reference point in their marketing. Does it fit? I think so, but more for one book than the other. I hope they both find just as big a readership.

It's not often that short stories are as deeply romantic and emotionally affecting as those in Love in Color. Telling a complete story with nuanced characterization and satisfying development of a romantic arc is incredibly difficult to pull off in just a few pages. Bolu Babalola does this masterfully. If you enjoy history and myths and perhaps want a happier ending for some of the stories, this book is for you.