A simply masterful blend of friends-to-lovers + fake dating, I devoured LIKE LOVERS DO in one fell swoop, both breaking a terrible slump and making me smile so hard. I don't typically enjoy friends-to-lovers, it is a trope I personally struggle with, but this take made me a believer!

I absolutely adored how Nicole is so driven and hyper-focused on her career, but also has her team of friends she always makes time for, and a mom who she both loves and adores, in her corner. She's a doctor, but she isn't wealthy (yet). She has to manage her budget and her time.

Ben is a total babe and he's always been attracted to Nicole but absolutely has not acted on it since she one, is tenant/roommate and two, has become his best friend and hasn't ever give him the indication she might also be into him. Until she is. The way consent/power is handled in this story is both sexy and powerful, showing again Livesay's writing prowess.

And oh, please take me to Martha's Vineyard for a vacation, and boot the awful Karen character out of the house please. She was awful, but it was a good see how Ben, a white man, is not immediately aware of the microaggressions his ex-fiancee is using to hurt Nicole (a Black woman), but believes her pain and figures out where the harm is coming from and confronts it head on.

ALSO wow, the sexual tension and that hammock scene! Who knew! Livesay knew!

Highly recommend.

*I received an ARC from the publisher and also purchased a print copy from Fountain Bookstore.

Dr. Nicole Allen

Benjamin Reed Van Mont

I just read WITH THE FIRE ON HIGH by Elizabeth Acevedo in one sitting. So good, I'm glad I finally experienced this gloriously lyrical YA story.

Spoiler about the Emoni's Buela:

Spoiler

Buela is going to a lot of doctor appointments. I was real worried this was going to be a cancer surprise but nope! Instead Buela has been faking doctor appointments to get away and just be, and also to see a man! I was so relieved

Before you even get started with this book, make sure to read the CWs on the author's website if you need them. This is a brutally violent fantasy romance that explores the boundaries of what can be forgiven for a romantic pairing.

That said, I found the story utterly compelling and the heroine, Yvenne, absolutely one to root for. I am unable to comment on whether there was an ableist issues with her story line, as she is disabled from the violence wrought on her body by her father, but she was definitely my favorite character.

I will definitely be interested to read more in this series. The world building was lush and just dense enough to really fulfill that Game of Thrones level immersion into a world I was craving. And whew did it keep me on my toes.

I will never ever get over the blood blow job and that's about all I'm going to say about this book. Go forth and read, if you can.

**I checked this out from Overdrive for Libraries!

omg! Miss Mary Whitsun is a long-lost heiress/twin, a twist I guess I didn't see coming? A fun novella, I accidentally read it before book 12, but it didn't really spoil anything for me. A few quick glimpses of our favorites (and some of the their children), and a thoughtful exploration of Mary confronting how she was raised, who she wants to be, and if she can reconcile her feelings for an Earl when she thinks he only fell in love with her because she was found to be a lady, not for who she is.

CW: gun violence, shooting of a secondary character, discussion of kidnapping (in the past)

Hippolyta Royle, last seen on the lam after being kidnapped by Val in Duke of Sin, finds a ride in a carriage with a lord who thinks she is a doxy. What is normally my jam in tropes (Carriage! Only one bed at the inn!) is clumsily handled. Matthew Mortimer kind of treats her poorly (oh if only I had known you were a lady) and ultimately is redeemed, but I just find myself side-eying everything. There's a mongoose which I guess is kind of fun, and I cannot comment on the rep of Hippolyta's big secret (her mother is Indian and she was being blackmailed by Val to keep this a secret).

I don't know, just didn't work for me.

I've spent a week working my way through this delicious anthology. A perfect read to kick off the Fall season, the stories within perfectly fit the theme "naughty Brits" and were loosely connected by a fancy gala hosted in the British Museum (a touch I appreciated).

Sarah MacLean - A Duke Worth Falling For: FIVE STARS, glorious, my favorite of the antho (I am an avowed Sarah fan so I might be biased).

I slowly savored Sarah MacLean's A Duke Worth Falling For like a hot mug of cider. Crisp, warming, and tart. Welcome to contemporary Sarah. More anytime you like. The touches of MacLean's historical prowess are tucked into this contemporary, with farmer Max having a bit of a "man out of his time" feel in the best way. He's both irritated and completely smitten by Lilah Rose, famous photographer on the outs from her career due to an awful rich man. My favorite trope "we only have this arbitrary amount of time before this ends" was in full and perfect display, as Lilah and Max have to contend with the the looming date of her return to "society" and Max having to contend with the fact he withheld information. I was a bit worried about the big "lie" from Max, but felt overall he grovelled enough for the omission. Also, him being a Duke had no impact on Lilah's career/power, just on her heart.


Sophie Jordan - Better with You: I do love a body guard romance so much, and this one is so sexy. I loved that the heroine was promoting her "love yourself" book and learned that you can love yourself and also have a really burly delicious lover give you really great orgasms too. I do wish this had a dual POV but that is absolutely a me thing.

Louisa Edwards - Not a Bad Boy: omg my kingdom to be knocked down by a Chris-Evans-type's dog in a park and fall in love. My first by this author, I definitely need to read more of her work! Super delicious British food descriptions along with an utterly smitten and sexy AF movie star who does what it takes to show a writer/food historian she's beautiful and absolutely fuckable. The heroine is fat and some of the conflict in the story revolves around her feelings about her body (and the media). The hero is never involved with these fears.


Tessa Gratton - Songbird: A Welsh pub owner finds she really adores bossing around the visitor in town who wears absolutely amazing waistcoats and bespoke suits (she especially loves to make him come in his pants whew). For a "first romance" for this fantasy author, wow I loved this story. I definitely enjoyed having both POVs, and did get angry about the big secret the hero was holding back from the heroine. But totally fire sex scenes.


Sierra Simone - Supplicant: I truly wanted to punch this professor in the face. One of those romances I absolutely devoured but also have conflicted feelings about. The religious imagery is superb and left me feeling some kind of way (lapsed catholic that I am). The epilogue though holy wow okay fine I loved it. How does Simone do this to me everytime?

*I received a free advanced ready copy for review.

A big, burly, taciturn Duke who likes to grunt and tells his love interest he'll teach her to "fight and fuck?" Okay yes that absolutely works for me.

I haven't read the first in this series, and I believe both Anna Maria and Nash are introduced there, so I need to go back, but I had a blast reading this anyway without much issue.

CW for past child abuse, fighting, violence, attempted assault

Stay tuned for my LJ review!

When you find your fiancee in bed with your maid of honor on your actual wedding day, punching them both in the face, taking his credit card, and jumping on the planet to your Italian honeymoon anyway seems to be a great course of action.

Going on the lam with the hitman in the room next door after some torrid sexual congress might be a bit more...extraordinary, but sure why not! Especially if he is as dedicated to your pleasure as Giulio is. He might have killed some men, but hey, he's going to take care of you.

Totally fun and escapist, this was super fun and really hot. I was also pleased to see Sal from [b:Beautiful & Dirty|53406541|Beautiful & Dirty (The Family #1)|Katrina Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589369954l/53406541._SY75_.jpg|82621224] pining away for Shae, who we last saw leaving Naples to go back to her life. I'm really hoping this couple's arc will carry through the series and end in an HEA!

Author has CWs noted in the blurb

Well, this was a big womp womp for me. Sad to report the last book in the Maiden Lane series did not in any way make me feel that the series was complete. Also, as I was warned about, the last three books in this series were dark, disturbing, and felt a bit out place with the rest.

CW: kidnapping, attempted rape, description/discussion of rape of children (main character was raped as a child), gun violence, death of secondary characters, blood, gore, animal endangerment, probably more.

At the end of [b:Duke of Pleasure|29740747|Duke of Pleasure (Maiden Lane, #11)|Elizabeth Hoyt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465093239l/29740747._SY75_.jpg|47288985], I was all in on Lady Iris Jordan. I loved how Hoyt handled Iris becoming friends with (and not rivals of) Alf, who marries Lord Kyle instead of Iris because of true love. Iris, a widow, had a loveless marriage and she's ready to find at least companionship and have her own family.

Instead, she finds herself kidnapped and about to be raped by the Lords of Chaos, but then rescued by one of the naked and masked men who turns out to be an interloper, the son of the former head, who is trying to take the group down. She shoots Raphael, Lord Dyemore, in the arm and while he is bleeding he forces her to wed him "for her protection."

Up to this point I was having an okay time. But ultimately I never bought into their romance and I never felt fulfilled by Raphael seeking revenge and the downfall of the Lords, and especially the leader "Dionysus."

SPOILERS

Iris is basically enchanted by the beauty of Raphael "despite" his face scarring and his kind of scary/overbearing demeanor. She's like sure, let's be married and have pleasure and you can give me a family. Raphael is adamant he doesn't want children. He has never had penetrative sex with anyone as he's traumatized by his father raping him on his 12th birthday as part of an initiation to the Lords of Chaos. His father was a monster, and Raphael fears any child he would have would be as tainted and dirty as he feels he is. This is all super traumatic and awful, and I just do not feel like Raphael's trauma was handled in a way that could make me believe he would all of a sudden be okay with trying to have a family. Especially since Iris incites him to have sex with her, even though she knows he does not want children. That's real shitty Iris.

Also, the ultimate reveal that "Dionysus" is a man who also suffered repeated rape at the hands of his father and brother (also in the Lords of Chaos) hit hard and not in a good way. And despite this being the last one, there is still the specter that many of the "lords" are still out there despite the head of the organization being cut off.

So, at the end of this journey, and as I was warned, I could have just not read the last three books and it would have been just fine. I'm still glad I did read the whole series and it has been a good pandemic past-time as little has been able to hold my interest.