One princess locked in a tower, another out to rescue her. Both learn expectations and assumptions are not the full stories. Also, there is a cookie-loving unicorn, a chubby dragonet, and a wedding! Super sweet, great illustrations, and a nice shake-up of the princess trope.

I believe I originally read this online, but so glad to see it in print here at the library! Plus, it satisfies my 2017 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge as an "all-ages comic."

One of my all time favorite books, with the BEST opening line EVER. I devoured the four available books in this series during my awkward adolescence and have felt like part of Roland's Ka-tet ever since.

This is the first time I've read this via audiobook, and the first time I've re-read in awhile, so I'm not sure if the paperback edition I own is slightly different from this new (2017) audiobook. There were a few times I was like WHAT, did I know that the first few go-arounds?! I noticed a lot more the references to Roland being at the beginning of his quest and the allusions this may not be the first time he's gone around the wheel.

Also, I perfectly ended listening to this while driving to the theater to watch the film adaptation! Woo hoo!

A trio of short and sweet tales by the master of romance herself, Eloisa James. Similar in tone, but with unique characters, this a perfect treat to enjoy while waiting for her next full-length novel.

I enjoyed that the the first story was quite innocent, the next a bit steamier, etc.

Thank you to Avon for the ARC!

The illustrations are the best part of this book, so darn cute and emotive, but the story itself didn't capture my interest. Good messages about being yourself, but also some scary elements (kidnapping!) that didn't sit well with me. My six year old didn't have a problem, but younger readers may.

I chose this title for my Book to Art Club, and we created snowflake-skirted paper ballerinas as I thought "tasteful nudes" may be a bit too extra to handle.

I LOVED all the the technical details about painting, forging, etc, but found the overall mystery (which was barely a mystery) not too thrilling. This is very cerebral and internal, and the romance plotline was a complete throw-away for me.

Finally a print copy! I've eagerly awaited this compilation of first issues, as I am really not into reading my comics digitally. The wait was worth it, and I hope Fresh Romance will continue to put out a trade volume as they are able. I especially liked how each comic was distinctly different from the the others - an Archie-esque High School story with a magical twist, a Regency romance, a coffee shop witch, and a lovely re-telling of Beauty and the Beast with gorgeous stained-glass inspired illustrations. All left me wanting more.

Highly recommend.

Well Liquor & Laundry by Tasha L Harrison was fucking great. A hero who isn't afraid to be soft for the woman he's pined for and is a bit intimidated by her in the best ways? Oh yes please.

Hadassah finally hooked up with her high school crush last year at a party. But, they were both drinking and while her blow job was certainly enthusiastic, they left the party without talking about anything, and he never called. Now Ahmad is back in town again for his little brother's graduation, and she's not sure if she wants to see him at all, even if she's been so worried ever since a he was taken out of his football season by a nasty concussion.

Ahmad has been thinking about Haddie too, always. He's aghast to find out the woman he finds oh so confident and to be honest a bit intimidating, thinks he sees her as nothing more than a loud mess. Oh heck no.

Over the course of the days Ahmad is home, these two need to figure out if their high school crushes can become a real relationship.

A perfectly crafted novella that packs a punch for its shorter length, Harrison does an amazing job balancing out the hot chemistry between hear leads, and the various forces pulling them apart. Great secondary characters and just enough football details (including the problems with the NFL and CTE), this was a perfect bedtime snack.

And then reading in the acknowledgements the author is going to keep writing this ampersand series to give fab secondary characters HEAs?! A romance reader's DREAM!

Recently returned from a six month overseas deployment, Navy SEAL Ben Simmons' is sitting in an empty apartment and dreading the holidays alone. His ex-girlfriend left him for his former roommate before his deployment and he has no family close by. Surprising even himself, he agrees to cover his friend's life drawing class modeling gig. He has a great body he's worked hard on, why not make some cash displaying it for art?

High School math teacher Chelsea Doyle is delighted to discover the beautiful new model looks a lot like the sexy actors on the Navy SEAL TV show she has playing on repeat as she grades assignments over the holiday break, and apparently he can't make eye contact with her. Worried she's made him uncomfortable, she instead finds out he's desperate to avoid her gaze as to also avoid having a physical reaction to her stare during class.

These two keep it above board until the class is over, fighting their chemistry and heat the whole way, until it finally gets to be explored under the lights of the Christmas tree Ben helps Chelsea set up in his empty apartment.

Sweet and steamy, just the way I like them for the holidays!

I finished an ARC of Carly Bloom's Must Love Cowboy's, as the publicist said please try this (librarian heroine) and it was really charming! I'm not usually a cowboy romance reader, but give me a hot twin cowboy who needs tutoring for his un-diagnosed dyslexia and some truly delicious consent discussions, wow! The librarian character was a bit twee for me (she says "holy guacamole SO MANY TIMES) but I loved her "self-love" mantras and 'virginity is a social construct" frank discussions. All in all a solid 4 stars (out April 2021)!

I have not read the previous books in this series, and you do get glimpses of other couples and characters from those book (a bit overwhelming with the sheer amount of names), and you do get a glimpse at who I hope is a future pairing (Beau's twin brother and the celebrity chef)!

And, it was nice to see POC mentioned and living in this Texas town.

Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for the ARC

When Ray's rich friend offers up his fancy Hollywood Hills manse as a place to shelter during the pandemic, he isn't expecting to find his friend's ex-girlfriend Tyler has already broken in and made herself at home.

Tyler and Ray agree to share the big space, social distancing and wearing masks until they can quarantine for two weeks. But masks and distance cannot hide their magnetic attraction, and soon quarantine turns into a massive experiment in edging.

I liked the details of Tyler's comic book art, and how tender yet horny these two were. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a pandemic romance, but this one worked for me. I was a little worried about the HFN, but was glad to see the author didn't try to envision what a future post-pandemic was like, instead leaving our couple to have their HFN while still isolating.

Bonus points for my first gloryhole and the most creative use of a shower curtain I've ever seen.

Thank you to the author for a chance to read an early copy.