eisenbuns's Reviews (368)

I was a little nervous to pick up this book, because I wasn't sure it would live up to all the hype it's received on this platform and Booktok, especially. But as soon as I shared that I was reading it, so many of you reached out to say how much you'd loved it. I had a gut feeling I was in for such a treat.

Olive is a well-meaning 3rd year PhD student who sometimes makes... bad choices. Choices like impulsively kissing the first man she sees in the lab late at night because she's trying to convince her best friend that she's over another guy. That man turns out to be the notorious Dr. Carlsen--renowned asshole professor who's "ruined" the lives of several of Olive's peers. 

Through a series of (hilarious) events, these two start fake-dating, and the rest is history for me. I found this story so charming, like diving back into a favorite fanfiction. 

I really do think that this being a fanficiton first did this story a favor. This author knows exactly which buttons to press, what stakes to raise, and how to write better smut than 90% of the adult romance publishing world. 

I want to gift a copy of this book to every Neurodivergent person I know. As someone with trauma closely associated to cleaning, and the overall cleanliness of my space, I desperately needed to read this. It helped me reframe my thought process around cleaning, let go of some of my shame, and overall start to be gentler with myself.

This book is very short, but on top of that, contains “shortcuts” if the thought of reading the whole thing is too daunting. It also has literal explanations for any metaphors used within, aiming to keep as accessible as possible.

If you, like me, struggle with executive function and constant guilt for not keeping your house in a state of “just cleaned!” I recommend picking up this little life-changer.

The Duchess of Clare is a murderer. It’s not exactly the proper occupation for a duchess, but Marian Hayes is not the average noble. When she receives letters from a man claiming to have knowledge of her husband’s bigamy–and asks for 500£ to keep it quiet, no less–she finds she can’t resist writing back, sparking the beginning of a wild adventure. Through the streets of Georgian London, across the countryside of Kent, and inside a series of questionable inns, this physical journey mirrors an equally-impressive set of character arcs. 

There’s so much I want to say about this novel, it’s hard to know where to begin. 

I found  both main characters extremely lovable. Rob is a hopeless sweetheart who’s lived a dangerous life as a highwayman. Marian is all sharp edges and wit with a heart of gold, despite the abuse she’s shuffered. They make a match that simmers with chemistry and underlying anxieties that need to be overcome. What makes a ‘good’ person, truly, and what tips the scales to make someone ‘bad’? Murder? Postpartum Depression? Thievery? 

I’ll be honest– I don’t ordinarily read spicy romances. I find intimate scenes cringe-worthy a lot of the time and would rather fade to black. So, I hope you’ll understand how significant it is for me to say that every single hot-and-heavy scene was necessary to this narrative. Rife with character-building moments, every time these characters came together, they overcame some personal obstacle. I won’t tell you any details, but I was so impressed by the handling of these scenes (and all the baggage unpacked in them), I had to stop reading and tell my spouse all about them. I mean, they were also super hot; Cat Sebastian delivers.

I absolutely loved this work. The ending felt somewhat rushed to me, with one particular flimsy thread that wove through the majority of the narrative (a certain ominous ‘brother’ figure) fraying away altogether. This is possibly the only gripe I have about the book, and the journey more than made up for any messiness at the end. 

If you like period pieces, and you like excellent banter, steamy romance, “there’s only one bed!,” and enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, please pick up this book when it releases on June 7th, 2022. You won’t regret it for a moment.

This book understood the assignment. A spiky, grouchy girl is a total softy for the sunshine girl? Best friends to lovers to ex best friends to lovers again? Pacific Northwest vibes for days? Yes, yes, yes.

Margot Cooper and Olivia Grant used to be best friends in high school. Close enough that the line between 'friend' and 'girlfriend' was pretty much transparent. But Olivia had a boyfriend, and Margot stuffed her feelings deep down, convinced that having Olivia as a best friend was better than not having her at all. But, during an 'off' session in Olivia's on-again-off-again relationship with Brad, something happened. Margot and Olivia were suddenly Margot-and-Olivia! Until Brad came back, anyway. 

Eleven years later, Olivia Grant works for a prominent event-planning service. When she takes on planning a wedding for a high profile client, she's in for a huge surprise. His Best Woman? Margot Cooper, beautiful as ever, and conveniently roommate-less when Olivia's apartment suffers irreparable water damage. 

There is so much about this rom-com to love. I'm such a sucker for tropes. "And they were roommates!" Literally! Bellefleur knows her tropes and how to work them. 

Also, the steam! I don't normally go for spicy romances, but reading this in public had me hiding my face. ❤️‍🔥

This little novel was super fun to read. I ate through it like a box of Girl Scout Cookies and didn't want to put it down (so I didn't. I finished this at 1 a.m. with work the next morning and I have no regrets). Stylistically, I felt like the writing could be better. Bellefleur relied on a few key phrases too much for my tastes–lots of "tongue darting" and bottom lip wetting. All of the characters sounded a bit samey in dialogue, especially the side characters, and there were several instances where a character internally narrated their reasonings for doing/thinking something and then proceeded to divulge that info in dialogue to another character verbatim, which felt repetitive. 

Still, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a spicy sapphic read!

Do you ever feel like you have to give a book a high rating because it was the kind of book you *needed* to read as a child? 

"That Inevitable Victorian Thing" is a queer, Austen-esque, speculative fiction novel. Set in a world where the American Revolution failed, the British empire thrived, and "Society," as it were, established itself in Canada, this book opens up a world of possibility. HRH the Crown Princess, Victoria-Margaret, wants to debut as an alias, Margaret Sandwich, before her duty might take away the free choice in her marriage. Helena Marcus doesn't want to debut. She's all set to marry her childhood best friend August Callaghan, with whom she's shared a marriage pact since they were very young. When Helena gets called to Toronto to debut before the Queen, she finds herself swept up in the excitement of the debut season and makes fast friends with Margaret. They decide to spend the summer together at the same cabin Helena's family summered in during her childhood, the one next door to August's, and the entire company prepares to celebrate Helena and August's inevitable engagement. 

Nothing is as it seems. A potentially devastating genetic secret, hidden identities, piracy, and good ol' fashioned summer romance delightfully knot up even the most well-laid plans. 

At times, I found the characters shallow. In the end, I felt that they were a little two-dimensional and tropey, but I absolutely didn't mind. This sort of story would have saved my life as a young, queer teen. I read it for her, and I hope you will too. 

This book was fast-paced and such a great deal of fun! After DNFing These Violent Delights, I needed something that would really catch my attention. Daughter of the Pirate King drops us right into the action, with seventeen year-old pirate Alosa negotiating the terms of her own kidnapping. A secret mission to infiltrate another pirate lord’s ship and find a long-lost map piece, a handsome first mate ready to banter, and double-triple-crossings galore, this book delivered on adventure!

There were times when I found the writing a little clunky, some tension forced, and a few phrases cringey (please stop calling people lass, I beg you). Overall, I found myself pleasantly surprised by this work and I would definitely pick up the next in the series. I feel like 3.5 stars is the fairer rating here, but it’s going to get 4 from me for pure fun and enjoyment. 

I really hated the writing. I found it inconsistent and shallow. When I finally got frustrated enough, I flipped to the end of the book and saw

that we end with Mercutio/Marshall's death, which I could almost excuse, but it smacked of burying the gays

. It also ends with a cheeky "To be continued" and I just wasn't having it. Life is too short for another bad Romeo & Juliet retelling, especially one that wants so badly to be Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. Also huge trigger warning for suicide and self-mutilation. It's a no from me.

It feels appropriate to finish this after sunset. This was my first Murakami and while I’m not sure exactly how to analyze it right now, I’m definitely going to be sitting with it for a long time. Atmospherically, it really captured the strange liminal spaces that can only be accessed in the middle of the night. I loved how experimental the writing was— it read more like a screenplay than a novel, complete with a fly-on-the-wall narrator which broke the fourth wall, making the audience complicit in its voyeurism. 

Reading this, I had no idea how I’d end up rating it. I think I have to give it five stars. The more I think about it, the more I love it.