rainbowbrarian's Reviews (1.85k)

 I read this one as a mother daughter book club.  It’s got a cute premise.  Maggie is taking over her friends bookshop while she’s on maternity leave.  It works out great because Maggie can’t keep a regular job, she’s been trying to find her place in the world for so long that even her parents don’t believe in her.

The only problem?  The bookshop is co-owned by an old white man obsessed with his family’s legacy and is selling the story that his ancestor Mr. Bell is this feminist icon.  So the bookstore isn’t allowed to carry anything newer than old moldy man’s books.  So, basically the bookshop is a shrine to old dead white men.

Maggie knows the shop is struggling so she starts carrying a secret stash of modern books which the locals all want.  The only problem is that the co owner has a super hot guy on payroll who is spying on Maggie and reporting back.  

Romance and misunderstanding ensue.

The story was okay, there were parts of it that bugged me, like at no point did Maggie consider that she would be an IDEAL event planner and there’s a market for that.  And I felt like her lying to her friend was really unnecessary.  

What I did like was the whole activities to do/books to read that Maggie and Malcom exchanged as they danced around each other.  It was a very cute idea.

It wrapped up a little too neatly, if white supremacists obsessed with family legacy were REALLY that easy to convince to give up their problematic idols, we’d be in a lot better shape.  But, it’s a cute romance, so I can let it go. 

 This one has been on my TBR for ages and I finally read it.  WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?  I read this one as a Buddy Read with my wife @elaby.  It was SO fun to do it that way.

Xie Lian has ascended to godhood and been banished back to earth a bunch of times because he is a giant doofus.  But in the sweetest way.  This time he rocketed up so HARD that he broke things on the way and a bunch of other gods are ticked at him so he has to go back to earth to earn enough merits to repair the damage.  

In order to earn it he has to investigate a mountain where brides have mysteriously gone missing.  He’s sent two reluctant minor gods, Fu Yao and Nan Feng, to help him.  They constantly roast him and bicker with each other.  It reminds me of anime in the very best ways.  

While trying to stop the supernatural being who is abducting the brides Xie Lian meets a strange beautiful youth who guides him away from danger by taking his hand and keeping him safe under an umbrella during a blood rain.  When Xie Lian is telling Fu Yao and Nan Feng about it they are terrified about who Xie Lian seems to be talking about.  But could this mysterious man be so bad when all he did was protect Xie Lian?

Favorite Parts - OMG everything.  How oblivious Xie Lian is, especially when he’s trying to be stealthy and figure out who San Lang really is.  How earnest he is even when everyone else is being shady to him.  Ling Weng, OMG she rocks.  Fu Yao and Nan Feng when they’re trying to expose San Lang and San Lang is all n___n about it.  Oh and the way the text uses old fashioned language right along side more modern phrases and it just WORKS.  Bravo to the translator!

Read This If You - like a naive innocent/dark and powerful romance dynamic, like to laugh, love Wuxia movies/stories, have heard about this series before and were tempted but just haven’t gotten to it yet.  READ IT!  You won’t regret it.  It’s so fun. 

From goodreads: “1905. A decade after the grisly murder of Oxford student Toby Feynsham, the case remains hauntingly unsolved. For Jeremy Kite, the crime not only stole his best friend, it destroyed his whole life. When an anonymous letter lands on his desk, accusing him of having killed Toby, Jem becomes obsessed with finally uncovering the truth.”

But what if the truth Jem uncovers will destroy them all?  Is it worth digging up the painful past if danger still lurks within it?

Favorite Parts - The atmosphere, KJ Charles is amazing at historical scene setting.  I literally changed my mind about who I thought was the murdered so many times.  I also changed who I wanted to have done the deed multiple times.  I didn’t see it coming.  The characters were all so well done and the story was complex.  I was worried the ending would be terrible, but I was pleasantly surprised.  

Read This If You - love murder mysteries, want more queer historical fiction, love a story about a group of college friends