I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started reading Little Fires Everywhere, but what I got was a surprise.

This book is super steamy, and that is awesome, but the thing I loved the most about it was the characters and their hilarious banter. I really want to be friends with Xeni! I actually laughed out loud at some of the exchanges she had with Sloan.

I also really loved the level of communication between everyone, especially Sloan and Rafe but also with their families. One of my biggest pet peeves in romance is when the characters have drama because they don’t communicate and that simple wasn’t a factor in this story. I am amped to get to Xeni’s story now!

Rhiannon is a kickass tech CEO who runs a dating app. Samson is a former pro football player and reluctant players’ health advocate. They have what they think is a one-night stand and then serendipity brings them together again…it’s The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai. (Swipe for Goodreads synopsis)

I enjoyed this book although I had trouble staying engaged with it at times. The two MCs both had a lot of trust and miscommunication issues, which in general, I find HIGHLY annoying in romance novels. Like Girl Gone Viral, though, Rai gave each of her characters really great backstories and supporting casts. I thoroughly enjoyed Samson’s involvement with CTE advocacy in professional football, and absolutely loved the way Rai built the backstory for Rhiannon and her old boss.

This book has some pretty great steam and I love the way Rai writes sex scenes. They’re always handled with a lot of care and they’re hot - but the conversations between the two parties are really good too - genuine and sweet.

In both books of hers I have read, the couples have been in their thirties and I really like that too.

Oh hello there, it’s me, trying to read Talia Hibbert’s entire backlist. Today we have The Princess Trap.

After finishing The Kiss Quotient, I could NOT wait to get my hands on The Bride Test, so although I had a hold on a copy at my library, I bought the ebook. Impulse control? I don’t know her.

The Bride Test didn’t really pull me in the same way The Kiss Quotient did, but I still love Helen Hoang’s characters and ability to show us Vietnamese-American stories in a detailed and beautiful way. This book follows Khai (Quan’s little brother) and Khai’s mother’s intense interest in finding him a wife. (Swipe for the Goodreads synopsis.)

I think some of the issues I had with this book had to do with the difficulties Khai and Esme had communicating with each other. I have a hard time when plots hinge on assumptions and lies of omission, and much of the tension of The Bride Test stems from just those things. Hoang’s family dynamics are excellent as are all of the different scenarios she lays out for her characters. I also really value the way she provides tons of representation around neurodivergence, specifically the autism spectrum (Hoang herself is on the spectrum).

I loved this book. Loved loved loved it!! It had a lot of my favorite things:

- witty, believable dialogue
- time travel
- a goopy, sweet, will make you cry but in a great way love story
- public transit as a character (I am vaguely obsessed with public transit of all kinds but especially subways.)
- loads of representation across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum
- NYC in all of its disgusting, unique glory
- Drag queens. So many drag queens!
- A little mystery, a little history
- A wonderful found family
- extremely lovable characters

I had seen some tepid reviews of One Last Stop so I was maybe not as hype to read this book as I should have been. I was so pleasantly surprised!! I can see how, if you are used to like a traditional contemporary romance without any sci-fi/fantasy elements the whole time travel situation could have been an unwelcome addition - but I live for it. Please connect Casey McQuiston’s imagination to my veins immediately. Also, please read this book. It’s everything.

⚠️CW: mentions of homophobia, AIDS epidemic, fire, missing people