Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for one of my favourite books of all time!!
That's right - Wolfsong by TJ Klune is out NOW in the UK with a gorgeous new cover by the team at Red Nose Studios who also created the House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door covers. I pre-ordered the exclusive sprayed page edition of this book from Waterstones (still waiting for it to arrive ?) and Black Crow PR (who've organised this tour) kindly sent me a paperback that I'm giving away, so do check out the competition below and enter for your chance to win! I have reviewed this book before and you can check out my original review here, but keep reading as I share updated thoughts after a recent re-read of the entire Green Creek series and brace yourselves for werewolf drama, more daddy issues than you could shake a stick at, and the beginning of a saga that packs a gut punch of emotion and humour into each book. Rating: 4 Stars Genre: Paranormal M/M Comedy Romance Series/Standalone: Medium Trouble #1 How I got this book: Bought via Audible Hiro Though I was born with the ability to see the dead, I struggled with it until my brother was killed and his ghost was left behind. Now, I’m determined to figure out who is responsible for his death… the problem is that Detective Maddox Booker, the one working the case, is a grumpy and stubborn man who wants nothing to do with me and definitely doesn’t believe in ghosts. It doesn’t help that I keep finding myself looking ridiculous in front of the detective, thanks to interfering ghosts who enjoy laughing at my expense. Still, the more I’m around Maddox, the more I realize that beneath that surly exterior is a kind and caring man who will do anything to help. Maddox When another man dies, I know we have a serial killer on our hands—the same murderer who has remained elusive for a year and a half. To add to my frustration, I keep running into Hiro at crime scenes only to hear him claim that he can talk to ghosts. The words of the dead could lead us to the serial killer and even tell us who is next, but ghosts? There’s no such thing as ghosts. Hiro is determined and charming, and no matter what I do, I can’t stop letting him get involved. He's definitely snagged my attention, but when he nearly winds up dead, I know he's getting closer to the truth—and if I don’t do something soon, he might be next. TW: Murder, attempted murder
Ever since listening to A Villain for Christmas by Alice Winters, narrated by Michael Lesley, I've been meaning to listen to more of this author's books. So, when Audible recommended Ghost of Lies, I was instantly intrigued. I seem to be on a bit of a paranormal kick just lately and a funny rom-com with a ghost-y twist sounded perfect. Ghost of Lies is narrated by Greg Boudreaux, who I don't think I've listened to before, though I can't be sure because he has an extensive catalogue, also narrating under the name Greg Tremblay. It was actually the narration that fully sold me on the book and I loved (almost) every moment of it. This book was so much fun! It starts with a really great scene where we meet both characters. Hiro is in the middle of a dangerous situation, which he seems to have a penchant for, as he tries to help a murder victim find peace. Then, in walks grumpy Maddox to "arrest" Hiro for tampering with yet another crime scene, and the fun ensues. The characters of Hiro and Maddox, and the supporting characters all have very distinct and different voices. I love how the narration really brought them all to life, and I particularly loved the sarcastic banter between all of the characters. The chemistry between the two main characters was sweet and sort of a grump meets cinnamon roll kind of trope. I liked how the relationship built in a bit of a slow burn but found the sex scenes a little more cringy than steamy. Honestly, there's only so many times I can hear the word 'cock' in the space of around 2-3 paragraphs 😅 The pacing was great and kept the story moving forward as I tried to guess who was behind the string of murders, and I enjoyed not being able to figure it out. I love it when a book surprises me...even though, in this case I felt it was a bit of an odd choice. I really enjoyed how the author blended the paranormal with reality, but overall I felt the humour was the strongest part of the story. It's a story that isn't meant to be taken seriously and is instead an over-the-top romp perfect for fans of A Villain for Christmas by Alice Winters and The Lightning Struck Heart by TJ Klune. Rating: 4.5 Stars! Genre: Contemporary MM Romance/Romantic Comedy Series/Standalone: Signs of Love #6 (Can be read as a standalone) How I got this book: Bought via Kindle Unlimited True love is on the horizon, Sagittarius. It’s a good time to step out of your routine and into the unknown. Jason Lyall wants someone to come home to, someone he can be his most ridiculous self with. Someone who loves him regardless. But no matter how hard he tries, he can never quite make that connection, and now his last girlfriend has moved on—she’s engaged. So when his identical twin begs him to swap lives for a few weeks, Jason can see the appeal. Suddenly he’s living another life in a tiny Australian town, contending with weird, wild, and wonderful things the likes of which he’s never encountered before. Like spiders. Like snakes. Like his new neighbour, Sergeant Owen Stirling, who is all kinds of . . . suspicious. Prepare to be caught in a merry mix-up, Libra. It’s a dance of side-stepping and seduction. TW: Teen pregnancy, adoption, siblings/parent and child separated at birth.
Tropes: Opposites attract, fake identity, twin shenanigans, slow burn, small town. I downloaded this book at around 10:30pm last night on a whim and didn't stop reading until 2am. This book was exactly the injection of fun and shenanigans that I'd been missing. When it comes to writing clueless characters, slow-burn/insta-connection, and ridiculous misunderstandings, Anyta Sunday knocks it out of the park every time, and the Signs of Love series is one of my absolute favourites. In the latest instalment, Sagittarius Saves Libra, we meet Jason, an adopted pianist suffering from a bad case of loneliness. A few years ago he accidentally discovered the identical twin brother he was separated from at birth and the story starts with Jason and Carl deciding to switch lives for three weeks to help Carl escape his ex-boyfriends wedding, and to give Jason the chance to meet his birth family. But Jason doesn't expect the disarming man, Owen, who lives next door, or how difficult it is to pretend to be someone else, especially when Carl's small town starts to feel like home he's always craved. As with all of Anyta's Signs of Love characters, Jason is completely oblivious when it comes to what, or who, is standing right in front of him, which leads to some hilarious innuendo, misunderstandings, and frustration (on Owen's part). And, as always, the romance is sweet, the sex scenes steamy, and the found family element really beautifully done. I might just have to go back and re-read the entire series since this one was too good to put down! Filled with laugh out loud moments, sizzling chemistry, and an oblivious MC, Sagittarius Saves Libra is a fun-filled romantic comedy with a few surprises. Rating: 4 Stars Genre: LGBTQ+ Historical Fantasy Romance Series/Standalone: The Last Binding #1 How I got this book: Bought - Illumicrate & I received an eARC copy from the publisher Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known. Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else. Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep. TW: Murder, grief, bullying, torture/violence, self-harm, homophobia (minor)
I knew I was going to love this book, but it took me a while to get around to reading it, and I'm really glad I waited until my schedule was less hectic to read A Marvellous Light because it was such a comforting low-angst read that I could just lose myself in for hours. It took me quite a while to read as the pacing was quite relaxed, but there was just enough plot and tension to keep driving the story forward. Edwin and Robin, our two main characters, were definitely my favourite things about the book. While there's an instant attraction between the two, their romance definitely felt like a slow burner, with lots of will they/won't they moments as they got to know each other and their chemistry grew. Robin is a very heart-on-his-sleeve, openly friendly athletic person who's trying to overcome the financial mess left behind by his deceased parents. He's trying to be a good brother to his younger sister when he finds himself thrust into a world of magic he didn't even know existed. Now, cursed and in danger, he's dragged to the house of a magician he just met and into a world of painful curiosities while hoping that together they can remove the curse before it's too late. Edwin has a history of suffering abuse and violence, from his own family to his ex-lover, which has caused him to be cold and shut-off to most of the world. Robin is a surprise that Edwin, with his meticulous order and high walls, didn't expect, and one he struggles to hide from. Trying and failing to keep Robin both at arm's length and out of harm's way, he grapples with his lack of power in the face of saving the man whose smiles are like sunshine. “He was one barely powered magician with nothing but a tendency to let books replace people in his life.” I loved the pairing of these two "opposite" characters and the British, old-fashioned humour, which honestly led to some of the most polite sex scenes I've ever read in a romance novel. Edwin and Robin also develop really well throughout the book, both separately and together, and I loved their interactions. “I can’t believe we were almost killed by a hedge.” One of the biggest problems for me with this book was the side characters, some of whom just didn't seem really relevant and sort of seemed to be thrown into the mix without having any actual effect on the story. However, I did really love Adelaide Morrissey, who's funny, smart and incredibly badass. I really hope to see more from her as the series continues. “Because if even a single woman was involved, they wouldn't have decided that a man who'd been working there one day was a more likely source of information than a woman who'd been there for years.” I also thoroughly enjoyed the magic system that the author has created. Using cradling to create spells seemed like a unique and interesting concept, and I loved the imagery it conjured. That being said, my favourite magical aspect had to be the magical house and the maze, which was just fantastic and very fun. Overall, this was a fun historical m/m romance with just enough magical mystery thrown into the mix to keep the plot exciting and driving forward. It was a little confusing at times because of some of the side characters and aspects of the magical world, but I enjoyed escaping into this magical secret world from the past and getting to know Edwin and Robin as they grew closer together. If you enjoy historical romance and feel like a magical, gay Downton Abbey-era romp would be your perfect cup of tea, you'll love A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. “And he paused, in the space between inhalation and exhalation, and invited the magic in.” Rating: 4 STARS Genre: LGBT/Contemporary/Romance Series/Standalone: Standalone How I got this book: Bought What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse. Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn't always diplomatic. TW: Addiction/drug abuse (mentioned), terminal illness/cancer (mentioned), homophobia, racism
I just KNEW I was going to love this book! I've been meaning to read it for ages and finally made a start last week. The writing was really easy to get into and I love the characters. I won't lie, I wasn't a huge fan of all the politics (but I knew it was going to be a big part of the book), it's just not my thing, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the story at all as the characters, character development, and the nemesis-to-lovers storyline completely won me over. Alex is an immediately lovable character. He's fun and sweet, with plenty of sass, but he's also loyal to a fault, hardworking and he loves with his entire being, which was both a joy and heartbreaking at times. Henry is fantastic. He's the perfect mixture of haughty royal with the sweetest, loving centre, and he's the perfect match for Alex's personality. Together, they bring heaps of chemistry, heated looks and enough wit to keep me chuckling from start to finish. “Um,” he says. “How do you get a turkey to gobble?” “Try gobbling,” Henry says, “and see if he gobbles back.” Alex blinks. “Are you serious?” OMG! The turkey scene was hilarious. It had me in stitches! I hadn't expected this book to make me emotional. It was funny, and there were plenty of laugh out loud moments, but I honestly never expected it would make me cry, but it did. What happens to Alex and Henry is awful and there's a particular scene with Alex and his family towards the end of the book that just broke my heart. I was sobbing at this point. "A sound escapes his throat uninvited, something that he barely even recognizes, and June has him first, then the rest of them, arms and arms and hands and hands, pulling him close..." Overall, I loved this book. It was a great introduction to Casey McQuiston's writing, which I'm looking forward to reading more of. Red, White & Royal Blue checked all the boxes for me. It kept me gripped from start to finish, gave me lovable, contrasting characters who clash until then mesh and the character development was beautifully done. “History, huh? Bet we could make some.” Rating: 4 STARS Genre: F/F Contemporary Romance Series/Standalone: Standalone How I got this book: Bought After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass. Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy... a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle's new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because... awkward. When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship. But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars? TW: Cheating (past)
I'm really annoyed at myself for waiting so long to read this! It's an 'own voices' f/f romance, with lesbian and bisexual rep with influences from Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones, and it was so much fun to read. “There was only so much chafing a girl could handle, and Elle Jones had reached her limit.” Darcy and Elle are complete opposites. Meticulous, realistic, and standoffish on one hand and an ever-optimistic, free-spirited astrologer on the other, they're a match made in disaster! A blind date gone wrong, Elle and Darcy get off on completely the wrong foot, neither one expecting to see the other ever again. But a little white lie grows out of control, and the two soon form a truce through a mutually beneficial fake relationship. Fake relationship and slow burn, enemies-to-lovers are some of my favourite tropes! I love the tension and chemistry build between two characters who, at first, don't see eye-to-eye and have to fight their feelings for each other. Both characters are complex and well-developed. Darcy is struggling to cope with heartbreak and her meddling, over-protective younger brother. Elle is trying to make a success of her business while dealing with the constant overshadowing of her family and feeling like a disappointment. “Elle loved herself, but what a feeling it must be, being loved by someone else exactly as you are, quirks and warts and all. She wouldn't know.” Elle is definitely my favourite character. I love her carefree, ditzy spirit, which is a brilliant contrast to Darcie's standoffish persona (although she's a complete marshmallow on the inside). The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the misunderstanding towards the end, but I loved the steaminess! So, if you like grumpy cinnamon rolls and free-spirited optimists, you'll love this sweet and steamy LGBTQ+ romance. “Life would be a lot better if we all spent a little more time staring at the stars.” Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Malice by Heather Walter! I'm SO EXCITED to share my review of this book with you! I haven't stopped thinking about it since I put it down and I really, really can't wait for it to release on April 13th! Less than two weeks to go! Huge thanks to DelRayUK and Rachel Kennedy for the ARC copy of this book and for allowing me to be part of the tour. Keep reading to check out the synopsis (queer sleeping beauty, villain POV), my review (5 STARS!!) and don't forget to check out the rest of the blog tour! Rating: 5 STARS!! Genre: F/F Fantasy, Fairytale Re-telling, Romance Series/Standalone: Malice #1 How I got this book: Paperback ARC via DelRayUK Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after. Utter nonsense. Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her. Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse. But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world. Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I-- I am the villain. There are also SIGNED hardback copies of Malice available to pre-order now from Forbidden Planet! Do you see now why I was so excited to read this?!
It's not every day that you get a queer, feminist Sleeping Beauty re-telling from the villain's perspective! I should start by saying that I made a couple of assumptions before reading this book:
I guess I should also mention that Sleeping Beauty is one of my least favourite Disney fairytales (I haven't read the original). I hate how two-dimensional Aurora is; I hate that a kiss from a practical stranger wakes her from her curse and equals true love. I enjoyed the Maleficent film adaptation and the mother/daughter true love spin, but it really intrigued me to see what Heather Walter has created in Malice, giving us a new villain, a feminist princess, and an f/f romance. The world that Heather has created is fascinating, particularly the fey, new creatures called vila, and the graces. I love that she's retained the essence of Sleeping Beauty while also drastically changing the characters and the world itself into something much more compelling. I found the magic particularly intriguing, where the graces are controlled and must draw blood to use their magic. Alyce is a brilliant protagonist. She's flawed, like many of us, and her insecurities make her even more relatable. She has a moral conscious, be it somewhat grey from the treatment she's endured at the hands of those afraid of her and cruel to her, and while ridiculed for her physical appearance and feared because of her unusual blood, she maintains an essence of goodness and a willingness to trust in others. Seeing Alyce develop and grow as a character was easily the best and most compelling part of this book. Aurora at first seems in complete contrast to Alyce. Born into privilege as a princess and naturally beautiful, but just as trapped by circumstance and those around her. I also love how the author has breathed new life into the curse aspect of this dark fairytale, giving it new meaning and a darker, more tragic history. As Alyce and Aurora discover more about themselves, and each other, dark secrets lead to fresh revelations in shocking twists and turns similar (in that they took me by surprise and kept me guessing) to those in Holly Black's Folk of the Air series. I loved the relationship build-up between Alyce and Aurora. It's almost a slow burn in that it takes time for the two to become close as they go warily (on Alyce's part) from strangers to friends to lovers, facing challenges along the way. The one sex scene was really refreshing in its honesty and is beautifully written. As well as the two main characters, the side characters in this novel are well developed and feature heavily in the plot which is fast-paced and gripping, I honestly couldn't put it down and read the whole thing in a couple of sittings. The ending completely blew me away. I'd gone in expecting a happy ending, and I'm so glad that the author took things in a different direction. It showed Alyce's growth as a character perfectly and left me feeling completely awed and in love with her. She's just incredibly badass. I cannot wait for the next book and to, hopefully, see more villainy and epic action from Alyce, who has quickly become one of my favourite characters of all time. If you love the kinds of shocking twists found in books by Holly Black and Jay Kristoff, paired with feminist, sapphic heroes and villains, you'll devour Malice by Heather Walter. It's easily the best book I've read so far this year! Also, if you enjoy bookish podcasts, you can catch my review of Malice by Heather Walter on Episode 7 of the Turn The Page podcast. Rating: 4.5 STARS Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance Series/Standalone: Love, Austen #1 (can be read as a standalone) How I got this book: Bought Emerett “Lake” Lakewood has a healthy ego and a flair for the dramatic. After losing his best friend to marriage—completely crushing his heart—he deems it prudent to distract himself, and what better way than playing cupid? He’s already got his eye on two young men desperately seeking romance, and he has a plan to hook them up. Barbecues. Photoshoots. Reciting Shakespearean love declarations. Lake is killing it. Love is positively pulsing in the air. Anyone could see it. Well, anyone other than Knight, his best friend’s dad, who cautions Lake to stop meddling. To leave love to its natural course. Lake has always valued Knight’s frankness, but this time he’s wrong. Without him, two hearts might be doomed never to find love. Besides, what does Knight know about romance? He’s barely dated in all the seven years Lake’s known him. He’s clueless. Though, there’s a thought. Knight has everything going for him. Sensibility. Kindness. Generosity. And for a forty-four-year-old, he’s—objectively—freaking hot. Why is he single? Emerett Has Never Been in Love is another prime example of why Anyta Sunday is one of my absolute favourite feel-good authors.
This book is the first in Anyta Sunday's brand new, Love, Austen series. A series where each book will be a contemporary m/m retelling of a beloved story by Jane Austen. This one was inspired by Emma, one of my favourite Jane Austen characters, and I couldn't wait to get started. As always, Anyta sucks you in with goofy and naïve but completely loveable characters. Emerett and Knight are quite frankly adorable and a perfect pairing. Emerett is hilarious. He's young and completely hopeless without his best friend, who just got married and left Emerett with nothing to do but play match-maker, with hilarious implications. Enter Knight, father of Emerett's best friend. He's good-looking, he's single and up until now, Emerett hasn't really noticed him, but Knight has certainly noticed Emerett, not that Emerett has any idea. He's completely clueless when it comes to love...but all that is about to change. Anyta Sunday writes absolutely brilliant slow-burn romance and watching Emerett and Knight tiptoeing around their feelings in a will they, won't they dance, is equal parts frustrating and satisfying, with a great pay-off when they finally get together. What's great about this book is that Anyta perfectly captures the comedy of Emma through the supporting characters and all the bad match-making attempts by Emerett. Overall, this was a really brilliant start to a new m/m romantic comedy series. There' are plenty of laughs, likeable characters and a delicious slow burn. Rating: 3 Stars Genre: Historical Romance Series/Standalone: Bridgertons #1 How I got this book: Bought In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable… but not too amiable. Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen. Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar. The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule... TW: Rape
It's probably no surprise that I, along with a huge number of the population decided to binge-watch Bridgerton while in lockdown over Christmas. I enjoyed the show, for the most part, more on this below, and wanted to discover more about the origins of these characters. So, I grabbed a copy of The Duke and I and got reading. This review is going to be a little different than my others as I'd really like to do a comparison of the book and its adaptation. What I loved/hated about the show: Diversity So, first of all, I loved the fact that this wasn't a completely white-washed show. I want more diversity when watching tv and movies so that it reflects my reality of living with and being surrounded by a variety of different people. The problem is that Bridgerton didn't take it far enough. Yes, they featured some black actors but we didn't get much in terms of other ethnicities, hardly any non-hetero sexuality was explored (don't even get me started with the queer-baiting we got with Benedict) and disability rep was at a zero. I loved that we had a wonderfully intelligent, fat girl character in Pen, but I am oh so sick of the 'fat girl is miserable and hates her life' take that we get from pretty much every show/movie featuring anyone who isn't a size model. Okay, so taking a step back, the books are about as white-washed and hetero as you can get. So yes, they did a fair bit with the casting but did they really do enough? Music The music was one of my favourite things about the show. Listening to these gorgeous classical pieces and then thinking, oh, that's Girl Like You by Maroon 5 or Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift was really fun. Penelope & Eloise Yes, make the fat girl the most interesting and mysterious character in the whole thing, I bloody love it. Pair her with Eloise, a feminist riot and you have a fantastic, memorable pairing that I'd love to see more of. What I loved/hated about the book: Two Dimensional Characters So, for the most part, the characters in the book are way less developed than they seemed to be in the show. Anthony, Colin, Benedict are all props, Lady Danbury speaks a mere couple of lines and features in a scene or two and Daphne has the emotional range of a teaspoon, although the same can be said for her tv character as well. Violet I loved Violet so much more in the book than in the show. She's a lot sassier and has more depth than she does in the show. Missing Characters WHERE ARE ELOISE AND PEN??? Where is Marina? Also, where is Hyacinth's personality in the show because she's hilarious in the book?! Language I really enjoyed the language in the book and how the author has modernised and feminised it to make it more contemporary and easily accessible. What I loved/hated about both: You can't include a rape scene between the main love interests in a romance novel/show and expect it to be okay. It doesn't matter that it was a woman taking advantage of a man. It doesn't matter if he was drunk (actually, this makes it worse). It doesn't matter if he changes his mind about wanting children later, and it doesn't matter if he was too caught up in the passion to pull out. The goddam point is that he said no. Explicitly. Multiple times. Before and after they got married. She also (in the book) knew the exact reason, the trauma and abuse he had faced as a child that led to that decision and still, she took advantage. For the author to then try to pass this off later with both Daphne and Simon thinking to themselves that 'it wasn't as bad as all that' is really shocking and at complete odds with the feminist, modern take on the rest of the book. I think that this scene is much worse in the book because Simon is drunk, but the show should have removed it entirely. Far better for Simon to have eventually felt accepted and loved enough (both by Daphne and himself) to change his own mind and make that choice willingly or, you know, just don't have kids. A couple can be a family without children being involved. Anyway, it's for this scene that I just couldn't rate the book higher than I have, and in fact probably shouldn't have rated the book at all. I'm only rating it on the basis that, if that scene were removed I would have actually liked this book a whole lot more and I enjoyed the adaptation significantly more than the book itself. Rating: 4 STARS Genre: Historical Romance Series/Standalone: The Penwich School for Virtuous Girls #1 How I got this book: Bought She works to live... One would think the last place a beauty like Fallon O'Rourke could keep her virtue was in the Mayfair mansion of London's most licentious duke, the notorious Dominic Hale. Yet Fallon—who's endured nothing but lecherous advances since her father's tragic death—is perfectly safe there...disguised as a footman! Beneath the notice of the dark-haired devil with his smoldering blue eyes and sinful smile, Fallon never imagines her secret will be discovered. But how long can her deception last when she begins to wish she is one of the many women traipsing in and out of the sinful rogue's bedchamber? He lives to sin... Most men envy the duke, never suspecting his pleasure-loving ways are a desperate attempt to escape, however briefly, the pain of a past that's left him with a heart of stone. Only one woman can break down his defenses. Only one woman can win his love...if she reveals her secret and succumbs to the sins of the wicked duke. TW: Child-abuse (beating).
My first book of the year was very much a comfort read. After binge-watching Bridgerton over the holidays, I desperately wanted to read something set in the same period and with the same level of upstairs/downstairs gossip and drama. So, not having Julia Quinn's, The Duke and I, in my collection, I turned to an old favourite! “I wish for adventure. I wish to matter. I wish for a home.” Sins of a Wicked Duke is one of my favourite romance novels. Sophie Jordan does a brilliant job of creating Fallon, a strong heroine who, as a reader, I completely empathise with as she struggles to deal with life as a woman in the service of men. Since leaving the orphanage where she was raised and abused by the headmaster, she goes into work without a reference befitting her education and can only find work as a maid. But life as a woman in service is hard; with the unwanted attention from the men who employ her driving her out of every steady position. Faced with no choice, and with the help of her two best friends, Fallon decides that the only way for her to get the money she needs to escape this life is to pretend to be a man and take the job of footman at the house of the most notorious Duke in the ton. I absolutely love Fallon. She's fierce, tough, and compassionate. Damien is, at first, the polar opposite. He's a complete rake with no manners and no respect for women. Until his layers are revealed, and we see his true nature, hidden beneath the trauma of his childhood, not so dissimilar to Fallon's in the abuse he received as a child. With a guaranteed HEA and a Mulan-style gender-swapping twist, Sins of a Wicked Duke is the perfect read for lovers of Bridgerton and Downton Abbey who're looking for a little heat! |
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About Kay (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars)
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