Jane Litte's Blog, page 89

REVIEW: Hearts and Flowers: A Tale of Hay Fever and Bad Decor by Angel Martinez

Office parties can be horrible, but they’re not supposed to be life threatening.

Michael Sarver hates Valentine’s Day. Between the flowers, the tacky decorations and his sleazy boss, he’s certain he’s about to experience the worst costumed office party in history.

But Cupid’s minions and a certain Hawaiian god have other ideas. Let the mayhem begin.

Dear Ms. Martinez,

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book but as it’s from you, I knew it would at least be funny and slightly offbeat...

REVIEW: West End Earl (Misfits of Mayfair Book 2) by Bethany Bennett

While most young ladies attend balls and hunt for husbands, Ophelia Hardwick has spent the last ten years in disguise. As the land steward for the Earl of Carlyle, she’s found safety from the uncle determined to kill her and freedoms a lady could only dream of. Ophelia’s situation would be perfect—if only she wasn’t hopelessly attracted to her employer.

Calvin, Earl of Carlyle, is determined to see his sister married this season. And he’ll do it with the help of his trusted right-hand man. But...

CONVERSATION: The Grumpy / Sunshine Trope

Janine: Recently we had an in-depth chat about the enemies-to-lovers trope, and I thought it might be fun to do the same thing with Kaetrin’s recent favorite, grumpy/sunshine. I put the following questions to all the participants on DA’s email loop.

Is grumpy/sunshine a trope you are drawn to or one you avoid? What works for you about it and what doesn’t? Which grumpy/sunshine books have you enjoyed most and least, and why? Have you always felt the same way about grumpy/sunshine books or have y...

REVIEW: Dark and Magical Places by Christopher Kemp

An illuminating examination of how the brain helps us to understand and navigate space—and why, sometimes, it doesn’t work the way it should.

Navigation is one of the most complex tasks our brains perform. And we do it countless times a day—as we drive across town to the airport, or traverse the maze of a supermarket, or walk within our own homes. But why is it that some people are lost on their own street and others can seamlessly navigate a new city after visiting it once?

Fueled by his own ...

Review: The Missing Page (Page and Somme’s #2) by Cat Sebastian

England, 1948: Semi-retired spy Leo Page and country doctor James Sommers team up to solve a decades-old mystery.

When James learns that an uncle he hasn’t heard from in ages has left him something in his will, he figures that the least he can do is head down to Cornwall for a weekend to honor the old man’s parting wishes. He finds the family home filled with half-remembered guests and unwanted memories, but more troubling is that his uncle has tasked his heirs with uncovering the truth behind ...

REVIEW: Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik

Dear Jessie Mihalik,

The DA reviewers had a conversation post recently about the enemies to lovers trope and whether we liked it or not, when and why. I’m generally not a fan of the trope in contemporary romance but it works well in SFF because the stakes are often believably high. Which is precisely what we have here.

Set in some unspecified future time when humans have colonised space and the Federated Human Planets (FHP) have been at war with the Valovian Empire – wherein lives a humanoid rac...

What Janine is Reading: Rachel Reid’s Game Changers Series, Part II

Over the past year, I’ve been reading Rachel Reid’s Game Changers m/m hockey romance series. I posted about the first three books here. I’ve since caught up on the rest of the series. Here are my thoughts on books four and five in the series, Common Goal and Role Model.
 

Common Goal

After my experiences with Game Changer and Tough Guy, I was a little hesitant to read this one and although it was better than those books, my hesitancy still turned out to be well-founded.

Common Goal (like th...

Open Thread for Readers for February 2022

Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general?

REVIEW: Drawn by the Current by Jocelyn Green

Lives depend on the truth she uncovers. She can’t give up her search.

A birthday excursion turns deadly when the SS Eastland capsizes with Olive Pierce and her best friend on board. Hundreds perish during the accident, and it’s only when Olive herself barely escapes that she discovers her friend is among the victims.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Olive returns to her work at a Chicago insurance agency and is immersed in the countless investigations related to the accident. But with so many...

Review: Proper Scoundrels by Allie Therin

Don’t miss this standalone spin-off in Allie Therin’s acclaimed Magic in Manhattan universe!

Their scandalous pasts have left them wounded and unworthy—and hopelessly perfect together.

London, 1925

Sebastian de Leon is adjusting to life after three years spent enthralled by blood magic. The atrocities he committed under its control still weigh heavily on his conscience, but when he’s asked to investigate a series of mysterious murders, it feels like an opportunity to make amends. Until he reali...