Laurens.Little.Library > Recent Status Updates

I haven’t picked up a Rooney novel in years. With so many of my mutuals raving about Intermezzo, calling it her best work yet, I’m keen to dive in

Is this is nothing but an allegory I’ll be so mad lmao

It feels like we’re starting to go off the rails 😭

It’s giving Vita Nostra (which simultaneously fascinated and enraged me)

I have a good feeling about this one

Bi rep!

Also, this one is pretty intense

Someone commented on my TikTok live and said I should read this…

It has a very high Goodreads rating so I went in relatively blind. It’s not working for me. It’s not enough for “the point” of the book to be an exploration of the kink-based magic system.

Who the hell is our protagonist? What does he want? Where are we going? What are we working towards? What’s the challenge? WHY SHOULD I CARE??

Blessed by the Libby gods 🙌🏼

I’m immediately taken by this. The world, the religions, the characters, the mystery.

And, of course, the writing 🖤

If I hear the word “literally” one more time I’m flinging myself into the sun.

😩🔫

Sad to report I’m not finding this most recent addition to the Glimmer Falls series nearly as funny or quirky or delightful as the previous entries.

I do enjoy Ben’s characterization and the anxiety rep. But aside from a few sparkly moments/one-liners, the story drags from the lack of effervescence

The characters speak their understanding of one another in big declarations, but it feels cheap. It immediately reads as if the author is talking *through them* to the reader, handing out on a silver platter what we’re supposed to think and believe.

For the reader, this does nothing but make us feel cheated, unable to genuinely get to know the characters by seeing it for ourselves

*groans* unfortunately, this author relies heavily on telling us lots, showing very little.

We’re told they’ve called for one another — I don’t feel it, see it, or buy it.

We’re told 10 days at sea makes me change his ways — none of that struggle, none of that decision making, is shown on the page. Instead we get a two-year time jump lol.

1/2

Well alrighty then! Insta-lust and zero slow burn is what’s on offer here, folks.

Plus some hilarious forced proximity (they’re alone on a yacht). She’s his brother’s ex girlfriend, but you won’t find a lot of tension and yearning, nor any guilt for diving head first (literally…and literally lmao)

Many thanks to the publisher for the ALC!

I’m chairing a talk with the author and Nadia El-Fassi at Waterstones Southampton on Oct 19th 💜 come see us in person if you’re local!

I fear these characters and this writing style is very not for me

Okay well at least Lana knows how to write serious steamy smut

(I attribute this to the fact that she got her start in fanfiction. Fanfic produces the *best* smut scenes istg)

Might DNF because although this has Zach Weber narrating (fav), it also has Samantha Summers whose voice/voice acting makes me want to jump off a tall building

Story wise, this is pretty bland

Been so into this I haven’t even stopped to update Goodreads 😂

Also, I’ve been pretty uncomfy with the whole spiking his tea storyline and what happens as a result of that—because you *know* that if it happened the other way around (a man drugging a woman’s tea)… well 😬😬😬

As with the first book, I appreciate the slow burn; something that’s oddly rare in mafia romance. However, unlike When She Unravels, which balances plot with chemistry, there isn’t much going on in this book. I buy the reason a relationship between Martina and Georgio is forbidden… I just wish there was more complexity

It’s been long enough since reading Foxglove that the sting of disappointment has abated and I’m genuinely excited to dive back into this world.

So far? The haaaaaate one another and it’s delectable. Equally so, is the prose ✨

Not enjoying this. At all ☹️

On the face of it, this should be a win. Great narrators, interesting premise.

However, what we actually get is a narrative that lacks direction (why should I care about the protagonist? What does she want?) and thus, any semblance of tension or intrigue

I wish we got more of Sky learning the business side of making music. It feels like a missed opportunity to show her coming into her own, especially when she was previously controlled by her parents

It’s got some heavy themes humming under the surface, but the two main characters and the kids are all playful in the most joyously contagious way

I’ve laughed out loud so many times already 🫶🏼

The humour is back, baby!

Also: he calls her his “tiny nightmare” and without a doubt that’s my new favourite pet name

Even more queernormative than the first book. Also has demisexual, nonbinary, and autism (coded) rep 🤍

I forgot how delightfully subversive this book is omfg I love it

Sci-Fi romance girlies and anyone who loved Grace Draven’s Radiance:

STOP SLEEPING ON THIS.

I wasn’t planning on rereading this, but while trying to convince my friend Kat to pick this up because it’s SO CUTE and CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED, I ended up convincing myself 🤣

I’m not sure I’ll finish this. Dark content doesn’t phase me. Shitty writing does 🫠

NO ONE DOES IT LIKE SIERRA SIMONE 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

Every time I read a spicy romance that felt like this: 😑 I question and gaslight myself.

And theeeeeeen I pick up something by The Queen and I’m think, lmaooo yeah no that smut was shit. Thiiiiiiiis is how you write chemistry, tension, and yes, spice