Tag: romance

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#BlogTour: Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf

For this blog tour, we’re looking at another strong Southern Gothic tale that serves as an emerging author’s sophomore effort for adult readers. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Strong Southern Gothic Tale. Perfect for those who love to start “spooky season” on July 5th (with no other major (decorative, at least) holidays in the US before Halloween), yet also has a strong small town mystery and even a touch of romance, this is one book that checks a lot of boxes – yet manages to do them all quite well.

Even as a native of the South, specifically the borderlands between southern Appalachia and exurban Atlanta, I had never heard of the concept of a “grave bird”, yet Elemndorf both (quickly) explains it well… and then uses it particularly well throughout the novel whose title notes that it is all about these creatures. 😉

But seriously, the titular grave birds give this tale a magical realism/ fantasy tone that is exactly what one would expect in a Southern Gothic tale, but really the core of this book is one woman’s dreams and the depths she will go through to achieve them – even if it means unravelling a decades old town mystery so well hidden that virtually no one even actually knows there is a mystery to solve!

Truly a strong and stirring sophomore effort (for adult audiences, at least), this really is a strong tale told particularly well, and one that is both familiar enough to be understood and even relatable, yet innovative enough so that the reader will still be caught quite breathless at times.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Grave Birds by Dana Elmendorf”

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#BookReview: The Ripple Effect by Maggie North

Solid Sophomore Effort. This book picks up shortly after Rules For Second Chances, the author’s debut, ends – even though even two weeks after release it isn’t listed or marketed (that I’ve seen) as a sequel or series. Which is critical information, because both of our leads here actually debuted there, with one of them (the male) having a decent sized role in that book that helps explain some of his actions in this book.

Here, North shows growth as a storyteller in that she is breaking away from what she knows as an Autistic and is exploring things from neurotypical perspectives… yet still in manners that are all too real for just how messy things can get. From physically messy – mud in a river camp – to emotionally messy (most everything going on with both of our leads and their relationship prior to the beginning of this book, explained briefly in the book’s opening sequences).

Overall this is a solid romance/ women’s fiction tale of healing from various traumas and maybe finding love along the way… with a fair amount of laughs and a touch of spice – let’s call it jalapeno level – along the way. Read the first book first, but then you’ll absolutely be ready for this one, and while it won’t be “I MUST HAVE THE SEQUEL RIGHT THIS SECOND”, I do believe you’ll both enjoy having this book on hand ready to read immediately after and that this book will make more sense for more readers who have read the two books in close succession. I personally read the books a year nearly to the day apart, with 201 books between them, but fortunately I was still able to follow along reasonably well. This may not be a talent/ ability all readers enjoy though as like North, I too am Autistic, so I’m confident that my recommendation to read them closer together than I did will hold more true for more readers than not.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Ripple Effect by Maggie North was originally written on June 30, 2025. (With apologies for the tardiness on this Advance Review Copy. Some major life events happened just before the release of this book that unfortunately delayed me reading it.)

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#BookReview: All Roads Lead To Rome by Yamile Saied Mendez

Solid Dramatic Romance Marred By Mismatched Cover/ Description. I’d had an ARC of this book for a few months before publication, despite only finishing it on publication day due to both life and a rather insane pace of reading – it was my 81st completed book of the year and 11th of the month. At least through this point, even the next day, the cover of the book and the description of the book both hint at a lot more visual and visceral travel based romance than what is delivered here, to the level that I felt the star deduction was warranted for this mismatch – a mismatch that can be corrected at any time, perhaps as soon as even within the very time I’m writing this review. Thus, if the cover and description have been updated by the time you read this review and reflect more of what I’m about to tell you, heh, my reason for deducting a star is no longer there and I would consider it a five star read instead.

Now, as to what this book actually is… prepare for some very dusty rooms. While there is a lot more telling than showing here, due to the nature of how Mendez chooses to tell the story, and perhaps the events of the book – both good and bad – could have landed even harder with a more first person / showing narrative, the story still works quite well as is and I have no actual problem with it. Yes, some people won’t prefer it, but others wouldn’t prefer it if it *were* done in the first person/ showing kind of manner, so meh, your mileage will absolutely vary there.

Still, the story as presented is powerful, if one of those romance tales that spans several years. This is far from an insta-romance, yet I’m also not sure that I would classify it as slow burn. Instead, this is a tale of life molding two people – mostly one of them – to the point where they *finally* realize they are what each other always wanted… even if they had to go through so much pain and hardship (along with fun and adventure) to get there. Thus, it actually works as a more serious balance to so much of the more “bubblegum pop” types of romances that are out there and thus a solid tale to stay within the romance space yet get a different taste and texture from a story than may be your typical. (Or perhaps this is your typical and you *need* some bubblegum pop. While that isn’t this review, find my other reviews wherever you see this one and you can likely find some recs for some of those too. :D)

This is one of those books where you need to be ready to read about life continually knocking our main character down… and sometimes she stays down perhaps longer than is healthy or wise. And that isn’t the kind of book everyone can read at every stage of their lives, so you need to be prepared for that. It gets *deep* into the stages of grief and loss of different elements of our main character’s life, and if that is too much for you… go grab some of that bubblegum. Heal up. Come to this one when you can handle this kind of tale. Because it *is* a good tale that deserves to be known,

Overall truly a strong tale that I perhaps have a quibble or two with the manner in which it is told and a more serious problem with how it is currently marketed at release time, neither of which actually seriously detracts from the power of the story itself.

Very much recommended.

This review of All Roads Lead To Rome by Yamile Saied Mendez was originally written on June 25, 2025.

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#BlogTour: Seven Year Itch by Amy Daws

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an *almost* erotica level romcom whose plot still manages to pack a punch. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Seven Year Itch by Amy Daws.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookBub.com / BookHype.com / Goodreads.com / PageBound.co / TheStoryGraph.com) and YouTube:

Sexual Exploration Romcom. The title of this review says it all. This is *easily* one of the actually closest to erotica romcoms I’ve ever encountered, with pretty well the entire plot focused around sexual exploration and a somewhat thin, yet still fun and compelling, plot wrapped around that to tie the sex scenes together.

I would say the comedic elements here are fewer and further between than they were in Nine Month Contract, but they’re still present – and the animals (primarily a cat in this tale, which first appeared in Nine Month Contract) don’t quite steal the scenes as much in this tale, despite being nearly equally present.

Instead, this book revolves more around healing from past traumas of both halves of our main couple, including one particular event seven years ago that may not have gone down exactly as each understood it to have.

And yes, lots and lots of ghost pepper level “spice”, though without some of the elements of Nine Month Contract that may have turned some off from that tale. And while this part of the tale may make some uncomfortable, it is actually handled quite well within the story being told.

Overall still a compelling romance with comedic moments, this one is likely less problematic for some than its predecessor, while still being nearly as problematic as its predecessor – or even more problematic – for others. Still, for what it actually is, it really is quite good and any issues are with the reader, not with Daws’ storytelling here.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Seven Year Itch by Amy Daws”

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#BookReview: Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws

Apparently Controversial. Fucking Hilarious. Near-Perfect (If Unusual) Romcom. I picked up this book specifically because I agreed to work its sequel (Seven Year Itch) as a blog tour… before realizing that book was a sequel. When I found out, I knew I needed to read this book first.

Now, upfront, I’ve read a LOT of books over the years that some will find disgusting or *well* against their moral philosophies for various reasons and rated most all of them fairly highly – 4 or 5 stars in every case I’m thinking of at the moment. Those have ranged from a look at sexual ethics through the eyes of a hyper conservative American Evangelical Christian lens all the way to a MM romance series that openly involved (adult) baby/ diaper kink. I’m *also* a guy who was introduced to porn because his Pastor, who would later become a President of the Georgia Baptist Convention, once spoke against videoing not only a baby’s birth, “but also its conception”. As a young and sheltered teenage boy who was very scientifically curious… I had to find those videos. (Here’s a tip, Pastors: *Never do this in a mixed congregation.*)

Thus, coming into a book involving a degree of breeding kink was nothing particularly shocking for me. (If it is for you, you *really* don’t want to go into some of the Omegaverse type stuff. Seriously, just forget you ever even heard that word.) Yes, the entire setup is rather unusual – the book goes through great pains to explore that exact facet of the relationship, and indeed much of the drama in this romcom is specifically due to the unusual nature of how our male and female leads meet and begin to interact.

Instead, most everything I’ve seen anyone complaining about in previous reviews of this book are largely played either for comedy or for enhancing the tension and drama, and both sides of this romantic comedy work quite well in their separate lanes, and indeed come together to make one of the more stand-out and interesting romcoms I’ve read in quite some time. Again, it won’t be for everyone, for varying reasons. But for those that can allow your brains to accept this tale for just a few hours, you’re going to come away with one of the more memorable romance tales I’ve read in literally years. Here, I speak as a man who reads on average 200 books per year across nearly all (non swords and sorcery fantasy) genres.

Even the standard inclusion of who the next couple in the series will be is done well by including them when it makes sense in *this* story, but not having them dominate the screen in their scenes the way I’ve seen others do over the years.

Spice level wise… y’all, breeding kink is a major thing here. Thus, the spice level is pretty well ghost pepper/ damn near erotica level at times, but with the main focus of the book being on the actual story. But when it goes to sex scenes… not only does it not fade to black, it gets into a lot of stuff that will make a lot of people fairly squeamish, and not always in good ways. So yet again, be prepared for this, and if this isn’t really your thing… this book likely won’t be for you, and that is perfectly ok.

Truly an unconventional and thus memorable romcom, but again, it won’t be for everyone. *And that is perfectly ok.*

Very much recommended.

This review of Nine Month Contract by Amy Daws was originally written on June 20, 2025.

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#BookReview: Roommating by Meredith Schorr

Workable Romcom With Slightly Too Much Bigotry. Ok, so I worded that title to get perhaps more eyeballs than a less confrontational title would have gotten. Here’s the situation, and it is absolutely one that some will love and others will despise, so just be aware of it up front and make your own decision – but don’t be mad at Schorr or me if you read the book and don’t like it because of what I’m about to tell you, because if you read through the end of this review, YOU. HAVE. BEEN. WARNED.

The situation is this: There is an elderly character who reveals herself as bi and dates both men and women. Some will like this, some will stop reading right there and decide the book isn’t for them. As I said, do what you will there.

My own issue, and the reason for the star deduction, is that this character has a more socially conservative son who is actively described as nothing but effectively pure evil. This particular character, always little more than a strawman as he never actually makes an appearance “on screen”, is the closest thing to an antagonist the book has, and “strawman” really is the best term to use to describe him, as he is actively described as a bad person *specifically because of his conservative beliefs*, without ever allowing him on-screen to show a more fleshed out character. Now, my own standard for bigotry is both clear and consistent, as I’ve maintained it for my entire time as a book reviewer: Invert the demographics. If there is a problem, there is a problem in the original as well. Simple. Clear. Consistent. Here, if we made the LGBT character the evil one, off screen, with zero redemptive qualities and never giving that character a chance to be onscreen and defend itself… yeah, that book would have to be self published in today’s market, and would still get the author cancelled. Thus, because there is a problem when we invert the demographics, there is a problem here – and thus, the star deduction.

But there again, there are many readers who will *love* that this character is portrayed in this manner – hell, there are some who will buy this book *specifically because* this character is portrayed in this manner. Again, dear reader of my review, you do you. My job is to discuss my own experience with the book and any issues I noted therein so that you can make the best decision for you, and I’ve done that here.

To be clear, other than the unnecessary inclusion of the character above, I thought this book worked reasonably well overall. Fans of romance novels/ romcoms, particularly of a Gilmore Girls type, will likely love this book. Those who think heavy pop culture references don’t belong in pop culture items… likely won’t like it as much. Readers looking for ghost pepper level spice/ a touch of drama with their sex scenes type of tales may not like this one as much, as the spice is closer to habanero or so, but also those who can’t really tolerate much more than a warm glass of milk may also not like the spice that *is* present. Again, for my own personal tastes, the only two things that surprised me were the inclusion of the elderly bi character and the bigotry towards the socially conservative son – it is an interesting dynamic in that usually the child is the LGBT character and the parent is the socially conservative one. I thought the elderly character was done well, not forced at all, and played well in the story as presented. I simply wished the son were able to do the same.

One somewhat surprising thing about this book given my conversations on social media with Schorr after acquiring my Advance Review Copy of the book from NetGalley but before actually reading it is that Schorr was worried the book could be seen as “too Jewish”. In reality, there is roughly a single scene or so where the actual Jewishness of some of the characters comes onscreen, and it worked well with the story told to that point. Again, some will have problems that there are Jewish characters here at all, despite no references to literally any country other than the United States (as this takes place in New York City with some scenes in Philadelphia, but even there, other than the bigotry noted above, even American politics isn’t really discussed in the text here). Others will love that there are Jewish characters simply existing in New York. Again, you do you and make the right decision for you.

Just please don’t 1 star this book over something I’ve already warned you about here. Do review the book though, and write about your own thoughts on the book. Maybe you think I’m an idiot. Feel free to call me out in your review. Maybe you think Schorr is an idiot. Don’t be mean to her, but be honest about what you thought *without being mean*. (I don’t care if you’re mean to me, but authors are generally sensitive people. :D) Or maybe you think Schorr is awesome. Absolutely sing her praises if you think that. Authors love to see that. 🙂 Me personally, I was disappointed in the presence of the one character, but overall I really do think Schorr is a talented writer, and I really do look forward to her future works. I just hope she can avoid repeating that one mistake. 🙂

Very much recommended.

This review of Roommating by Meredith Schorr was originally written on June 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak

Strong Small Town Tale. This is one of those tales that has a bit of a lot. Rich boy falls in love with trailer park trash girl over the course of one fateful teenage summer. Events happen in their small seasonal town, and small seasonal townspeople – including police – respond as small seasonable townspeople all too often do, even in real life.

But what if… what if damn near *everyone* was wrong?

What if the truth of that summer all those years ago was so much more complex? What if virtually *no one* had anywhere near a complete picture of what was happening, due to *everyone* having far too many prejudices and preconceptions?

Can wrongs done that summer all those years ago be corrected all this time later – at least to some degree or another? Can relationships destroyed then – family, community, romantically, and others – be repaired after so much time has passed and so much bitterness has been so deeply internalized?

Novak here provides a stunning tale perfect for summer reading that delves into all of the above in a tale that ultimately leaves the reader a bit breathless and a lot of emotions to deal with. It isn’t a comedy, though it has a touch of that. It isn’t a romance per se, though it does in fact meet all known qualifications there and may be marketed as such. This is far more a family/ small town drama, and one that plays out quite remarkably well.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Summer That Changed Everything by Brenda Novak was originally written on June 15, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Other Side Of Now by Paige Harbison

One Of The Hardest Hitting ‘Glimpse’ Tales I’ve Ever Come Across. This is one of those ‘glimpse’ tales – ala The Family Man (the 2000s era movie with Nic Cage and Tea Leoni) or It’s A Wonderful Life, and yet in its specific mechanics, it hit me harder than any I’ve come across before it. There are really only two books I’ve come across before – that I believe I’ve written reviews for over the years – that even come close, but revealing which two gets way too close to spoiler territory. So read this book then look back through my reviews (available on BookHype.com, PageBound.co, TheStoryGraph, Goodreads, or my blog at BookAnon.com) and see if you can make the connection yourself. 😀 (Ok, so *no one* is going to do that. But it could be a fun challenge for someone who is particularly bored, maybe? :D) Also, don’t forget to leave your own review of this book after you read it. *Then* go look through mine. 😀

But seriously, this is an utterly hilarious book that happens to have a lot of heart – both of which are hallmarks of this type of tale, and both of which are done particularly well by Harbison.

The selection of exact characterization here helps – a regular girl from Florida who has two different dreams which ultimately become two different realities one day such that she gets to live through both and see what both are really like. Yes, there is a fair amount of Hollywood name dropping and commentary, but again, I’ve seen that in many other books with similar characters, and it works well to establish this exact characterization early, particularly since the real ‘meat’ of the book is actually the *other* life.

What made this hit so hard personally was an event I don’t speak much of publicly, but which has direct bearing on this book – but again, I have to be very vague here in order to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that my reality – assuming the one I’m typing this review in *is* reality – wound up very different from the one in the book, yet it is also all *too* easy for me to see how my reality could have been a version of this tale, all the way to me becoming a version of our lead character. (Though to be clear, *no one* is casting me as an actor. The one time I acted at all was in a HS play – Midsummer Night’s Dream – and even playing a character who was *supposed* to be a bad actor… damn, I was *really* bad at even that!)

If you’ve never encountered a ‘glimpse’ tale, this is genuinely one of the better ones I’ve come across, particularly in the last few years, so it is a great place to start. Long time fans of the type of tale, like me, will likely enjoy this particular tale quite a bit too.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Other Side Of Now by Paige Harbison was originally written on June 2, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Ignore The Haters. Seriously, if one “lesson” can be learned from a rom-com, this is this book’s lesson. But also: Seriously, ignore the haters of this book. They’re wrong, they know they’re wrong, and they can sit there in their wrongness and be wrong. And if they want to come at me, well, I’m a big boy and don’t give a fuck what they think anyway, so they can continue to be wrong in their wrongness while I move on to ever more books. 🙂

This is one of those lighthearted romcoms with a few points, and it is crystal clear that one reason Center wrote this was so that she could expense likely a few trips out to Key West as “business expenses” and have a blast while “researching” this book… And yet even if you want to be so cynical like that… clearly, the research fucking *worked*, because Center absolutely *nails* the entire Key West vibe (particularly the eccentric secondary characters, yes, including the dog who has at least as much personality as anyone else in the book). And while I’ve never been in the Coast Guard, I’ve seen them operating enough from being at sea enough (hello, guy that cruises nearly as much as he reads – and he very much has a reading problem 😉 ) to have a decent idea of the job, and Center nails that pretty solidly as well. From the standoffish “I don’t know you yet” they can project to the closest-friend-you’ll-ever-have once they do get to know you – or if you happen to be their brother and share a tragic backstory. 😉

Come for the eccentric Key West vibes. Yes, no matter what the haters claim, they really do permeate the entire book (says the Florida Man 😉 ). Stay for the serious looks at both body image issues and hurricane survival. The haters do have *one* thing right – even broke clocks get two a day – in that there is never any true “body positivity”, but Center, to me, actually handles these issues in a far more realistic manner, rather than simply glossing over the very real struggles the way so many “body positive” books do. And the hurricane survival bits… again, very, very well done – but Center didn’t exactly have to do as much “research” for this, being based in the Galveston region with its history of hurricanes at least as destructive as those that are known to hit South Florida.

And the dog. My god, the damn dog. Seriously, dog lovers are going to love this dog, and even cat people like me will find this dog fucking hilarious. To the level of damn near stealing most scenes he is in. 🙂

Oh, last note: spice scale: Slightly warmer than a warm glass of milk, I don’t think I’d put this up there with even a jalapeno. Maybe somewhere around a bell pepper or so – enough to have some flavor, but also gentle enough that all but the most sensitive stomachs should be able to handle it easily.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Love Haters by Katherine Center was originally written on May 19, 2025.

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#BookReview: Every Little Thing by Kay Bratt

Truly Masterful. This is one of those books where the dangers of a foreign country – specifically, Mexico relative to US tourists, in this case – form a major plotline… so be aware of that going in, and depending on your own views you may like it or not. Either way, Bratt works it pretty amazingly to show that there are both good and bad people everywhere, and for the most part, people really just want to live their lives and work for the best for those they love.

In addition to the dangers of Mexico though (which are central to one of the major plotlines of the book), Bratt also does a great job of showing just how beautiful the resort areas in its tourist hotspots can be – which I can also attest to as well.

And then there is the plotline following the youngest of the Hart sisters, back again in a major way and having a more direct link with some of my own activities over the last couple of weeks, as I mentioned in Bratt’s Facebook group. So that was pretty cool for me personally, but even more generally Bratt managed to layer this particular plotline into this story very well, despite its only real connection to the Mexico-based plotlines being that it involved a member of the Hart family.

Overall I do think this was one of the stronger tales of this series, really, with all that is done herein and all that is set up to come out of everything. Bratt carefully and beautifully layers all these elements of destination wedding, missing person suspense, travel danger, personal danger, family loyalty, non-preachy political commentary, and so much more… and she manages to do it all while telling a compelling tale in just over 250 pages. As I mentioned in the title, truly masterful.

Start from Book 1, Hart’s Ridge, to understand all that is going on here, but for those more adventurous readers, this *can*, technically, be read as a standalone / entry point in series.

Very much recommended.

This review of Every Little Thing by Kay Bratt was originally written on May 5, 2025.