RomBkLove

74. The Lady’s Last Mistake by Cara Devlin (stand-alone spin HR/RS, Regency, widowed Rake/ruined lady, age-gap, fake courtship).

real antagonism to mutual respect

CWs: purity culture, coercion, DV, stalking, harassment, poverty

PT: death of child, unplanned pregnancy, giving up child

75. Sanctuary by Ilona Andrews (eArc, out soon, UF, novella in the KDU, previously serialized).

Full of Slavic folklore & set around the winter solstice, Roman’s dark backstory was deeply engaging, full of found family & unexpected connections. 💕

CWs: stalking, violence, guilt PT: toxic family

76. Magic Gifts by Ilona Andrews (GA adaptation, UF, novella KD 5.5)

Date night goes awry & Kate & Curran need to untangle a lots of threats to save a young boy.

CWs: toxic family, child endangerment, death.

77. A Murder in Hanover Square by Ashley Gardner (Regency Mystery, flawed tortured mc).

His life in shambles, stubborn, hot-headed yet deeply incisive Captain Lacey throws himself at investigating wrongs.

CWs: murder, Human trafficking, Sex work, abandonment, jealousy, betrayal.

78. Sensitivity Read for Big 5 publisher and an author I’ve worked with before. Can’t wait till this book is out!

79. Into the Whirlwind by Kat Martin (RS, WM/WW, single mom, 2nd chance)

Liked the plot but I got bad vibes from the way some characters were described. Dammit people.

CWs: Abduction, SA, murder, nazi, microagressive ways of describing POCs, Nazis

80. Fatal Shadows by Josh Lanyon, Adrien English #1 (Mystery with Rom, WM/WM, stalker, homophobia)

Bookseller/writer Adrien has lost his longtime friend to unknown killer and is drawn into finding the killer out of self preservation.

CWs: murder, homophobia, stalker, closeted MC, trauma.

81. A Dangerous Thing by Josh Lanyon, Adrien English #2 (mystery with Rom, WM/WM)

Feeling snubbed Adrien returns to his gran’s ranch only to find and lose a dead body. Once again a prime suspect his closeted & conflicted LI, Jake comes to the rescue.

CWs: use of racial slurs, homophobia, murder

Dnf’d The Hell You Say by Josh Lanyon Bk 3 because I could see exactly how traumatic that was going to be. Skipped #4 Death of a Pirate King because still no.

82. The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon, Bk5 (WM/WM, mystery with Rom elements)

Lot of growth for a lot characters in this book and because I skipped the traumatic bits I can buy this reunion. Good closure with the former lovers.

CWs: murder, homophobia, guns, harassment.

83. So this is Christmas by Josh Lanyon BK6 (WM/WM, mystery with Rom)

I was actually not expecting the HEA resolution to the mystery cause that looked grim.

CWs: homophobia, racism, toxic family, jealousy.

84. Do me a Favor by Cathy Yardley (AW/WM, widow/divorced single dad)

I liked the characters and romance a lot but also felt flat at the end…like a lot of the fun that had me going for the first 80% fizzled. Too much telling? Hmm

CWs: grief, ableism.