madeline's reviews
776 reviews

Oh man, this thing was alllllllll over the place. Characters were sympathetic one minute and the villain the next, there was some kind of dating bet/deal that I didn't really get, the purple prose was out of hand, and honestly, I am very over the name dropping of designer clothes to remind the reader that someone is rich. There are so many other context clues there to do that work, I don't need to know that her skirt was Balenciaga. (And also, how are you simultaneously proud of paying your way through college and working at a just-becoming-successful firm with none of Daddy's money and also buying many designer pieces of clothing?)

I find that LJ Shen books are hit or miss for me, and this missed by a wide mark. YMMV!

Thank you Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC.

 Two years ago, Viola Carroll seized an opportunity to live as herself: she allowed the world to think she had died at Waterloo, and returned to England and rejoined her family posing as her sister in law’s paid companion. The joy of being free is tempered by loss, however – her best friend, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood, believes her to be dead as well, and suffers with lingering physical and emotional injuries from that battle. When Viola and Gracewood “re-meet,” her efforts to draw him out of his depression spark feelings in them that neither expected.

This is, somehow, my first Alexis Hall book, and I feel silly for keeping them in my emergency box for so long because this was so lovely that clearly I need to read all other Alexis Hall books now. ALFAD is very tender, very aching, very romantic, and just so kind and nice to read. Alexis writes that this book is an effort to write a historical romance with a trans woman where the plot is not “this woman is trans,” and I think it mostly succeeds. The book revolves much more around emotions and trust and strength than it does, like, someone shrieking “what if they find out?” and I loved that.

I would say that this book didn’t quite connect all the dots for me - Gracewood in particular felt quite insta-lovey to me, and there are some nuggets of really moving prose that just don’t feel fully integrated into the rest of the book in a way I’m having difficulty explaining, as well as two specific scenes that felt wildly out of place. The second one is the reason this is a 4 star review and not a 5: there’s a scene of violence at the end (not transphobic in origin) that just felt incredibly unnecessary in its intensity that I understand was meant to set up someone as a villain for a redemption arc but just absolutely did not work. 

I loved this book, and it’s a book that will do well with the masses and be even more important to people looking for representation of themselves in historical romance. Nobody bother me for the next week, I need to binge all other Alexis Hall books.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

battle scenes (remembered), addiction to alcohol and laudanum, chronic pain from a battle injury, PTSD and depression, brief suicidal ideation, guns (no one is shot), infertility, parental abuse (remembered), Viola I guess is technically deadnamed but it like is actually someone talking about someone they believe to be dead, it’s not malicious

 

Tired of life in Wales and tasked by his father to strengthen the family presence in Graves Glen, Georgia, Wells Penhallow has returned to the States for the first time since a brief stint in college. Gwyn Jones would never admit it, but she's kind of had a crush on him since they locked eyes in charms class that semester. But she's definitely moved on and is happily running the family witchcraft shop and mentoring young witches at the local college. That is, until Wells shows up, opens a competing store, and throws everything out of whack. When Gwyn's magic starts to fritz, they have to work together to figure out why - but is the answer enough to rend their new relationship beyond repair?

I thought the Ex Hex was fun, but very light on plot, and I'd say the same thing about the Kiss Curse. What happened? I don't know. All of the sudden we were at 86% and the author remembered there should be some plot. I'd hardly say this was a slice of life novel, either - it's just that nothing happens, and then there's some action at the end. Whatever! It's fine. It was a fun enough read, and my favorite thing about this series remains the very intelligent cat.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!

Full review to come! Not doing quite as much work as the last book did, but still such a fun read. Manansala is definitely an autobuy author for me.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

alcoholism, gambing addiction, mysterious death, attempted murder, death of a parent (off-page)

 Mika Moon is a witch - and that means a solitary life, never spending too much time with other witches, in case their powers are noticed, or with non-magical folks… in case her powers are noticed. Her one hobby is posting videos to the internet “pretending” to be a witch, sure that no one will believe her. But someone notices that she’s practicing real magic, and soon an invitation is extended to come to the mysterious Nowhere House and tutor three young witches living together: something unheard of in the witch community for its perceived danger. The threat of their separation, though, is even more dangerous to the girls and the makeshift family Mika finds at Nowhere House, and she’s determined to protect the first place  - and people - that feel like home to her.

This was an enjoyable, quick read. The magic system is fairly straightforward, and there’s a great, diverse cast of characters, even if the children just come off like short adults at points. It just didn’t all coalesce for me. It’s still unclear to me why the witches have to live in such solitude, and why the humans can never know of them. And, the premise of the book is that all witches are motherless. Anyone who gives birth to a witch dies, whether it’s an unknowing magic-less person or a knowing witch. With the awareness that giving birth would kill them, what witch would choose to do so? It just makes very little sense.

This book feels like a hayride through the changing leaves in the fall, cozy and a seasonal tradition you do every year, even if you’re not really sure why. It’s a great pickup for a long weekend or an autumn getaway. Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

vague parental figure disinterest, death of parents (off-page, multiple characters), dead bodies, memory modification, physical abuse by siblings, parental figure estrangement, manipulation by past partner

Bee Hobbes, aka Bianca Von Honey, is an adult film star who wants to break into acting she can discuss with her grandma. Nolan Shaw is a former bad-boy boy band member (say that three times fast) looking to rehabilitate his image and pay for his mom's healthcare. Each of them has unknowingly had a crush on the other for years, and they're about to star in a Christmas movie for the squeaky-clean, family-friendly Hopeworks Channel. As long as Bee can keep her day job quiet and Nolan can keep it in his pants, everything will go off without a hitch. Should be simple enough.

Hi, I LOVED this book. It's laugh-out-loud funny, unabashedly sex-positive, really thoughtful about sex work, has two bisexual love interests, and is just a freaking delight. If you were like, "huh, I wonder if the famously steamy Sierra Simone will write a similarly steamy book for publication at Avon," YEP. 

I am begging for more books in this universe; I'd read about literally any side characters. Nolan's former bandmates seem tee'd up, but Sunny, Angel and Luca, and please god I am begging you Teddy and Steph all deserve stories. Everyone I know has heard me talk about this book, because it is that fun, and I cannot wait to make more people read it this fall.

CW: <spoilers>deceased parent, parent with bipolar disorder, queerphobia, fatphobia, trash attitudes towards adult film workers/sex workers

This book DESTROYED me. Like, multiple crying breaks and a teary message to a friend afterwards. If maybe the extended pandemic has you in your romance feels, feeling like there's no one out there for you, this is the book for you.

Angelika Frankenstein is beautiful, smart, rich - and a little off-putting. She's opinionated, maybe a little self-centered, not always understood, and her brother's assistant in his attempts to raise the dead (the last one is, shockingly, not the main reason suitors keep turning her down). So, in a last-ditch effort to find love, she builds her dream man and brings him back to life. Except, of course, he's pretty certain he's got a life to return to. Angelika agrees to help him with his hunt, hoping it'll bring them closer together, but maybe it's herself who's going to be revealed in this adventure.

I could write a 5,000 word essay on this book. Angelika Frankenstein is the woefully misunderstood sister of a man who's obsessed with establishing a scientific name for himself, often on the back of Angelika's work. Her candidness is often misinterpreted as snobbiness, or worse, rudeness, and she ends up driving most people away from her. So, she tries to build herself a soulmate, and this person she designed to be her ideal match just wants to get away from her. Ow.

Will helps Angelika become the best version of herself, helps her to understand her privilege and how to communicate clearly without accidentally putting her foot in her mouth. Angelika loves him from the jump and is so fully <i>his</i>, but he doesn't want to be hers until he knows who he is - and no one has ever chosen to be Angelika's before.

This book is funny, tender, emotional, lonesome, and perfection. It's well worth all the emotions you're going to go through.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

Angelika's parents died when she was young, death, pregnancy and wanting to become a mother when one cannot, amnesia, light religious trauma (lol), some blood but it's not gory

Astra Snow is coming off a tough divorce and looking forward to her annual trip to the Milwaukee Christmas Market with her college roommates, and the kringle from her bakery. Little does she know that this market is blessed with the Christmas magic of the Julemarked - a traveling magical Christmas market that she’s run into before, and that handsome baker Jack Clausen has been hoping she’ll return to ever since. A few dates turn into love, but they have a decision to make. Everything feels as perfect as the scene in a snowglobe, but can their feelings stand up year-round?

Full review to come, thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

divorce, an ex-spouse who is, at a minimum, very insensitive, pregnancy, non-narrative character’s husband is in a skiing accident and is seriously injured but survives

Lenora Bell doesn't really do it for me, and I continue reading her all the same - I think that she comes up with very high concept premises and doesn't quite have the skill to back them up. She's attempting social commentary in the vein of Evie Dunmore and Sarah MacLean with the humor of Tessa Dare (and honestly some of her politics too), and it never really comes together.

There's a lot going on in this book - Hettie runs a winery, her father is a duke who has to remarry for an heir, but then Ash appears and somehow is the heir, Ash wants to raise thoroughbreds on her vineyard but also enact social reform legislation in Parliament because he used to work in an abusive bottling factory that was owned by Hettie's father, and also Hettie and her father are on the brink of ruin and he didn't tell her and now he's run off to the continent to marry his Italian opera singer mistress, and by the way some wine people are coming into town soon and Hettie's got to convince them to take English sparkling wine seriously.

See what I mean? That's a lot! And thus nothing gets quite the focus it should. And, too, even though Ash and Hettie are like seventh cousins with their shared ancestor several centuries back, I just could not square them being related and also that being a strong enough lineage for Ash to claim his position as heir.

Anyways, this book didn't do it for me, but I think a lot of people appreciate Bell's really lighthearted style, so more power to her.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really, really liked this book - it was smart, tender, funny, sweet, and I flew through it. But even at 350 pages, things never felt quite fleshed out. I could have used another hundred pages in this book, in part because I really liked Gabe and Chana, but also because things just felt... not all the way there. I wasn't sufficiently convinced of their connection in the parts ten years ago, Gabe at some point references how his family loves her when the evidence seems to point to the contrary, and honestly I think it would have benefitted from being dual-POV.

But it was fun to read. Gabe's friend Ollie is a fucking delight, and I think the book takes a really kind, insightful look at what it means to be an alcoholic, and then an alcoholic in recovery. I'd definitely pick up future work from this author.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

CW:

drinking & being intoxicated, homophobia, unsupportive partners, divorce, alcoholism, recovery and relapses, death of a non-narrative character's family members from cancer and a car accident