 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.The last Psyche & Eros retelling I read was Katee Robert’s. This version, written by Luna McNamara, is quite different in execution. While there is a romance, for me the most successful part of this story is just in the retelling itself, with the romance present but subsumed to the arc of the myth. There is little emotional intimacy, for example. But there is an intriguing tale of a fated warrior legend—Psyche—a ticked off goddess, Aphrodite, & a god who curses himself with love & who has a lot to learn about the subject of his spell. The plot moves along from one moment of tension to another, as Psyche & Eros both journey to great lengths to save each other. For me, the best part of the story is in Psyche’s realization about heroism & what actions the stories of heroes are based on. In the end, Psyche & Eros is a quietly affecting retelling of the myth, great for people who want a story of growth & devotion, with a happy ending for the pair. 4⭐️. Out now!CWs: death, imprisonment, violence. Reference to slaves, to rape, & suicide.
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.I’ve seen the author Scarlett St. Clair everywhere on booksta & this fairy tale retelling novella, Mountains Made of Glass, was my first foray into her writing. This novella reminds me that while I am trash for fairy tale & Fae romance, I am also *not trash* for dark romance. So ultimately, I really enjoyed aspects of this one but also squirmed away from others. As a result, if you’re a lover of dark romance maybe take this review with a grain of salt . MMoG is, in moments, violent & gruesome, a sometimes unsettling backdrop to a tense & whimsical story about Gesela, a woman with some Fae heritage, who is forced to try to rid her village of a curse—knowing all the while that she is seriously going to anger some magical powers for the affront. After ridding her village of the curse, five elven princes appear at her home & magically transport her to their brother, “a beast,” where she’s presented with a challenge that unbeknownst to her as some hidden qualifications, including falling in love. The fairy tale underpinning of the story interests & charms. It’s hard to predict where the story is going (excluding the assumed promise of a HEA), & I love how creative the author is in bringing so many elements into the story. Also steamy. Choke play, anyone? But with that being said, the heroine’s actions sometimes had me raising my eyebrows and feeling a bit confused, and the other MC, Casamir, is a dark prince who is his beastly, ruthless self when it comes to manipulating her—which I didn’t always love . I guess the dark romance comes into play for some of that & it just doesn’t always work for me, personally. Setting aside the quibbles, I might be back for another of these retelling novellas in the future for a quick burst of fancy + steam. 4⭐️. Out now!There are lots of CWs for this one—please check a trusted reviewer’s list.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.An intoxicating slow burn fantasy w/ romantic elements set in a forest that’s grasping & hungry, Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf, book 1 in a trilogy, put stars in my eyes. Redarys, or Red, is the second daughter of the Valleydan queen. As such, soon after turning 19 a mark will appear on her skin & she’ll be dispensed to the Wilderwood—a place where the monsters & five kings are held—as a human sacrifice. Maybe the sacrifice will free the kings, maybe not. Either way, this long established custom of sending second daughters of the queen has held Valleydan and its neighboring countries together & fulfilled the initial terms set by the Wilderwood forest & a couple—the Wolf & the first Second Daughter—long ago. Red will be delivered to the Wolf because of who she is. But what her beloved twin sister & others don’t know is that Red is ultimately okay with going. That she possesses a violent power she lives in fear of, given to her by the Wilderwood. What does that mean for the Wolf? Watching the relationships change in this book—seeing the characters change—is captivating. The fierceness of them, the uncertainty, the hope. The terrifying slide of one major secondary character into her worst nature—a slide that initially starts out of love. The rapturous tension between the two leads as they fall, despite the forest’s waiting eyes & limbs. & speaking of the forest. The imagery in For the Wolf has a power, a punch that propelled me through the pages. A sinister quality that’s complicated by Red’s growing awareness of what the forest is & what it wants. A beauty & the beast retelling that entrances, For the Wolf is a 5 ⭐️ read for me. 5⭐️. Release date: 06/01. I’m a huge fan of Beauty & the Beast re-tellings & I was so excited to get my hands on Lenora Bell’s spin. Love is a Rogue is a delightful version with a heroine as the beast & the sweetest softest hero—a cinnamon rogue as I think I saw Lenora call him. Lady Beatrice Bentley is an etymologist working on compiling her own dictionary in Cornwall. Dubbed Beastly Beatrice, she wants to be a spinster but her mother, a Duchess, has other plans. Stamford “Ford” Wright is a naval carpenter on temporary leave who can’t help but be drawn to Beatrice. He’s a rogue. She’s a duke’s sister with an awful nickname who was isolated from others in her childhood & is now preoccupied with her work. Both resolve to stay away from the other but that’s hard to do when Ford must inform the Duke of some employee malfeasance & Beatrice inherits a London bookstore that just so happens to need a renovation. What did I love about this historical? The rep—Beatrice wears spectacles & has palsy. How Lenora explores the societal constraints Beatrice & Ford face. The emotionality of the hero & how soft he is when it comes to Beatrice. The bold women we see here, members of a Knitting League that doesn’t knit. Overall this is an enjoyable read & a cool Beauty & the Beast re-telling with a stand-out hero. 3.5 ⭐️. Love is a Rogue is out now. Thanks to Avon & Goodreads for my complimentary copy, which I won in a giveaway. All opinions provided are my own. Q: have you had any experience riding a horse / have you had a horse? We had a couple growing up & my grandparents raised minis! Would you believe that If the Boot Fits is my first Rebekah Weatherspoon book? Probably *won’t* surprise you to know how much I enjoyed it. A low-angst one-night-stand-was-so-good-I-want-more romance with a curvy & confident heroine & a cowboy/Oscar-winning hero, this book is a delight. Amanda McQueen is an assistant to an actress who treats her horribly. On a night off she attends an after-Oscars party where she meets Samuel Pleasant, recent winner of an Oscar. They go back to his hotel room for a night of no-names, no-strings sex & Amanda leaves the next morning without saying bye. Fast forward to a short while later when she goes to Samuel’s family ranch for a wedding & sees the man she set the sheets on fire with. Can they bridge the gaps between them & will she tell the truth about what her job is? That she’s an assistant and not quite the writer she says? So many things about this book are so well done: the Cinderella angle, the tension between leads, their banter—this heroine is a smart ass & . Their substantive convos including about the challenges of finding the right roles in Hollywood if you’re a Black man, how important family is to them both, how freaking sexy she is & how she owns it. If the Boot Fits is fun & steamy & obviously written by a really talented author. Really looking forward to reading more by Rebekah Weatherspoon! 4 ⭐️. If the Boot Fits is out on 10/27. Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. |
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