I’m almost positive that my yearly romance kick has faded away for the time being. I’ve been settling back into some meatier fantasy/science fiction as I try and clear my shelves to prepare for r/fantasy’s yearly bingo to pick up again and I pivot to reading a lot of gay stuff again (probably including romances). It was a tough winter in Minnesota this year, which explained why I binged so many romances. They’re listed below in approximately the order I enjoyed them.
December this year has, apparently, been the month of mildly disappointing sequels. If you’d like to see my review of book 1 in this take on gay Robin Hood, see Greenwode. It lost a lot of the things that made it interesting, rehashed old ground, and didn’t succeed in raising the stakes of book 1 in a satisfying way. Just frustrating all-around. I think it’s a good recommendation for people who want fantasy gay yearning, but I needed the series to move past that.
You would think from this cover art that archery and action were going to be at least a little more prominent in this book? Too bad! Think again!
If you loved and wanted more of the ‘enemies by fate and religion’ vibes in book 1, you may like this one a lot more than I did. It remains the focal point of the series.
November, December, and January are typically months when I dive back into romances. I like things sweet and quick-moving as work at school intensifies. For a lot of genre romances though, I don’t think there’s a ton to say in long form review formats. At least, not for the type of reviews I like doing. So here’s a bundle of mini reviews for anyone looking for dudes making out this winter. And yes, I am on the bandwagon of reading a bunch of Rachel Reid books now that the Heated Rivalry TV show is out. You will find no shame from me here.
That said, even though a few of these are 5/5, none come close to being as good as my favorite romance of the year, Looking for Group by Alexis Hall.
November through January has historically been a heavy romance season for me, and Looking for Group definitely jumpstarted that process. It was a bit of an impulse buy. Alexis Hall has been hit or miss for me, but the nerdy vibes of a video-game focused romance caught my eye. Also, the cover art is gorgeous (though inaccurate to the point of infuriating me. The whole schtick is that the love interest hates high elves and only plays dark elves … so why is a high elf on the cover? Also the humans are above the wrong characters). ANYWAYS. This book won me over by successfully executing romance plotlines with realistic characters and pacing, which I really enjoyed. If anyone else has good recs for other down-to-earth romances, I’m all ears!
Read if Looking For: nerdy characters, realistic conflict resolutions and relationship development, bisexual awakening storylines
Avoid if you Dislike: video game chat dialogue, extensive descriptions of MMORPG gameplay, meet-cute, physically tame romances
Novellas have become one of my go-to library checkouts. With my limited budget, dropping $15 on a book that will take me a single evening to consume is a tough choice to make. However, I love the length and format, and I find that authors tend to be much more focused on what makes their work special in novellas. But Not Too Bold is an excellent example of that trend, and it put Cabaret in Flames (Hache Pueyo’s upcoming release) on my radar.
Read if you Like: translated books, fast-paced horror, creepy spider monsters, tidy endings, descriptions of opulent mansions
Avoid if You Dislike: human/monster love stories, depictions of spiders, characters without self-preservation instincts, fairy tale ‘retellings’ far from the source material
Sequel review here! If you want to learn more about a fun, but perhaps not terribly deep, urban fantasy about a teacher of magic at a high school, see my review of Three Meant to Be. I was a little unsure of where I sat with Book 1. I enjoyed it certainly, but found it wasn’t quite giving me the depth or grittiness I was looking for in an adult magic school story, nor the sense of mystery from magic schools of my childhood, nor even the epic fight scenes of progression fantasy schools. About 50 pages into this book though, I shifted my brain fully into popcorn romance urban fantasy mode, and it really clicked. This series isn’t cracking my all time favorites, but I’m having a really wonderful time.
Read if Looking for: Magic School Teacher protagonist, escapist fantasy, bad puns, romance/fantasy elements balanced well
Avoid if Looking for: deep themes, unpredictable twists, realistic portrayals of teaching
Robin Hood is not a story that I’m particularly fond of. I don’t dislike it, but the story doesn’t have a place in my heart – even as childhood nostalgia. Being a take on Robin Hood, I wasn’t sure if Greenwode was going to be a good fit for me, but thankfully it avoided being a campy retelling. Instead, this was a delightful story of romance, internalized homophobia, and the politics of rural England. It’s rare for me to want to pick up a sequel quickly, but I definitely want to tackle the next installment this year.
Read if Looking For: star crossed lovers, characters grappling with religion, beautiful forest scenes, romantic yearning, ancient gods
Avoid if Looking For: lots of dramatic archery sequences, books with few sex scenes, positive depictions of Christianity
I’m a sucker for Fairy Tale mashups. I grew up loving Into the Woods, I binged Once Upon a Time in college. Retellings are wonderful too, but there’s something special about taking the idea of storytelling, throwing a bunch in a blender, and seeing what new comes out of it. How to Survive This Fairytale made me laugh, made me cry, and made me cry some more. I’m usually not a super emotional person, but this book got to me in a really profound way. Hallow has a fantastic debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next. This is definitely on my shortlist for book of the year.
Read if You Enjoy: Fairy tale mashups, characters processing trauma, romance subplots, aggressively paced books
Avoid if you Dislike: 2nd person narration, tidy endings, protagonists not always being the center of the story, books without fight scenes
One of the things I love about fiction (and fantasy in particular) is that writers can operate within a shared bank of references, playing with old ideas and twisting them into new shapes. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is just that. It takes a deal with a devil, the moral ‘be careful what you wish for’ and spins out an engaging tale from it. This was a pick for an in-person book club, and I very much enjoyed my time with it, even if I thought it missed some golden opportunities.
Read if Looking For: resourceful women, hot demons, leads going from overwhelmed to hyper competent
Avoid if You Dislike: constant flashbacks
This is probably one of the maddest and rant-filled reviews I’ve written. Shoestring Theory had such potential to be a book I loved, and was headed in that direction. Having just finished the book, however, I can’t help but feel that a great book was sabotaged in the name of big reveals and a desire to capitalize on the cozy trend (to be clear, I love a cozy book, but I would not consider this a successful one). If you’re someone whom big fucking plot holes aren’t an issue, then I can heartily recommend this as a great read. I’m oftentimes that person myself, and I frequently read other people’s reviews for books I love thinking ‘that’s a great critique, but it worked for me’. I will highlight some of the things I liked about this book, but it’s going to be a lot of me venting about the direction it went.
Read if Looking For: big twists, toxic ex-husbands, bossy older sisters, quick pacing, good dialogue, tidy endings
Avoid if Looking For: intelligent or competent characters, logically consistent situations, healthy relationship dynamics
Marked for Plot 