“A Game of Hearts and Heists” (Girl Games #1) by Ruby Roe (Review)

Roe, Ruby. A Game of Hearts and Heists. [United Kingdom]: Atlas Black Publishing, 2023. 

ASIN: B0BQ3YHF25 | $4.99 USD | 319 pages | Fantasy Romance

Blurb

Two enemies, one goal: steal each other’s hearts.

Scarlett Grey, disgraced assassin, is determined to get revenge. 

Quinn Adams, medic turned-poisoner for hire, is her deadliest rival.

For years, they’ve stolen each other’s clients, sabotaged each other’s business, and occasionally… slept together.

When the Magician Queen offers an irresistible deal, Scarlett and Quinn are forced to work together. But this is not a simple job.

With an impossible heist ahead, they’re going to have to trust each other…

And that’s not easy when they both have secrets to hide. 

Harder still when those secrets will betray the ones they love.

Now neither woman is sure if it’s a heist they want to win or a heart.

Two women, two deadly professions, and a romance that could be their downfall.

This is a steamy lesbian fantasy romance with enemies to lovers, a heist, found family, a secret royal, babes on bikes, and only one bed.

Content warnings: profanity, assassination, explicit lesbian sex, pre-plot parental death, betrayal, one use of sex toys, some violence and fights against enemies.

Review

4 stars

Even amid the looming downfall of Twitter, I’ve continued to find new authors to try, and Ruby Roe’s first-in-series, A Game of Hearts and Heists, spoke to me, as an aspiring/dabbling writer of sapphic fantasy romance. I didn’t know much going in, beyond it being a true enemies-to-lovers (and I firmly believe fantasy settings are best for this), and it allowed me to just immerse myself into their dynamic, without overanalyzing it, which I often do for its counterparts in real-world, mundane settings.

The world building is subtle, but it’s well-conveyed. I love the concept of a kingdom torn in two, and how it serves as an immersive backdrop for the story. If you’re looking for something that does give that stuff to you in more detail, you may be disappointed, but I like that it was present, but not overwhelming. 

The characters are so fun, both badass and complex. Scarlett is an assassin, and Quinn is a poisoner (often called The Poisoner by Scarlett). They’re enemies who simultaneously lust for and want to kill each other, and while I’m not always the biggest fan of hate-sex, these characters pulled it off for me. And while they do have a lot of sex, I like that their bond also grows deeper beyond that, as they actually have a lot in common, being very intense, angry women. There’s a great balance of banter/bickering and intimacy (on an emotional and physical front). 

And in addition to that, there’s just a lot of other fun elements that complement the romance beautifully. The supporting cast lend itself perfectly to providing a found-family for the leads, and there’s a lot of excitement with the heist/suspense aspect. \
I really enjoyed this book, and I’m hyped to get into the second book very soon! If you’re looking for a fun escapist fantasy romance read, I’d recommend checking this out! 

Author Bio

Ruby Roe is the pen name of Sacha Black. Ruby is the author of lesbian fantasy romance. She loves a bit of magic with her smut, but she’ll read anything as long as her characters get down and dirty. When Ruby isn’t writing romance, she can usually be found beasting herself in the gym, snuggling with her two pussy…cats, or spanking all her money on her next travel adventure. She lives in England with her wife, son and two devious rag doll cats. 

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“My Rogue to Ruin” (The Wild Wynchesters #4) by Erica Ridley (ARC Review)

Ridley, Erica. My Rogue to Ruin. New York: Forever, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1538726112 | $16.99 USD | 352 pages | Regency Romance

Blurb

The riotous Wynchester family has taken on a new case to expose a forger, but the prime suspect isn’t at all what he seems in this captivating Regency romp from a New York Times bestselling author.

Marjorie Wynchester has always let her siblings take the lead when it comes to planning their investigations. But someone in London is trying to pass off counterfeits, and this time she’s the only one with the skill needed to find the culprit. Soon, all the evidence leads her straight to Lord Adrian Webb.

Adrian is a roguish scoundrel of the first order, but he never meant to get caught up in a forgery scheme. Especially one that’s snowballed out of control. Now a blackmailer is out to ruin him, and the most alluring woman he’s ever met is trying to put him behind bars.
Every time Marjorie thinks she has Adrian figured out, her assumptions turn on their head. He’s a heartless scoundrel. A loyal brother. A smooth liar. A good kisser. Er…wait… Is winning her affections just one more attempt to avoid the law? Or is it possible he’s not such a rogue after all?

In the series

#1 The Duke Heist 

#2 The Perks of Loving a Wallflower

#3 Nobody’s Princess

Review

3 stars 

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

My Rogue to Ruin is the fourth in Erica Ridley’s Wild Wynchesters series. The romance works as a standalone, but as the most compelling bits are family dynamics, I do recommend checking out the first three first. 

I continue to love the fun adventures the ragtag Wynchesters get up to, and while their numbers are growing, thanks to the marriages of the last few books, and now babies (as revealed in this installment), I still love how they interact together. And to see them get involved in a caper again is a lot of fun. It did sometimes overwhelm the romance, however. 

The central characters themselves are fun, although I didn’t feel like they properly got time to shine here, especially with everyone else wanting to dominate on-page. Marjorie is partially deaf, and I like how this was represented, even though I can’t speak to all the specifics, not being deaf myself. Adrian was also pretty interesting, having a rakish persona, and he unwittingly got caught up in a forgery and blackmail scheme, and has a past of being an artist kicked out of his family home. I liked that they bonded over their shared love of art, but I didn’t find myself truly rooting for them in a super deep way, as their relationship felt very surface-level. 

More than anything, this book suffered from a lot of filler, and Ridley’s roots in indie publishing writing primarily shorter works are very evident here. While I’m glad each Wynchester is getting their own book so far, I feel like this story specifically could have been told in half the page time it took, as a lot of this story dragged. 

There’s a lot of potential here, but it’s very muddled. While it’s not an installment for the keeper shelf (especially at the current price point), I do think it’s worth a read at some point if you love the family and series, in hopes that this lull does not continue into the next installment. 

Author Bio

Erica Ridley is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical romance novels. When not reading or writing romances, Erica can be found riding camels in Africa, zip-lining through rain forests in Costa Rica, or getting hopelessly lost in the middle of Budapest.

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“The Dark Lord’s Daughter” by Patricia C. Wrede (ARC Review)

Wrede, Patricia C. The Dark Lord’s Daughter. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0553536201 | $17.99 USD | 368 pages | MG Fantasy

Blurb

From the New York Times bestselling author of Dealing with Dragons comes this timeless fantasy, about an ordinary girl who discovers she’s the heir to a dark throne, and must find her place between her life on Earth and her magical inheritance.

“A heart-stopping, unique adventure for all!” —Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Kayla is just an ordinary girl . . . or so she thinks. When a day at the state fair is interrupted by the news that she’s the daughter of a “Dark Lord,” she and her family are quickly whisked to another world—one that’s chock-full of magic but lacking in technology!

As her family encounters fantastical creatures in place of their Earthly gadgets, Kayla must prepare for the unpreparable: meeting her father, the Dark Lord himself, for the very first time. All Kayla wants is to go home, but she must learn magic to do so. The catch? For the Dark Lord’s daughter, the road to mastering magic is filled with evil traditions.

As she ventures closer to her father, Kayla must decide whether to accept her birthright. Is she destined for darkness? Or can she become a new kind of Dark Lady?

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

While Patricia C. Wrede wasn’t a childhood favorite author of mine, I do remember liking one or two books by her over the years. And I was so charmed by the title and concept of The Dark Lord’s Daughter, after having grown up with so many stories of heroes over the years, highlighting either their simple or divine (usually pure and good) origins,  in a similar vein, so why not one that flips the concept on its head? 

I loved the whimsy that lures you in almost right away, with the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter, telling you about the lore of the world and the important things that each child of a Dark Lord or Lady needs to have. 

I also loved the group dynamics, especially with Kayla being swept up on an adventure with both her mother and brother, along with some others they meet along the way. It creates such compelling dynamics, with her mother wanting to shield her from it, and Kayla wanting to embrace it, and it makes you really question why so many children’s adventure stories don’t feature parent characters more, especially if the kid is going to be sent to do dangerous things. But I also like that the mother’s a bit out of her depth, and while Kayla doesn’t start off perfectly competent at everything, she is hardly naive, and her mother even comments about her taking on more than she should. 

The narrative is fairly fast paced, and it more or less kept me engaged throughout. I did feel that the narrative ended up culminating in a bit of a low-stakes conclusion, but given the general whimsical nature of the book overall, I think it fit, and I don’t think it made sense to throw something super big and epic at the characters. 

This is a fun, charming read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a fun middle grade fantasy that subverts some of the common tropes. 

Author Bio

Patricia C. Wrede is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. She wrote the beloved Enchanted Forest Chronicles, as well as the Mairelon series, the Frontier Magic series, and, with Caroline Stevermer, the Cecelia and Kate novels. She lives near Minneapolis. Find her online at pcwrede.com.

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“Everyone’s Thinking It” by Aleema Omotoni (ARC Review)

Omotoni, Aleema. Everyone’s Thinking It. New York: Balzer & Bray, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0063225671 | $19.99 USD | 400 pages | YA Contemporary/Mystery

Blurb

Mean Girls meets Dear White People in this big-hearted, sharp-witted UK boarding school story about family, friendship, and belonging—with a propulsive mystery at its heart

Within the walls of Wodebury Hall, an elite boarding school in the English countryside, reputation is everything. But aspiring photographer Iyanu is more comfortable observing things safely from behind her camera.

For Iyanu’s estranged cousin, Kitan, life seems perfect. She has money, beauty, and friends like queen bee Heather. But as a Nigerian girl in a school as white and insular as Wodebury, Kitan struggles with the personal sacrifices needed to keep her place—and the protection she gets—within the exclusive popular crowd.

Then photos from Iyanu’s camera are stolen and splashed across the school the week before the Valentine’s Day Ball—each with a juicy secret written on it. With everyone’s dirty laundry suddenly out in the open, the school explodes in chaos, and the whispers accusing Iyanu of being the one behind it all start to feel like déjà vu.

Each girl is desperate to unravel the mystery of who stole the photos and why. But exposing the truth will change them all forever.

Review

4 stars

Everyone’s Thinking It has an ambitious premise, with comps to Mean Girls and Dear White People, and even a few sources mentioning parallels to Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. The true comparisons to the latter are vague at best, but all these inspirations come together to explore a very multifaceted story about life as a Black teen in an elite British boarding school, chock-full of backstabbing bullies, high school drama, racism, and not to mention the usual issues of growing up and figuring yourself out when you don’t fit the white, cishet default. It’s super chaotic and messy, and I rooted for the central characters, Kitan and Iyanu, as they got tangled up in it. Both are compelling characters with their own unique narratives, even though they do share common issues within the overall story. 

And while I did like both, Iyanu in particular resonated with me as one of the queer characters in the narrative, and the way she speaks about the biphobia she is targeted with in particular resonated. At one point, she discusses how people assume that you have a “huge” pool of people to date as a bi person, “but all these ridiculous ideas that people have about being bi makes you have less people who want to date you.” 

Pacing wise, it feels like a bit of a slower burn, with things taking their time to start. But once the main “mystery” element with the photos kicked off, there was a solid foundation to build on, surrounding how all these characters are connected to one another. 

This was an engaging read, and one that made me feel seen in some ways, as I’m sure it will for others in that way and in others. I’d recommend it to readers of YA contemporaries with mystery elements  that discuss relevant social issues. 

Author Bio

Aleema Omotoni is a British-Nigerian author. She writes novels that centre Black teens coming of age, falling in love, and navigating all kinds of contemporary and fantasy worlds. She loves musical theatre, astrophysics and rainy Autumn days.

Her debut YA novel, EVERYONE’S THINKING IT, will be published in 2023 by HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray (US) & Scholastic UK (UK).

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“Midnight at the Houdini” by Delilah S. Dawson (ARC Review)

Dawson, Delilah S. Midnight at the Houdini. New York: Delacorte Press, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0593486795 | $18.99 USD | 368 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

A girl discovers a surreal hotel where no one ever leaves. When the clock strikes midnight, she’ll be trapped there forever unless she’s able to break free from magic that in turn breaks all her rules. Perfect for fans of Caraval and The Starless Sea!

Life has gone according to plan for Anna—she stays in the background, letting her sister, Emily, shine in the spotlight. But on Emily’s wedding night, Anna learns that her sister is moving away, abandoning her—and all their shared dreams. Devastated, Anna leaves the reception in the middle of a raging storm, taking shelter in a hotel she’s never seen before: the Houdini.

The Houdini is a hotel unlike any other, with sumptuous velvet couches, marble tiled floors, secret restaurants, winding passageways, and an undercurrent of magic in the air. And when Anna meets Max, who has lived his entire life inside its walls, she’s captivated. For the first time in her life, Anna is center stage, in a place that anticipates her every desire, with a boy who only has eyes for her.

But there’s a terrifying secret hidden in the Houdini. When the clock strikes midnight, Anna will be trapped there forever unless she can find a way to break free from its dreamlike magic. But will she be able to do it if it means leaving Max behind?

Enchanting, mysterious, and utterly fantastic, Midnight at the Houdini will cast its spell on you.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

Midnight at the Houdini drew my attention thanks to the intrigue and promise of the title, although I still didn’t entirely know what I was getting into, even after reading the blurb. But upon picking it up, I was drawn in by this unique take on portal fantasy. The setting of the Houdini itself is particularly well-rendered, being rather dark and eerie, and I love how each of the doors in the hotel takes the characters on a different sort of adventure. There’s also high stakes to this adventure, because the Houdini’s magic is truly enchanting…and entrapping, keeping any “guests” trapped there after midnight. 

I loved how this adventure served as a vehicle for Anna to work out some of her real-world issues, like her complex relationship with her sister, Emily, and having her want to return to work things out once she understands how dire her fate could be within the Houdini and parted from her loved ones forever. 

Anna also finds an ally and love interest in the Houdini’s other permanent “guest,” Max, and I thought they had a great dynamic. I liked that Max helped her, even though he did want her to stay in the Houdini with him. 

The characters aren’t super deep, but given there’s a lot going on in the environs of the Houdini, and there’s the question of whether they’ll achieve the goals of their quest, there’s plenty of excitement and tension. 

I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to YA fantasy fans, especially if you enjoy books  in the vein of Caraval or  Erin Morgenstern. 

Author Bio

Delilah S. Dawson is the author of the New York Times bestseller Star Wars: Phasma, Hit, Servants of the Storm, the Blud series, the creator-owned comics Ladycastle and Sparrowhawk, and the Shadow series (written as Lila Bowen). She lives in Florida with her family and a fat mutt named Merle.

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“One True Loves” (Happily Ever Afters #2) by Elise Bryant (Review)

Bryant, Elise. One True Loves. New York: Balzer & Bray, 2022. 

ISBN-13: 978-0062982872 | $11.99 USD | 336 pages | YA Contemporary Romance

Blurb

From the author of Happily Ever Afters comes another irresistible YA romantic comedy full of self-discovery and Black love—and a dreamy European cruise. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han, with crossover appeal for readers of Jasmine Guillory and Talia Hibbert romances.

Lenore Bennett has always been a force. A star artist and style icon at her high school, she’s a master in the subtle art of not giving a . . . well, you know what. But now that graduation is here, she’s a little less sure.

She’s heading to NYU in the fall with a scarlet U (for “undeclared”) written across her chest. Her parents always remind her that Black kids don’t have the luxury of figuring it out as they go—they have to be 110 percent prepared. But it’s a lot of pressure to be her ancestors’ wildest dreams when Lenore’s not even sure what her dreams are yet.

When her family embarks on a post-graduation Mediterranean cruise, her friend Tessa is sure Lenore’s in for a whirlwind romance. But Lenore knows that doesn’t happen to girls like her.

Then she meets Alex Lee. After their parents bond over the Cupid Shuffle, she ends up stuck with him for the remainder of the cruise. He’s a hopeless romantic and a golden boy with a ten-year plan. In short, he’s irritating as hell.

But as they get to know each other during the picturesque stops across Europe, Alex may be able to help Lenore find something else she’s been looking for, even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself: love.

In the series 

#1 Happily Ever Afters

Review

4 stars

One True Loves is a companion novel to Elise Bryant’s previous book, Happily Ever Afters, following a supporting character from that prior book, Lenore. This can work as a standalone, but I’d also recommend checking out the first book too. 

Lenore is a great contrast to Tessa from book one, in that she doesn’t have a lot of her life figured out yet. She  does have her own hobbies she loves, in her case, art, fashion, and style, but she hasn’t quite figured out how they figure into her future career plans…if at all. And there’s discussion on her parents’ end about how hard she may have it as a young Black woman who has to work twice as hard to achieve her goals in the face of systemic racism, so she can’t afford to not have it figured out. But I love how, while she does come into her own, it’s primarily to assert that she does still have room to explore her options, and while her parents are right to be concerned, she’ll find her way. 

Romance was a bit less of a dominating force in this one, but that’s just the nature of Lenore’s arc, with the focus on finding and asserting herself. However, she does still have a romantic arc, even if she scoffs at the idea at first. Her relationship with Alex, while a bit of a whirlwind, was sweet, and while the timeline is barely two weeks, I still felt all the feels along with her. I loved how Alex ultimately was one person she didn’t feel like wanted her to be anything but herself, so she didn’t have to “perform” an aspect of herself for him. 

This is another cute read from Elise Bryant, and now having read all of her current work available, I can say I’m looking forward to what she puts out next. If you’re looking for a YA contemporary with a Black lead with equal emphasis on self-growth and fluffy romance, I’d recommend checking this one out!  

Author Bio

Elise Bryant is the NAACP Image Award-nominated author of Happily Ever Afters, One True Loves, and Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling. She was born and raised in Southern California. For many years, Elise had the joy of working as a special education teacher, and now she spends her days writing swoony love stories and eating dessert. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Long Beach.

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“The Queen and the Knave” (Dread Penny Society #5) by Sarah M. Eden (ARC Review)

Eden, Sarah M. The Queen and the Knave. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1639931521 | $16.99 USD | 368 pages | Victorian Romance

Blurb

Romance and mystery come full circle in the fifth and final book of Sarah M. Eden’s best-selling Victorian Proper Romance series.

London, 1866

Móirín Donnelly has spent the last five years working in the shadows for the Dread Penny Society, a secret fraternity of penny dreadful authors who use their profits, influence, and street smarts to protect the poor and vulnerable of Victorian London. But spending so much of her life in secret is taking its toll on her soul—and her heart.

When members of the Dread Penny Society begin disappearing, Móirín turns to her friend Detective Constable Fitzgerald Parkington for help. The two have developed a friendly rapport, and Móirín feels like she can trust him, though perhaps not with all of her secrets.

Fitzgerald Parkington has a sixth sense when it comes to tracking down criminals, which is why he’s recently been transferred to the Detective Department at Scotland Yard. But when roadblocks and red tape keep him from tracking down the criminal mastermind known as “The Tempest,” he must rely on the one woman who has unexpectedly captured his heart—the brash, bold, and fiery Irish lass, Móirín Donnelly.   

As the Tempest’s deadly reach threatens to overwhelm all of London, Móirín and Fitz are caught in an elaborate game of cat and mouse that leads down back alleys, through dark London buildings, and right to the gates of Kensington Palace. Móirín has one chance to save Fitz and the Dread Penny Society from the Tempest, and she might have to sacrifice her one chance at love to do so.

In the series

#1 The Lady and the Highwayman

#2 The Gentleman and the Thief

#3 The Merchant and the Rogue

#4 The Bachelor and the Bride

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

The Queen and the Knave is the fifth and final book in Sarah M. Eden’s Dread Penny Society series. While the romance works as a standalone, I highly recommend reading the prior books, as a lot of the other plot elements regarding the Society itself are resolved in this installment, so it will be much more fulfilling if you’ve read in order. 

Moirin is a fitting final female protagonist, as she’s the head of the Dread Penny Society and brings that side of things to a close. It was really interesting to get more insight into the inner workings of the Society and its purpose. 

I love the continued trend with this series of two people from different worlds coming together, and this installment is no different. Moirin teams up with Fitz, who’s a detective with Scotland Yard, and I love how well they play off each other. While initially they seem like unlikely allies, they are very similar in some fundamental ways that count, especially in terms of the things they’ve been through.  

As it is the final installment, I love the way things come full-circle, from the updates on the characters from prior installments to the culmination of the external plot, particularly with the Tempest this time around. There’s a good balance of suspense with the romance, and while it’s a bit of a slow-burn, it’s ultimately pretty satisfying. 

While the penny dreadful bits are a bit hit-or-miss sometimes, I liked how they complemented the main story this time, and they were pretty fun in their own right. 

This was a solid conclusion for the series, and while some of the books are better than others, I’ve enjoyed the series overall. I’d recommend these to fans of historical romance with a bit of mystery and/or fiction that pays homage to  Victorian-era penny dreadfuls. 

Author Bio

Sarah M. Eden is a USA Today best-selling author of more than seventy witty and charming historical romances, which have sold over one million copies worldwide. Her works including 2020’s Foreword Reviews INDIE Awards Gold Winner for Romance, Forget Me Not, and 2020 Holt Medallion finalist, Healing Hearts. She is a three-time “Best of State” Gold Medal winner for fiction and a three-time Whitney Award winner. Combining her obsession with history and her affinity for tender love stories, Sarah loves crafting deep characters and heartfelt romances set against rich historical backdrops. She holds a bachelor’s degree in research and happily spends hours perusing the reference shelves of her local library. 

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“Fly with Me” by Andie Burke (ARC Review)

Burke, Andie.  Fly with Me. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1250886378 | $18.00 USD | 384 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

A sparkling and steamy Sapphic romance, Fly with Me by Andie Burke is filled with sharp banter and that sweet, swooping feeling of finding “the one” when and where you least expect it.

A one-way ticket to love or a bumpy ride ahead?

Flying-phobic ER nurse Olive Murphy is still gripping the armrest from her first-ever take-off when the pilot announces an in-flight medical emergency. Olive leaps into action and saves a life, but ends up getting stuck in the airport hours away from the marathon she’s running in honor of her brother. Luckily for her, Stella Soriano, the stunning type A copilot, offers to give her a ride.

After the two spend a magical day together, Stella makes a surprising request: Will Olive be her fake girlfriend?

A video of Olive saving a life has gone viral and started generating big sales for Stella’s airline. Stella sees their union as the perfect opportunity to get to the boys’ club executives at her company who keep overlooking her for a long-deserved promotion. Realizing this arrangement could help her too, Olive dives into memorizing Stella’s comically comprehensive three-ring-binder guide to fake dating. As the two grow closer, what’s supposed to be a ruse feels more and more real. Could this be the romantic ride of their lives, or an epic crash and burn?

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

Fly with Me is a sweet debut sapphic romance. It’s definitely more on the slow-burn side with a lot going on, but Andie Burke manages the balance of the execution of the tropes included and the weightier issues, to create a romance that emotionally resonates without losing its light touch.

Olive and Stella are both compelling characters who both complement and complicate each other’s lives. I loved the initial setup between them with Olive being flight-phobic, and yet being called on to use her nurse’s training on a flight, and being a bit snubbed by Stella…that’s a fun meet-cute! They each have their respective sources of  baggage, from Olive reckoning with the wounds from a previous toxic relationship, and Stella dealing with the intense sexism within the “boys’-club” that is the airline pilot profession. These things serve as undertones throughout their fake relationship as it becomes something real, and become sources of conflict for them. While I was disappointed that there was a fairly standard third-act breakup/makeup, there was still some emotional punch that made it work. 

I enjoyed this book, and I am excited to read more from Andie Burke in the future. I’d recommend this to fans of sapphic contemporary romance. 

Author Bio

Andie Burke writes books with queer kissing and happily ever afters.

She was originally an English major who decided to jump into a pediatric nursing career. Her writing is inspired by over a decade spent working in hospitals with patients of all ages. After the last couple years spent in the pandemic ER, she escaped to an outpatient pediatric sedation unit.

Andie lives in a blue house in Maryland with an alarming number of books and an embarrassing number of ultra-fine point pens. When she’s not writing, she’s probably feeding snacks to the two small human creatures who live with her or trying not to kill her chaotic houseplants. You can find her on Bookstagram adding to her ever-expanding TBR or letting her ADHD brain happily dissociate while listening to Taylor Swift.

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“The Escape Room” by Megan Goldin (Review)

Goldin, Megan. The Escape Room. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2019. 

ISBN-13: 978-1250219657 | $26.99 USD | 356 pages | Thriller

Blurb

“One of my favorite books of the year.” —Lee Child

“Cancel all your plans and call in sick; once you start reading, you’ll be caught in your own escape room—the only key to freedom is turning the last page!” —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“A sleek, well-crafted ride.” —The New York Times

In Megan Goldin’s unforgettable debut, The Escape Room, four young Wall Street rising stars discover the price of ambition when an escape room challenge turns into a lethal game of revenge.

Welcome to the escape room. Your goal is simple. Get out alive.

In the lucrative world of finance, Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are at the top of their game. They’ve mastered the art of the deal and celebrate their success in style—but a life of extreme luxury always comes at a cost.

Invited to participate in an escape room challenge as a team-building exercise, the ferociously competitive co-workers crowd into the elevator of a high-rise building, eager to prove themselves. But when the lights go off and the doors stay shut, it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary competition: they’re caught in a dangerous game of survival.

Trapped in the dark, the colleagues must put aside their bitter rivalries and work together to solve cryptic clues to break free. But as the game begins to reveal the team’s darkest secrets, they realize there’s a price to be paid for the terrible deeds they committed in their ruthless climb up the corporate ladder. As tempers fray, and the clues turn deadly, they must solve one final chilling puzzle: which one of them will kill in order to survive?

Review

4.5 stars

While I’ve read all of Megan Goldin’s other work, I hadn’t yet picked up her debut, The Escape Room, until now. And like her others, it’s very much a wickedly twisted treat that I enjoyed unraveling…perhaps her most twisted. This is definitely one of those books where it’s best if you know as little as possible beyond what the blurb gives you, as figuring out how it all fits together   is what makes this so compelling. 

Part of the story is spent with the four top Wall Street financiers, Vincent, Sam, Sylvie, and Jules, as they are stuck in an elevator and what they are told is  an escape room. None of these characters are particularly likable, and they’re not meant to be…in fact, they’re revealed to be the exact opposite the more the story goes on. 

The other half of the book is what makes this even more sinister, focusing on Sara Hall, another character from the same sphere as the other four, and their shared past within the cutthroat business world. Things take intense turns, and Sara’s POV fleshes out the other four, proving them to be truly corrupt people who caused a lot of pain for Sara due to their corporate greed. 

Seeing it all come together, from finding out what happened to Sara to how the “escape room” came together, made this such a wild ride. While the book did have some moments of lull, such as when the pretense subtly shifted from the elevator being an escape room with clues to escape in a timely manner to it being a trap that would force the four to confront each other, I did feel like the pacing took a hit. However, even considering it also dipped into the past with Sara’s perspective, and that was also a slow build, I mostly found the story maintained its momentum and I pretty much couldn’t put the book down, as I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. 

I really enjoyed this one, and I’d recommend it to other thriller fans. 

Author Bio

MEGAN GOLDIN worked as a correspondent for Reuters and other media outlets where she covered war, peace, international terrorism and financial meltdowns in the Middle East and Asia. She is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she raises three sons and is a foster mum to Labrador puppies learning to be guide dogs. She is the author of The Escape Room, The Night Swim, and Stay Awake.

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“Full Moon Over Freedom” (Milagro Street #2) by Angelina M. Lopez (ARC Review)

Lopez, Angelina M. Full Moon Over Freedom. Toronto, Ontario: Harlequin, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1335639936 | $18.99 USD | 336 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

“Angelina Lopez is the new queen of small-town romance—and of our hearts!” —SIERRA SIMONE, USA TODAY bestselling coauthor of A Merry Little Meet Cute

Gillian Armstead-Bancroft—Pride of the East Side and once-perfect bruja, wife, and mother—is going to spend her summer getting good at being bad.

The first time she left Freedom, Kansas, behind, she did it by doing everything right.

This time, she’ll hide from the large Mexican American family welcoming her home and work in secret to break the curse that’s erased her magical life. Only by doing it all wrong can Gillian get herself and her two children away from the ghosts of her hometown by summer’s end.

Nicky Mendoza is an answer to her prayers. He was the practical solution to the problem of her virginity when they were younger, and now, as a gorgeous artist in town for only a weekend, he’s the ideal man to launch her down the path of ruination.

But Gillian isn’t the only one who’s cursed.

Nicky has been plagued by his furtive, enduring love for her as long as he’s been haunted by his cadejo, the phantom black dog that stalks his psyche. He’ll stick around to be whatever Gillian needs him to be this summer—but he won’t touch her. Touching her, then watching her leave again, would ruin him for good.

In the series

#1 After Hours on Milagro Street

Review

5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own. 

Full Moon Over Freedom is the second book in Angelina M. Lopez’s  Milagro Street series. It can be read as a standalone, but as one of the strengths of the series are the multicultural small-town and its colorful residents, I definitely recommend reading both. 

As for this book, this one felt jam-packed with a lot going on, but I liked the way the romance always remained the center, with the leads’ arcs evolving largely within that context. Gillian is in a precarious situation, having left her marriage to her controlling, powerful husband, and is struggling to put her life back together in the aftermath. The beginning really illustrates how this relationship wrecked her, both professionally and personally, and I loved how she regained her confidence to stand up to him over the course of the book, rebelling and shedding the “perfect trophy wife” image. 

Nicky is such a sweetheart! He’s  from “the wrong side of the tracks,” somewhat, and is an artist who has only just started to make a name for himself. He’s been in love with Gillian for years, but he’s trying to resist letting her in again when they meet again. There’s a bit of angst between them, as she initially doesn’t know if she wants to stay in town permanently, and he’s a bit insecure about the disparity between them, fearing he won’t be able to properly take care of her and her children. 

As mentioned, there are some connected subplots, the main one being the external conflict with Gillian’s ex, which comes to a head towards the end, creating some external conflict that allows both Gillian and Nicky to fully grow into the people they need to be for each other. 

Another subplot which is less connected to the romance, but was still intriguing, was one about the ghost of a woman, crying for her lost son. This aspect adds a small bit of history and mystery to the story, and even subtly amplifies the magical undertones the narrative played into in other areas. With Lopez’s revelation that this aspect is drawn from a real story from the area, I’d love to see what she would do with a story that taps into these elements a bit more. 

This was another fabulous installment in the Milagro Street series, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for diverse small-town romance.  

Author Bio

Angelina M. Lopez writes sexy, contemporary stories about strong women and the confident men lucky to fall in love with them. She has been writing professionally her whole life: first as a journalist for an acclaimed city newspaper, then as a freelance magazine writer and a content marketer for small businesses, and now as a romance author. She lives with her family outside of Washington, D.C. You can find more about her at her website, AngelinaMLopez.com.

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