Review: Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai

Title: Hate to Want You
Author: Alisha Rai
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 2017
Rating: 5/5 Glowing Stars

Why oh why did it take me so long to finally pick up this book?!?! I added it to my TBR when it came out, then I picked up a copy at The Ripped Bodice bookshop when Alisha Rai happened to be there and was kind enough to sign it for me and then I put it on my shelf reverently and haven't cracked it open since. But, I decided it was time and I'm so glad I did. After reading a few lack luster and overly tropey romances lately (reviews to come), Hate to Want You was like a breath of fresh air. 

So the premise is a juicy second chance situation between Olivia, or Livvy, Kane, who had a youthful romance with Nicholas Chandler that ended abruptly and resulted in meeting each other once a year, for the past nine years, for a one-night tryst on her birthday. Except this year, the tenth year, Nicholas, who lives for Livvy's annual text messages, doesn't hear from her. He also doesn't hear from her when she shows up back in the town where they both grew up and where he still lives, helping his family run their massively successful business-- a business which Livvy's family also used to run, until Nicholas' father cut her mother out of the partnership following a tragedy that killed Livvy's father and Nicholas' mother. There has been bad blood between the two families since, but Nicholas can't stop himself from showing back up in Livvy's life and the two become entangled once again.

The plot alone was enough to keep me reading, but beyond that, I love the characters that Rai has created. Every character has a past that impacts their present behavior, and everyone is recovering from something, some more successfully than others. Livvy and Nicholas both have histories that make communication almost impossible, and Rai touches upon both mental illness and the emotional work that women are expected to put into relationships in sensitive and intelligent ways. Both Livvy and Nicholas have a lot of growing up to do, including working on themselves before they are ready to bring each other into it. I found this incredibly realistic of actual relationships, so while Hate to Want You may feature a dramatic-sounding plot, the characters are so well-drawn that it was easy for me to become invested in their growth and their story.

Oh, and the love scenes are rated wided eyed blushing emoji for steaminess.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes complex characters in their contemporaries, plus teenage romances given a second chance. I already have book two in the series and book two was just released last month, so I know what I'll be reading for the next few weekends. I can't recommend this series enough!

Review: Tell Me by Abigail Strom

Title: Tell Me
Author: Abigail Strom
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: October 2017
RITA Category: Contemporary Romance - Mid Length
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Heroine: Jane, a nerdy bookstore owner who hasn't dated in awhile and spends most of her time working, reading, and working on her secret novel. Hero: Caleb, a tough, outdoorsy type who is also her sister's best friend and business partner, and crazy handsome. Um, yes to this all of this! I went into this book not knowing much about the set-up, but was instantly drawn into the story. Jane is shy yet sarcastic and doesn't have a ton of dating experience, and thinks she meets the perfect man until she finds out she's not his idea of a perfect woman. Meanwhile, Caleb hates staying in one place and has a hard time finding a reason to commit to one woman (or city, or country) for an extended period of time. Still, the fact that Caleb works with Jane's beautiful, adventurous sister means they get thrown together and, though their interests clash, they find (to their surprise) that they have great chemistry together. All of this taking place largely in a bookstore only added to how much this book spoke to me.

However, I went into Tell Me without knowing much about the plot, so I was not prepared for the sudden shift in tone about halfway through the story. This was in the description, so not a spoiler, but I hardly ever read the descriptions before I start a book, because I like to be surprised. Suddenly the plot totally changed, and it was a little jarring to go from cutesy romance to tragedy and grief. However, I really enjoyed Strom's writing style and I was already super invested in Jane and Caleb, so I powered through the sad bits and I'm glad I did. The shift in plot definitely contributed to the growth of the main characters, and I really liked that the length of time it took for them to (finally!) get together was realistically long and that they didn't fall in love over night. Even the side characters had inner lives and personal growth, which I appreciated.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers who like quirky heroines, opposites-attract romances, and who don't mind a bit of tragedy combined with their romance. 

Review: Between the Devil and the Duke by Kelly Bowen

Title: Between the Devil and the Duke

Author: Kelly Bowen

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: January 2017

RITA Category: Historical Romance - Long
Rating: 4/5 stars

This was my first Kelly Bowen historical, and I was pleasantly surprised! I try not to read too much about a book's plot before picking it up, and I was immediately drawn into the story of Angelique Archer, a noble lady whose family has fallen on extremely hard times, forcing her to use her quick mind to win card games and support the family with her gambling winnings. Angelique loves math and focuses on ensuring her family's home isn't lost and that her younger brother's can continue their education. I immediately liked her, and that she was smart, capable, and understood how she struggled with asking for help, as it meant that she had to admit that she was in trouble. I also liked the hero, Alexander Lavoie, the owner of the club where Angelique plays, who is impressed by her skills with cards and wants to hire her as the first dealer for his club. His offer could solve her problems, as she would have a steady income. However, as a lady she is hesitant to accept a job, and her instant attraction to Lavoie only complicates matters. 

I loved the chemistry between Alexander and Angelique, and romances where at least one character is a commoner is kind of my catnip, so I loved that this book didn't have the typical duke hero, despite the title. I became pretty invested in the characters, both good and bad; I literally screamed whenever Angelique's loser brother would squander their money or do something stupid, and the twist at the end of the book had me gasping. It was a fun, engrossing read that featured a few elements of intrigue that I thought made it a bit more exciting that a typical historical romance. There is definitely a mystery element to the story, thanks to cameos from some of the characters from the previous books in this series, which I now have to go back and read because I have to find out how those characters ended up together.

Between the Devil and the Duke is a good read if you want something different than the more traditional historical romance. The writing is snappy, the characters are well developed, and the romance itself is pretty steamy. Alexander is the type of hero that appeals to me; he's kind of a bad boy, but not really, and he's looking for a woman to be his equal rather than a damsel in distress. If you're looking for a quick-paced historical romance that has a nice mystery woven into the romance, I would definitely recommend this book!

Reading Diversely in Romance

In my last post, I talked about attempting to read all of the 2018 RITA nominees, and to be honest it did stick out to me that this was probably the biggest swathe of white authors I've ever attempted to read in my life. While there are a few authors of color on the list, the absence of black authors was definitely striking. RWA addressed this in a blog post about needing to do better, which has sparked an inspiring (and, at times, enraging) discussion on Twitter amongst romance readers, writers, and booksellers; discussion is 100% necessary for change, and I thought I would be remiss to not mention all of this going on while also posting reviews of the RITA nominees as I read them.

As someone who is not 100% white (I'm half white, half Filipina), I already try to read diversely because I don't like reading about straight white people all of the time. I get incredibly excited when a heroine is Asian or if an author is Filipina, and I love supporting other authors of color besides those who write about characters who reflect my culture and heritage. That's because I just want to read good books, and often good books are written by authors of color and perspectives that are underrepresented in traditional publishing. So for every RITA nominee written by a white author, I'll be reading another romance book by an author of color. I have a ton on my TBR, so this will give me the excuse to work my way through them, and I'll be reviewing them alongside the RITA nominees. My hope is that next year the list of nominees will be more representative of the diversity of romance authors that are writing and being widely read and loved by romance readers. Until then, I think it's essential to keep discussing, keep dialog going, and to keep reading good books, books that happen to be written by black women.

How do you discover authors you love who may not be as widely promoted as most mainstream white authors whose covers feature white models? Are you more likely to use your purchasing power on books written by authors whose work is often pushed to the side in award nominations? I know that I often do; if an author that I know is excellent isn't being recognized by mainstream organizations, I make an effort to buy their books, pre-order their books, and promote them online. I'm also more likely to purchase them for my library; although I don't select our adult romances, I do get to purchase young adult, and contemporary romance is hugely popular amongst the teens at my library, so I'm always making an effort to purchase YA romance written by black authors and authors of color or LGBTQ authors because...dun dun DUN! Teens love reading them! Anyway, I don't know how this will all pan out in regards to the RITAs and the nomination process moving forward, but if there is a positive it's that the bubbles of many are bursting and hopefully that will lead to progress.

We shall see.

RITA 2018 Read-Along

Well this is probably a terrible idea.

Even so, I've decided to challenge myself to read all of the RITA 2018 nominees before the award winners are announced in July. With categories ranging from contemporary to historical to erotica and more, this will definitely push me outside my reading comfort zone; which is why I wanted to try to read all of the nominees in the first place. I'm relatively new to reading romance, having started as a 30-something instead of in my teens, but I've so far fallen in love with the genre. I've always loved character-driven fiction, and no one does well-rounded characters like a really good romance. I especially love historical, being a history major, and have discovered a few of my favorite authors (overall, not just genre) by reading romance. However, I pretty much stay in my lane when it comes to the titles I read; I don't really read erotica, and I definitely do not do Christian romance. But I ask myself: why? Why limit myself when there could be some awesome reads out there? So here I am. Challenging myself to read some 81 books in the next four months. Sure, there may be some duds in there, or books that are just not for me (I'm afraid to read the one about the millionaire's baby), but I figure I should try something new and maybe it will help me grow as a reader.

Reading Plan

To check out the nominees for each category, visit the RITA website. The list is long and I'm not going to reproduce it here. I did, however, create a RITA 2018 Goodreads shelf to help me keep track of the long list of nominees, as well as my opinions on them. In order to make a dent in reading all of the nominees, I'm planning to do a combination of reading and listening to books. I'm eternally thankful to the Libby app to help me get eBook editions from my local library for as many of the books as possible, otherwise this would be an incredibly expensive reading challenge. A few of the books I already own and haven't read yet, or are available through Kindle Unlimited. I'm a nerd and I made a spreadsheet to keep track of all the different formats and where I'm borrowing or buying them from.

Currently Reading

     

What I'm Reading Next

     

For my fellow romance readers, does an award nomination make you more inclined to pick up a book? Or do the RITA awards not make much difference to your TBR? Also, if for some reason you are also reading along with the RITA nominee list, let me know and link your reviews here on my blog! I'll be posting regular updates as I make my way through the list. We'll see how this goes....

Happy reading!

Unboxing: February Uppercase Box

I was recently gifted a subscription to Uppercase Box, which is a YA-focused monthly subscription box featuring one signed new release and a few little bookish goodies. So far, I've been loving my boxes! My first one came last month and I was super impressed with the book choice and the quality of items, and when this month's box came I literally gasped.

February Book of the Month

This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2018! I almost bought this book the other day because I had ordered it for my library and for some reason it hadn't come in yet and I was dying to read it, so when I opened my Uppercase Box and found The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross inside, I died! And the edition included is beautiful; cover is gorgeous and the pages are all deckled edges and super thick, plus it's signed by the author. This is the kind of book that is worth subscribing over!

Other Goodies

This box also included an exclusive sticker to go along with the book (last month had a magnet; if I'm being honest, I prefer a magnet), plus a cute little notepad and, my favorite goodie included, a library-themed whole-bean coffee. I think that Uppercase Box definitely knows its' audience.

Overall Thoughts

So far, and I've checked out quite a few other subscription boxes, Uppercase Box has easily become my favorite. The book selections are consistently books that I want to read and would love to own, the extra goodies are always fun and useful, and the special features like author videos and book playlists that are available through their website make the reading experience a bit more exciting. I would 100% recommend subscribing if you like YA new releases but aren't sure which ones to buy, or if you are looking to gift a book lover. Shout out to my mom for getting this subscription for me during the holidays.

Did you subscribe this month? How do you feel about the selection?

What I Read: January Wrap-Up

Young Adult

  

 

 

I accidentally read so much YA in January! And, for the most part, I enjoyed pretty much all of them. A Line in the Dark made for the perfect page-turner airplane read when I was flying back from a vacation in Florida on the January first. I love Lo's writing, the unreliable narrator, and the mystery of the story. I read a couple ARCs that aren't out yet, and both I would highly recommend! The Way You Make Me Feel is an awesome contemporary romance that also focuses on female friendship, father-daughter bonds, and finding identity. Meanwhile, Emergency Contact, by Mary H.K. Choi, is a slow-burning character study and sort-of romance about a college freshman named Penny and a young man she meets named Sam. It totally brought me back to my college days with how intense relationships could feel at the time, and the whole awkward transition from a high school teen to somewhat older but much more independent teen in college. If I were you, I would definitely pre-order it! Olivia Twist is another upcoming release that is a gender-swap of the classic tale of Oliver Twist, except Olivia is a young lady trying her best to leave her past life on the streets behind her, until she reconnects with the Artful Dodger. I don't know about you, and maybe this is a booknerd thing, but I always theorized that the Artful Dodger was super hot and this book only supports that theory. It's a fun historical that's plot-driven and a fast read.

Lastly, I finally got around to The Last Namsara, which I had checked out from the library and kept renewing because I didn't have time to get to it yet. The book initially appealed to me because there are dragons, and I did enjoy it, but it wasn't my favorite YA fantasy that I've read recently. The writing was pretty good and the world was intriguing, however I felt that both the world and the characters could have been fleshed out more. Overall, though, a solid debut. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo left me feeling similarly; I loved the mythology behind it (based on Chinese myths, in particular the Monkey King) and I thought the concept would have made for an awesome urban fantasy TV show. However, I just didn't connect with the writing style. It was a little too tongue in cheek for my taste, but I think readers who enjoy snarky urban fantasy would really like it.

Graphic Novels

 

I was in the mood for graphic novels in January, and I picked these up because my favorite kind of graphic novels is the sort that is sad, slice of life, and introspective. These pretty much fit the bill! Spinning follows the author's journey from a child figure skater to professional artist, and each chapter was broken down into a different skating move. I liked the simple art and was really drawn into the story. I'm Not Here is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've seen in a long time. I loved every panel, and gg's style really resonated with me. It's sad, and short, and a good re-read.

Non-Fiction

 

Alison Weir's Queens of the Conquest was an excellent narrative history of the queens of England following the Norman conquest. It brought me back to my undergrad days (I majored in history with a focus on medieval England), and I was pleasantly surprised how much I remembered about the many queens named Maud. It was a good read, and I think she has more books in this vein coming out soon. Braving the Wilderness, meanwhile, was not my favorite. In fact, I kind of hated it and the saving grace was that it was short. I know everyone loves Brown, and I think she sounds like a really nice person who does put forth some ideas that can be helpful to people, but I just could not connect with it and I found myself ranting out loud quite a bit while reading this one.

Historical Fiction

This book was sooooo good! It was kind of a slow start, but basically it traces a fictionalized version of the life of Aemilia Bassano, who is often credited as the first woman in England to publish poetry for profit. The story follows her childhood, which was marked with tragedy but also encouraged in her a passion for the arts and for learning, up through her days as a courtesan, then wife, mistress, and eventual widow. I loved Mary Sharratt's writing, and there were some awesome moments of Elizabethan female empowerment going on that made me cheer. Sharratt has another historical fiction coming out soon called Ecstasy that I am 100% going to check out.

What I'm Reading Next....

Currently, I'm reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri as part of my Around the Year in 52 Books challenge. I also started and am slowly reading Mary Oliver's essay collection, Upstream: selected essays. I have a few ARCs downloaded from NetGalley that I want to start soon, and I also have a few other reading challenges that I'm working on. Overall, we'll see what I'm in the mood for in February. I'm thinking lots of romance.

What are you looking forward to reading in February? 

Happy Reading!