firewhiskeyreader

I procrastinated writing this post in the hopes that I would complete the board for a second time, but I’m three squares away and have limited interest in intentionally filling them, so I’ve decided to just call it and go ahead and shift my focus to The Ripped Bodice’s Summer Bingo, which I like to loosely participate in. Anyway, I’m hoping to get this post to you fairly quickly because I’m late in posting much of anything so far this month. It’s not been an easy month, if I’m being honest. But let’s turn our attention to the books!

Row One

Set in the Southern Hemisphere

I really enjoyed both Pas de Don’t and Jana Goes Wild and would absolutely recommend them both. I have ARC reviews of both in my Books Set in the Southern Hemisphere post for more thoughts.

Smuggling

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen was a delight and you can find my review here.

No Wedding

The idea of the No Wedding prompt was really just meant to explore how people can have an HEA without necessarily getting married and in For Her Consideration by Amy Spalding that’s accomplished, even if you know that there’s a possibility of a marriage between the couple in the future. You can find my ARC review here. And then in House Rules by Ruby Lang, this novella is about a divorced couple who are not currently looking to get remarried even though they’ve moved in with one another and are very happy. I enjoyed both books!

Competence Porn

Let me tell you how much I love Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller. That book is magical and everything and wonderful and she’s so freaking talented. I want all of the books she ever writes to just land in my lap time and time again because they are truly perfection. If you haven’t read her yet, you really should consider changing that. Here is a link to my ARC review. Then the seond time through, I read Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent and was so amazed by the FMC. She’s so smart, it was wild. And so dedicated. I really loved having her perspective.

Scandal

In The Duke Gets Even, our FMC seems to almost delight in her scandalous reputation from the outside and she truly does try and live her life with a who cares what other people think kind of attitude. But this book also explores the more vulnerable side of her in a way I could appreciate. You can find my review here. Funny Guy takes a comedian who keeps finding himself embroiled in the gossip pages because he lacks a filter and shows us him falling in love with his childhood best friend. I still need to post my ARC review of this book on the blog… I’ll get it posted soon, I swear.

Row Two

Yearning

The two books I used for yearning are both historical romances where the love interests have a pretty immediate connection but for a variety of reasons aren’t really able to be together. I’d say Verity and the Forbidden Suitor was slightly more successful for me than The Counterfeit Scoundrel but you can read my reviews for each if you’re trying to determine which one you might enjoy more. My review for Counterfeit is here and my review for Verity is here.

Shop Your Shelves

I haven’t the slightest clue why it took me so long to pick up Partners in Crime (review) given my love of Alisha Rai, but it really did take a while. And I had an ARC of Just My Type (review) for ages and even really enjoyed Lease on Love earlier this year. But I’m really good at dragging my feet on reading books I’ll really love. So I’m always grateful for Suzanne’s Shop Your Shelves Bingo prompts for encouraging me to get with the program and read the books I already own. I’m a work in progress always and forever, but at least I read two off my shelves this time.

Enchanted

I wound up using this prompt in two different ways. In Love Buzz, it truly felt like the entire book was inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Enchanted” in so many ways. And I enjoyed the premise of that, but didn’t necessarily adore the book. I did enjoy it though. I look forward to whatever Alexander writes next because this was her debut so I know there’s so much more to come! You can find my review here. Then in my second go around, I went with the prompt at face value and went with Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews, which was just as delightful as I knew it would be. I love this series, but mostly I just love Ilona Andrews writing so, so much. My review of this one is forthcoming.

Mental Health Representation

I would value mental health representation even if I didn’t find it so relatable, but there is something about seeing anxiety rep on the page that really reflects my own experiences or that of family and/or friends. I loved Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez for that reason. Jacob struggles with anxiety and it’s done really well, in my opinion. Float Plan explores grief and depression that comes from dealing with a staggering loss, which is something I’m not good with and I really love seeing those experiences on page for similar but very different reasons. I think it’s helpful to see other people struggle with grief and to watch them work through it. I highly recommend both books if/when you’re in the right head space!

Meddling

You’ve got to love a group of people who care so much about you that they’re willing to meddle to help get you what you need. I mean, maybe not in real life, but in a book! In In the Weeds it is mostly the townspeople but sometimes friends. And in Happy Place it was all about the friend group. I love the sense of community a quality meddling plot creates. Please feel free to recommend me all of your favorites with this trope.

Row Three

Food Word in Title

Honestly, the biggest surprise is just that I hadn’t already read In a Jam because surprising exactly no one, I loved it so much. A million stars. Who doesn’t love a Marriage of Convenience because you need to inherit?

Author You Love

There really are/were so many choices for this prompt, but I wound up selecting Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade, which I adores and should have read sooner and The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur, which was another Marriage of Convenience to inherit plot and I am so obsessed with these books I’ve been reading lately! So blessed. Anyway, you can find my review of Ship Wrecked here and my review of The Fiancée Farce here.

HEA

Kennedy Ryan’s duet here is absolutely stunningly well done, but also so anxiety inducing even when it’s a re-read. I did really enjoy my time with this series and can definitely see returning to it again and again. Stars Collide is a great book that worked really well for me listening to it on my way home from my Taylor Swift weekend when I still wanted to be in Nashville for Night Three, but you know, adulting. *insert eye roll* Anyway, you can find my review here.

ReRead

I re-read Kennedy’s duet because the books were sitting on my shelves and I just kept starring at them. It was a difficult choice to decide between those and Hook Shot but I really want to annotate Hook Shot in a deep dive kind of way and that takes a lot more time and attention. So, The Kingmaker it was. And let’s talk about how Kennedy Ryan writes soulmates so well wihtout even really saying that’s what she’s doing. But every single one of her couples is just truly meant for one another. They survive so much. And then, I read Iron and Magic because I’ve been wanting to return to Hugh and Elora so much. And I’ve been in more of a fantasy romance mood of late.

Green

I went with the basic interpretation of this prompt and chose to do a green cover or a cover with a lot of green on it. Half a Soul was pick number one and it was reallly delightful, but ultimately, I didn’t love it as much as all of the hype had made me think that I would. That said, I’m super excited to continue on in the series. Talia Hibbert recommended the third book in one of her newsletters I believe, so that’s what I’m eagerly waiting to get to. (Okay, yes, I have to read to get to it, but you know what I mean.) Then we have Off the Map by Trish Doller, which really put me through so many emotions and I was so grateful because it was so, so good. Highly recommend. But do check the Content Notes because you may need them.

Row Four

Origin Story

Sarah MacLean is one of the first authors that I ever read when I came to romance as an adult and I definitely started with historical romance. So it only seemed right to finally, finally read Heartbreaker, which I absolutely adored, obviously. You can find my review here. But if you actually think about where my love of romance comes from, I think I would most attribute it to the fantasy books I read as a kid and the way I always desperately wanted there to be a happily ever after for whoever was falling in love. The way I raged about Allegiant… Anyways, for that reason, I think The Serpent and the Wings of Night was the perfect choice for my second time through. I really loved it too.

Black Love

I did Rare Danger by Beverly Jenkins and Back in the Day by Katrina Jackson for my Black Love prompts this go around and they’re both fairly short books that manage to pack a lot into them. I really loved Back in the Day and it has such a unique formula of how it handles the HEA. I definitely recommend.

Dual POV

While Powerless and To Swoon and to Spar were not the best book int heir respective series, I did enjoy them both quite a bit and would still recommend. I have an ARC review of To Swoon and to Spar, which you can find here.

Spring Debut

I really didn’t enjoy Real Love by Rachel Lindsay (review) because it just wasn’t what I was expecting, though in general, I think the book is well-written and engaging enough. It’s just wrongly marketed and that was enough to completely detract from my enjoyment. Then, I read Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko (review) for the second go around and I really enjoyed it even though the tone of the book is incredibly melancholic and kind of sad, if I’m being honest.

Learn Some History

I really struggled with this prompt for absolutely no reason, but regardless, I wound up choosing A Wicked Game by Kate Bateman, which was a largely enjoyable read set whenever the Napoleonic Wars were happening. Clearly I learned (retained, really) a lot of history. Oops. Anyway, you can find my review here.

Row Five

Cozy

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and Legends & Lattes were both (are both?) some of the most popular cozy fantasy recommendations that were going around and I have to say, I can see why. I really loved them both, with The Very Secret Society winning my love just a smidge more than Legends. Highly recommend both though.

Anti Hero

The song really sparked the second book I read, Single Dads Club (review) because I really feel like the FMC in that book felt like she was the kind of person who would ruin everything. And she wasn’t. She was a good person. But she had so many issues believing in herself. So for me, “Anti-Hero” really encapsulated her and her feelings. My first time through The Portrait of a Duchess (review) worked in my head because Rafe, our MMC, pretended to be someone eh wasn’t really in order to achieve long term goals. But it was a bit of do the ends justify the means for me, if that makes sense.

Queer Small Town Romance

The Pride of Garnet Run was such a short novella that it didn’t qork for me as well as Parrish’s other books in the series, or in general, though I appreicated having the complete neighborhood in my mind. But I really loved Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail because wow, do I understand all the pressures of perfectionism and people pleasing. Maybe we both need therapy, you know?

No Third Act Break Up

Love at First Psych was just as delightful as all of Bastone’s Audible Originals have been and I really loved the unique set up of this book. The way the characters were interviewing people for their love stories and when they fell in love. It was great. And then, I really adored Magic Tides because I loved being back with Kate and Curran. I just adore them. I forget all the time how much I loved them because I think Kate Daniels is my least favorite of the many series Ilona Andrews’ have written, but I really am so attached.

Starchy

I love a good starchy hero and the male main characters in The Hellion and the Hero (review) and Not Your Ex’s Hexes (review to come) really delivered.

Closing Thoughts

Some of my favorite books I read for bingo include, In a Jam, Ship Wrecked, The Fiancee Farce, The Serpent and the Wings of Night, Yours Truly, Happy Place, Love at First Psych, Hotel of Secrets, Heartbreaker, and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. With honorable mentions to Jana Goes Wild, Single Dads Club, For Her Consideration, and Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail. But for the most part, I really enjoyed absolutely all of the books I read. And I can tell because I want to keep adding books to this list like Sweep of the Heart and Six Scorched Roses, but at some point, I have to cut myself off, you know? So here we are. Anyway, if you participated, tell me what some of your favorite reads were because I would absolutely love to know.

xx