Representation – at least one protagonist is a person of color
Heat Factor: kissy → grinding interruptus → date night on a blanket next to the lake
Character Chemistry: understated fated mated
Plot: Woman on the run from abusive ex falls in with a pack of rogue werewolf bikers
Overall: it’s enjoyable
Heat Factor: I mean, it is technically explicit sex, but it’s done in a vignette style until nearly the end, when it feels much more traditionally written
Character Chemistry: I had big feels, but it was because of Zach’s journey, not because of Zach and Eugenio together
Plot: Baseball players fall in love, but one refuses to come out and things fall apart. Until they get a second chance.
Overall: Y’all. I have just been on a whole emotional roller coaster.
Heat Factor: It’s not high heat, but it’s certainly sweet.
Character Chemistry: There’s not a ton of tension but it’s certainly an adorable romance.
Plot: Addison is a new resident of small-town Montana and gets a job at a shifter nursery where she meets single-dad Roderick. Roderick is also dealing with the arrival of his daughter’s birth mother, crazy town politics and presumably just being a shifter dad.
Overall: This book was a charming little palate cleanser. Not too tense, not too boring. Just lovely.
Survival Instincts, Book #2
Review of Survival Instincts, Book #1
Heat Factor: → The best way to get warm in the woods is to climb into a sleeping bag naked with another naked person already inside it.
Character Chemistry: I’m kind of stuck on: they’re on a chemical high from running for their lives for days on end. But sure, forever love, absolutely.
Plot: Baddies are still after the mysterious virus. This time Leo, pilot, and Elias, mysterious recluse, are running for their lives (and to save the world?)
Overall: The show-stealer is Amka, the Alaskan wilderness octogenarian lesbian badass.
Heat Factor: No sex, some grumpy pining
Character Chemistry: Santos is clearly interested; Mercy is a lot more invested in her relationship with La Llorona
Plot: Mercy was touched by La Llorona as a teenager, and now she’s trying to break free
Overall: I enjoyed this book a lot, but it’s not your standard romance fare
