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Back to Old School, Dueling Review

Back to Old School: The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss (1972)

Birmingham, Book #1

Heat Factor: “His warmth and passion” is “led on to his nest.”

Character Chemistry: Is it abuse or is it love? Hard to tell.

Plot: Brandon rapes Heather. They are forced to get married. And then Brandon takes Heather to South Carolina, where shenanigans occur and also they somehow decide they’re in love.

Overall: It’s all totally yikes or totally infuriating and sometimes both!

Please note: This book includes rape, abuse, chattel slavery, and ableism (among other things), which we discuss in this review.

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Review

Review: The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt (2007)

Premium Journals, Book #2

Heat Factor: Animalistic. But like, in a sexy way.

Character Chemistry: Confusing for everyone involved. Until it’s not.

Plot: Lady Georgina decides that she wants to sex her steward. Also someone is killing sheep.

Overall: This was Hoyt’s second book, and the pieces of what make her later books so great are there, but they’re not quite fully developed yet. Still bonkers and fun.

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Review

Review: Irretrievably Wicked by Constance Kersaint (2022)

Rebel by Night, Book #1

Heat Factor: High high heat. He loves her quim and worships it accordingly.

Character Chemistry: Two lonely people take care of each other.

Plot: Cress hires a highwayman to break her idiot brother out of prison.

Overall: Propulsive adventure that needed another round of editing.

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Recommended Read, Review

Review: The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian (2022)

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, Book #2

Heat Factor: We’ve got praise kink!

Character Chemistry: Sometimes two wrongs DO make a right

Plot: When Marian accidentally-on-purpose kills her husband, she goes on the run. And kidnaps Rob so he can aid and abet her. After all, he had been blackmailing her, and who could better help her escape the law than a criminal?

Overall: I love me a good highwayman roadtrip book!

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Recommended Read, Series Review

Series Review: Maiden Lane by Elizabeth Hoyt (2010-2017)

Heat Factor: Above-average historical romance heat

Character Chemistry: Always solid—even if I hated the characters, they always seemed to like each other.

Plot: Something bonkers is definitely going down.

Overall: I binge-read this whole series over the course of about a month in the fall of 2021, and I have no regrets. These books are the perfect mix of romantic and bonkers.

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