Mood
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
Heat Factor: It’s a slowish burn but hooo boy, it gets steamy.
Character Chemistry: It’s pretty instantaneous but there are SO MANY WALLS
Plot: Julien’s bike breaks down in Eliza’s small town at the exact moment she desperately needs help to keep her flower farm going–it’s like kismet. But both Julien and Eliza have so many legitimate barriers to being together (and surviving!) that it’s hard to see how they’re going to make it work.
Overall: Such a fantastically written book, just expertly knit together.
Palace Insiders, #1
Heat Factor: A little bit of spice to go with all those sweets
Character Chemistry: The way she makes his eye twitch
Plot: Rival bakery owners compete on bid for royal wedding cake (plus a bunch of other stuff)
Overall: I feel very emotionally manipulated right now; this is not *necessarily* a bad thing
The Rajes, Book 2
Review of The Rajes, Book 1
Heat Factor: Fade to black
Character Chemistry: Swoon-worthy
Plot: Ashna enters a cooking competition in a bid to save her floundering restaurant, only to discover that her competition partner is her high school boyfriend slash love of her life.
Overall: If you can power through the angst, the payoff is so worth it
Thank you to Jess at Escape on a Page for the push needed to finally check out Tiffany Reisz. (Here’s her review of Winter Tales, which is what convinced me.)
Original Sinners, Book 1
Heat Factor: There’s flogging but no descriptions of genitalia.
Character Chemistry: Nora is all that is desirable, and therefore has pretty good chemistry with just about everyone.
Plot: Erotica Writer and Stuffy British Editor revise her latest book.
Overall: Please read this book so I have someone to talk to about it.
