Review

Review: Game Misconduct by Ari Baran (2023)

Penalty Box, Book #1

Heat Factor: So, um, these guys have some stuff to work out, and pain is part of that whole situation

Character Chemistry: For two guys who are absolutely mean to each other, they are shockingly tender

Plot: Two defensemen, one at the beginning of his career and the other at the end, fight their way into a very intense relationship

Overall: If you like unlikeable heroes and super-dee-duper messy characters, do I have a book for you!

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Recommended Read, Review Revisited

Review Revisited: Holly’s Take on Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai (2023)

After Erin read Bitter Medicine, she told me I’d probably like it. And I was feeling like reading something that I’d probably like that wasn’t a bonkers historical romance, so I did. 

She was right, I liked it. 

I also would have written a completely different review than Erin did, because she said basically nothing about the plot. 

So here I am, to talk about the plot. Not spoilers or anything, but to highlight some of the central themes, and also to address the plot structure, which is kind of unusual. 

The basic premise is that Elle’s younger brother tried to kill her older brother; in order to stop him, Elle destroyed her older brother’s magic. The two of them have been in hiding for the past twenty years. (Elle, being magic, is about 100 years old, and hasn’t really aged during this time.) Elle feels tremendous guilt for what she did to her brother, as well as a deep responsibility for keeping him safe—as well as sadness for the rupture in her relationship with her younger brother. She hides her abilities so that she won’t be discovered. All in all, she’s living a shadow of her former life, until Luc makes her feel again.

The blurb says that Elle and Luc collaborate, hinting that this collaboration is in hunting down Elle’s younger brother, who has finally tracked her down. This implies that the Big Epic Climax will be the showdown between Elle, Luc, and the wayward evil brother. And while this scene happens, it does so at about the halfway point, leaving Elle irrevocably changed. So be aware: if you’re reading this for a suspense-y fantasy epic showdown, that’s not what this book is doing. 

Instead, this book is interested in what happens in the after. What do you do when something horrible—something bitter to swallow, even—happens? How do you come to terms with the fact that sometimes those bad things are ultimately good for us? Since the title of this book is Bitter Medicine, maybe it should have been obvious to me that this was the theme, but the blurb and the opening worldbuilding set up my expectations for something else.

I would also like to note that a central theme of this book is drawing and maintaining boundaries with parents / parental figures. It’s never too late to take the boundaries you need, even if you’re 100 years old! Some readers might fight these scenes difficult; others might feel seen in these moments.

Finally, while I liked this book, I do want to say that there were a lot of loose threads at the end. I was left wondering things like:

  • What the heck happened to that fox spirit with the sense of smell? She seemed pretty desperate.
  • If Elle is an “agent” in the same organization that employs Luc, why does this agency also think that Elle is deceased? Do fairies not have fingerprints?
  • And the biggest question mark of all: At the end of the book, both Elle and Luc have lost huge pieces of themselves. Can they truly be happy without these defining parts of their former identities? 

Read on for Erin’s review, which will fill you in on the worldbuilding and the feel of the story.

Continue reading “Review Revisited: Holly’s Take on Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai (2023)”
Review Revisited

Review Revisited: Holly Returns to The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian (2022)

Popping back in here for an update, now that I’ve also read The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, aka the first book in this duology.

And no, it does not answer the questions about plot that I had. 

However, The Queer Principles of Kit Webb does lay out the philosophy that underpins these two books, which hinges on the inherent immorality of the duke’s wealth and power. Maybe that’s enough reason—along with him being a Bad Dad of Romance—for everyone to hate the Duke of Clare.

So while it doesn’t solve the plotholes, if you’re interested in Marian Hayes, I definitely recommend reading Kit Webb first.

My full review can be found below.

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Recommended Read, Review

Review: Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai (2023)

Heat Factor: the eroticism is more in the emotional than the physical descriptions

Character Chemistry: slow-building and respectful

Plot: ancient history returns to the present, threatening the tenuous and secretive connection that Luc and Elle have been flirting with

Overall: WOW

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Review

Review: Chick Magnet by Emma Barry (2023)

Heat Factor: They go to bed around two-thirds through, but it feels like an extremely slow burn

Character Chemistry: They recognize each other’s sadness

Plot: Vet falls for new neighbor (who happens to be a chicken influencer)

Overall: I’ll be honest, I was feeling kinda down when I finished this one

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