Audiobook review: Smoke & Ashes by Alexis Hall Two years before the start of Smoke & Ashes, things fell apart for Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator. No, not like they’d fallen apart prior to that. I mean they really, really fell apart. Girlfriend abandoned her to die as an unwilling sacrifice? Yes. Every other ally either in […]
Hearts Repaired Author: Caraway Carter Reviewer: B. Rating: C+ What I’m Talking About: Hearts Repaired, by another new-to-me author, Caraway Carter, is a sweet, sometimes bumpy May-December romance that aims to prove love doesn’t care about the particulars—even a thirty-year age gap—when two people are meant to be. An expansion of an earlier novella (The […]
Uncharted Author: Alli Temple Reviewer: B. Rating: B What I’m Talking About: Having been fascinated by tales of women pirates for years (after reading an article about Cheng I Sao), I was very excited to read Uncharted by new-to-me author Alli Temple. Told through the experiences of Lady Georgina (aka “George”), the story begins with a […]
Audiobook review: Unscripted by J.R. Gray Quellcrist King is one of Hollywood’s hottest actors: gorgeous, talented, and so devoted to his wife that they are the fairytale-perfect couple. At least, the latter was true until she informed him that his depression made him too much of a downer to handle and left. Freshly separated, Quell throws […]
Audiobook review: Boyfriend Project by Alexis Hall I first read Boyfriend Material earlier in the year, amid widespread anger and only moderately successful lockdowns in all the fear and uncertainty of summer. With its irresistible mix of cynicism, humor, awkwardness, and romance, it was a delightfully welcome reprieve when it was most needed—a bright spot in […]
Party Favors Author: Erin McLellan Reviewer: B. Rating: B What I’m Talking About: Though I’ve read two of the four stories in the So Over The Holidays series, I enjoyed them both a good deal. The latest, Party Favors, features Wren Rebello, a flirty, outgoing, and “fun” lingerie designer entrepreneur, and Amanda Ellis, reluctant silver […]
Smoke & Ashes Author: Alexis Hall Reviewer: B. Rating: A What I’m Talking About: Two years have gone by since the last time everything in Kate Kane’s life went to pieces, and things generally seem to be holding steady at the intersection of denial and persistent wallowing. Subsisting on an impressive intake of sex, booze, […]
Unwritten Author: J.R. Gray insert author’s website Reviewer: B. Rating: B What I’m Talking About: Gorgeous, young, talented, and always in demand, Tobias West has it all. Or, so it seems to the outside world. Though he found his way into acting through largely serendipitous events, and despite the resolve and dedication he has to […]
The Year of the Witching Author: Alexis Henderson Reviewer: B. Rating: B+ What I’m Talking About: Born an orphan and an outcast, seventeen-year-old Immanuelle Moore has never known anything outside of Bethel. As the child of a Bethelan mother accused of witchcraft and an Outskirter father who was burned at the stake, she wears the […]
Boyfriend Material Author: Alexis Hall Reviewer: B. Rating: A What I’m Talking About: Though I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book for the purpose of review, I had so much faith that I’d like it that I preordered it for myself the instant I heard it was being published. And […]
Audiobook review: Fire & Water by Alexis Hall I just finished reading Fire & Water in February, so being able to hear it performed so soon was a lot of fun. In this third novel in the Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator series, Kate is back six months after the end of the previous story, still adapting […]
Slippery Creatures Author: KJ Charles Reviewer: B. Rating: A What I’m Talking About: I’d been looking forward to Slippery Creatures for a while, and can happily say that it is among the best books I’ve read so far this year. Anytime I’m inclined to mark multiple highlights at six pages into a story, I know I’m […]
Something to Talk About Author: Meryl Wilsner Reviewer: B. Rating: B+ What I’m Talking About: I initially requested Something to Talk About based on the blurb alone, but became increasingly excited to read it as the general anticipation about this debut continued to build. That’s a lot of pressure to put on one story, but I […]
Audiobook review: Shadows & Dreams by Alexis Hall Shadows & Dreams, the second novel in the Kate Kane, Paranormal Investigator series, begins with a new case and a glass of whiskey, as all good mysteries should. Picking up three months after the conclusion of its predecessor, Iron & Velvet, we find Kate in a serious relationship […]
Audiobook review: Iron & Velvet by Alexis Hall I have to admit that I was as nervous as I was excited about listening to Iron & Velvet being read aloud by someone not in my own head for the first time. I’ve loved every Kate Kane story I’ve had the privilege of reading, and I’m very […]