Heir to a Curse (2020) Lissa Kasey (Romancing a Curse) This story is set during the pandemic. Zach Frank is struggling with inheriting a cursed house. Not just–or even mostly–because of the curse, but because of the loss of the woman who left the house to him. The woman who was to all intents and […]

It Takes Two to Tumble (2017) Cat Sebastian (Seducing the Sedgwicks) Set in England in 1817. Comfort reread. I felt so aggravated by the time I finished the 4th book of the Parasol Protectorate I needed something I knew I was going to love. Since I had just recommended this to someone, I decided it […]

Right after New Year I stumbled across Prolific Works Winter Giveaway and picked up a bunch of free ebooks. Since many were short stories, I decided to only do individual reviews if the ebook was a novel or novella and if I really liked it. I haven’t read all the stories yet, but I have […]

Getting It Right (2015) A.M. Arthur (Restoration) Nathan Wolf and James Taggart have been best friends for half their lives. “Thank God for Gina, or you’d never eat.” “Fuck you, Wolf. I can cook just fine.” “Only you don’t, because you’re lazy.” “True.” And James has been in love with Nate for most of that. […]

Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber (Gothic Myths) Set in England in 1812. Ella Winterton has been struggling since her brother died. Her mother’s death troubled her father, but after her brother died fighting France, her father descended into alcoholism–an open secret that Ella can’t admit even to her best friend. Why could […]

Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker I know it’s only been a month since I read this the first time, but it came to mind for a recommendation request, and I went to look for a specific quote, and, well. I re-read the entire thing. Grief was like the great Southern Ocean; it moved in […]

Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter (2017) R. Cooper I’m still struggling, and remembered this is a cute story, so I borrowed it again from the library. Scotty left the city and moved to a small down to help his sister care for her kids. And he likes working for the fire department. But it’s hard […]

Galaxies and Oceans (2018) N.R. Walker TW: This story opens with one of the main characters recovering from having been beaten by his boyfriend–for not the first time. Ethan Hosking walks out of his boyfriend’s second home and into the a chaos of a wildfire and comes out of the forest as Aubrey Hobbs, a […]

Better Than People (2020) Roan Parrish (Garnet Run) I’ll be honest–I’ve been wanting nothing but comfort and fluffy reading right now, and Roan Parrish is generally the last author I’d turn to for that. Her other books–while excellent–have been extremely angsty. But reviews said this was NOT full of angst, and one of the characters […]

Take a Hint, Dani Brown (2020) Talia Hibbert (The Brown Sisters) Two books in a row that were very much Not My Thing. This is the second story about the Brown sisters, and we do briefly see Chloe, but mostly it’s Dani and Zaf. Dani is focused on getting her doctorate, and isn’t interested in […]

A Fashionable Indulgence (2015) KJ Charles (Society of Gentlemen) Set in London in 1819. Harry Vane has spent his life on the run. His parents were both radicals and they had to flee England after a riot broke out during one of his father’s speeches. After his parents died of cholera, he sneaked back into […]

An Unnatural Vice (2017) K.J. Charles (Sins of the Cities) Set in London, 15 November – 25 December 1873 The second Sins of the City book overlaps the first, but shows those events from Nathaniel Roy’s point of view. The other character is Justin Lazarus, who is spiritualist Nathaniel is determined to expose as a […]

Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter (2016) R. Cooper Scott Yun moved to Montgomery to help his sister take care of her kids, but it’s an extremely small town, and one of the few single gay guys is extremely cute, but also a widower. So Scott goes to work at the firehouse, helps to care for […]

A Dangerous Madness (2014) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1812 Miss Phoebe Hillier has been prepared to follow her father’s dying wish and marry Sheldrake, but when he tells her he is ending their betrothal and leaving the country she is as much relieved as she is horrified. “No. I’m . . […]

Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1812. After reading Death Below Stairs I wanted to re-read a favorite of mine that also features a woman working as a cook in historical Britain. Every time I read this I love it a little bit more–there is just so very much […]

Merlin in the Library (2018) Ada Maria Soto This is a short story that is a follow-up to His Quiet Agent. It’s a glimpse into Martin’s head, and kind of a reassurance that he is getting help for his trauma and issues. It won’t make much sense if you haven’t read the novella, but if […]

His Quiet Agent (2017) Ada Maria Soto (The Agency) It hasn’t been that long since I read this, but I really wanted to revisit it, and it was actually better than I had remembered, since I picked up more details the second time through. Arthur Drams is an analyst for The Agency. He may have […]

Dim Sum Asylum (2017) Rhys Ford Roku MacCormick is part of the Chinatown Arcane Crimes Division, and things are not going well for him. He lost his love and his daughters, and there is nothing in his life anymore but following in his mother’s footsteps and trying to be order to a deeply disordered place. […]

Served Hot (2015) Annabeth Albert (Portland Heat) Robert Edwards (Robbie to his friends) runs a coffee cart in the atrium of the Old EMerson building in Portland, and every day, his favorite customer, David, comes by at 11:50 for a vanilla latte. Robbie has a huge crush on David, but isn’t sure if David is […]

Whiteout (2017) Elyse Springer Noah Landers wakes up with with a crushing headache and nausea, and no memory of who or where he is. The man he’s with says he fell and hit his head, but that the storm means no rescue vehicles can reach them, so he’s been doing his best, calling the doctor […]

Single Malt (2017) Layla Reyne (Agents Irish and Whiskey) Aidan Talley is back at work eight months after the hit-and-run that killed his husband as well as his partner. His best friend (also his boss and his sister-in-law) has a new partner for him, but also a new case to work off the books: evidence […]

American Dreamer (2019) Adriana Herrera Nesto Vasquez is chasing his dream. He’s moving his food truck from NYC up to Ithaca (where is mother and sister live) to see if he can make a go of it there. All he wants is to focus on making a success of his business; he didn’t expect the […]

His Quiet Agent (2017) Ada Maria Soto Arthur Drams has worked hard for The Agency and is hoping to move up in the ranks. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be happening. “That’s…” Arthur didn’t want to rock the boat, complain or seem ungrateful, but it had been four years. “A bit more of a lateral […]

The Haunted Heart: Winter (2013) Josh Lanyon This isn’t really supernatural; it’s a ghost story. But I didn’t have a better category for it. Flynn Ambrose is living in the house he inherited from his uncle on Pitch Pine Lane while he sorts through the antiques and other items collected over a lifetime. I said, […]

Secrets in the Mist (2016) Anna Lee Huber Set in England in 1812 Ella Winterton has spent the past four years dealing with loss and grief and anger. The deaths of her mother and brother sent her father into an alcoholic decline, and being jilted by the man she thought she loved while still in […]