New Squares

5. New Adult - Bad Boy / Elliot Wake

Not romance genre, but it's New Adult, so there's abundant sexual tension and some level of 'romance'... and all the cliches.  I wanted to like this book so badly, everything about the summary makes it sound like exactly a book I'd like.  I thought maybe I'd found a New Adult book I could stand reading.  But, see my first sentence.  All the cliches.  Ugh.  The one thing this book did amazingly at is handling gender concepts and subversion.    If you love New Adult but have just been dying for some proper genderfuck, you'll honestly probably love the book.  I'm not a fan of New Adult, and the genderfuck of this book almost was enough for me to ignore the rest.

 

This is actually something of a companion novel to the previously published Black Iris and Cam Girl, so if you've read those books (published as written by Leah Raeder, I assume at a future time that they'll be credited to Elliot Wake).  If you liked those, this is a definite read.

 

15. Historical Romance - The Scottish Duke / Karen Ranney

Lorna Gordon has worked as a maid in Blackhall Castle since being forced to seek work after the death of her father.  When she sneaks into a costume ball, Lorna never expects her entire life to be turned upside down by a lustful encounter and it's aftermath.  What neither of them expect is the circumstances of their reunion, and the bond that will grow between them.  I had fun with this one, and I really appreciate the historical notes in the back pointing out "hey, these things we mentioned, this is what we're talking about." Additionally, some of the villain details did not turn out as I expected, and the role was not filled by the equivalent of a flashing neon sign with a name and a few character traits.  Would also satisfy Blown Away, Man in a Kilt, Wedding Bells, Second Chances, and Key to my Heart.

 

24. Interracial Couple - Small Favors / Colleen Coover

Annie's all about some self-love... so much so that a personification of her conscious steps up and assigns her a keeper in the form of the adorable and just as horny Nibbil.  Abundant sexy adventures ensue.  The graphic novel beautifully inked, and near the end we get a story in absolutely gorgeous watercolor.

 

Wasn't going out of my way to find this one because picking a book simply because it has an interracial couple bothers me, something about discomfort and awareness of fetishization of racial differences.  But I picked this up and hey, it happened to have various interracial couplings.  Would also satisfy Eyeshadow and Heaving Bosom (costume party story arc), Key to my Heart, and Girl Next Door.

 

 

If I don't finish enough for a bingo by the upcoming deadline (er... need to check that actual date), I'll be shifting a few of my previous reads to different categories to satisfy instead "Rogue" and "Wedding Bells"

 

 

1. Insta-love

 

2. TSTL

 

3. "Headless" Woman

 

4. Love is Murder - Duke of Sin / Elizabeth Hoyt

Valentine Napier, Duke of Montgomery, is known for his ruthlessness, his vices, and his lack of morals.  His housekeeper Bridget Crumb, a bastard by birth, has entered his service as a favor to her aristocrat mother, one of the Duke's many extortion targets.  Things soon devolve into a game of cat-and-mouse that intrigues the Duke.  I was surprised by how much I liked this one, and relatively good handling of a love interest who is the villain almost everyone else's story.  I put this for Love is Murder since he very definitely kills people, some of them even in defense of the woman he loves.  Could also fit in for Rogue, Historical Romance, Wedding Bells, and Second Chances.

 

5. New Adult - Bad Boy / Elliot Wake

Not romance genre, but it's New Adult, so there's abundant sexual tension and some level of 'romance'... and all the cliches.  I wanted to like this book so badly, everything about the summary makes it sound like exactly a book I'd like.  I thought maybe I'd found a New Adult book I could stand reading.  But, see my first sentence.  All the cliches.  Ugh.  The one thing this book did amazingly at is handling gender concepts and subversion.    If you love New Adult but have just been dying for some proper genderfuck, you'll honestly probably love the book.  I'm not a fan of New Adult, and the genderfuck of this book almost was enough for me to ignore the rest.

 

This is actually something of a companion novel to the previously published Black Iris and Cam Girl, so if you've read those books (published as written by Leah Raeder, I assume at a future time that they'll be credited to Elliot Wake).  If you liked those, this is a definite read.

 

6. Young Adult - Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit / Jaye Robin Brown

I really liked this one, and I generally have a really low threshold for religion (especially fundamentalist Christianity) in my pleasure reading.  I do think it's a really good book for lesbian youth who are struggling to reconcile their sexuality with their faith, but I struggle a bit with quite how liberal the evangelist dad is.

 

7. Regency Romance

 

8. Eyeshadow and Heaving Bosom

 

9. Virgin - Best First Time - Making Love / Aiden Wayne

Yeah, that's right, a story about a succubus and a cupid finding true love together is what I've slotted in for Virgin - Best First Time.  Cute little short read, nothing special or all that substantive, but cute.

 

10. Gothic Romance

 

11. Blown Away

 

12. Man in a Kilt - The Highlander / Kerrigan Byrne

Everything in this book is incredibly overstated and dramatic, provoking much eye-rolling and laughter at the text on my part.  I haven't read many traditional bodice-rippers, but I feel like this embraces much of the hyperbole and drama of one.  Best thing about this book is that the atrocities of the first two chapters are largely contained to those two chapters, otherwise I would have likely not bothered to finish this one.  This could also potentially fulfill Love is Murder (it comes up), Eyeshadow and Heaving Bosom (at least the Heaving Bosom part), Blown Away (cover art), Rogue (main interest is known as the Demon Highlander, that counts in my book), Wedding Bells (for the ending), and Second Chances (for both of the main characters).

 

13. LOVE

 

14. Rogue

 

15. Historical Romance - The Scottish Duke / Karen Ranney

Lorna Gordon has worked as a maid in Blackhall Castle since being forced to seek work after the death of her father.  When she sneaks into a costume ball, Lorna never expects her entire life to be turned upside down by a lustful encounter and it's aftermath.  What neither of them expect is the circumstances of their reunion, and the bond that will grow between them.  I had fun with this one, and I really appreciate the historical notes in the back pointing out "hey, these things we mentioned, this is what we're talking about." Additionally, some of the villain details did not turn out as I expected, and the role was not filled by the equivalent of a flashing neon sign with a name and a few character traits.  Would also satisfy Blown Away, Man in a Kilt, Wedding Bells, Second Chances, and Key to my Heart.

 

16. Secret Billionaire

 

17. Twins

 

18. Fairy Tale Retelling

 

19. Wedding Bells

 

20. Second Chances

 

21. Key to my Heart - Hard Rhythm / Cecilia Tan

Going a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but I feel like "Key to my Heart" is appropriate for a BDSM erotic romance.  See the link for my full review, pretty hot series, but this is definitely my least favorite addition.  All my favorite parts had nothing to do with the relationship or sexy times... and it's an erotic romance novel, so...

 

22. Pirates Argh

 

23. Guy/Girl Next Door

 

24. Interracial Couple - Small Favors / Colleen Coover

Annie's all about some self-love... so much so that a personification of her conscious steps up and assigns her a keeper in the form of the adorable and just as horny Nibbil.  Abundant sexy adventures ensue.  The graphic novel beautifully inked, and near the end we get a story in absolutely gorgeous watercolor.

 

Wasn't going out of my way to find this one because picking a book simply because it has an interracial couple bothers me, something about discomfort and awareness of fetishization of racial differences.  But I picked this up and hey, it happened to have various interracial couplings.  Would also satisfy Eyeshadow and Heaving Bosom (costume party story arc), Key to my Heart, and Girl Next Door.

 

25. Urban Fantasy Romance