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Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen Contemporary romance | Rom Com
From the publisher: In this charming rom-com about two star-crossed lovers, a woman whose life is guided by her belief in the red-string of fate finds her perfect match—but his skepticism about true love puts a knot in their chances.
From the publisher: A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!
From the publisher: THERE’S NOTHING AS GOOD AS THE RICH GONE BAD.
When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
From the publisher: After a day of unrivaled disappointments, a promising young chef finds every bite of food suddenly tastes bitter. To save her career, she travels to the Pacific Northwest to reconnect with her estranged mom, and discovers a family legacy she never suspected in this delicious novel from the bestselling author of The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.
Do you enjoy reading graphic novels? Have you ever read an online comic or graphic novel? Lore Olympus is, so far, the only one I’ve gotten sucked into, but I love it so much!
Lore Olympus Volume 2 & 3 By Rachel Smythe Book 168 & 169 of 2023
This is the last of my 2023 reviews! Unless I post out of order from my current plan, which could honestly happen.
I read Lore Olympus like 6 years ago on Webtoons. There were probably 100 episodes at the time? 50? I don’t know, there were a lot and I binged them all in one or two days. I *think* I ended up around Volume 2. For me, I couldn’t keep up with it once I had to read it on a weekly basis instead of a huge binge. I had a hard time keep track of the plot from week to week, and it seemed like such a small taste of the story to read just one episode!! I was so happy when I found out they were being published and I could go back to bingeing them 25 episodes at a time. Or in this case, 50, since I read Volumes 2 & 3 back to back.
I do feel spoiled by all the romances I read – so this will they won’t they that I’m used to seeing on TV doesn’t do it for me quite the way it used to. But I cannot put these down! The artwork is so rich and gorgeous, and I love how Smythe characterizes all of the Greek gods and goddesses and plays with their traditional stories.
If you haven’t read these yet, I highly recommend giving them a try!
The week of Christmas I read 5 amazing Christmas books, putting my total Christmasy reads for this year at 7, which I think is a record! Do you like to read Christmas books or other holiday reads? Will you only read them during the holiday season, or will you read them anytime? Did you have a favorite you want to recommend to me?
If you’re like me and only read Christmas books in December, Save this post for your next holiday season!
(Two not mentioned: Kiss Her Once For Me & Wreck the Halls, which I have longer reviews of on Goodreads!)
Amor Actually By Adriana Herrera, Alexis Daria, Diana Munoz Stewart, Mia Sosa, Priscilla Oliveras, Sabrina Sol, Zoey Castile 🎧 Narrated by: full cast Book 166 of 2023
A reimagining of “Love Actually” with a diverse Latinx cast! I don’t know if I could pick a favorite, but I think I especially loved the stories based on plot lines that I didn’t like in Love Actually. I don’t usually gravitate towards novellas because I don’t feel like the book is going somewhere specific. These novellas are loosely tied together by a party they are all attending at the end, and since I’ve seen Love Actually a million times, it felt more tied together than other novella collections I have read. This is the spiciest of the Christmas books that I read. Highly recommend the audiobook!
A Merry Little Meet Cute By Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone 🎧 Narrated by: Joy Nash & Sebastian York Book 165 of 2023
Funny, sweet, spicy, and surprisingly heartfelt. An adult film star and an ex-boyband member are cast together in a Hallmark-esque Christmas movie. Bianca is trying to keep her less wholesome identity a secret, Nolan is one of her biggest fans, and she used to have his poster on her wall. The two try to keep it professional but are absolutely smitten with each other. I devoured this book and loved the entire cast of characters. Also highly recommend on audiobook!
I loved hanging out with the Wallflowers for a Christmas novella. The plot revolves around Rafe Bowman, brother to two of the wallflowers, whose parents are arranging a marriage to Natalie Blanford.
Read if: you have already read The Wallflower series (which I loved except for the first book)
Skip if: you can’t handle a man kissing a woman with dubious consent. Which is reasonable and I question myself for being able to side eye it and still enjoy the book.
All of the lovely historical romance vibes of The Wallflowers, none of the dubious consent! I loved The Captain’s Midwinter Bride so much I read it WITH MY EYES!
The Daltons have been married for over two decades, but barely know each other. Captain Philip Dalton is now retired, and has decided to get to know the woman he married so long ago, and the mother of his children. I loved watching the two of them get to know each other. They are also preparing for the marriage of their daughter, and I loved watching Philip explore his relationship with his children as well. I’m excited to continue this series.
Same Time Next Year By Tessa Bailey 🎧 Narrated by: William LeRoy and Carmen Vine Book 175 of 2023
Ok, this is a New Year’s romance, not a Christmas romance, but I’m including it anyway. This is a delightful green card marriage romance if you like Tessa Bailey’s writing. She’s kind of kooky, but I love how absolutely head over heels her men are for her women on like page one. And after TWO books in a week where no meant yes (ew), I love that enthusiastic consent is also part of her romantic scenes. I loved the narrators.
Did you read any of these? Have any I need to add to my next Christmas TBR?
This is my second Kate Bateman series, and I just love her historical romances! The men are always so swoony (and smitten) and the women tend to get a life outside of the home, which is my personal favorite.
We meet Tess Townsend on her wedding night to a much older man that she has been forced to marry. Nothing happens between the two of them though, because he passes away…leaving Tess as the 19 year old widowed Dowager Duchess of Wansford. The real story begins two years later, as lawyers search for the heir to the Dukedom and Tess and her friends have established themselves as a private detective agency.
Her love interest, Justin Thornton, is a wealthy businessman returning from making his fortune in the fur trade in Canada who is – surprise – the next Duke of Wansford!
The two of them have delicious chemistry, and he fully respects the way she has run the properties for the past couple of years. I love a man who respects his partner’s brain as much as her beauty!
I also love when a romance series fully introduces all of the main characters that we’ll see throughout the series, so you’re already invested in them before you get to their love story, so I hope that the series will continue with Tess’s friends and their detective agency!
There are a few aspects of the book that some readers may not love, which I will add to my goodreads under a spoiler tag. (Very mild spoilers.) Neither bothered me, but they might annoy you!
While I overall really enjoyed the book, I do think it lost a bit of momentum in the last third. I find that to often be the case with romance novels, since I trust the author to give me an HEA and if they have done their job well, I understand what the characters need to overcome in order to reach that place!
QotD: What series are you hoping to read next? (Can just be one book that is in a series!) Not a series reader? What’s your last, now, or next read?
It’s the first pub day of 2024, and here are two books that are high on my 2024 TBR! Thank you to the publishers for my digital ARCs for both of these books.
(This post contains affiliate links, using them may earn me a small commission. )
A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft is a YA Fantasy romance set in a Regency England inspired world. Niamh O Conchobhair is a magical dressmaker who is commissioned to make garments for the royal wedding…only to find herself drawn to the groom.
Here in Avalon by Tara Isabella Burton is an Adult Fantasy book featuring two sisters. Rose has fought to build a stable life in New York City after a chaotic childhood. But when her sister gets involved with a mysterious cabaret troupe and disappears, Rose finds herself involved in a magical underworld.
Happy New Year! I had a great time reading in December but am now desperately in need of a 5 star, can’t-put-it-down book! I’m hoping this month’s reread of Crescent City 2 does the trick!
❄️ Long Covid Update❄️
In December I started working with a physical therapy program that specializes in chronic fatigue and other Long Covid issues. Exercise with LC is extremely difficult because most people with fatigue symptoms get Post-Exercise Malaise (PEM) – basically you feel worse and can’t do anything else for some time after exercising. And by time, it could be days. So, definitely needed some professional help! It’s going really well overall – some days I feel amazing after PT and others I feel drained – but overall I am learning how to manage my symptoms more so I don’t have extreme energy crashes. I’ve regained a lot of mental clarity and have started to actually make plans and follow through with them! I cannot tell you how much I’ve missed feeling like an adult who can handle adult responsibilities.
Reading Goals:
❄️ 23 for ‘23: 6 of 4 planned ❄️ PopSugar: 3 of 3 planned (finished the 2023 challenge!) ❄️ ARCs: 6 read, 2 December ARCs missed ❄️ Physical TBR backlist: 6 of 4 ❄️ BOTM: 1 of 1 (finished the 2023 challenge!) (Ok I DNFed it but that counts.)
Key: 😍 Reread 📖 physical/ebook 🎧 Audiobook 📖🎧 = mix of both 📓 ARC / ALC 🖋 Reviewed on instagram, goodreads, TikTok 📚 Series If it doesn’t have a 🖋, the review will be coming next month!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📖🎧📓🖋📚 Undercover Bromance 📖📓🖋📚 Wreck the Halls 📖🎧📓🖋📚 A Lady’s Rules for Ruin 😍📖🎧📚 House of Earth and Blood 🎧 Long Way Down
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 📖🎧📓🖋 The Mis-Arrangement of Sana Saeed 🎧 Amor Actually 😍📖📚 Lore Olympus Vol. 2 📖📚 Lore Olympus Vol. 3
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 📖🎧📚 The Forest Grimm 📖🎧📚 A Lot Like Adios 📖🎧📓📚 A Merry Little Meet Cute 📖📓📚 Second Duke’s the Charm 🎧📚 A Wallflower Christmas 📖📚 The Captain’s Midwinter Bride 🎧📚 Tastes Like Shakkar 🎧 Same Time Next Year
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 📖🎧📓🖋📚 Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🎧📚 Playing the Odds (I read this just to finish the PopSugar Challenge)
What was your favorite read in December? Do we have any books in common? Do you have any goals for January?
Since I have just now finished the PopSugar 2023 challenge, let’s talk 2023 Reflection & 2024 goals!
2023 Reflection
I had 5 goals for my reading in 2023, and I am really proud of how well I did! Now, let’s make sure we mention the huge caveat that I was home all year with Long Covid so these became kind of my main goals since I wasn’t working and I can’t actually control my health and make goals for that.
1. Read 100 books – I read 175!
2. ARCs – prioritize reading new ARCs on time. I forgot about this one but I did try. I do have a bit of a backlist for 2023, but percentage wise I did better than in previous years! My big goal was to get to 50% on Netgalley in 2023 which I met in July! My peak was 54%!
3. Read Physical TBR -my goal was to read as many books this year as I buy and add to my physical shelves – I read almost twice as much as I purchased (physical books). But if the problem is having room for the physical books, I did not take into account this year would be the year that publishers would start sending me physical books…
4. Read diverse authors – focus on Latinx (Goal 6, read 10). This was easier when I started prioritizing reading one BIPOC Romance per week.
5. Finish PopSugar Challenge – I finished! Something that helped this year was that I did a better job prioritizing the harder prompts!
2024 Goals
1. Read 100 books – I don’t like to focus on the number, since I know I will read less if I finally make it back to work. I also don’t want to feel like I can’t take my time with a longer fantasy book if that’s what I want to read!
2. Physical TBR – I personally get stressed out by the number of unread books on my shelves.
📕Get new shelves – ordered and my husband is going to help me get them put up as my Christmas + birthday present 💖💖
📕 Books in = books finished. However many books I bring into my house, I want to equal the number that I read!
📕 Read at least 50% of the books I acquire
3. Diversity – I’m hosting a challenge to help keep me accountable this year, and would love for you to join me! This challenge is extremely open ended, and can be combined with PopSugar, A-Z, or any other challenge that you like to do!
📕 At least 1 BIPOC author each week, at least 1 of those each month should be a new release
📕 At least 2 LGBTQ+ authors each month
📕 At least 1 “Mind, Body, Spirit” diverse author each month
Jana and Books 