Discussion: ARC Life (the actually really great flip side)

Last week Peekaboo did a really wonderful guest post about ARC life (or why being a rabid book fan is actually really hard sometimes). In her post Peekboo makes some really great points, and I included some thoughts of my own at the end, especially about stress and burnout. (Especially as I sit here looking at my list of 74 digital egalleys that I need to somehow get through... and that doesn't even include the physical ARCs... and all I really want to do is reread Howl's Moving Castle...)

Anyway, I thought this week I'd take a look at this flip side, and all the ways being a "rabid book fan" can be so amazing too - because there are a lot of really great things about buried under a mountain of ARCs! 

For starters, with close to 100 books on my ARC TBR, and more available to request EVERY DAY, I am spending a lot less money on books. Which of course means I have more money to spend on bookish swag like bookmarks, candles, scarves printed with the opening chapters of Alice in Wonderland, outfits coordinated to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw colors... Don't get me wrong, reviewing ARCs is WORK - diligently reading books (which is mostly a labor of love but sometimes is really WORK to keep plowing through) and writing up GOOD reviews and cross-posting them to retailers, and formatting and posting them to blogs... But the upside is basically a "will work for books" sign around your neck, which means less money spent on books. (For me at least, or my ARC TBR will eat me.)

Another great thing is getting to read highly anticipated books early! I got access to Lenora Bell's newest book months before it was released! ...OK, I didn't get around to actually reading it until about a month and a half before the release date, at which point it had been sitting on my Kindle for at least a month growling at me to read it along with the rest of my ARCs, but still! It was there! And sometimes there's one that I must read right now and I'll get access granted quickly and I can just gobble it down on the spot. (The downside of this is that often you'll read a blurb for a book that won't be released for a good 4-6 months out, and if you're declined for an ARC you need to wait for FOREVERRRRRR to buy it.) 

I'm also finding that I'm more willing to try books outside of my usual genres when requesting ARCs, which has led me to discover some great books that never would have crossed my radar otherwise. For example, I just finished Grilled Cheese and Goblins by Nicole Kimberling which is a sort of Urban Fantasy paranormal detective novel I'd have never picked up, but really enjoyed. I also just got approved for a mystery/suspense novel, Consumed by J.R. Ward, something totally outside my normal wheelhouse but a book I'm really excited about. I find I'm more likely to try new genres and even authors because there's less risk. If I don't like a book I just DNF it or leave a review saying why I didn't care for it, and the only thing I'm out is my time. 

And finally, with almost 100 books on my ARC TBR, even when I'm feeling at my most mood-reader-iest, I have such a variety of books to choose from that I can pretty much find something that I feel like reading on my ARC TBR. And if I can't, I'm trying to be kind to myself about reading something NOT on my ARC TBR and remembering that non-ARC books are people too... Or, well, they're not people, they're books... Oh, you know what I mean. :) 

Discussion: Summer Beach Reads

Since it's summer I figure it's pretty much the ideal time to talk about beach reads.

For me, beach reads are books you can relax with on the beach or by the pool; books that are light and witty and bright. Contemporary romances (especially romantic comedies) are the perfect beach reads for me. I don't want anything heavy that's going to have me super emotionally invested, or sitting on the edge of my seat worrying about what's going to happen next. The perfect beach read is something you can get invested in but still be fine putting down when it's time to go splash in the water. And no, they don't need to be set at the beach (though summer and vacation themes *are* fun!) They do tend to be somewhat shorter (no Game of Thrones books here!) and mass market paperbacks are perfect for slipping into your purse or beach bag and taking with you on-the-go (sorry, hardcover new releases - not today!) Thrillers also work well for this purpose. Again, these are my own personal opinions on what I consider to be a beach read.

Here are some great books that I consider excellent beach reads:

And because what fun is the beach without a book to make you terrified to go into the water...:

Do you think "beach reads" are a thing? What type of book is a "beach read" to you? Recommend a great beach read in the comments!!

Discussion: Writing diverse characters as a white author

Today's discussion post is a little more focused on the writing side of bookish things. 

I'm participating in Camp NaNo in July, and am super excited for my story idea. I plan to write several interlinked short stories based on fairy tales, set in an urban fantasy/paranormal romance AU. The common link is some interaction with Straw  & Spindle, a nightclub owned by Rumpelstiltskin. Each story will be a romance, some with the character traditionally considered the villain of the story as one of the romantic leads, some gender bent or gender swapped. I've got plans for M/F, M/M, and F/F couples. 

Here is where the discussion topic comes in: I'd really like to include a diverse cast of characters in my universe. I'd like to include non-white characters, but as a white woman I don't want to mess it up. Is there a right way to do this? Do I just write an all white cast so I stay in my own lane and don't step on toes? If I try to write PoC characters is that taking up space an #ownvoices author should have?

Discussion: Diversity in Romance part 2 - mental and physical ability

As a follow up to my April 2018 post about Diversity in Romance, I wanted to talk some more about diversity in romance - specifically main characters with mental, physical, and sensory disabilities.

***IMPORTANT: I am writing this from a place of good intentions, but you know what they say about the road to hell…  I did some Googling to try to be sure I'm using the most appropriate/acceptable terminology for people with disabilities. If anything in this post is offensive, it is unintentional and I ask that you please educate me so I can correct it.***

There has been a LOT of discussion about diversity in romance, and it seems like the main thing brought up is race and the lack of people of color both being published as writers of romance as well as having representation as main characters in romance novels. I talked about this aspect of diversity in romance in my April 2018 post, but today I'd like to focus on a different aspect of diversity in romance. I don't see many romances about people with disabilities, and I think it is important for people to see themselves in the media they consume. I want to see more romances with characters who are on the autism spectrum, who are deaf or blind, who struggle with mental illness. I want main characters who use mobility aids and other assistive devices, and characters dealing with things like MS or diabetes or a spinal cord injury. I'm not saying the storyline needs to revolve around their disability; just that they be present and represented and THERE.

So! Let's help each other find some more mental and physical diversity in romances, shall we? I'm going to talk about a few books I've read that have at least one main character that is disabled, as well as a few on my TBR. Please leave recommendations in the comments of more that I need to add to my TBR. :)

A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert features a leading lady, Ruth, who is an Autistic black web comic artist.

Sit, Stay, Love by Debbie Burns has a hero who has ADD as well as PTSD, and I am very hopeful that the third book in the series, My Forever Home, will be about Patrick, a side character in previous books with Asperger's. (Patrick was definitely my favorite character in Sit, Stay, Love.)

Pandora in Lisa Kleypas' Devil in Spring suffers from an inner ear that leaves her deaf in one ear as well as causing her difficulty in keeping her balance when moving around in the dark or doing things like dancing.

There seem to be a lot of novels with main characters (especially heroes) who suffer from PTSD, usually soldiers who have seen action of some sort in battle. Cameron in Jenny Holiday's One and Only has PTSD. Love in the Afternoon, arguably my favorite novel by Lisa Kleypas, is a historical with another hero suffering from PTSD. It seems like PTSD has become one of the most socially acceptable mental illnesses, at least as portrayed in romances and as it relates to men. I'd really love to read more romances with MC's struggling with depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD related to non-war situations…

A couple of romances on my TBR with main characters who are deaf or mute include Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover, Flirting with Fame by Samantha Joyce, Tracking You by Kelly Moran, and Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks. Additionally, some romances on my TBR with blind MC's include Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Hoyt, Playing the Part by Darcy Daniel, and The Arrangement by Mary Balogh.

Are there any romances you'd recommend with main characters who are people with disabilities? If you've read any of the books I've listed in my TBR, what did you think of them?
Is this a category you feel has adequate representation in the romance genre, or could representation be better/more inclusive?

Monthly Wrap Up: April 2018

 I am so crazy glad that the weather is FINALLY warming up outside! We had so many crazy snowstorms in April, it was bonkers. My goal for April was to try to get caught up on my out of control ARC requests and I did... OK I guess? I spend Readathon and the week leading up to it reading library books instead (oops).

April TBR:

• What a Difference A Duke Makes by Lenora Bell (Edelweiss ARC)(read 4.2)
• Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian (Edelweiss ARC)(read 4.8)
• A Match Made in Bed by Cathy Maxwell (Edelweiss ARC) (read 4.18)
• A Prom to Remember (NetGalley ARC) (read 4.10)
• Torn by Rowenna Miller (NetGalley ARC)
• Over Raging Tides by Jennifer Ellision (NetGalley ARC)
• Jane of Austen by Hillary Manton Lodge (Edelweiss ARC)
• The Sisters Mederos by Patrice Sarath (Edelweiss ARC)
• Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (NetGalley ARC)
• Shoot the Messenger by Pippa DaCosta (NetGalley ARC) (read 4.7)

Bonus Round:

• The Bride Takes a Groom by Lisa Berne (Edelweiss ARC)
• A Scandalous Deal by Joanna Shupe (Edelweiss ARC)
• It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian (Edelweiss ARC) (read 4.15)
• Making Up by Lucy Parker (NetGalley ARC)
• The Luck of the Bride by Jana MacGregor (NetGalley ARC)
• A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman (NetGalley ARC)
• Hurts to Love You by Alisha Rai (Edelweiss ARC) (read 4.14)

2018 Reading Challenge

 

Books read in April: 14

Books read in 2018: 87/150

#LetsDiscuss2018

hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight

Progress in April: 4
Total Progress: 11/12

#2018BeatTheBacklist

hosted by Novel Knight

 

Progress in April: 0

•  Again, with all the focus on ARCs (and library books), I didn't read ANY books from Book Mountain. Shoot!

Total Progress: 5/20

#2018AtoZChallenge

hosted by Ginger Mom & the Kindle Quest.

 

Progress in April: 0
Total Progress: 18/26 

#12Months24Covers

hosted by The Hufflepuff Basement group on Goodreads

 

Progress in April: 0

Wahh-wahhhhh. I didn't manage to make ANY progress on the covers challenge in April. I was too busy trying to get caught up on all those ARCs!!

• Umbrella

• Rain

 Total Progress: 5/24

 

Discussion: Readathons

Let's talk about readathons!! In the bookish community, readathons are ways for the bookish community to connect and make the very individual sport of reading into a team event. :)

Booktuber Gintare, over at Book Roast created this Harry Potter themed read-a-thon centering around O.W.L's (Ordinary Wizarding Levels, inspired by Harry Potter) which she named the Magical Readathon! The O.W.L.s Magical Readathon runs from April 2nd through April 29th. You can check it out on Twitter at @magicalreadthn and #owlsmagicalreadathon.

Below are the classes or exams:

• Ancient Runes (a book with a symbol on the cover)
• Arithmancy (a book with a number on the cover or in the title)
• Astronomy (a sci-fi novel)
• Care of Magical Creatures (a book that includes magical creatures or features a magical creature on the cover)
• Charms (a fantasy book)
• Defense Against the Dark Arts (book about/featuring secret societies/clubs)
• Divination (a book featuring prophecies)
• Herbology (a book with a nature related work in the title)
• History of Magic (historical fiction)
• Muggle Studies (a muggle non-fiction book)
• Potions (a book about/with alchemy)
• Transfiguration (a book that deals with transfigurations/shapeshifting or similar theme, or a book with a cat on the cover)

The following grades are awarded for overall OWLs performance:

Pass grades:
Outstanding - sit (and pass) at least 5 OWLs
Exceeds Expectations - sit (and pass) at least 3 OWLs
Acceptable - sit (and pass) at least 2 OWLs
Fail grades:
Poor - si tonly one OWL
Dreadful - start but not finish any OWLs tasks
Troll - do not show up at your OWLs examinations

Here are the OWL exams I am sitting:

• Arithmancy: It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian
• Astronomy: Shoot the Messenger by Pippa DaCosta (read 4.7)
• Charms: Torn by Rowenna Miller
• Herbology: Over Raging Tides by Jennifer Ellision
• History of Magic: What a Difference a Duke Makes by Lenora Bell (read 4.2)
• Muggle Studies: The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King
• Transfiguration: Born of Air by Sean Michael

Now some of you are probably cursing me out, because this readathon is right up your alley and now there are only 11 days left. WHY DIDN'T I TELL YOU SOONER?! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Here is another upcoming readathon it's not too late to get in on!

This year's Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon takes place on April 28th, and is a 24 hour reading blitz where you dedicate 24 hours of your life to reading, reading, reading! (And, y'know, snacks. Because yum.) This year I'm very excited to be doing Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon with friends. We're hiding away at Ariel's cabin (whom you may also know from her monthly "Peekaboo's Corner" guest posts here) and yes, everyone sits in this cabin surrounded by stacks of books and just reads independently. Oh, and everyone brings snacks to share! Snacks are a vital part of Dewey's, you know. There are also fun mini challenges and reading blitzes on various blogs and social media sites, including a Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon group on Goodreads and the Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Facebook group.

Now tell me about you! Do you participate in Readathons? Are there recurring ones you love to do? How do you find your readathons?

Discussion: Posting personal writing on your bookish blog

Big things happening here in Book Otterland. I'm starting a new monthly feature in May where my BFF Peekaboo and I focus on a different fairy tale each month and talk a but about our favorite retellings across various mediums. I got it into my head that I'd really like to start writing creatively again and plan to write a short story (or two) that match our theme each month. For example, in May we'll be talking about Alice in Wonderland and I've already finished one very short story (less than 4k words) about the Mad Hatter and March Hare.

Which I suppose brings me to the points of this little discussion post. What do you think of bookish blogs that post their own creative writing? Should bookish blogs stay focused on book reviews, blog tours, and discussion posts about bookish things, or is there a place for creative writing (and, let's face it, probably a certain amount of fan-fiction) in the bookish blogging space?

Do you share your original stories online somewhere? What platform do you use?

I'm trying to decide if I should go ahead and post my stories here on Elley the Book Otter, or if I should start a new blog just for my writing, or post these stories somewhere else entirely... I'd really appreciate any insight both readers of blogs as well as writers who have bookish blogs can give!!

Right now the plan is a format where in the last week or so of the month I'd post our discussion about retellings for XYZ fairytale on Tuesday, then Wednesday post a co-review of a book Peekaboo and I read together that falls into that theme. I'm also going to try to tailor my regularly scheduled Monday & Thursday reviews so they are also retellings of our monthly fairytale if I can. If I were to post my stories on this blog, I'd like do it the weekend after this week-long fairy tale focus to sort of wrap it up. What are your thoughts on that?

And (maybe most importantly of all) if I do start a new blog for my writing, what do I call it?!

Leave your thoughts on posting personal creative writing on your bookish blog in the comments, and please let me know if you write stories and where you post them. :)

Discussion: PassionFlix & Movies based on romance novels

If you're a reader of romance novels, you've most likely watched an movie adaptation of one of Jane Austen's novels at some point. Or seen The Notebook. (Because let's be honest, who hasn't seen The Notebook?) And maybe you have strong opinions on Colin Firth versus that other guy. (Personally, I'm all about Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon in Sense & Sensibility, thank you very much.) One thing I'm sure we can all agree on is that you can never have too many romance novels - or romance movies.

Have you heard of PassionFlix? The lovely Ariel (aka Peekaboo of my Peekaboo's Corner regular guest blogger fame) turned me onto this site and I'll admit, I signed up lickity-split.

According to their website, their mission is turning your favorite romance novels into movies. They've also got a small library of commercially produced romance movies you can stream on demand as well, including Jane Austen adaptions of Mansfield Park ala 1999 and that version of Pride & Prejudice with Kiera Knightly; classics like Somewhere in Time, Love Story, and Overboard; and a couple of '90's movies like She's All That and Meet Joe Black.

As far as movies they've produced, so far their selection is quite small with four full-length original movies. However, I've watched three of the four movies available and LOVED THEM ALL. I also really like that PassionFlix gives you a rating for how steamy each movie is.

 

The Trouble With Mistletoe
Based on the novel by Jill Shalvis, this movie is the only one based on a book I've actually read and what initially drew me to PassionFlix. Funny enough, this was probably my least favorite of the three PassionFlix original movies I've watched so far. I'm not sure if that's "the book was better" syndrome rearing its ugly head, or if this one was legitimately just not as good... Someone else with PassionFlix, tell me if I'm just wrong here? Still, it's a cute movie that I'd probably like to watch more around Christmas time (rather than in early April when we just got ANOTHER blizzard and I want winter to just END already). I was also bugged by how they portrayed Elle (side character) because I pictured her TOTALLY differently. They did a great job with Willa and Keane, though (main characters). PassionFlix rates this at a 3 for "passion & romance."
 
The Matchmaker's Playbook
I haven't read this book by Rachel Van Dyken, but watching this movie made me want to go buy it and read it RIGHT NOW. And hey, it's even on Kindle Unlimited! Bonus! I loved this movie, and there's lead up at the end for a second movie that PassionFlix plans to produce for the next book in the Wingmen series, The Matchmaker's Replacement. I'm pretty pumped about the sequel because I loved Lex (side character) in this almost as much as I loved Ian (main character). It's a little campy with Ian repeatedly breaking the fourth wall, but really cute. I am now a Nick Bateman convert - those eyes, that smile. PassionFlix rates this at a 2 for "mildly titillating."

Hollywood Dirt
HOLY HANNAH, this movie is HOT. Like, sweltering Georgia summer hot. Based on the book by Alessandra Torre, this isn't a contemporary romance I'd normally read based on the cover/blurb. I decided to watch this because (1) I was kind of bored and looking for something to watch and (2) I loved Emma Rigby in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and A Cinderella Christmas. I will pretty much watch Emma Rigby in anything, and I'm so glad I watched this! The ending wraps up kind of abruptly, but it's cute and I love Summer (Emma) all throughout this movie. Also, Bennie (side character) is adorable, Cole (male lead) is adequately hot, and I love the big star in the small town trope. PassionFlix rates this one at a 5 "NSFW" (and for good reason, yowza!)

And I haven't watched Afterburn Aftershock based on the book by Sylvia Day yet, but after how much I enjoyed the other three originals this one is definitely on my to-watch list.

Their selection so far (including the movies currently in production) seems to be geared towards contemporary romances, but I have my fingers crossed to see some historicals somewhere down the road. I think any of Lenora Bell's books would make a great movie, as well as most of anything by Julia Quinn. Keep in mind they're a new site and produced three movies in 2017 and one so far in 2018. The next movie they're working on is Driven, inspired by the novel by K. Bromberg, due to release summer 2018.

What romance novel would you most want to see made into a movie? What's your favorite movie based on a romance novel? And do you have any other great places to find romances based on books? Tell me in the comments!!

Discussion: Diversity in Romance

 

If you read romance and are active on Twitter, odds are you've heard a LOT about the struggles of diverse writers of romance. I actually have just recently become more active on Twitter, and this conversation is part of the reason.

Naima Simone wrote a very well-worded (and eye-opening) article about "Sales in the Diverse Books Movement". She draws some good attention to the comparison of sales for two of her books in the same series, one with a black cover model and the other with a white one. I was double interested in this article because just yesterday I bought the first book, Scoring With the Wrong Twin, because of a tweet Jenny Holiday posted a series of tweets that included a few diverse reads she's starting with to diversify her reading experience.

One thing I really appreciate about the article by Naima Simone is that she gives the reader a list of some authors to check out as a starting point to diversify your romance reading list, which I've included below. I've linked to each author's Amazon page in the below list to make it easy for you to check them out. ;) I've also noted if I've got any personal experience with reading any of these authors' works. I think the only way we're going to change the romance industry is for readers to "put your money where your mouth is," so I'm committing to reading at least 1 book each month by one of the below authors (or author or color not on this list), as well as making an effort to request ARCs by diverse authors from Edelweiss and NetGalley. I'm always a little leery of indie publishers because I've read some real stinkers (poorly written, poorly edited) so I tend to avoid them, but I see now that by doing that I'm likely missing out on some great reads as well!

If you have a great book or author you'd like to recommend, please let me know in the comments!

To help point us all in the right direction, here are a few authors of color and/or authors who write books with diverse characters that need your support:

• Nalini Singh
• Robin Covington
• Kit Rocha
• Sabrina Sol
• Alisha Rai I just bought Hurts to Love You and can't wait to read it! I'm a sucker for brother's best friend trope…
• Pintip Dunn
• Vanessa Riley
• Reese Ryan
• Alyssa Cole I rated A Princess in Theory 4 stars and really enjoyed it! You can read the review here. Bonus points for diversity in romance AND women in STEM!
• Beverly Jenkins I recently purchased Breathless, Forbidden, and Night Hawk by Ms. Jenkins, so watch for reviews of these books on my blog soon.
• Tif Marcelo
• Caridad Pineiro
• Berta Platas
• Julia Amante
• Tracey Livesay
• Melia Alexander Had to buy Driven to Temptation when I was looking up this author. Had to. Oh, Amazon 1-click, you get me into so much trouble…
• Theodora Taylor
• Stacy Reid Hooray for historical romances!

A few other of my own additions to Naima's list:

• Naima Simone herself. I'm looking forward to reading  Scoring With the Wrong Twin
• Courtney Milan I loved The Countess Conspiracy, and look forward to reading more of her work. Historical ladies in STEM, yay!
• Sherry Thomas More historical romances, my romance subgenre of choice :)
• Alexis Daria Take the Lead looks especially interesting to me
• Ines Bautista-Yao

Remember to let me know in the comments if you have some more romance authors of color to recommend!

April TBR - Monthly goals & Readathons

My TBR for April is kind of out of control… Heh. Oops. My focus for April is heavy on getting caught up on the entirely too many ARCs I went a little koo-koo-bananas on requesting.

Thankfully,  Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon is on April 28th. Start time is 7 am on Saturday the 28th in my timezone, and it ends at 7 am on Sunday morning. My plan is to stay up as late as possible jamming all the books in my face until I pass out. ;) I plan to head up to a friend's cabin on Friday the 27th and get my read on with other booknerds, and come home on Sunday April 29th. I am super looking forward to hanging out with these nerds, and while I don't USUALLY do a TBR for the month, I'm making an exception for April because of said readathon and my goal to get caught up on ARCs. I did list 16 books below, though, and there are only 30 days in April, so I'm sure I won't finish ALL of these. (But does anyone want to offer me up a prize if I do? I can always use a little bribery- er, I mean, motivation…)

April TBR:

• What a Difference A Duke Makes by Lenora Bell (4.6 blog tour)
• Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian (4.13 blog tour, Edelweiss ARC)
• A Match Made in Bed by Cathy Maxwell (4.20 blog tour, Edelweiss ARC)
• A Prom to Remember (4.27 blog tour, NetGalley ARC)
• Town by Rowenna Miller (NetGalley ARC)
• Over Raging Tides by Jennifer Ellision (NetGalley ARC)
• Jane of Austen by Hillary Manton Lodge (Edelweiss ARC, AtoZ challenge letter J)
• The Sisters Mederos by Patrice Sarath (Edelweiss ARC)
• Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian (NetGalley ARC)
• Shoot the Messenger by Pippa DaCosta (NetGalley ARC)

Bonus Round:

• The Bride Takes a Groom by Lisa Berne (Edelweiss ARC)
• A Scandalous Deal by Joanna Shupe (Edelweiss ARC)
• It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian (Edelweiss ARC)
• Making Up by Lucy Parker (NetGalley ARC)
• The Luck of the Bride by Jana MacGregor (NetGalley ARC)
• A Duke Like No Other by Valerie Bowman (NetGalley ARC)

Rereads to give me a break during readathon - NOT included in my April TBR goal:

• Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
• Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

 

What are your reading goals for April? Do you make a monthly TBR? Have themes? Also, do you participate in any readathons?

Discussion: What do you look for in a book review?

Just a quick discussion post today, friends. I'm struggling to keep up with all the ARCs I requested and going through a bit of a reading slump where I don't want to read any of the books I "have to." Oh well! I am a book hoarder and apparently that extends to digital copies of books, because I just keep requesting more ARCs, so the pile just keeps getting deeper and heavier and burying more firmly under…

ANYWAY, back to the actual purpose of this post. I want to know what you look for in a book review. Personally, I look for some hints as to the quality of the writing. When it comes to historical romance (especially Regency romance) I want to know if there are any glaring anachronisms - that's my pet peeve and will make me DNF a book so bad if a Regency romance has, say, a gentleman and a lady alone in a room with a closed door and NOBODY EVEN CARES. That just would not happen. DNF. Done. Also if the book seems like it just goes on and on and never actually goes anywhere.

I also like to see some thoughts on the world building, especially in fantasy and sci-fi novels, as well as an assessment of the characters. Are they flat cardboard cut-outs, or are they fully developed, multi-faceted characters? What are they like? Would I want to be friends with them? (I'm much more likely to want to read a book about characters I'd like to be friends with… or about characters I love to hate!) Are there interesting side characters? Is the dialogue fast-paced and witty? Is the tone dark and gritty? Is it definitely going to make me cry, or have a stupid silly grin on my face that makes my husband ask me what on earth I'm reading? (Yes, as you can tell, that happens a lot…)

Another really useful fact is if a book is part of a series, and if I need to read other books prior to reading this one in order to really appreciate it. Many romance series, for example, are really individual stories than can be read as stand-alone novels that are interconnected (at varying levels of complexity) to the other books in the series. You can totally read Lenora Bell's Disgraceful Dukes books in any order without missing out on a lot. I would not advise reading Eloisa James' Desperate Duchesses series out of order as there is an ongoing plot/chess game with three of the side characters that would really confuse you as it weaves in and out of the books leading up to the ones that actually deal with said characters (and you'd have missed out on a LOT of important back story once you finally do read their books).

So that's me! Not too demanding in what I'm looking for, eh? Heh. OH! And I HATE spoilers! If it's a plot point I can't learn from reading the blurb on the back of the cover, in the first few pages, is obvious, or doesn't actually spoil anything - then I don't want to see it!! *covers eyes*

What about you? What do you look for when reading a book review? What do you hate to see? What do you wish reviewers would include more of?

 

 

Discussion: Favorite Tropes in Romance Novels

Today, I'd like to talk a bit about tropes in romance novels. There's a super handy list put together by Mindy Klasky that lists most of the common tropes used in romance novels. Many romances combined one or more of these tropes as plot devices to bring together (or cause conflict for!) the main characters. Click the link to check out the list, and let me know in the comments what your favorite (and least favorite!) tropes are.

My top 5(ish) favorite tropes are Disguise & Mistaken identities (these are similar enough that I'm lumping them together!), Fairytale, Cyrano, and Enemies to Lovers.

Disguise & Mistaken Identities
• Disguise – one or both lovers pretends to be something s/he isn’t – an expert in the workplace, a member of a family, etc. – but s/he falls in love while in disguise and is forced to continue the ruse.
• Mistaken identity – one of our lovers is assumed to be someone s/he is not, and s/he perpetuates the misunderstanding for reasons best known to him/herself.

One subcategory of these two tropes, which is my absolute favorite romance trope, is the woman disguised as a man. It probably started with my childhood love of the Song of Lioness books by Tamora Pierce, where Alanna disguises herself as "Alan" and trains to become a knight. This trope can be found in all forms of media,  inlcuding movies (She's the Man, ), anime and manga (Ouran High School Host Club, Hana Kimi, ) and Korean dramas (You're Beautiful, To the Beautiful You, Coffee Prince, Nail Shop Paris… The list goes on!)

Some of my favorite books about women disguised as men are Surprising Lord Jack by Sally MacKenzie, The Switch by Lynsay Sands, Duchess by Night by Eloisa James and How to Tame Your Duke by Juliana Gray.

     

Some other favorite disguise and mistaken identity books are How the Duke was Won by Lenora Bell and Chasing Christmas Eve by Jill Shalvis.

 

 

Fairytale

• Fairytale – a traditional fairytale is retold in an alternate cultural or historical setting.

OK, who doesn't love a good fairy tale retelling? Cinderella retellings also often fall under my other favorite trope, Disguise/Mistaken identities - so, y'know, bonus! Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast seem to be the fairy tales you find the most romances for, but there are some for other (and often less well known) fairy tales as well

Some of my favorite fairytale romances are Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Phoenix and Ashes by Mercedes Lackey (and basically her entire Elemental Masters series, to be honest, as well as her 500 Kingdoms series), A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James (and her whole Fairy Tale series), Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer, Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (the book is SO MUCH BETTER than the movie!!), An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn… The list goes on, so I'll stop there, haha.

   

 

   

Cyrano
• Cyrano – a lover woos another for a friend, only gradually realizing that s/he is falling in love her/himself.

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is hands down my favorite play of all time. I was so pumped to see this trope on Mindy's list, because there are not enough books with this trope. Thing of movies like The Truth About Cats and Dogs and the quite literal modernization Roxanne for examples of this trope.

Hands down the best Cyrano romance novel is Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas

Enemies to lovers
• Enemies to lovers – our lovers are enemies (business rivals, part of a family feud, law enforcement and criminal, etc.) until they realize the depth of their romance.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, The Winter King by C.L. Wilson, The Truth About Love and Dukes by Laura Lee Guhrke, and When A Marquess Loves a Woman by Vivienne Lorret.

     

 

Some other tropes I love are friends to lovers, neighbors to lovers, best friend's sibling, opposites attract, small town romances, women in STEM, and anything about spinsters, wallflowers or bluestockings…

So what about you? What are your favorite tropes? And do you have a great book recommendation that fits one of my favorite categories? I'd love to hear about it if you do!!