Anticipated Book Releases of July 2019

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to talk about some highly anticipated releases that I’m hoping to read in July, even if I’m not sure I’ll be able to.  July is gonna be a weird month for me because I’m going back home to Colombia after almost a year of living in Spain, so I don’t really know how much I’ll read. But anyway, let’s talk about some books that sounds amazing and that I’ll try to read if not in July then as soon as I can.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

Release Date: July 2nd 2019

No visitors. No nights spent away from the apartment. No disturbing the other residents, all of whom are rich or famous or both. These are the only rules for Jules Larsen’s new job as an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most high-profile and mysterious buildings. Recently heartbroken and just plain broke, Jules is taken in by the splendor of her surroundings and accepts the terms, ready to leave her past life behind.

As she gets to know the residents and staff of the Bartholomew, Jules finds herself drawn to fellow apartment sitter Ingrid, who comfortingly, disturbingly reminds her of the sister she lost eight years ago. When Ingrid confides that the Bartholomew is not what it seems and the dark history hidden beneath its gleaming facade is starting to frighten her, Jules brushes it off as a harmless ghost story . . . until the next day, when Ingrid disappears.

Searching for the truth about Ingrid’s disappearance, Jules digs deeper into the Bartholomew’s dark past and into the secrets kept within its walls. Her discovery that Ingrid is not the first apartment sitter to go missing at the Bartholomew pits Jules against the clock as she races to unmask a killer, expose the building’s hidden past, and escape the Bartholomew before her temporary status becomes permanent. (Goodreads)

Why am I anticipating it? 

Recently I started to get back into mysteries and thrillers and I was looking for some to add to my tbr and I found this one, I have never read a Riley Sager book but I have heard great things about his books and the synopsis of this one sounds so intriguing and the whole dark history behind the luxury concept is something that I enjoy in books.

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

Release Date: July 9th 2019

The only child of a single mother, Nina has her life just as she wants it: a job in a bookstore, a kick-butt trivia team, a world-class planner and a cat named Phil. If she sometimes suspects there might be more to life than reading, she just shrugs and picks up a new book. When the father Nina never knew existed suddenly dies, leaving behind innumerable sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews, Nina is horrified. They all live close by! They’re all—or mostly all—excited to meet her! She’ll have to Speak. To. Strangers. It’s a disaster! And as if that wasn’t enough, Tom, her trivia nemesis, has turned out to be cute, funny, and deeply interested in getting to know her. Doesn’t he realize what a terrible idea that is?

Nina considers her options: 1) Completely change her name and appearance. (Too drastic, plus she likes her hair.) 2) Flee to a deserted island. (Hard pass, see: coffee).3) Hide in a corner of her apartment and rock back and forth. (Already doing it.)

It’s time for Nina to come out of her comfortable shell, but she isn’t convinced real life could ever live up to fiction. It’s going to take a brand-new family, a persistent suitor, and the combined effects of ice cream and trivia to make her turn her own fresh page. (Goodreads)

Why am I anticipating it? 

First of all, Berkley has been publishing some amazing romance books lately, so I’m excited to check out their new releases, and second, the main character in this book sounds like the kind of main character I like to read about.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Release Date: July 9th 2019

It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there’s more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true. (Goodreads)

Why am I anticipating it? 

After loving the cover of this book – one of the most beautiful covers for a YA books that I have ever seen – I was a bit unsure about reading this one based on the synopsis, but then I heard someone described it as sapphic horror and I was sold.

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory

Release Date: July 16th 2019

Maddie and Theo have two things in common:

1. Alexa is their best friend
2. They hate each other
   

After an “oops, we made a mistake” night together, neither one can stop thinking about the other. With Alexa’s wedding rapidly approaching, Maddie and Theo both share bridal party responsibilities that require more interaction with each other than they’re comfortable with. Underneath the sharp barbs they toss at each other is a simmering attraction that won’t fade. It builds until they find themselves sneaking off together to release some tension when Alexa isn’t looking, agreeing they would end it once the wedding is over. When it’s suddenly pushed up and they only have a few months left of secret rendezvouses, they find themselves regretting that the end is near. Two people this different can’t possibly have a connection other than the purely physical, right? But as with any engagement with a nemesis, there are unspoken rules that must be abided by. First and foremost, don’t fall in love. (Goodreads)

Why am I anticipating it? 

This is the third book in The Wedding Date series and , while I had some issues with the first book in the series, I liked the second book so much that I can’t wait to see if the third one will be as good. Also, this is a hate to love romance, which is one of my favorite tropes.

Gods of Jade and  Shadow by Silvia Moreno- Garcia

Release Date: July 23rd 2019

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld. (Goodreads)

Why am I anticipating it? 

This has Mayan mithology and a mexican protagonist and it sounds amazing, add that to the fact that I always try to support Latinx authors and you know I’ll be reading this. But if I’m honest, I am a bit nervious because I didn’t like the only book I have read by Moreno-Garcia that much, I’m still excited tho.

What July book releases are you anticipating? Do you want to read any of the books I mentioned? Have you read any of them already? what did you think about them?

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Romance Report: let’s talk about four Lauren Layne books (Hard Sell, Huge Deal, Love Story & An Ex For Christmas)

Hi everyone! I have another Romance Report for you!  I started this new feature because I’m usually looking for very especific elements in romance books depending on my mood (like a especific trope, a certain level of angst, a certain level of steam, etc) and I think a lot of people feel the same way, so in the romance report that’s the kind of information I’ll include as a way to make it easier for people to decide if a romance book is the one they are looking for or not. I’ll also include comments about the things I enjoyed or didn’t enjoy in the book, as well as my rating.

Hard Sell by Lauren Layne 

• Series: Book 2 in the 21 Wall Street Series. It can be read as standalone, but you’ll be spoiled for the previous book. I skipped book 1 and it was ok.
• Synopsis: A Wall Street guy and PR genius, who have a frenemies with benefits relationship,  have to work together to improve his image. (Goodreads)
• Pages: 247
• Trigger warnings: child endangerment
• Point of View (POV):  dual pov
• Relationship: female/male
• Tropes: frenemies to lovers, frenemies with benefits, fake dating
• Romance: The chemestry between the main characters is off the charts, the author does a good job writing the ‘I dislike you but I want you’ dynamic and also showing the change from dislike to like. There’s a lot of bickering and sexual tension. Both characters are the socially competent, charming, flirty type of characters.
• Steam level: high, there are explicit scenes and they are descriptive but not too detailed.
• Angst level: very low, the conflict is resolved quickly and easily.
• Comments: I really like the friend group in this series, the relationship between all the characters are a great a addition to the story.  The ending is a bit rushed, which was my main problem with the book. But overall, this is such a fun, entertaining read and definitely one of my favorite Lauren Layne books.
• Rating: 3,8 stars

Huge Deal by Lauren Layne

• Series: Book 3 in the 21 Wall Street Series. It can be read as standalone, but you’ll be spoiled for the previous books.
• Synopsis: A Wall Street banker and his long time assistant have liked each other for a while but they have had a tense relationship full of misunderstandings that they have to overcome to be together.  (Goodreads)
• Pages: 259
• Trigger warnings: Death of a parent
• Point of View (POV): dual pov
• Relationship: female/male
• Tropes: office romance, unrequited love
• Romance: There’s definetely a slow-burn progression to the romance between the characters, there’s a tension between them from the beginning, that’s not enterily sexual, but that makes reading about them really compelling. Both protagonists are the serious, responsible, focused type of characters, even if they are very different in some ways.
• Steam level:  high, there are explicit scenes and they are descriptive but not too detailed.
• Angst level: medium, there is some angst thanks to misunderstandings and unrequited love. Also, a death takes place during the course of the story.
• Comments: one of the main reasons I liked this book is that Kate is such an amazing main character, she is intelligent, nice, serious, detailed oriented and competent and I hadn’t read any characters like her in a while, so it was refreshing.
• Rating: 3,8 stars

Love Story by Lauren Layne

• Series: This is book 3 in the Love Unexpectedly Series, which is a series of standalone novels. I know that’s kind of contradictory but 🤷🏽‍♀️. So it’s a standalone.
• Synopsis: Over the course of one road trip, feuding childhood sweethearts get a second chance at love. (Goodreads)
• Pages: 232
• Trigger warnings: death of a parent, cheating
• Point of View (POV): dual pov
• Relationship: female/male
• Tropes: second chance romance, best friend’s sister
• Romance: The back and forth bickering and animosity between the main characters is amusing, and the few moments where they get along show that they can have a good relationship if they let go of the past, but there’s a point where the misunderstandings and miscommunication, which cause the main conflict between them, get a bit annoying and frustrating.
• Steam level: high, as with most Lauren Layne books , the sex scenes are explicit and descriptive but not too detailed.
• Angst level: high, there’s a lot of hurt feelings between the characters so that creates lots of drama and conflict in their relationship.
• Comments: This is a bit slow and it feels like is a repetitive at points because the characters can’t let go of what happened in the past and refuse to talk about it openly and honestly, so it’s one step forward two steps back between them.
• Rating: 3,6 stars

An Ex for Christmas by Lauren Layne

• Series: This is book 5 in the Love Unexpectedly Series, which is a series of standalone novels. So this is a standalone, there’s no crossover characters from the other books.
• Synopsis: A psychic tells Kelly that she’s already met her true love and to track him down she starts contacting old boyfriends. The truble is, sparks are flying with someone she’s never given a chance: her best friend, Mark. (Goodreads)
• Pages: 218
• Trigger warnings: cheating (not by the main characters), dead of a sibling
• Point of View (POV): Single female POV
• Relationship: female/male
• Tropes: friends to lovers
• Romance: This is a slow burn, but so much of the story revolves about the female protagonist and her ex boyfriends that it doesn’t entirely work. It takes a while for the female protagonist to start seeing her friend in different way and it takes FOREVER for anything to actually happen between the characters.  Also, the main characters are very different and sometimes it feels like their relationship doesn’t make much sense, not even their friendship.
• Steam level: high, the sex scenes are explicit and descriptive but not too detailed.
• Angst level: high, there’s unrequited love so that creates some angst and the female protagonist is a bit stubborn with her belief in fate which also creates angst.
• Comments:The premise is a bit silly but I was ok with that going in, my real problem with this is that I was a bit frustrated by how much the main character lets ‘fate’ dictate her choices and how until the very end she follows fate more than her own heart, which iw what causes the main conflict in the story.
• Rating: 3,4 stars

Have you read any Lauren Layne books? Did you enjoy them? Can you recommend an author whose work is similar to Layne’s?

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Top 5 Books I’ve Read in 2019 So Far

Hi everyone! Since it’s almost the end of June and that means we are almost half way thorugh the year, I wanted to highlight the top 5 books I have read so far in 2019.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

This book is magic, it reminded me why I love fantasy and it reminded me how awestruck I can be by a new magical, whimsical world. The writing is stunning and it sets a tone of wonder and curiosity and posibility, that goes perfectly with the mystery within the story, which is intriguing and captivating. The main character Lazlo is precious and there are so many other fascinating and complicated characters, that it’s imposible not to root for them. The combination of all these things sucked me into this story of gods and monsters and made me feel invested until it hit me with the shocking and heartbreaking ending.

“And that’s how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can.” 

The Wicked King by Holly Black

The Wicked King is highly entertaining, full of twist and turns, and brimming with complex and compelling characters and relationships. This is filled with angst, betrayal, deceive, lust, murder, mind games, viciousness and wit, all of it is so enthralling and intoxicating and Holly Black’s writing works perfectly to reflect that. But my absolutely favorite thing about this book is Cardan and Jude’s relationship, which is angsty, spiteful, deep and complicated, and it’s the epitome of the enemies to lovers trope.

“The Folk doubtlessly learned this lesson long ago. They do not need to deceive humans. Humans will deceive themselves.” 

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro 

A Study in Charlotte is an enthralling and entertating read, that brings a unique spin to a beloved classic, with characters that are as captivating and complex as the ones in the original version. The fact that the main characters are related to the original Watson and Holmes gives this book an interesting and unique premise that it’s very well executed. The real strengh of the book lays in the main character, Charlotte and Jamie, and the relationship between them. They have an engrossing and strange dynamic, their dialogue and banter is incredibly entertaining, and the honest moments when one or both of them are being vulnerable are so precious that I feel like crying just thinking about them.

“We weren’t Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I was ok with that, I thought. We had things they didn’t, too. Like electricity, and refrigerators. And Mario Kart.”

Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Morena

It’s not often that a book breaks my heart and makes me sob, but this book managed to do just that. I fell in love with this book because of its beautiful writing, the complex but lovable characters, a community that’s like a huge family, and the brilliant and  bittersweet way it explores the feelings of a granddaughter of immgrants; the feelings of confusion and guilt for belonging to two places at onces, speaking biligual words, not knowing exactly where she comes from and not knowing what happened to the family that stayed behind.

“My dreams were founded by a loan made long before me, and I paid it back in guilt and success. I paid back by tending a garden whose roots I could not reach”

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

We Set the Dark on Fire captured my heart with two beautifully complex main characters, a forbidden love story,  a fascinating mythology, an infuriating world and a flawed and complicated rebelious group. The latinx feel that this has is icing on the cake, it’s the respectful and wonderful representation that we have been waiting for in fantasy. Beyond all those amazing things, the strengh of this book lays in the way it addresses immigration, privilege, poverty and opression, because it manages to evoke so many emotions and be incredibly thought provoking, it’s brilliantly done.

“In a battle between two men trying to control her, she’d chosen herself.” 

What are the best books you have read so far in 2019? Have you read any of the books in my top 5? Did you enjoy them?

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5 Amazing Queer Books I’ve Read in 2019

Hi everyone! Since it’s Pride Month, I want to talk about some incredible books that I have read in the last few months and that include LGBTQIA rep.

Without further ado, here they are:

 

Darius the Great is not Okay by Adib Khorram

This book is about a biracial, gay teenager, who has depression, and that travels to Iran to meet her mother’s family in person for the first time. Darius is discovering his sexuality in this book and there is a sweet friendship between him and a boy he meets in Iran, but the main focuses of the book are family, tradition and mental health.

 

Graham’s Delicacies by Em Ali

This is a collection of three queer love stories. There’s one about a Black bisexual women with anxiety and a chubby and anxious nonbinary baker, another one about a nonbinary baker and a Korean foodie vlogger, and one about a gay Mexican-American man and his gay Black coworker. If you are looking for diverse romance stories with low angst and so much cuteness that you’ll smile most of the time while reading them, this is for you! (Full review)

 

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

This book is about the love story between Alex, the Mexican-American son of the President of USA, who throughout the book realizes that he is bisexual, and Henry, the gay prince of England. It’s a swoon worthy, heartwarming romance! Also, this book has a huge political aspect, that’s fascinating, because Alex’s mom is up for reelection and because there are international political consecuences to their relationship.

 

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia

This is a Latinx fantasy book with an f/f romance that captured my heart. In this world, men have two wives, a Primera and a Segunda, each one with a different role in the family. This is the story of a Primera and a Segunda who fall in love and get involved with a rebelious group. Dani and Carmen, the main characters, are Latinx and Queer and they have a complex and captivating relationship.

 

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria

This book has five main characters and three of them are Queer. One is an ace, plus sized POC that has severe anxiety; another one is a bisexual POC; and the other is a gay teenager that was a victim of parental abuse. This book is about a heist in a world where there’s magic and the story is full of twists and turns, which makes it entertaining and engaging the whole time. (full review)

 

What amazing queer books have you read in 2019? Have you read any of the books I mentioned on this list? What queer books are you anticipating for the scond half of 2019? 

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Romance Report: let’s talk about two f/f romances (Once Ghosted, Twice Shy & Marriage of Unconvenience)

Hi everyone! This is the first installment of Romance Report, a new feature that I created because I’m usually looking for very especific elements in romance books depending on my mood (like a especific trope or a certain level of angst or a certain level of steam, etc) and I think a lot of people feel the same way, so in the romance report that’s the kind of information I’ll include as a way to make it easier for people to decide if a romance book is the one they are looking for or not.

Without further ado, here’s my first romance report:

Marriage of Unconvenience by Chelsea M. Cameron 

• Series: it’s a standalone
• Synopsis: Two childhood best friends get married to inherit some money and solve their financial issues, but they end up realizing they have feelings for each other (Goodreads)
• Pages: 197
• Representation: lesbian and queer main characters and a trans side character.
• Point of View (POV): single female pov
• Relationship: female/female
• Tropes: friends to lovers, fake marriage
• Romance: this book has so many sweet moments including a wedding dress shopping scene that warmed my heart, these two women love each other so much and it’s easy to tell throughout the book.
• Steam level: low, it’s more cute than steamy. But there are explicit sex scenes.
• Angst level: low, there aren’t any huge obstacles or any dramatic moments.
• Comments : The writing isn’t the best, but the real problem is the editing. There are inconsistencies that go from the protagonists having different middle names throughout the book to one character being described as the best secret keeper and a few pages later as not being the best at keeping secrets.
• Rating: 3,5 stars

Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole 

• Series: book #2.5 in the Reluctant Royals series. It can be read as a standalone.
• Synopsis: Two women reunite months after a short fling that left them brokenhearted and fall in love all over again (Goodreads)
• Pages: 106
• Representation: african lesbian main character and haitian-american bisexual main character.
• Trigger warnings: deportation and forced separation of families.
• Point of View (POV):  dual pov, one narrates the present and another the past
• Relationship: female/female
• Tropes: second chance romance
• Romance: This books relies too much in the characters’ past feelings that were instalove-y to begin with (3 dates and they are in love!), which made me not be invested in the relationship. Also, the main conflict in the past and present timelines is that the characters don’t talk to each other, which gets a bit frustrating.
• Steam level: low, there’s one explicit scene and the other scenes are fade to black.
• Angst level: medium, there’s angst because of the way things ended between the main characters the first time they were together and also because of the reason behind their separation.
• Comments: the writing wasn’t really for me and, because of that, it took me a long time to get into the story and connect with the characters. Also, issue of possible deportation was solved so easily that it because obvious that it was a plot device more than anything else.
• Rating: 3,6 stars

Have you read these books? Are you excited to read them? What romance books with f/f relationships would you recommend?

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May 2019 Wrap Up: Romance Books & My Favorite Latinx Book of the Year So Far

Hi everyone! May was really busy, hard month for me because of school stuff, but I’m so glad I still managed to read 12 books in the middle of everything else. I’m also excited about the fact that with this post I’ll be up to date with my wrap ups…yay!!! 🎉🎉🎉

Without further ado, here are the books I read in May:

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes (3,6 stars): I really liked this book, it’s fun and entertaining and it has great characters. It was written by a latinx author, it has latinx characters and it’s based on Mayan mythology, which is amazing. I just had issues with the amount of internalized ableism.

Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno (5 stars): This book made me sob, it was so good and so bittersweet, the writing was incredible and the book took a turn that I wasn’t expecting. One of my favorite books so far this year.

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (3,6 stars): I finally read one of Flynn’s book and I actually enjoyed it. Not a lot happens, I was expecting more investigation and discovery, and all the reveals are at the end, but it’s short and captivating enough.

The Mermaid’s Voice Returns in this One by Amanda Lovelace (3 stars): I didn’t really find any poem in this that was particulary especial or that resonated with me. They were all just ok.

ROMANCE 

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren (4 stars): This is probably my favorite Christina Lauren book. It’s a enemies to lovers, fake dating romance, with a ridiculous premise that works so well. There’s so much tension between the characters and there whole time in Hawai is fun and entertaining and when they are no longer in Hawaii things get a bit more angsty, but the story is still great.

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (3,7 stars): This book has #ownvoices autistic rep, which I appreciated. But I had a few issues with the book, the main character, Esme, frustrated me a lot and also the secrets and the power imbalance in the relationship didn’t sit well with me. The story ended up having had a sweet ending that I liked and I enjoyed the huge vietnamese family in this book, their scene were really entertaining and funny. 

Grumpy Fake Boyfriend by Jackie Lau (3,6 strars): More fake dating romances because they are my faves. Great chemestry between the characters, VERY grumpy hero, really steamy book.

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary (4 stars): The whole concept of this book is so unique and entertaining. I loved the stick notes that the characters used to communicate and how they got to know each other through them. But more than the sweet romance, I was impressed by the way this portrayed the experience of  someone coming out of an emotionally abusive relationship. Trigger warnings for gaslighting, emotional abuse and stalking. 

Rookie Movie by Sarina Bowen (3,8 stars): Second chance romance with an amazing hero that doesn’t play games, he’s honest and sweet. Amazing chemestry between the characters and swoon worthy romance. Trigger warning for mention of sexual assault.

Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen (3,7 stars): The relationship between the characters in this book is so interesting and captivating. There’s the perfect amount of angst and indecision about getting together. I really liked the way flashbacks were used to show their relationship through the years.

Joy Ride by Lauren Blakely (3,7 stars): I loved both of the main characters, their chemestry and the sexual tension. This was a fun, steamy read with a enemies to lovers, kind of second chance romance.

Hard Wood by Lauren Blakely (3,5 stars): The characters were sweet, but the chemestry wasn’t completely there and the obstacules they faced were minimal. Also, there are chapters told from a cat’s perpective, which is a bit weird and it doesn’t entirely work with the story.

Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Did you enjoy them? Do you want to read any of them?

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March & April Wrap Up: better late than never, right? Ft. Latinx books, a ton of romance and lots more

Hi everyone! As I said in my last post, I haven’t been blogging these last couple of months for multiples reasons -that I mentioned in that post, in case you want to know- and because of that I’m behind in posting my wrap ups, so today I want to talk about the books I read in March and April, especially since there are some amazing ones!

Fantasy/ Sci-Fi

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor (5 stars): this is my favorite book I have read so far this year; the writing is stunning, the plot and world building are so interesting and I really liked the characters as well. Also, THAT ENDING!!!

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel (4 stars): I think this book is fascinating, it addresses important discussions related to science, politcs, power and how they are all connected. It’s full of unlikeable yet compelling characters and it’s told in a interesting format.

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia (4,5 stars): this latinx fantasy book with an f/f romance captured my heart. Dani and Carmen, the main characters, are amazing and their relationships is so complex and captivating. The girl power in this book is strong and that’s one of the reasons I LOVED it!

Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera (3,6 stars):  a distopyan book written by a latinx author and with latinx main characters. Even if I didn’t love the writing style or some of the choices about the plot and pace, the characters in this novel were really captivating.

Contemporaries 

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo (4 stars): Latinx characters and a latinx author. I really enjoyed this one, the writing was fantastic! Check out my full review.

Small Town Hearts by Lillie Vale (3,5 stars): This was just ok, I had a few issues with it. Check out my full review.

Diverse Romance 

All’s Fair in Blog and War by Chrissie Peria (3,7 stars): The author of this book is Filipino and the characters are as well.  This book has such a interesting premise  (travel bloggers going on vacation together) and it’s really entertaining and cute.

Feels Like Summer by Six de los Reyes (3,7 stars): Set in the Phillipines, Filipino main characters and Filipino author. My favorite thing about this is the soft hero, he’s so nice, mature and supportive. Also, I always enjoy romance books where there’s a great group of friends and this one has that.

Graham’s Delicacies by Em Ali (4 stars): I really, really enjoyed this one, here’s my full review. 

Delicious Complication by Sabrina Sol (3,6 stars): Latinx author, Latinx characters and so much latinx food!!This was sweet and sexy and I really liked both of the main characters. This is probably my favorite of the series (it can be read as standalone).

Delicious Satisfaction by Sabrina Sol (3,6 stars): again, Latinx author, Latinx characters and so much latinx food! Friends to lovers and second chance romance, which I love. The main guy is an alpha hero but he’s not an asshole and I really liked the chemestry between the two main characters. (it can be read as standalone)

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory (3,7 stars): I liked this book more than the first in the series, mainly because I liked the characters more. This was funny, sexy and entertaining. Black heroine and Latinx hero.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (4,2 stars): This was SO GOOD! It has a biracial (Mexican/white) and bisexual main character, and a m/m romance that’s enemies to friends to lovers and it’s swoon worthy. Also, this has the coolest friend group ever and an interesting political aspect.

Romance 

Let’s begin with the obvious, Lauren Blakely has become one of my favorite romance authors. I read one of her books in December 2018 and since then I have read a total of 8 of her novels and 1 novella.

Most Irresistable Guy by Lauren Blakely (3,8 stars): this was just a quick novella, a prequel to the first book and it was actually really good.

Most Valuable Playboy by Lauren Blakely (3,8 stars): this is friends to lovers + fake relationship + sport romance, which are all things I love. Told from the male main character perspective. It was steamy and sweet.

Most Like to Score by Lauren Blakely (3,7 stars): The main character is chinesse, she was adopted when she was a baby. I really liked the chemestry between the chracters in this one. This is fun and sexy.

Well Hung by Lauren Blakely (3.6 stars): This is book 3 in the series and my least favorite, it can be read as a standalone. I feel like I didn’t connect with the main characters that much.

Full Package by Lauren Blakely (3,7 stars): This is book 4 in the series, but it can be read as a standalone. I really liked both of the main characters, this is a really good friends to lovers/roommates romance and I really enjoyed the chemestry between the characters.

Walk of Shame by Lauren Layne (3,8 stars): I loved both of the main chatacters in this one and the chemestry between them was amazing. It’s enemies to lovers and it’s funny, sexy and sweet at the same time.

Bishop by Sawyer Bennett (3,6 stars): The premise of this one is a bit ridiculous and that’s why it took me a while to decide to read it, but at the end I actually really enjoyed it. This is asport romance, told in dual pov, the characters have tons of chemestry and it’s a good amount of steamy.

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata (4 stars): My second book by Mariana Zapata cemented the fact that she is the queen of slow burn romances that make you swoon.  This is a sport romance and it was so good!

Sweet Filthy Boy by Christina Lauren (3,7 stars): Even if this is book 1 in the Wild Season series, I actually read the books 2 & 3 before this one because they sounded like something I would enjoy more, but I was wrong and this ended up being my favorite. The guy is so sweet and I loved the way he treated the main character, Mia. This one is steamy!

Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Did you enjoy them? Do you want to read any of them?

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