Category: Romance

‘The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea’ – Axie Oh

For centuries Mina’s homeland has been ravaged by storms. Every year a young woman is sent down to the bottom of the sea in order to become wife to the Sea God in an attempt to break the cycle. Nothing works. The consequences of the storms become more severe and people are losing hope that anything can help them.

Mina’s brother is in love with Shim Cheong, and when she is due to be sacrificed Mina cannot let her brother suffer so. She throws herself to the bottom of the sea, and though she does not believe herself worthy of the title of bride, she is brave enough to try and find out what needs to be done to save her people.

What follows has a fairytale quality. The prose in this was almost simplistic, but woven together in a way that kept me quite entranced.

Mina finds herself in a new land, taking on tough challenges but trying her best to do what she needs to in order to help those she loves.

Naturally, there’s more to this but it really is a story best discovered.
Stunning.

 

‘Husband Material’ – Alexis Hall

When you reach the age Luc and Oliver are in the book I appreciate that you are often caught up in the kind of situations they experience. Having got married at 21 I really don’t get the focus on weddings, but I appreciate that it can force you to feel certain responses.

Luc hasn’t moved on much – he would be exhausting to live with, and yet he brings a certain charm to his reactions. This time round we get to see them go through a number of weddings, some of which are more entertaining than others, and how it impacts their relationship.

Luc and Oliver continue to feel they have to behave a certain way, and I was pleased that they were given the opportunity to really have the chance to think about who they were/what was important to them. The scene following Oliver’s speech really did hurt – sometimes family are the ones who find it easiest to hurt you.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication.

 

‘The Dragon’s Promise’ – Elizabeth Lim

Princess Shiori is determined to stick to her promise to her stepmother, and to return the pearl to its rightful owner. However, fulfilling this promise is fraught with danger.

She visits the dragon realm, and it is clear that the pearl holds more sway over those who desire it than she realised. The opening of the story took a while to recall exactly who was who, and how they linked to the story. Shiori is tempted to take up the offer to remain in the dragon realm, but her determination to return to Takkan and to fulfil her promise means that her time there is short.

Upon her return we realise very quickly that the people of her homeland fear her magic. Shiori cannot understand why, but she soon sees that the demon has become stronger and that she will have to call on an assortment of people to help her. Assasination attempts, desperate plotting and a perilous journey to return the pearl keep us on our toes.

I liked that Shiori comes to learn more about her stepmother, and exactly who she was. Shiori comes to find acceptance of her skills and talents, and finds the courage to follow her convictions even though they challenge what she has always been taught.

While there was a lot to like here, I felt at times that there were a lot of characters introduced and discarded once they’d served their purpose. The initial focus on the dragon realm suggested an influence that felt lacking by the end, though it does not get wholly ignored. I understand that this ties Shiori and Takkan to the stories of their past, but the ending felt like something of a hedge-better. However, I couldn’t rate it 3 stars as there were many sections – namely those with Kiki, and the story of her stepmother – that were deserving of a higher rating.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this prior to publication.

 

‘Every Summer After’ – Carley Fortune

A second-chance doesn’t often work in a romance since if you broke up once, I can’t help but wonder why you think things would be different second time round. However, that really wasn’t the case here and I found myself hoping Sam and Persephone (Percy) would sort out their issues.

Early on we learn that these two first became friends when Percy’s family moved to the lake. They become next door neighbours and seem to have a lot in common. Before we know it, they’re spending a lot of time together…but, for ages, nothing happens between them.

When we first meet Percy she’s in her thirties and has just received a call to say Sam’s mother has died. Having been close to her once, Percy goes…but is worried by the fact that she hasn’t been there for years.

As we work through the book we see that their friendship shifts to a relationship. We know they didn’t last, so it becomes a case of trying to work out why. When we finally learned the truth I was rather surprised, but couldn’t help be happy that it wasn’t the proverbial nail in their coffin.

 

‘My Mechanical Romance’ – Alexene Faros Follmuth

My Mechanical Romance is a cute romance, immersing us in the world of robotics…and having been an avid watcher of Robot Wars when I was younger I could understand the appeal (even if the creation of these things was not in my sphere of interest).

Bel is reluctant to think too deeply about the future. She is a capable student but hasn’t considered her future, isn’t sure what she wants to do at college and hasn’t even thought about how to make herself an interesting potential student. Teo, on the other hand, has his future planned with precision. He’s single-minded in his pursuit of academic excellence and is scarily focused on his extra-curricular activities being tailored to give him maximum advantage. Each has their reasons for behaving like this, both of which are revealed as we read, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for any young adult caught in this kind of academic pressure-cooker.

The focus on academia sounds heavy, but it is very much in the background. Our key interest is Bel’s involvement in the Robotic club and their preparations for National competition. It’s intense! There’s a couple of moments that had me rolling my eyes in frustration – the well-timed illness and the annoying sexist opponents- but these do offer something to the narrative.

I enjoyed the developing relationship between Teo and Bel, and it was certainly an interesting read to look at women in STEM and the institutionalised barriers that may impact on those wanting to get involved/feeling they can’t get involved.

For a YA romance this was a little more nuanced than I was expecting (and that was a good thing) and it has reminded me that I really need to get on with reading Atlas Six (penned by the author under another name)…

‘Something Wilder’ – Christina Lauren

Quite a departure for Christina Lauren, but great fun and it was hugely entertaining to follow this through from start to finish.

Lily Wilder has always, a little, resented her father Duke for his obsession with treasure hunts and riddles. A celebrated treasure hunter Duke was rumoured to have discovered money that was stolen by Butch Cassidy. There’s no suggestion that this is the case as Duke sold the family ranch, had a stroke and then left his daughter with nothing.

When we first meet Lily she is preparing for one of her wild tours, taking rich City types to the wild and allowing them to play at finding treasure. However, this particular tour goes very much off page…partly because one of the party is Leo, the man Lily fell in love with years ago, but also because one of the group has an ulterior motive for joining in.

While I was invested in the rekindling of Lily and Leo’s relationship I loved the way we veered into a true treasure hunt. We never quite know how this is going to pan out, but the temptation to risk everything just for a chance to fulfil a dream is quite an inspiration.

There’s danger, more than I expected, and there’s a nerdy delight in puzzles and codes. On more than one occasion it could have gone either way, but this had a lovely feel good factor to it that left me with a smile on my face.

I’m grateful to NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this before publication in exchange for my review. I also wonder where they’ll go next…

 

‘Forging Silver into Stars’ – Brigid Kemmerer

I was unsure just how much of the world of Cursebreakers this would inhabit, and though many of the characters are the same there is enough here to offer something fresh.

Our main focus is baker Callyn and her best friend, Jax the blacksmith. They live in a fairly remote town, but have their own reasons to fear the magic that King Grey has at his disposal. Both struggling to survive, they are tempted by an offer to pass notes between people in exchange for silver. Naturally, they become curious as to the content of these notes, and as events proceed they learn all too well how their actions have consequences.

Alongside our pair, much of the action focuses on Tycho and Lord Alek, and their obvious dislike of one another. Both have their own reasons for visiting Briarfeld, and it’s a hard task to work out who to trust. Is their job protection? If so,who exactly are they protecting, and from what?

The pacing of the story means that things take a while to get going, but we learn some interesting details about Tycho and his powers. We get to see a little more of the inner circle and the issues they’re facing. Some familiar faces return…and there are more than enough hints about exciting things to come as the story continues.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication.

 

‘Felix Ever After’ – Kacen Callender

I admit to picking this up because I fell in love with the cover…sprayed edges made this a joy to look at. The content felt as if it might be an awkward read – I wondered if I could honestly sit through something where a character who is trying to be themselves gets such awful abuse. How would the author tackle some pretty hard-hitting issues?

I needn’t have worried. From start to finish, I was in safe hands.

Callender creates a very real character in Felix. Trans, black and gay…he worries he will never fit in anywhere and wants nothing more than to fall in love. He is a talented artist, but his feelings around his identity seem to be preventing him from really expressing himself. He gets angry, he messes up, on occasion he does some really hurtful things and yet there’s a searing honesty to him that I found touching.

The story focuses on Felix coming to terms with some questions about his identity, developing relationships and coming of age. There’s romance, though not quite in the way I expected it to go.

There’s no escaping the fact that the incident that is at the heart of much of the book – another student’s disgusting gallery show of old pictures and public deadnaming of Felix – was stomach-churning. The response from Felix and his friends was not, perhaps, the most sensible…but it was done with the right intentions. I loved the strength and support shown to Felix by those who he didn’t always recognise as allies.

While the love triangle was necessary to help Felix start to realise what/who mattered to him, I found myself most impacted by the scenes involving Declan’s grandfather and Felix’s dad. It was nice to see someone else’s view of things, and it was encouraging to see that people in such a situation will react differently.

There’s no guidebook to how to manage such a scenario, but this book will certainly offer support and encouragement. Highly recommended (and the cover is so beautiful that I’m tempted to put it on my bookshelf the wrong way round just so I can see the edges!)

 

 

‘Act Your Age, Eve Brown’ – Talia Hibbert

Pure unadulterated gooey loveliness.

Eve Brown is the youngest of the Brown sisters and something of a pampered princess. After yet another ‘failed career’ move, her parents give her an ultimatum – she has to keep a job for a year in order to have her trust fund restarted.

Now that is so far removed from the experiences of most readers it would be easy to feel no sympathy for Eve. However, from her evident social awkwardness and the sheer gusto with which she tackles everything to not fall a little in love with her would be unfeasible.

While her response to this makes little sense, her storming out and driving means she finds herself at a lovely B&B just at the moment they’re interviewing for a new chef. Of course, Eve is not suited to the job in so many ways…but the way she interacts with the boss Jacob tells us from the off exactly where this will end up.

From their first meeting I really loved the interactions between these two. Both autistic – though in Eve’s case this is undiagnosed – there’s something inherently satisfying about the idea that you can always find someone who gets you. And if they don’t get you as you are, then they’re not your person.

Some wonderful comedic moments, the expected sexual tension and a genuinely feel good message. Now we’ve had an insight into the three Brown sisters I feel sad there might be no more to come.

 

‘The Love Hypothesis’ – Ali Hazlewood

After something of a thriller glut, this romance was just what was needed.
The love story of Adam and Olive takes time to get going, but I loved their interactions and that sense of knowing where things were likely to end up even if they didn’t.

Set in the world of academia, which definitely seems more ruthless than you might expect, we first meet Olive when she’s trying to interview for a PHD program. Financial constraints lead to her wearing old contact lenses and a strange meeting in a bathroom…of course, we assume this meeting to be important though the story picks up years later.

As a post graduate student at Stamford Olivia is used to feeling uncertain of herself. Our whole story hinges on a bizarre incident where she asks to kiss a random man she finds in the corridor one night, in order to convince her best friend that it would be okay to go on a date with someone she once dated. Can think of so many other ways to deal with that issue, but where would the fun be in that?

Of course, the random man is none other than Dr Adam Carson…grade A asshole, the man everyone fears and who reduces everyone to tears. Bizarrely, Adam seems amused by Olivia’s request (naturally, he’s the man from the initial bathroom incident) and then they agree to a period of fake-dating to maintain this illusion.

From their initial awkward meetings it’s clear they have a cute way of interacting. Neither wants to admit their feelings for the other, and there’s more than one or two ‘close’ moments where we think we might get somewhere. For a romance this was surprisingly chaste in approach, but I found myself enjoying the way their relationship developed. There was a lack of detail about some things we take for granted, but with a feel-good vibe like this it was easy to overlook.