Rake I’d Like to F… by Sierra Simone, Eva Leigh, Nicola Davidson, Adriana Herrera, and Joanna Shupe

Summary from Goodreads: He’s a legend in the raking . . .

The Last Crimes of Peregrine Hind – Sierra Simone: Peregrine Hind, known to all as the bloodiest highwayman ever to bedevil the road, seeks only one thing—revenge against the Dartham family. And so when a robbery sends the second Dartham son and notorious rakehell Alexander Dartham tumbling to Peregrine’s feet, it seems like fate has given Peregrine his vengeance at last. Except then Alexander offers him a desperate bargain: to kidnap him instead, so Peregrine can harvest a generous ransom from Alexander’s family first. Peregrine agrees, but he’s in no way prepared for a captive like Alexander, who insists only on the softest beds and the finest wines…and who enjoys being tied up a little too much…

Two Rakes for Mrs. Sparkwell – Eva Leigh: The last thing Mrs. Vivian Sparkwell wants is to tie her life to another stifling husband. But thanks to the surprise terms of her last marriage contract, if she refuses any reasonable offer to wed again, she loses her widow’s portion. What she needs is a thorough and public ruining to make her would-be suitors cry off. Who better to provide the necessary scandal than notorious rake Rushton Cantley? Yet when Rush proposes that his friend, gaming hell bruiser Jack Morgan, join in on the ruination, Vivian can’t decide if she’s shocked—or aroused. How far is too far when infamy is on the line?

A Rake, His Patron, & Their Muse – Nicola Davidson: London playwright and notorious rake Lennox Townsend is renowned for bold melodrama and bolder pleasures. When he loses interest in both, his shy yet devoted patron Lord Jonathan Grant escorts him to a country boarding house managed by repressed widow, Mrs. Viola Prescott. The trio soon surrender to sizzling—and forbidden—passion, made sweeter as each share their deepest secrets and find acceptance of their true self. Yet cold reality is ever ready to intrude, and they know happiness is fleeting. Or is it?

Monsieur X – Adriana Herrera: Joseph Cantor Marshall never imagined reaching the pinnacle of artistic success would be so… uninspiring. Desperate for a spark of excitement he attends the notorious masked soirée at the most exclusive sex club in Paris. The moment he walks in he’s entranced by the mysterious X, the embodiment of the painter’s darkest fantasies. But X is as slippery as he is tempting, and soon Marshall’s days and nights are consumed by growing desire for his elusive lover. Will falling for X prove to be Marshall’s undoing or his greatest masterpiece?

Sold to the Duke – Joanna Shupe: Though she once lived a life of privilege, Lady Eliza is now destitute and desperate to care for her ill sister. She decides to sell the one thing of value she has left: her virginity. At the auction, a shocked Duke of Blackwood recognizes Eliza and refuses to allow her to fall into the clutches of a depraved bidder. But his role of noble rescuer is upended when the proud beauty insists on giving him his money’s worth…

For some reason, I think I liked Duke I’d Like to F… a little better than Rake I’d Like to F… as a whole. It’s all the same authors, all of whose writing I’m familiar with, so it’s not that. Some of the stories felt more rushed in their internal timelines in this volume – “instalust” is always a harder sell for me, and when you make it a throuple/triad or more instead of just two people in the relationship it gets harder for me to buy that everyone is going to have a Happily Ever After after only a few days or weeks. The two novellas I liked best were Adriana Herrera’s and Joanna Shupe’s and both of those had longer elements of time in them and worked really well for me, despite the short nature of a novella format.

It’s all unbelievably sexy of course. Many, many chili peppers. And I can really recommend Adriana Herrera’s contribution, Monsieur X (riffing on the John Singer Sargent “Madame X” painting) which has an unbelievably lush quality to the writing and the evocation of artistic inspiration.

(Apparently, there’s going to be a Villain volume next year…yes please)

Dear FTC: I had a digital galley of this book from the publicist, but got pudding brain and didn’t read it, but I had a copy pre-ordered on my Nook anyway so I read that.

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner, narrated by Jorjeana Marie and Xe Sands

Summary from Goodreads: A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance.

Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn’t come at a worse time–threatening Emma’s promotion and Jo’s new movie. As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a “source” is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is “no comment”.

With the launch of Jo’s film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all…but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?

THE SLOWEST BURN, please just talk about your feelings TO EACH OTHER KTHANX

But other than that, Something to Talk About is a really good f/f, workplace romance novel set behind the scenes of a really successful TV show between the showrunner – who is about to get a big career boost by writing for a Bond-like action franchise – and her assistant. It’s one of those chicken-and-egg situations – did Jo and Emma have feelings for each other prior to the photograph of them on the red carpet? Or did the attention the photograph created cause each woman to look at the other differently? It’s a very slow burn romance, which really fits the story because it is a boss/assistant situation and Jo is extremely concerned about blowback on Emma’s career aspirations as a showrunner and director. (Jo is also somewhat in the closet herself, or at least has never commented on her sexual orientation publicly.) But just because the burn is slow doesn’t mean that it’s a closed-door romance – the sexytimes, aren’t crazy-spicy, it’s more like a 2-3 chili pepper scene, but it’s there.

(Just FYI that there is a #metoo-like moment in this book between Emma and a visiting male director. Emma isn’t hurt physically, but it’s definitely something the character was not expecting.)

The narrators for this audiobook, Jorjeana Marie and Xe Sands, were excellent.

Dear FTC: I borrowed an audiobook from my library via Libby.

How to Find a Princess by Alyssa Cole (Runaway Royals #2)

Summary from Goodreads: New York Times and USA Today bestseller Alyssa Cole’s second Runaway Royals novel is a queer Anastasia retelling, featuring a long-lost princess who finds love with the female investigator tasked with tracking her down.

Makeda Hicks has lost her job and her girlfriend in one fell swoop. The last thing she’s in the mood for is to rehash the story of her grandmother’s infamous summer fling with a runaway prince from Ibarania, or the investigator from the World Federation of Monarchies tasked with searching for Ibarania’s missing heir.

Yet when Beznaria Chetchevaliere crashes into her life, the sleek and sexy investigator exudes exactly the kind of chaos that organized and efficient Makeda finds irresistible, even if Bez is determined to drag her into a world of royal duty Makeda wants nothing to do with.

When a threat to her grandmother’s livelihood pushes Makeda to agree to return to Ibarania, Bez takes her on a transatlantic adventure with a crew of lovable weirdos, a fake marriage, and one-bed hijinks on the high seas. When they finally make it to Ibarania, they realize there’s more at stake than just cash and crown, and Makeda must learn what it means to fight for what she desires and not what she feels bound to by duty.

Y’all! Y’all. Helpy chaos Muppet vs prickly order Muppet in an Anastasia retelling

How to Find a Princess is Alyssa Cole’s second entry in the Runaway Royals series. Beznaria Chetchevaliere aka Bez has moved from royal matchmaking to tracking down lost royalty. Only this job is personal – she’s Ibaranian and her grandma was on guard the night the Queen disappeared. She wants to make it right. So she kiiiiiiind of goes outside the bounds of her job set by the World Federation of Monarchies to pursue what she thinks is the likeliest lead: one Makeda Hicks, the granddaughter of a woman who had a fling with an Ibaranian prince. Makeda absolutely Does Not Care to get all that mess back out of her closet – it kind of ruined her life when her mom got obsessed with it – and just wants the persistent, and helpful, and attractive (whoo, the biceps) Bez to scram. Bez won’t be got rid of that easily.

I loved Bez and Makeda. If you haven’t read any of Alyssa’s previous Royals books, you could start with this one since this is the first one where previous couples don’t really make an appearance in any significant way (the connection from the previous book to this one is through Bez). Also: cargo ships, one bed, fake marriage. If there’s a weak part, it’s the World Federation of Monarchies, which feels shoe-horned in to give Bez a reason to track down Makeda. But other than that? *chef’s kiss* What a fun, goofy book.

How to Find a Princess is out today!

Dear FTC: I read a digital galley from the publisher via Edelweiss.

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Summary from Goodreads: Award-winning author Aliette de Bodard returns with a powerful romantic fantasy that reads like The Goblin Emperor meets Howl’s Moving Castle in a pre-colonial Vietnamese-esque world.

Fire burns bright and has a long memory….

Quiet, thoughtful princess Thanh was sent away as a hostage to the powerful faraway country of Ephteria as a child. Now she’s returned to her mother’s imperial court, haunted not only by memories of her first romance, but by worrying magical echoes of a fire that devastated Ephteria’s royal palace.

Thanh’s new role as a diplomat places her once again in the path of her first love, the powerful and magnetic Eldris of Ephteria, who knows exactly what she wants: romance from Thanh and much more from Thanh’s home. Eldris won’t take no for an answer, on either front. But the fire that burned down one palace is tempting Thanh with the possibility of making her own dangerous decisions.

Can Thanh find the freedom to shape her country’s fate—and her own?

I had my galley of Fireheart Tiger hanging around the iPad so I finally read it. What a lovely one-sitting read. It’s an intriguing sapphic romantic fantasy with political shenanigans that does not play out the way you think it will. I wished it had been a little longer since there are so many parts of the world-building I wanted to see more. Thanh is a great character. (And check out that beautiful cover!)

Dear FTC: I read a digital galley from the publisher via Edelweiss.

Knit, Purl, a Baby, and a Girl by Hettie Bell

Summary from Goodreads: Some people can’t wait to have babies. They’re ready for it—with their perfect lives and their pregnancy glow…

Poppy Adams doesn’t have a perfect life, and she wasn’t ready for the positive test. An unexpected baby—Poppy’s unexpected baby—won’t exactly have her family doing cartwheels. But she’s making the right choice. Right?

Poppy’s totally got this. She just needs a little encouragement, and a knitting group is the perfect place to start. Baby blankets, booties, tiny little hats—small steps toward her new life. But she feels like she’s already dropped a stitch when she discovers the knitting group is led by the charismatic Rhiannon.

It’s not exactly a great time to meet the woman who might just be the love of her life. While the group easily shuffles around to make room for Poppy, it’s not so easy fitting her life and Rhiannon’s together. With the weeks counting down until her baby arrives, Poppy’s going to have to decide for herself what truly makes a family.

I saw the description for Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl in Harlequin’s catalog on Edelweiss and immediately went over to Netgalley to request it (for whatever reason the galley wasn’t up on Edelweiss). It felt like the intersection of a lot of interests, particularly an f/f romance novel, of which there aren’t that many in trad pub because I have several customers I could easily sell them to, and a romance novel with a bisexual MC on page.

Let’s get this out of the way first: from a strictly “Is this a Romance Novel?” standpoint, I don’t think this book works. I didn’t feel like the romance between Poppy and Rhi – while it had good bones and some really good scenes together – was foregrounded in the story. Rhiannon is off page too much for this book to go full Romance Novel, in my opinion (FYI, for those who have preferences about POV this book is 100% 1st Person narration from Poppy, we never have Rhi’s perspective). I also don’t feel like the resolution of the book in relation to the romantic relationship between the two women is a “we did it together,” the “together” bit being important in a romance novel. So much of the emotional growth in this book is Poppy doing the work on her own; whatever growth Rhi goes through is not privy to the reader. So the marketing for this book as a Romance Novel is doing the book a disservice.

BECAUSE, because because because, Poppy’s story as a woman who learns to set boundaries and believe in herself as a fat, bisexual woman who is going to be a new mother and to stand up to her own horrible, gaslighting mother is a really good story. A GOOD story. The opening scenes at Planned Parenthood where Poppy meets Rhiannon (who is her clinic escort) and then sees the PP nurse for her appointment are wonderfully, truthfully, and very lovingly written. [Side note: I have been the friend who has accompanied someone to PP to make a decision about a pregnancy and PP nurses are the most compassionate, amazing healthcare workers.] This book takes us from the day Poppy’s pregnancy is confirmed through a few weeks after her baby is born – so we get a bildungsroman as Poppy starts to figure out her shit and realize, that maybe, just maybe, she has actually succeeded as an adult, it just looks different than what she’s been told “success” should look like. It’s such a good story. (Would have liked a little more of the knitting group, though, they were all interesting characters.)

[Trigger warnings: Poppy’s mother is AWFUL, there’s fatphobia and shaming on the page, and Rhi also relates some instances of homophobia off-page. (I didn’t pick up on-page homophobia, but there may have been some from Poppy’s mom, but she’s a walking problem, so….) There are also, kind of obviously, several discussions about abortion and personal stories related by characters in discussing how the choice you make is always the right one for you.]

Knit, Purl, a Baby and a Girl is out today!

Dear FTC: I read a digital galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur

Summary from Goodreads: With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice, a charming #ownvoices queer rom-com debut about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with an uptight actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict!

After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.

Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy… a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle’s new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because… awkward.

When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship. But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?

As Written in the Stars opens, Elle is running late to a blind date. She’s been set-up with the sister of her new business partner. Darcy is getting ready to leave when Elle finally arrives. They decide to have a glass of wine, but then the small talk goes disastrously wrong. Darcy, an actuary, kind of (ok, she actually does) insults Elle’s profession of astrology. Elle accidentally knocks over a glass of red wine on Darcy’s vintage silk dress. When Elle over hears Darcy on the phone talking about her in less than flattering terms, she ghosts.

Darcy’s well-meaning-but-nosy brother Brandon asks her for details about the date (seriously, he’s like the Romance Golden Retriever). Darcy tells him it went great just to get him to STFU. The next day Brandon sees Elle at a diner and gushes about how he’s so happy she hit it off with Darcy – right in front of Elle’s mom. So Elle stomps over to Darcy’s apartment – box wine in tow – to put Darcy’s feet to the fire. They’re gonna fake date through the holidays to get their families off their backs. Because Darcy’s got cold feet after getting emotionally scarred by her ex-fiancé and Elle’s family treats her like she’s just the lost little girl with the unserious profession and sad serial dating life.

Fake dating! Opposites attract! Jane Austen retelling! (yeah, did you guess Pride and Prejudice?) Christmas romance! Ugly sweaters! Super-cute! There’s a great double-date scene at Seattle Underground where they have to do an escape room and Elle’s knowledge of astrology and tarot comes in beyond useful. And then there’s a beautiful scene in the astronomy tower. This is a wonderful contemporary f/f romance debut – I’m so glad Avon has really opened up their romance line lately (better late than never) and diversified their offerings. So much good stuff from a favorite publisher.

Written in the Stars is out today! (Yeah, I handsold most of our stock in about two hours today, hahahaha.)

Dear FTC: I had a digital galley then wound up with a lovely review copy from the publisher.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows by Olivia Waite (Feminine Pursuits #2)

Summary from Goodreads:
In this historical f/f romance you’ll find:
•a grumpy widowed engraver working far too hard to keep her print-shop going until her son is old enough to take over
•a middle-aged lady beekeeper who goes striding about in trousers and loves bucolic poetry
•a Queen on trial in Parliament and the press
•luxuriant English gardens with extremely naughty statues
•satirical ballads about tight pants
•… and more than you probably ever wanted to know about early 19th century beekeeping!

Could Olivia Waite outdo herself after The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics? Yes, yes she could.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows is a lovely f/f historical. We met Agatha Griffin at the Royal Academy exhibition in The Lady’s Guide and her print shop handles the printing of Lucy’s Guide. Four years later, Agatha is now a widow, running the shop with her son Sydney and her apprentice Eliza, the gifted young artist who was briefly Lucy’s maid. Griffin’s has their printworks in the nearby village of Melliton, where one odd, beekeeping lady named Penelope Flood resides. When Agatha discovers a swarm of bees who have started making a hive among the plates for a local poet’s book, Mrs. Flood is recommended to her as the person who would know exactly what to do with the bees.

Penelope is rather intrigued by the no-nonsense printer from London. Mrs. Griffin is a world away from Penelope’s rural, beekeeping life in Melliton. The two women start corresponding through letters – because of the bees – but soon strike up a friendship, then perhaps something more. Olivia Waite lets the relationship between Agatha and Penelope develop gradually through these letters, with beekeeping knowledge interspersed between exchanges about their families or friends, weaving a bond between the two women. After a while, Agatha begins to visit Melliton more often, eventually staying with Penelope for Christmas. This is a relationship that develops between two women in their forties – neither are looking for their life’s One Great Passion, they each have established lives – so the realization that they have an emotional bond that goes deeper than friendship is especially poignant.

Being poignant or a lesbian romance does not mean this book soft-pedals the plot. The book is set largely in the year between King George IV’s attempt to divorce his wife Queen Caroline and his coronation. That bit of British Royal history is largely integral to the development of Penelope and Agatha’s relationship. The printing and sale of political broadsides and raucous ballads in Agatha’s print shop runs afoul of sedition and censorship laws in England at the time, particularly that from the Radical end of politics (you know, the ones that think you should treat people as equals or not trash or actual humans or whatever, and that’s clearly bad for the Establishment). Penelope’s neighbors in Melliton – both the good ones and the rotten ones – are affected by these larger events through the enforcement “morality” in the village and squabbling over an inheritance (just a CW that there is implied homophobia, although that jerk gets his comeuppance). There’s also a lot of between-the-lines commentary on Nice White Ladies (and other people) Doing Virtue Signalling. All this impacts how Penelope and Agatha slowly slide from friendship into love.

This is a Big Plot novel, so it moves a bit more slowly than I expected, but it wraps up so, so wonderfully. Plus there’s all the stuff about bees. And Penelope’s circle of wonderful friends in Melliton. And Sydney and Eliza and their relationship. Just go read it.

The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows is out today!

Dear FTC: I read a digital galley of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss.

In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado

Summary from Goodreads:
A startling, moving, and innovative memoir from the National Book Award Finalist for Fiction.

For years Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, as she uses a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes—to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic.

In the Dream House is a phenomenal work of memoir, both in its unique construction and determination to shatter cultural myths about domestic violence in queer relationships. Machado chose to use second person as a point of view to show how her relationship with her “dream woman” slowly devolved into terror, a choice that both allowed space between herself and the incidents and also invited the reader to make those horrible situations personal, make them universal. In between these short vignettes/chapters are small essays about the recognition of domestic abuse in queer relationships and how, legally and culturally, it is still very hard to contemplate from a cis-het-patriarchal worldview.

I was privileged to hear Machado read over the weekend (and in conversation with Garth Greenwell) and she’s such a wonderful speaker and thinker. In the Dream House is both a quick (lots of white space) and slow (there are some incidents with her “dream woman” that are truly terrifying and give you pause) read but very much worth the time you spend on it.

Dear FTC: I read a galley that I requested from Graywolf Press. Thank you so much, Graywolf, for sending it.