thelilbookwitch's reviews
498 reviews

Can it truly be a shojo romance without a love triangle?

Shiwasu doesn't mince any words, and propels this volume ahead of the typical "love confession" ploys, so altogether I'm not upset about this development at all. It doesn't feel forced, or like it took too long. Takane and Hana's relationship continues to be dysfunctional and yet weirdly cute? But I'm really notsoquietly rooting for

Spoiler

Okamon

now.

(I'm not going to clutter my blog with reviewing each volume, but suffice to say, if you're on the fence, go read this series starting with the first one.)

A good continuation of the series, although I wanted a bit more from the nsfw scenes. There were so many allusions to this going into kinky territory, but not a lot of follow through...

The romance didn't feel as organic as the first one in the series, but by this point, it's not as big of a deal since we're in for all the side characters getting happy-every-afters.

I really want to see Shanti get a happier ending...

I loved this little slice of a book so much, I'm almost mad it had to end so soon.

Alyssa Cole returns, and takes a slight detour from her usual escapist narratives to weave in some dour reality to this work, but still manages to keep things light and happy. I didn't feel like this book was a soap box, by any means, and I loved how fleshed out Fab was, even for such a short story. Likotsi and Fabiola's styles are gorgeous, and their love tender.

I was a little disappointed that there was only one real steamy scene, but given how much buildup Cole usually puts in to her other works, it was understandable.

For a perfect escapist read that worships NYC and its minuscule wonders, as well as love in all its forms, read this book.

DNF.

The fatshaming and stereotyping in the first chapter made me dislike the protagonist/the book too much to continue.

Alyssa Cole's novella featuring Reggie and Gus turned into an ode to all things nerdy, and it went... almost a tad overboard? She definitely did her research, or is just a big ol' nerd herself, and who am I to be a gatekeeper?

Most of the references felt a little surface skim-y, but referencing Aquicorn Cove was like a gold little cherry on top and I felt *seen*.

I also really admired the fact that there was not one, but two neurodivergent protagonists, and the way she acknowledged issues with accessibility, as well as microaggressions and challenges wheelchair users face daily.

Full review on [my blog].

On a dark rainy night, a young lady is welcomed into a castle, a young lady who has come to murder a countess, like the many before her who never returned.

For those of you who may not know me, horror is not my thing. My one exception is anything Emily Carroll creates.

The blurb for this one is so short because this comic is so short, probably its only fault. I loved Emily Carroll’s Through the Woods arrangement of dark stories. She continues in When I Arrived at the Castle to create evocative niche horror comics that settle into your bones and leave you wondering, because as is her custom, she does not explain. To explain would be to take away the very element of what makes her macabre art so luscious.

When I Arrived at the Castle is colored in Carroll’s signature black, white, and red palette. Previous works have had hints of yellow or blue, but she stays strictly within those three shades for this comic. Her line art is simultaneously beguiling and revulsion inducing. The story, as always, feels like a sinewy fairytale – the original kind told to scare children into behaving.

There was a dark eroticism to this story as well that makes me glad none of the libraries who ordered it in my system mistakenly placed it into their YA collections (although the *gasp* nipple and cleavage on the cover would hopefully alert them of their error).

If all these things I mentioned above do not illicit an excited squeak from you, this is not the comic for you. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d recommend this as someone’s first exposure to her work either, since it’s just one story. Through the Woods is definitely a better jumping off point.

But, if what I mentioned above did strike a chord with you, and you haven’t read Emily Carroll’s works before, prepare to find a new author whose work begs to be revisited time and time again.

Full review [here].

Set during the Civl War, Elle Burns is on a mission to collect important information by trading in her freedom to work as a slave in a Confederate Senator’s estate. Her photographic memory and keen detective skills have set her apart and made her work invaluable, but she is unprepared for Malcolm McCall. Another spy infiltrating the manor, his easy manner and disarming charms win him the affections of the senator’s daughter easily, if only a certain Elle Burns wasn’t on his mind all the time… As their attraction for each grows, so does the threat of violence against the Union as plans are put into motion that could tear apart the nation. Malcolm and Elle must make dangerous decisions that risk everything, even losing each other, to preserve the Union at any cost.

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It’s not a coincidence that I've picked another romance novel written by Alyssa Cole.

I’ve tried reading other romance authors, and while I loved Helen Hoang’s The Bride Test and (next on my list) The Kiss Quotient, there’s just not enough material from her yet to satisfy the needy bits of my heart. Christina Lauren fell flat for me in the sex department of Romance in The Unhoneymooners,so I’m hesitant to try them again. I have a few other authors on my Kindle I’m going to try, and I’ll probably review them at some point, but back to Alyssa Cole!

Honestly, I was not prepared for this book. I’ve gotten used to the gentle escapism that’s in her Reluctant Royals series, which if you haven’t read A Princess in Theory yet, go do the thing.

An Extraordinary Union feels like a masterclass in romance.

In such a short time I cared so much about these characters, and Cole’s plot pacing had my heart racing. She did an excellent job balancing the spying portions of the novel with the romantic, and I found myself-while excited- not wanting to skip ahead to rid myself of the tension during suspenseful passages. The stakes were so much higher in this book when compared to her others, and I even found myself getting emotional towards the end. Not that other parts of the book didn’t illicit reactions from me either (see my full review for my Kindle notes and reactions), especially since this is set in the south during the Civil War.

Honestly, Susie Caffrey gets my vote for being The Worst in the entire book (her father a close second), but seldom few -if any- white people get a pass. Even Malcolm grows and isn’t a shining pillar of woke-ness. At times he feels a little White Knight-ish, but honestly?? I’ll take it because his introspection and multiple reckonings and realizations of the inherent power dynamics at play in their relationship show him willingly perform emotional labor, and that's its own kind of sexy.

Elle often functions as a vessel for viewing and critiquing slavery and its manifest psychological impacts that go deeper than what the superficial attempts of the American education system tries to explain. The relationships, dark and twisted as they are, between master and slave, as well as the varying degrees of a master’s “kindness” are laid bare and questioned in this book, even if internally, by Elle.

The smuttiness of the book didn’t leave me wanting, and I think there were more intimate scenes in this novel than in her latest contemporary ones. The drawback of that being with more scenes there was less build up to get to them, and the build up is so important. This didn't come off as too contrived though, but only just barely which is what knocked it down to 4 stars.

Overall, if you like historical romance and are looking for unique characters and a compelling plot, not to mention quality smut, try An Extraordinary Union. I took my time with it, but it could easily be read in a day.

Important notes:
1) I initially held off reading this book was because I was worried, by having it set in the Civil War with a black female protagonist, I’d also have to read sexual abuse. And while it’s mentioned, because Cole doesn’t try to rewrite history only write historical fiction (a key difference), I was pleasantly surprised and relieved I didn’t have to go through with reading about it in detail. So if you can stomach rape-y insinuations, you should be fine to read this book.

2) While the race of the characters is factor, just like in her other books featuring paramours of differing backgrounds, she doesn’t fetishize them for it. So if that’s the kind of smut you’re looking for, this isn’t the book for you.

I got through more of this book than the other one i tried.... but the chemistry felt forced, as did the writing of the protagonist. This sounded like such a cute premise too.

My previous review still applies. Lots of fat hating, PMAB nonsense, but other than that a good plot pace and scenes to make you jump.

A cute book, not an extreme amount of depth. It's in my YA collection, but I think it has more appeal for an older reader. There's nothing in it that makes me want to remove it from its current home that that though... Gets the extra star for showcasing Hudson Valley towns and farms I'm familiar with, which made me smile to see it explored from a different perspective.