yourbookishbff's reviews
586 reviews

I struggled with this female main character's repeated ghosting of the male main character as a stress response and the lack of real context for that behavior. And the intimacy scenes felt rushed and out of character for these two at various points. 

This was a risky premise for a conflict, but I loved its resolution - so well done. This started slow for me, but once Max and Helena were on page together consistently, their chemistry was excellent. Loved this third act so much.

My favorite of the series so far, Alex's story was everything I love in romance. The mutual trust and respect he and Laura build, the new families they forge and the families they reclaim together, their earnest vulnerability - it all worked so beautifully that I never wanted to step away from the story. And, as always in a Mimi Matthews romance, I was thoroughly weepy by the end. And the declaration(s) of fidelity?! I was ecstatic to see these moments perfectly executed on page - there are so many exchanges between Alex and Laura I won't forget. 

I loved this sweet little novella. This was a surprisingly tender character exploration - set within a 12-days-of-Christmas-let's-just-get-it-out-of-our-systems sexual retreat for two besotted friends. Lloyd deftly navigates friends-to-lovers, nailing the challenges in the transition from friends to more - the feeling of remarkable intimacy and comfort counterbalanced with anxiety and vulnerability. I loved these two people and how well they knew themselves and each other - and how Lloyd used their differences as fulcrums for their own self-discovery. This is lighthearted - while also being tender and earnest - and delightfully sexy. 

God, Mimi Matthews is so gothic. I love it. This was high-stakes and stressy in that uniquely claustrophobic way that she has mastered, and I love the way the outside conflicts create a kind of pocket universe for the main characters to fall in love. This deals with some heavy trauma for both main characters and includes potential triggers like on-page suicidal ideation, so please go gently and check content warnings. 

This felt like it fizzled a bit in delivering on the premise. I love a reformed rake, but I'm not sure what (aside from a stressy outside event) actually prompted his reform, and I found it hard to believe he fell in love with our female main character. Because of that, the tension was just missing for me, and I didn't love how much time the MCs spend apart in the third act (though I recognize the intention, it didn't feel like it worked as well as it could have). Not my favorite by Harper St. George, but looking forward to continuing the series.

Marriage of convenience with two genuinely good and earnest people with lots of secrets and unrequited desires?! This was so good, I flew through it. The tension between these two at the halfway point gave me the chest-achey feeling I crave, and the explosion in their slow-burning lust was just delicious. This fizzled for me a bit at the end - the declarations and conflict resolution just felt a little too tidy? But a small quibble for a book I inhaled.

I did not expect this to give me Romance Feelings, and it did? This felt like This Is How You Lose the Time War except it isn't epistolary and it's only half as confusing and it's somehow even darker. Vo's writing is so evocative and lush and I love it - this is borderline purple prose but it feels fitting in this unsettling reflection on love and judgement and violence. This is entirely character-driven, as time stops and starts and flashes back fairly seamlessly to show us glimpses of the people our main character has loved through her too-long life. Vitrine, you absolutely ruthless, heartsick creature, I love you (but please don't love me back).

A few of my favorite quotes:

" 'Mine,' she said, and then she turned to shout it to the city in a voice that could be heard only by the dead, the listening, and the cats."

"Vitrine loved her city like demons and cats may love things, with an eye towards ownership and the threat of small mayhem."

"This is how you break yourself into a thousand pieces that are all equally wrong and unloved."

"The bitterness rose up in his voice like the taste of clove through sugar candy, something sharp and significant. She liked him best with it, because sugar alone was so dull and plain and because once you have mixed a drop of clove into a vat of sugar, nothing in the world could take it out."

"I love you so, I love you best," she whispered, nipping firmly at his ear. "I will walk in you, and I will care for you, and I will bring the whole world to rejoice in you."

This was such a fun read! I loved watching our starchy lord humbled repeatedly by a group of unabashedly chaotic women in STEM, and I loved seeing Lettie finally get her due. I also really appreciated the execution for our main conflict - and felt the character development for Lord Greycliff was particularly well done - and I only wished we didn't get such a tidy wrap-up on the ancillary conflicts. I don't love forgiving villainous families/friends when it's unnecessary for the plotline and entirely unearned by the perpetrator. Really looking forward to the third book in the series and enjoying my time with the ladies of Athena's Retreat.

I am overwrought by how much I loved this. A perfect conclusion to Las Leonas and an urgently needed book for today's readers. Aurora has existed on the sidelines in the previous two stories, a voice of reason and practicality for her two friends, and the moment she's front-and-center, we suddenly realize just how little we knew about her. Apollo, though, has always noticed her, and his immediate obsession with her is honestly just so fun for series readers, because we know how often these characters have either been at odds or set up as uncomfortable allies. These two are equally ferocious in how they love and care for other people, and because of this, their chemistry is a five-alarm-fire from page one. Aurora won't let anyone stop her from doing what she feels is just and right, and Apollo is going to unalive anyone who looks at her the wrong way - it's so dang satisfying to read. 

The conflicts at the heart of this are both incredibly relevant - as evidenced by Herrera's insightful and rage-inducing author's note - and really anxiety-inducing, so please note content warnings before proceeding. Most refreshing, though, in the depiction of our female main character and her work as a healthcare provider for women (providing a variety of services, including surgical work, abortions, etc.) is how accurately the trauma is positioned. Abortion is rarely dealt with on page in romance, and when it is, it's often shown as being a source of pain or trauma in a character's backstory. The trauma here lies not in abortion itself, but in the ways in which other people control access to care, delivery of care and outcomes of care. We see again and again how Aurora's work - and her own experiences - give people confidence, freedom and agency. Abortion is healthcare and abortion is a stepping stone to a happily-ever-after. Aurora's story highlights, too, how necessary access to abortion and other forms of reproductive healthcare are for women of color, who have more life-threatening restrictions on their bodies than white women - then and now. It is so well done, and I want to shout from rooftops that the best reproductive justice storylines I've read in romance are in HISTORICAL romance, because our authors are simply doing it better (ok, stepping down from HR soapbox). 

Herrera does such a beautiful job balancing some heavy conflicts, including serious childhood trauma resulting from abuse and abandonment, with a high-heat love story. And these declarations! A contender for all-time favorite declaration of love and fidelity. Just incomparable. 

I do think this one probably hits best after reading the previous two, though I think readers could drop in here if they really, desperately wanted to. But why miss out on Luz and Manuela if you don't have to! Can't recommend this series enough. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a complimentary advanced reader's copy.