willaful

#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed The Art of Scandal by Regina Black, an older woman/young man romance about a Black woman who gave up her art and interests to help her white politician husband, and has to rediscover herself. The milieu is wealthy socialite families, but the characters are strong and relatable. Lovely writing, though it's a bit claustrophobic how every single character has history with everyone else; I'm surprised her next book isn't a sequel.

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"men always supposed their feelings were much too complicated for any one to understand them."

#WhatchaReading ? I finished But Not For Me, an oldie by Mary Burchell. It seemed derivative at first, managing to evoke both Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre in the first 15%. And I thought the heroine fell in love without enough build up . But I liked that it had one of Burchell's emotional and volatile heroes; rather than a closed book.

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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed Come As You Are by Jess K. Hardy, a romance with middle-aged characters! (Though still in great shape.) FMC is trying to save her father's ski hill, which her evil corporate ex is trying to buy out (boo!); MMC is a former addict who runs a sober living home and wants his guys to work for her. I liked how hard they work on overcoming their fears and communicating.

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Anyone managing to read? If so, #WhatchaReading ? After many a yawning DNF, I was so relieved to be engaged by New Adult romance A Guy Like Him by Amanda Gambill. (On KU.) Could've used some editing, especially for authorial tics, but the opposites-attract relationship is well drawn, and its progress from a fling to forever feels right.

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#WhatchaReading ? I enjoyed the dated charm of Across the Counter by Mary Burchell, where the up-and-coming shopgirl gets promoted and gets to eat in the assistant buyers dining room! Which begs the question, how many separate dining rooms did they have?! No huge fireworks, just a nice, slightly angsty fake engagement romance.

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#WhatchaReading ? I finished Bass-Ackwards by Eris Adderly, which would be an excellent choice for this month's "Bananapants" #TBRChallenge . (Alas, I already read a truly terrible Harlequin Presents.) This is very fun smut if you can get past the premise (not everyone can.) The strong characters and sharp writing also make it work as romance.

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Came across an odd sentence in the Harlequin Presents I'm reading for the #TBRChallenge . It says the heroine's dress makes her look "very feminine, but hid none of her curves."

Might just be a careless way of writing but it implies that the "femininity" of the dress comes from an air of modesty and that demonstrating you have curves is generally considered unfeminine. Unless you do it just right.

Weird.

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#WhatchaReading ? I'm halfway through Behind These Doors, a queer historical (with some polyamory) involving class issues and women's suffrage. One main character is a "nob," the other a reporter who was raised "above his station" and feels like neither fish nor fowl. It was edited by K.J. Charles so you know it's good. :-)

On KU, supposed to be part of a series but I think there's only the one so far.

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#WhatchaReading ? I found Level Up by Cathy Yardley a bit of a slog. She's reworked some of the same themes (career vs love, introversion vs isolation) in later books more successfully, and the geeky elements feel more authentic in her later books too, IMO. (Though perhaps that's just because game design isn't my thing.) Also needed some editing. Not sure I'll continue this series.

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#WhatchaReading ? I read The Wedding Dress by Mary Burchell, one of the follow-ups to Under the Stars of Paris and inevitably a bit meh in comparison. The great design house setting is fun but the romantic relationship seems largely based on Daddy Issues.

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Ooo, I saw Alexis Hall's newsletter just in time to buy the new edition of Glitterland for $1.99. Sadly the sale expires in 50 minutes, so sorry I was not more on top of things.

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#WhatchaReading ? I liked Funny Story by Emily Henry enough to write a review, damn! 😂

https://willaful.wordpress.com/2024/05/22/funny-story-by-emily-henry/

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