Re-reads. HUH* Naked in Death and
Glory in Death (Books 1 and 2 of the In Death series, mystery/thriller romance) by J.D. Robb - Eve Dallas is a homicide detective in 2058. She tends to get assigned to v. complicated and often violent cases. Her life turns upside down when she crosses path with Roarke, a billionaire with a dark past . . .
I'd read these first two books in an ongoing series (there are 60-odd books so far) 7 or 8 yrs ago based on a YouTuber's rec. OTOH, I legit DON'T vibe with Nora Roberts' other books. OTOH, these books are well-written and structured in a way that make them engaging reads. Yes, these novels (hell, the entire series even!) are 100% copaganda in the sense that Eve is one of the main POVs AND she's v. "cops know what to do cuz they're there to protect ppl, etc". I had to actively choose to ignore those "rah-rah to cops" bits when I first picked up these novels years ago and I had to do that all over again this time around.
Part of what I liked was the idea of a future (that's way closer now vs. when the books were first published in the mid-1990s!) and seeing how much it resembles our world when compared to the books' 'verse. I do like Eve as a character as well as Roarke. And the two of them together have fantastic banter & snark with an underlying sense of romantic feelings from both. And so, a hook (for me, at least) is seeing how their relationship will develop throughout the series.
THAT SAID, these novels have v. violent scenes. Especially when it comes to the villains' ultra-misogynistic opinions on women (oof!). The sex scenes between Eve and Roarke are V. CHEESY in a way that made me giggle?
Additionally, there's an ongoing part that made me 😳 and 😬 the first time I read these books. I didn't see ANYONE warn for this specific thing:: Eve is a CSA incest survivor. Each book (so far, I've only read 2) have scenes where she'll have flashbacks to her abuse. The scenes are presented in a way that readers can see them approaching and can skip them. FWIW, the focus of the scenes have to do with Eve's hurt abt being abused. She has moments of PTSD abt it and (to date) has avoided getting any kind of therapy to help her further.
My main complaint abt both books is that the villains are v. easy to suss out. I'd forgotten a lot of the actual plot, but as soon as certain characters popped up, I remembered they were the murderers, IJS. I'm in no particular hurry to catch up with the series, so I'm guesstimating I'll read a new book every few months. We'll see. I gave both books a
3 out of 5.I DNF'd* Double the D (Capricorn Cove #2, M/M/F contemporary romance) by Evie Mitchell - Blue is a nurse who lives in a small town. She's had feelings for Drake and Dane, two best friends who left the town when they enlisted in the marines at 18 y.o. A decade later, they've returned with the intention of getting in a relationship with Blue.
This is an 86-page novella by an author whose books I've liked before. It's part of a series where the women are unapologetically fat and desirable. I was game for an M/M/F. Good times, right?
WRONG!
The writing was poor. Also, the two guys were v. interchangeable--something that wasn't helped by their names both starting with D.
ANYHOO, I started to give this novella the evil eye from thhe v. first paragraph:
"Dane Butler and Drake Andrew were more like brothers than tangential foster kids who happened to inhabit the same group home."
Something abt that specific line made me go "HUH".
Additional context: the group home was run by Blue's own parents. So all three met when they were all teenagers. One night, Blue sees Dane and Drake getting it on. Shortly after, they turn 18 and leave for the marines.
Later, in Chapter 3 (which is from Blue's POV), she's freaking out cuz she's staying over at Dane and Drake's house due to "plot" reasons (don't ask me abt the plot. There's none.) She's unable to fall asleep cuz her mind wanders to the past:
"My parents had taken in kids no one wanted. Pregnant teens with screaming babies, damaged children from broken homes, teens with eyes too old and burning anger at the world. All types had passed through our doors. I had one blood sister and one blood brother, but hundreds of siblings by association.
Drake and Dane were the "siblings" I'd ever wanted to sleep with."
Me at all of this 🙄🙄🙄. Listen, I get it's not a big deal to some, but I don't like ANY kind of incest (including the pseudo kind such as between foster siblings, former or not.) I got squicked super fast and had to return this novella to the library. I'm V. AWARE that other ppl mighteven like that additional layer of ~taboo. More power to y'all.
I gave this novella
1 star out of 5.* The Wolf and the Crown of Blood (The Broken Accords #1, M/F dark romantasy) by Elizabeth May - Bryony is a princess whose mission in life is to get sacrificed every month as part of a ritual that will keep a promise between humans and gods. One day, the god-king decides to undo her "curse" and send his top assassin, a.k.a Evander, a.k.a. the Wolf, to kill Bryony for defying the god-king or whatever.
Evander and Bryony are V. HOT FOR EACH OTHER, THO. WHATEVER WILL THEY DO????
OK, so let me not be super bitchy and give this novel the kudos it deserves. The worldbuilding is robust. I also noticed how the author was weaving the idea of religion (and its extremes) + society + whatever hot times were gonna happen between Bryony and Evander (there are Trigger/Content warnings at the beginning of the book.) Also, dunno if she got a better editor or what, but the writing had improved from the last two books of hers I'd attempted to read.
THAT SAID, for all of the DRAMARAMA and (promised) sexy times, I legit didn't care abt anything going on. I didn't dislike either MC, but I wasn't feeling drawn to the story. When I saw I had some 480-odd pages to go, I chose to return this book to the library after having read only the first 10% or so. Clearly this author is simply NOT for me. And that's fine! I gave this book a
2 out of 5. Had an awesome time at first (but it all went downhill from there).* Every Body Yoga. Let Go of Fear. Get On the Mat. Love Your Body (Nonfiction) by Jessamyn Stanley - A how-to and general book on yoga by a person who has been v. vocal abt the need for inclusivity (in terms of race and body sizes) in yoga spaces.
I bought this book around 8 yrs ago, but didn't get around to reading it until this year. It's split into three sections: the first one covers the general history of yoga + different types of yoga + how in-person classes go + Jessamyn's own history with yoga. The second section is abt the most common positions most practitioners will do at some point or another (these feature detailed instructions and have photos.) The last part has a few sequences with different goals.
NGL, I did liked reading abt Jessamyn and how they have had to deal with being fat and Black in a space that, at least in the West, tends to glorify thin and white bodies. Their candor abt having to push past their own shyness/awkwardness/discomfort will feel v. familiar to many ppl who, again, might not fit the thin and/or white descriptions.
OTOH, I was v. disappointed that there weren't any tips or modifications for any of the poses. Especially cuz I'd taken many of Jessamyn's online classes and was v. familiar with how many suggestions they give while teaching. Instead, all of the instructions were painfully standard.
In the end, I didn't feel like I learned anything new (FTR, I've been practicing yoga for 20-odd years), but I can see how this would be a good book for newbies to check out. I gave this book a
2.3 out of 5.* Fat Off, Fat On (Memoir) by Clarkisha Kent -
A v. intense book (in terms of the themes the author writes abt) that, unfortch, didn't work for me.
FTR, I have followed the author since she was on Twitter many years ago. I've learned a lot through her posts on a myriad of issues. So, I have to admit that my expectations for her memoir were higher-than-normal.
I finished it cuz I'd waited to read it for so long, IDK. As memoirs go, this was a disappointment. Though that was the result of what I thought the book was gonna be like vs. what the author decided to write about. Mood wise, this book was mostly a downer, IDK. Personally, the humor was a BIG MISS for *me*. I gave this book a
2.1 out of 5It was . . . fine?The Governess Affair (Book 0.5 of The Brothers Sinister series, Historical romance) by Courtney Milan - Serena was let go of her position. She's decided she'll get compensation from a duke (her now-former employer) one way or another. Hugo, mostly known as the Wolf of Cleremont, is sent by his employer (the duke) to deal with Serena...
I picked this book from my TBR (where it'd been for a decade or so?) cuz I wanted something good to read. Really liked the MCs together and separately. I also appreciated that the obstacles felt real (tho some aspects of how the MCs overcame them were a bit handwave-y.) The writing was excellent as expected from any Courtney Milan book.
HOWEVAH, there was a LOT of plot AND themes packed into something that was barely over 100 pages long! The romance went into "I Love Youuuu!" territory too fast,but whatevs.
Please be warned that Serena is an SA survivor and that there are a couple of scenes in which she has non-graphic flashbacks to the assault. It didn't make me feel skittish, but I figured a heads up is welcomed. I gave this novella a
3 out of 5 and do plan to continue the series.
Good vibes all around * Beast Business (Book 6.5 of Hidden Legacy series, Urban fantasy romance) by Ilona Andrews - Augustine is one of most powerful illusion Primes around. He's known for being aloof and practical. One day, he gets hired by Diana, an animal mage Prime, who needs his help in rescuing something that was taken from her home. Unlike Augustine, Diana is all instinct and heightened emotions. The two team up on a mission against one of the most dangerous ppl in the world . . .
Augustine has been one of those Hidden Legacy characters I've kept an eye on even if I haven't found him AS fascinating as other characters in the books. Leave it to IA to make me question my earlier aloofness, LOL. I thoroughly enjoyed this deep dive into who Augustine is, his backstory, and the true extent of his power. Out of the two POVs, I enjoyed his the most. If only cuz he sounded so flustered despite keeping a cool facade.
That's not to say that I disliked Diana or her POV. It was more of thinking she was a neat foil. She was chaotic and (pun intended) wild to Augustine's calculating and manipulative persona. Oh, and the plot was solid too!
What actually got me to give this novella a 👍🏾, tho, were the short stories at the end of the book. Some of them filled in the gaps regarding certain events in the main story (I've got the feeling this might not make much sense unless you've read this book, but there we are. 😜).
Seeing things from Arabella's POV was v, v. cool. The Matilda story was a good way to wrap the main story up--with just a smidgen of bittersweetness to balance everything out.
Heck, I even liked the two interviews at the v. end. Neat xover with Innkeeper Chronicles too!
One of the things that DIDN'T work for me was the "romance". This is the one (1) area where the format's limitations worked against the story.
It's not that I questioned Augustine/Diana (eventually) becoming a couple. My problem was that it turned to be insta-love for two characters who are extremely cautious/wary by nature. Whenever the story veered into the "OMG, I'm so attracted to her/him" and musing abt their romance/wanting to keep touching each other/getting turned on by something the other character had done (usually something violent cuz why not?), I sighed cuz rushing a romance is a pet peeve of mine.
The INTENSITY of Augustine and Diana's feelings was borderline ridiculous! Their one saving grace was they'd known each other for a number of years. I'm not outright discarding them as a couple, but I wish there had been a bit more subtlety in terms of their attraction to each other. At times, Augustine would sound kinda OOC whenever he waxed poetic abt Diana.
ANOTHER thing I'm ambivalent abt was the story of the birth of Nevada and Connor's baby. OTOH, I liked seeing how lively things got at the hospital (including all of the precautions) balanced out with some tedious moments. OTOH, the one thing I feel extremely meh abt when it comes to IA books is seeing the MCs get married and (almost immediately) have kids. *Hands*
In the end, I gave this novella (and the short stories) a
3 out of 5.Current fic tallyHave picked up 53, DNF'd 25. NOT terribs, so I'm not stressing. (Though I gotta admit that February turned out to be a HORRIBLE MONTH for various reasons and so I ended up reading way less fic than usual.)
Some thoughtsAn uneven start to the year. Whenever I wasn't frustrated by something I picked up, I ended up feeling disappointed. Until the last two books, that is. However, none of the negatives led me into a reading slump--which is something that's happened before--so small mercies and all that!
I'm optimistic vis a vis my reading for the rest of 2026. ;D
Up nextAn F/F Second Chances romance, an M/M mystery, a historical M/F romance, and the first (?) book in a sci-fi series. 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾
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