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chloe_liese's reviews
232 reviews
Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher
5.0
Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for this complimentary copy! All opinions are my own.
Marin's been living a safe & small life. After losing her mother at a young age and growing up overnight to be her wild-child younger sister's stand-in parental figure, Marin's all but forgotten how to take risks, live for her happiness, and pursue her dreams.
The subplot of this story is honestly heartbreaking. As Marin realizes who she's about to lose in her life, this story's pace accelerates brilliantly, a reflection of the desperation anyone who's lost a loved one to terminal illness will recognize: as if time is sand slipping through your fingers, as if there will never be enough hours to share and say and feel everything you need to.
The romantic element of this story is gentle and reflective. There's an old flame who shows up and a new man who could be Marin's future. By the end of this story, Marin—true to this genre which is (women's) fiction first and foremost—beautifully chooses herself. And in her choice to live bravely, boldly, authentically, she finds her heart's choice revealed.
Content Warnings: grief, loss of a parent (off-page), loss of immediate family to terminal illness (cancer, end of life days on-page and in detail).
Marin's been living a safe & small life. After losing her mother at a young age and growing up overnight to be her wild-child younger sister's stand-in parental figure, Marin's all but forgotten how to take risks, live for her happiness, and pursue her dreams.
The subplot of this story is honestly heartbreaking. As Marin realizes who she's about to lose in her life, this story's pace accelerates brilliantly, a reflection of the desperation anyone who's lost a loved one to terminal illness will recognize: as if time is sand slipping through your fingers, as if there will never be enough hours to share and say and feel everything you need to.
The romantic element of this story is gentle and reflective. There's an old flame who shows up and a new man who could be Marin's future. By the end of this story, Marin—true to this genre which is (women's) fiction first and foremost—beautifully chooses herself. And in her choice to live bravely, boldly, authentically, she finds her heart's choice revealed.
Content Warnings: grief, loss of a parent (off-page), loss of immediate family to terminal illness (cancer, end of life days on-page and in detail).
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
5.0
Thank you to Berkley Romance for the advance review copy. All opinions are my own!
Wow! What an adventure. India's creativity and imaginative storytelling made for a deliciously piratical, fantastical romp. It wasn't just set in the Victorian era, it *felt* Victorian. It had so many Victorian easter eggs that my Vic-Lit loving heart leaped with joy to see and my unpracticed brain sighed wistfully for, knowing I was too long out of the lecture room to catch them all. This was stunningly smart and clever, with Wildean wit bearing sucker-punch social commentary in sparkling, drolly delivered lines. Complimented with Gilbert and Sullivanesque theatrical action, absurdity, and playfulness, this was truly such fun. If you're looking for something as brilliantly outside the box as it is seductively smart and swoony, The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is for you!
Wow! What an adventure. India's creativity and imaginative storytelling made for a deliciously piratical, fantastical romp. It wasn't just set in the Victorian era, it *felt* Victorian. It had so many Victorian easter eggs that my Vic-Lit loving heart leaped with joy to see and my unpracticed brain sighed wistfully for, knowing I was too long out of the lecture room to catch them all. This was stunningly smart and clever, with Wildean wit bearing sucker-punch social commentary in sparkling, drolly delivered lines. Complimented with Gilbert and Sullivanesque theatrical action, absurdity, and playfulness, this was truly such fun. If you're looking for something as brilliantly outside the box as it is seductively smart and swoony, The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is for you!
Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle
5.0
Thank you to Putnam and Sarah Hogle for the advance review copy. All opinions are my own!
Every page was pure magic. Sarah Hogle once again wove an original story that drew me in and didn't let me go until "THE END".
As with You Deserve Each Other, Sarah's voice leaps off the page and her storytelling hits the ground running, hooking you right way. Her writing is so deliciously sharp, voicey, and inventive, and her characters are a joy to read. Her obvious talent aside, it’s the incredible tenderness infused in TWICE SHY that has absolutely stolen my heart.
Maybell and Wesley are your classic sunshine and grump, thrown together by unusual circumstances (*angels sing* we have forced proximity, folks!!) and while Maybell and Wesley’s journey could not be more different from Nicholas and Noami’s in her debut, Sarah’s pitch-perfect humor, her nuanced portrayals of human vulnerability, and her deft work of unfurling layers of characterization are brilliant as ever.
Maybell and Wesley haven't had the easiest time of finding their place in the wider world, but Sarah's gift—both to her characters and to her readers—is the world she makes possible: a world that Maybell and Wesley discover as they discover each other, through imagination, vulnerability, and ultimately, trust.
CW: acute social anxiety, mentions of parental abandonment and neglect.
Every page was pure magic. Sarah Hogle once again wove an original story that drew me in and didn't let me go until "THE END".
As with You Deserve Each Other, Sarah's voice leaps off the page and her storytelling hits the ground running, hooking you right way. Her writing is so deliciously sharp, voicey, and inventive, and her characters are a joy to read. Her obvious talent aside, it’s the incredible tenderness infused in TWICE SHY that has absolutely stolen my heart.
Maybell and Wesley are your classic sunshine and grump, thrown together by unusual circumstances (*angels sing* we have forced proximity, folks!!) and while Maybell and Wesley’s journey could not be more different from Nicholas and Noami’s in her debut, Sarah’s pitch-perfect humor, her nuanced portrayals of human vulnerability, and her deft work of unfurling layers of characterization are brilliant as ever.
Maybell and Wesley haven't had the easiest time of finding their place in the wider world, but Sarah's gift—both to her characters and to her readers—is the world she makes possible: a world that Maybell and Wesley discover as they discover each other, through imagination, vulnerability, and ultimately, trust.
CW: acute social anxiety, mentions of parental abandonment and neglect.
Devil in Spring by Lisa Kleypas
5.0
This one is very explicitly feminist & deliciously swoony. The waltzing scene is honestly the pinnacle of the book for me and perfectly encapsulates their relationship.
I think part of why I love Devil in Spring is because of how fully Gabriel and Pandora learn to compromise on the parts of themselves that don’t most deeply serve their growth and joy while preserving the best and most fundamental parts of who they are. I love the cameos from Evie and Sebastian SO much—they make this book shine. Also, honorable mention goes to Pandora’s fabulous penchant for making up words that made me laugh and wish they actually existed.
Is this as wildly romantic as some of Kleypas’ other books? I wouldn’t say so, no, buuuut it is nuanced and witty and tells its story very well. Definitely an enjoyable reread after my reread of Evie and Sebastian’s whirlwind romance of Devil Winter.
I think part of why I love Devil in Spring is because of how fully Gabriel and Pandora learn to compromise on the parts of themselves that don’t most deeply serve their growth and joy while preserving the best and most fundamental parts of who they are. I love the cameos from Evie and Sebastian SO much—they make this book shine. Also, honorable mention goes to Pandora’s fabulous penchant for making up words that made me laugh and wish they actually existed.
Is this as wildly romantic as some of Kleypas’ other books? I wouldn’t say so, no, buuuut it is nuanced and witty and tells its story very well. Definitely an enjoyable reread after my reread of Evie and Sebastian’s whirlwind romance of Devil Winter.
Darling Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt
This was a delightful escape! I enjoyed the chemistry between Apollo and Lily, as well as the adorable kid-with-his-pup antics (also the realism of their behavior aka propensity for mischief). The suspenseful element of this story was compelling without overwhelming the romance, and I found the story to be well paced. I read it in a day, felt invested in the characters, and was glad to see them get their happy ending.
Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
5.0
Well, I started off just browsing the first few pages...and ended up rereading the whole damn book, so that probably tells you all you need to know. There is something so delightfully clever in this story that sets it apart from the other Wallflower books (all of which I don't particularly love and which bear a degree of problematic, dated portrayals of [generally glaring lack of] consent, as well as downright bleak manipulation under the guise of love and desire). How deliciously, ironically satisfying that the book in this series that is arguably the most overtly *not* about love and that embraces a cold-blooded strategic marriage of convenience, turns out to be the most powerful, transformative, and starkly loving romantic relationship.
Evie is a wallflower with a hidden temper and fiery spirit. Sebastian Lord St. Vincent is the most notoriously womanizing of rakes. Together they recognize their mutually dire circumstances and embark on a harrowing straight shot to Gretna Green. What unfolds is a marriage of convenience that inconveniently becomes very much full of love, first of course, unbeknownst to both of them. Tack on Evie's empowering journey to demanding a celibacy test of the man who lives and breathes sexuality and Sebastien's humanizing, healing growth into someone who stops running from his vulnerability and finds its home in his wife, and this is truly a master text in romantic character growth, dramatic irony, swooniest use of tropes (it's only a marriage of convenience and we'll never fall in love *ahuh, sure*, we'll only sleep together and won't want to bang again *wink*, sickbed scene with the proud and aloof wounded man nursed to health *sigh*, the wallflower finds her inner vixen *hell yeah*, and the coldhearted rake's heart thaws to a puddle of unwavering fidelity to his wife *angels sing*).
Evie is quietly delightful and a truly enjoyable heroine, but the true star of this book for me is St. Vincent. From his sardonic quips to his self-deprecating humor, the Mercutioesque self-despair and bleak cynicism, his transformation is divine. There's a reason he's one of HistRom's most well-loved morally ambiguous heroes, and I know even though this is already a reread, I'll be coming back for more of the Devil (in Winter) once again.
Evie is a wallflower with a hidden temper and fiery spirit. Sebastian Lord St. Vincent is the most notoriously womanizing of rakes. Together they recognize their mutually dire circumstances and embark on a harrowing straight shot to Gretna Green. What unfolds is a marriage of convenience that inconveniently becomes very much full of love, first of course, unbeknownst to both of them. Tack on Evie's empowering journey to demanding a celibacy test of the man who lives and breathes sexuality and Sebastien's humanizing, healing growth into someone who stops running from his vulnerability and finds its home in his wife, and this is truly a master text in romantic character growth, dramatic irony, swooniest use of tropes (it's only a marriage of convenience and we'll never fall in love *ahuh, sure*, we'll only sleep together and won't want to bang again *wink*, sickbed scene with the proud and aloof wounded man nursed to health *sigh*, the wallflower finds her inner vixen *hell yeah*, and the coldhearted rake's heart thaws to a puddle of unwavering fidelity to his wife *angels sing*).
Evie is quietly delightful and a truly enjoyable heroine, but the true star of this book for me is St. Vincent. From his sardonic quips to his self-deprecating humor, the Mercutioesque self-despair and bleak cynicism, his transformation is divine. There's a reason he's one of HistRom's most well-loved morally ambiguous heroes, and I know even though this is already a reread, I'll be coming back for more of the Devil (in Winter) once again.
The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard
5.0
Well. WELL. This hooked me and didn't let me go. Just dragged me right in, made me park my butt, abandon all duties, and read straight through. I haven't honestly been this absorbed in a story since I fell down the Tessa Dare rabbit hole. There is something incredibly readable about Amalie Howard's writing (at least in this book—this is my first of hers!).
That said, while it sucked me in a la Tessa Dare, it isn't Historical RomCom, and it wasn't really anything I wasn't expecting (a classic Beauty & The Beast retelling). Grumpy AF scarred reclusive man. Determined, fierce, no-bullshit woman. Clashing mutually dominant personalities. He doesn't feel worthy of her. She's afraid to give him her guarded heart. It's a tale as old as time (see what I did there?) and to me that this highly familiar story kept my attention so thoroughly is testimony to Howard's storytelling. She hooked me with a predictable narrative and didn't let me go until "The End."
Not only was this highly readable and well-paced, it was SEXY. There is a lot of lustiness (and straight up sex) in this book, and while I love to read it, I really want intimacy to propel the narrative and develop the characters/their romantic arc, and usually when *that* much fun stuff is happening, it stops achieving that after a while. HOWEVER. This book, every single sexy scene was 1) unique, 2) developed the story 3) developed the characters/their relationship arc and 4) WAS REALLY DAMN SEXY.
Are you picking up a theme here? It was sexy. It was hot. And I. Was. Here. For. It.
In short, if you want a historical romance that is absorbing, readable, well-paced, and smoking hot sexy, I highly recommend!
That said, while it sucked me in a la Tessa Dare, it isn't Historical RomCom, and it wasn't really anything I wasn't expecting (a classic Beauty & The Beast retelling). Grumpy AF scarred reclusive man. Determined, fierce, no-bullshit woman. Clashing mutually dominant personalities. He doesn't feel worthy of her. She's afraid to give him her guarded heart. It's a tale as old as time (see what I did there?) and to me that this highly familiar story kept my attention so thoroughly is testimony to Howard's storytelling. She hooked me with a predictable narrative and didn't let me go until "The End."
Not only was this highly readable and well-paced, it was SEXY. There is a lot of lustiness (and straight up sex) in this book, and while I love to read it, I really want intimacy to propel the narrative and develop the characters/their romantic arc, and usually when *that* much fun stuff is happening, it stops achieving that after a while. HOWEVER. This book, every single sexy scene was 1) unique, 2) developed the story 3) developed the characters/their relationship arc and 4) WAS REALLY DAMN SEXY.
Are you picking up a theme here? It was sexy. It was hot. And I. Was. Here. For. It.
In short, if you want a historical romance that is absorbing, readable, well-paced, and smoking hot sexy, I highly recommend!
A Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long
5.0
PHEW. This one was dripping with sexual tension and I was here for it. This felt most removed from the other stories in JAL’s Pennyroyal Green series, since it focuses on the town vicar, Adam (an Eversea cousin), and the new (scandalous) woman in town, Eve. Yes, they’re named Adam and Eve. He’s a vicar, she’s a Mary Magdalene. While I’m not a big fan of religion-heavy romances (it tends to dredge up issues and triggers from my own experience with organized religion, which pulls me out of the story), this wasn’t preachy or heavy-handed—it was so classically Julie Anne Long character-driven good, I was sucked right in.
Adam is very much who people need him to be—good, consistent, compassionate, controlled—and Eve has learned to act the roles that bought her struggling family the financial security they desperately needed, at a cost to her reputation of course. Nobody sees the real them, until their relationship starts off with Eve sleeping through Adam’s sermon and then Adam shortly after unexpectedly catching Eve off-guard and seeing much more of her than she lets anyone else know. In each other, Adam and Eve find the first person they’ve been their authentic selves with in much too long; throw in a sizzling dose of steamy chemistry, top notch banter, and a waltz scene that had me white knuckling my kindle, and this slow burn romance had me hooooked.
If you enjoy historical romances focused on non-nobility, about underdog heroines, sexy good-guys, light themes of religious hypocrisy/lessons learned, and seriously hotttt sexual tension, this is a gem you don’t want to miss.
Adam is very much who people need him to be—good, consistent, compassionate, controlled—and Eve has learned to act the roles that bought her struggling family the financial security they desperately needed, at a cost to her reputation of course. Nobody sees the real them, until their relationship starts off with Eve sleeping through Adam’s sermon and then Adam shortly after unexpectedly catching Eve off-guard and seeing much more of her than she lets anyone else know. In each other, Adam and Eve find the first person they’ve been their authentic selves with in much too long; throw in a sizzling dose of steamy chemistry, top notch banter, and a waltz scene that had me white knuckling my kindle, and this slow burn romance had me hooooked.
If you enjoy historical romances focused on non-nobility, about underdog heroines, sexy good-guys, light themes of religious hypocrisy/lessons learned, and seriously hotttt sexual tension, this is a gem you don’t want to miss.
The Legend of Lyon Redmond by Julie Anne Long
5.0
So many feelings!! It’s bittersweet to read the end of this series but it was a deliciously angsty, exciting, emotional journey. Seeing Olivia and Lyon finally united and the very Capulet-Montague dynamic of the Eversea and Redmond families resolved with much less tragedy made my heart full.