Scan barcode
chloe_liese's reviews
232 reviews
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare
5.0
Grumpy wounded hero. Down on her luck, winsome heroine. Humor. Heat. Fanciful, original storyline and true character depth as well as growth. I loved this. One of my favorite Tessa Dares which—“doubt not”—will merit a reread.
Falling Into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath
5.0
This was simply an effortless, sexy, smart story. A well-constructed historical romance starring an empowered woman with a brain for numbers, a weariness of being courted for her dowery and not her person, not to mention she can throw a mean right hook; and a rake with a secret tender spot, a gift for photography and a frustration with dyscalculia, meaning managing his finances proves disastrous. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll end by saying I loved the family, friends, and the incredible chemistry between our leads. This was my first Lorraine Heath but it will not be my last!
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
5.0
“What you get out of being loved, it’s supposed to be worth the compromise. When it’s good, it makes you want to compromise.”
I’m a sucker for a fake relationship romance & the second book in the Brown Sisters series delivered, exploring the deep vulnerability of love while portraying the pressures of academia, recovery from acute grief & the odd yet sometimes pivotal role social media can play in our lives.
What I loved:
- Dani is bisexual, Black & has a beautiful, real, full body. While she’s confident in her appearance & intellect, she’s also secretly hurting & guarding her heart after seeing her relationships fail when they’re strained by her commitment to her work as a professor & researcher. She’s also the one who’s anti-relationships—that’s refreshing to see not being cast in the man.
- The banter: witty, sharp, sarcastic, the repartee between Dani & Zafir is delightfully laced with playful affection.
- Zafir wears his heart on his big burly sleeve. He loves reading romance & believes in happily ever after. He’s a Pakistani teddy bear of a man whose body isn't a Calvin Klein model’s, who wants to teach boys to emote & grow into men free of toxic masculinity.
- Representation: It's empowering & imperative that romance portrays all bodies as lovable, desirable & sexual. On this front, Talia inspires me & knocks it out of the park.
With her usual wit & sensitivity, Hibbert delves into heavy topics—grief, anxiety, panic episodes & toxic relationships, to name a few. I LOVE seeing this in romance. That said, I personally enjoyed the heaviness & humor balance *more* in GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN, which felt a bit funnier, a bit better at settling into the love & intimacy between its leads.
In short: I continue to be in awe of Talia’s writing. While this book’s tenor feels a smidge heavier than Chloe Brown, I still recommend it! lt’s snappy, bright, real & sexy. I'm looking forward to hearing about Eve & seeing where the last Brown Sister takes us.
Thank you to Avon & NetGalley for the early review copy—all opinions are my own!
I’m a sucker for a fake relationship romance & the second book in the Brown Sisters series delivered, exploring the deep vulnerability of love while portraying the pressures of academia, recovery from acute grief & the odd yet sometimes pivotal role social media can play in our lives.
What I loved:
- Dani is bisexual, Black & has a beautiful, real, full body. While she’s confident in her appearance & intellect, she’s also secretly hurting & guarding her heart after seeing her relationships fail when they’re strained by her commitment to her work as a professor & researcher. She’s also the one who’s anti-relationships—that’s refreshing to see not being cast in the man.
- The banter: witty, sharp, sarcastic, the repartee between Dani & Zafir is delightfully laced with playful affection.
- Zafir wears his heart on his big burly sleeve. He loves reading romance & believes in happily ever after. He’s a Pakistani teddy bear of a man whose body isn't a Calvin Klein model’s, who wants to teach boys to emote & grow into men free of toxic masculinity.
- Representation: It's empowering & imperative that romance portrays all bodies as lovable, desirable & sexual. On this front, Talia inspires me & knocks it out of the park.
With her usual wit & sensitivity, Hibbert delves into heavy topics—grief, anxiety, panic episodes & toxic relationships, to name a few. I LOVE seeing this in romance. That said, I personally enjoyed the heaviness & humor balance *more* in GET A LIFE, CHLOE BROWN, which felt a bit funnier, a bit better at settling into the love & intimacy between its leads.
In short: I continue to be in awe of Talia’s writing. While this book’s tenor feels a smidge heavier than Chloe Brown, I still recommend it! lt’s snappy, bright, real & sexy. I'm looking forward to hearing about Eve & seeing where the last Brown Sister takes us.
Thank you to Avon & NetGalley for the early review copy—all opinions are my own!
Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen Hayes
5.0
Short. Sweet. To the point. An incredible resource for romance authors who want to tighten pacing, streamline plot, and strengthen the structure and flow of their romance novel. I love that this is highly accessible to plotters, pantsers, and plantsers, because you can truly use this and the accompanying beat sheet at any point as a quality check and metric for editing, revising, and developing your craft.
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo
5.0
Admittedly this has been a heavy year and an entire book enumerating the pervasive, systemic nature of white supremacist patriarchy wasn’t always easy to stay in—this is not a reflection of the book in any negative way; in fact it points to how effective and thorough it is. This book points to so many ways our culture is set up for white male success not as a meritocracy but as a rigged system that does a disservice to all. I’m not sure how many guys comfortable in the system will want to read this but I hope they do, and I hope those who don’t understand how embedded white patriarchy is in our social psyche will read it, too.