erika_winters's reviews
26 reviews

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins

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adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I’ve heard so many wonderful things about Beverly Jenkins and I can understand the hype now. Although this book too me quite some time to get through (it’s more heavy on the historical part of the “historical romance”), I really enjoyed learning about the Wild West in the latter half of the 1800s, especially from the POV of the Black community post-Slavery.

Eddy Carmichael goes through a lot in this book—which is an understatement after you read this. She is strong, independent, resilient, talented, and determined. I loved how confident she is and is never easily swayed by those around her, except for Rhine Fontaine, who is immediately charming from the moment he finds Eddy in the desert. The complexity of his story pertains to passing as white, and that is something that doesn’t get discussed enough in history and fictional books, I feel. Jenkins’s decision to utilize something so socially complex made the story more interesting IMO. 

Overall, if you’re interested in a romance set in the Wild West with the backdrop of the gold rush happening, along with a layered discussion of racism and systemic oppression in the US as it tried to reshape itself differently after Slavery, I recommend this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed the small town of Virginia City, Nevada with all the many lovely and interesting townspeople (the ones who aren’t racist; albeit these folks are historically and socially accurate) you meet along the way who made the story feel more real and complete. 

Final thought: I wish it were more heavy on the romance element, but I understand what Jenkins was doing here (wanting to balance the historical placement of the story alongside the heated romance between Eddy & Rhine). Great character development throughout though and sets everything up for the next book quite well!
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Common Goal by Rachel Reid

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hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It was so lovely to see Eric and Kyle again! I really love Rachel Reid’s layered hockey universe where characters from the previous books come back around (my favorite character who always seems to pop up at all times is Ilya). It was nice to see Scott and Kip in a different light as they prepare for their wedding, and Eric and Kyle, side characters from the first book, were at the forefront of this one. Their romance seemed very real to me and the issue of an age gap brought with it the tension that I wanted as a reader. Another great conversation here is a hockey player coming to terms with his age and retiring from the sport he loves so much. There’s always bittersweet happiness for a player when he comes to this conclusion in his career, so I really felt for Eric as he grappled with what his life means without hockey and what his life would consist of off the ice. As always, very well done, Reid! 
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Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a fantastic enemies to lovers tale! This is probably the best version of that trope that I’ve read. Lyla Sage knows how to write heated rivals turned lovers; they all felt real to me. Even Meadowlark, the town in Wyoming where the story takes place, acted as another character in the story. I couldn’t read this book fast enough, and for me, that’s the sign of a great book. I wish I read the first two books before this one (the other two didn’t have plots I was interested in; I much prefer enemies to lovers any day of the week) because then I would’ve known the other characters mentioned, although Sage makes it easy to follow if you didn’t read the first two before this one. Loved this!
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The Never King by Nikki St. Crowe

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This was an interesting retelling of Peter Pan. I didn’t find the characters that lovable because of the gratuitous amounts of sex in this book (which sometimes places character development on the back burner). I wish that Winnie’s character had more depth other than having mommy issues and loving sex. That would’ve captured my attention more, I think. The character I found most interesting was Vane - like what’s his deal? I would love to find out more about his character specifically. Kas and Bash were also very mysterious, so I guess this book was shrouded in mystery, and I had more questions than answers by the end of it. This is possibly a wonderful technique to have me read the second book in the series, so I’ll give the author credit for keeping me guessing, but wish there was just more here. It was definitely lacking in some areas.
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Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

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challenging hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is the third book in Reid’s wonderful gay hockey romance series, and it very much felt different from the first two in the series. This isn’t a bad thing at all because I truly enjoyed this book! Ryan and Fabian share a tender love through care and understanding that truly warmed my heart. There was so much development with each character, and Reid poured her heart into Ryan’s character the most. Anxiety, stress, and depression are all very real things each and every one of us feels, including hockey players. Writing a character who suffers from severe anxiety and panic attacks represents a group in male sports that is hardly ever recognized or discussed. Hockey—sometimes representing all the toxicity that looms in male spaces—adds so much pressure to players, so to have players IRL discuss their experiences with mental illness and seeking help for it (by way of medication and/or seeing a therapist) is so vital, and representing that on the page through Ryan was so meaningful. Truly an impactful read—I’ll be thinking about this one for a good long while probably! As always, I would like to personally write my thanks to the master herself, Rachel Reid, for knowing puck and writing such masterful characters with big feelings. 
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Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was such an adorable rom-com! I really loved Luka and Stella so much, but wanted to shake sense into both of them to realize their love was standing right before them and should just verbalize their feelings to each other! That made it super realistic though, and added an extra layer to the narrative as they grapple with stepping into a relationship from being friends for nearly 10 years. I’m not usually interested in friends to lovers plots, but this book really made my heart sing for these two best friends to enter a romance relationship. Another aspect that I enjoyed were the side characters, who appear in their own books within this series, because of their charm and wit. I’m looking forward to reading their romance stories next! 
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Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

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adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book was a lot of fun! If you love giant blue aliens then you’ll love this! It also includes an interesting science fiction element (other than the aliens) by placing the story in a frozen tundra planet along with the mysteries of the land in which the women crash land on. I thought Georgie and Vektal were developed just the right amount for a smut book where it didn’t feel like bottomless sex all the way through; there was some character development along the edges that kept their relationship intriguing to me. I can’t wait to read the other books in this series!
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The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book has so many layers to it! You wouldn’t think that a Christmas rom-com would be complex and layered, but this one sure is! In a good way, of course.

I really loved Sara Raasch’s choice to write about social issues like
a mother abandoning her family, blackmail, and death of a sibling
to make the characters from different holidays be realistic and complex. Coal, Hex, Kris, and Iris all felt real to me; each one with a complex backstory that pulled me into the text to really care about them. 

This book will rip you apart and put you back together—creating little bits of joy one-by-one to create a foundation (iykyk). I can’t wait to read the second book with Kris as the narrator!
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Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rachel Reid has done it again! I really loved this enemies to lovers tale so very much that I’m still smiling after finishing it a few minutes ago! I liked this book more than the first one in the series (although events in the first book directly relate to how the characters feel and think in this one, so definitely read Game Changer first!) I absolutely loved Ilya and Shane. A bookseller (shoutout to Laynie-Rose from East City Bookshop) once posted about this book on social media and said that Ilya and Shane “invented romance,” and I think she was right in saying this.

Ilya and Shane might be my favorite fictional couple of all time because of their competitive battles with each other on and off the ice, along with their playful banter, all while trying to push away their feelings for each other—when they were most definitely there for a good portion of the hookups—for so long. Their romance was believable and slowly burned throughout every page, even if their sexual attraction was always there. I can’t wait to read the follow-up story involving these two characters (which is the sixth book in the series, so I have a few to tackle until I read about Ilya and Shane again). If you love hockey, and an author who really knows what she’s talking about when it comes to hockey, pick this book up! By far the best hockey romance I’ve read other than her other book (not in this series) called Time to Shine, which I HIGHLY recommend! 
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Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, what a sequel! TJ Klune does it again with this one. Although this book is thematically different from the first, both can be read as two sides of the same coin. Told from Arthur’s perspective this time around, we get to hear how he thinks and feels being the last phoenix on Earth, and what it has meant to him over the years to shoulder the weight of everyone’s trauma, including his own. The way this book handles trauma makes it special because it doesn’t provide a cure for it; but rather a way to live through it and piece yourself together from the trauma. Arthur has found his family and beloved, and has to learn how to combat the hateful people in the world beyond Marsyas Island—including the hateful Harriet Marblemaw inspecting the home and his behavior toward the children—while also allowing the children to find themselves in the world and learning from it themselves instead of having Arthur shelter them away from it. Overall, I thought the conversation around this, and the looming fear of the government (including one Jeanine Rowder, who is probably based on a certain bigoted author of a popular fantasy series) taking the children away from Arthur and Linus. I cried 5 or 6 times from pure joy and from the emotional speeches shared between Arthur and Linus, so be prepared for tears here! This is now up there in my favorite books, along with the first book. Impeccable series (and I hope more is to come!)
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