katiedermody's reviews
1980 reviews

Structural Support by Sloan Spencer

This second part of the duet was good too, starting with the throuple working through a crisis together and learning how to support one another best. There's on page therapy and one character really digging into their mental health and grief. There's an adopted character dealing with family tension and stress when he expressed the desire to connect with his Korean background. There's the lawsuit and court case we learned about in the last one that sets up what I knew of these people in the next series. There's a lot more kinky, sexy stuff. And my fave part, there's flashback chapters where we slowly get the established couple's story from meeting to friends to lovers,  with queer awakening. I don't normally go for duets or series about the same people anymore (prefer interconnected standalones) but I didn't mind this at all because I really enjoyed their story. 

Structural Damage by Sloan Spencer

Okay as much as I'm not a huge fan of duologies, I'm glad I went back and read this! We met Cora, Jay, and Marco in the rugby series as side characters and it was clear they were settled and happy within their throuple but there was story to how they got there. Book one was good, very sexy (and kinky, read the TWs) and interesting as Cora and Jay have their first connection right off why top and when they meet again years later he's dating Marco, who she's also attracted to. It's supposed to be a one time thing but then is more. Marco has PTSD and recognizes it in Cora by the end of this one, which did end on a bit of a cliffhanger in regards to her situation. Somehow it hasn't felt long even thought it was 300+ pages and they still have another book's worth of story. 
•Korean rep (adopted by a white family)
•fat rep
•PTSD rep
•queer rep

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

This book was so lovely! I am a fan of the Lovelight series and have been looking forward to this ever since I learned she'd be writing her next series inspired by 90s romcoms. This one is Sleepless in Seattle with the roles switches and pulling in the radio show host instead of another listener. Lucie is a single mom to a twelve year old girl who calls in to Aiden's romance show trying to find her mom love. He's been struggling with whether he believes in love at all, which makes his job harder until their conversation sparks something in him. Then the clip of Lucie explaining that she wants the magic of an easy relationship where she doesn't have to try so hard to feel valued and loved goes viral. She ends up coming to co-host the show for a while as they try to find her love, but they fall in love with each other instead. They are bantery and sweet, push each other's buttons, have an instant attraction (that they eventually give in to), and their chemistry is clear to everyone in Baltimore who listens, even if they don't see it themselves at first. But my favorite part is that Lucie is content in her life before this all starts because of all the other types of love she's surrounded by. She has her wise beyond her years kid; her kid's dad who is her platonic soulmate and lives next door with his lovely husband; her best friend who runs a bookstore and cafe across the street; and a family-like camaraderie with the guys she works with at the autoshop. Then her kid points out that just because you're not alone doesn't mean you can't get lonely, and I think that's a beautifully true statement. You can be happy, not feel like you're necessarily missing something or incomplete without a partner, but still wish for that companionship and love. This story felt soft and swoony, with comedy and heart, like the best romcoms in the 90s that they just don't make anymore, and now I want to watch Sleepless for the first time in years while I wait for the next book about the station's weatherman and Aiden's best friend, Jackson, to come out a year from now. 

Every Move You Make by Sloan Spencer

This book had a different vibe than the first one in some ways but it worked for the characters. This time we have Angie's brother Isaiah as one of the MMCs, in love with his friend Robyn for years but staying in the background watching and protecting her, biding his time. She's a pro rugby player who isn't sure why he's been ignoring her but that comes to a head when he's injured and can no longer play himself, and becomes her team's new head coach. The other issue? They both are into their personal trainer, Dell. Good thing he's also into both of them and willing to put in the work to bring all three of them together. I appreciated the inclusion of a demisexual character who experiences a "later in life" sexual debut. I also thought that one character having a past in sex work and wasn't ashames but also was concerned about how it would affect her image tied to him was very interesting. The element of "it was basically stalking" wasn't something I usually appreciate in a romance (no dark romance for me, thanks) but there was more protectiveness than obsessiveness (it's there too, just less) which made it feel a bit less creepy in some ways, and the way the stalked character reacted about it helped me accept it as well. The spice was spicing again but not as kinky in the same way as the first book. Now that I know their brother Jonah gets the next book, I have no idea what to expect because I can see Dane's story coming a mile away but other than Jonah being flightly and irresponsible I have no idea who his love interest(s) will be or what to expect. 

Every Version of You by Sloan Spencer

Okay I REALLY liked this! I have been interested in the second book since I saw it but once I started that one I got only a chapter in and knew I wanted to go back and read this one since the characters are all so closely connected (family, found family, etc.). Sticking in my sports romance era, this MMC plays rugby and I actually feel like I learned a little about it. I loved their best friends to accidental pregnancy to roommates to FWB to lovers story. It had the right amount of pining, denial, angst. There is excellent fat rep in this book, as well as queer rep, and the MMC is Mexican American. It is super sexy and very kinky. I'm glad I read it and am looking forward to where the series goes since I'm fairly certain there are more siblings who will get their love stories. Also, I want to go back later and read the duology about their friends and their polycule because they were already happy and established in this one so I want the backstory. 

Puppy Love by Elle Sprinkle

I first learned of this author when I heard about her upcoming sapphic hockey romance that has chronic illness rep. This is her first book and I'm so glad I read it because I really enjoyed it! The found family aspect is excellent (specifically among queer people), the disability rep is so well done (mental health, chronic illnesses), and the spice was really good. I appreciated that one MC was experiencing her first sexual relationship with a woman, and the way the two women interacted, from snarky and teasing to caretaking and emotional. Their contract for a platonic, convenient mutual arrangement was clearly going to fail but I liked the way they each fell at different speeds and levels of awareness of their own feelings. They both work at a dog resort, one as groomer and one as manager with a side gig of training dogs. There's plenty of on page therapy sessions for one MC, and great conversations between the friends that simultaneously support and challenge one another. I don't know if we ever will since there's a new series in the works, but I would love to get books for the other three in the friend group if romance is something that makes sense for the characters. 

A Quick & Easy Guide to Sex & Disability by A. Andrews

I heard about this on a queer "news and entertainment" website (sort of People/Cosmo style but LGBTQ+) and was interested. It's exactly what the title says: a quick and easy guide to sex and disability. This basically summarizes what I'd hoped the Disability & Sexuality course that was part of my support worker training would have been and was not. It talks briefly about communication, tools, etc. but starts with "disabled people are hot and many of them like to have sex". I think it's a good thing anybody could read to make the world a more inclusive place but is also good for disabled folks and their partners. It's queer friendly, it's a graphic novel with a fun style, and it was great to see so many different bodies represented. 

Out of the Woods by Hannah Bonam-Young

I had the feeling when I read this the first time that this would follow a similar pattern to another marriage in crisis romance from another author I love and be slower to grow on me, but that it would grow nonetheless. I was right and I'm sure it'll continue to happen with every subsequent reread. I enjoyed this second read and thought, as always, that Victoria did an amazing job bringing the story to life through her narration. 

The ABC's of You & Me by Megan McSpadden

That's three for three from Meg McSpadden! I have been so excited for this third book in the series, and am very thrilled to say it was as wonderful as expected. 

Sophie starts a new job as a temporary social worker at a school and is shocked to discover her childhood crush Foster works there as an EA. They start spending time together, he agrees to be her fake date to an alumni event where her awful ex will be if she does the same to a friend's BBQ where they all try to keep setting him up, to no success. They decide to keep going and work through the alphabet on "friend dates" but she doesn't know that he's loved her since they were teenagers and that she isn't the only one faking the faking. 

There are books that smack me in the face with emotions or some aspect of the reading experience and make me want to scream about them from rooftops. There are books that are just so cozy and heartfelt that I want to sink into the feelings they give and not say a thing. This book is somehow both!

As I said to Meg, it's like the at home, comfortable, fully yourself feeling Sophie and Foster were creating with each other seeps through the words to the reader. The entire story is about creating everyday intimacy, healing from past hurts to live without doubt, and learning to trust and love yourself and your loved one. 

Thank you, Meg for a series of books that all have different vibes but fit perfectly together. I love being part of The Yogurt Squad so far, and am grateful for all the sneak peaks and getting to read this ARC! Also, the glimpses we got of Nancy and Karl have me even more excited for their story!

•Best friend's brother
•Fake dating 
•ABC dates
•Disability rep: ADHD and an important side character has CP
•Release date: Apr 1/25 

Coming Swoon by Sarah Estep

Well, I loved it! There's a good chance that this final installment of the Brunch Bros series is my favorite of the four (I'll let you know once I've read them all again in succession). I think I'll love them all for their own reasons but I'd been WAITING for Sybil and Peter's story ever since it was teased in book one and it did not disappoint, and was worth the wait. 

It's emotional, it's funny, it's sexy, it's swoony, we get to see the small town and cast of side characters we love, and it's got the witty dialogue and repartee that Sarah infuses into her books. Also, she was over the top incredible with the references in this book, both obvious and subtle. Maybe they were extra special because I feel like I caught most or all of them and appreciated them, but even if that's the case there's got to he a lot of readers who will love anything from Jane Austen, to Princess Bride, to LOTR, to Notting Hill, to more. She's always been good at leaving little breadcrumbs like sky references or hints about future storylines, and she continued that here. Even though this is the last Brunch Bro book, she's very clearly set up the potential for (and has said she'd like to write) a McMahon Brothers series and we've gotten to know and love a lot of the people who will center in those already. 

As for this book's specifics, second chance romance is swiftly becoming one of my top tropes and this just pushed it further in that direction. The twelve year break, finally getting to learn about their past, seeing the love and the heartbreaking moments in flashbacks scenes, and watching them figure out how to exist now together, moving past the hurt and into the love that remains. There's also a bit of forced (ish) proximity since he's in town doing a movie with his parents directing and producing (sidenote: love them both) and she gets scouted by accident to be the lead actress's stand in since they look so similar. They spend time together, she tries to keep things casual, he sucks at casual, they end up rescuing a cat together. It's a whole wonderful thing, and I definitely recommend you read the entire series. You don't need to read them in order but you'll have a better sense of things and the story will be fuller if you do. 

Thank you, Sarah, for the ARC! It was a pleasure to read it a little early, send you multiple DMs while doing so, and now sing its praises. 

•Second chance romance (12 years later)
•small coastal Oregon town (back in Crane Cove!)
•sunshine golden-retriever hopeful-romantic actor x people-around-town-are-scared-of-her secretly soft coffee shop owner
•found family (last of the Brunch Bros series)
•Release date: Mar 13/25