To Be Romanced

Some horror lite feminist short stories for . Gorgeous writing.

The best of the 3 novellas in my opinion, and I loved all 3.

All caught up on … now what???

I love Ali Hazelwood. I will continue to love Ali Hazelwood. But I cannot do love at first sight romances. They only knew eachother for 24 hours! TWENTY-FOUR HOURS.

I liked the plot and characters as I normally do, but I just can’t with the falling in love over the course of 24 hours.

Think DnD AFTER the campaign. Very much after happily ever after vibes and I’m obsessed. 🎲🐉

One weird scene involving a potion that felt a little off, but the rest of the book was just spot on. Loved it!!!

A fun, sapphic, spooky fall read. It is fall, right? Close enough? 🍁

I really enjoyed how easy it was to slip into and out of. A low-maintenance read. Listening to the second book in the series now!

Love . Love her characters. Love representation. Love the banter. Love the romantic tension. Hate that I can’t look up spoilers in an audiobook. I almost had a heart attack my stress level were so high at the freaking climax. ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME???

On a big kick right now and these novellas are the best. Loving the women in STEM power and I LOVE a fast resolve. Less time yelling at the characters to just make out already!

Listening to while I’m waiting for the next two audio novellas to be ready at my library

Rivals to lovers YA

It’s a bit cringy, not going to lie, but I also squealed at all the romantic scenes so it’s a win overall. A cute, low stakes YA romance.

Another gorgeous sapphic graphic novel

I had been looking for this one for awhile and finally a friend was able to lend it to me. The train lighting does not do this gorgeous cover justice.

What I loved about this one is that it had real messages about acceptance and the environment without being stressful, high stakes. It felt very chill and I enjoyed it a lot.

What’s your favorite graphic novel?

A new fav YA listen

I’ve been listening to a lot of lately (if you couldn’t tell by my feed) and had the BEST narration I’ve heard in a long time. The story was amazing and the sibling arc made me cry over and over again.

CW: anxiety, panic attacks/disorder, outing, death, homophobia, racism, medical content

An erotic murder mystery

This was highly entertaining! Much more than I thought it would be. I was laughing and crying and clutching my chest the whole listen through. The audiobook was fantastic and I recommend listening to it over reading it.

A fun read with the added bonus of inspiration for the bedroom 😉

Took me right back to high school

Poor Melody McIntyre was such a scapegoat. High schoolers are brutal and she deserved better. I felt for her to whole read through and only good books can do that. Definitely recommend!

How was high school for you?

Macabre and emotional

This one took me a while to read but that’s because I started reading it in a hospital waiting room.
TIP: Do NOT read this in a hospital.
Once I was in the right setting and mind space, it turned out to be really good and I enjoyed it! Dark, and emotional, but a good read.

What’s a book you read recently that depending on your setting?

I love this trend of niche art industries being represented in contemporary romances—publishing, radio, theater, etc. It makes my heart so happy.

I think I would have preferred this book in print. The narrator was great, but a bit breathy and there was just too much longing and sighing. A very wistful reading whereas I probably would’ve read it more sarcastically in my head. The characters were all pretty great!

I am so picky when it comes to audiobook narrators! What have been some of your favorite romance audiobooks? I need recs!

tagged me in the so I put together this humble stack!

-You Had Me at HOLA
-A Lot Like ADIOS

-One LAST STOP
-The BEGINNING of Everything

-BOYFRIEND Material
-The EX Talk

-Peony IN LOVE
-The HATING Game

I’m tagging some friends but feel free to participate if this looks fun!
.the.bookee

The rainy evening vibes were ON POINT for this book.

This is a super short read about the trauma of conversion therapy. Reflective of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth (my personal favorite), this one will haunt you for years to come. Absolutely gorgeous writing, heartbreaking prose.

READ WITH CAUTION

CWs: Homophobia, transphobia, s*xism, su***de attempt, deadnaming, blood, bullying, car crash, outing, torture

Just finished listening to this one!

I really enjoyed it! Lots of banter and teasing which is my JAM. Demis*xuality was represented, women in STEM were represented, it was great! I really loved everything about this one…except the s*x scene. I’m really tired of characters completely changing personalities once the clothes come off. A more sensual, intimate scene would’ve been so much more powerful!

Some tropes: fake dating, prof/student relationship, forced proximity

Some CWs: s*xual harassment, s*xual content, death of a parent

Any recs for good contemporary romances with proper communication surrounding s*xual health?

*xual

Who knew I had some many pink books?

There are some great books in this stack that I can’t wait to read!

Which one should I read first?

What a fun vintage find!

My mom found this for me a while ago and I just thought I’d share some of what went on in 1954

#1954

Yellow stack!

I figured I’d stack some color stack photos while I’m unpacking :)

Have you read any of these?

Credit to for the complimentary art!

!

I could pick just one author so I picked them all!

I’ve read most of them, have you? Which author is your fav from this list?

Finally getting a chance to post my from ! Thank you so much for the SIGNED books and swag! And a big thanks to for organizing the exchange! I can’t wait to start reading :)

I was tagged in the challenge by !

I absolutely adore the series by (18+). If you haven’t heard of it, it’s Disney based erotic romance—just familiar enough to feel nostalgic, but altered enough to make sense in this new context. Katee Robert is amazing at writing conversations about s*x health, aftercare, and consent so that the characters can explore their s*xualities safely.

Tink and Hook’s story in A Worthy Opponent is my favorite! A strong, stubborn woman with a cinnamon role lover? Sign me up!

I know that new covers are coming soon and you better believe I’ll add them to my collection when they do!

What complete collections do you have?

Your turn .the.bookee .reads

**t

My favorite read of 2021

What’s your favorite read of 2021 so far?

is adventure on EVERY PAGE! This LGBTQIA+ YA fantasy romance book was so much fun to read. It’s the book I wish I had as a teenager filled with pirates, kingdoms, magic, near-deaths, risky escapes, and, of course, romance. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.

CW: violence, torture, kidnapping, blood, vomit, death

A refreshing YA romance

is a blessing. Not only is it full of healthy relationship advice for anyone and everyone—boundary setting, communication, self-respect, etc—but it’s also great at representing the LGBTQIA+ community. As someone who is bis*xual, I feel like I don’t see many bi MCs and this book addresses a lot of the anxieties I carry around with me. This was so validating and positive!

Do y’all have any other bis*xual romance recs?

*xualpride

Unpopular opinion…

…but I did not like this book. I thought Brendan was possessive and condescending and I could not get behind the alpha male energy throughout. The pacing felt off—slow until something happened and when something happened the change was immediate. Like, one whole page to change everyone’s mind. I didn’t feel like Piper really developed as a character either. It’s like she was one person in LA then a COMPLETELY different person the second she stepped into Westport and that Westport personality stuck through the end. Hannah made the book but I loathe Fox and his derogatory views on women so much I don’t know if I can read the sequel.

In my opinion, did not live up to the hype.

Have you ever had an unpopular opinion about a popular book?

Spell your name in books challenge!

One Last Stop
Love and Luck
It Happened One Summer
Verity
In Deeper Waters
A Game if Fate

I’ve seen this challenge going around and it looked like a lot of fun so I decided to give it a try! It was a STRUGGLE to find a romance book that started with V. Luckily, Bookstagram recs had my back!

I’m going to challenge a few accounts I’ve enjoyed seeing pop up in my feed :)of.the.lost.library

Sibling bonding stories always make me cry.

I know, this is the second book from the series. I skipped the first one. Ireland just seemed more interesting that Italy. This was more of a sibling story than a romance, but there was some flirting in there so I’m going to count it. Sweet, heartwarming, and short, this was a great little evening read.

Tell your siblings hello from me!

CW: s*xual harassment, bullying

5 star haircut, 2.5 star book

I think the biggest problem I had with this book is that it contradicted itself: The big strong guy protecting the small woman AND the self-confident woman who doesn’t need a man to protect her. It ended up feeling possessive and awkward. There was also a lot of hot and cold emotions which were a bit much in my opinion. All extreme with no in between. The spicy scenes were good, but they would come out of nowhere.

TW: racism, violence, s*xism

Do you believe in soulmates?

Let me just start by saying that the synopsis of this book is my worst nightmare. The back cover basically says: Girl finds dog. Girl loves dog. Boy asks for dog back. Girl says no. Please, if my dog ever gets lost, let him be found by someone that brings him back to his mommy! But fellow pet owners with anxiety, let me reassure you that that is not what happens and the dog is loved and taken care of the whole book.

I love romances where there’s no doubt. When characters love each other unconditionally the whole book? That’s my jam! This was a comforting read with a mild, but hot, whirlwind romance.

Friendships or relationships? Which ship do you prefer?

Something about graphic novels always makes me feel like I’m missing a chapter or two… I loved the lesson in this book and the artwork was gorgeous. A sweet, simple read to make you consider what’s most important to you.

The slowest of slow burns

is often used as a comp for , which makes sense because Kiem and Alex are very similar in that good-with-the-media-knows-what-to-say-charisma kind of way. This was definitely more sci-fi than I was expecting. It took literally 2/3 of the book to get to the romance piece, which I, unfortunately, do not have the patience for. Overall, it was a good book, I was just frustrated with the waiting and pining. The world building was fantastic, though, and space politics are more interesting that regular Earth politics.

Witty banter abound!

This book has almost every trope under the sun: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, only one bed, caretaking, etc. It is not realistic in the slightest which makes it perfect for escapism. The banter makes certain that the book lives up to the hype. Sure, parts were a bit cringe-worthy, but then the MCs pick a fight with each other and my ribs hurt from laughing. An excellent beginner for those just getting into romance.

Tear fodder. Prepare your emotions.

I got this book after reading about how heartbreaking the story is. Let me tell you, everything I’d read is true. I cried harder than I have in awhile. Don’t get me wrong, it’s written very well and I recommend it for readers. Just bring a box of tissues and be prepared to feel some things—very sad things. Possibly devastating things.

To Be Romanced updated their website address.

A YA trans (not so) meet cute experience

This was a short read for a lazy afternoon. I had trouble getting into it because of all the toxicity in the MC’s relationship, then I realized that’s the whole point of the book. Read this to learn how to identify red flags and set boundaries. I was very glad that the author was consistent about pronouns and learned a lot about how to use different pronouns in conversation.

Time-displaced romance on a subway.

I knew this one was going to be amazing because is one of my favorite books of all time and certainly lived up to the hype! While the MCs are great, it was really the side characters that made the book for me. I could’ve read about Wes and Isaiah forever and never gotten bored!