#forever (grand central publishing)

[triviareads]

ARC Review of Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard

Summary:

A historical romance inspired by Clueless; Vesper Lyndhurst is a popular society lady who is known for her matchmaking skills. Aspen, Duke of Greydon was her childhood friend, until he wasn't and he went abroad for several years. Now they're reunited after Aspen returns from his latest archeological dig in order to take his rightful place in society as a duke. He asks Vesper to help find a match for his ward Judith. And although his scheming mother would prefer that Judith and Aspen marry, it's Vesper he can't help being drawn to...

My review:

Here's what worked for me in this book: First, Vesper is a Hot Girl (in the grand tradition of Emma and Cher in Clueless; also, is there a Vesper Lynd connection in here somewhere?) which I do appreciate after reading one too many wallflower in historical romances. I also like the girl-gang vibes of her friend group the... "Hellfire Kitties". Vesper is ready to matchmake anyone and everyone (sometimes to suit her own ends), which is fun.

In addition, I'm always curious to see how HR authors include politics in their romances, and I think Amalie did a pretty good job here, especially by making the amending of the Lunatic Asylums Act so personal to Aspen because of what happened to his father (who was wrongfully institutionalized and abused in an asylum). There's also Vesper's pet cause, education for the poor by way of ragged schools, for which she volunteers and fundraises.

Regarding Vesper and Aspen's relationship— they had chemistry, though I felt it was a little hindered by the will-they-won't-they aspect. Like, it got to the point where they had sex and all but admitted their feelings for one another, but then two chapters later they're still denying that they're even friends. I thought it was interesting the author chose to make Aspen only two years older (rather than the 16 year difference between Emma and Mr. Knightley) and not related to Vesper in any way (unlike Josh and Cher in Clueless, who were ex-step-siblings). Instead, their childhood friendship was played up a lot; and then they became enemies (in the mildest sense) because of a childish misunderstanding compounded by teenage dramatics. So this puts Vesper and Aspen in a place where they know each other well (and her father is his mentor— there's reference to that scene in Clueless where Josh and Cher are helping Mel with documents), but dislike one another for pretty superficial reasons. It's this, along with Aspen's mother's scheming, that keeps them apart for most of the novel.

The sex:

The most interesting thing about the sex scenes in this one were probably the locations. There's a near-sex scene at the billiards table (exhibitionist kink unlocked for Vesper). The standout moment for me was probably when they have sex in the Crystal Palace (always a delight to read; Prince Albert would be so proud) and uh, Aspen's dinosaur obsession is fully realized. He might have even made Vesper a convert.

Overall:

I'd recommend this book for anyone looking for romcom vibes in their historical romances along with cute banter and a solid cast of characters who have their own compelling arcs so you know they'll be getting their own books in the future!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

[lilibetbombshell]

[danielleurbansblog]

Review: Not Without My Sister

Synopsis: 1944, Germany. Two sisters seek to overcome impossible odds to be reunited, in this utterly devastating and unforgettable novel about sisterhood, courage and survival. All they had left was each other. Until the Nazis tore them apart. After years of hiding from the Nazis, Rachel Epstein and her little sister Mindel are captured by the Gestapo and sent to the concentration camp at…

[readingwithwrin]

Blogmas Day 30 | The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson | ARC Book Review

Blogmas Day 30 | The Little Wartime Library by Kate Thompson | ARC Book Review

Title: The Little Wartime Library Author: Kate Thompson Publisher: Forever Published Date: February 21st, 2023 Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII, Adult fiction Source: Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Goodreads Summary: London, 1944. Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While the world remains at war, in East London Clara has created the country’s only…

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb:

Ali Hazelwood promises “the cello scene in this book will change your life” in this Reylo-inspired grumpy-sunshine romance full of sharp banter, deep emotion, and irresistible humor.   When professional—and self-taught—violinist Gwen Jackson plays, she disappears into the peaks and valleys of each song, a quiet passion that never quite explodes into pure emotion. Xander Thorne is the exact opposite. A cellist and a rock star, he’s all about big emotion, but not even his six-foot-four frame can contain his skill, his genius . . . and an attitude that borders on jerkitude. 

Not only did it take Xander a year to notice that he and Gwen both play in the Manhattan Pops, but he also always seems to have the perfect cutting criticism about her technique. When Gwen is offered the role of first chair of the orchestra, something Xander has secretly coveted for years, their existing hostility goes up a notch. Yet, despite her best efforts, Gwen can’t ignore the sizzling chemistry between them. Forced to work more closely with each other, they can’t help exploring their attraction. As they begin to compose and play songs together, it’s clear that their powerful connection could make for a performance that would blow everyone’s minds. Suddenly, they’re box office dynamite, and the fragile romance growing between them is in danger of being crushed beneath a publicity stunt.

Review:

He's the grumpy famous professional cellist while she's the sunshine self taught violinist, both of them are part of the same orchestra and after a run in at a wedding.... a song has begun to be created between them. Gwen is a self taught professional violinist, she's kept to herself in the orchestra and enjoys playing music. Alex "Xander" Thorne is the complete opposite, he's the rock star cellist who is not only giant but is also grumpy and one could say, a bit of a jerk. When Gwen and Xander run into each other at a wedding, Xander begins to notice Gwen... and he can't seem to stay away. Gwen doesn't know why he's suddenly focused on her but he goes from giving her critiques on her technique to begging her for a coffee date. Things only escalate when Gwen is offered role of first chair, the one position that Xander has secretly coveted for years, their hostility only grows up.... but so does the chemistry. So when both of them are forced to work together they also begin to explore their attraction.... while composing songs and creating music together.... romance is beginning to be written out as well if only they could find a way to make the delicate song between them work without being crushed by everyone else's expectations of them. This was such a delight to read, as a musician I just adored this book so much. It gave me, if you've ever read it, La Corda De Ora vibes ( I was so obsessed with this manga when I was like 13). I had so much fun reading this one and I loved just how positively obsessed Alex is with Gwen, he fell head over heels for her music and was determined to have her as his partner. They were such a cute couple and I just had a smile on my face the entire time I was reading this and can't recommend it enough. I've been a huge fan of Julie Soto's writing for a while now and this one was just perfect, I can't wait to read her next book!

Release Date: July 16,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[sesamestreep]

Taylor Swift prompts: Jyn/Cassian, 35

35. love me like I’m brand new (from this prompt list) Note: completely independent of Zainab's prompt fill from this week expanding her sambucky teachers AU, I was busy writing her a teachers AU for this prompt! Same hat, as usual! I meant to get it finished and published by our friendiversary (this past tuesday) but that didn't quite work out. Still, within a week ain't bad. Cross posted to AO3, if that's more your jam.

“Okay, I’m proposing a new drinking game,” Jyn’s voice crackles over the walkie-talkie. “Drink every time the DJ plays a song Cassian doesn’t know.”

Cassian whips his head around, looking for her but doesn’t see her anywhere in the crowded room. It is dark, though. And full of high schoolers who are mostly taller than her. She could be anywhere.

“Where are you?” he asks, into his own walkie-talkie. “I don’t even see you.”

“I am the night,” she replies, in her best Batman impression, which is not very good, honestly.

“We can’t play that drinking game,” Bodhi interjects. “We’ll be dead in under an hour.”

“Hey!”

“No drinking at prom,” Baze replies, bored.

“Wait, when did we make that rule?” Jyn asks.

“You better be joking.”

“I am, don’t worry. I take the safety and security of this event very seriously,” she says. “And I can’t think of anything worse than being drunk around high schoolers.”

“Drunk in front of your parents?” Bodhi suggests.

“That’s me every Christmas, baby!”

“Is this what we’re supposed to be using the walkie-talkies for?” Cassian asks.

“Wow, did you just tattle on me?”

“Chirrut, we’re gonna need a ruling,” Bodhi interjects.

“Ten-four,” Chirrut replies. “Definitely tattling.”

Jyn blows a raspberry directly into her walkie, and Cassian sighs. “I think he meant about the proper use of the radios, Chirrut.”

“Oh, then yes, this is exactly how I envisioned us using them,” he says.

“Best prom ever,” Bodhi says, dryly.

“Speaking of which, who’s in the lead in the flask count?”

“That would be my beloved, with a grand total of 12 so far,” Chirrut says, and Baze makes a point of groaning into the radio because he hates when Chirrut calls him pet names at work. “Followed by Cassian, with 8, and Jyn with 5. Bodhi and I are tied for last with 2 apiece.”

“Actually, Kay is in last place, with negative four thousand because he’s a little bitch who called out sick from chaperone duty at the last minute,” Jyn replies.

“Yes, let the record show Kay is in last place forever,” Chirrut says.

“Amen,” Cassian replies. “What are you doing with all these flasks, anyway?”

“Jyn, don’t you dare say Jungle Juice,” Bodhi says, immediately.

“JUNGLE J—hey!”

“Jungle Juice is never the solution to any problem!”

“You’re right about that,” she says. “Jungle juice is, at best, always just a neat way to go from having one problem to two problems.”

“To actually answer Cassian’s question, we generally just give them over to the central office,” Baze says. “With our report for the night. The administrative team decides what to do with that information afterwards.”

“We’re not really going to nerf these kids for getting rowdy at prom, are we?” Jyn asks. “We’re not even on school grounds.”

“I didn’t realize you were so tender-hearted, Erso.”

“Bite me, Andor! Just for that, I’m taking your second place spot in the Flask Olympics.”

“Flask-Off,” Chirrut replies.

“The Flasked Singer,” Bodhi suggests.

“Flask and you shall receive,” Jyn adds.

“Everyone shut the flask up and get off the walkies,” Baze interrupts. “You’re all giving me a migraine.”

Cassian tucks the radio back in his pocket and returns to his actual job of chaperoning. The students are all dancing to a song that he absolutely does not recognize, though it would require advanced forms of torture to get him to ever admit that to Jyn now. In the middle of the crowd, he spots Rey and Finn, still wearing their cheap plastic crowns from the prom court ceremony and doing some dance that involves windmilling their arms a lot. He shakes his head, and continues his sweep of the room, spotting Bodhi in a far corner and giving him a salute, which Bodhi returns.

“Flask-athalon,” Jyn says, at his elbow and he nearly jumps out of his skin. 

“Where the fuck did you come from?” he asks, not sure how she managed to sneak up on him.

“Bathroom,” she says. “Did you hear my flask joke? I thought of it on the way over, but I don’t want to get on Baze’s bad side.”

“So you chose to instead inflict it on me? What did I ever do?”

“Mean,” she says. “You’re so mean. And now you’re on my bad side. Was it worth it?”

“I’m not scared of your bad side,” he says, and it comes out all stupid and tender by accident. There was meant to be some bravado in there somewhere but he forgot, or he misplaced it, or something.

“They all say that,” Jyn replies, crossing her arms. Hers comes out tender too, probably also by accident. There’s a not-so-hidden but they don’t really mean it at the center of it. He means it, though.

“Everything alright?” he asks, and she frowns, confused. “On your patrol,” he clarifies.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Just had to comfort Rose Tico in the ladies’ room.”

“Poor Rose,” Cassian says. She had been in his office a handful of times last semester. Her sister is away at college this year, and she was having trouble adjusting. It seemed like she’d been doing better lately, though. “Nothing serious, I hope?”

“Well, Finn asked her to prom ages ago, as friends, but now he and Rey are kind of an item, but he still honored his promise to go with her and then he and Rey got voted prom king and queen and Rose had a meltdown that he only went with her as his date out of pity and that he’d rather be here with Rey and…it was a whole thing. Then, Jannah and Kaydel showed up to check on her and I gave them some space to work it all out.”

As if on cue, Rose re-enters the room at that moment, with Jannah grasping one hand and Kaydel holding the other. Cassian watches as they rejoin everyone on the dance floor and as Rey shrieks in delight at seeing them and throws her arms around Rose’s neck. Rose returns the hug, letting go of the other girls, and they sway like that, fully out of time with the music, for a good thirty seconds. Over their shoulders, Jannah and Finn are doing the robot while Kaydel pretends not to know any of them.

“Looks like they smoothed things over,” Cassian says, and Jyn nods, looking pleased.

“Every day. Every single day, I am so glad to not be a teenager anymore,” she says, while surveying the room.

“You’re preaching to the choir,” he replies. “I was such a pain in the ass back then.”

“You’re still a pain in the ass.”

Cassian laughs. “I was a different kind of pain in the ass, then. The worst kind.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she says, softly.

“Good,” he says, smiling. “That means I grew up into the sort of man my mother wanted me to be.”

Jyn doesn’t say anything to that, just watches the crowd of students with an inscrutable expression on her face. It was probably a weird thing to say, here, at prom, but it had just jumped out. She has that effect on him, strangely enough. He has this very stupid urge to be honest with her all the time, to just spit out whatever he’s thinking and feeling and pray that she finds it interesting or at least that it doesn’t scare her away. He’s still not sure what to do with that instinct.

Before he can decide, Bodhi’s voice crackles over the walkie-talkies, in stereo, since Jyn and Cassian are standing next to one another. “‘Look on my works, ye mighty and despair,’ suckers,” he says. “Chirrut, please bring my flask count up to four!”

“Four?” Jyn replies, unbelievably quick on the draw with her radio. “You got two off of one kid?!”

“I’m coming for your spot, baby!”

“Oh, it’s on now,” Jyn says, exclusively to Cassian. “I cannot let this kind of insult stand.”

Cassian pulls out his walkie-talkie. “Chirrut, does he get extra points for quoting Percy Shelley while confiscating flasks? Because I feel like maybe he should.”

“Traitor,” Jyn whispers, and then, into her radio, adds, “That’s not in the rules!”

“Agreed. This is purely a numbers game,” Baze replies.

“And Percy Shelley sucks!” Jyn says.

“Hey! Don’t make me come over there!”

“Bodhi doesn’t get extra points for style,” Chirrut interjects, over the radio, “but I am contemplating adding a ‘Best in Show’ category, with this in mind.”

“Wow,” Cassian says, mildly, to Jyn. “Now you can lose twice!”

“That invitation to bite me still stands, you know.”

“Oh, believe me, I do.”

Jyn stretches her arms out wide. “I should be on the move. I’m never going to take Baze’s spot if I stand here fucking around with you.”

“You’ll have to take mine first.”

“Oh, honey,” she says, patronizingly. “That won’t be a problem.”

“Y’all,” Bodhi’s voice crackles over the radio again, “I swear these kids are just drinking paint thinner.”

“Ew, did you try the flask?” Jyn asks into her walkie immediately. “If Bodhi gets to drink, we all do.”

“No, you absolute child, I just sniffed it.”

“And?”

“And I think it’s the last thing I’ll ever smell.”

Jyn sticks her tongue out at Cassian in disgust, making him laugh. “Easily half of mine have just been Fireball Whiskey,” he says, to the group.

“Ah, to be young,” Baze says, wistfully.

“You couldn’t pay me to drink that now,” Jyn says, just to him. “Actually, who am I kidding? I’m a public school teacher with student loans. You could pay me to do just about anything.”

“That is good to know,” Cassian says, raising an eyebrow at her suggestively, and she smacks his arm. “What? I have this fence at my place that needs painting and I–”

“First, Percy Shelley and now Mark Twain? Can’t I get a goddamn break around here?”

That is, of course, the moment two students choose to approach them and, naturally, they’re both on his caseload. They laugh nervously at hearing one of the teachers swear, but ultimately just ask Cassian if it’s okay for them to take a photo with him.

“Of course,” he says, straightening his jacket a little awkwardly. 

“I’ll take it, if you like,” Jyn offers, holding out a hand. “I can work wonders with an iPhone.”

The two girls hand over their phones, and Jyn diligently takes a few shots with each of them. After a moment, she says, “Last chance to give Mr. Andor devil horns or bunny ears. Going once…”

“Okay, I think we’re good,” he says, stepping back to let the girls collect their phones from Jyn.

“Thanks, Mr. Andor,” one of them, Leida, says, brightly. “And you, Ms. Erso.”

“No problem,” Jyn says, looking amused.

“I really like your dress, by the way,” the other girl, Maia, adds.

“Oh, thank you,” Jyn replies, looking down at it self-consciously, as they head off. She returns her gaze to Cassian, looking ready to pounce. “What’s it like to have such ardent admirers?”

“Oh, shut up,” he says, rolling his eyes, even though he can feel his face warming up at her teasing. “Both of them are going off to ivy league schools with my help. That’s all it is.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it has nothing to do with how handsome you are.”

“You think I’m handsome?” he asks, delighted. “Jyn, I had no idea!”

“Then you’re as blind as Chirrut,” she grumbles, holding her radio up to her mouth. Before he can ask any follow-up questions, she presses the button and asks the group, “Are we tracking how many photos with students we take? Because I hate to admit this, but Cassian might be in the lead.”

“No way,” Bodhi responds. “I’ve taken so many!”

“Were we counting those?” Baze asks. “Chirrut, as master of ceremonies…”

“They’re going to have to start paying me extra to keep track of all these different competitions!” 

“I was kidding!” Jyn exclaims. “Your students have seriously been asking for photos all night?” 

There’s overlapping sounds of agreement from everyone, making Jyn frown. 

“Those bastards,” she grumbles. “I let them eat lunch in my classroom so they don’t get bullied and they don’t even want a photo with me?”

“You see, this is where being a guidance counselor pays off,” Cassian says. “Sure, you need an advanced degree and you don’t make any more money, and you mostly deal with kids having breakdowns about FAFSA in your office all day, but sometimes, at prom, students will ask for a photo with you. That’s why Baze and I are crushing it.”

Jyn snorts. “Yeah, because I never deal with kids crying in the art room,” she says. “And besides, Bodhi is a teacher, just like me, and everyone likes him!”

“He’s an English teacher,” Cassian points out. “He pulls that Dead Poets Society crap with them and lets them recite poems while standing on their desks, or whatever. Of course they like him.”

“And I just teach them how to express themselves through art! Boring!”

“So boring,” he says, even though he sometimes thinks Jyn has the hardest teaching job in the whole school. She’s a photographer by training, but she has to teach every artistic discipline that the school can afford the supplies for. He’s been to her classroom when she’s doing her Senior Project Seminar, which functions like an independent study for the students to choose what they want to make for the semester, and she’ll be critiquing photos with one student, while helping another with a sculpture, and ordering supplies for the kids drawing with charcoal and pastels or painting with oils and watercolors. It makes his head spin just to watch.

“It’s not the dress, is it?” she suddenly asks, anxiously. “I know Maia said it was cute, but she wasn’t being sarcastic, right?”

“No, she—the dress is fine. You look nice.”

Jyn blinks at him, a little surprised, and really, it’s not like he never compliments her. Of course, caught wrong-footed like that, he immediately tries to backtrack. “I mean, it’s a little 90s, but that’s in again, apparently, so you’re good.”

“90s?” she asks, looking slightly insulted. “How is it 90s?”

“I don’t know, it’s just…black and plain. The neckline is kind of…you know…”

“I clearly do not! Didn’t you just say it was fine?”

“It is! There’s nothing wrong with the 90s! It’s not your actual prom dress, is it?”

Jyn gives him a withering look. “No, Cassian, it is not. I didn’t go to prom in the 90s, for one thing. I was in high school in the 2000s.”

“Close enough.”

“And I didn’t go to prom at all for what it’s worth.”

“You didn’t go to prom?”

She rolls her eyes, but doesn’t look at him. “Does that really surprise you?”

“Did no one ask you?”

She turns on him then. “Why is that your first thought?!”

“Because you said—I meant, because that would surprise me!”

“Sure!”

“I’m serious. I would be shocked, if that was the reason.”

“The reason was I thought dances were stupid and my uncle would have told me it was stupid and my boyfriend was older, so—”

“Ah, makes sense.”

“Don’t—it wasn’t like that.”

“Sounds like it was exactly like that.”

“It wasn’t—he was a nice guy. He would have gone, if I’d asked.”

“But you wanted to smoke weed and pretend to like the movie Fight Club in his basement instead.”

Jyn rolls her eyes again, but he can see she’s also fighting off a smile. “Something like that. Anyway, that was junior year and then…well, I dropped out, so I obviously couldn’t go to my senior prom.”

“I didn’t know that,” Cassian says. “You got your GED instead?”

“Yeah, after a year or two of fucking around and doing nothing with my life, I decided having a high school diploma and maybe a college education might be useful.”

“And boy were you wrong.”

She laughs. “Don’t tell the kids.”

“It’s part of my oath as their guidance counselor, don’t worry.”

“What about you? Did you do the whole prom thing when you were in school?”

Cassian shifts uncomfortably, checking to make sure none of their students are in earshot. “Uh, yeah, you could say that,” he says, once he’s satisfied they won’t be overheard. “I had kind of the typical prom experience, I guess.”

“I genuinely have no idea what that means.”

“It means, I was eighteen when I went to my prom, so I did the whole ‘rent a hotel room afterwards and get laid’ thing with my…girlfriend.”

Jyn covers her mouth with her hands, clearly hiding a laugh. “You did not!”

“I did,” he replies, cringing. “I’m not proud.”

“Is that where the healthy pause before ‘girlfriend’ came from? Shame?”

“It’s…we…” Cassian laughs. It’s been almost twenty years and he still doesn’t know how to explain his relationship with Bix to other people. It would almost be easier if they weren’t still friends, because then he could call her an ex and be done with it. He’s glad they’re still friends, for what it’s worth, it’s just so much more complicated to explain. “She wasn’t exactly my girlfriend.”

“Oh, no…”

“She was my best friend. She still is—one of them, at least.”

“Oh.”

“We went to prom together because, well, no one else asked either of us. And we decided to get a hotel room after because we were eighteen and no one could stop us and we wanted to…”

“Yeah, uh, I know what you wanted to do,” Jyn says, amused.

“It was one of those ‘let’s just get it over with, together’ kind of deals,” he says, feeling hot with embarrassment over his younger self’s antics. Everything feels so urgent and intense when you’re young, but that somehow fades with age. And he admits that even as an adult who’s still frequently urgent and intense. “It seemed like the best way to handle it, at the time.”

“So, you’re telling me that this was…your first time?”

Cassian nods.

“At prom?!”

“After prom! It’s not as bad!”

“By a very slim margin,” Jyn says, clearly taking pity on him. After a moment, she adds, “You said you and this girl are still close?”

“Yeah, we’re still friends. We tried to date afterwards, because it turned out we liked hooking up, but it wasn’t—we worked better as friends, ultimately. We’re still friends. I went to her wedding last year. I mean, I was in it, but that’s because I know her husband too.”

“Wait, Brasso’s wedding?” Jyn asks. He’d shown her and some of the staff pictures after he came back, he’s just now remembering. “You dated Brasso’s wife in high school?!”

“It was obviously before they knew each other. I mean, I introduced them, so…”

“That’s so weird.”

“It’s not that weird.”

“I just don’t have any exes I’m close with still,” she says, shaking her head. “Not close enough to be in their wedding. I mean, goddamn.”

“Bix is barely an ex-girlfriend, at this point. She’s like family.”

“Wow.”

“I’m guessing things didn’t end well with Fight Club guy?” Cassian asks.

“Technically, I think I was the Fight Club guy in that relationship,” she says, with a laugh. “And no, things didn’t end well.”

“Not something you like talking about, I gather.”

“Not really,” she says, looking far-off and sad. It’s possible there are tears in her eyes, or maybe it’s just a trick of the strobing lights coming from the DJ’s booth. “Not at prom, at least,” she adds, with a weak smile.

He smiles back. “Well, I’d offer to dance with you, to help give you the prom experience you never had, but all of these kids have cell phones and a video of us would for sure end up on the internet, which we should probably avoid.”

“Scared of going viral on TikTok with me?” she asks.

“Deeply, deeply scared, yes,” he says, putting his hand on his heart. “My worst nightmare is ending up on Good Morning America being interviewed about a heartwarming video of me that I didn’t know was being taken.”

“But maybe if we got famous, random people would buy supplies for our classrooms,” Jyn says, her enthusiasm clearly faked if the devilish glint in her eye is any indication.

“I’m a guidance counselor,” he says. “I don’t need supplies. I need someone to burn the College Board to the ground.”

“With enough followers on TikTok, we could probably make that happen.”

“Sounds like someone really wants to dance with me,” he quips.

“Well, it might be my last chance.”

The song changes then, to a chorus of coos from a group of students at the edge of the dance floor nearby, and Jyn laughs. Cassian, meanwhile, is sweating. He suspected that a few people knew he was interviewing at another school, but he didn’t want to bring it up to anyone until he was sure of his plans, one way or another. But, apparently, Jyn knows.

“Tell me you at least know who this is,” she says, pointing up to indicate she means the song that’s playing.

“I’ve never heard this song in my life,” he admits, a little breathlessly.

“But you recognize the singer?” she asks. Cassian shakes his head, and she laughs again. “How do you work in a high school and not know who Taylor Swift is?”

“I know who she is,” he objects. “I just don’t recognize her singing voice immediately, I guess.”

“I forgot. You sit in your windowless office and listen to Creed all day.”

“You caught me listening to Creed one time! It is not a habit.”

“Well,” Jyn starts to say, before pausing abruptly as two students pass in front of them. “Hold on, was that—?”

“Hey, guys,” Cassian calls, immediately, and the two boys stop in their tracks. “You’re not allowed to have that here. Hand it over.”

The students clearly take a moment to debate the merits of complying with this order, before one of them reaches into his jacket pocket and produces a flask. He hands it to Cassian with a mumbled apology, which he accepts with a nod and waves them back to the dance. Cassian flips the top open, and tips it in Jyn’s direction.

She sniffs it. “Peach schnapps,” she says. “Classic.”

Cassian retrieves his walkie-talkie. “Got another flask for the count,” he says. “Not sure if it goes to me or Jyn, though.”

“A group effort?” Bodhi asks. “Unheard of.”

“Half a point each?” Jyn suggests.

“I’ll give you each a full point for it,” Chirrut replies. “But please know your spirit of bipartisanship disgusts me to my core.”

“Noted,” Jyn says into her radio. To him, she says, “We should probably spread out. For actual security reasons, but mostly because I refuse to share a medal with you at the end of this thing.”

“Firstly, it’s a secondhand karate trophy for the top prize—”

“Okay, well, now I want it even more, so…”

“Secondly, you’re never going to tie me, let alone beat me—”

“Your confidence will be your downfall, Andor.”

“And lastly, who, uh…who told you I was interviewing for another job?”

She pauses at that, and looks him over. “Mon let it slip,” she says, after much consideration. “It was an accident, she didn’t mean to—”

Cassian waves away her explanation. “I’m sure,” he says. “I’m not upset.”

“She was ranting to me and Bodhi about something to do with the school board and—”

“So, you and Bodhi both know?”

Jyn winces. “Uh, yeah.”

“And Baze knows because I thought it was only fair that I told him I was looking for other jobs…”

“Which means Chirrut knows,” she says, and he laughs. “And I’m sure you told Kay.”

“Yeah, so that….is a lot of people,” Cassian says, weakly.

“It’s not like we’re going to judge you if you don’t get it.”

“I—why would you assume I won’t get the job?”

She blinks, caught off guard. “I don’t! That’s not what I meant. You probably will, but on the off chance you don’t.”

“They made me an offer,” he admits, and watches her deflate.

“Oh,” she says. “Well, then, congratulations?”

“I haven’t accepted yet,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous tic. “They’re going to call me on Monday, so I have until then to decide.”

“Do you know what you’re going to say?”

“Not yet. I’m still…thinking.”

“That’s not like you,” she says, crossing her arms. “You usually have your mind made up on stuff right away. You’re not a ‘last minute’ kind of guy.”

“Well, I’m glad you know what kind of guy I am,” he replies, feeling oddly adversarial. She doesn’t mean anything by it, but still. He doesn’t like hearing himself described as though he’s so predictable.

“Okay,” Jyn says, putting her hands up in surrender. “You don’t want to talk about it. That’s fine.”

“I’m just saying, you don’t know me like that.”

She blinks for a moment at that before she schools her expression into something more neutral. “You’re right,” she says. “I don’t know you. I don’t know what you’re going to do, and you probably won’t even tell me once you decide. You’ll let Mon, or Baze, or whoever, do that, instead.”

“That’s not—!”

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” she says. “I’m just your co-worker, not your friend, I guess.”

“Jyn…”

“We need to split up, cover more ground.”

He thinks about trying to stop her, but then it would just be a big scene involving two chaperones at prom, which the students would find endlessly intriguing. He doesn’t want to draw that kind of attention, so he nods, solemnly, like this is all very important, and lets her go. Still, he can’t help it that he spends the rest of the night trying to spot her in the crowd as much as he does any actual chaperoning.

*

“The winner of the 3rd Annual Yavin High Senior Prom Flask-athalon–”

“I knew that would catch on,” Jyn interrupts, smugly.

“It’s the only choice,” Bodhi says, grinning.

“Please shut up so we can all go home,” Baze grumbles.

“Yes, listen to your undefeated flask hunting champion, Baze Malbus!” Chirrut announces, with great flair, as he hands over the trophy, which, even in the dim lighting of the parking lot, Cassian can clearly read that the inscription says 'Under 12 Judo Champion'. “Congratulations, my dear!”

“Thank you so much,” Baze says, drily, as he accepts his prize unenthusiastically.

“This is so rigged,” Jyn puts in from the other side of the group. “Baze wins every year.”

“Baze is good at catching teens drinking illegally, I don’t know what to tell you!”

“It’s true,” Baze adds. “It’s on my resume.”

“You know, that would be so weird for any other job,” Bodhi replies. 

“Well, I wish I could give you all trophies for your hard work this evening, but then you wouldn’t learn any important lessons about teamwork or whatever it is that conservatives get mad about when the topic of participation trophies comes up,” Chirrut says, mildly.

“Kids these days,” Jyn says, mockingly shaking her fist. “Not enough of them hate themselves!”

“It’s important to experience as much crushing disappointment and embarrassment as possible before you get out into the real world,” Cassian agrees.

“And experience even more disappointment and embarrassment!” Bodhi adds. “While also paying taxes!”

“Also, there are only so many leftover trophies I can steal from the dojo before they’d notice and fire me,” Chirrut says. 

“On that bright note,” Baze interjects, “let’s all go home. It’s been a long night and absolutely none of us are getting paid any extra to spend more time together.”

“Beautiful sentiment as always, Baze,” Jyn says.

“Thank you again for all your hard work!” Chirrut says, even as Baze grabs him by the elbow and starts gently towing him away in the direction of their car. “Our students are very lucky to have such dedicated teachers and counselors!”

“Thank you, Chirrut!” Bodhi calls after them.

“Drive safe, everybody!” Baze calls over his shoulder once Chirrut stops fighting him and laces their fingers together instead for the short walk.

“Night, guys,” Bodhi says to Jyn and Cassian before he starts to head off towards his own car. 

“Goodnight, Bodhi,” Jyn replies, while Cassian waves him off.

The parking lot is empty except for their cars at this hour. They’d all met at the school and made the ride to the venue together, that way no one could call out of chaperone duty with car trouble or anything last minute like that. Probably there was some team-building aspect, too, but Cassian suspects the former was the primary motivation. Now, it’s creeping up to midnight and all the students have moved on to their afterparties and bonfires and whatever else, while the venue staff has streamers to clean up and tables to clear, and the chaperones are all heading home after a very long day. 

It had rained briefly while the prom was going on, though it had thankfully waited until everyone was already at the venue to do so, which means no one’s photos or hair was likely ruined by it. The hazy humidity that had hung around all day was now replaced by a damp chill and a light breeze. The condensation glitters like jewels on the few cars in the lot and their dewy windows glow green as the streetlights reflect off of them. The wet ground blares with streaks of red light as Baze’s car starts up and his brake lights come on. 

“Where’d you park?” Cassian asks Jyn, who’s still standing there, rooting around in her bag for her car keys.

“Oh,” she says, as if she wasn’t expecting him to address her. “Over there, by the auditorium.”

“Me too,” he says, nodding. “I’ll walk you.”

Having successfully retrieved her keys, Jyn brushes this off. “You don’t have to.”

“It’ll give me a chance to apologize.”

“It’s not that long of a walk.”

“I’ll talk fast,” Cassian replies, and holds out his arm as if to say, after you.

Jyn takes the hint and starts walking, allowing him to fall into step next to her.

“I’m sorry about what I said before, about you not knowing me very well. I didn’t mean to imply we aren’t friends, or that I don’t value your opinions, or anything like that,” he says, letting it all go like an exhale, because otherwise he won’t get the words out at all. “The problem is that I think you know me a little too well sometimes, and it honestly freaks me out. And tonight, you said the exact thing I was already worried about out loud, so I just panicked and tried to push you away.”

“The thing I said about waiting until the last minute really upset you that much?” Jyn asks, arms crossed over her chest. It takes him a second to realize it’s probably because she’s cold, and not because she’s mad at him. He starts to take off his suit jacket, but she stops him with a glare. “God, don’t.”

“You look cold.”

“I am cold, but my car is twenty yards away. I’ll live.”

“Fine.”

“Answer my question.”

Cassian stuffs his hands in his pockets just to have something to do with them. “Yes, it did upset me to hear that. I’ve been annoyed with myself about the same thing and I hated that it was obvious to you too.”

“Well, then, I guess I’m sorry too,” she says, earnestly. “I wasn’t judging you or anything, and I wasn’t trying to make you upset.”

“I know that. And thank you. I just—I can’t make up my mind what I want to do, and it’s very frustrating.”

“Do you think talking about it would help?”

“I’m not sure. The logical part of my brain is telling me to go, to take the new job. It’s more money, I’d be the head of the department in a better funded school. And while I love it here, unless Baze retires—”

“Which he won’t. At least, not for a long time.”

“Exactly, but still, that’s the only way I can move up and make more money. Unless I go to another school.”

“I get it,” Jyn says, and it sounds like she means it. “Those are valid considerations.”

“But I really do love it here,” Cassian objects. “I love the students, and I love the staff. I love working with all of you.”

“Yeah, and I bet all the teachers at that new school fucking suck,” she adds, with a malicious glint in her eye.

“I mean, what are the chances they do a yearly Flask-athalon at their prom?”

“It’s extremely unlikely,” Jyn says, somber now, “and if they do, they owe me and Chirrut royalties.”

“So, you see my dilemma?”

“I do. And I accept your apology, for what it’s worth. I didn’t know I’d be bringing up such a fraught subject for you. I would have been more careful, if I’d known.”

They arrive at Jyn’s car then and Cassian has to laugh at finding it parked one spot away from his own. The parking lot had been full when he got here, with a lot of underclassmen still around for extracurriculars and team practices and faculty staying late to do work, so he just picked the first spot he found. He hadn’t even noticed her car there, because someone had been parked between them. Now there’s just an empty space, where they stop to finish their conversation.

“It’s really fine,” he says, as he looks over at her. “I overreacted.”

Jyn shrugs one shoulder up to her ear, still looking cold in a way he finds provoking. He really wishes she’d just take his jacket. “It’s a big decision.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You know you won’t get rid of us just by going to another school, right?”

“Yes, but we’ll all see each other a lot less,” he says. “And you know how these things go. We’ll promise to stay in touch, or to get drinks, or just to see each other regularly, but we won’t. We’ll drift apart, sooner or later.”

“So, don’t take the job,” Jyn says, watching him carefully.

“What about all that other stuff–the money and the promotion and everything?”

“Who cares?” she says and he laughs, hopelessly. “I’m serious! If you were actually that motivated by money, you wouldn’t work in a public school. You wouldn’t have even gone to school for counseling, for that matter. So, turn it down.”

“But doesn’t that make me…kind of…?”

“Kind of what?”

“I don’t know! Ridiculous? Sentimental? Turning down more money to stay with my friends?”

“Again, I ask you: who cares?”

“Well, I fancy myself a very cool, detached person.”

Jyn snorts. “You?”

He frowns at her. “Yes, me! You don’t think I’m cool and detached?”

“No,” she says, “not at all. Are you crazy? You’re the least cool person I know!”

“Wow, thank you.”

“I mean, not that you’re not cool like—I’m saying you’re not too cool for anything, you know? Like, you care so much about everything! Even dumb bullshit that no one else can be bothered to even pay attention to, you care about it! I don’t know how you do it. I’m an art teacher, I’m supposed to be all passionate all the time, and I still feel like a robot compared to you. It must be exhausting to care so much.”

“That’s your impression of me?” Cassian asks, a little bowled over.

“I meant all of that as a compliment,” Jyn says, looking nervous. “And I didn’t mean to go on and on about it, I just—you assume everyone is like you, that they’re as good as you and they care as much, and I sometimes think you don’t see that you’re special. It’s the best thing about you, how much you care.”

“And I thought the best thing about me was my eyes,” he responds, weakly.

“Well, you do have nice eyes, that’s true,” she says, looking down at her shoes.

“I do have another reason—a selfish one—for thinking of accepting the new job.”

“What’s that?”

“I think that if there was someone here—someone on the faculty here, I mean—that I maybe wanted to date, it would possibly be less weird for us if I worked at a different school,” he answers, with his heart in his throat.

“Oh,” Jyn says, still not meeting his eye. Her foot scuffs back and forth on the pavement anxiously. “I guess, in that case, you would probably want to be sure that this person is actually interested in you before you make any huge life decisions with her—I mean, them—in mind.”

“I’m pretty sure she is interested in me too.”

“How do you know?”

“She just told me I have nice eyes,” he says. 

Jyn looks at him then, her gaze lifting to his face suddenly as she narrows her eyes. “Seriously? How long have you—?”

It doesn’t take much effort—two steps, really—to get close enough to draw her into his arms and kiss her like he’s been wanting to basically since the day she started at the school. She makes a surprised noise that’s immediately muffled by their mouths coming together and then it’s just them kissing. Finally. And it’s every bit as good as he imagined it would be, with her kissing back with as much intensity as he’d expect from the person who loves to give him hell on a daily basis. Her arms come to wrap around his neck, dragging him down to her level, and his clasp around her lower back, desperately trying to afford them some stability in this position.

“The others are gone, right?” she asks, more or less against his mouth. 

“Uh…” He turns his head, peering across the parking lot, which gives Jyn access to his jaw and his neck and he’s not mad about it, though it does make thinking straight more difficult than usual. He doesn’t see any other cars left. “I think it’s just us.”

“Good,” Jyn says, and pulls him with her by his shirt until her back hits the side of her car. Once settled there, she leans up for another kiss, and he has to brace himself against the door to stay standing. The condensation from the window wets his palm and makes him shiver, which makes Jyn laugh. He doesn’t bother explaining, since he’s not sure he could convince her that it has nothing to do with kissing her.

They make out like idiots, in the parking lot of the school they work at, where anyone could see them, for an inadvisably long time. By the time they come up for air, he has thoroughly ruined Jyn’s hair, the straps of her dress are hanging loosely off her shoulders, and anyone who looked at her would know she’d been doing some very serious kissing. Cassian is sure he’s looking equally disarrayed. Despite them being pressed closely together, he can feel the goosebumps rising on her skin and chafes her arms with his hands to warm them.

“How long?” she asks, softly, wearing an amused smile that might be at his attempt at gallantry or something else entirely. When he gives her a questioning look in response, she adds. “How long have you wanted to do that?”

Cassian pretends to think about it. “How long have you worked here?”

“Two years.”

“There’s your answer.”

“Really?” Jyn asks, astonished somehow. “I thought you hated me when we first met.”

“You made me nervous,” he says, still caressing her arms. “You still make me nervous.”

She loops her arms around his middle now, pressing them together in a way that feels very dangerous in a school parking lot. He clears his throat in the most obvious fashion imaginable and she gives him a knowing smile.

“That’s not the only thing you make me, for what it’s worth,” he points out.

“I gathered as much,” she says, pleased with herself. 

He raises a hand to cup her cheek, drawing his thumb gently over the corner of her mouth. “You know, a nice person would say something about how I make them feel, at this point in the conversation.”

“You already got a whole speech about how passionate and sexy you are,” she objects. “Don’t be greedy.”

“I don’t think the word ‘sexy’ came up in that little speech of yours, actually. Could you maybe elaborate on that?”

Jyn shakes her head before she leans in to kiss him again, this time trading their earlier desperation for a slower pace. “Not here,” she says, once she’s drawn him in again. “Not to be corny, but my place or yours?”

“Whichever’s closer,” he says, immediately.

She laughs and bites her lip to try to hide it, which is very distracting. “Good answer. I think that’s me, then.”

“I’ll follow you,” Cassian replies, with a nod towards his own car.

“You don’t want to just ride over with me?”

“I don’t want to park here overnight, and I do not trust myself in a car alone with you right now.”

“It’s a five minute drive,” she says, unimpressed.

“I could get into a lot of trouble in five minutes.”

“Okay, then,” she says, with a gusty sigh. “You might have to put your money where your mouth is on that one.”

“Don’t worry. I’m willing to put my mouth lots of places.”

“Idiot,” she laughs, swatting his arm. “Let’s go, then. I’m freezing and I’m wet.”

“You’re—well, that’s—oh, from the car! And the condensation…from the rain.”

“Wow,” Jyn says. “That was so smooth.”

Cassian laughs, and hangs his head. “In my defense, I—”

“Yes?”

He looks down at her, looking a little flushed and mussed up and still utterly defiant and perfect. “I just can’t believe it took me this long to get here,” he admits, even though it’s a stupid and besotted thing to say. 

Jyn gives him an endearingly sweet smile. “And I can’t believe I’m going to hook up with you after prom. I mean, what a cliché!”

“I did offer to give you the prom experience you never had,” he says, with a laugh. “Besides, some things are cliché for a reason.”

“Oh, yeah?” she asks, gazing up at him. “Why’s that?”

He thinks about all the stories he’s heard about love at first sight. He thinks about all the couples he’s heard say they’re in love with their best friend. He thinks about everyone who’s said that, when you’re with The One, you just know. He thinks about every piece of dating advice that told him to find someone who makes him laugh. And he thinks about happily ever after.

“Because they seem stupid until they happen to you,” he says, simply.

Jyn doesn’t bother saying she agrees. She just pulls him in for another kiss.

[unceasingtoe]

Hi everyone!

I'm Matt from the UK. I'm a professional nanomaterials physicist, and I wrote a Fantasy book.

Now what?!

I've been working on this story, Aria of the Wayward, for something like four years. I started just pre-Covid with a little character vignette about a student having a meeting with a magical professor/wizard-type-person, and it kind of spiralled from there. One hundred and twenty thousand words later, and what was originally Echoes of Astyr is now two books: Aria of the Wayward, and Echoes of Astyr. (I also have ideas for the next book, Chorus of the Forgotten, on the backburner)

Now that I've done "the hard part" (actually writing a book, or two!) I'm at a bit of a loss. I follow agents and other authors on Twitter, I regularly see threads and blogs on getting an agent, and querying, and the publishing industry landscape, and it all makes me feel one thing: these stories are unpublishable.

Not because they're bad (not that I could judge that), but because they're too different—at the intersections of too many circles in the grand Venn diagram of stories. Publishing these days lives and dies on genre labels and tropes and comp titles, and I have too many of some and not enough of the others to see how I could query effectively.

Both stories are second-world Fantasy, with magic a central element, but there isn't heroes and skeleton warriors and a race to save the world (although there are a few wizards). While there is a lurking intrigue that emerges in Echoes of Astyr that drives a more conventional-feeling plot, on the whole both stories are character- and theme-driven.

The main setting, particularly for Aria, is an Oxbridge-coded medieval university and we're following the lives and academic journeys of students; so it's Dark Academia, right?! Well, sometimes, but actually there is plenty of brightness and hope and love and joy, to contrast the darker parts... so it probably isn't Light Academia either!

The stories thus far have two female main characters, and while much prominence is given to their various interpersonal relationships, it's *not* got the right elements to make it capital-R genre Romance. (Maybe I could gut it and build a safe Romantasy story out of the giblets though, as I gather that's hot in publishing right now! 😜)

The prosaic style is perhaps a bit old-fashioned because I read books from the 1800s instead of things published in the last three years, and the general tone leans a bit Literary: it's filled with references to philosophy, and poetry, in between the flowery landscape descriptions and kissing sessions among the library stacks... ahem. The writing probably splits the age category down the middle too: it's got an Adult reading level but maybe more of a New Adult setup.

I don't know what to do with this.

I've been serialising the story as it is so far on WattPad in the hopes of accruing some feedback and encouragement. If anyone likes the sound of the ramble above, I would love you forever if you'd give it a read, drop a comment or a star over there (link below).

If you made it this far, you're a star 🌟

[authorstalker]

My May, June, July, & August Reads

Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other, Danielle Dutton - I put this on hold because 1) I love Dutton's novel, Margaret the First, and 2) the cover art is so different and so great. I really enjoyed the experience of reading PDAO; it made me feel smart, like I was back in school. That said, I also had to skim some of the "Art" section because it went over my head. I was most engrossed by the short stories in "Prairie" and the collection of literary dress quotes in "Dresses." In a fun coincidence, I had just started reading Lolly Willowes, and one of the dress quotes is pulled from that novel. Keep doing you, Danielle Dutton—I love your weird brain.

Lolly Willowes: or, The Loving Huntsman, Sylvia Townsend Warner - Another book I picked up because 1) I enjoyed a different novel by the author (in this case, Warner's Black Death nun book, The Corner That Held Them) and 2) the cover art called to me (in this case, witches flying on brooms across a hideous yellow background). Lolly Willowes is a wild ride—it was the first-ever book selected by the Book of the Month Club!—and yes, there are witches.

Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino - It took me longer than expected to get invested in this, for which I blame my tragic attention span, but I was hooked as soon as the protagonist started her high school years. A beautiful character, the most beautiful writing, and of course I cried buckets.

The Alternatives, Caoilinn Hughes - A novel about four sisters! Set in Ireland! It's funny and cynical! Unfortunately it lost my interest for a hot second 3/4 of the way through, but the insane ending saved the day.

Any Person Is the Only Self: Essays, Elisa Gabbert - An all-time favorite. If reading is central to your identity, you must get this book.

Grief Is for People, Sloane Crosley - I will think about the Grand Central Station scene forever. Yes, this book is very sad, but also there's a lot of publishing industry gossip. After you read it, I highly recommend listening to her interview on the Longform podcast.

Tom Lake, Ann Patchett - Some people, including people I know, did not enjoy this novel, and I simply can't relate. I loved every page, every character, every relationship, the Michigan setting, learning about the play Our Town and sewing and harvesting cherries. I loved it so much that I'm going to see Our Town on Broadway next month; Katie Holmes is playing Mrs. Webb and my first thought was, "Wow.....Joey Potter aged out of playing Emily, we are all so old." Thank you, Ann Patchett!

[olivias-shelf]

I really enjoyed this book - a rival business owners to lovers book with two Chinese American main characters who run matchmaking companies? Who get into a bet to find each other love?

Lauren Kung Jessen is great at laying out hints of things to come - nothing came as a surprise to me, but the journey I took with Olivia was satisfying. I especially liked how some of the questionable decisions Olivia made and the misunderstandings between Olivia and Bennett were handled.

The discussions of both our characters being half-Chinese and the questions of identity that come from feeling "not enough" was done really well. I also liked how they bonded over shared struggles as business owners, even though their business were in much different stages.

A thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever, and NetGalley for the ARC.

[catedwrites]

The Worst Duke in London by Amalie Howard

10 Things I Hate About You was MY movie as a teenager; Patrick Verona was it for me (and let's be honest, still is, in a way). So when I saw that Howard, in her ongoing Victorian adaptions of 90s rom-coms, had written a Taming of the Shrew/10 Things adaptation, I did not walk, I RAN to grab my copy.

And overall, I am very satisfied with it! Howard's effervescent writing style, heaped with sexual tension and authentic characters, absolutely sparkles here; The banter in the first two-thirds of the book is unparalleled in any of my recent romance reads and the sexual scenes were top-notch. My only complaint, is about 60% of the way through, it lost a lot of momentum and there were a few chapters where it felt like an unfortunate slog. I'm not sure what changed in those chapters or why, but there was a definitely lull in the book. Still, looking for Taming of the Shrew/10 Things references kept me going until the very satisfying end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

[triviareads]

ARC Review of The Worst Duke In London by Amalie Howard

Rating: 4.5/5 Heat Level: 3.75/5 Publication Date: September 24th

Premise:

A historical romcom based on 10 Things I Hate About You; Scottish duke Gage agrees to court socially awkward Effie in exchange for erasing his debts. To his surprise, Effie asks if Gage would like to be her lover.

My review:

This was a delightfully lusty, hilarious take on the 10 Things I Hate About You, and Amalie Howard made it BETTER by adding in a no-strings affair that our heroine instigates.

Y'all know the premise of 10 Things; Here, younger sister Viola isn't allowed to have a suitor until her socially outcast older sister and heroine Effie lands one, so Viola's douchey beau offers to forgive the hero Gage's debt if he pretends to be Effie's suitor for six weeks. Except a few things become apparent right off the bat: Effie is a tall, wacky animal lover and suffragette who has no filter and makes jokes about cats being dickmatized (sorry, "prick-merized")... and Gage is SUPER into all of that. And the feeling is mutual, leading to a deviation from the original plot: Effie asks Gage to be her lover so she can explore her sexuality because she has no plans to marry (I do think her rationale for this became flimsier as time went on and Gage proved himself to be a good person, despite his initial motives).

I LOVE a romance where both the hero and heroine are unabashed about their desire for one another, especially when the heroine is just as vocal as the hero, and this book does not disappoint. Gage is BIIIIIG and SCOTTISH and a BOXER— and a genuinely nice guy without being a Nice Guy— and Effie isn't shy about letting him know she wants to climb him like a tree (or alternatively, like her cat who does so within seconds of meeting the man). We also get classic romcom girl-gang shenanigans with Effie's friends, the Hellfire Kitties, who aren't shy about egging Effie and Gage on either.

The sex:

This book genuinely has the most well-done mutual virginity-loss scene I've ever read. Effie and Gage are perfect combination of naturally carnal and a little insecure as they sort of roll with the punches (and by punches I mean That Thing a virgin hero is perhaps more liable to do than an experienced one.....). Also, I really appreciate the inclusion of condoms and lube— The latter especially is something we don't see enough in romances, in my opinion, and based on Effie limping around TWO DAYS after being devirginized, the lube feels quite necessary here lol.

And not only are sex toys involved (something else I rarely see in historicals even they absolutely existed then) in a very hot mutual masturbation moment, but there's also a carriage scene!

Overall:

Amalie Howard once again knocked it out of the park with this book: not only does it have that classic romcom feel that had me giggling and kicking my feet, it also brings the heat in a way that's humorous and sex-positive. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a light-hearted historical romp, and I'm looking forward to the inevitable enemies-to-lovers excellence that will be Briar and Lushing's book.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[jolieeason]

Wake Me Most Wickedly (Once Upon the East End: Book 2) by Felicia Grossman

Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever Date of publication: April 9th, 2024 Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Jewish, Retellings, Historical Fiction, Adult Fiction, Fiction, British Literature Series: Once Upon the East End Shtup Me at Sunrise—Book 0.5 Marry Me by Midnight—Book 1 (review here) Wake Me Most Wickedly—Book 2 Seduce Me in Secret—Book 3 (expected…

[pulsdmedia]

The Week Ahead 2/12-2/18

February might be frosty, but we're heating things up every day with the hottest tickets, dinners, bottomless brunches, and then some. 2024 is looking good, and after the last few years, we're ready now more than ever to bring you the best of NYC, straight to your inbox...

$79: 100+ Top Global Wines & Food From Coveted Restaurants

This Thursday, prepare your palate for an exquisite journey through the world of viticulture as you join the prestigious Wine & Spirits Magazine at their annual Top 100 Tasting extravaganza! You'll have 2 Hours to Taste 100+ Premium Fine Wines curated by Wine & Spirits Magazine's experts that showcases wineries from around the world, as well as 2 Hours to Indulge in a Selection of Gourmet Foods from some of New York’s Top Restaurants. From the illustrious Champagne Bollinger of France to the revered Ridge Vineyards of California, from the enchanting Le Macchiole of Italy to the venerable R. López de Heredia of Spain, each bottle promises to blow your mind...

Book Launch With Billy Dee Williams

Join Barnes & Noble Union Square as they welcome the legendary actor Billy Dee Williams to celebrate his new book What Have We Here. In his own words, Billy shares all that has sustained and carried him through a lifetime of dreams and adventure!

Rooftop 3 Course Valentine's Day Dinner For Two With Champagne

Float above the city lights and immerse yourselves in the magical ambiance of Highkey Rainforest Rooftop this Valentine's Day. Love takes center stage tonight at this all-season rooftop tropical oasis, where their Valentine's Day dinner promises an indulgent affair. Start with effervescent Champagne to set the mood. Next, dive into starters like Beef Sliders, followed by indulgent mains like Lobster Tails or tender Chicken Skewers. Conclude the evening on a sweet note with refreshing Fresh Mango Sorbet. If the way to the heart is through the stomach, then you've come to the right place...

Valentine's Day Market

Add love to every day at the Grand Central Valentine’s Market – where flowers, sweets, music, and poetry come together for a heartwarming celebration! Stop by for a free customized love poem, shop sweet treats, sway to the music, and surround yourself with love.

$39: 3 Hour Rooftop Open Bar Valentine's Day Singles Soirée

Calling all singles! Celebrate Valentine's Day with flair at Kimoto Rooftop, one of the city's most sought-after rooftop sanctuaries perched 25 stories high. The open bar will serve endless decadent cocktails, bubbly brews, and luscious wines flowing freely, building up liquid courage as you navigate through the night, seeking your match for the evening - or perhaps forever. Showcase your dance moves as a curated R&B playlist fills the atmosphere. Whether you discover Mr. Right, Mr. Right Now, or simply forge new connections, don't miss this unforgettable soirée in the sky...

Family Art Workshop: Printmaking

Have you ever wondered how an artist’s work gets out into the world without them making each piece by hand? In this workshop with Secret Riso Club, participants will experiment with making copies of their own artwork and working with others to interpret their vision. You’ll get hands-on printmaking experience, then learn how printer and publisher Jacob Samuel worked with other artists to interpret their work to print.

[readingwithwrin]

Blogmas Day 26 | A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary | Book Review

Blogmas Day 26 | A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary | Book Review

Title: A Cat Cafe Christmas Author: Codi Gary Publisher: Forever Published Date: October 4th, 2022 Genre: Christmas, Contemporary, Romance, Adult Source: Library Rating: ★ ★ ★ .5 Goodreads Summary: Kara Ingalls has come to California for a fresh start. Along with her friend Charity, she opens The Meow and Furever Cat Cafe. With Charity in charge of the baking and Kara caring for the…

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb:

Readers of Mia Sosa and Alexandria Bellefleur will love this swoony, sexy opposites-attract romcom from USA Today bestselling author Helena Greer, where the relationship may be fake, but the feelings are very real! 

No-nonsense Tara Sloane Chadwick is practically perfect. An impeccably mannered Southern belle, she’s the youngest to make partner at her law firm and still friends with all her exes. However, when the woman behind her most humiliating breakup invites Tara to her wedding, Tara panics at the thought of showing up alone and impulsively declares she’s bringing her very serious girlfriend.

One issue: Tara is seriously single.

Waitress and wild child Holly Siobhan Delaney may be lusting over Tara—but Tara only dates women she can marry, and Holly’s sworn off relationships. So when Tara needs a fake girlfriend, Holly’s eager to propose a no-strings, temporary fling. Only sharing secrets and steamy kisses show Holly the caring woman beneath Tara’s picture-perfect exterior, tempting Holly to break her own rules. Can these two opposites trust their feelings enough to try for forever—or will their relationship go down in flames? 

Review:

She's a Southern belle lawyer who's got an invite to her ex fiancee's wedding and who better to take with her than her cafe tattooed waitress crush who just happens to also have a crush on her? Tara Sloane Chadwick is an ice queen and a good lawyer, she's also still friends with all of her exes. Yet when Tara is invited to her ex fiancee's wedding Tara knows she can't show up alone and just lies and said she's got a girlfriend she's bringing to the wedding.... now to find a girlfriend to fill in the role. Cue waitress and wild child Holly Siobhan Delaney, the complete opposite of Tara, who has been crushing on Tara since forever. Tara only dates women she can marry and Holly's sworn off relationships ever since her ex. Both of them definitely shouldn't be dating... but Holly offers to go with Tara as her fake girlfriend and definitely wants a no-strings attached temporary fling with Tara. But the more they begin sharing secrets with each other and making out... the more their feelings for one another might be coming true, yet can a relationship really work between two people who want two different things? Tara wants a woman who can survive the southern belle world and Holly wants someone who will love her for her.... but can they find a way to be together or was it just for the holidays? This is a cute holiday sapphic read with a sweet romance. Though I will say towards the end I kind of drifted out but the beginning was absolutely adorable. Tara kept trying to change Holly and demeaning her for not having a higher education and being a "less desirable" option wasn't that great... it made me feel like Holly deserved better. I wish there was a bit of a better spark between Holly and Tara, the romance just felt a bit lacking. It's definitely a closed door romance but I still wish there was a bit more show in terms of showing the spark and romance between them. The overall message of the book was great though and the book made an overall cute read.

Release Date: August 27,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*