#gonna try pinning these for a min to look More Profesh

[mermaidsirennikita]

2023 Weekly Book Recs: 11/3-11/10

The Master by Kresley Cole

Lothaire but make it mafia! I am a hUGE fan of the "crazy powerful man kidnaps woman and then realizes she's a nightmare" thing, and this... really DOES that. Maksim and Cat's interplay is so sharp, so hot. Yet (and this is again something I would say Kresley perfected first in Lothaire) the inherent darkness and sexuality of their dynamic is softened by like... goofy snark and little snaps of soft affection. There's a warmth between them at points that I just LOVED; and then there's a chastity belt to keep it from getting too warm. Also: features a "local romance novel hero stands in rain like bedraggled rat" moment. Which I always love. (I will note: I did not love how Kresley used random Spanish with Cat, who is Cuban. It was cringe at best, if very of its time in contemporary romance. I did love the book otherwise, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that.)

The Player by Kresley Cole

It's so good when a series gets progressively better with each book-and the Game Maker trilogy does just that. It's the least mafia of the series, yet somehow the darkest, in large part thanks to our traumatized hero (content warning for discussions of childhood sexual abuse). But there's also like. All the things you want from this series. Ridiculous money, heroine running a long con, iNSANE sex (one of my favorite sex scenes... ever... is in this book), and absolutely bonkers moments (when he punches the car door... be still my heart). There's a real beating heart here, however, and somehow, through all his batshit behavior... Dmitri became baby? Like, I think this man is baby.

Rules for a Proper Governess by Jennifer Ashley

The Nanny But Make It Victorian. He's a hot, stern, scolding (dare I say... daddy?) single father whose lawyerly skills have earned him the nickname of The Scottish Machine (yeah he is). She's a snarky, defiant pickpocket/street urchin who accidentally ends up being his children's governess. All the workplace violations in this book were GLORIOUS. He has an oral fixation; she stalks him; there are two kids who actually aren't annoying because Jennifer Ashley knows how to use romance novel children sparingly. I was frankly gone for this book as soon as I realized that Bertie was basically going to mindfuck Sinclair into being in love with her. I mean, what more can you ask for in a governess romance?