A Bit of A Breather

 So… yikes. Have you seen the news recently? It will surprise no one that in times like these I turn to romance novels. So, here we go. 

India Holton- The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Seriously. So smart and funny and charming. The book trusts the reader with understanding a fantastical world without an overload of exposition. Completely character driven but in a world with magical birds. Laughed out loud so many times, incredibly charming and fleshed out side characters. The fact that I genuinely swooned for both main characters was just a bonus. I will be reading everything of India Holton’s I can get my hands on. 

Hannah Nicole Maehrer- Assistant to the Villian

This one was super fun, it’s a world that absorbed me. I loved the characters. The mystery and love story were a little drawn out. It’s a three book series that I think maybe could have just been one, but I don’t really care. The humor and wit of the writing, the quirk of the characters, this was a really fun read. 

Julia Quinn- The Sum of All Kisses

I have reviewed this one on the blog, and here I am recommending it. It was cute and fun! I liked that the male main character was non-traditional, with a photogenic memory and a bad leg, and grumpy but not dark and brooding. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again– Julia Quinn’s super power is that none of her books feature the same dynamic between characters. Each story is different, which is pretty rare in the romance genre. 

Suzanne Allain- The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right

Lovely, closed door romance. Super fun, quirky writing, genuinely nice main protagonist. I love a good regency. Listened to the audiobook in one sitting and had an amazing time. There’s a little bit of a miscommunication at the end that drove me crazy, but still a good read. 

Vanessa Kelly- Murder in Highbury

Okay. This one isn’t *really* a romance. It’s a murder mystery… that takes place a year after Jane Austen’s “Emma” gets married. Jane Austen spin-offs are a staple in today’s book scene, and none of them have ever really grabbed me. I love her writing too much, not just the characters but the style. She’s a tough act to follow. This book takes care of the story and the characters, without trying to be a “canonical” sequel. I listened to the audiobook and adored it. Though it’s not exactly a romance, it shows the inner workings of Emma’s marriage (all closed door). It’s rare to read a book where the main character is in a happy marriage, their relationship remaining constant without taking up a leading role in the story. The book was a lovely read.

Ali Hazelwood- Bride

I really liked the politics of this book? That’s a weird thing to say about a romance, but this one leans into the fantasy of the romantasy. It’s a “fated to be mated” which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I like it. There’s a solid amount of spice, very well written. Although I will say, I was *knot* expecting a certain surprise at the very end. I didn’t think that kind of thing was getting published by Random House, and I maybe would have liked to know about it going in? Either way, it was a good read.

Emily Henry- Funny Story

I loved this one so much I went and bought a copy after my hold at the library was up. Miles is a rare male main character in a romance novel– one who is actually just really nice and handsome without being a buff alpha male. The book feels like a sitcom. My only gripe is that Emily Henry rarely includes enough grovelling and pining on the male side, but that’s because I am sick and twisted and like to see men suffer. 

Colby Wilkens- If I Stopped Haunting You

Ugh, so good and fun. I saw this book at a Barnes and Noble and was arrested by the tagline, “Ghosts aren’t the only thing that go bump in the night.” A campy, haunted by ghosts romance and one of the few times I’ve seen enemies to lovers done right. (When we don’t live in a fantasy world where two people have a reason to be opponents, it just doesn’t make sense. These two are rivals with real differences that they work through.) The romance is very sweet, and the book had a surprising amount of spice– the kind that’s so well written you feel like you are intruding. I felt the book needed another round of copy-editing but that’s nitpicky. The mystery also felt somewhat haphazard. The big reveal came and I was like, “yeah, we knew that already.” But that’s small potatoes given that I really enjoyed reading the story. It was also a romance between two Native Americans, a breath of fresh air in such a white-dominated genre. 

These are all straight romances, which was not intentional on my part. But I am very against buying books and am therefore at the whim of the library gods, and not all my holds come through in batches. I’m going to keep up with these “breather” recommendation posts, so there will be a fresh batch of gay recommendations coming down the pipe. 

Embracing escapism and ever yours,

Pure