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Thanks for sharing all of your favorite books of 2023.
I have a great list to explore in the coming year!
The three winners of
a book from my giveaway stash are:
Patoct
Cherie J
Cheryl C
Congratulations!
Please send your full name and mailing address to:
theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com
As we're winding down to the final days of 2023, I thought it would be fun to look back at the books we read this year and list our favorites. I tasked Hellie and Santa with giving me the titles of their five favorite reads then tried to do it myself and - wow - not easy! There were some great books this year that touched me in a variety of ways. But that's a good thing, right? I hope you all had a similar reading experience.
Here are the books that made us smile during 2023. If a book listed was reviewed here at The Romance Dish, the title will be highlighted. Click on it to read the full review.
Hellie:
Three Holidays & a Wedding: This one and Much Ado About Nada, same author (Uzma Jalauddin), are probably my favorite-favorites of the books I read this year. The author is just perfection. Lots of laughter and all of the feels.
Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalauddin
Read on my own, which features a lot more mysteries than I review on site:
A Sinister Revenge: The Veronica Speedwell series (Deanna Rayborne) is my favorite find of 2022 and the newest episode delivered as much as the rest.
All the Victoria Thompson Gaslight mysteries: so once I ran out of Veronica Speedwell, I floundered in a desert of reading material until I found these—and then I read them (there are like 25+) all too fast. Very depressing reading-wise (back in the desert), but what a wonderful set of stories. LOVE! (I believe the newest one is Murder on Bedford Street, but I read them all this year so I'm counting them as one item.)
Santa:
Lord Dane Walker, brother to the Duke of Rydell, is infamous for racing fast carriages and breaking hearts. But when his brother is mortally injured, Dane inherits the responsibilities of the dukedom—duties that come with a dangerous secret which threatens everyone close to him.
In London, Sandrine is astonished to learn that the charming, honorable man she met at the beach is really a disreputable rake. And the infuriating nobleman acts as though he barely knows her.
Who needs a wild rake? Certainly not Sandrine! With a little help from her friends, she transforms into a glamorous belle. She’s out to make Dane pay…but can she stop her traitorous heart from longing to surrender only to him?
PJ's Thoughts:
I can't be the only reader who sang her way through this book. Paying homage to the musical Grease, Bell has penned a story that is lighthearted, fast paced, and just plain fun.
In many ways, this book is a historical retelling of the modern day musical, complete with Dane and Sandrine's "summer love," a pack of London rakes who delight in racing carriages, and even a group of independent society misses known as the "Pink Ladies." But Bell also puts her own spin on it, giving it emotional heft with both Sandrine's and Dane's individual circumstances. I enjoyed watching the growth of both characters. It was especially fun to see Sandrine come into her own after a lifetime under her mother's thumb with the discovery of an unknown family member being an added bonus. And to see Dane finally realize that he was worthy of love touched my heart. There's also blackmail, a mystery to be solved, and complicated family dynamics on both sides. This one is definitely a page turner!
If you're in the mood for a book that will have you grinning with delight (honestly, I don't think I stopped smiling the entire time), give You're the Duke That I Want a try. It's the first in Lenora Bell's new The Thunderbolt Club historical romance series and a treat from start to finish.
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Wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas holiday.
I'll be back Wednesday, December 27th
with a review of
You're the Duke That I Want by Lenora Bell.
See you then!
But her perfect plan soon proves to be anything
but. Those vintage courtship tips Cassidy was so quick to poke fun at? They
actually seem to work, calling her most closely-held beliefs into question.
Even worse? Jack isn’t falling for any of her tricks—and it’s not long before
their ‘fake’ relationship starts to feel like the realest one of her life. As
her cat and mouse game starts to spiral out of control, Cassidy has to decide
if she’s playing to win, or if she’s willing to lose it all for love.
Hellie’s Heeds
If you will be convening with people this holiday season (in a variety of settings, possibly long dinners or parties) and need an emergency book in your bag to read when you take an emergency 15 minutes in the bathroom to get away from it all–this is your book. It took me less than ten seconds to be sucked into the story, the writing, the sassy sarcastic monologue of the main character, and just start laughing. A good sign for me when I’m reading a book is how soon I start laughing: which could be because of the humor but could also be because of the set up of what is going to go down…and in this book’s case, both. Once you start, you’ll soon make the connection to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but the story also has bits and pieces of other rom-coms you may have watched over the years. 27 Dresses. A bit of You’ve Got Mail. A few cocktails of The Devil Wears Prada. Vintage vibes of Down With Love. Basically any rom-com where the protagonists essentially hate each other at first sight, but in the end, are the very best of lovers. Why is a book about enemies-to-lovers a good pick for the holidays? Because it’s so easy to slip in and out of when you need a few minutes to escape anywhere else–and this book is a delightful escape. I could literally pick up this book and start reading and forget where I was before I even turned the page. It was amazing.
While the hero and heroine are both very likable (which kudos to the author for pulling this off because the heroine could be construed as being a bit hostile to someone she’s technically never met and that’s a hard thin line to walk to make everyone still very sympathetic), the side characters time and again made me laugh out loud. Gran was far and away my favorite–and still is–and I loved how her story was resolved in the end of the book. Her schooling her granddaughter in the minefield of modern dating was a thing to behold. But I also enjoyed Natalie the roommate and Christina the fiercely protective sister (Cassie’s). Tom, who is Jack’s obnoxious business partner, is even eventually turned into a guy one could reasonably like, even as he fronts a company that publishes articles that serve as clickbait and capitalizes on men acting like frat brothers constantly. These characters all supported our main characters and made them better people–and showed us why the main characters were so worthy of love and support.
Lastly, if like me, you’re a bit of a rabid feminist who wrestles with the Patriarchy just in principle, this was an interesting book in poking at the things that definitely burn my britches, so to speak, when it comes to relationships, such as how women tend to subsume themselves into their relationships while men seem to get the better end of the stick (without losing their career, et al). Or the fact that a single woman is basically a thing of pity, but a single man is just someone sowing his wild oats and has plenty of time–even now, today, when being a spinster shouldn’t even be a thing. I would turn pages and go, “Yep! Been there and done that!” or “Oh, yes, the character is wrestling with something I totally think about a lot!”--and the secondary character (or even the main character) would confront the issue and look at it from a different way, one I hadn’t really considered, and it was like, “Yes, that is true too. Huh.” You can be feminist…but also soft, and it not be in contradiction. So I always like a book that makes me challenge my assumptions in a good way and come away with a more positive mindset. (This may not be every reader’s experience–but it certainly resonated with me.)
Basically I laughed a LOT…I would laugh and my husband would say, “What’s so funny?” and I’d tell him and he’d may or may not get it (because you sometimes had to be there, if you know what I mean) and other times he’d go, “Is this a fun book or a review book?” and I’d go, “Both. It’s definitely both.” While enemies to lovers is not my favorite trope, I feel this story hit it out of the park–and it definitely had black moments galore to make you question how this would all turn out. I would highly recommend for your lists to Santa.
It's a holiday surprise!
Since posting Hellie's review, a second copy of
The Gentleman's Gambit arrived in the mail.
So, today, we have two winners!
Congratulations to:
Annette N
and
traveler
Please send your full name and mailing address to:
theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com
The randomly chosen winner of
a signed print copy of
Game On by Seressia Glass is:
flchen1
Congratulations!
Please send your full name and mailing address to:
theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com
The randomly chosen winner of
a print copy of Housebroke by Jaci Burton is:
Susanne Lercher
Congratulations!
Please send your full name and mailing address to:
theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com
The randomly chosen winner of
a print copy of
Technically Yours is:
LauraL
Congratulations!
Please send your full name and mailing address to:
theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com
The randomly chosen winner of
a signed print copy of
Christmas with a Cowboy is:
Meg
Congratulations!
Please send your full name and mailing address to:
theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com
Elias Khoury has wheedled his way into Professor Campbell’s circle under false pretenses: he did not come to Oxford to classify ancient artifacts, he is determined to take them back to his homeland in the Middle East. Winning Catriona’s favor could be the key to his success. Unfortunately, seducing the coolly intense lady scholar quickly becomes a mission in itself and his well-laid plans are in danger of derailing...
Forced into close proximity in Oxford’s hallowed
halls, two very different people have to face the fact that they might just be
a perfect match. Soon, a risky new game begins that asks Catriona one more time
to put her heart and wildest dreams at stake.
Hellie’s Heeds
The premise of this series always lured me in (I
*LOVE* Suffragettes!), but occasionally some of the characters were a little
hard for me to like. (Hallmark of a great writer, really, to make a reader
forget these are not real people!) However, this book is, I believe, my
favorite of the series. Undoubtedly it’s because I could identify so much with
the character who is deeply introverted, feels things very deeply, and doesn’t
trust herself when it comes to who she falls in love with. The hero himself is
a delicious scholarly and sensitive sort (beta in the best way) who has come to
befriend her father for rather nefarious reasons: to help steal back some
artifacts to their rightful country.
While the story spins around these two very different people with very different lived experiences who find a connection and risk everything to be together, it is also a story about the relationships of these friends (Hattie, Lucie, Annabelle, and Catriona) and being a modern woman in their time, challenging the status quo while fighting for justice for their sex. I saw plot glimmers that reminded me of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and how she framed her lawsuit to get more rights for women, the constant tug of family and career (“Am I a good mother?”) and the various ways other women have shamed women rather than supported them, and even the pernicious society shaming of “who deserves to wear white on their wedding day?”--we all do, as Bull Durham will tell you. Elias is a very deserving hero–I think my love of the alpha males has gone away and now I’m almost exclusively in love with the kind of men who definitely put consent and kindness before anything else.
There were also other interesting layers of history for this book that I would never have learned if it wasn’t for this story: some history of the Middle East, Maronites, British colonialism, and women’s rights in the 19th century along with the process of passing laws. There was enough information to make the story feel anchored and authentic without bogging down the pace–which is extremely hard to do–so kudos to the author. I wondered many times how the author managed to come across so many history threads to pull them together into one believable story–I am in awe really. I believe she did this as well for her previous books but being the hero was from the Middle East, the history was more apparent (since I read a lot of England set novels I occasionally take the history for granted as something everyone knows) and interesting. I can only hope to find more books like this in the future.
This is marked as book 4 of 4, and there was an
epilogue that suggests this is the last, so I’m interested to see what this
author will be doing next. I’m sure it will be awesome. If you’ve been looking
forward to this book, this is the conclusion I believe you wished for; if you
haven’t read this series, this is a good time to pick up all the books because
in reading this, i wanted to go back and read the others again. Bravo to Ms.
Evie Dunmore–this has been a great series!
Thanks, Hellie! You've definitely piqued my interest.
Readers, have you discovered Evie Dunmore yet?
Are you surprised by the factual tidbits you absorb through reading historical romance and fiction? I knew a Jeopardy answer the other night and turned to the person next to me, saying smugly, "I learned it in a romance novel." ;-)
One randomly chosen person posting a comment before 11:00 PM, December 17 will receive a print copy of The Gentleman's Gambit.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
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Welcome back for this month's Coastal Magic Convention 2024 Featured Author Post. In the spotlight today is Featured Author Seressia Glass. Seressia is known for a variety of writing genres as shown below in her bio. I'm currently reading her new (12/12/23) romcom, GAME ON. Only 28% in and I'm already hooked. Let me tell you, straight up, you do not have to be a gamer (I am so not) to enjoy this book! Scroll below for more information about Seressia, her books, an excerpt from GAME ON, and a giveaway.
Seressia Glass is an award-winning author of more than twenty-five contemporary and paranormal romance and urban fantasy stories. Her paranormal series, (Shadowchasers, Sons of Anubis) are steeped in Egyptian mythology. Her most recent release is THE LOVE CON, a story about a plus-sized nerd in a cosplaying reality show competition. She lives south of Atlanta with her guitar-wielding husband, gamer son, and two attack poodles. When not writing, she’s at her day job as an instructional designer or watching K-dramas.
Seressia has always been a voracious reader and turned to writing at an early age, using her fantastical tales for extra credit in school. Her proudest writing moment remains winning the first Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday “Living the Dream” essay contest as a high school senior and getting to meet Coretta Scott King and read her essay to the King family. Since then, she’s gone on to write a motley crew of characters and creatures including witches, werewolves, djinn, demons, Egyptian deities and jackal shapeshifters with a few humans thrown into the mix. No matter who or what she’s writing about, Seressia weaves in the universal themes of acceptance and being comfortable in one’s own skin.
EXCERPT
“Hey, Aron.”
He looked up from the documents he’d spread across the
coffee table. “Yes?
Samara grabbed a file folder, then rose. She opened it to
read as she walked toward him. “Did you see this report on five-year pro—ah!”
Time slowed. He watched in horror as Samara tripped, then
pitched forward, her head on a crash course with the table. Fear rose like bile
in his throat as he sprang to his feet to break her fall. He managed to grab
her, but her forward momentum sent him falling back. They landed on the couch,
bumped foreheads, then lips.
Just a couple of seconds of their lips touching, but it
seemed like more as she stared at him in undeniable shock. Then she scrambled
backward and shot to her feet, rubbing at her forehead.
He stood too. “Are you okay?”
She put her left hand on her hip while still massaging her
forehead with her right. “Other than falling into a rom-com situation, I’m
fine.”
What? He scrunched his eyebrows in bewilderment. “A rom-com
situation? Is this something that happens often?”
“In a romantic comedy, yes. In real life, no.”
His bewilderment deepened. “So that was supposed to be
romantic?”
She dropped her hand. “No . . . well, I did
discover that your eyes are even more gorgeous nose to nose, and your lips are
damnably soft and kissable.”
“Kissable?” He touched a finger to his mouth, still feeling
Samara’s lips against his. Her body against his. “Do you consider that a kiss?”
“Yes, albeit an accidental one, not a good one.”
“I think I’ve just been insulted.” He took a step closer to
her with a smile. “I think I need to correct that.”
She sucked in a breath, then spoke, her voice as soft as
night. “Correct what?”
“That bad kiss. I can’t leave you with that memory. I need
to give you a better one. Is that reckless of me?”
She gazed at him, silently considering. He stared back just
as long, longer, an eternity of waiting. Finally, she spoke. “Can it really be
called reckless if it’s something we’ve both wanted to do since that night with
the dinosaurs?”
She—did she—did he hear her right? He had to make sure.
“Can I kiss you right now?”
Her eyes softened. “How about we kiss each other?”
Somehow, he managed to answer her. “I would like that very
much.”
Instead of moving forward, she drew her hands up to frame
his face. Her thumb brushed beneath his eye, a soft caress that burned him to
his core. “I can finally touch you like this.”
“Touch me all you want.” Okay, maybe not all she wanted. He
didn’t need to pop off like a firecracker with a short fuse. “Just remember to
kiss me.”
“Oh, trust and believe, I won’t forget that.”
The low, husky laugh made his body tighten in ways that had
to be obvious to her. Yet she continued to stroke his cheeks as if oblivious as
she held his gaze. “I’m sure you’ve had lots of ladies tell you how beautiful
your eyes are.”
Maybe, but in that moment he couldn’t recall a single one.
“I don’t remember,” he confessed, bringing his hands up to mirror her gesture.
“But you can bet that I’ll definitely remember this.”
He stared at her for a long moment, just drinking in the
reality of having her with him like this. She’d talked about his eyes, but hers
were deep pools of onyx with sparks of amber shooting through. He wanted to
dive in headfirst and knew if he did, he’d never want to come back out.
“So much hidden here,” he whispered, grazing his thumbs
beneath her eyes. He raised his head, closing the distance between them until
their mouths met, meshed. She hadn’t reapplied her lipstick after dinner, and
her lips were soft and full and wonderful against his. It was a sweet,
exploring kiss that made his muscles tremble with the need to clutch her
closer.
She drew back, dark eyes hazy. “Mm-hmm, pizza and cider and
kisses. I need more of alla that.”
They came together again, and this time, oh, this time it
was game on. He turned, putting her beneath him, so that he could kiss her with
all the bottled-up need he possessed. Her hands slid up his shoulders to clasp
together around his neck, her mouth hungry against his.
It took a superhuman effort to pull away from her, but he
managed. Barely. “I should . . . probably go home now.”
She pushed her hair back, blowing out a breath. “You are home.”
“Oh yeah.” He looked around. “I forgot.”
“So did I.” She touched a fingertip to her lips with a soft
smile that produced a shadow of her dimple. “But I do need to go. It’s way
later than I thought, and we both have work to do in the morning.”
“I want to date you.”
