Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb: Two students—worlds apart—unite to solve the mystery of a legendary decades-old love story gone tragically wrong in a captivating romance by the award-winning author of The Karma Map and Dating Dr. Dil.

It doesn’t take long for ambitious freshman and aspiring engineer Jessie Ahuja to learn about two university legends. One is the haunted history of Davidson Tower, where more than fifty years ago, two ill-fated lovers disappeared in a devastating fire. The other is Ravi Kumar, a privileged billionaire nepo baby who’s aggravatingly charming and occupying more brain space than Jessie has room for. Things change when a campus prank locks them both in the old tower’s ghostly library.

There, Jessie finds letters from the fabled lost lovers, forgotten in a hollowed-out copy of Persuasion. One by one, the letters suck Jessie and Ravi into a beguiling mystery and an achingly beautiful long-ago romance destined to go up in flames. It’s also drawing Jessie and Ravi—every bit as star-crossed—closer together. Can they overcome whatever fate has in store for them? Or are they just as doomed as the young lovers whose tragic end has become legend?

Review:

Two rival students, a decades old mystery love story gone tragically wrong, and the possibility of falling in love and a dash of Jane Austen. Jessie Ahuja is a freshman who is an aspiring engineer on a scholarship, she has her entire life mapped out and is determined to do whatever it takes to succeed. Ravi Kumar is the privileged billionaire nepo baby who is as charming as he is intelligent. Ravi and Jessie run into each other at a party and immediately get under each other's skin. Jessie and Ravi soon find out that they are both in the same english class and when they both end up locked up in the old haunted school library, famous for being the place where two ill-fated lovers disappeared in a fire over fifty years ago... the last thing they both expect is to find said lover's letters and to begin to work on solving the mystery of what happened to the lovers all those years ago. Despite constantly fighting for the study room, they decide to spend time together reading the letters and working out what happened to the famous lovers. Ravi and Jessie soon begin to fall for one another, but are their world's too different, with Ravi's wealthy family and Jessie's insecurities about their different worlds... can romance really work between them? This was an utterly charming and adorable read, it's definitely such a cute take on Pride and Prejudice with a modern love letter touch. Ravi and Jessie were an adorable couple. I loved how they fell for one another and how their love story evolved. It was just a sweet read and I would absolutely recommend it!!

*Thanks Netgalley and Skyscape for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Ego & Eros: Volume 1

The BTS Pride and Prejudice retelling no one was asking for but I wanted to write!

The Park siblings know they need to marry if they want to ever leave their small town and have a chance at freedom, adventure, and maybe even love. But these things are never simple... When reputation, status and your own pride begin to cloud your judgements of people, is there any hope for them all to get their happy ever afters?

Just over 38k and complete!

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– Ibi Zoboi, Pride

Going live on TikTok to talk with Pride and Protest author Nikki Payne!

My March Books

Hi! Everyone these are the books I have read this month, there are 8 of them. As you can see most of them are romances short stories, and a mystery. As always I have the Goodreads links for you to check out:

Snowed Inn (Freedom Valley#6) (Erin Branscom): The last installment of this series had glimpses of our couples from the previous books and introduced us to a new one with great chemistry and a love for food. Holly was funny, spunky, and a great cook and Beau was the perfect example of a grumpy exterior and soft interior protagonist with a painful past. I also loved the side characters of Hank, Beau’s brother, and Ophelia, Holly’s best friend, and their respective romance. I want a short story of their relationship after this book so that I can return to Freedom Valey. I liked that this book was in the winter and the Golden Gable Inn and the scenes with Sasha, the cook, and the igloos in the yard. I recommend all the series. You can only read this one but the whole series is amazing.

Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swenson #4) (Joanne Fluke): I like this series of cozy mysteries as I love Hannah Swenson and her family in Lake. I like the recipes the author gives every five chapters or so. I like that the mysteries are easy and if you think a little you can help Hannah solve them. I loved in all of them to see how Hannah’s relationships with her neighbors are faring, especially those with Mike and Norman. I loved her little sister Michelle whom we were introduced to in this one. Overall, it was a delightful book to read.

The Undercover Santa (Spying on Love #1) (Jo Davies): That was a fun short story with a double point of view and a fun open ending. I read both in the same morning on my commute to work, so it was a great and fun start for me.

The Undisclosed Panda (Spying on Love #2) (Jo Davies): The second part of the previous story with a happy ending and unexpected twists, but not too many for a six-chapter short story, to the story's mystery. It was a great detour of the tea district in Shanghai too, as the two go there to solve the mystery and have their first date.

Pardon My French Press (Coffee Loft #2) (J. P. Sterling): The second short story of the Coffee Loft series was based in New York City, which I loved as it was a good development of the characters and the shop itself. I liked the personalities of the two protagonists, Portia and Christian, who have a sense of humor with lots of sarcasm. I loved the relationships of the two protagonists with their families and neighbors. It is a classic enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance in a coffee shop in New York something that made it special to me as one of my films, You’ve Got a Mail. I will recommend it to someone who is searching for something small to it.

A Pinch of Salt (Lucy Marin): This retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice set in a Canadian cooking show was pretty good and has the preceptive of many of the characters, especially those who participate in the competition. I loved that the author did not include the affair between Lydia and Wickham but had their characters as close to them as she could in these circumstances.  It also has the main themes and the personalities of the characters are the same as the original. It was really with good description of the food and the emotions of the two protagonists. It was a good modern retelling of a classic.

The Sitcom Star (Chu’s Restaurant #1) (Jackie Lau): This was a cute novella with two former classmates who reacquainted and started to spend time together. The difference in the novella is that the female protagonist is a famous star of an Asian- American sitcom which she produces and writes the script. I loved the fun and cute moments the protagonists had with each other, their friends, and their families too.

The Reluctant Heartthrob (Chu’s Restaurant #2) (Jackie Lau): This cute novella and second story of this series surrounds the male protagonist of the series who is a grumpy Shakespeare-loving actor. The female protagonist is a data scientist who might have autism but she hasn’t had a formal review, so she doesn’t know for sure. I loved the representation in this one and the relationship between them as I love the grumpy/ sunshine type of books.

~ books read in 2023 ~

#34: A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mother in possession of great wisdom, must be in want - nay, in need - of a daughter who will listen.

Rating: 3/5

Matter of Trust - A Complete Historical Regency Romance

Immerse yourself in the Regency era with this engaging 'what-if' Pride and Prejudice story with a hint of intrigue and a touch of romance!

Scandal. Secrets. Deceptions.

A newlywed bride, a mysterious aunt, and a misguided sister—Darcy's relationships with the three women in his life are tested when he discovers a bombshell about George Wickham. What if Wickham is of Darcy lineage? Would he then be a better man?

Available here: http://books2read.com/matteroftrust

Author website: https://podixon.com

Read my eBooks for free with your SCRIBD membership - https://www.scribd.com/author/4889679...

Find my books in eBook, paperback (regular and large print), hardcover, and audiobook - https://books2read.com/podixon

Accomplished by Amanda Quain (ARC Review)

Title: Accomplished Author: Amanda Quain Type: Fiction Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance Publisher: Wednesday Books Date published: July 26, 2022 A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Georgiana Darcy should have been expelled after The Incident with Wickham Foster last…

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Favorite niche book genre

I did it! The great endeavor I began, five years ago, to rewrite every Austen novel blended with a fairy tale is DONE. You can now reexperience all/moments of your favorite Austen moments, but now with elemental magic and cursed princes!

Feels a bit weird to say goodbye to the books that have consumed me for two years straight, but I'm also so excited that these stories can now be read and loved by everyone!

They're all right here. Check 'em out. Also, Thornrose Estate is 99 cents right now for ... reasons.

Rating: 2/5

Book Blurb: Equal parts witty and steamy, this debut rom-com brings a healthy dose of queerness and a whole lot of heart to a Pride and Prejudice-inspired enemies to lovers romance. The only thing worse than hating your boss? Being attracted to her. Liz Baker and her three roommates work at the Nether Fields, a queer magazine in New York that’s on the verge of shutting down—until it’s bought at the last minute by two wealthy lesbians. Liz knows she’s lucky to still have a paycheck but it’s hard to feel grateful with minority investor Daria Fitzgerald slashing budgets, cancelling bagel Fridays, and password protecting the color printer to prevent “frivolous use.” When Liz overhears Daria scoffing at her listicles, she knows that it’s only a matter of time before her impulsive mouth gets herself fired. But as Liz and Daria wind up having to spend more and more time together, Liz starts to see a softer side to Daria—she’s funny, thoughtful, and likes the way Liz’s gender presentation varies between butch and femme. Despite the evidence that Liz can’t trust her, it’s hard to keep hating Daria—and even harder to resist the chemistry between them. This page-turning, sexy, and delightfully funny rom-com celebrates queer culture, chosen family, and falling in love against your better judgment.

Review:

A modern day queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice? Don’t mind if I do! The story follows Liz Baker and her three roommates who work at the Nether Fields, a queer magazine in New York is on the verge of shutting down... until it is bought by two wealthy lesbians: Bailey and Daria. Liz is has been in a rut: she isn’t really into any of the stuff she writes for her magazine while thinking her own queer blog writing isn’t good enough, she wants to do something more, write something real. But after a not so great meeting with Daria Fitzgerald in which Liz learns that Daria is slashing all the budgets, cancelling bagel fridays, and thinks that all Liz writes is useless fluff pieces that are asinine.... Liz loathes Daria. It doesn’t help that Liz meets Weston, someone who has a terrible past with Daria. While Liz’s roommate and best friend Jane is falling for Bailey... Liz and Daria are forced to spend more time together and soon discover that there might be more... but after a misunderstanding, mixed signals, and a series of unfortunate events, things get complicated and so does their relationship. Unfortunately for me this retelling and inspired story just didn’t really hit the mark for me, despite being a queer Pride and Prejudice retelling (something I am 100% on board) I just didn’t really enjoy Liz and Daria’s relationship all that much and all the toxic drama around them. I was hoping for something more and I guess it just didn’t meet my expectations. I adored the classic story, and I adore a good retelling, but unfortunately this one just didn’t hook me or ever made me actually want to invest in the characters or their relationship. While this one didn’t work out for me, definitely give it a go if you are a fan of Pride and Prejudice or queer romances!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Ego & Eros: Volume III

The truth has come out and Jimin finally understands who he should have trusted the entire time. However, is he too late? Has he lost his opportunity to find love and a happy ever after when he placed his own Ego over Eros's will?

Just over 42.6k and complete!

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No offense Jane, but that sounds like some hetero nonsense.

@wlwgif‘s pride week - day 2 - movie: Fire Island

begging people (authors, publishers, etc.) to realize that there is more to classic retellings than just taking the tropes in a book and lifting up very basic character information from the original plot without also trying to expand upon the original author's intended themes/social commentary

~ books read in 2023 ~

#6: Lola at Last by JC Peterson

It is a truth universally acknowledged that boys make for the best mistakes.

Rating: 5/5