A Study in Sparkling - Special serving of sommelier splashed with second chance love

 After An academic Affair, I was underwhelmed, wondering how the magic of that sizzling literary duo and the university machinations could EVER compare to Fiona and Satoshi - I mean, we're talking a sommelier and a single mom of three!! I was not thrilled to start this book...

BUT

Once I started, the magical binding to relish, read and revere Jodi's work of art was renewed!! With wine knowledge and the suggestive notes which translated to the academic equivalent of the PhD duo. The banter was delish, the tension fraught and thick, and the chemistry was ridiculous!!! From the sheer depression that Fiona embodies and the helplessness in the lieu of her separation, to the beautiful softness and amazingly unique blend that Satoshi embodies - this book flew by - joy, sorrow, lust, love and the tenderness of family were blended in perfect proportion, leaving me unsatisfied in the least!

If Chess was my go to in the previous book, this book went to Lex and their fascinating insight and matter of fact staidness. I will also add a special mention to Isamu, who grudgingly grew to accept and admire - similar to Satoshi's evolving feelings. The staging of the chapters with the stunning exchanges of text, really refreshed the reading experience. Emotionally, the book was like a rasberry tart - with the delicate softness of understanding someone, tangy from the ability to rise from ignominy and acknowledge your own unique flavor, sturdy - the ability to support unconditionally and refreshing - not shying away from the reality of mom constantly questioning her choices!

My thank yous are served with both hands, elegantly, to Netgalley and Atria and my invitation to enjoy a drink (crafted by moi) extends to the wonderfully talented Jodi McAlister! 

The book is best enjoyed with a long island iced tea - a blend of beautiful ingredients with a sparkle towards the finish, savored and not imbibed!

#Septemberreads #Astudyinsparkling #secondchancelove #sommeliervibes

The Twelve Loves of Christmas - Bouquet of holiday spirits wrapped in strands of love

 Are you a fan of the hallmark Christmas collection - brewing romance : from enemies to lovers, second chances, holiday mix ups, holiday flings, puppy love, letter swapping, ethnic, cultural and sweeping through all the ways to bring in Christmas , you name it, we got it!

This was like a bouquet of a dozen red roses - each one with a unique spin with spunk, heart and soul - cute and compact that you could stick it in your back pocket and carry it with you, the warmth, the glow and just the feeling of togetherness that the season evokes. Be it soulful conversations, familial angst or disfunction, the holidays truly bring a time for change, those random interactions with strangers which would not occur the rest of the year and the seasonal migration to the homing nest and family / friend time.

I thoroughly relished all these escapades and the sheer variety of the author's viewpoints and unique perspectives on their romantic fantasies was sizzling, resonant with connection and made my toes curl up in my floppy slippers, curled in front of the fireplace with my favorite sugar cookies, another reminded me of snow gazing and just enjoying the stillness of a quiet christmas, another reminded me of the boisterous celebrations and the heady expectations of gift giving, while another was just about taking a chance, giving your story a new spin! all in all each version of these loved up holiday specials were wonderful!

My sugarplum thank yous to Atria and Netgalley for gifting me this bouquet - its fragrance is still lingering in my room!

#Septemberreads #holidayanthology #thetwelvelovesofchristmas #atria #netgalley

TheDarkLordsGuideToHoneymooning - devastating, devious and deliciously deviant!

 What's mine stays mine

Tiffany brings back THE absolute BEST of the dark lord, imperious, overbearing, powerful and utterly putty at the hand of Arabella. In this edition, the past lives of both The Dark Lady and Lord are under the microscope - leading to moments of unabashed lovemaking and soul searing confessions, between rounds of explosive innovations, curt dismissals and the pinnacle of power struggles between the iron fist and the velvet glove, all under the watchful silver gaze of a certain purple fire spewing pink dragon!

From traipsing across the lands, to assassination attempts, collision course with the syndicate and the ensuing power struggles, to discovering Auremar's plan, finding new allies (a certain scone baking flower lord), to unmasking the pain of their respective pasts while trying to be honest with each other, and giving grace for the unconditional acceptance that they have been blessed with - Kaz and Bella are hurtled from one chapter to the next - at breakneck speed and the intricate plots keep the hairpin bends sharp and leaves you breathless!

The sharp retorts, weird activities and misguided kidnappings, and the stark normalcy that pervade the moments of togetherness interspersed by world ending chaos - Tiffany refuses to let us breathe - my jaws are aching from smiling, my soul is set adrift from the travelling, the secrets and the nuggets shared of Vex, Malphas and Amryska - I NEED the next book, stat!

The vibe that this series began with, the ruthless savagery punctuated by comic relief and the passionate throes of i-cannot-keep-my-hands-off-you are preserved, pickled and absolutely DELISH in this current installment. Tense, seductive, heartwarming and gut-wrenching all at once! I bend my knee to Tiffany, Mistress of the wicked humor syndicate and doff my hat to the chairs of Scarlett Press and Netgalley - my allegiance to this series is unwavering!

#TheDarkLordsGuideToHoneymooning #NetGalley #darkcomedy #miningpasts #foundfamily #septemberreads

Avalon Tower - Arthurian retelling with modern spikes

 If Arthurian legends, the enmeshing of modern technology and magic appeals to your innate sense of being, if miscommunications and crossed wires sizzle your inner romantic, if falling through a rabbit hole to a new world and rules bask your sense of wonder, if trials and tests and exposure to new powers capitulate your visceral sense of magic, if political gambits, cycling through legends and the proverbial lost childhood trope adds angst to your sense of a well developed character arc, then do pick up this series.

The author group does a phenomenal job of melding in the nautical and geographical aspects of the magical war into tangible physical proponents. Where I thought the plot fell flat was when we actually got to Avalon tower, I felt lost from the mappable quality that permeated ventures into the real world - it was underwhelming, despite the newfound friends and their quirky powers, the bully and the myriad challenges that ensued, the trials, the missions. What may have helped was a background into why the demi fae and the fae were actually estranged, and perhaps the next novel will lean further into that rift. To the extent that my favorite part of the book was the bonus chapter with Mordred - wish more of that literary magic seeped through the rest of the tale.

This was an enjoyable tale, best befitted with the trappings of high tea and a spray of flowers, for luck, and of course, lavender cake!

Thank you to Scarlett Press and Netgalley for furnishing the ARC!

#Septemberreads #Arthurianlegend #AvalonTower #Mythicalmagewar

Tempest - Slow, seductive swim into the Lyrian Sea

 Does a ingénue heroine who comes into her power, masterfully, regally and ruthlessly, appeal to your sense of self? Would tensions brimming between a tempestuous pirate captain, whose moods and freedom are vast and engrossing and a straightlaced, captain of navy with scruples and loyalty tested by their attraction to said femme fatale, beguile your senses? Would a teeming adventure of Kingdom versus rebels held on the high seas, where a tyrannical kingdom wishes to colonize all the islands and behead the criminalist piracy sing to your sense of wonder? Could a tale walking a tightrope between the protagonists in a past versus present flow mellifluously to the aforementioned spin of fatalism pervading the Meridian empire?

If the answers to all the above is yes, welcome to the Lyrian Sea duology by the impeccable Victoria Aveyard! 

Tempest was a study of tensions - from the get go - the palpable string was drawn tight around the Widow Rose and her interactions with all and sundry twist into a neat web - with want waging war with loyalty and lust wreaking havoc against strategy. I loved Cat - her moods and ownership and guilt over her past and her unapologetic row to safer havens, belying the destruction it would warrant.

This one is a keeper! An adult romantasy where the the slow burn simmers, sizzles and caresses you like the salt water and sand at your feet - never quite coming together but teasing all the same in the powerful undercurrents!

My humble thank yous to Avon and Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me with the arc! This one is best enjoyed with hearty rum or better yet tequila (taquil) in a not quite clean glass!

#sepetmberreads #tempest #piratesxmagic #slowburntensions

The Girl with Seven Lives

Vikas Swarup brings back the storytelling, mystique and masquerade that defined Slumdog Millionaire. 

A swift passage, navigating through the dregs of society, the grey areas that you never want to acknowledge and the banality of scams in the Indian subculture are all woven through this tale in a crossover between the 1001 nights with a moral compass a la Jeffrey Archer's earlier tomes.

Devi is our spirited FMC, who matter-of-factly meanders through India, life and ruminates on the potholes she encountered at various points to a kidnapper who holds her for ransom in a bidding war amongst those thirsting for revenge - a bidding war based on the worst mistakes of your life! Truly a fascinating premise which has translated into a thrill a minute ride, across mores, cultures and the indignities suffered on the softer gender in each avatar that Devi keeps reinventing herself, as she seamlessly shifts and sheds names, charting a course through the length of India, enabled by her quick mastery of language and study of customs, she reads like a modern catch me if you can sans a dedicated policy inspector on her trail.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Indian twang Rea Malhotra Mukhtyar added to the narrative, her matter of fact recounting of Devi's escapades really was juxtaposed against how numbing life can be when you lose ground in life. My namastes to RBmedia and Netgalley for providing me with the ALC.

#Thegirlwithsevenlives #grittyanecdotalread #archerreminiscenttales

Tracking Snow - A guttural twist with a slasher Snow

Holy freaking fairytale retelling!!!

Forget the apple, forget the white skinned princess, Holly Roberds gives this beloved fairytale a brutal proverbial twist, with Snow, as the cheery do-gooder, fighting the streets of Boston to keep all magical beings safe! With her quick learning skills and her appletini serves, Snow slays and sashays her way into our heart, throwing swift daggers and deadly smiles. All she craves is belonging - enamored by magic and being the only human in the wild and wonderful Lost Girls collection - she is sooo darned adorable!

The Seven, I mean, what in the world!!! a split personality, magical infused mutant of a hero - who suffers from delusions of being infected with magic - bringing us full circle to where Red stood at the opposite end...The multiple change overs and personalities was like a why choose? So much bluster, insecurity and them claws came out to slash and hurt and then the remorseful puppy love that ensues - one of the BEST from the Lost Girls IMHO

And oh my, the teasing with Rap and Ryder - hold you horses folks - this could get plenty spicy!

I polished this off in a 3 hour binge fest and am going back in for sloppy seconds! read at your own peril! My heartfelt thank yous to Holly for providing me with the ARC to one of my absolute favorite series!!! this was such a fantastic, seductive and sensational retelling!!!