mothandnessieread's reviews
294 reviews
The Santa Pageant by Lillian Barry
5.0
Oh wow, I just realized I’d forgotten to review this wonderful book back when I read it (or even log it here, oops)! I read The Santa Pageant recently and absolutely loved it! Tove and Effie just might be some of my favorite characters ever, and I’m so glad I got to spend my time with them. The author did such a great job of making them relatable and likable, I couldn’t help but root for them the entire time. The way their relationship grew throughout the novel was so sweet and so genuine. I loved how much they each respected each other and actually did their best to communicate (if only more romance novels could let their characters communicate!).
And the pageant! I loved how each of the contestants got to know each other and how each of their characters was gradually revealed. I was a little confused at first as to how the pageant would work for the plot, especially with both Tove and Effie competing. But in the end, I loved how it was used to further the plot and allow our characters to grow.
I want to extend a huge thank you to the author for sending me an ARC of this! This ended up being one of my favorite books and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s looking for a Christmas story with good LGBT+ rep!
And the pageant! I loved how each of the contestants got to know each other and how each of their characters was gradually revealed. I was a little confused at first as to how the pageant would work for the plot, especially with both Tove and Effie competing. But in the end, I loved how it was used to further the plot and allow our characters to grow.
I want to extend a huge thank you to the author for sending me an ARC of this! This ended up being one of my favorite books and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s looking for a Christmas story with good LGBT+ rep!
Lofty Mountains by J.S. Fields, Heather Tracy
5.0
Oh my gosh, I think this is the best queer anthology I’ve ever read! Each and every short story hooked me and I loved how different they all were. It was fun to read some authors I already know about, and get to branch out and read some brand new ones. I’m happy to say I’ll be checking out each of their individual works after this, thanks to how well-written everything in this was. While some of the stories were a bit longer than I’m used to for short stories, they were all well-worth the read for me. I received a free ARC of this, and I’m choosing to leave an honest review.
Savage Is My Kingdom by L.A. McGinnis
3.5
I got an eARC of this from Hidden Gems and am sharing my honest thoughts on it.
I really enjoyed this story, from its characters to its plotline. This is one of the first books I’ve read with this type of romance and, while I’m still deciding if that theme is for me, I liked how it developed throughout this book. The author didn’t fall into the trap of instant love, and I liked that the characters didn’t immediately drop their conflict, in favor of a romantic relationship.
I do feel that this book could’ve gone at least one more round of editing. Many spots were redundant or had simple misspellings or the incorrect tense of a word. The plot didn’t seem to always flow smoothly either, though it may have felt that way to me due to the lingering errors I was finding. And try as I might, it still took me longer than expected to read this book.
All in all though, the characters and plot itself outweigh the cons for me, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel when I can get my hands on it!
The Stars and the Stage by D.N. Bryn
5.0
At this point, I almost feel like a broken record when I start off by saying that I absolutely loved this story. The paring of this fantastic plot with the wonderful characters we were given might be one of my favorites so far. I loved this story from start to end and was hooked on Diego and Maddy’s relationship the entire time. Despite it being a novella, D. N. Bryn did a great job of making the plot feel full, with just as much intrigue and conflict as their full-length novels. I can’t wait to return to these characters in book three, and I highly recommend picking up this series, if you haven’t already, so that you can fall in love with these characters and storylines as well. I received a free eARC of this for an honest review.