sarahesterman's reviews
120 reviews

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

4.0

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

5.0

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

5.0

Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown

3.25

Tips and Trysts by Rebecca Kinkade

funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

tl;dr: Tips and Trysts is very hot, very funny, and also very smart. 

What to expect: 
📷 Cam girl/politician 
💵 Degradation kink 
📷 Praise kink 
💵 Pay to play
📷 Piercings 
💵 Found family 
📷 Honestly the funniest group texts between the guys
💵 So many lols, in general 

I wasn’t quite sure what Rebecca Kinkade could do to make me like Everett as much as I liked Lander from Streams and Schemes (especially after his behavior in the prior book), and it turns out the answer is pay for it. And beg. And also just basically lose his damn mind. That’ll do it, that’s for sure. 

There was never any doubt I’d love Cora—and I did—because she’s been a badass from the beginning. I’m just glad Everett became someone who at least came close to deserving her. But I digress. 

While a fair amount of this book is Cora and Everett doing it all over the District in interesting and exciting ways, I also feel like I could write an entire thesis on how Kinkade uses sex and intimacy as a metaphor for power and privilege in this series. Like yes, the scenes are hot, and also every time Everett begs, pays for it, or otherwise submits (🍑), he also shares a bit of his privilege with Cora. He theoretically has everything to lose from their relationship (career-wise), and he doesn’t just allow it to happen, he chooses to give it up—to give it to her. 

Spend more. ”What is your threshold for enough?” she asks after she shows me her new laptop (which prompted me to say, Surely you could have bought a faster processor, to which she responded, Surely you could save some audacity for the rest of us.) ”When we’ve depleted my trust fund,” I answer honestly before I resume editing the pictures I took of me railing her in the Lyndon B. Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac

Anyway, this book is excellent. And if you haven’t yet read Streams and Schemes, I do recommend you do that first—not because it’s necessary to understand what’s going on, but just because it’s also very good. 💖

Let’s be friends on threads and bookstagram.
 
Note: I received an ARC of this book

Odd Blood by Azalea Crowley

4.75

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

In order to appreciate First Lie Wins, one must suspend their disbelief quite a bit. You’ve got to believe it’s possible there’s a con ring out there so sophisticated that people have better tech than the government and that one person could actually be so powerful to make all of what happens in this book happen (including discovering low-level con artists like our narrator to train to begin with). Depending on your level of conspiracy believing, this might be easier to come by. For me it was less that and more that I enter each book I read accepting the rules of the world it gives me. Like even if it’s not dragons and magic fantasy, fiction is still fantasy, you know?

I say all that to say this book is a lot of fun if you let it be and don’t try to take it too seriously. While it’s not the super high-stakes scary thriller I expected, I was pleasantly surprised because I enjoyed it for the sort of cozy heist-like thriller it is.

Some readers might not love the narrator’s voice, as she can often seem emotionally detached from the situation—and also she’s the kind of narrator who is keeping secrets from the reader. That worked for me, though, because I got to figure out the core mystery over the course of the book. The end might be cheesy for some, but your ghoul loves a happy ending. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Let’s be friends on threads and bookstagram.

Prince Cheating Charming by Katie Landry

funny

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There’s a long-held joke in the romance community (and especially among dark romance readers) that we’re ok with kidnapping, stalking, murder, etc etc, but cheating? Absolutely the fuck not. 

But something I’ve learned about my reading preferences over the last couple of years is that, while there are generally tropes I don’t prefer, there’s always at least one book or author who can really hit it out of the park for me. Enter Katie Landry and her cheating/revenge/grovel romances. 

I loved Prince Cheating Charming. Delilah kicked ass. Praise Saint Constance, the patron saint of vengeance, for giving her the confidence to get hers. Because she did. And Alexander did some good groveling. The grovel was so good I forgave him, which is pretty remarkable. 

Also, Landry’s writing is really funny. I will read any cheating romance she writes. 

(Let’s be friends on threads and bookstagram.) 

Dirty Rotten Cheating Husband: A Second Chance Romance by Katie Landry

funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I will admit that there was a moment while reading A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske that I wondered if it could very well be draco/ron fanfic. That moment passed quickly as the plot progressed… but I can’t deny it was there. 

The tl;dr in this historical romantasy is that our delightfully himbo Robin (who has never known magic in his life) has just gotten a new job as, it turns out, a liaison to magic stuff. After meeting Edwin, his magical counterpart, they both decide it was clearly a mistake that they’ll rectify. And, of course, they plan to, but then Robin goes ahead and gets himself cursed on his way home from the boxing club that night. The baddies are looking for something they think Robin’s got, Robin’s got no clue what’s going on, and Edwin is the only one who can help him. Thus, an adventure to Edwin’s countryside home and mild chaos (and romance) ensues. 

Anyway, I loved this. As always, gay is in, gay is hot, I want some gay, gay it’s gonna be (a la Laszlo Cravensworth). And also extra because I love love love the golden retriever/black cat pairing in any capacity, and Robin and Edwin fit it perfectly. And gay romance set when it was illegal always hits extra hard, stakes-wise. 

I will say this story isn’t technically a standalone, though it seems later books in the trilogy follow different characters. The connecting story is not finished by the end of the book, but you do have a larger piece of the puzzle. And I want more pieces so I will likely continue reading. 

I did have one minor complaint (and it’s a spoiler):

If the three magical pieces were so dangerous that the original women keeping track of them decided they could never be brought together… then why didn’t they just drop in them in the ocean or something??? Why hold onto them where they could be found???? Feels like a plot hole to me.

 

Anyway, this was a delightfully cozy book that honestly felt perfect for the summer to fall transition. 

Let’s be friends on threads and bookstagram.