willaful

willaful, 5 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I just finished Seeing Blind by Poppy Dale, a very sweet, sort of "shop around the corner" romance which is my catnip. Part epistolary, which is also my catnip. Kisses only. Kiss only, really. 😁

One character has prosopagnosia, which is a significant disability for him. Can't say if it's an accurate portrayal but it was very interesting.

Slightly disconcerting that it's set in Manhattan and CA but the author is quite obviously British. 😁

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willaful, 5 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I finished the most waste of time old Harlequin, The Wild Side by Diana Hamilton. One of those awful misogynistic old skool books that's pretty fun if you're in the right mood -- but then there's the most lukewarm ending! Why did I suffer through all that angst?! Where is my payoff?!

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willaful, 7 months ago to romancebooks

#WhatchaReading ? I read The Amazing Alpha Tau Boyfriend Project by Lisa Henry, which was very fun, but also made me uncomfortable in a way I find hard to define. Maybe the glorification of the "good" frat house, maybe the familiar humor that sounds more like my friends online than college boys. I'll probably read the next book though. On KU.

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willaful, 6 months ago to romancebooks

#WhatchaReading ? I just finished Dionysus in Wisconsin and I'd feel a little delicate about mentioning it since the author is on this instance, but fortunately I loved it. 😁 It's kind of like if Neil Gaiman and Cat Sebastian collaborated on a m/m historical fantasy romance. Magic, myths, high stakes, true love.

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willaful, 9 months ago to random

Instance folks, I'm thinking we should have some kind of helpful message to send to new accounts here. What information would you have found most helpful when you joined?

willaful, 3 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I should be doing so many other things, but I can't tear myself away from The Billionaire's Wake-Up-Call Girl. Really fun and... fans self. I'm hoping it will justify the arrogant billionaire by having him use his power to completely destroy the FMC's truly evil ex. 😂

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willaful, 1 month ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I've been catching up on series I previously DNFd. Read Duke of Desire by Hoyt -- still way too emo and icky for me, I should've let it lay. Reading Cross Breed by Leigh -- ehh, she sucked me in.

Also started Expiration Dates by Serle but I'm finding the structure frustrating. I want to know what happens now, not what happened every other time! I suppose it will make sense as a novel, so maybe I should save it for another time.

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willaful, 11 months ago to random

#WhatchaReading ? I started Frontier by Grace Curtis because of... the comps, I guess? Not sure it's really my cuppa.

I've also been on a rereading binge, first Indiscreet by Mary Balogh and then A Company of Swans, my favorite Eva Ibbotson. They're still fantastic reads.

willaful, 3 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I finished Every Time I fall by Lexi Ryan. TBH, I had intended not to read her again, because the last book was anti-abortion, but I could not resist the gorgeous fat woman on the cover of this. (And I got it from the library.)

Characters have loved each other forever, but each has bad insecurities that make them think the other could never want to be with them. cont.

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willaful, 4 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I read A Mother for Christmas, a kindle freebie. A bit mawkish, but I can't say I wasn't warned by the title. The prose was quirky and had some personality to it. Could have used more payoff at the end.

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willaful, 1 year ago to random

#WhatchaReading ? This seems to be my month for catching up with follow-up epilogues, and A Rose By Any Name by K.J. Charles was much more to my taste than they usually are. A sad loose end is happily tied, and we can see that everyone still loves everyone else without being drenched in goo.

I see I have a few other codas by her unread, so I guess I'm set for May.

willaful, 7 months ago to romancebooks

#WhatchaReading ? If "too much sex" reviews make you perk, you'll want to check out Her Halloween Treat by Reisz. Nothing but sex and banter, often at the same time. Way too much of both for me.

Also DNF'd The Road to Roswell, second Willis DNF in a row for me. To paraphrase my husband, I'm tired of her shtick.

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willaful, 5 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I'm still sniffling after finishing Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender. Painful but beautifully tender and hopeful m/m romance that explores how abuse and trauma can negatively impact a relationship. Checking the CWs highly recommended!

Excellent full cast audiobook, which does justice to the partially epistolary "multimedia" structure. One of the narrators seems to be NB, though both main characters are apparently cis.

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willaful, 1 year ago to random

#WhatchaReading ? I restarted Oceans Echo and feel like I've gotten into it now, though romance has yet to appear.

Also finished the buddy read of Agnes Grey, which I found overall disappointing, Nothing much happens, really; the message seems to be, be passively good and true love will come to you. And I'd like to know how the other characters fared. I'm a modern reader, I want everyone properly disposed of. 😄

#AmReading #bookstodon

willaful, 7 months ago to gardening

First Fall pea pod.

#gardening #FoodGardening

willaful, 8 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? #JustFinished Tramps and Vagabonds by Aster Glenn Gray & am so happy to be loving her books again. Like The Sleeping Soldier, this explores attitudes about male affection/same-sex activity in the past--this time the 1930s Depression. As always, it's very immersive and touching, sweet despite very tense situations. The happy ending is a bit abrupt; I'd have like to see more thought process for the characters. But generally I loved it.

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willaful, 9 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I read Waylaid by Sarina Bowen, an author I generally like but who not infrequently makes me go WHUT big time.

I really liked Rickie whose cockiness goes hand-in-hand with a sort of effortless cool that made it work for me. He's pansexual but specifically heteroromantic, which I don't think I've seen in a romance before. And I really got how messed up and sick of himself he feels. Tell me about it, my dude.

cont.

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willaful, 10 months ago to random

#WhatchaReading ? I finished Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews and feel like the series has settled into the same groove as Patricia Briggs' books -- enjoyable reading, but too easy and essentially low stakes to be very exciting. They're postponing the really rough stories -- not that I can blame them!

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willaful, 11 months ago to bookstodon

Thoughts on star ratings for books?

I'm used to the GoodReads system and it works for me, except there's no way to convey with a number the huge difference between "I expected this to be a fun, easy read and it was, 3 stars!" and "I expected better from this author and it was uneven and a bit of a slog, 3 stars."

I mostly stoped using ratings because of this, except for my personal reading log. And it makes it hard to know what to recommend to people when they ask.

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willaful, 1 year ago to random

#WhatchaReading ? I'm not, all that much. 😞 Coming off a medication, feeling very crappy, actually been driven to yet another "Scrubs" rewatch. 😱 (It's really quite a fascinating mix of "still hilarious," "brilliantly poignant" and "aged horribly.")

willaful, 3 months ago to random

I'm so overwhelmed with personal stuff right now, I feel like I have no energy to post. So please tell me #WhatchaReading ?

willaful, 2 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I started a Mary Burchell, Tell Me My Fortune. Fun cast of characters. So far wondering what on earth he sees in her...

Also started Scrap Metal by Harper Fox but it's a bit heavy for my current state of mind.

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willaful, 2 months ago to romancelandia

OMG, the mmc of Role Playing by Cathy Yarley uses a fleshlight. That's breaking such a verboten romance rule I hadn't even realized it was a rule.

(He is demi-sexual and not sex-averse and it is such good rep!)

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willaful, 2 months ago to romancelandia

#WhatchaReading ? I just finished The Oak and the Ash by Annick Trent. I thought the first in the series was good but had plotting issues; no complaints about this one! Realistic portrayal of the lives of 1800s queer working people, with a sweet, slow burn romance. (Hard to have anything else for them!) For a comp I'd give Erin Satie, because of the focus on period technologies and intellectual interests.

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willaful, 9 days ago to romancebooks

Been reading Forever My Girl by Heidi McLauchlin but giving up and deleting it because the MMC can't have a single thought about a woman that isn't misogynistic as hell. They all want him, they're all trying too hard, they all make him sick. He makes me sick.

#AmReading
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