A Lady for A Duke by Alexis Hall

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A lush, sweeping queer historical romance from the bestselling author of Boyfriend Material—perfect for fans of Netflix’s Bridgerton, Evie Dunmore, and Manda Collins!

When Viola Caroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood.

Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become.

As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again. 

Source: NetGalley; ARC generously provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

It's always so interesting to read one of your favorite authors when they're switching up genres and in Alexis Hall fashion, he's delivered a queer historical romance featuring a trans heroine which I was excited about, and seriously how awesome is it that we can be reading something like this?!

Viola, in her former life when she was known as Marleigh, had been unhappy in his body and the world his body inhabited.  When Marleigh was severely injured during the Battle of Waterloo, he took advantage of being presumed dead to disappear for a while and eventually rebuild her life in a way that finally felt true to herself.  Now as Viola and reunited with her former best friend Gracewood, she sees what the loss of Marleigh's presence and their friendship has done to him.  Gracewood has thought all along that Marleigh was dead.  In a way, yes, the Marleigh he knew no longer exists.  But meeting Viola, and sensing a connection he hasn't felt in a long time, pulls him from the deepest recesses of his grief and addiction back into the light. 

The story is heartbreaking but also so, so sweet.  There's so much pain and doubt and some regret yet so much to love as Viola is determined to live her life without apologies.  I felt all her fears as well because as much as she feels free in one sense, she's also bound herself to a life and a role that limits women, something she's getting used to.  And she's nervous about being recognized, outed and shunned.  It becomes more complicated with Gracewood as she wants to, on the one hand, reveal herself to him to ease his pain and because she loves him.  She misses their camaraderie as much as Gracewood does, and can't help but slowly fall in love with him.  On the other hand, she wants him to live a happy life free of any trouble, with a beautiful wife and children, and that would certainly not happen should they give in to their feelings. 

Y'all, my heart broke for them so many times!  I think that's the grueling part of this story - seeing how much their pain and trauma have consumed them, and how society would never accept or condone Viola's choice over her own body or Gracewood's choice to love whom he chooses. Then there are the most spectacular moments of the most intimate connection between two people and all I could do was swoon and want to rail against the world and remake it just so that they could exist as they'd like. You know that's some good writing when you feel that way!

Now I am not LGBTQIA+  so I can only review this story from my perspective as a reader who enjoys a good story and wants to grow and gain a better understanding of the world.  It gets a bit slow in the middle but picks back up with the help of some entertaining side characters the way only Hall can create them. As a romance it hits the markers of drama, the great love of your life, second chance, redemption, and of course, the happily ever after.  But I defer to folks within the LGBTQIA+ community to comment on the rest. For me, A Lady for a Duke is breathtaking and romantic and I'd definitely recommend it.

~ Bel

CW: grief, abusive father (memories), addiction, panic attacks, PTSD (war), bullying (side character), kidnapping (side character)

Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey

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Two people. Infinite lifetimes. One impossible choice.

Thora and Santi are strangers in a foreign city when a chance encounter intertwines their fates. At once, they recognize in each other a kindred spirit—someone who shares their insatiable curiosity, who is longing for more in life than the cards they’ve been dealt. Only days later, though, a tragic accident cuts their story short.

But this is only one of the many connections they share. Like satellites trapped in orbit around each other, Thora and Santi are destined to meet again: as a teacher and prodigy student; a caretaker and dying patient; a cynic and a believer. In numerous lives they become friends, colleagues, lovers, and enemies. But as blurred memories and strange patterns compound, Thora and Santi come to a shocking revelation—they must discover the truth of their mysterious attachment before their many lives come to one, final end.

Source: NetGalley; ARC generously provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

I have so many feelings about this book. It's a unique concept and once things make sense you realize it's a race to the finish.

Thora and Santi meet at college for the first time and their brief encounter leaves a lasting impression. When Thora decides she wants to see him again she finds out it's too late. He's dead and she can only guess how it happened. And this is how the rest of Part I goes - a series of what feels like short stories where Thora and Santi meet over and over again at various stages of their lives. Each encounter is a different experience with different outcomes. Part I requires some patience because there's no explanation, just these moments that either give us a new side of these characters or reinforce their personality traits. Part II is where things start coming together and they try to find meaning in what's happening. Sometimes they get close, others they're simply not capable of getting their acts together. We're not told how or when precisely they figured out they're reliving multiple lives (I would've like to have been clued in on that) but by Part III it gets intense and they finally discover what exactly is going on. It was at this point that I thought the author was genius because she did hide clues in plain sight in Part I. The clues and patterns make sense now.

Here's the thing: when I requested Meet Me in Another Life it came after I saw someone recommend it and I thought it sounded like something totally up my alley. The problem is that certain plot points which wouldn't have bothered me in the past became so after I made my request.  As well done as it was, some of it was just too emotionally raw for me. I've never been one who absolutely needed content/trigger warnings, and I've always respected other readers that do, therefore I have tried to include anything I see as potentially disturbing to a fellow reader in my reviews. This marks the first time ever I wished that I had the benefit of knowing those in advance. I would like to stress that this isn't the author's fault; it's just bad timing and I had a hard time with parts of the story. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you like fantasy, sci-fi, endless do-over opportunities, mysteries and riddles, endless talk about stars, space and existentialism, a literal life or death situation that needs to be resolved ...they're all in this. Like I said earlier, it's pretty genius. I'd just caution you that the sad elements happen repeatedly - even if they're reliving their lives a little differently, those elements almost always make an appearance, and I've included them at the end of my review.

~ Bel

Content Warning/Triggers:

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Cancer, brain tumor, deaths, accidents, 

Act Your Age, Eve Brown (Brown Sisters #3) by Talia Hibbert

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In Act Your Age, Eve Brown the flightiest Brown sister crashes into the life of an uptight B&B owner and has him falling hard—literally.

Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It's time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she's not entirely sure how…

Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

Source: NetGalley; ARC generously provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

I wish my review could be one line: "This is a bloody good book, read it!", but I should probably elaborate.

I have experienced so much joy in reading about the Brown sisters but I was not prepared to fall so head over heels for Eve Brown and her beautiful, genuine soul. She hardly has it all together - at least by her family's standards - and she's hardly got a clue as to what she wants to do, so when her family holds an intervention to set her straight, she literally runs away. She gets on the road and in her complete haze, ends up in a cute little village, sees a wanted ad for a chef at a bed and breakfast and pops on in for an impromptu interview. The interviewer, Jacob is aghast that Eve would show up unprepared and not dressed for the occasion (she is in a graphic tee and her hair is an unnatural color of purple). No prospective employer would take an interviewee who shows up like that seriously, so he sends her off, and only a few minutes later he gets hit by her car. Now he's SOL and desperately needs someone to help him at the B&B and Eve feels she must stay and help. This is a temporary arrangement. TEMPORARY, she reminds herself. 

The start of this story is so bonkers and it so perfectly sets up the cheeky and fiery dynamic between Eve and Jacob. She is the sunshine and roses to his grumpy, rigid persona. She's always challenging him and they're constantly verbally dueling or aggravating each other. It's all done with the best humor and sarcasm which made me so, so happy! Eve settles in to her role delightfully at the B&B and even the moody Jacob can't deny how positively radiant and vibrant she is, making his guests feel welcome and comfortable. As with the previous two Brown Sisters books, AYAEB is another own voices story with Eve and Jacob both being on the autism spectrum. Jacob has learned he had it at a younger age and how to manage it while Eve hasn't figured it out yet. I found this discovery like a lightbulb going on because I obliviously operated under the assumption that autism is always diagnosed early in childhood. I never gave it a second thought that diagnosis could happen later in life and that this could drastically impact the person's quality of life. Once again, Talia Hibbert educated me and set me off to do my own mini research on it. She doesn't beat the info into the reader's brain but rather simply shows it through the characters' growing awareness. This is why despite their different temperaments that Jacob and Eve click because there's something deep below the surface that they inevitably recognize in each other. And oh my gosh, they are totally hot together! It's been a long time since I've been this excited about a fictional couple and of course, it'd be a Talia Hibbert book!

How many ways can I say this? Reading any of these Brown Sisters books is a joyous experience and I think AYAEB has to be my favorite of the trilogy. Everything about it pushed all the right buttons for me -- the humor, wit, Eve and Jacob's chemistry, the setting... Eve herself is instantly likable and I just want to be besties with her. And her family makes an appearance - all of them so bizarre and off the rails sometimes - but so uniquely themselves. I've had a blast reading this series and Act Your Age, Eve Brown is the icing on the gingerbread (read it, you'll get it)!

~ Bel

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron

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Reena Manji doesn’t love her career, her single status, and most of all, her family inserting themselves into every detail of her life. But when caring for her precious sourdough starters, Reena can drown it all out. At least until her father moves his newest employee across the hall--with hopes that Reena will marry him.

But Nadim’s not like the other Muslim bachelors-du-jour that her parents have dug up. If the Captain America body and the British accent weren’t enough, the man appears to love eating her bread creations as much as she loves making them. She sure as hell would never marry a man who works for her father, but friendship with a neighbor is okay, right? And when Reena’s career takes a nosedive, Nadim happily agrees to fake an engagement so they can enter a couples video cooking contest to win the artisan bread course of her dreams.

As cooking at home together brings them closer, things turn physical, but Reena isn’t worried. She knows Nadim is keeping secrets, but it’s fine— secrets are always on the menu where her family is concerned. And her heart is protected… she’s not marrying the man. But even secrets kept for self preservation have a way of getting out, especially when meddling parents and gossiping families are involved.

Source: Netgalley; ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

This is a story about falling in love during a period of your life when it seems that the pressure of the world is closing in on you. Reena tries to compartmentalize her life to maintain her sanity. Her parents are always trying to match her up with someone, and when they're not doing that, they're pressuring her to climb the corporate ladder in a career she cares little for. It seems like the universe is smiling down on her when she meets her new neighbor, Nadim who lives across the way. It's a pretty awesome meet-cute. Then the universe laughs at her because it turns out that Nadim's her father's newest employee AND he's supposedly her prospective husband. Can a girl catch a break?

When Reena learns of this she's determined to draw strict boundary lines. She has no interest in obliging her parents or any of their machinations. She and Nadim will simply be acquaintances and neighbors. Obviously none of it goes to plan. One thing leads to another and suddenly they're pretending to be a couple on a reality cooking show so that Reena can win the big prize of going to culinary school. This is her ultimate dream and signals the kind of career freedom she desires. The unexpected revelation is that she and Nadim have this off the charts chemistry on screen that cannot be ignored. 

There were several things I enjoyed about Accidentally Engaged. I liked how Reena and Nadim first met because that automatically made things interesting. And then finding out that he’s in the country to work for her dad and also possibly to marry her? Awkward! And also a buzzkill when the guy is a dreamboat with a British accent and you're determined to do the exact opposite of what your parents expect. Reena’s joy of baking and cooking is contagious. She hates her career but baking on her own time centers her and brings her peace. Saira, her younger sister is a hoot! At first you’re not sure what to think of her because through Reena’s perspective she comes off as manipulative and inconsiderate. But Saira grows on you and the strange, unexpected and roundabout way she and Reena repair their relationship is one of my favorite things in this story. Saira is kind of the diamond in the rough here. She comes up with all these wild things and she brings some comic relief when needed. Honestly, she’s my favorite person in this book. The cooking show contest is fun and with a broader, more inclusive concept, it allows for lots of creativity from its contestants. Meaning there were lots of delicious meals happening. 

Heron showcases so well how children of immigrants adapt and assimilate. Reena embraces all her cultural heritages - her South Asian/East African and her Canadian side. It echoed my own upbringing of melding cultures. There's a different worldview that comes with it and like Reena, I found a balance that worked for me, that is me. 

At the other end there are several simultaneous subplots which made it feel as if the walls were closing in around Reena, and by extension, me. There's arranged marriage, meddlesome parents, several family secrets, competitive siblings, job layoffs, job hunting, mental health concerns, scandals, gossip, business deal disasters, a reality show competition, fetishes... it was overwhelming. My preference would've been to pare down the number of subplots. 

I did enjoy Accidentally Engaged quite a bit. I think Reena's relationship with her parents is probably the hardest part of the story because they're so disconnected from each other. Reena wanting to live her own life versus her parents constantly measuring her success and insistence on what's best for her -- it's a tangible struggle in many South Asian families. But Reena and her parents come to an understanding eventually. On a personal note - I do love that Reena has natural curly hair and that it's such a highlighted feature of hers. I didn’t learn to appreciate my own curly hair until I was much older so I like reading characters who have that feature and are so proud if it. I also liked the recipes included at the end because how fun is that to try some of the mouthwatering dishes mentioned in the story?

Accidentally Engaged is a great read if you're looking for a story that takes a different path to romance, or you're wanting a bit of cultural immersion. 

~ Bel

One Night at the Lake by Bethany Chase

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A tragedy on a hot summer night at a lake house forever alters the lives of two best friends—and the man they both love. But the truth isn’t as simple as it appears in this intricate novel of love, friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness in the tradition of Miranda Beverly-Whittemore’s Bittersweet.

Leah Tessaro has been waiting for this moment for a long time: Her boyfriend, Ollie, is taking her to his family’s home on Seneca Lake for a week of lazy summer bliss, boating, and barbeque. The couple has been together for four years, and Leah is convinced that Ollie is finally going to pop the question. And Leah can’t wait to share the joyous news with her best friend, June Kang, who is joining them on their getaway, and whose presence will make everything feel more real. 

Seven years later, the moment June has been dreading has finally arrived: Her fiancé, Ollie, is taking her to his family’s lake house. But this is not an ordinary visit to an ordinary place; it is a house haunted by June’s long-buried memories of her lost friend, Leah—and the connection that appears to remain between Leah and the man for whom June’s love is as deep as her sense of foreboding.

Alternating between the two women’s vibrant voices, One Night at the Lake is a gripping novel that explores a complex tangle of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal, all driving toward one question: What exactly happened to Leah on that hot summer night?

Source: advance e-galley provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review


I've been a fan of Bethany Chase's since her first book, The One That Got Away so I eagerly scoop up anything she releases. Chase continues to explore themes of complicated relationships and friendships, his time adding a mystery.

Chase has split the story into two timelines. The first with Leah that happened seven years ago and the second with her best friend, June which happens seven years later. In the past, Leah and Ollie have been dating for years and they're the couple that most people envy. Sickeningly cute, he's so perfect, she' so vibrant ... yada yada yada. Things seem so perfect that Leah is convinced he will propose during their upcoming trip to his family's place on Seneca Lake. She also invites June to accompany them for the week since she's broken up with her latest boyfriend and best friends don't leave their BFFs alone. Seven years later, June is now engaged to Ollie and dreads the return to Seneca Lake for another family get together. At this point not much is known as to why and how it's June and Ollie and not Leah and Ollie but we know that Leah hasn't been in the picture since the last visit. What happened is slowly revealed as the week at the lake in both the past and present slowly wears on. In both timelines everything starts out fine. It's a typical holiday with lots of fun and and lakeside shenanigans. Then the pressure sets in and little by little this perfect picture of happiness and contentment starts to become fractured. 

Firstly, I purposefully didn't read the blurb too closely so I was not expecting the time jump and couple switch. I literally gasped when I realized June was now with Ollie. I did have a hard time at first reconciling that they were a couple in the future. It felt disloyal and disingenuous to Leah. But I think that's what I was supposed to feel without knowing all the specifics and come on, I wanted the gossip. Secondly, this mystery is my kind of catnip. I loved the suspense and how details gradually emerged via Leah and June's recollections and observations. The timeline flip flop was genius! It gave me the sense that I was there in the thick of things. There's something alluring about being a reader who knows that something foreboding is close at hand when reading it in real time (Leah's POV). June's timeline is all about reconciling the past with the present, and her guilt over moving on with her life which includes Ollie. There's so much baggage in that relationship that's been ignored; this trip will undoubtedly force them to finally unpack all of that. The contrast between the two trips to the lake couldn't be more apparent - the first starts out joyous and second one is just pure dread. (By the way, Leah's timeline does have a few possible triggers which I will list below. They could be spoilery so consider yourself warned.)

I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting but I was definitely surprised by how everything played out. Chase crafted a story that steadily escalated in tension, especially during June's POV as she began to fit in the missing pieces of their last time at the lake with Leah. I had not anticipated the ending as I let my imagination run wild with all sorts of possibilities but it was still shocking. One Night at the Lake is something different from Chase and I say if you're in for some mystery, good storytelling and a close examination of friendships, you'll be pleased with this one.

~ Bel


Trigger Warning

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suspicion of cheating, unwanted touching, unwanted sexual advances