Welcome to the first edition of my weekly reads! My plan here is to recap the books and fanfics I’ve read from Monday to Sunday of the previous week. I’ve given myself Mondays to finish writing this post and then I’ll publish on Tuesdays. Hopefully you’ll enjoy hearing about my reads in more of a real-time setting. The reviews that I post on TikTok and Instagram are batch-created so I’ve got a backlog of them that I trickle out when I post. As far as reading “productivity” this week, it was probably a light-to-average reading week for me. But I still managed to read a few good books this week. I’ve highlighted my pick of the week below with a “🌟”.
Naughty or Nice Holiday Anthology (2022)
This one is a compilation of historical romance authors with holiday novellas that comes out on October 18, 2022. I only read one of the novellas in here this week. I generally don’t recommend trying to binge-read novellas because the stories tend to be fluffy and not very deep. I like to read novellas from within anthologies in between other longer/in-depth novels or when they fall into sequence into the other books by the same author.
The novella I read was A Very Daring Christmas by Charlie Lane and it is part of the Daring Debutantes series. This is a quick little second chance romance between a duchess’ younger sister and the dowager duchess’ steward. They were caught kissing and separated by the old bat and they’re thrown back together 6 months later at Christmas-time. Fluffy cute story that I mostly just skimmed.
Advance ebook provided by WOLF publishing via NetGalley.
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Heartless by Marissa Meyer (2016)
If you ever wanted a back story for the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, this one is for you. Our queen (before she’s a queen) is the daughter of a marquess and simply wants to open a bakery. As she’s being courted by the king, she ends up falling for the court joker, who is in town for his own secret mission. There’s a load of different adventures throughout the story and it’s definitely action-packed. While I enjoyed the story and the last quarter of the book, it kind of dragged along at some points and ultimately, we know that the lady will eventually become the queen.
Audiobook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Ebook borrowed from Kindle Unlimited.
Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm
Bridgerton Fanfic: The Marriage Agreement by fade_like_starlight
Benedict/Penelope story that takes place a couple years after Season 2 of the Netflix series. While out on a promenade, Benedict realizes how charming Penelope is and proposes a deal where they will marry in two years if they do not find a love match in the meantime. The story covers that two year timeframe and it is a delightfully sweet slow burn. You get to watch their friendship bloom over the years and turn into affection and then more. I’m a sucker for rare pairs within the Bridgerton universe, and this one was really good. It’s one chapter, but 17,000+ words, so it’ll take a bit of time to read.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
🌟 A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (2022)
Contemporary romance on the set of a sweet holiday rom-com movie for a squeaky clean network. Our heroine is a plus-sized adult entertainer and our hero is an ex-boy band member trying to rehabilitate his reputation. And of course, they each have a pre-existing crush on each other, so sparks fly and they start secretly spending naked time together. This book had all sorts of great callbacks to boy band hijinks (reality TV shows, rabid fans, and sketchy managers). We get to meet the other boy band members as well and I’m looking forward to reading their future stories.
Ebook borrowed from my local library via Libby. Print book provided by Avon Books and BiblioLifestyle.
Shop this book via Amazon // Bookshop.org // Libro.fm
Bridgerton Fanfic: Dreams Between Us by junipere5x5
Anthony/Kate one-shot that is an extended scene between the two at the art gallery in Season 2, Episode 7 of the TV series. It’s just a little expanded conversation that we didn’t see on screen, full of longing and sadness.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Bridgerton Fanfic: the very first night by beautifultropicalfish
Colin/Penelope one-shot that takes place after they are married and Penelope’s sister are teasing her for keeping her dance card with Colin’s name on it. Super cute and sweet. This fic blends the TV series and book series universes a bit.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
Valued by the Viscount by Alexa Aston (2022)
This book is the 6th in the Second Sons of London historical romance series. Our hero has previously appeared earlier in the series and was unsuccessful in courting a few of the other ladies we know. He’s looking to marry this year and looking forward to a house party where he can meet eligible ladies. The hostess of the party comes across a young widow at the cemetery and learns of the lady’s dire circumstances and brings her home. Our heroine has led a sheltered childhood, her parents died before she could make her debut, her brother sold her off to a cruel husband 30 years her senior, and now her stepson has booted her out of a home. Yikes! When our two main characters meet, they have an instant attraction and our viscount realizes how delicate he has to be with the lady. Overall, it was an easy read and I enjoyed seeing our viscount finally get his love match. This book will be available on Kindle Unlimited on October 4, 2022.
Advance ebook provided by Dragonblade Publishing via NetGalley.
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Harry Potter Fanfic: Everything Is Going to Change by Drops_of_CyprusGreen
Hermione/Draco one-shot where they’ve been potions and study partners and grow closer. I’m not sure on the timeframe this takes place, but it’s a short, quick, fluffy read.
Read this fic on Archive of Our Own
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