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Pride Recs Part 3

6/30/2023

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I had planned more of these posts, but time got away from me, as it so often seems to. I wanted to get in one more before the end of Pride Month to give you a few more book recs (find my first post here and my second post here). Today, I'm giving you some recs for fantasy romance, paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and SF romance. I probably could've done a post on each of those (which might have been the plan...), so even though I limited myself this is a long post.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree: In this cozy fantasy, battle-weary orc Viv decides to hang up her sword and open a coffee shop in a city that's never heard of coffee. The plot is gentle as she works to build her shop and make a home for herself and as she meets people and builds a family too. There's also a sweet F/F romance winding through the background.

So This is Ever After by FT Lukens: Arek is the chosen one of a prophecy that states he and his friends will save the kingdom from its evil ruler, but this book isn't about that. It begins as the prophecy is fulfilled. Arek is convinced to become king until the rightful heir is found—but he finds out there is no rightful heir and magic prevents him from renouncing the crown. And the magic also requires him to marry. He's been in love with his best friend for ages but doesn't think Matt loves him back, so he tries to find someone else to marry. It's a fun and funny and sweet stand alone.

In the Ravenous Dark by AM Strickland: Blood mage Rovan has been hiding her magic for her whole life because if people knew, she would be bound to a spirit who would control her, but her magic is discovered when she saves someone and she is forced to the palace where she is bound to a spirit and thrust into the politics and intrigue of the country. This book is far more serious than the last I listed but it has wonderful characters who learn to trust each other and become family as they incite a rebellion among both the living and the dead. Rovan is pansexual here and falls in love with both the sexy ghost she is bound to and a princess.

The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinka: In this YA fantasy, every year a boy is sacrificed to keep the tide from swallowing the island city. Lina is certain that this year her brother is going to be sacrificed. She asks the boy she secretly loves for help saving her brother, but it is the boy she loves who is taken. Lina goes to the Witch Queen Eva to trade herself for him. Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved and has sworn she won't make that mistake, that she will do what she has to to save her city, but she and Lina spend time together and begin to fall in love, even as the dark tide rises. I loved the atmosphere of this book—the island city felt a little fairy tale, a little Venetian, dark and beautiful.

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper: I love a good witchy paranormal romance, and this (and the books that follow in the series) is one. Emmy ran from Thistle Grove to escape her lackluster magic and live a normal life away from the families of witches that founded the town and continue to inhabit is hundreds of years later. She only returns to fulfill a family obligation and plans to leave immediately after. She doesn't expect to join in a revenge pact, to learn more about herself, her family, and the magic of Thistle Grove, and to fall for Talia, another witch. It's a delightful book with lots of fall vibes and a good introduction to the world, which gets expanded on as we meet other people in the following books. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.

Not Dead Yet by Jenn Burke: This paranormal romance/mystery is the beginning of a series that has become a favorite of mine. Wes is a not-ghost. He was dead but a witch brought him back, just not all the way. He's spent decades using his ghost-like abilities to retrieve items for clients. Only this time he witnesses a murder, which brings him back into the orbit of his ex, Hudson, who is now a vampire. It's such a fun book. I enjoyed the mystery and the second chance romance, and the building of a chosen family. Wes is also demisexual, and it's always great to find representation that's handled well.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: Yadriel is a trans boy whose traditional Latinx family has a difficult time accepting that he can be a brujo. To prove that he is, he summons a ghost. He means to summon the ghost of his murdered cousin to set him free, but he gets a different ghost entirely—Julian, the school bad boy. And Julian isn't going to accept death quietly. He wants to find out what happened to him. The mystery and magic are both great, but the characters are the stars here. I adored this book.

Hunter of Demons by Jordan L. Hawk: In this first book in the SPECTR series, while trying to find the demon who killed his brother, Caleb is possessed by Gray, a drakul (sort of a vampire). Exorcist John is sent to remove Gray and finds out that, though he is a powerful exorcist, this is beyond him. The three main characters and the relationship that develops between them over the course of the series is wonderful, and the world building is fantastic.

The Last Sun by KD Edwards: This is the first book in the Tarot Sequence and I binged all the books that are out in a ridiculously short amount of time. I don't read much urban fantasy—I'm always looking for more romance and more character development. While I would have loved more page time for the romance in this series (because it's wonderful), I adore the characters and their dynamic with each other and the found family they build through these books. As the series continued, the world building deepened and plot twists popped up, and very much need to know how certain things are going to be resolved!

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell: I adored this SF romance with an arranged marriage trope! When Imperial Prince Taam suddenly dies, his widower, Jainan, is rushed into another marriage with his husband's cousin Prince Kiem for political reasons. Then, it comes to light that Taam's death might have been murder and Jainin is a suspect. Kiem and Jainin have to learn to trust each other so they can solve the murder and avert an interplanetary war, all while falling in love with each other. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: I'm not entirely sure how to describe this book or the series it begins. Someone described it to me when it was released as lesbian necromancers in space. And, yes, that is part of it. It's a combination of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mystery. It has great characters and dialogue and interesting world building. And everything is put together is intriguing ways. And each book in the series so far is completely different from the last. This book introduces us to Gideon—who is dramatic and unashamed about checking out pretty girls and such a fun character. Gideon is made to be the cavalier to the Ninth House's heir who has been summoned, along with the heirs of all the houses to take part in trials by the emperor. What follows is sort of a locked room mystery with murder and puzzles and danger.

And since I write fantasy romance, I'm going to have to mention mine. The Chronicles of Tournai is a series of books revolving around the royal family of the principality of Tournai and their secrets and magic. Each book is a stand alone romance, but characters reappear in each book. If you want to start at the beginning, pick up The Prince's Consort, a prince/commoner romance. If you like dragon shifters, you can jump in with The Dragon's Devotion or The Envoy's Honor, or if you're looking for something extremely cozy (though none of my books are particularly high angst), try The Merchant's Love. For opposites attract plus spies and intrigue, you want The Artist's Masquerade. For opposites attract with some forced proximity, check out The Sorcerer's Guardian. For opposites attract with an age gap, take a look at The Spymaster's Secret. (Opposites attract is fun to write!)

My other series is Elemental Magicae, the two books in which should be read in order. A Dance of Water and Air starts with a prince being told he must marry the queen of a neighboring country in an arranged marriage. Only when he arrives, everything is very strange and he ends up falling in love with the queen's brother instead. When he's accused of trying to assassinate the queen, they flee, trying to save themselves and two kingdoms from danger.

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Rainbow Snippets June 24-25

6/25/2023

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​The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ.

I'm switching over to snippets from To Love the Dragon King, which is currently being proofread while I figure out the details of self-publishing it so I can (finally!) release it into the world. To Love the Dragon King is the first book in a new series, the Dragons of Ivria, which I believe will be a trilogy. In this book, dragon shifter Lysander, the king of Ivria, has come into the knowledge of a treasonous plot against him and the kingdom and has set out to discover the extent of it and its participants. When he arrives to arrest one of the conspirators, he finds Sascha. Sascha was not born with the magic to allow him to transform into a dragon, and therefore, to his (horrible) parents, his only purpose is to enter into a marriage or a contract as a concubine that will benefit his family. To that end, they've contracted him to Jannik, the man Lysander is about to arrest. Sascha  has no knowledge of the plot, or that he's being used in it, or that he's about to be caught up in the orbit of the king and the scheming and danger that revolves around him. This snippet follows directly after last week's. This week's snippet is a little longer than it should be, but it made sense to break it here...
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He straightened his spine against the fine tremors moving through him and waited, watching her approach.

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She flicked her gaze over him briefly once she stopped in front of him. “So you’re my father’s new concubine?”

“If your father is Lord Jannik, then yes. I’m Sascha of Clan Sapfir.”

If anything, she looked more troubled. “I can’t say you’ll like it here and mean it. I’m grateful my marriage is getting me away, and I have no idea what it will be like. I can only wish you good luck.”

Sascha blinked at her, shock robbing him of words. 

“Lady Triana.” The stern voice had them both looking toward the man of business. “It’s time for you to go.”

Triana nodded regally, but she turned back to Sascha instead of moving toward her waiting carriage. When she spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper. “My father’s man of business is horrible, but the housekeeper and the maids and kitchen staff are all kind and helpful. Take care of yourself.”

He took the hand she held out to him, let her squeeze his nerveless fingers. “Thank you. You take care of yourself as well.”

With a brisk nod to him, she moved away, sailing past the glowering man of business—Sascha had been told his name, hadn’t he?—to the carriage where a footman assisted her inside. The driver got the horses moving immediately, and Triana was on her way to an uncertain future…but one she’d rather confront than the past she’d left here. What was Sascha walking into?


More about To Love the Dragon King (including a cover reveal!) coming soon. For now, don't miss out on a great sale on the rest of my books: use code PRIDE23 to get 50% off my books and lots of others at NineStar Press through the end of June. Thanks for reading today!
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A Bookiversary and a Recipe

6/18/2023

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The Merchant's Love has been out in the world for five years today! This book is a cozy fantasy romance (though I hadn't heard the term then!) and has always felt like a warm hug in book form to me. In it, Faelen, a bookish, demisexual royal, and Maxen, a devoted, bisexual merchant, fall in love over books and baked goods. So every year, I feel the need to bake to commemorate the anniversary. This year, I made some chocolate chocolate chip muffins and thought I would share the recipe.

The original recipe came from the Food Network website, but I changed it a bit, adding more chocolate and salt and a pinch (or more, depending on my mood) of cinnamon and using olive oil when it called for vegetable oil. It's super easy and quick, and reliably delicious: 
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1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch (or more) cinnamon
1 cup milk
1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons olive oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners (or spray the pan).

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon into the muffin pan evenly (the cups will be fairly full). Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

​Makes 12 muffins.

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About The Merchant's Love:

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Faelen, cousin to the prince and son of a diplomat, has finally come home to Tournai after years away. The pull to return was almost tangible, and the sense of rightness at being back is absolute. He wants nothing more than to put down roots and build a life among family while pursuing his linguistic studies. Becoming involved in magic meant to protect Tournai isn’t part of his plans…and falling in love is even more unexpected and unfamiliar, but he finds himself doing just that as his friendship with Maxen deepens into something more.

Maxen, second son of a wealthy merchant family, longs to leave Tournai and visit everywhere he can. All his life, he’s found places on maps and dreamed, planning out routes to get to them. For now, he’s tied to Tournai’s capital city by family obligations and his position in their shipping business. Someday, though, he’ll be able to travel. His sudden attraction to Faelen shocks him, but their friendship soon becomes a necessary part of his life. Love, however, has no place in his plans, especially not love for a royal cousin with secrets who wants nothing more than to stay in one place.

For Faelen and Maxen to build something real between them, they must resolve their differences, but when magic goes awry and all Faelen’s secrets are revealed, will Maxen remain at his side?

You can find more about The Merchant's Love and buy links here. Also, The Merchant's Love (and my other books!) is 50% off with code PRIDE23 at NineStar Press this month—it's a perfect time to pick up some fantasy romance!
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Rainbow Snippets June 17-18

6/17/2023

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The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ.

I'm switching over to snippets from To Love the Dragon King, which is currently being proofread while I figure out the details of self-publishing it so I can (finally!) release it into the world. To Love the Dragon King is the first book in a new series, the Dragons of Ivria, which I believe will be a trilogy. In this book, dragon shifter Lysander, the king of Ivria, has come into the knowledge of a treasonous plot against him and the kingdom and has set out to discover the extent of it and its participants. When he arrives to arrest one of the conspirators, he finds Sascha. Sascha was not born with the magic to allow him to transform into a dragon, and therefore, to his (horrible) parents, his only purpose is to enter into a marriage or a contract as a concubine that will benefit his family. To that end, they've contracted him to Jannik, the man Lysander is about to arrest. Sascha  has no knowledge of the plot, or that he's being used in it, or that he's about to be caught up in the orbit of the king and the scheming and danger that revolves around him. This snippet follows directly after last week's.
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​He took a long, slow breath, searching for calm despite the sick roiling in his stomach. Then, gathering his cloak and his dignity around him, he stepped down from the carriage. Another couple of servants were coming to deal with his trunk, and he thanked them, receiving nods in return. Moving away from the carriage a few steps to get out of the way, he surveyed his surroundings. The castle looked no less forbidding up close, but perhaps the place would be more pleasant in spring. Late winter meant bare trees and no flowers or color anywhere. Even the snow—something Sascha usually saw the beauty in—didn’t help.


A young woman about Sascha’s age hurried through the castle doors. Her hair shone gold even in the weak sunlight before she flipped the hood of her green cloak up to cover it. She was halfway to the carriages before she stopped abruptly, her gaze landing on Sascha. Her rosebud lips turned down in a brief frown. When she moved again, it was in his direction.

I'll have more information about To Love the Dragon King for you soon. In the meantime, don't miss out on the great Pride Month sale at NineStar Press—use code PRIDE23 to get 50% off my books through the month of June. Thanks for reading today!
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Pride Recs: Part 2

6/15/2023

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In my first pride recs post this month, I recommended several queer historical romances, but while I was putting that list together, I kept coming across books that were historicals but also had magic of some kind involved. And since I love historical fantasy romances, I thought they deserved their own post (once again, I had to cut myself off ruthlessly, since there are a bunch of these I love and the list was getting unwieldy).

The Magpie Lord by KJ Charlies: I adore this book. I adore the whole series it begins, and I wish I could just leave this there and tell you to go read it, though I would be doing that with a bunch of books and I suppose that wouldn't be of much use to you... *sigh* Set in a Victorian world in which magic exists but most people don't know, this book brings us Lucien, the younger son of an earl who had been exiled to China as a young man because his father hated him (and unbeknownst to him, the descendant of a powerful magical practitioner called the Magpie Lord). He's only returned to England now because his father and older brother have died and he has to deal with the estate. But he finds himself repeatedly trying to kill himself. Which, it turns out, is caused by magic. Stephen shows up to deal with it—grudgingly because Lucien's horrible father and brother ruined the lives of his parents. But there's much more going on than they realize at first. Everything about this is delightful. The characters, the romance and the tension between Lucien and Stephen, the dialogue and the magic. 

Widdershins by Jordan L Hawk: Whyborne is a philologist living a quiet, lonely life, translating dead languages in his basement office of the Ladysmith Museum in Widdershins, Massachusetts, where is only friend is the museum's lady archeologist (Christine is fantastic). Everything changes when a private investigator comes to him for help deciphering a code. They are flung into a world of magic, monsters, and secret societies that only deepens as we move through each book of the series. Whyborne and Griffin's relationship and its progression through the books is lovely, and so is the deepening of the bonds between the found family that grow throughout the series.

A Marvellous Light and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske: The first two books in The Last Binding trilogy are both wonderful, though quite different from each other (and I eagerly and impatiently await the third book, which will be out later this year...). It's Edwardian England and magic is real, though most don't know about it. Robin stumbles into knowledge of magic accidentally and also into danger and mystery. He and Edwin have no choice but to work together, and of course end up falling in love in a lovely romance. The second book, A Restless Truth, gives us an utter romp on an ocean liner carrying Robin's sister Maud from New York back to England. She joined in Robin and Edwin's cause and went to New York to find someone for them. But now there's a murder and a missing item (and a rude parrot) on a ship. Maud finds allies, including the mysterious Violet. (Seriously, I want book three now.)

A Master of Djinn by P Djèlí Clark: Clark reimagines Egypt as a country that threw off colonial oppression and became a world power with the help of the djinn and their magic. It's 1912 as this story begins, and Fatma is an agent for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, who, with her new partner Hadia, has to investigate a mystery with massive implications. I had so much fun reading this story. The characters are fantastic, the mystery is twisty, and the fantasy/steampunk-ish world is intriguing. There's also an F/F romance that, while not the focus of the story, is important and easy to get invested in.

Salt Magic, Skin Magic by Lee Welch: Soren, Lord Thornby, has been trapped on his father's isolated estate for a year—he isn't locked up, but he can't leave and he's beginning to think he's going insane. John, an industrial magician, arrives at the estate to do a favor for a friend—determine if Thornby is tormenting his stepmother with magic. He discovers something else entirely. This book is a frequent reread of mine. I love the magic system, which is unique and intriguing and layered. The characters are all intriguing as well, and the relationship between Soren and John is wonderful. They're so prickly with each other, until they aren't anymore. Really lovely and deeply emotional.

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo: I know I said romances in my intro, but this isn't one. I'll just put that out there, so no one gets the wrong idea. It is a gorgeously written reimagining of The Great Gatsby told from the perspective of Jordan, in this version a queer Asian woman who had been adopted by a wealthy white family as a child. The story is fairly faithful to the original but the change in point of view and the addition of magic create something new.

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh: Tobias is tied to Greenhollow Wood, and has been for a long time. He lives a quiet life there and doesn't dwell on what brought him there. Then Henry Silver moves into Greenhollow Hall, and his curiosity begins to dredge up past secrets. This is a dreamy, sumptuous novella that draws on folklore to imbue the forest with magic. The romance between Tobias and Silver is sweet and emotional. And there's a follow up that I need to read because I absolutely wanted more.

Do you have any favorites?
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Rainbow Snippets June 10-11

6/11/2023

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The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ.

I'm switching over to snippets from To Love the Dragon King, which is currently being proofread while I figure out the details of self-publishing it so I can (finally!) release it into the world. To Love the Dragon King is the first book in a new series, the Dragons of Ivria, which I believe will be a trilogy. In this book, dragon shifter Lysander, the king of Ivria, has come into the knowledge of a treasonous plot against him and the kingdom and has set out to discover the extent of it and its participants. When he arrives to arrest one of the conspirators, he finds Sascha. Sascha was not born with the magic to allow him to transform into a dragon, and therefore, to his (horrible) parents, his only purpose is to enter into a marriage or a contract as a concubine that will benefit his family. To that end, they've contracted him to Jannik, the man Lysander is about to arrest. Sascha  has no knowledge of the plot, or that he's being used in it, or that he's about to be caught up in the orbit of the king and the scheming and danger that revolves around him. This snippet follows directly after last week's.
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Sascha wouldn’t have chosen any of the circumstances for this journey, and the manner in which it was being made—not to mention the sight of its endpoint—was not helping Sascha hold on to any hope that this portion of his life would be good. And hope was something he’d been determinedly clinging to since his parents had told him of the contract they’d signed, making him Lord Jannik’s concubine.

The carriage rattled over the cobblestones of the road leading to the castle’s imposing front doors and slowed to a stop behind a second carriage. There was a flurry of activity around it, as servants loaded and secured baggage. Was Lord Jannik leaving with Sascha arriving today? 
The door beside him was pulled opened abruptly. The stern-faced man of business—what was his name?—stood there, looking particular dour. 

“We’re here.” He didn’t offer assistance or wait for Sascha to climb out before walking away. Concubines were supposed to have status and respect on par with that of spouses—both traditionally and contractually. Sascha hadn’t been treated that way so far.

I'll have more for you about To Love the Dragon King soon. For now, don't miss out on the fantastic Pride Month sale at NineStar Press. You can get all my other books 50% off with code PRIDE23 through June. Thanks for reading!
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Pride Recs: Part 1

6/8/2023

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I know everyone recommends books during Pride Month, but I'm going to do it too because I love talking about books and sharing books I've enjoyed. While staring at my bookcases and Kindle library and audiobook library and feeling slightly overwhelmed (but also loving the sight of all those books...), I decided to split up my recs by genre and give you a few posts this month. First up is historical romance, for absolutely no reason whatsoever. (Do not ask me how difficult narrowing the list down was or how many books are waiting for me to read!)

The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite: This book is a lovely F/F Regency romance between two women who have been scarred by past relationships. It's a slow burn, full of care and passion. It's also a depiction of women's strength and kindness and support of one another, and an exploration of the value of art and craft and traditional women's work, along science and women's contributions to it and how they were so often ignored or stolen. The other two books in the Feminine Pursuits series--The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows and The Hellion's Waltz—are both excellent as well.

That Could Be Enough by Alyssa Cole: That Could Be Enough is only about a hundred pages, but it is a beautiful, gentle romance between two Black women in the post-Revolutionary War United States. Mercy is the secretary/lady's maid to Eliza Hamilton, and Andromeda is a dressmaker in New York. They are very much opposites, but they find what they need in each other with much yearning along the way.

Think of England by KJ Charles: Okay, so, it was extremely difficult to pick a KJ Charles to highlight because I love so many of her books. Ultimately, I went with Think of England because it is a favorite of mine and because it's set in the Edwardian period, which is different from other books I have on this list. Stoic, manly ex-Army captain Archie Curtia goes to a remote country house party to find out if the malfunctioning guns that injured him and killed his friends were the product of sabotage. There, he meets Daniel DaSilva, a femme Jewish poet who is also a secret agent there to investigate a blackmail scheme. They clash, then work together, then fall for each other (and I will never stop wishing there were more books about these two!). The book has a fantastic plot and wonderful characters, two of which, Pat and Fen, have their story told in the prequel Proper English, which is also delightful. Charles's Will Darling Adventures are set in the same world about twenty years later and have some fun character crossovers. 

Introducing Mr. Winterbourne by Joanna Chambers: I almost picked Joanna Chambers's Enlightenment series, a wonderful Scotland-set historical romance series, to talk about, but I just adore this novella too much. Adam Freeman is a wealthy mill owner used to being looked down upon by aristocratic society in Regency England, but when his younger brother becomes engaged to the daughter of an aristocratic society, he agrees to be introduced to society by Lysander Winterbourne. This begins with a slight enemies to lovers cast, as Adam believes Lysander will treat him as others have, but it's just lovely as they begin to get know each other. My only complaint at the time was that it ended, but now there's more in this series, so I can't complain anymore.

Hither, Page by Cat Sebastian: The Page & Sommers books are probably my favorite Cat Sebastian books (anyone know if there are going to be more of them? because I would very much enjoy that), though I have a hard time picking favorites of anything. These two books, of which Hither, Page is the first, are a mix of Agatha Christie-esque mystery and mm romance set in a post-WWII English village. James is a country doctor with what we would call PTSD from the war, who has escaped into the life of a country doctor. Leo is a spy and secret agent and has been for most of his life, but is now jaded and wondering why he's doing it. They meet because of a murder in the village. The mystery is excellent, the characters are all fully realized, and the romance is a wonderful, gentle slow burn with a warm, cozy feel to it. 

The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley: One more Regency romance for you! This one is an absolute romp of a f/nb (Tommy seems nonbinary from the text anyway) romance between Tommy, a master of disguise who only wants to be loved and accepted for who she is, and Philippa, a demisexual bluestocking with wealthy, overbearing parents who want her to make the best marriage possible (despite what she wants). The romance between the two is delightful, with lots of banter and fun but also heartfelt moments. The mystery/heist part of the novel was also lots of fun. This is the second book in the series, but I read it without reading the previous book first and was perfectly fine.

Do you have any favorite LGBTQ historical romances?
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Rainbow Snippets June 3-4

6/4/2023

2 Comments

 
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​The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ.

I'm switching over to snippets from To Love the Dragon King, which is currently being proofread while I figure out the details of self-publishing it so I can (finally!) release it into the world. To Love the Dragon King is the first book in a new series, the Dragons of Ivria, which I believe will be a trilogy. In this book, dragon shifter Lysander, the king of Ivria, has come into the knowledge of a treasonous plot against him and the kingdom and has set out to discover the extent of it and its participants. When he arrives to arrest one of the conspirators, he finds Sascha. Sascha was not born with the magic to allow him to transform into a dragon, and therefore, to his (horrible) parents, his only purpose is to enter into a marriage or a contract as a concubine that will benefit his family. To that end, they've contracted him to Jannik, the man Lysander is about to arrest. Sascha  has no knowledge of the plot, or that he's being used in it, or that he's about to be caught up in the orbit of the king and the scheming and danger that revolves around him. Here's the beginning.
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Forbidding was the word that came to Sascha’s mind at his first sight of Grau Castle, which would be his home for the next several years. The gray stone and high walls were bleak against the slate-colored clouds blanketing the sky. Sascha shivered and huddled deeper into his fur-trimmed cloak, despite knowing the reaction hadn’t been entirely—or even mostly—caused by the raw chill in the air.

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But he couldn’t stop staring out the carriage window as they approached the building. He schooled his features carefully into the serene mask he’d practiced for long hours until he could hold onto it even if everything inside him quaked, as it did now. Deliberately forced his breathing to even out. Best to prepare himself when he was alone, Lord Jannik’s man of business having chosen to ride up with the driver the whole journey from Sascha’s family home where the man had retrieved him and turned over the contractual payment to his parents. It had made for a long and lonely trip—all day yesterday and overnight in the carriage—but Sascha wouldn’t have chosen the company of the other man anyway.

I'll have more information about To Love the Dragon King, including the cover reveal (of the absolutely gorgeous cover that I've been sitting on for way too long!), soon. For now, my other books are on sale at NineStar Press for Pride Month—use code PRIDE23 to get 50% off your order through June and grab some fantasy romance cheap! Thanks for reading today, and Happy Pride!
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Pride Month Sale!

6/2/2023

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NineStar Press is having a Pride Month sale and all of my books are included! Use code PRIDE23 to get 50% off your order through June 30th. Go get a great deal on some new books to read this Pride Month!
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Happy Pride Month from me, the little dragons, and all the people in my head and in the pages of these books! Much love to you all.
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    Antonia is a writer and a reader and a copy editor/proofreader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes.

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