Monday Minis – August 15th: Recent Romance Reads

Soooo this was meant to be a regular blog post series but apparently the last one I did was in 2019. THREE YEARS AGO. Whoops. But maybe I can get myself to do this again haha. I do love doing mini reviews! And I personally love reading shorter reviews, so I hope some of you do as well. This post will be about my 4 most recent reads, which all happen to be romance reads! Well okay, technically one of them I’d categorize as fantasy, if I had to pick a single genre. But it fits well into the “romance fantasy” genre mix. And one of them is a romance tinged with fantasy. I just can’t get away from fantasy for too long okay?? But anyway, I loved all of these! So let’s get into it.

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A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
Published by Forever on May 24, 2022
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 481
Format: eBook
Goodreads

When Viola Carroll 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.

Now this is a book that is a little bit more outside my comfort range! I read a good amount of romance, but not really in a historical regency setting. I’ve read fantasy books that have regency settings, but not straight up romances. But I loved this one!! So maybe I’ll have to read more regency romances haha. I really love that this novel included queer characters in a way that felt like they were staying true to the time period – it never felt forced or like it was a modern setting in regency clothing.

Also the star of the show was obviously the relationship between Viola and Gracewood. It was so wonderful to see how their friendship changed as they got to know one another in different ways, and more deeply. Such a great take on the classic friends to lovers trope! I’d definitely be interested in more books like this.

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The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Published by Orbit on July 15, 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 418
Format: Hardcover
Goodreads

Hart Ralston is a demigod and a marshal, tasked with patrolling the wasteland of Tanria. The realm the exiled old gods once called home is now a forsaken place where humans with no better options or no better sense come seeking adventure or spoils, but more often end up as drudges: reanimated corpses inhabited by the souls of those who’ve died in Tanria before. Hart tells himself that his job is simple: neutralize the drudges with a quick zap to the appendix and deliver them back to polite society at the nearest undertaker’s, leaving the whys and hows of the drudge problem for men without the complexities of a god in their family tree. But working alone, Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder exactly those questions he’d most like to avoid.
Too much time alone is the opposite of Mercy Birdsall’s problem. Since her father’s decline, she’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son undertakers afloat in small-town Eternity—despite definitely not being a son, and in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart Ralston, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. The work’s not the problem—Mercy’s good at it, better than any other Birdsall—but keeping all her family’s plates spinning singlehandedly, forever, isn’t how Mercy envisioned her future.
After yet another run-in with the sharp-tongued Mercy, Hart considers she might have a point about his utter loneliness being a bit of a liability. In a moment of sentimentality, he pens a letter addressed simply to “A Friend,” and entrusts it to a nimkilim, an anthropomorphic animal messenger with an uncanny connection to the gods, (and in Hart’s case, a bit of a drinking problem). Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.
If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most–Mercy. As the two unlikely pen pals grow closer, the truth about Hart’s parentage and the nature of the drudges creeps in. And suddenly their old animosity seems so small in comparison to what they might be able to do: end the drudges forever. But at what cost?

This book has so so so many things that I like. Enemies to lovers! Secret pen pals! Grumpy love interest!! And not only that, but the grumpy/sunshine dynamic! TALKING ANIMALS!!!! Yearning. But not overwhelming yearning, like a good amount. Slow burn! Okay have I convinced you yet? It’s a wonderful cozy fantasy romance novel. I also really liked the world it was set in. There are new gods and old gods, a portal to a world where gods were trapped, zombies!! I’d love to know more about the world, maybe in other novels in the same setting?? Hint hint?? But yeah, this is probably going on my favorites list for the year. And I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this author!

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The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Published by Berkley on June 28, 2022
Genres: Romance
Pages: 366
Format: eBook
Goodreads

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.
Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.
When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.
For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she can’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.
Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.
Romance is most certainly dead . . . but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

Like the previous book, this one has a touch of fantasy but it’s just that – a touch. Basically, our main character can see ghosts, and interact with them. Naturally the main ghost character is her love interest. Now I know that premise can sounds kinda weird, but it really does work. Plus it’s a ghost and a ghost writer, I can’t help but fall for that it’s too cute and punny. I will say that I think the timeline for the romance was a bit too short for my taste, but overall really enjoyed it.

This novel also has an amazing family aspect to it, that is just as important as the main romance. It deals with grief, and how that affects your relationships with siblings and your parent. It definitely tugged at my heartstrings!! Be warned that the major event to kick off the plot is a parental death, so if you aren’t able to read that sort of context then take care of yourself!

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Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
Published by William Morrow on July 5, 2022
Genres: Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eBook
Goodreads

Introducing internationally bestselling author Bolu Babalola’s dazzling debut novel, full of passion, humor, and heart, that centers on a young Black British woman who has no interest in love and unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship with the man she warned her girls about.
Sweet like plantain, hot like pepper. They taste the best when together...
Sharp-tongued (and secretly soft-hearted) Kiki Banjo has just made a huge mistake. As an expert in relationship-evasion and the host of the popular student radio show Brown Sugar, she’s made it her mission to make sure the women of the African-Caribbean Society at Whitewell University do not fall into the mess of “situationships”, players, and heartbreak. But when the Queen of the Unbothered kisses Malakai Korede, the guy she just publicly denounced as “The Wastemen of Whitewell,” in front of every Blackwellian on campus, she finds her show on the brink.
They’re soon embroiled in a fake relationship to try and salvage their reputations and save their futures. Kiki has never surrendered her heart before, and a player like Malakai won’t be the one to change that, no matter how charming he is or how electric their connection feels. But surprisingly entertaining study sessions and intimate, late-night talks at old-fashioned diners force Kiki to look beyond her own presumptions. Is she ready to open herself up to something deeper?
A gloriously funny and sparkling debut novel, Honey & Spice is full of delicious tension and romantic intrigue that will make you weak at the knees.

I’ve been eyeing Bolu Babalola’s first book, Love in Color, for a while now. I unfortunately haven’t read it yet, but this book came out recently so I started seeing it on Bookstagram. Someone mentions fake relationship and I’m in baby!! So yeah, I picked this one up haha. And I’m really glad I did!! I feel like it’s the perfect new adult novel. I do wish that was more of an established category in publishing. But anyway!! The main characters are in their early 20s, and attending university. I felt like it was such a great description of how messy and lovely relationships are at that time. There is a wonderful girl squad in this book, which I am all for. And the whole cast of characters is Black! Definitely recommend picking this one up.

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Have you read any of these? If yes, what did you think? If no, do you think you’ll pick any of them up? And what have you been reading lately?