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marisa-writes · 6 years

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My pals Natasha @wokeuptired and Naureen @wildestdreamsfics tagged me to share the nine best books I read this year. Straight up: all I read this year was romance, something I hadn’t done in many years. But after picking up K.M. Jackson’s To Me I Wed off the shelf at my local Target this summer and falling head over heels for Lily and Vin, I began discussing romance novels with my good friend RJ @boricuamermaid / @madminniefics. Turned out RJ was well-aquainted with the genre and opened my world up to some new books by authors who are women of color that write about people of color, and since the representation of POC in fiction is a passion of mine, I was over the moon about this discovery.

Below the cut, you’ll find my long-winded descriptions for each of the novels pictured (nothing too spoilery, I just…suck at writing quick little blurbs). If romance is your thing and you end up deciding to check any of these out, drop me a line once you’re finished so we can discuss!

I’m not going to tag anyone because I don’t know who hasn’t been tagged at this point, but if you’ve read books this year and you want to share, do it and tag me so I can see!

To Me I Wed by K.M. Jackson - aside from RJ, I have this book to thank for sending me plummeting back into the world of romance novels. I was at Target when I spied this book on the shelf, and after reading the description, I was intrigued. To Me I Wed is the second book in K.M. Jackson’s ‘Unconventional Brides’ series, but it was the first of the series that I read, which might contribute to why it’s my favorite. It centers around Lily Perry, an event planner who, after watching her many sisters take the plunge, reads an article about a woman who decides to marry herself, and Lily thinks it’s a splendid idea. She’s a successful woman; why should she wait for a man to define her happiness? Vincent “Vin” Caro, however, the handsome chef and restaurant owner who Lily shared a memorable series of kisses with on the beach a year prior, thinks it’s the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard when Lily asks to use his restaurant as her venue - especially considering he hasn’t quite let go of that time on the beach, and to be honest, neither has Lily. Between Vin and Lily’s undeniable chemistry, Vin’s grief and Lily’s stubbornness, and Lily’s unforgettable grandmother, Mama Dee, I loved this book from start to finish and have read it since the first time I picked it up this summer, oh…three times now, I think?

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins - I didn’t think I’d really be interested in historical romance, but the premise behind this book intrigued me so much, I had to give it a read. In Forbidden, Eddy Carmichael sets off to achieve her dream of opening her own restaurant, but her plans are thwarted when she’s robbed and abandoned in the middle of a desert. Fortune finds her when she’s rescued by Rhine Fontaine, a successful saloon owner whose African descent is masked by his fair skin, and he lives his life passing as a White man. This, of course, has suited Rhine just fine since leaving behind a past he’d rather not relive, but when Eddy comes into the picture, he begins to think that being truthful about who he is might be more than worth the risk.

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria - Along the vein of Dancing with the Stars, Take the Lead centers around a celebrity-meets-professional dance competition show called The Dance Off. Gina Morales is one of the series’ professional dancers, and in her fifth season with the show, she gets paired up with Stone Nielson, an Alaskan survivalist from a reality television show called Living Wild. For such a large and gruff man, Stone is quiet and reserved, but Gina is determined to turn the season into a win - despite the series’ determination to push Stone and Gina into the narrative of the season’s showmance. While faking a romance for the cameras is sure to help them with the votes, it goes against everything Gina stands for. She’s determined to win on her terms without compromising her integrity, but when Stone turns out to be more than he seems, and that old pesky thing called chemistry gets in the way, well…things get complicated.

Love On My Mind by Tracey Livesay - I read the third book in this series, Love Will Always Remember, first before realizing it was the third book in a series and backtracking to Love On My Mind, which is the first novel. In Love on My Mind, Chelsea Grant, a PR rep, is assigned to revamp the image of a reluctant tech mogul named Adam Bennett after the disaster that was his last press conference for his company, Computronix. With the announcement of Adam’s latest life-changing tech gadget on the horizon, Chelsea is hired by Computronix’s COO, Michael Black, to prepare Adam for the next press conference, but Adam’s reluctance to be “changed” by a PR rep means that Chelsea has to find a way to work herself into his life and offer him assistance without clueing him in to her profession. This, of course, presents a challenge as the pair of them grow closer and Chelsea learns more about Adam and why he is the way he is…and withholding the truth behind her sudden appearance in his life becomes harder and harder to do as it threatens to unravel everything building between them. Now, romance novels are quite well-known for their steamy sex scenes, and there’s a scene in this book between Adam and Chelsea…with windows…and…I had to text RJ and screech about it. We’re still collectively screeching about it. So. Good.

Vivid by Beverly Jenkins - after reading several of her novels this summer, I can say with great certainty that I have grown to enjoy historical romance more than I anticipated thanks to Beverly Jenkins. In Vivid, Grayson Grove mayor Nate Grayson is in for a shock when the town’s new doctor, Dr. V. Lancaster, shows up and is to his great surprise, Dr. Viveca Lancaster - a woman. Nate is stubborn and set in his thinking that men are the most fit to be doctors, and Vivid’s femininity goes against everything he believes about one’s capability to carry out the duties required. Vivid, however, well-educated and entirely fit for the position, is full of spirit and determination and has her heart set on changing Nate’s mind as well as the mind of every backwards-thinking citizen in Grayson Grove as she works to prove herself worthy of being their physician despite their misconceptions about her gender.

Along Came Love by Tracey Livesay - the second in its series, Along Came Love focuses on India Shaw, the foster sister and best friend of Chelsea Grant from Love On My Mind. Indi lands herself in jail after a stupid decision goes south and the only person she can call on for help is Michael Black, COO of Computronix and best friend to Chelsea’s beau and reigning tech mogul, Adam Bennett. The thing is, Mike’s kind of the last person Indi wants to call, considering there was a little weekend fling that happened between them and she sort of dipped out on him. Oh, yeah, and she’s pregnant with his child. As Mike learns of Indi’s pregnancy, he fights to keep her in his life while she contemplates what to do next - their unexpected reunion shaking up Mike’s long-term goals as well as Indi’s short-term ones as it becomes quite apparent to the two of them that despite how wrong they might seem for each other, the chemistry that drummed up that weekend fling hasn’t gone away, not even a little bit. Like with Love On My Mind, there was a scene in this book that just about did me in, and RJ and I are still screeching about that one, too.

Jewel by Beverly Jenkins - Jewel returns readers to Grayson Grove, this time to focus on Eli Grayson, cousin of Nate Grayson from Vivid. Still feeling the sting that has come from the closing of his newspaper, Eli is thrilled when he learns of a man who wants to help him revive it - that is, until he learns there’s a catch: this man offering his help only invests his time and money into men who are married. Eli is…friendly with women, you could say, having earned himself the title of “The Colored Casanova of Cass County,” but a married man he is not. So in order to gain the man’s trust, he begs a favor from townswoman Jewel Crowley - he asks her to pretend to be his wife, just long enough to gain approval and financial backing for his newspaper. Of course, when do these things ever go as planned? Suddenly, Eli and Jewel are swept into a marriage of convenience (or is it?) and there’s also some mystery and murder to be found as someone from Eli’s past breezes back into town, bringing a world of trouble with them. I couldn’t put this one down.

Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai - this novel is the second in Alisha Rai’s ‘Forbidden Hearts’ series, and while the first novel did a great job of setting up the mystery and intrigue regarding the Chandler and Kane families and the hearty history surrounding their once-joined venture, a successful grocery store chain called C&O, the second book pulls readers in deeper as it sets its sights on Jackson Kane and Sadia Ahmed. Chased away by the accusatory eyes of a town convinced that he set the flagship C&O store ablaze in a fit of rage, Jackson warily returns to town to check on his recently-returned twin sister, Livvy. And…well, he also sticks around long enough to look in on Sadia, his childhood best friend, who he’s been in love with since they were young. Sadia, who is a single mother now to Jackson’s nephew, Kareem. Sadia, who is the widow of Jackson’s older brother, Paul. Jackson’s unexpected return stirs up many feelings for Sadia, especially considering she’s been sending him email messages for years and he’s never responded to a single one. But Jackson harbors culinary skills beyond her wildest dreams and his family’s diner that’s been left under her care is in desperate need of a new chef, so when he offers to help her out until she finds a replacement, she reluctantly agrees. There are more Chandler/Kane secrets to uncover in the second novel - like the truth behind that fire set at the flagship C&O - as well as a story of reconnection between two people who always should’ve been more than friends, and I really enjoyed it.

Breathless by Beverly Jenkins - all right, so nearly half of the books in my top nine are written by Beverly Jenkins, and I have absolutely no regrets. The woman has been writing romance novels for over twenty years and she’s good at it. Those are just the facts. Breathless takes place some time after Forbidden and centers around Rhine and Eddy’s eldest niece, Portia Carmichael. Portia’s making a life for herself as manager of the hotel her aunt and uncle now own in Arizona, and unlike her sister Regan, she has no plans to marry, determined to open her own bookkeeping business one day. So instead of being courted, she spends her time dodging her many suitors until Kenton Randolph, an old friend of Rhine’s, comes blowing through town. Portia’s never been too keen on men, her mother’s history with them leaving her with a sour taste in her mouth, but with the reappearance of Kent in her life and his promises of passion, there’s a good chance she might end up changing her mind.

All of these books are available to read through both iBooks and Kindle, if you’re interested. Happy reading, my friends!

#I know most of these covers are downright cheesy haha #but I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of these books #thanks for tagging me friends!#book recs

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prince-kallisto · 9 months

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Direbeast…Dire Crowley…

My brain cells are trying so hard to piece this mystery together haha ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´ω`ﾟ)ﾟ｡ BUT! What I have noticed is Grin’s eyes when he’s in “berserk mode.”

His eyes transform into glowing orbs, and the light is still visible even when they’re closed.

Doesn’t it look a little familiar?

As much as I would love to see a handsome Crowley under that mask, I feel for certain that he just has creepy glowing orbs and a shadow over his face haha (he still handsome tho). But it’s interesting how similar these two eyes are.

The Phantoms don’t have eyes at all, and their heads are replaced with a broken jar of ink. It’s what makes Phantom!Grim that we see in the prologue even more unique. Additionally, all of the Overblot students retain their regular facial features, save for the flame over one of their eyes and ink markings on their face

Book 6 also revealed that Grim is a direbeast fused with another animal, but I think it’s unknown what animal this is. It’s a very interesting detail, and it makes me wonder what the meaning behind it is, and why his mental state is on par with a humans. From what we know about other dire beasts, they’re more akin to wild animals. I still think that Grim was Crowley’s phantom once upon a time, but it’s still kept in the dark.

It makes me wonder if Crowley is in a similar predicament? I’d like to think that he’s a bird-inspired Fae, with the ability to transform into a crow/raven. Is it the shared animalistic features that make them similar? I still don’t think so, just because Leona is a beastman with none of these weird traits when overblotted.

So in the end, I’m still holding onto the theory that Crowley’s body is in a state of blot-limbo, just like Grim was. Although Grim was a lot more wild and ferocious, he still wasn’t quite a Phantom or full-blown Overblot monster. I think Crowley is incredibly unstable and teetering over this delicate edge of blot in body, and while he can communicate and rationalize fairly normally, his body retains many Overblot traits, affecting even his eyes.

I’d also like to think that it’s why we never see Crowley use magic in the game. Although he does use it in the manga and light novels, I think they’re fairly basic shield spells that even 2nd year NRC students can use (according to Leona). It makes me wonder if Crowley only uses magic in highly specific and safe conditions. For example, the school barrier, spell cast over the Ramshackle guest room, and the Colosseum in Book 5 are all said to have powerful barriers on them. I think Crowley’s safest magic is long-lasting and non-attack spells. Once these barriers are cast, they stay there for as long as possible until attacked with brute force.

Crowley has to be incredibly powerful, but he can’t really involve himself in most dangerous situations because any amount of blot might just tip his body and mental state over the edge.

WHY IS HE SO MYSTEROUS AUCHAGXHSBXBX

#anyway I love him sm #even if he just has glowing orbs and ink all over his face under the face #I wanna see it so bad #he so handsome #twst dire Crowley #twst Crowley #dire Crowley #twst grim #twst theory #KallistoPost

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