The Minis: Romance, Romance, Romance

It’s been a very Romance heavy start of the year. 

I have mentioned previously how I resort to Romance when I am having a hard time with school or life in general. There’s a certain vapidness (not always, but a lot of time) and predictability about Romance novels that makes me feel less stressed. I also don’t have a lot of time to read when I am studying, so I can’t finish a book in the time I usually finish them. And then I feel bad. Romance solves this because I can read it in a day or two and I can go through multiple books and not be down about my reading.

So I read a lot of Romance novels, so here’s what I thought of them.

1. The Beau and the Belle by R.S. Grey

I’ve read a lot of R.S. Grey’s books and I tend to always enjoy them. This one was no different. It’s a second chance Romance set in New Orleans, which was really difficult to read because I was constantly reminded of how the Saints lost. It was in her usual style, charming and funny. I enjoyed both the main characters, which is kind of unusual for me in Romance, I usually hate one of them. The two characters had great chemistry and tension. The only thing I did not enjoy is that the first part of the book was told in the past, when Beau and Lauren first met. He is a college guy and she’s in high school and while he stops her and nothing really develops there, there was all of this sexual tension that I was sort of iffy about. Still, this was pretty enjoyable overall.

Final verdict: 3.5 stars

2. Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai

This was recommended on one of my favorite Book Riot podcasts – Get Booked. It’s fantastic if you haven’t listen to it. Anyways, this follows Livvy and Nicholas, who were high school sweethearts, until their families had a huge falling out and became enemies. They broke up, and hate each other, but still meet once a year, on her birthday, and spend the night together and never speak until next time. This was a really great hate to love Romance, which I am always a sucker for. This also featured an Asian MC, and a bisexual side character (which is a protagonist in the next book in the series). This may not seem like a big deal, but Romance is very white and very hetero as a genre, so this was a pleasant surprise. The author also wrote in consent in a very specific and explicit way and I really liked that. Again, don’t see a lot of that in Romance. Overall, pretty great.

Final verdict: 4 stars

3. Burn For You by J.T. Geissinger 

This was my favorite of the bunch. It’s a loose (very loose) retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I really enjoyed it. As with every Romance novel, you have to suspend your disbelief, but this was super good once I did. This is also set in New Orleans and features a biracial main character, which again, don’t see a lot of. I really enjoyed the characters, I think they were great, especially the male lead. Romance can be really tropey, with these alpha male type guys and it can be done really badly. This wasn’t like that, and I enjoyed that. Again, pretty good.

Final verdict: 4 stars

So those are three mini reviews for some Romance novels I read recently. Do you like Romance? Do you avoid it like the plague? Let me know!

xxx

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