Review: Two Rogues Make a Right by Cat Sebastian

Two Rogues Make a Right
(Seducing the Sedgewicks #3)
Cat Sebastian
Release: June 23, 2020
Goodreads Amazon

Will Sedgwick can’t believe that after months of searching for his oldest friend, Martin Easterbrook is found hiding in an attic like a gothic nightmare. Intent on nursing Martin back to health, Will kindly kidnaps him and takes him to the countryside to recover, well away from the world.

Martin doesn’t much care where he is or even how he got there. He’s much more concerned that the man he’s loved his entire life is currently waiting on him hand and foot, feeding him soup and making him tea. Martin knows he’s a lost cause, one he doesn’t want Will to waste his life on.

As a lifetime of love transforms into a tender passion both men always desired but neither expected, can they envision a life free from the restrictions of the past, a life with each other?

Review:
Before I get into the review for this book I want to point out that it's important to read this series in order. This book doesn't work well as a standalone. There's quite a bit introduced in the previous books that helps you to understand Will and Martin as characters and how they got to where they are in this book. I originally started it without having read the second book in the series and was confused within the first couple chapters. I put it down and read the second book first and it helped immensely. That being said, this review will most definite have spoilers for the previous books in it.

Now let me tell you some of my thoughts about Two Rogues Make a Right. I have a lot of them but I'm only going to talk about a few of them because I think this is one of those books that you should go into kind of blind after reading the previous books. And I'm not even going to be sorry that this is going to be rambly.

I thought this book was adorable! I wasn't sure about how this story would go since they quite literally found one of the main characters deathly ill hiding in the attic at the end of the last book. I loved the romance between Will and Martin! Y'all! It's a slow burn friends-to-lovers romance. And my dear reader! There's only one bed! I was all in! Plus, the banter was truly brilliant in that way that comes from two characters knowing each other for years.

This book is a bit different from the previous books in the series. This was pretty light on the plot side of things and was mostly character driven. It read like the best kind of slice-of-life fanfiction where you watch two characters who have very obviously loved each other for years come to realize that they really do love each other. It's also part hurt/comfort fic with a nice helping of the nursing your love back to health trope. And they read so many stories to one another! It was a sweet and highly intimate romance that involved lots of time spent together with no one else disturbing them in the countryside. This book is seriously one of my forms of book catnip. It was lovely!

There are so many great things about this book I adored but I loved all of the diverse rep it contained! One of the leads is bisexual (and possibly pan) and the other main character read to me as being demisexual or on the ace spectrum which was awesome! I really want to see more demi/ace rep in romance. One of the main characters has a chronic illness (consumption) and the other is still recovering from being an opium addict and has severe PTSD and both have been subjected to abuse at some point in their lives.

The main characters are messy and have clearly been dealt a crappy hand in life but those things are part of what makes their romance so great. And I loved that the fact that they were a same sex couple in Victorian England was just a side note in the drama. I was rooting for them to be together. Also, I loved that we got a romance where the main character doesn't magically get cured of his disease but still got a Happily Ever After. Martin's illness impacted their relationship and it was refreshing to see that impact portrayed in their romance. And I seriously loved how Will didn't shy away from it. We need to see more of that in fiction.

The story is a bit slow but that added to its charm in my opinion. I loved watching both Will and Martin (especially Martin) realize they loved each other. The two idiots really were adorable. I loved watching them learn how to live in the country and found it hilarious when they messed up and their neighbors criticized their "farm work". They were exceedingly terrible at so many things. Also, their interactions with Daisy and Mrs. Tanner were amazing! I seriously loved the banter between surly Martin and Daisy as well as the banter between Daisy and Will who is a legit softie.

Cat Sebastian has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I find myself rereading her books when I need a comfort read. If you're looking for a sweet queer historical fiction novel, then Two Rogues Make a Right is the book for you. Actually, the whole series fits that description. I'd highly recommend reading It Takes Two to Tumble and A Gentleman Never Keeps Score before picking this one up though.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

   

  4 / 5 Stars

Book #20- Spring- Read a Book With a Green or Yellow Cover

My reviews of other books in this series:
It Takes Two to Tumble by Cat Sebastian
A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian

Release Day Review: Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

Take a Hint, Dani Brown
(The Brown Sisters #2)
Talia Hibbert
Release: June 23, 2020
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral...

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his... um, thighs.

Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?

Review:

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is a Friends to Lovers, Fake Dating Romance set in the worlds of academia and professional sports. Dani is a literature professor and PhD candidate and the hero Zafir is a retired rugby player who works as a security guard at her university and runs a non-profit on the side. They have a flirty friendship going until a photo of him rescuing her goes viral and the world assumes they're a couple.

Going viral seems to be a popular theme in Romance this year. I can't help but compare Take a Hint, Dani Brown to the latest in Alisha Rai's Modern Love series, Girl Gone Viral. (See my review here.) My brain just keeps falling down a #CafeBae vs #DrRugbae rabbit hole. In both cases I didn't love the second book in the series quite as much as the first. While Dani is funny, her humor is always a deflection so you can't really laugh with her. That, along with the themes of grief, anxiety and toxic relationships made this book feel not as light as the previous one.

I think the fact that the conflict is all internal, there's no action and the characters never go anywhere, (Okay that's an exaggeration, but still.) also adds to that heaviness. The obstacles in their relationship are his reluctance to acknowledge his past and hers to acknowledge her feelings. Both characters are stunted, but in opposite ways. Dani is all intellect and Zaf is all emotion.

The pairing of a closed off heroine with an emotional, HEA-loving hero is a reversal of expected gender roles, but it's far from the only one. The book challenges gender roles in lots of not-at-all subtle ways. It's literally both characters' job to call out misogyny and toxic masculinity, hers in her classes and his with the boys he mentors. The message is obvious, but it never felt heavy handed.

While I enjoyed Dani Brown and I continue to call Talia Hibbert one of my favorite Romance authors, I just didn't love this book. The first in the series, Get a Life, Chloe Brown, about Dani's sister was one of my favorites of 2019 and I think it had my expectations set too high. Dani just couldn't quite fill her big sister's shoes.

    

4  stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
Get a Life, Chloe Brown

We Love Lists: #ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads Week 3

Welcome to Week Three of #ReadingPride 30 Days of Queer Reads recommendations! If you missed Weeks One and Two, you can click here and here to go see those lists. Here are my recommendations for Days 15-21! And just like last week, I've left links to our reviews if you want more of our thoughts on a specific book.

Day 15: Queer Book That Made You LOL
All of Gail Carriger's books make me laugh but there's just something about her San Andreas Shifters series that has make laughing and smiling like a fool. There's so much great banter and one liners and it's oh so very gay. These books make me so happy! I can't wait to get my hands on The Enforcer Enigma in August! I already have it pre-ordered because I can't wait to read Judd and Colin's story!

Read my review of The Sumage Solution here.

Day 16: Queer Book That Is Really Personal To You
I don't know the words to explain how important it is that a book like this exists. I grew up LDS (or Mormon) in a majority LDS community similar to Provo. Several of my friends and I were in a similar situation to Sebastian where we couldn't come out as gay/bisexual when we were in high school because we were LDS and didn't want to be rejected by everyone we knew and loved. I still have friends who are still in the closet because of where we grew up. This book is an important one for all the queer youth growing up in conservative religious communities. It's one I definitely wish me and my friends had had when we were teens.

You can read my review of this book here.

Day 17: Favorite Queer Sequel or Spin-Off
I'm not sure if this counts as a spin-off series or if its more of a companion series to the Badlands books, but I'm going to go with the Witchbane series by Morgan Brice for this prompt. Vic and Simon are still my favorite series but I love Seth and Evan's adventures almost as much.  And there is quite a bit of crossover between these two series and the couple other companion series set in this universe as well. Morgan Brice is kind of the queen of crossovers.

Read my review here.

Day 18: Favorite Queer Book by a Favorite Author
There are so many books I could use for this prompt but I'm going to go with a book by a recent favorite author. I read my first Cat Sebastian book a couple years ago and have proceeded to devour everything she has written. Her Turner Series has been my favorite by far and The Lawrence Brown Affair is my favorite of those. Georgie is my favorite and his love story was wonderful! If you're looking for some great queer historical fiction, you need to go get Cat's books ASAP!

Day 19: Queer Book That Changed Your Life
I'm not sure that I've had a queer book change my life in the way most people think about life-changing things but I've read several that have hit me like a lightning bolt. One of those books for me was Lover at Last by J.R. Ward. I realized while reading this book that I really really wanted to see queer characters as the main characters in my favorite series and genres. I've always read fanfiction where the queer OTPs of my heart could finally be together but this book made me want my OTPs to be canon. I wanted them to get page time. Most of all, this book made me realize how much more fantastic some of my favorite romance series could be if some of the books had a m/m, f/f, or x/nb romance. Or have a disaster bisexual as the protagonist. Most of the series I'd like to see have this kind of representation haven't gotten it but I live in eternal hope that maybe one day there will be more than queer side characters in them.

Day 20: Favorite Queer Book Series

This isn't really a surprise to anyone who reads this blog, right? I have done nothing but rave about Witchmark since 2018 and I've been gushing about the sequel, Stormsong, since I read it earlier this year. This series is delightfully queer and full of a unique magic system, excellent worldbuilding, and intriguing politics! I seriously need everyone to go read this series now. Also, have you seen the cover for the third and last book?!? I need it in my hands. February is such a long ways away.

You can read my review of Witchmark here.

Day 21: Queer Book That You Recommend A Lot
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston was my favorite book of 2019 hands down. I loved everything about this from the characters to the romance. It's also one of those books that I could have used happily for several of the prompts for this challenge. I recommend this book all the time and I literally shoved copies into the hands of several friends. And I can't even tell you the number of copies I've bought and gifted since this came out. It's one of those feel good queer romances that I just want everyone to read so they can come fangirl with me about how good it is.

You can read my review of this book here.

What books would you recommend for these prompts?

Early Review: Loud Mouth by Avery Flynn

Loud Mouth
(Ice Knights #3)
Avery Flynn
Release: June 22, 2020
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

I never meant to say a word, not one single word.

But I did.

And now, because of my blog, everyone knows that Ice Knights hockey star Ian Petrov’s best friend and fellow player is actually his half brother—hello, hockey Hall of Famer dad who couldn’t keep his jeans zipped.

That wouldn’t be such a big deal if Ian knew. He didn’t, and boy howdy is he pissed. And who is he most mad at? Oh sure, he’s upset with his dad and former best friend/brother from another mother, but most of his ire is with me. It’s definitely a case of hating the messenger.

And what could make it worse? How about the two of us being trapped together in a remote cabin after a massive blizzard. Neither of us can leave. Just us, the snow, his resentment, and OMG sexual tension so thick it would take a snowplow to break through it.

I’ve got to get out of here before I do something even dumber than I’ve already done and kiss the sexy, snarly grump with his misplaced anger and perfect pecs. That would be the worst, the absolute worst. That’s why I’m not going to do it. Nope. Really. So why can’t I stop imagining what it would be like?

Review:

Avery Flynn is one of my go to authors for light-hearted, slump buster reads. And Loud Mouth has plenty of the Rom Com moments I’ve come to expect, but what stood out to me most were more serious concerns.

Like the Hartigans series from which Ice Knights grew, this series has been good about having heroines with lots of different body types and looks. Shelby is skinny and gap-toothed with a funky haircut - I imagine she’d be played by Kristen Stewart in the movie adaption. Pairing her with a professional hockey player makes a statement.

Loud Mouth also has a lot to say about father figures, which is interesting given its Father’s Day week release. I won’t spoil it by saying anything else though. It also addresses addiction, but it’s not an obstacle in the relationship like you might expect. It’s just another aspect of Shelby’s personality.

The actual obstacle is basically a lack of communication which is frustrating because it’s so predictable. But my real complaint is that Shelby and Ian’s relationship feels like a movie montage. I never really felt the emotional connection. I did enjoy the relationship between half brothers Ian and Alex and how Shelby played into it, as well as the hockey elements.

Like the previous entries in the Ice Knights series, I enjoyed Loud Mouth. I just don't like this series as much as the Hartigans, despite how much they overlap. I do hope that Flynn continues to bring in characters and places from the rest of her Harbor City series as the rest of the Ice Knights team get their HEAs.

Recommended for fans of: hockey/sports romance

   1/2 

3 1/2  stars

My reviews of other books in this series:
Parental Guidance (Ice Knight #1)

Short Reviews: It Takes Two to Tumble and A Gentleman Never Keeps Score

It Takes Two to Tumble
(Seducing the Sedgewicks #1)
Cat Sebastian
Release: December 12, 2017
Goodreads Amazon

Some of Ben Sedgwick's favorite things:

Helping his poor parishioners
Baby animals
Shamelessly flirting with the handsome Captain Phillip Dacre

After an unconventional upbringing, Ben is perfectly content with the quiet, predictable life of a country vicar, free of strife or turmoil. When he's asked to look after an absent naval captain's three wild children, he reluctantly agrees, but instantly falls for the hellions. And when their stern but gloriously handsome father arrives, Ben is tempted in ways that make him doubt everything.

Some of Phillip Dacre's favorite things:

His ship
People doing precisely as they're told
Touching the irresistible vicar at every opportunity

Phillip can't wait to leave England's shores and be back on his ship, away from the grief that haunts him. But his children have driven off a succession of governesses and tutors and he must set things right. The unexpected presence of the cheerful, adorable vicar sets his world on its head and now he can't seem to live without Ben's winning smiles or devastating kisses.

In the midst of runaway children, a plot to blackmail Ben's family, and torturous nights of pleasure, Ben and Phillip must decide if a safe life is worth losing the one thing that makes them come alive.

Review: 
It's hard to believe that I read my first Cat Sebastian book only a couple years ago and it was this book that started my obsession. While, in my opinion, this wasn't as good as the Turner series, it was still a cute m/m historical romance. 

I loved that the romance was between a grumpy sea captain and the mild-mannered vicar who ends up caring for the captain's rambunctious children. Ben and Phillip are about as opposite as you can get but it works. The chemistry is there and I was living for their interactions. I also loved the foil that the children added to the development of their relationship. They are a bunch of hellions and I want to see more of them just to see what kinds of shenanigans they'll get up to.

What I love the most about Cat Sebastian's books is their focus on family. While Ben and his brothers didn't have the most normal upbringing, they care about each other and it shows through with their brief interactions on the page. Ben's and the Dacres' interactions with his father were kind of adorable and he lived up to the flighty description Ben gave of him but a bit more perceptive and caring.

I actually just reread this after getting caught up in the series and I feel like this is one of those books that makes more sense as you continue the series. Something felt off about this one when I first read it and I couldn't figure out what. I found upon rereading that that feeling was gone. The questions I had were answered in the next book.

If you're looking for a cute queer historical romance that will make you happy reading it, I'd highly recommend this book and this series. All of Cat Sebastian's books kind of feel like a little ray of sunshine while you're reading them.

   

  4 / 5 Stars

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score

(Seducing the Sedgewicks #2)

Cat Sebastian

Release: August 21, 2018

Goodreads Amazon

Once beloved by London's fashionable elite, Hartley Sedgwick has become a recluse after a spate of salacious gossip exposed his most-private secrets. Rarely venturing from the house whose inheritance is a daily reminder of his downfall, he’s captivated by the exceedingly handsome man who seeks to rob him.

Since retiring from the boxing ring, Sam Fox has made his pub, The Bell, into a haven for those in his Free Black community. But when his best friend Kate implores him to find and destroy a scandalously revealing painting of her, he agrees. Sam would do anything to protect those he loves, even if it means stealing from a wealthy gentleman. But when he encounters Hartley, he soon finds himself wanting to steal more than just a painting from the lovely, lonely man—he wants to steal his heart.

Content Warning from Author: This book includes a main character who was sexually abused in the past; abuse happens off page but is alluded to.

Review:

I was a bit unsure if I would enjoy this book based on what we learned of Hartley in the first book but I loved it so much! It's very much a story about found family and Hartley and Sam and the others dragged me into the story and didn’t let go until it was over. I loved Sam and Hartley but I loved Alf, Sadie, Kate, Nick, and the dog just as much!

One of the things I enjoy a lot about Cat Sebastian's books is the amount of research she does. I loved that Sam was a free Black man because he brought into the story a perspective we don't normally see in Victorian England historical romances. We got to see pieces of the Free Black community and the hardships they had to endure and the prejudices Sam has to deal with when it comes to the constabulary and his past as a boxer.

And poor Hartley! I just wanted to reach through the pages and give him a hug. He was abused by his godfather and it has gotten out what he let him to do him to better his brothers' life. Hartley has walls so high around himself that it seems that it would be impossible to reach him. I loved seeing his walls break down as he lets people in. His growth as a character was heartwarming to watch.

That ending was a bit weird though, right?!? But, also oddly captivating? I was so glad that I had an ARC of the next book as soon as I finished this one because I would have been dying to know what happened next with Will and Martin! Overall, this was a fantastic book and is probably my favorite of the series so far.

   

  4 / 5 Stars

We Love Lists: Books We Love By Black Authors

We don't know about you but it has been a heavy few weeks. There's a lot of much needed talking and learning going on right now and we think that a lot of change is going to come out of the horror of the last few weeks. 

One of the biggest revolutions currently taking place is the talk around the lack of diversity and equality in publishing. Thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement, there's been renewed interest in picking up books by Black authors in all genres not just nonfiction. This week (June 14-20) there is a movement to blackout the bestseller lists. All that is being asked is that you purchase any two books by Black authors. We will be participating.

There have been a lot of recommendations lists going around and they've been wonderful! We've bought several books because of them but we also thought we'd give voice to a few of our favorites. So if you're still looking for your two books or you're looking for more to add to your TBR pile, here are a few for you to consider. We've included links to our reviews if we have them in case you want more of our thoughts on a title. If it's a series we're recommending, we've only linked the review for the first book to avoid spoilers.

Rose Red

The Kingston Cycle by C.L. Polk
Check out our review for Witchmark.

The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole
Check out our review.

Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

We have a review for Check, Please! Vol. 1 here.

The Sixth World Series by Rebecca Roanhorse
Read our review for Trail of Lightning.

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia


The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

You can read our review here.

Gretl

Everything by Talia Hibbert
Read our review of Get a Life Chloe Brown


Xeni by Rebecca Weatherspoon 


The Final Hour series by Juno Rushdan


The Jekh Chronicles by Holley Trent


Grumpy Jake by Melissa Blue


Off the Grid series by Alyssa Cole


The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa
Check out our review.


The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
I'm still reading this one so watch for the review in the next few days.

Those are some of the books we love by Black authors.
Do you have any recommendations for us? 

 and