Category: Queer Romance - Alyce Caswell - Author

Alyce Caswell - Author

Tropetastic

20/9/2024

The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist by Sophie Gonzales

Ivy is a huge fan of a fantasy TV series but she doesn't expect to wake up with one of the characters in her bed. Weston is somehow real - and he thinks they're soulmates! Now Ivy has to find a way to hide his presence from everyone, especially her neighbour and ex-BFF, Mack. But maybe this isn't a story about soulmates. Maybe it's a story about mutual pining...and maybe Mack is Ivy's costar instead.

Gosh, this was cute. And I love seeing another bi girl with a similar haircut to mine on a book cover! As for the story, it's fun and amusing. The teen angst and drama ring true and you can't help but like every character. I did feel that this could have been something more, but sometimes you just want an uncomplicated YA novel to breeze through. As a bonus - I've discovered another Australian author!

Somewhere in Regency Time

26/12/2023

Pride and Prejudice and the City by Rachael Lippincott

Audrey, at seventeen, has been dumped, waitlisted for her dream college instead of getting in, and lost the spark she desperately needs for her art. But then she catches a coin that sends her back to 1812 - and into the path of Lucy, a gentleman's daughter who hides her true self and is destined for a loveless marriage. Audrey desperately wants to go home... but what if there's a reason she's there?

Oh my goodness. How cute was that! I'm glad I took a chance on this book - I nearly didn't, because the title is legitimately awful (though apparently it's also published with "Pittsburgh" instead of "the City", which is... marginally better) and it's also weird because this book might have a Regency setting, but that's where the resemblance to Jane Austen ends. Anyway, this sapphic time travel romp was a blast and I'm ever more delighted by the glorious amount of bi rep in books these days.

The Missing Developmental Edit

19/10/2023

The Last Love Song by Katie Holford

I received this ARC from Blackstone Publishing (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Mia Peters grew up in the same town that her famous mother, the singer Tori Rose, was always trying to leave - in fact, Tori never returned from her final tour. Mia doesn't really know what her mother was like, but she's about to. Tori Rose has gifted her a scavenger hunt for graduation and Mia only has one week to solve it before her best friend and crush, Britt, also leaves her behind to chase the music.

If you can manage to suspend your disbelief enough - and it is very hard at times - this is a cute, if unremarkable, YA read. I really liked the premise and some of the characters were interesting, if underdeveloped. The major issue is that we're supposed to believe that in a small town certain characters never crossed paths with Mia. Or that she wasn't able to find out her mother's cause of death from anyone in town or online (trust me, you could find this stuff on the Internet in 2006 and many articles from that period are still searchable now). Had these issues been smoothed out, I might have really enjoyed The Last Love Song.

Taking A Gamble

28/8/2023

Driven to Distraction (Gamble Racing #1)
by Renée Dahlia

Ondrej needs to focus on reestablishing himself as an S1 driver with a new team and doesn't need any distractions. Cue the arrival of Hudson into his orbit, the historian Ondrej's father has hired to solve the mystery of a unique Bugatti that has been missing since WWII. Distraction is inevitable. But whether or not it will lead to something else is another matter entirely.

A super steamy and super fun romance with the added bonus of a mystery (though I do wish more pages had been devoted to the later, since it was so fascinating!). I really liked how Ondrej and Hudson were give the space and plenty of time to develop their relationship, especially given how much they had to work through. I'm happy to report that this book is just as good as its cover. ;)

Simply Wonderful

6/2/2023

Can I Steal You for a Second? (Marry Me Juliet #2)
by Jodi McAlister

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster Australia (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Mandie is a longtime watcher of reality show Marry Me, Juliet, but she would never have applied to be on it - before she got dumped by her toxic girlfriend, that is. She's not even sure she has the courage to go through with it. But then she meets Dylan, another romantic hopeful - who should be her competition, not her new obsession! After all, they're on the show for a chance at love - with a man.

How can you not love that premise? Two contestants on a Bachelor-style show falling in love (which has actually happened IRL!)? Sign me the heck up! To say I enjoyed this would be a vast understatement. There was plenty of delicious drama to be had, so much heart-twisting angst, and a strangers-to-friends-to-lovers tale that had me up past my bedtime.

But the best part? Representation. Oh my gosh. YES.

I don't usually see myself in romcoms. I will devour ALL the sapphic romances, but I'm always keenly aware that bisexual women like myself are generally not going to be the heroines. Unicorns are more visible than us lol. So imagine my delight to discover that both heroines were bi!

And pandemic fiction is my biggest weakness atm, so I ate up that aspect of the story. xD

Oh No Never Again

13/8/2022

Vows of Empire (The Bloodright Trilogy #3)
by Emily Skrutskie

Separated, the heirs of opposing blood lines, Gal and Ettian would rather this whole galactic war thing went away so they could be together without A) weakening someone or B) killing several someones. But what they want won't be possible...without a heck of a lot of manoeuvring and a buttload of shenanigans.

...oh dear. Vows of Empire never stood a chance with me. I really hate these kinds of "hehehe we're unfolding a big damn plot that we've kept hidden from the reader/viewer" storylines. I find them sloppy and boring. This was no exception to the rule. Where was the momentum of the previous two books? Where was the delicious pining? We didn't get a real ending...just a cop out. I wish I'd never bothered with this trilogy in the first place.

Short but Sweet & Sexy

8/8/2022

His Lord's Soldier (Great War #4)
by Renée Dahlia

James has pined away for his best friend, Rafe, for years and knows there is a very low chance of Rafe having the same inclinations as he does. But when Rafe returns from the Great War broken in more ways than one, James wants to take care of him...even if he can't have more.

Well, it's easy to see why this is a Ruby finalist! A lovely novella full of heat and heart - and an excellent addition to the series. I admittedly have a weakness for the grumpy one/sunshine one dynamic, but even discounting that this is really well done.

Anticlimax

7/8/2022

Her Lady's Fortune (Great War #3)
by Renée Dahlia

Women of means, Priya and Rosalie, had a passionate fling before the Great War and then certain misunderstandings stopped them pursuing anything further. But now, six years later, they must work together for a charitable purpose and their past might complicate matters - or they may realise that there are significantly fewer barriers between them than there were.

Well, that started with a bang. Heh. The prologue was exquisite and gave me great expectations - which weren't quite met. I didn't really feel that there was much of a barrier between Priya and Rosalie...and an antagonist was introduced but hardly used. Not as good as the other two F/F romances in the series, but still a pleasant read.

A Sapphic Delight

6/8/2022

Her Lady's Melody (Great War #1)
by Renée Dahlia

Luciana is doctor with unsteady hands, recovering from the Great War and losing the woman she would have called wife. When the neighbour's child falls from a tree, she knows she must use her skills - but she doesn't know that she is about to become intimately connected with Therese, who is trying to protect her son from the Bolsheviks. But other threats are lurking.

I used to think I had no interest in books set around WWI, even romances - but then I discovered Renée Dahlia. Luciana and Therese were delightful together and I really felt for them as they grieved what they had lost. Mostly, though, I was impressed with the historical detail and how Dahlia managed to ratchet up the tension at certain moments. Well worth reading.

Unmasking of a Chevalier

20/2/2022

The Christmas Chevalier (Christmas Masquerade #1)
by Meg Mardell

Alvy finally has a space where he can truly be himself, but he can hardly refuse to let Laura in - especially since she needs employment and he's just acquired a printing press. Laura has known Alvy for years and still sees him as the girl from her childhood. What will she do when she discovers that the handsome chevalier from the Christmas masquerade is Alvy?

Ahh these novellas are just so cute and fluffy. I would be happy to inhale more of them in an instant (yes, that's a hint, please write more). A dash of tension makes this an excellent quick read and it left me wanting more - I really wanted to see how certain things progressed (i.e. with the printing press). All in all, an adorable trans Regency romance.