Tag Archives: Contemporary Romance

Single Dads Club, by Therese Beharrie

5 Jun
Illustrated cover for Single Dads Club; on a beach, a bearded Black man in a white t-shirt lays on a blue blanket, leaning on his left elbow, facing a Black woman in a with natural hair, wearing a red top, who's also laying on the blanked in a similar pose, as they look into each other's eyes.

Once more with feeling: despite having at least four other titles by this author in the TRB cordillera of doom, this ARC is my introduction to her writing.

Beware: explicit sex; backstories for both protagonists include emotional abandonment; social anxiety.

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Funny Guy, by Emma Barry

15 May
Cover for Emma Barry's _Funny Guy_, shows a dark haired white man in black shirt and pants, sitting on something, raking his hair back with his right hand (where he's wearing a watch, so he's perhaps left handed). Drawn behind him, using a continuous line, is a cityscape, with the line morphing into a microphone in a stand in front of the man.

I was very happy to receive this ARC; despite having a number of Ms Barry’s works in my TBR pile, this novel is my introduction to her writing.

Beware: explicit sex, a lot of swearing; references to domestic abuse in the characters childhood; one incident of a man making it clear he won’t take no for an answer (he’s stopped).

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The Time of Your Life, by Sandra Kitt

14 Apr
The cover for The Time of Your Life, shows a very attractive, slim young Black woman with natural hair, wearing a short, long-sleeved blue dress in a velvety blue, with an open salmon-colored jacket over her shoulders. She's sitting, leaning with one elbow on a table, the other on her waist, as she looks slightly sideways to the reader. She's also wearing bright diamond earrings.

When I saw that Ms Kitt had a book coming out, I immediately crossed my fingers and requested an ARC, which I was very happy to get. (I had hoped to have this review up before release day earlier this week; alas, that didn’t work out.)

Reader beware: death of a child as backstory; somewhat explicit sex on the page.

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Built to Last, by Erin Hahn

17 Oct
Illustrated cover for Built to Last; it shows a house with two open windows; in one, there's a dark haired white man with a beard, in the other a blonde white woman. They're both leaning slightly out the windows to look at each other. There's a ladder outside, leaning against the siding, with an open can of paint.

I asked for an ARC of this back in May, because I saw the cover on twitter, and the blurb said it has the kind of second chance at love I can enjoy: they were friends and more as kids and teens, now they’re in their late 20s. There’s enough time and distance for them to have grown from the people who screwed up their chances to grown adults who can make a relationship work.

Reader beware: there’s graphic sex on the page, and some cursing; there’s the tropetastic narcissistic stage mom, and a bastard ex whose motivations are…he’s an asshole? Also, all white, all the time.

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