Tag: Romantic Suspense

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Steamy Recs June 2023

Hi Wild Ones! Happy 4th, if you’re in the US. If not, I hope your summer/winter is going well. I’ve finally gotten some time to post a new recs post. I finished that super long novel I mentioned last time and really wanted to share it with y’all.

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Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey

Amazon (print, audio and ebook)* ~ Apple (ebook) ~ Apple (audio) ~ Barnes & Noble (print, audio and ebook) ~ Chirp ~ Google (print, audio and ebook) ~ More Stores ~ Kobo (ebook and audio)

This was the looong book I mentioned before – and it really is long. It is so, so worth it though. First: some background: this is the first book of the second trilogy set in Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel universe. The Kushiel world is a fantasy re-imagining of France filled with beautiful people who just love each other and strive to enjoy all of life’s pleasures. When they’re not fighting for the crown and fending off invasions, of course. That quote comes from an article introducing the first book of the first series, Kushiel’s Dart, with some basics on the world and characters. Kushiel’s Dart focuses on Phedre, a young lady who’s a kinky, queer, courtesan spy. Yeah, it’s complicated. There’s politics and intrigue and adventure and sex (queer and het) and kink in the whole series. It’s a massive fantasy world with a deeply sexual element to it where the sex is integral to the story in surprising ways.

Kushiel’s Scion is the beginning of Imriel’s story, a young noble man coming of age and dealing with a traumatic and traitorous history at the same time – along with his own sadistic and dominant nature. It’s a gentle beginning to his story, which gets a lot more intense in the relationship area in the second book (I’ve already started reading that one). Scion has great characters, fun intrigue, and a lot of adventure. It’s a great read.

I highly recommend the world of Kushiel to anyone who likes really epic fantasy. Dart would probably be the best book to start with, but Scion can stand alone and is a great book in its own right. Either way, pick one of them up if you want to get lost in an epic read.

Smiley

I absolutely loved this. A wrong-number voicemail connects a hot bartender and a sentimental architect. It’s a lovely queer odd-couple show that’s hot, sweet, and full of other characters (both queer and het) that I really enjoyed. It’s great for when you want something light and fun with a great ending – although I hope there’s another season because one little thing felt unresolved for me with some side characters. Overall it was a lot of fun.

What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!

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Steamy Recs December 2022

Hi Wild Ones! Happy New Year! It’s been a few months since I did a reading post, so I’m happy to be back. Unfortunately, I also haven’t read a whole lot! I once heard a television writer say that they started writing for TV because they loved it so much, but then they were so busy at work they didn’t have time to watch TV anymore! I feel for that person, because I’m in the same boat. Whenever I have spare time at the end of the day I try and use it for writing, not reading, so I’m not reading nearly as much as I used to. Sad, but all the hard work will eventually give you guys something new to read!

*Denotes an affiliate link, which means I earn a small commission from sales using this link.

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Amazon* ~ Apple (ebook) ~ Apple (audio) ~ Barnes & Noble (print, audio and ebook) ~ Chirp ~ More Stores ~ Kobo* (ebook and audio)

This was such a fun, warm read. I loved Ayesha and her family, and I really enjoyed Khalid. This is really a sweet romance, but the chemistry between them was wonderful. Ayesha longing to write was a bit of her character that I enjoyed a lot! 🙂 I thought the parallels to Pride and Prejudice were well done, but not heavy-handed. A really fun book.

Indian Matchmaking

This goes really well with Ayesha at Last, as it’s a Netflix series about an Indian matchmaker and the young clients and families she works with. I watched it before I started Ayesha, and I’m glad I did. It gave me a glimpse into this part of Indian culture that I didn’t know anything about. It’s reality TV so who knows how much of it is staged or not, but it really seemed to have a genuine feel, with some good takeaways: you have to compromise in love, but you can’t give yourself away in the process. It was a delightful show.

Last Christmas

I really loved this movie. It had such unexpected humor, and the romance was not at all what I expected. I loved the musical soundtrack (all George Michael!), and the characters were totally quirky and fun. It was a great movie, and I can see myself watching it again next year.

The Next 365 Days

And now the best for last: the sexy one. This is definitely the sexy one of this set of recommendations – and the sex is probably the best part about it. I’ve previously written about the other movies, and in this one the plot thickens. Or tries to. It’s still far more flash over substance – and what gorgeous flash it is. This has probably the hottest threesome scene I’ve ever seen. I loved it. But as for plot, there are choices for Laura to make in the movie – what will she do? SPOILERS AHEAD!

That’s actually a question , because I don’t know. The ending of the movie was… a complete cliffhanger where she doesn’t choose either one of them officially. It was baffling to watch. I thought maybe I’d just completely misunderstood the ending, but nope. There basically isn’t an ending. Is there going to be a 4th movie? No one seems to know. At first I was irritated by that. Now I’m not. I’m imagining she picks both, and there’s a rough patch where the two men have to learn to get along together as her partners, but then they do and it’s hot threesomes for ever and ever. That’s the ending I want, and I’m pretty sure I won’t get it if they do a fourth movie. I kinda sorta think Netflix might go there, based on the threesome scene from this movie, but I also kinda doubt it. No one really ever takes movies into the kind of polyam/threesome type relationship like they could, so I doubt Netflix will do it. But Netflix does like to be kind of edgy, so maybe they will? We can only dream.

If this is the last movie… I’m not too sure I’m too fussed about it. I didn’t expect anything besides sex when I started the series, and the series definitely delivers on the hot sex. So I got what I wanted in that regard. I was hoping for a fun plot, and then at the end I was really hoping for some actual multi-partner screen time. The plot has been thin overall, and who knows if they’ll go the polyam rout? But I still enjoyed the hell out of the sex, so I’m ok. Did you watch them? What do you think?

What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!

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Steamy Recs October 2022

Hi Wild Ones! This is for September and October, since September got away from me and I didn’t post anything. Whoops!

*Denotes an affiliate link, which means I earn a small commission from sales using this link.

Kinks and Crosshairs by M.C. Roth

Amazon* ~ Apple ~ Barnes & Noble ~ More Stores ~ Kobo*

I really enjoyed this one. The kink was primal and hardcore, the suspense was fun and exciting, and the romance heartwarming. If you like your kink with a lot of rough-and-tumble chasing and claiming, this one’s for you! I got this one as a review copy on Booksprout, but honestly loved it.

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

Amazon* ~ Apple ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Chirp ~ More Stores ~ Kobo*

So much delightful humor in Boyfriend Material. I laughed throughout. I was also utterly charmed by Luc and Oliver, more than I expected to be. They are the best of the fake boyfriends trope: utterly mismatched, yet totally right for each other in all the best possible ways. I laughed, I cried, and I wanted to smish them both with hugs by the end. I actually listened to the audiobook of this and really loved it.

What have you read and watched this month? Hit reply and let me know if you have something fantastic!