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Fantasy Romance, Reality TV, & More
Jun. 12th, 2025 03:30 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
smartbitches_feedHot Earl Summer
Hot Earl Summer by Erica Ridley is $3.99! This is book five in The Wild Wynchesters series. The heroine is a bodyguard and the hero is impersonating his cousin. Have you read this one?
Bold, curvy Elizabeth Wynchester loves cuddling hedgehogs almost as much as she adores vanquishing villains with the sharp blade concealed inside her cane. Despite others’ opinions about her body and gender, nothing will stop her from seeing justice done. When her next mission drops her at the dastardly Earl of Densmore’s castle, she’s prepared to duel like gentlemen—only to be locked inside! Her trusty sword cannot defeat the castle’s hidden traps… or protect her heart from the devilishly handsome rogue guarding the keep.
When reclusive inventor Stephen Lenox agreed to impersonate his cousin for a few days, he didn’t expect the earl to vanish altogether. Nor could Stephen predict mounting death threats… or the arrival of a beguiling, blade-wielding spinster who declares herself his new bodyguard. As the earl’s enemies lay siege to the castle, Stephen fights his way past Elizabeth’s defenses. She’ll share his bed, but when the adventure concludes, she vows to sever their affair. Unless he can somehow convince a swashbuckling siren to surrender her heart…
Love and Other Disasters
RECOMMENDED: Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly is $2.99! This is book one in the Nashville Love series, and the other books are also discounted. Tara and Carrie did a joint review and gave it a B+:
Tara: Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Dahlia and London were such wonderful characters, and I’m a big fan of cooking shows, so I know I’ll be reading Love and Other Disasters again. I’ll just be sure to stock snacks next time, because reading about so much amazing food made me hungry.
Carrie: I was delighted with this book overall. The supporting characters were fun (or loathsome, as the plot demanded). The character development was realistic and powerful. The romance was sexy and I can totally picture Dahlia and London as an old couple on a porch somewhere — I was invested in them for the long haul. This will be one of my comfort re-reads for sure!
The first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking show falls for their clumsy competitor in this delicious romantic comedy debut that USA Today hailed as “an essential read.”
Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special. Too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying—not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. Still, she’s focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.
After announcing their pronouns on national television, London Parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. They’re there to prove the trolls—including a fellow contestant and their dad—wrong, and falling in love was never part of the plan.
As London and Dahlia get closer, reality starts to fall away. Goodbye, guilt about divorce, anxiety about uncertain futures, and stress from transphobia. Hello, hilarious shenanigans on set, wedding crashing, and spontaneous dips into the Pacific. But as the finale draws near, Dahlia and London’s steamy relationship starts to feel the heat both in and outside the kitchen—and they must figure out if they have the right ingredients for a happily ever after.
Forged by Magic
Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart is $1.99! We mentioned this one in Hide Your Wallet and on Cover Awe. I definitely purchased this one based on the cover. Did any of you pick it up for that reason?
A heartwarming, feel-good fantasy romance…with a helping of spice and only a pinch of danger.
Trapped in a tower by the emperor who conquered her homeland, Daella yearns for an escape. But as one of the few half-orcs left in the world, she knows she’ll never be free, much less find her own happily ever after.
Destiny takes an unexpected turn when the emperor offers her a deal. To earn her freedom, she must journey to the mysterious Isles of Fable and track down wielders of outlawed dragon magic. Eager to seize her chance, Daella agrees.
When a brutal storm tosses her ship off course, she washes up on the wrong island—right at the feet of Rivelin, a gruff but handsome elven blacksmith, who seems more likely to stab her than help her. To her surprise, he offers her shelter until the next ship passes through in six weeks’ time.
Daella soon realizes he’s hiding something big. It could be the very magic she’s been tasked to hunt down—the key to her long-awaited freedom. But as they bicker over the flames of his forge, her heart kindles with something she’s never felt before.
When his secrets finally come to light, Daella must decide what’s more her freedom from the wicked crown or the desires of her heart.
Forged by Magic is a complete, stand-alone fantasy romance novel set in the whimsical world of Falling for Fables.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely
RECOMMENDED: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is $2.99! This one was recommended to Carrie and she really enjoyed it, giving the book an A-:
I enjoyed the way this book both used and subverted Beauty and the Beast tropes. There’s a good blend of angst and humor and worldbuilding.
In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.
Fall in love, break the curse.
It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.
Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.
Break the curse, save the kingdom.
A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.
Welcome back to Wednesday Links!
We’ve got romances and we’d like to share them!
