Disclaimer: The cake rating is my totally subjective, entirely arbitrary rating system. If I finished it, you can assume I enjoyed it regardless of rating. 5 🍰‘s generally mean that I absolutely loved it and will/have purchased a copy for my personal collection.
Read
The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson 🍰🍰🍰.5
My first foray into anything omega verse related, and I’m sure it’s on the lighter side of things, but it was just what I needed after a truly emotional week. A tropey shifter romance with a fake dating subplot and plenty of spice. Lots of banter and cute, lighthearted romance moments. Very grumpy sunshine.
🌶️All the spice
Things We Hide From the Light by Lucy Score 🍰🍰🍰🍰
Lucy Score may be my new favorite read. I loved the first book in the Knockemout series and decided to jump back in. TWHFTL did not disappoint! Lucy Score writes a hefty book for contemporary romance, but I find myself loving all the details and character building. This one follows up on the suspense plot laid out in book 1 (watch me avoid spoilers), layering in plenty of emotional baggage, complicated feelings about relationships, and plenty of spice. Plus, there’s a dog rescue and I’m a sucker for a dog rescue. I already have book 3 lined up on the TRB shelf.
CW: gun violence, violence and threats against women
🌶️All the spice
A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
Plucked from the TBR stack of doom… A Touch of Darkness hits all the marks I want from a modern Hades/Persephone retelling. And I love a Hades/Persephone retelling. Persephone is a young goddess with no powers, hiding her identity to live among mortals. Hades is a mysterious, misunderstood god who deals in deadly bargains. Persephone gets caught in a web more twisted than she expects…
Binged it over a couple of days and immediately bought the next book (and here I was, trying not to buy more books).
🫑/🌶️ Sweet and spicy
Be Your Best Self: Ten Life-changing Ideas to Reach Your Full Potential by Rebekah Ballagh 🍰🍰🍰🍰
I am a self-development book girlie and I have no qualms about admitting it. I first read a teaser from Ballagh’s book on her IG @journey_to_wellness. She is a counselor, coach, trainer, and speaker who often posts about self-care practices, mental health, fight or flight responses, etc. BYBS presents practical, gentle approaches to address issues like perfectionism, self-sabotage, imposter syndrome, inner child work, and more. I highly recommend if you’re working on a self-improvement journey or want to gain insight on how to be a better friend and ally to people dealing with these concerns.
The Stand-In by Lily Chu 🍰🍰🍰🍰
I’m vowed to read through my print TBR and this was one of the oldest titles that had been sitting on the pile (in terms of purchase, not print date).
Gracie’s life is turned upside down when her asshole boss harasses her out a job. Her mom is in a nursing facility and money is tight. Gracie is one catastrophe away from total disaster when she’s presented with a bargain she can’t refuse: serve as a stand-in for a famous Chinese and pretend to be her during social events in exchange for enough money to take care of her mom and pursue her dream of creating the perfect planning app. Of course, nothing is without it’s challenge, and when that challenge comes in the form of one of the hottest Chinese actors, Gracie knows she’s going to have to earn her keep.
🫑Low spice
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
A tiny but mighty little book. I carried this around in my bag for the last few months, reading it when I needed a reminder of the ways we fight for democracy and protect our peace.
Audiobooks
The audiobooks were really hitting this quarter (and doing the heavy lifting during my long commute).
Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
An important look at the rise of autocracy in America and a primer for our current condition. It’s a hard listen, though it did impart some hope. Highly recommend. The audiobook is narrated by the author.
Daydream by Hannah Grace 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
This may be my favorite in the Maple Hills series. I borrowed the audio from the library but I definitely plan to get a print copy for my collection. Plays on the “smart girl tutors jock who needs his pass his class” trope in the best way possible. Henry is a series favorite and he doesn’t disappoint as the caring artist hockey player who is more than willing to help Halle learn to love herself fully.
🌶️All the spice
Only for the Summer by Abby Jimenez 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
The third in Abby Jimenez’s Part of Your World Series starts with an AITA post about a friend, a dog, a broken lease and a terrible billboard. Justin is cursed to watch his ex’s get married as soon as they break up. Emma suffers from the same affliction. They team up to break each other’s curses and go their separate ways. You can guess how that plays out.
I may almost like this one even more than Yours Truly. It certainly made me tear up more. The narrators were perfect and the story made me feel all the feels.
CW: child abandonment, child neglect
🫑/🌶️ Sweet and spicy
Twisted Games by Ana Huang 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰
Grumpy bodyguard meets sunshiney princess romance with a palace intrigue side plot. The male narrator was the perfect amount of growly. Definitely inspires me to continue the series.
🌶️All the spice
Dear Roomie by Kate Meader
I am not a sporty girl, but I am a sporty book girl. Part of the Rookie Rebels series, Dear Roomie centers on a hockey player with a reputation for competitiveness and a desperate need to prove himself, the dog he rescues, and the woman he hires as a live-in dog nanny. It’s a fun listen and just what I needed when everything felt awful with the world.
🌶️All the spice
DNF
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
Didn’t quite connect with this one, though I’m waiting on a copy of the audiobook and plan to give it a second chance.
📖I track my reading on LibraryThing and Storygraph.
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Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.
marginalia and such 