Joanna Shupe

Meet Me at Wayfair by Tessa Dare - 4 stars

Meet Me at Wayfair is a super cute novella. Louisa needs to get married soon, or her family's home will be lost to them. The mortgage has come due and they cannot pay. She goes to a ball and unexpectedly meets the man who is calling in the loan. After a rough beginning, they both realize that neither one of them is what the other expected.

Most of the novella is concerning the first night that Louisa and James meet, but it didn't feel rushed. The chemistry and romance between the characters was really sweet.

The Duke of Christmas Present by Sarah MacLean - 3.5 stars

The Duke of Christmas Present is a spin on A Christmas Carol. Eben and Jacqueline (Jack) met when they were teenagers and fell in love. When Eben's father died leaving his estate in ruin, Eben was determined to solve the financial problems. So much so that he became obsessed and neglected everything else, including his relationship with Jack. Eventually Jack left Eben to travel the world and Eben was left with only his money. Twelve years later, Jack returns.

This is a cute second-chance novella. Jack and Eben both feel betrayed, but they still love each other. Most of the chapters focus on Eben's perspective, and his eventual guilt over how he acted, with flashback chapters of their past together.

Heiress Alone by Sophie Jordan - 1.5 stars

Heiress Alone didn't work for me. The heroine, Annis, is accidently left behind by her family in Scotland. When raiders begin attacking homes in the area, her neighbor, Calder (who happens to be a duke), arrives to bring Annis and her two servants to his castle to keep them safe.

Annis and Calder are both uninteresting and behave in very unbelievable ways. They have almost no chemistry together and their romance is rushed and contrived.

Christmas in Central Park by Joanna Shupe - 2.5 stars

Christmas in Central Park is set in New York City in the late 19th or early 20th century. Rose is a successful advice columnist who is posing as a married, high-society woman for her readers. No one at the newspaper, except for her editor, knows the truth. When her editor is fired, the president of the company, Duke, pressures Rose into hosting a dinner party for the newspaper's board members. Rose, with the help of her friends, tries to make it work in order to keep her job.

This novella has an interesting premise, but I didn't like it very much. So much time was devoted to the secret about Rose's identity, with almost no time devoted to the resolution. Rose and Duke weren't terrible, but they both annoyed me at times. The end is alright, but hurried and improbable.… (altro)

Attempted December 2022 read along with a group: DNF at 48% I fucking hate Clay so I quit the read-along and decided to go back to my emotional support faves where the folks don't suck. I just do not like how this book makes it women's work to bring a man to his most full potential. I love Florence, but she does not get the same arc Clay does because she is already perfect and now it's supposed to be her responsibility to make him better and forgive him.

In my reimagining, this story ends when Clay says fucking Florence was a mistake so Flo moves on dot com and Clay's boring establishment fails and he is never heard from again. Meanwhile, Florence lives a full live, having done all the things she wants and never thinks of Clay.

October 2022 read: The sex was hot and the writing was really good. I liked everyone in this book but Clay. I never believed he could be worthy of Florence - and not bc of their different backgrounds but bc he’s a real shit. For me, it was impossible to believe these two would be happy in any sort of arrangement because Clay sucked. Florence deserved so much more. I adore Florence.

I plan to read the next book bc I do like the author’s writing, it’s just I really hated Clay.… (altro)