Winter ‘22 Hot Book Recs
A Hot Doc, a Plumber, a Circus Performer and a Minotaur Walk into Your Bedroom…
I’ve finished four books lately.* Yay me! I know, total achievement badge right here. I hope you are wearing yours as well—you deserve it.
What is up with this particular selection of titles, you ask? This is a weird mashup, indeed. The short story is that Fated Mates podcasters Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop made me do it! (Okay, not really. I have free will and all that, but it’s nice to get bossed around when you’re in the mood, amirite? And I was.)
*No, these books were not necessarily written in 2022. That would be too organized! it’s when I happened to read them.
Fantastic podcast for you romance fanatics out there
Who better to guide your heart-eye-emoji covered spaceship to safe landing on Romance Planet than the Fated Mates heroines? They are experts with oodles of cockpit experience. (See what I did there?!) Periodically I listen to Fated Mates, and the author/editor duo are extremely knowledgable and also very open-minded (hence the minotaur selection for me, my experimental foray into the monster romance sub-genre). I will note that these two podcasters are pretty darn positive when it comes to the titles they review, so keep that in mind if they’re new to you.
Me? I’m a much more picky.
I was on the hunt for sizzling hot books, so I turned to the episode called, These Books Bang. Also, I am shamelessly excited by “the grovel,” or the moment when one character—usually the man in the straight romances—apologizes sincerely and promises to do better. Like, so, so much better. If you like a good grovel like I do, that is a most satisfying moment in the story. For that list, tune into this episode.
Photo by Ron Lach : https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-long-sleeve-shirt-sitting-on-chair-10461529/
Laying Pipe by Kate Allure
Yay: Here’s the plumber you want showing up in your kitchen! And bedroom! And by the lake at night! There are super hots scenes with sex toys, bondage and spanking. Also hot consent…my personal favorite.
Boo: This story falls into the dreaded “low angst” category, meaning there’s very little story arc or tension apart from the sexy business. Dang.
Photo by Zachary DeBottis: https://www.pexels.com/photo/gray-circus-tent-during-nighttime-2002338/
Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Yay: My greedy fingers turned the pages of this book so fast I left singe marks on the pages. True story! (And yes, my copy was on actual paper. Like in olden times!)
This one is packed with fun tropes: marriage of convenience, forced proximity, fish out of water, grumpy vs. sunshine, and concealed identity with loads and loads of secrets! It features a traveling circus in modern day America—well, 1996—but still. It felt well researched and offered a fascinating setting and cast of characters, both human and animal. The chemistry between the two leads was fantastic, as was watching the heroine come into herself as a person.
Boo: There’s a “dubious consent” moment fairly close to the start that didn’t sit well with me. This is the same trouble I have with the books starring alpha male assholes, aka alpha-holes. Alex isn’t an alpha-hole per sey, but he’s quiet, busy, bossy, and mean at the beginning. He’s mean a lot of the book. Ok, so he’s an alpha-hole *lite.*
When the line between sexually assertive is stomped on by power dynamics, sheer physical size differences, and/or one member of the party being somewhat trapped in the relationship, I can’t go there in my head. It’s not sexy…it’s icky! Like anything on Romance Planet, I know the alpha-holes are a fantasy for some. (But really people, how possible is it that a mean, self-absorbed guy suddenly becomes decent? And filled with goodwill and the impulse to care for others besides himself? Again, it’s a fantasy you say. And you would be right…for you.)
All the way back in 2020, I first started reading romances and made the mental alpha-hole transformation story leap with little problem. Let’s face it, I was distracted by all the gratuitous sex! But I’m smarter now. (I think. I hope.) Meanwhile the men have too much power over *all the things* in our world, so that level of entitled, toxic shitty-ness is just not fun to read about. Because it runs EVERYTHING.
Anyhoodle, both versions of the book covers I came across (the one above, and the one I bought, which features a white beauty queen type with a tiara on her head) do not do justice to this raucous, riveting story.
Animal lovers beware…since the story takes place in a circus, there are animal circus prisoners, so that will be a hard ‘no’ for some. If you can move past that, it’s truly a fun, spicy read with well-developed characters.
Photo by Ruthson Zimmerman on Unsplash
The Doctor by Nikki Sloane
Yay: Hot sexy times. Hoo-ee! This one’s a “forbidden” romance with a big old age gap and a bunch of sneaking around. These two play fun games like “doctor,” (Surprise, right?!) “hot girl on prom night,” and “here, wear this super expensive lingerie.” Fun!
Boo: The heroine falls for the boyfriend’s dad. (Don’t worry, the chumpy kid becomes her “ex” very quickly.) But if you don’t like the hot “daddy” thing, this might not be for you, although these two never play a “daddy” game outright in their relationship, however that’s the trope happening here.
It was sexy and sweet. Until it wasn’t, and then…Well, you know how these stories end.
It wasn’t quite like this, but here’s a nice idea.
Morning Glory Milking Farm by C. M. Nacosta
Holy Cow. What…was…even…happening in this book? I’ve only barely dipped my claw-tipped flipper into the pool of alien and monster romances, and you know what? It’s fun! Come on in! The water’s fine! And iridescent pink but who cares?!
Yay: Relatable millennial “broke after grad school” energy here. I mean, why else would Violet take a job “milking” minotaurs for their valuable semen? Well, she’s good with it. It’s fine. The money’s good. And then she meets Roark and likes him. He wears dress shirts and a nice watch and by the way, his dick is gigantic! Honestly, they’re honestly kind of cute together.
Boo: There are a few too many descriptions of greasy hand jobs and meaty balls. Roark’s mega-penis sounded frightening, TBH. But I know for some of you that goes squarely into your “yay” category. Go you!
This book was overflowing with bull jizz. I mean, that was Violet’s job, after all, but 24 ounces is…a lot, y’all. Gulp! (I mean ‘gulp’ metaphorically. Not at all literally.) When all of Roark’s *spend* ended up in the bedroom it was like, fire-hose messy. (Huge understatement there.)
Violet and Roark’s romance was fun to follow, but I wanted more character depth out of both of them. They read a little two dimensional to me, and I’ll admit to lots of skimming to reach the end. But their love bucked intra-species pairing, and that was really cool, as was this world the author C.M. Nacosta built and casually filled with all kinds of creatures.
In summary, this book’s pretty much nuts, but very enjoyable. If any of that sounds like a good time, then get it on and go for it.
