Reading Amnesty post - the Romance edition

I actually started this post back in February but things (okay, my mental health) kind of went all over the place. Unemployment does not seem to be agreeing with me too well, and a lot of things are falling by the wayside because of it. With blogging, it's certainly not helped by the reading slumps and splurges meaning that I've either nothing to talk about or too much to talk about. Turns out neither is good for me.

I'm trying to get things back on an even keel so instead of feeling overwhelmed by the fact it's been so long since I posted, I'm saying screw it and declaring amnesty posts with what I've finished reading since the beginning of the year. There will be another post after this (hopefully next week) with the fantasy books. In the meantime, the romance or romance-ish books I've finished are:


Brotherhood in death by J D Robb.
This series is something of a comfort read for me, and I'll admit I'm more interested in the relationships than the cases at this point. For me this was one of the better books (although I really, really wish sexual violence, especially towards women, wasn't such a focus) with a couple of Eve and Peabody moments that I loved. By far the best though were the Eve and Mr Mira scenes, which I thought were all completely adorable and loved. I even outright grinned at a few of them which is rare for me these days.


A Duchess in Name by Amanda Weaver.
I raced through this book, liked it a lot, and loved both the main characters. (I will admit thought that the tropes (marriage of convenience, letter writing, discovering each other after marriage, competent women) were a bit like catnip that had my name all over them so that may have influenced things.) The only thing that held back my full love for the book was that there felt like there was too much of a time gap between some of the scenes, and I felt like I didn't really see the a lot of the changes in the characters. I definitely felt that lack, but overall, I can see why it was so well reviewed everywhere and I think it might go on my to reread pile at some point. 




I've Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm, A Good Rogue is Hard to Find, and You're the Earl That I Want by Kelly Bowen.
I devoured these in one weekend and I loved every moment I was reading them (the sort of love where I hated every time I was pulled away from them). I don't think any of the characters stood out as my favourite, but that was more because I loved them all rather than anything else. I think my absolute favourite part of the trilogy is the long running joke about chickens, and I laughed out loud at more than a few bits involving them. It's definitely a series that I'll be rereading and I will be reading more by Bowen. My only complaint is that I want Eleanor to have her own book (or novella, I would be happy with that) and a happy ending.


One Tempting Proposal by Christy Carlyle.
I was a bit meh about this one. Whilst I liked the book enough to finish it, I never really engaged with any of the characters and none of what I read stuck with me. It hasn't put me off Carlyle as an author but at the same time I won't be actively seeking her out again.