No one's first novel should be this good. Lust, agnst, and Mr. Hopple's vests combine to make a story we are very much here for. A few trigger warnings, but no more than we've come to expect from Hoyt. On the flip side, this book is somehow even sexier that we've come to expect from Hoyt.
Laine and Meg are very excited to read about seduction by whist between two fully-formed adults.
Meg and Laine hate brothers who lose their sisters in gambling matches but love it when problematic romance tropes get called out in text. This one is very cute, we mean that mostly as a compliment.
Meg and Laine sort of get distracted by the best bad boy they've read in a while. Thorne may have spent time in prison, but the man can iron his own clothes. Tessa Dare manages to turn a list of tropes we sometimes struggle with into a book we both love.
Laine and Meg talk about good boys pretending to be jerks because of their pain, how to have sex without revealing disfiguring scars, and whether sex is more important than character development.
Laine and Meg rave about a set up that involves carriages and only one room at the inn, though also discuss how (not) sexy a hero can be when he's pushy and jealous. Francine the fossil is along for the ride.
Laine and Meg *gasp* disagree. Meg loved this cute tale of a bad-boy prince and a sheltered uppercrust African woman. Laine could have done without references to eggplant emojis mid hookup.
Laine and Meg talk about Ottoman inspired sex cabins, the realistic difficulties of harp playing in the nude, and well-written low-stakes angst. Oh, and carriage sex.
Laine and Meg admit their mistakes, Laine gets quizzed on quotes from classic literature, and the connotations of the word "naughty" are dissected.
Laine and Meg talk about Victorian Steampunk Romance. We liked it.
Laine and Meg talk about the Scottish economy in Opals, whether mortals can use magic selkie tools, and how a young woman disguises herself as an old crone in this very realistic novel.
Laine and Meg talk about Scottish alpha males, lament missed opportunities in carriages, and speculate wildly on the series.
Laine and Meg take you on a journey through this acid-trip of a book where the aristocracy doesn't care about their heirs and women must be seduced against their better judgement (and will). Buckle up.
Laine and Meg compare Stephanie Laurens to Agatha Christie and Beowulf. While Vane's story doesn't have the literary merit of either, it outshines both in sheer absurdity. A cat unlocks and opens a third story window exactly as a lover arrives in stealth and our only response was, 'sure' because then they immediately hook up and we are easy, apparently.
Laine and Meg wrap up our 12 Novellas of Christmas with this tale involving Chinese spies, deadbeat dads, and awkwardly running into that guy you went out with a few times. We swear it's a cute, angst-free holiday story!
Laine and Meg like secret passageways, hot chocolate, and old lovers reuniting. We don't like long separations or agnst, but we like this novella anyway.
Laine and Meg basically rewrite this one as a comedy in the line of home alone. Heiress Alone is fun, but we like our version better.
Laine and Meg talk about the lack of sex in Christmas novellas, whether frolicking in the snow is festive or stupid, and it turns out neither of us have respect for a squatting family of 8 who never pay their bills.
Laine and Meg talk about sex cabins, mentos commercials, and terrible book jackets (again) as we continue the 12 podcasts of Christmas.
Laine and Meg wrap up our review of Seduction on a Snowy Night with a discussion of cat abduction and racism. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all!
Laine and Meg rage about a Christmas novella that doesn't even try to get into the Christmas spirit. Unless you find mass horse murder, making out with the guy who you think knocked up your sister, or nearly drowning and freezing to death romantic, probably pass on this.
Laine and Meg continue the 12 podcasts of Christmas with this novella that definitely should have been a novel. This has a ton of Christmas and allusions to Cyrano de Bergerac, but it's also simultaneously cloying and agnsty. We were a bit conflicted.
Laine and Meg talk about stupid secrets, war wounds, and smart, bad-ass ladies. Sadly, we don't really talk about Christmas.
Laine and Meg talk about advice columnists, sexy hookups in closets between people who are lying, and Christmas in New York (not to be confused with the Pogues' song, Fairytale of New York).
Meg and Laine talk about how christmasy a good Christmas novella should be, second chance flings, and whether or not to have kids in a made for TV Christmas movie.
Meg and Laine talk about the level of Christmas cheer needed for a great novella, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the level of appropriate sexiness in a burning building
Happy Turkey Day! Laine and Meg talk about sexy consent, unsexy overalls, and how refreshing it is to ocassionally diversify beyond the landed aristocracy.
Laine and Meg talk about how professional adults who are great at their jobs, care about how they look, and communicate with each other about what they're looking for is really really sexy.
Laine and Meg talk about romantic classics, the fake betrothal trope, and how much we love well written casts.
Laine and Meg talk about weird grottos, marriage in crisis and how we don't love it, and bad book jackets.
