Bookquarium

Itza me! WhaleSnark! I have a few books I would like to tell you about today, and a small rant to get out.  First, the rant. Just real quick. OKAY, so maybe you know that some books come out in paperback first, maybe in a different country? Yeah, that happens, but in the U.S., we can't buy it from a local retailer until it's U.S. release date, as a hard copy! UNACCEPTABLE. I could buy the paperback from Amazon, but I don't really want to fuel that mechanical beast. I would rather get it locally, and pay for the small business to keep running fabulous local events and carrying the finest in books. This paperback first stuff is cool. People love paperbacks more than hardcovers. It's a fact. They are easier to transport, and are lighter than a clunky hardcover. We feel more in tune with them for some reason. They're more intimate, you might say. I don't want to have to wait until the fall for a hardcover I can get now as a paperback, for less, from the UK or Ja...

Let's chat, book friends. Let's chat... about fat. (Okay, I may have been sitting on that one for like a half an hour, and am damn proud of it even though it's lame.) Do you know how many fat girl romances there are out there, compared to actual fat girls out there? The answer is NOT MANY, FOLKS. Being a fat lady myself, I am always disheartened a) at the lack of representation in media of larger people in general and b) that when there is representation, so often it frankly sucks. How many romances are there out there where the woman starts out as fat, and then goes through a transformation, and suddenly the dude sees her in a "new light"? And yes, often at the end of these, she goes back to eating a donut once a month and gains back a few pounds and the moral is "oh he loved her all along" but NO, that bitch did not love her when she was a size 22. That bitch didn't even SEE her when she was that size, and now that she has gone from a 9 to ...

Kill The Farm Boy Author:  Kevin Hearne and Delilah S. Dawson Genre:  fantasy, humor Publisher:  Del Rey Publication Date:  July 24, 2018 Rating:  5 stars Summary:  Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom, a hero, the Chosen One, was born . . . and so begins every fairy tale ever told. This is not that fairy tale. There  is  a Chosen One, but he is unlike any One who has ever been Chosened. And there  is  a faraway kingdom, but you have never been to a magical world quite like the land of Pell. There, a plucky farm boy will find more than he's bargained for on his quest to awaken the sleeping princess in her cursed tower. First there's the Dark Lord who wishes for the boy's untimely death . . . and also very fine cheese. Then there's a bard without a song in her heart but with a very adorable and fuzzy tail, an assassin who fears not the night but is terrified of chickens, and a mighty fighter more frightened of her swor...

Thoughts on insta-love plot lines: That is all.

H'okay guys, I'll be the first one to admit here, I really haven't read many cowboy romances. Or like any at all. Ever. I did have a brief flirtation with the Trigun and Firefly fandoms for a while, which are like cowboys in space, but that's as far as it got. So Peeks, why are you writing about cowboys when you skipped days 3-6 of this hashtag challenge? Because, gentle reader, I want to read MORE cowboy romances. Have you read Longmire? Because I shipped the hell out of Walt and Vicks in there, let me tell you, but those are staunchly classed as mystery fiction, not romance. Most importantly, I am interested in gay cowboy romances. None of this Brokeback Mountain, one of them dies at the end and it's super tragic. (Yes, there's a spoiler for Brokeback, that book came out ages ago, calm down.) I want a HEA. I want two dudes riding off on their horses into the Montana sunset. Or two ladies. Or hell, a straight couple, or a non cishet couple, ANYTHING as long...

Mister Hockey Author: Lia Riley Genre: Contemporary romance Publisher: Avon Impulse Publication Date: July 11, 2017 Rating: 4 stars Summary:  Her biggest fantasy is about to become a reality. . . Jed West is Mr. Hockey. The captain of the NHL’s latest winning team, the Denver Hellions–and the hottest player on the ice—at least according to every magazine. . .and Breezy Angel. Breezy has been drooling over Jed at games for years, and he plays a starring role in her most toe-curling fantasies. But dirty dreams don’t come true, right? Then Jed saunters through the doors of her library, a last minute special guest for a summer reading event, and not only is he drop dead gorgeous up close, his personality is straight up swoon-worthy. He even comes to the rescue when she has an R-rated “Super Book Worm” costume malfunction. But when he mistakenly assumes she’s more into books than pucks, she’s too flustered to correct his mistake. And then comes a big kiss, followed by a teen...

You know how sometimes you get so super excited about something, you forget to stop and check if it's actually correct? Well, I posted the wrong calendar for #RomBkLove yesterday. Namely, I posted last year's. To your left, you will see THIS year's. Back on the same page again? Okay. Perfect. Let's talk about beta heroes. THIS IS MY FAVORITE, GUYS. I am 100% not a fan of the "alpha-hole" trope, and just want nice guys in romance novels who aren't going to pull the whole "you are my property" or "I want to plow into your vagina like Wreck-It-Ralph" or "watch me rage-brood."  I just want a nice guy. Someone who is funny and sweet. Someone who will be on equal footing with our heroine (or other hero) rather than towering over them like a giant slab of beef. I have found far fewer of these than I'd like, but Goodreads does have a good list to start with, if you are interested. So where do we start in our journey ...

Guys, I just discovered  A NEW THING. Specifically, the #RomBkLove hashtag. Not sure what I mean? I mean THIS glorious bad boy. A fun way to get on social media and squee about all your favorite romances. Or romantic subplots.  Or favorite kickass heroines. Basically, go crazy, is what I'm saying. And what better place to discuss my favorite romances than right here, with my awesome friends in the Bookquarium? So here goes. I've been reading romances since I was in elementary school. Seriously. My friend and I used to walk to the library on weekends, and we formed what we called a "romance gang", which essentially entailed us checking out as many romances as we could carry home, reading them, and then going back the next weekend. And we had the awesome librarian bandannas to prove it. I still devour this shit like it's candy. I can't remember what my first romance novel was, or what got me hooked, or any of that good jazz, but I can tell you, as a libra...

Anne's Colors Author: Kelly Hill Publisher: Tundra Books; Brdbk edition Publish date: May 1, 2018 Board book, 20 pages Goodreads   Amazon Summary: A must-have board book for Anne of Green Gables fans, with charming, hand-embroidered illustrations. Iconic moments from the beloved L.M. Montgomery classic are celebrated in this adorable concept book. Artist Kelly Hill creates vignettes of the most recognizable scenes from Anne of Green Gables, including Anne and Diana's first meeting, Gilbert pulling Anne's hair, Anne's puffed-sleeve dress and even Anne and Diana sharing raspberry cordial! Each scene has its own color, with simple text and tactile, gorgeous works of art created from cut fabric and embroidery. Anne's Numbers Author: Kelly Hill Publisher: Tundra Books; Brdbk edition Publish date: May 1, 2018 Board book, 20 pages Goodreads   Amazon Summary: A must-have board book for Anne of Green Gables fans, with charming, hand-embroidered i...