Review: A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Format: Mass market
Pub Date: March 2018
Publisher: Avon
POV: 3rd, past
Length: 360 pages
FTC: received a copy from the publisher at RT18

I've been hearing about this book all year. It was all the rage in my corner of Twitter. In short: it was a "buzzy" book, and I rarely do well with "buzzy" books.  While I didn't click in the deep, OMG fangirl kind of way I would have liked to, I did enjoy it. Especially for all of the ways it was so very different from other books out there.

I liked that we get to see a contemporary set in the city. No whiff of small town here. It revels in being an NYC book.  There's the nosy and noisy neighbors, the subway, the easy access to different kinds of art/restaurants, the bodegas, the de facto multiculturalism.

I also like that Naledi Smith (Ledi) is a scientist. Specifically a former foster kid training to be a black woman scientist in a very specific field. She thinks in scientific terms in an adorably nerdy way. She has to deal with sexism in her lab job in a way that is so real for many women scientists. She struggles with relationships as a result of her upbringing. She's emotionally cagey.

I struggled with Prince Thabiso/Jamal as a character. I really did. He's a self serving dick through most of the book, and I'm a bit over self serving dicks right now. I did, however, ADORE his assistant Likotsi. If she ever gets her own book, I'm here for it.

Review: Deliver Me by Farrah Rochon

Format: ebook
Pub Date: March 2007, re-published November 2011
Publisher: Nicobar Press (originally via Dorchester)
Length: 337 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: purchased myself (free on Amazon)

The first few chapters of this book are well done, with excellent pacing and set up. Then...it all kind of falls apart.

The hunky "Super Doc" Eli is a giant douche.  I pretty much hated him throughout the entire book. Not only is he a player who disrespects pretty much every partner he has, but he somehow ends up with not one but TWO semi-stalker ex girlfriends. I did not like how the book chose to make THEM feel crazy, when it was pretty clear HE was the one who failed to pay attention or take their feelings into account. I did not buy that he was just so charming and had a magic wang, and that's why two different women felt led on about their relationship status. (Although one exhibited extremely unhinged behavior which actually SHOULD have been a major red flag).

Also absent (I looked) was any mention of condom use. Now I'm not sure if it was a Dorchester thing or not as common in 2007 romance [I can't remember] but these two are BOTH DOCTORS. There's no way that wouldn't have been discussed, but there is no mention of it. No mention of STDs at all. No mention of birth control. Not even a 'he paused to protect them both" throwaway. I had to back up and reread to check because it seemed so odd.
 

Review: An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Format: ebook, paperback
Pub Date: March 28, 2017
Publisher: Kensington
Length: 320 pages
POV: 3rd, past
FTC: Borrowed from the library

I heard about this book all of last year. All. Year. Long. From everyone. And because everyone loved it, I steered clear. I just don't seem to do well with buzzy books.

I also don't do well with American-set romances, so the chances of me totally adoring it were pretty slim.

While I DIDN'T love this book, I did like it. It's an ambitious, well researched book that doesn't sugarcoat anything about the history it portrays, which can be jarring when you're writing/reading in a subgenre that's usually based on fantasy. This is not a light read by any means, but it is a believable and deeply moving story about two people who find each other in the middle of the worst possible circumstances.