First Quarter Reads

This is not everything I’ve read, just five selected books that I can recommend. 🙂

In case you can’t read the graphic, I’ll type out the info below. I’ve linked to all the stores I could find them on. Apple Books doesn’t seem to be working with my link maker right now, but these should all be available there, too!

1. The Heroine’s Journey, by Gail Carriger. Literary Criticism.
2. Shit, Actually, by Lindy West. Film Criticism, Humor.
3. Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke. Fantasy.
4. A Hope Divided, by Alyssa Cole. Historical Romance.
5. American Demon, by Kim Harrison. Urban Fantasy.

Recent Reads – May 2020

In case you can’t see the image, I’ll list them all below–along with buy links so you can read them, too!

1. The Hookup Handbook by Kendall Ryan. This was a cute, contemporary romance with a workplace romance and the “best friend’s little sister” trope. Amazon US. Everywhere.

2. Destiny’s Captive by Beverly Jenkins. This is my first Beverly Jenkins book! She’s a legend. An enjoyable historical romance. Amazon US. Everywhere.

3. The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren. Emotional and satisfying contemporary romance. Some distressing backstory (a school shooting) that almost had me putting it down, but the overall message is positive and I’m SUPER glad I kept reading! Amazon US. Everywhere.

4. Ouran High School Host Club by Bisco Hatori. This is my first manga and it takes skill to read a story that is told in both pictures and words! I kept wanting to read only the words, and then I’d miss the context and have to go back. Loving this, though, and I’ll have to read more. Amazon US. Everywhere.

5. Hate F*@k by Ainsley Booth. This one is steeeeeamy, erotic romance. Thoroughly enjoyable with opposites attract and a forbidden romance. Also enemies-to-lovers. So all the reader catnip! Amazon US. Everywhere.

An Old Favorite: Dead Until Dark

Throughout the 2000s, I was madly in love with vampire fiction. I mostly steered clear of romance at the time and concentrated on urban fantasy or contemporary fantasy. Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse books were among my favorites. I would mark the release dates on my calendar and clear my schedule on those days so I could buy the book (in hardcover!) and read all day.

Part of what made Harris’s books work so well, for me, was the mystery. She’s great at penning mysteries, and that shows in these books, primarily through the suspenseful aspects.

Beyond that, the premise is killer. A waitress who can read minds falls in love with a vampire (whose mind she cannot read). Vampires are “out” in society and can drink a blood substitute as easily as they can drink the real thing.

Now, from most accounts (scrolling reviews and ratings on various sites), it seems the series fizzled toward the end. I stopped at book 8 or 9 (had kids and wasn’t able to read as much for a few years). At that point, fairies had been introduced to the series universe and I lost interest. Should I be glad I stopped? Perhaps! But nothing will change my love for the first few books, especially Dead Until Dark, which I have read several times and will probably read again soon.

Have you read this book or the series? Did you read the whole thing, or stop somewhere in the middle? I’d love to hear if your experience was similar to mine. 🙂

What I’m Reading…Gmorning, Gnight!

So first of all, if it has Lin-Manuel Miranda’s name on it, I’m definitely interested. We’re huge Hamilton fans in my house.

Gmorning, Gnight! did not disappoint. It carries the positivity and the solid rhythms I’ve come to associate with Lin-Manuel Miranda. This is the kind of book you can read in an hour for an ultra-concentrated burst of positivity, or you can keep it on your nightstand (with a stack of fifteen or so other books, she says, side-eyeing her own nightstand) to pick a couple of Gmorning-Gnights to read each day.

During some recent stresses in my life, I found these little pep talks to be perfectly-sized and perfectly-timed. The illustrations were cute and poignant, and although I read a library copy, I’ll be getting this for myself at some point to flip through in the years to come.

A Thank-You and a Kickass Reviews Cheat Sheet

First, thank you sooooo much for all of your support and well-wishes during release week for Savage Redemption! It really made the week special, getting to share it with so many readers, and I appreciate everything you did for me! ❤

If you like shifter books, Liza is DEFINITELY an author to have in your library!!! -Lauren at Romance Novel Giveaways

This entire book is so well written that I strongly recommend it to all PNR lovers!!  Keep an eye out for this author since her writing is so spellbinding that you will want more from her!! -Cheryl

And now for the gift! Having heard from a few readers that they aren’t sure how to leave reviews, I started tinkering around with a little idea–a cheat sheet of ideas and sentence starters to help people feel more confident about what to write. As an author, I can totally identify with the anxiety that can come from staring at a blinking cursor and not knowing exactly what to say.

This “cheat sheet” will give you a jumping-off point if you’re a reviewer newbie, and maybe some ideas for mixing it up if you’re a pro. Lauren at Romance Novel Giveaways (linked above in her review snippet), was kind enough to look this over for me, and she said, “Literally every single thing was relevant and helpful…I will be using some of those prompts and phrases in my reviews because I hadn’t thought of them!”

Now, this cheat sheet was at least a little bit selfishly motivated because I would love to see more reviews on my books on Amazon and elsewhere. However, you can use it for any book you read! I hope it’s helpful to you, and be sure to fill in the final little picture at the end with your name. ❤

Click here to download a printable PDF of “Liza Street’s Kickass Reviews Cheat Sheet.”