#TBRChallenge 2026: Never After

The Book: Never After by Alexis Hall

The Particulars: Historical Fiction / Romance (more on this in a bit...), Amazon Montlake, 2026, stand alone, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: In terms of my TBR, this is a more recent addition. I've had the ARC for more than a hot minute but it's an April 2026 release that happened to fit this month's Lush Life theme to a T. Also, in case you're new here, I am an Angst Junkie with a capital A and J. 

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, drug addiction

The Review: I have zero patience for folks who tar and feather genre fiction as not "serious." In that same vein, folks who label all romance as unserious smut read by bored women looking to get their rocks off. Hall's done some interesting things with this book. I'm not sure they always work, but it's interesting and likely one I'm going to churn up in my brain for a few days. Meaning, this would be a dynamite book club discussion assuming your book group isn't a bunch of assholes. 

Reverend Thomas Mandeville is a third son (actually a twin, born second) which means he was destined for the church - his father being nothing if not unimaginative. His older by seconds twin went to the military, barely survived Crimea and is now the heir - their oldest brother Edward having died in a "hunting accident." It's that accident that haunts Thomas, a secret he's keeping at his mercurial father's request. So our guy has plenty of his own baggage when he discovers a opium-addicted whore lying in a gutter. 

Michael "Micha" Dashword became a whore after arriving in London, having been spurned by a lover. He continues to be a whore to feed his opium addiction, which Hall doesn't mince words on. This guy is a mess y'all. This would be a chicken or the egg scenario - has Micha fallen ill because of his addiction or is his addiction making his illness worse. Doesn't really matter, he's passed out in a gutter when Thomas finds him, and taking that whole "help / love thy neighbor" thing to heart, Thomas hauls him back to the family's home (currently vacant) in London to nurse him back to health. Just to reiterate, Thomas doesn't know Micha from Adam but can't leave a man dying in the gutter without doing something - so yes, he's that brand of Christian. 

This is very much a slow build book. The author spends the first part of the story setting up backstory, interspersing the narrative with first person accounts (displayed in italics) for both Micha and Thomas - but mostly for Micha, which gives us more information on how unsettling his life is. Sex isn't always about caring or love and if you believe it is, maybe don't read this book and have your illusions shattered. Micha's work is often upsetting to read about, as is his addiction. You're watching a man destroy himself on page and, in turn, taking other folks down with him. Micha is an addict, Micha has problems, doesn't mean I didn't, at times, think Micha was an asshole. He is. 

This isn't an inspirational book but given that Thomas is a man of the cloth expect a lot of religion talk and Thomas wrestling (somewhat) with his faith and occupation. But not much, because he reconciles his faith and his feelings for Micha in short order with the belief that "God cannot hate love..."  I'm not saying Thomas is wrong (I actually agree with him - coming from a God Is Love school of religious thought...) but it feels too pat, too easy. Also, naïve. Thomas doesn't spend any time dithering about actions and consequences which, come on man. Do you spend any time paying attention to the world you live in? The answer is - not so much. His fascination and feelings for Micha also come on fast, at first struck by Micha's beauty - which c'mon. He's an opium addict you found lying in a gutter. I don't care how beautiful the man is, I'm thinking he looked rough.

The story carries the reader through London and back to Thomas' country parish, which is where the relationship work of the story really cooks. Hall populates the story with well-rounded secondary characters (Mrs. Clark the housekeeper steals this book) and our couple falls in love, thereby creating more complications because hello, two gay men in love in Victorian England. I think it's important to note that while there is a romance and Hall does end it happily per se, this is a very melancholy read. It has to be. Queer people have always existed and Victorian England was not safe for them. Hell, today isn't safe for them. Certainly better, but not safe. Hall is navigating this story through the realities of that time frame. It ends on the note that Thomas and Micha love each other and end up together, but not in the way a modern 21st century reader might want. It's not unicorn farting rainbows happy. It's more pragmatic, compromise with the time you're living in happy. This book is very much romantic, but a romance as we define and look at the genre today? That's stickier. Also possibly why a lot of the tags I'm seeing on this book at retail sites lean towards "historical fiction." 

With all the talk of faith and religion, the prose runs a little flowery for my tastes, Thomas runs naïve and Micha runs towards asshole on more than one occasion. But you understand as the reader why all this is. I wasn't in love with this book, but it's angsty, meaty and there's a lot to chew on here. I might not be clutching it to my breast and sighing dramatically, but I'm also going to end up thinking about it for a few days after. For all those reasons, don't be shocked if this ends up on my Best Of list at the end of the year.

Final Grade = B-

#TBRChallenge Review: Presumed Guilty

The Book: Presumed Guilty by Tess Gerritsen

The Particulars: Romantic suspense, Harlequin Intrigue #238, 1993, (maybe) out of print - hard to say it's been reprinted a bunch!, available digitally - and at the time of this posting through Kindle Unlimited

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I discovered Gerritsen through her Rizzoli & Isles suspense series, so of course I went back and collected her romantic suspense backlist. 

The Review: I have zero patience for readers who poo-poo Gerritsen's romance past. I contend what makes her a successful suspense writer IS her romance past. She excels at writing relationships (romantic or otherwise) and she doesn't shy away from emotion. All good fiction needs emotion or else why are we even bothering? That said, even I'll admit her romantic suspense backlist has been hit or miss for me so far. This one was mostly a hit that I inhaled in two sittings, but the reader has to accept a couple of things or it's just not going to work.

First, this book was first published in 1993. It's set in a very small town on an island off the coast of Maine. As someone who remembers the 1900s and grew up in and around small towns - yes, people really did leave their homes unlocked and the keys in their cars (and yes, cars had keys not ignition buttons...).

Also, a reminder that once upon a time Harlequin would take a chance on a risky premise. This one is even risky by today's standards - the heroine has just broken off an affair with her married boss.  Naturally she believed all his pretty little lies, until she no longer did. Which makes her a dumb bunny, but I would argue a believable dumb bunny. As far as any 1990s grossness that creeps into the text? Not as much as I've seen in other books from this era. There's the obvious slut shaming and misogyny and the hero is described as having "Gypsy eyes" - but other than that? I mean, kind of par for the course for 1993. 

The story opens with Richard Tremain (said married man) calling our heroine, Miranda Wood, begging her to take him back. Miranda has had enough. At one point she thought she loved Richard, she thought he was "a good man" (I mean, other than the cheating on his wife thing...) but soon his carefully crafted mask starts to slip and she realizes she doesn't know Richard at all. She's broken it off and given her letter of resignation at the small town newspaper that Richard's family has owned and run for generations. Richard says he's coming over and Miranda decides to leave thinking he'll give up once he sees she's not home. She goes for a walk along the coast, a suitably crap alibi because nobody sees her. Why would Miranda need in alibi? Well once she gets home she finds Richard, naked, stabbed to death in her bed, with one of her kitchen knives. 

Miranda is arrested in short order and the grieving widow calls her estranged brother-in-law, Chase Tremain. Chase had a falling out with his brother years ago and has built a life for himself away from Maine and away from the Tremain money - Chase being the black sheep of the family. But his brother is now dead and that changes everything. It robs Chase of a chance of the possibility of amends and forgiveness. He's all set to tar and feather Miranda until he sees her in the police station and overhears her interrogation (small towns AMIRITE?!). Suddenly he's not so sure. He becomes less sure when a mysterious benefactor posts Miranda's bail and an attempt (the first of many) is made on her life. As they cautiously team up and start digging they realize that more than one person in that small town may have had reasons for wanting Richard dead.

The suspense plot is very good and kept me greedily turning the pages. You've got a vengeful (like, duh) widow, her pompous Big Fish Small Pond father, her two kids (the golden boy heir, the neglected ugly-duckling daughter), the staff of the newspaper, a development deal threatening protected coastal land, oh and the minor fact that the murder victim couldn't keep it in his pants. Richard was the type of guy always looking for validation, for adoration and a fan club. He went chasing after his wife looking for just that, but realized too late that given who her father is he couldn't just dally with her and toss her aside. So he traps himself into a marriage and continues to collect mistresses like Pokémon cards. He strings them along until he gets bored, and/or someone newer and younger rolls into town. He breaks it off with them, not vice versa. Miranda calling it quits first puts a dent in his considerable ego. 

The romance on the other hand is a bit harder to swallow - I mean, the heroine was having an affair with the hero's married brother. She's a perfectly OK character, albeit too trusting and naïve which lands her in the affair. She's worked past that by the start of the first chapter but I suspect some readers will take issue with her character. Me? I mean, not so much. Should she have had an affair with her married boss? Absolutely not. Did she fall into a sad story that A LOT of women fall into? Yes, she did. So while she is a dumb bunny, again, believable dumb bunny. She also has enough starch in her spine after she's arrested for murder that you can't help but root for her. 

There's obviously trust issues that simmer for most of the story. It certainly seems like there is more to the story of who killed his brother, but that doesn't mean Chase entirely trusts Miranda. Even after he witnesses the first attempt on her life he's not completely there - mostly there, but not completely. I will say the author does the smart thing by not having them fall into bed right away. They do eventually have a perfunctory, PG-ish sex scene, mostly because I think the Intrigue line dictates it, but I think this would have worked better for me had it been jettisoned completely. I mean, it's a lot for a romantic couple to overcome!

Gerritsen rounds out the story with interesting secondary characters (there's an older woman named Lila St. John and her Portuguese Water Dog that were real stand-outs) and throws in enough blind alleys on the mystery of who killed Richard that I didn't want to tear myself away.  No small feat these days when few books seem to be holding my attention.

Final Grade = B 

#TBRChallenge 2026: Tempted by the Highland Warrior

The Book: Tempted by the Highland Warrior by Michelle Willingham

Particulars: Medieval Scottish historical romance, Harlequin Historical #1098, 2012, self-published reprint edition 2024, Book 3 in MacKinloch Clan series

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Willingham is essentially an autobuy, and I had not one, but two copies of this book. A signed print copy of the Mills & Boon edition I picked up at an RWA conference and a digital copy of the self-published reprint when the author made it a freebie back in 2025. 

The Review: Honestly, I couldn't have picked a more perfect book for this month's Freedom! theme. Not only has the hero been held captive for several years, turns out our heroine is also desperate for freedom of her own.

Our story opens in 1305 Scotland, where 18-year-old Lady Marguerite de Montpierre, daughter of a French Duke, is set to wed the English Earl of Cairnross, who turns out is a very bad man. Those pesky Scots have been stirring up all kinds of trouble and the Earl has kept several captive in his dungeons for years - including Callum MacKinloch, also 18-years-old. Marguerite is awakened in the dead of night to the sound of a man's screams, and despite her maid begging her not to leave the tower room, Marguerite is soft-hearted and cannot ignore such screams for help. Who she finds is Callum, his back riddled with the marks of a serious whipping and a dead man (the one who was screaming) laying not far from him. Callum doesn't utter a word. Hasn't uttered a single sound in years, even before his older brother, Bram, escaped the Earl's custody and left Callum behind. The boy has all but given up hope he'll be rescued but immediately succumbs to the nursing of Marguerite. It's instalove all the way, and he's smitten. But the Earl spies the interaction between Marguerite and the Scottish scum, and would normally just kill the man then and there - but decides instead to send the prisoner south to another Lord who is just as much of a "great guy" as he is. 

It's not long after Callum is moved to his new torture chamber south that his brothers show up and burn the Earl of Cairnross' keep to the ground. In the melee the Earl is killed and they rescue Marguerite, who tell them what she knows Callum's whereabouts. They rescue Callum and head home. But it's not long before more soldiers show up and Marguerite, wanting to prevent more violence goes off with her father's men. By now it's too late. Callum is hopelessly devoted to her and she's in love with the mute highland warrior.

Marguerite is the youngest of the Duke's four daughters and as any Duke with no sons and only daughters is want to do - he's looking to make the most advantageous alliances he can through marriage. He quickly arranges a new match for Marguerite, another English nobleman who needs her dowry and an heir. Sure Daddy's first match for her left much to be desired, but this new guy actually seems pretty OK. Too bad she's desperately in love with Callum, a man far below her station and a man Daddy would never, ever consent for her to wed. Ah, but Callum. Despite the whole being mute thing, he's passionately in love with Marguerite, so off he goes to get her back and manages to secure work in her father's stables. Will these two star-crossed kids find a way to be together?

This is a historical romance with legitimate high stakes and believable cross-class conflict. The romance is very much instalove but the story itself unfolds over one year. I'll say one thing for these two kids, they stay true to their convictions and feelings for each other, even though Marguerite spends most of the story looking for a diplomatic way out of her predicament. Her three older sisters all made advantageous matches, surely as the youngest she can get Daddy to see reason. What she didn't plan on is her vile Aunt Beatrice who, turns out has been burning up the sheets with widowed Daddy.  Also, this poor dumb bunny, like Daddy Duke is just going to let her marry some unwashed Scottish dude. This is the guy who was like, "Well, the Earl of Cairnross really wasn't all that bad, those marauding Scots are a problem yo." 

It's a lot of star-crossed Romeo & Juliet stuff and unfortunately the whole thing takes a while to cook.  The first several chapters rely heavily on "telling" and also feature jumps in time on the narrative, including the brothers rescuing Callum!, only to be employed as brief flashbacks later on. Also, I never quite understood the deep, obsessive attraction our couple had for each other outside of some shared trauma. Marguerite has led a pampered life up to this point and Callum literally doesn't utter a single word until we're well past the halfway point. As a teenager I would have swooned over this (for sure!) but as a middle-aged woman I need more. 

But the conflict is high-stakes and it does pick up steam in the second half. Marguerite's new betrothed is a decent guy and not unsympathetic but frankly he's not keen to let her walk away (spoiler: not only does he need her dowry, turns out he's gay with no family left to speak of. He tells her, hey bring your lover to England and if he gets you with a boy child I can use as my heir, all the better!). Frankly while Daddy would be a more than sufficient villain, instead he comes around (somewhat - I mean he's still a Duke and his daughter still weds an unwashed Scot) and we're left with Aunt Beatrice, who is so vile she spoiler: spikes Marguerite's wine with an herbal concoction after she figures out she's had sex with Callum to force a miscarriage should she have gotten pregnant. A scheme Daddy knew about but it was all Aunt Beatrice's idea! So of course Daddy gets a pass. Ugh! 

But you know what? It's not boring. Also, and this cannot be overstated, I started and finished it in a single Sunday afternoon. I've never been a fan of instalove and I still prefer Willingham's Irish medievals over the Scottish ones, but given my inability to stay focused on reading anything whatsoever right now and the fact that I read this in a couple hours in a single afternoon?  Yeah, I ain't mad.

Final Grade = B-

TBR Challenge 2026: Mr. and Mr. Smith

 The Book: Mr. and Mr. Smith by HelenKay Dimon

The Particulars: Romantic suspense, Penguin Random House Loveswept, 2016, first book in Tough Love trilogy, digital only

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I'm not sure I'd classify Dimon as an autobuy (she is an autobuy under her Darby Kane moniker) but I do tend to pick up most of her books. The details are extremely hazy now what with 2016 being 10 years ago (yes, I woke up this morning and chose violence) - but I think this might have been her first foray into writing an m/m romance, a romantic suspense at that. I was intrigued - but still left this languishing in my digital TBR for 10 years because I am not well. 

The Review: I made up my mind long ago that I was going to read something LGBTQ+ for this month's Pride theme and while I try to focus on my print TBR for this challenge, my choices are simply more diverse with options on my Kindle. I went diving in and unearthed this first book in an m/m romantic suspense trilogy that Dimon published with Loveswept 10 years ago. Y'all my TBR is a sickness, truly. However I am happy to report that even though I've done zero eyeball reading since mid-May, I read this story cover to cover in a couple hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's not perfect, but y'all it's a win.

Fisher Braun is a CIA operative whose silent alarm at his secret townhouse has just gone off. When he gets there he finds the place ransacked and his BFF and partner, Nathan March, already on the scene. Who is not on the scene?  Fisher's live-in boyfriend, Zachary Allen - the live-in boyfriend nobody knows about (heck his team in the CIA didn't even know about the second house....). Fisher is in the closet with his coworkers, although turns out it's not much of a secret. Anyway, it becomes apparent rather quickly that Zach has been taken and once Nathan stops busting his balls, he agrees to an impromptu rescue mission.

One small fly in the ointment, Zach isn't who Fisher thinks he is - it's revealed he's in bed with a super secret criminal organization that specializes in kidnapping for hire. This group takes a job, scoops up the victim (dead or alive - depending on the clients' wishes) and gets paid. Someone has hired this group to nab Fisher and Zach was ordered to "get close" to him. Fisher, needless to say, is pretty pissed off about this turn of events, but he's positively incandescent when Zach tries to sell him on the truth - which is that he's actually undercover CIA working to infiltrate this group and went rogue by getting close to Fisher in order to protect him. None of this is spoiler territory by the way, the whole thing is out in the open by the third chapter.

Anyway, bang-bang fists of fury and they escape - but Fisher and Nathan do not believe Zach, whose cover is now officially blown. It's not until they make their way to a safe house, the rest of the team shows up, and Zach's boss arrives that the whole thing spills out into the open. Doesn't change the fact that Fisher is still butt hurt about being lied to - never mind he was also lying to Zach. Semantics, AMIRITE?!

Stylistically this reminded me quite a bit of Dimon's work for Harlequin Intrigue. She doesn't waste any time and hits the ground running. It's an action movie, with that level of character development, in book format. Oh, the reader will get some character development over the course of the story, but it's fairly light in the pants, sprinkled in between gunfire, explosions and sexy bits. Most of the heavy lifting is done in the middle part of the book, when the entire team is stuck in a safe house together trying to figure out how to take down the bad guys. While there's several secondary characters running around, this middle portion takes on a claustrophobic feel similar to a snowed-in cabin vibe and keeps throwing our couple together to work out their problems and acknowledge their fee-fees. Seriously, these two dudes have baggage, but Fisher is especially pig-headed. The book clocks in at category length and that's a good thing - because all the mistrust and stubbornness would have worn me down to the nub had this been a single title.

It's not deep and it's not perfect but like any decent action movie it is entertaining. Also it does a very amiable job of setting up the second book in the series, which I plan on starting next. My reading mojo has been nonexistent and here's a wave coming along to take me out to sea. I'm grabbing my surf board.

Final Grade = B-

#TBRChallenge 2026: Gray Hair Don't Care

The Book: Gray Hair Don't Care by Karen Booth

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Self-published, 2021, Book 1 in Never Too Late series, In Print, Kindle Unlimited for digital (as of when this post went live)

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: There was a decent amount of chatter in Romancelandia about this book back in 2021, but it mainly ended up in my TBR because at some point in 2022 Booth made it a freebie. Free + her experience in writing category romance (she published quite a few books with Harlequin Desire before that line folded) was enough for me to one-click this bad boy.

The Review: I normally try to focus on my print TBR for the Challenge, but I failed to prepare (typical) and being out of town last week meant a dive into my Kindle to see what I could unearth to fit this month's New Beginnings theme. Folks, this book could not have been more perfect. 

Our story opens with our heroine, 47-year-old make-up artist Lela Bennett - fresh off a divorce she's still a bit fragile over, coming across a wedding in a New York City park. Despite the divorce, Lela is a sucker for weddings and stops to watch. Imagine her surprise when another on-looker to the proceedings is Donovan James, her best friend and unrequited crush from college, when they attended NYU together. Oh, and they slept together once - which turned out to be a bit of a disaster. Donovan ended up marrying his on-again-off-again girlfriend shortly thereafter and slipped out of Lela's life "for reasons."

Donovan is also divorced (three times over...) and is in town for his daughter's college graduation. Echo was the product of Marriage #1, that on-again-off-again girlfriend from his college days. Marrying Genevieve meant cutting ties with Lela, plus he's moved around a lot in the intervening years - so these two literally haven't spoken in 20+ years. They decide to spend the day together and whoopsie doodle - have sex for the second time, only to have Lela blurt out her unrequited feelings for Donovan from all those years ago and this guy runs scared the minute Lela is asleep.

My hero AMIRITE?!

Fast forward 3 years, Lela is now 50 and has completely changed her life. Something broke in her when Donovan slunk out of her apartment after the mind-blowing orgasm. She decided to own her age, went completely gray, and started her own make-up line. She gets word that a lifestyle brand wants to bring her make-up line on board - and it's just the thing that could really launch her. So she meets with the owner only to discover that it's Echo, Donovan's daughter. And who is back in New York helping his daughter with the marketing side of her business? Yep, you guessed it. 

Donovan may have been married three times, but this guy does not do well when it comes to "feelings" - which is why he's been divorced three times and keeps bungling things so badly with Lela. He's completely in love with her (has been for years) but is too dense to figure it out. 50-year-old Lela is strikingly beautiful, with a newfound confidence, but nothing brings out her vulnerability quite like Donovan does. And now here's the universe throwing him back into her orbit. As Lela looks to the future, she keeps getting confronted with her past - will these two crazy kids figure it out the third time around?

The answer, of course, is yes - and this is a well-done, well-paced contemporary romance featuring grown-ups. Oh, they're still a bit messy, but there's not a lot of silly contrivances or big misunderstandings mucking up the works. The main conflict here is Donovan, who is a hot mess when it comes to emotions - feeling them, owning them, you name it - this guy is clueless.  For that reason I felt rather strongly that he didn't remotely deserve Lela for the first 1/3 of this story because Lela is a wonderful heroine. Especially after her disastrous morning after with Donovan when she decides eff all men, I'm growing gray, I'm starting my own make-up line, it's Lela Time!

There's so much Booth does right with this story. Donovan's journey to catching a clue is satisfying. Lela is confident and sexy, but with an underlying streak of vulnerability that makes her extremely appealing. There's Donovan's daughter, Echo, and her fiancé on the cusp of a wedding being planned into submission by Donovan's ex, who is NOT painted as the shrew other woman who back-bites and spares with Lela (thank you sweet baby Jeebus), and Lela's BFF who is getting ready to propose to her girlfriend. All set against a well-done New York City backdrop - I inhaled every word in a greedy gulp.

This was a very well done contemporary romance that kept me entertained on a cross country flight. It's worth a read regardless, but if you're desperate for an "older" romantic couple, you need to drop everything and read this now. Why aren't all romances I pick up for free this good?

Final Grade = B+

#TBRChallenge 2026: Sex, Lies & Secret Lives

The Book: Sex, Lies & Secret Lives by Thea Devine

The Particulars: Contemporary erotic romance, Simon & Schuster Gallery Books, 2010, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I'm not going to apologize for loving Thea Devine. Frankly, I don't think she gets enough credit for coming up through the Bodice Ripper Era and helping to kick off the first wave of Erotic Romance (as a subgenre) in the early 2000s (as one of the writers to help launch the Kensington Brava line). She also was writing unapologetic bad girl heroines back in the day when that was unheard of (and still is, mores the pity). Her writing and plots tend to be nonsensical but this woman has never met a soap opera plot she didn't love. Do I universally recommend her books? No. Do I get sucked in all the same? Yes. Look, I love me some trash, and Devine excels at writing trash.

I have an autographed print copy of this, which means I picked it up at an RWA conference and probably made a fool of myself meeting her.

The Review: Y'all, this book is trash and it features a heroine who suffers from magical thinking. It also has so many seedy sex scenes in it that I lost count - not only of the number of men the heroine boinks, but also how many scenes there actually were. One every chapter would not be hyperbole. 

Jillian Durant has disappeared, but not before she sent out a SOS text message to her twin sister Justine Durant. "Justine Time" - a play on the phrase "just in time," and developed during their hard scrabble childhood. An abusive household and an alcoholic father led to the girls getting split up in foster care. When Jillian used "Justine Time" - Justine knew her sister needed her and came running.

Justine goes to Jillian's apartment and soon learns the truth about her sister's life. She's Jillian Dare, high priced prostitute to powerful and wealthy men. Jillian's way of dealing with the trauma of their childhood? Get your hands on money, a lot of it. However when your clients are billionaire assholes you find yourself (sometimes unintentionally) privy to a lot of secrets - which is why Jillian has gotten in the habit of leaving behind bread crumbs for her twin every time she takes a new job.

So what does Justine do exactly to help find her sister? She falls into her life and pretends to be Jillian. That means moving into Jillian's New York City apartment and having a lot of sex with a lot of different men. Never mind that she learns in fairly short order that the last known whereabouts of Jillian was in London. I mean, staying in New York City and banging a bunch of random rich dudes will surely lead her to finding her sister - um, somehow. God, I love magical thinking in a heroine!  Anyway, she eventually ends up in bed with Doug Rawls who rocks her world for two straight days then treats her with contempt by literally throwing money at her - so of course he's our hero. 

The plot, if we want to call it that, is basically Justine walking a tightrope of pretending to be Jillian and hoping to fool people long enough to try to find out what's going on even though she's not actively doing anything to search for her sister other than banging a bunch of dudes. We eventually learn that Doug has ties to a dead billionaire back in London and one of the last times he was seen alive and well? Yeah, he was with Jillian. So when "Jillian" resurfaces, everyone, including our villain, start to become worried and Dougie boy steps into the protector role even though he's a sneering asshole who treats the heroine with contempt while banging her brains out.  He's not too good for sleeping with a whore but he's going to remind her constantly of what and who she is. 

You've got a heroine impersonating her twin and enough sex in this book to make you think about making a doctor's appointment to get multiple shots of penicillin. The whole thing is completely over the top, from the plotting to the characters to the sex. Seriously, I began to wonder how the heroine was able to walk around over the course of this book and every man in this story had to be drinking at least 3 gallons of water a day to stay hydrated. Is it remotely "realistic?" No. Is it utter trash? Yes. Can I recommend this book to anyone? I mean....

Devine's books take up space in a very Id part of brain. It's Thea Devine and 90% Harlequin Presents. It's pure escapist camp and I inhaled this book in a few hours. I also didn't skim, even though, and this cannot be overstated, this book is basically one giant sex scene. One after another. Take the sex scenes out and you probably have a 50 page short story left. 

Do I like myself for reading this? Hey, life is too short and the world is on fire. How I feel about myself after reading this book is the least of my worries. Is this high art? No. Could I tear myself away? Also, no.  I may have felt a little cheap and a lot dirty after, but I ain't mad.

Final Grade = C+

#TBRChallenge 2026: His Diamond of Convenience

The Book: His Diamond of Convenience by Maisey Yates

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Presents #3324, 2015, Out of print, Available digitally, Book 4 in The Call of Duty series

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Yates is an autobuy for me in the Presents universe because she understands the assignment. The emotions run intense and she leans in hard on the fairy tale. I have a signed print copy of this, which means I picked it up at an RWA conference back in the day.

The Review: There was never any doubt that I would dig up a Presents for this month's Tropetastic! theme. This is the very definition of low-hanging fruit. That said, given my reading mood and output of late (dreadful), I knew if I was going to pick up a Presents I was going to entrust my fragile reading mojo to a pro - and Yates is, if nothing else, a total pro in the Presents line. She's since moved on to single title glory, but I feel strongly that if you strapped her into an office chair and tied one hand behind her back, she could still churn out a total banger Presents. 

Twelve years ago an impressionable 16-year-old Victoria Calder fancied herself in love with a much older man, a business associate of her father's. While the relationship never turned sexual, this man used Victoria's naivete to his advantage, breaking her heart and stealing away her father's business. And ever since then? Victoria has been throwing herself on the pyre, determined to win back the business and Daddy's love. And now? She's landed on the perfect plan.

Dmitri Markin is a former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, plucked from the streets and underground fighting scene in Moscow by his mentor, since passed. Dmitri parlayed his success in the ring into a thriving business portfolio (because of course he did...) and one of those businesses? You guessed it, Victoria's family business. What Victoria also finds out is that Dmitri wants to start his own charity to honor his late mentor, but his reputation is preceding him. Nobody's real anxious to throw money at a guy who wants to help children when said guy has a reputation for being a hot-headed, uncouth man-whore. Victoria, being of the silver spoon set, with loads of experience stumping for various charities, knows this - and proposes a deal. She'll help him drum up support for his charity by hosting various galas and putting a little polish on his tarnished reputation by pretending to be his oh-so-suitable fiancé. In return? He gives her back Daddy's business. 

On the surface these two couldn't be more different. Dmitri from the streets, fighting his way through just to survive. Victoria, the blue-blooded princess, raised to want for nothing, only to be scorned by Daddy the minute she steps out of line. However, as Yates peels back the layers, you realize how alike these two characters are. Not to put too fine a point on it - they're both fighters - and honestly, my money is on Victoria. Cruelly used by a villain taking advantage of a 16-year-old girl (!), faced with Daddy's disapproval after the fallout, she wraps herself in an Ice Princess cloak and wears it with style. This heroine puts the cold in cold fish - because when she wasn't cold, when she wasn't the Ice Princess? The people who should have loved and protected her turned their backs on her. Eventually through Dmitri she learns that she can't keep paying for one past "mistake," and on top of that she's not the bad guy in that scenario (not by a long shot). She's vulnerable, and certainly falling in love with Dmitri makes her more so, but does that mean when the third act break-up hits she curls into a little ball and cries her eyes out?

No.

Because she's a fighter. And she's past taking shit from anyone - and that includes Dmitri. 

Dmitri is an OK sort, prototypical Presents hero with a wounded past that's practically slathered on with a trowel. I mean, if you didn't think the street kid fighting in seedy Moscow bars was tragic enough, we find out later how he ended up in such a predicament (Daddy and Mommy issues - because, Presents). He has serious self-worth issues, despite the success he's had in MMA and in business, so naturally the third act break-up is all his doing - not being good enough for Victoria, control issues stemming from those Mommy and Daddy issues, along with the general Presents ickyness surrounding Victoria's "innocence" (of course she's a virgin before they do the mattress mambo, this is a Presents y'all).  

Ultimately Victoria is the bigger, more mature person even though her heart is broken and Dmitri comes crawling back begging for forgiveness.  It doesn't exactly tread new ground, but that's not what I want in a Presents. I want the intensity, I want the passion, yes I want the drama llama third act break-up where the hero comes crawling back in order to ultimately win the heroine's heart. Yates understands this, and delivers.

Final Grade = B

#TBRChallenge 2026: The Pirate and His Lady

The Book: The Pirate and His Lady by Margaret St. George

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin American Romance #462, 1992, Out of print - including digital, reprinted 2002 as part of Harlequin's defunct Dreamscapes line - also out of print, including digital. If you want this book y'all, you're buying a used print copy.

What Was It In Wendy's TBR?: So for you young'uns running across this post, once upon a time there was an author named Maggie Osborne who wrote some dynamite historical westerns. Well, she also wrote category romance under the name Margaret St. George. I didn't make the same concerted effort to hunt down the St. George books as I did the Osborne titles, but I tend to pick them up when I stumble across them at library used book sales or charity shops. I'm not sure how long I've had this one though since it appears I failed to catalog it (yes, I have my print TBR cataloged - don't hate the player, hate the game). 

The Review: Back in 1992 there weren't monster romances featuring heroes with tentacles, nor Kindle Unlimited for that matter, to give readers their WTFBBQ fix, there was just category romance. Now this may seem like a sad and long ago bygone era, but let me assure you, Harlequin got a lot of mileage out of throwing wacky at the wall and sometimes you'd stumble across stories with plots you could only compare to a fever dream. Ladies and gents, I present to you The Pirate and His Lady - a time travel romance featuring an 18th century privateer who washes up on the shore of Key West and is rescued by a modern, 20th century heroine. Published in the Harlequin American Romance line. Dear God, what a time it was to be alive!

Elizabeth Rawley and her Uncle Cappy (seriously) run a salvage / treasure hunting business in Key West, Florida. Her and the guy she's about to break up with are getting ready to attend Cappy's annual "Pirate's Ball" costume party when she spies a ship battle from the beach and she knows it's a "reenactment" of the battle between The Black Cutter and the Madre Louisa. Elizabeth knows this because she and Cappy have been hoping to find the Madre Louisa, which sank shortly after she defeated the Black Cutter in battle so they can claim the riches that were on board. The problem? Instead of catching a clue where on the vast ocean floor the Madre Louisa is located, all Elizabeth has accomplished is an unhealthy obsession with Richard Colter, Captain of the Black Cutter.  She's deeply moved by the reenactment which is happening on the 200th anniversary of the battle - except there's one minor detail.  Her boyfriend that she's about to break up with? Doesn't see a thing. Did Elizabeth hallucinate the reenactment?

After returning from the party, and breaking it off with the dud, she heads down to the beach only to stumble across a man. That man? None other than Captain Richard Colter, wounded and likely suffering a concussion.  He suspects nothing is amiss other than having just lost his ship and crew, what with Elizabeth rescuing him while wearing period colonial clothing. However once he's inside her house? Well, witchcraft comes to mind.

What follows is the comedy of errors one would expect in a time travel romance with some icky gender expectations tossed in for good measure. Richard talks like a pirate and has definite notions on a woman's place in the world - so single Elizabeth living alone, unchaperoned, never married, I mean she's probably a whore right? And he's flabbergasted to discover she's in her late 20s and not 18. Then there's of course modern day small appliances like the coffee maker and toaster - never mind the bathroom. Honestly I've never been the ideal audience for time travel because I find these requisite scenes rather tedious, but I got some chuckles when, needing to distract him, Elizabeth turns on the television. Needless to say she slips out of the house unnoticed and when she returns? He's right there on the couch where she left him and he's amazed that "King Larry" will be interviewing "the Madonna" later that evening. I couldn't help it, I laughed.

I'll hand it to St. George, she really threw herself into the question "What would happen if you threw a man with 18th century sensibilities into the 20th century?" Unfortunately, it's icky. All I could think of is that certain segment of Romancelandia who decries historical romance heroes who happen to have one enlightened idea about a woman's place in the world wringing their hands and crying anachronism! Anachronism!!!!!! Seriously, they'd love this book. To put it bluntly, Richard is a bit of a Neanderthal. Not the most offensive of this ilk I've read over the years, but Alan Alda this guy ain't. (And if you get that reference, congratulations - you're officially old)

For a good portion of this book Richard is the sort of romance hero who bemoans that Elizabeth won't simply do as she's told and then is flabbergasted that he can't do much about it. "So it's true. 'E can't discipline a woman, even if she needs a strong hand." My hero 🤮

Unfortunately Elizabeth didn't pick up the slack for me. She dumps the guy she's seeing at the start of the book because the next step would be them taking the relationship to the next level (yes, sex) and while she has every indication he'd be a gentle and considerate lover, sometimes a woman just needs to be "taken." And yet, once Richard is in her life? She struggles with the push-pull factor to their relationship.

There was the rub. Elizabeth would fight like a tiger to be the dominant partner in any relationship. But in her heart, she couldn't respect a man who would let her dominate him. And she sure as hell didn't intend to allow any man to dominate her.

Why is Elizabeth like this? Daddy issues. It was the 1990s folks, you shouldn't need to ask.

These gender roles, how masculinity and femininity are defined, make up the bulk of the conflict in this book and, likely not seeing anyway around this, St. George then moves the conflict to Richard potentially returning to his own time, will Elizabeth go with him, Cappy needing to close the business because they're broke, and the potential possible discovery of Richard's sunken ship which was carrying a boatload of gold - not the Madre Louisa. Unfortunately even as she moves off of it, it's still there. Lurking between the lines, bleeding into the margins. 

Where does that leave us? Well, even taking into account this was published in 1992, I found the gender dynamics and "expectations" pretty gross for most of this story. On the other hand? St. George slathers on the angst in the last third and how the time travel aspect is resolved and the discovery of Richard's sunken ship made those chapters sail (ha!) by for me. 

Would I recommend this? I mean, maybe if you were interested in gender and power dynamics in early 1990s romance, but trust me - you'd be better served to pick up a Maggie Osborne western if you're looking for unconventional, strong yet vulnerable heroines and the men who lose their hearts to them. If there's a Grossness Scale to be applied to vintage romance, this is 1990s Gross as opposed to Bodice Ripper Era Gross - but all of it's not great, we're just talking varying degrees. Very much a product of it's time.

Final Grade = C-

#TBRChallenge 2026: Her Naughty Holiday

The Book: Her Naughty Holiday by Tiffany Reisz

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Blaze #916, Book 2 in Men at Work trilogy, out of print, available digitally, repackaged and reprinted as Harlequin Special Release 2024

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I actually downloaded this as an ARC from Netgalley back in 2016 mainly thanks to the fake dating trope. Then, it happened. Romancelandia went wild for this entire trilogy to the point where some reviewers (you know who you are) were practically crowning Reisz as the savior of category romance and that was enough to raise my hackles and here we are. I have an unreasonable amount of baggage when it comes to certain corners of Romancelandia side-eyeing category romance, then suddenly discovering one they like and giving us all "not like other girls" reviews for category romance. Look, I've never claimed to be reasonable - I'm a reader, therefore I am a nutjob. 

The Review: When this review posts I will be going into day six of being very sick. Like the sickest I've been in a long time. So bad that after my long weekend off work (thank you Dr. King), I called out the rest of the week. I popped very negative for Covid on Day 2 of this hellscape, but I had a fever, still a terrible cough, and a headache that was so bad I wanted to cry. RSV? The flu? Punishment from the gods? All of it's possible. Which is to say I'm miserable and cranky but I still think I would have disliked this book anyway. Y'all it's got all the heft of wet tissue paper.

Clover Greene has just received two very divergent and distressing emails. A corporate buyer has just offered her $5 million for her nursery (greenhouse - like plants and stuff) business in Mount Hood, Oregon and her family has dropped the bomb that she's hosting Thanksgiving. She's still wrestling with whether or not to accept the offer on her business - no, it's the family news that's got her all spun up.  To be blunt, her family is a bunch of assholes. Her academic parents constantly reminding her she's their "little drop-out" and when is she going to get married and squirt out more grandbabies for them? SHE'S 30 FOR GOD'S SAKE! And her brother and sister are no help at all. Snide, backhanded "compliments" from them as well - just different ones. It's all bad. She just can't face another holiday dealing with them and that's when her teenage employee gives her the brilliant idea of a fake boyfriend - and oh, her Dad would be perfect for the job.

Original Blaze Cover

Erick Field has his own contracting business (cedar siding, decks, that kind of thing) and is raising his teenage daughter, a would-be eco-warrior named Ruthie, nearly full-time, since his ex lives in Los Angeles. He's been attracted to Clover from the jump, when he practically begged her to give his daughter a job so she could pay back court-ordered damages because eco-warrior. Anyway, he's been strictly hands off with her because Clover has been a positive female influence, Ruthie needs that, and Erick loves his daughter. Then, Ruthie, that sly minx, pushes them together just as she's walking out the door to visit her Mom. 

They have roughly a week before the Greene family descends on Mount Hood, so what do they do for the first 80% of this book? Talk endlessly and have sex. Seriously, these two never shut-up. Not even when they're having sex. Yes, ladies and gents, we're regaled with dirty talk (which I tend to hate with a burning passion in romance novels because it's nigh to impossible IMHO to write it well - go ahead and fight me). I can't even begin to tell you how much of this book I skimmed. Like giant, cavernous chunks of it. In fact the only reason I didn't DNF this is because I was waiting for it - the big confrontation scene with Clover's family that I knew was coming. A big confrontation scene over Thanksgiving dinner.  And y'all - it was GLORIOUS!

Which I guess means I cared a modicum about Clover? Although I think I cared more about those assholes getting the dressing down of a lifetime. Seriously, for my money just skip the first 80% of this book, get to the point where the Greene family shows up and start reading. You're getting the best part. 

Am I not being fair to this book? Maybe. I'm sick, I had a bad attitude going into it because as a general rule I have a bad attitude about most books people seem to gush over (look, I'm contrary OK - but it's my blog I'm allowed). But that Thanksgiving dinner scene? Worth the price of admission. Finally, after years of reading about romance heroines who let their families walk all over them, we get one that erupts like Mount Vesuvius. But of course her Mom calls after and they agree to work on their relationship and of course Clover is a virgin when she starts climbing Erick like a jungle gym in the first 20% of the story. I mean, it doesn't tread that much new ground.

Final Grade = C-

All Aboard! Sign-Up for the 2026 #TBRChallenge

I want to thank everyone who took the time to fill out my poll soliciting theme suggestions for the 2026 TBR Challenge. All of these themes came from your suggestions and some of these are going to require me to put my thinking cap on. That said, they're all relatively expansive and for those of you who like to stay "on theme" - I think these will provide plenty of options with a little creativity. 

For those of you stumbling across my blog for the first time, you're probably wondering - what is the #TBRChallenge?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: once a month pull a dormant book out of your TBR pile and read it.  On the 3rd Wednesday of the month, talk about that book.

Participation is as easy as being on social media!

If you're on social media all you need to do is use the #TBRChallenge hashtag - there's no need to sign-up and your participation can vary throughout the year.

You can use this hashtag on any day, at any time - but we're still going to concentrate on the 3rd Wednesday of every month to kick our commentary into high gear.  

The idea is to have at least one day a month where we can always count on there being book chatter.

Want to let your blogging freak flag fly?  If you have a blog and want to post TBR commentary there, drop me a comment on this post with a link to your blog or hit me up on Bluesky, Mastodon or Threads.  I like to post links to the various blogs on my TBR Challenge page so those who follow along can start following you.

Sound good?  Of course it does!  So what are the themes for 2026?  So glad you asked!

January 21 - Still Here (a series you've been neglecting, a book by a favorite author you've been saving for a rainy day, unrequited love, second chance or reunion romance etc.)

February 18 - Vintage (Old School, genre classic, etc.)

March 18 - Tropetastic! (Let your trope freak flag fly!)

April 15 - Fool's Errand (some sort of harebrained/desperate/Hail Mary kind of motivation for one of the main characters, fake relationship/engagement etc.)

May 20 - New Beginnings (Starting over, first book in a series, characters coming off divorce / bad relationship etc.)

June 17 - Pride (LGBTQ+, prideful main character etc.)

July 15 - Freedom! (main character escaping "something," books set during period of political change - pick a war, suffrage, Civil Rights Movement etc.)

August 19 - Backlist Banger (book that's been in your TBR a long time, backlist title by favorite and/or prolific author etc.)

September 16 - Lush Life (some definitions of lush = luxuriant, thriving, prosperous, savory, drunkard, curvaceous. Run with it folks!)

October 21 - The Hunt (thriller, romantic suspense, Gothic, paranormal, fantasy etc.)

November 18 - Wrath (revenge, vengeance, a struggle of some sort, angry characters)

December 16 - Wild Card (unpredictable characters, random "free pick" from your TBR etc.)

I know some of these are going to require a bit of planning on my part, but remember - if it all seems like too much bother - the themes are always optional. The goal of this challenge isn't so much what you read, so long as you're reading something (anything!) out of your TBR.

My hope is always for this Challenge to be low-key, stress-free and fun!  So I hope you'll consider joining this year. Be like me - use this Challenge to delude yourself into thinking you're actually making some progress on your book hoarding 😉.