Posts Tagged: Romance

Thursday, November 30, 2017

The Hamilton-Insipired Romances You Didn’t Know You Wanted: Hamilton’s Battalion

Posted by 1 Comment

I received this book for free from [author] in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Hamilton-Insipired Romances You Didn’t Know You Wanted: Hamilton’s BattalionHamilton's Battalion: A Trio of Romances by Alyssa Cole, Courtney Milan, Rose Lerner
on October 17th, 2017
Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance
Source: [author]
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-half-stars

Love in the time of Hamilton…

On October 14, 1781, Alexander Hamilton led a daring assault on Yorktown's defenses and won a decisive victory in America's fight for independence. Decades later, when Eliza Hamilton collected his soldiers' stories, she discovered that while the war was won at Yorktown, the battle for love took place on many fronts...

Hamilton’s Battalion is one of the most unique romance anthologies I’ve had the pleasure of reading, ever. You’ve probably heard of Hamilton unless you live under the rock. The musical has really brought a lot of attention to Alexander Hamilton and given way to a lot of other media that adapts and retells historical events. This trio of romances is not only perfect for fans of historical romance but also for any Hamilton fans who just want ~more~.

This anthology is not only unique because it is one of the first ones that are inspired by Hamilton but also because even though it is three different stories by three different authors, the stories have a common overarching story.

Eliza Hamilton is collecting stories about her late husband and has reached out to many people who may have interacted with him or had a family member who did. These three stories touches the lives for 6 different people, as they embark on their own personal journeys and also talks a little bit about ALEXANDER HAMILTON (one story even features him ;))

Rose Lerner’s Promised Land is a story about two exs who meet very unexpectedly and are forced not only to acknowledge their feelings for each other but also where they went wrong in the past. Second chance romances are my favorite and romances by Rose Lerner are also my favorite so this was just a double-win situation for me. This second chance romance was also just great because you can really see that it is a second chance, things were NOT perfect the first time around and time apart has helped them grow as individuals.

Courtney Milan’s The Pursuit of is a hate to love romance b/w two supposed enemies who just happen to fall in love over a long journey. Courtney Milan, unsurprisingly, delivers yet again with this short. The Pursuit Of… is so stinkin adorable that I just don’t know what else to say about it. It was incredibly satisfying to watching these two men fall in love while they try to deny their feelings for each other. I love their banter but I also love that there is also discussion of privilege that occurs given that Henry is a white, nobleman’s son and John is none of those things. 

I hadn’t had the privilege of reading anything by Alyssa Cole prior to reading this anthology but I have now discovered a new author to read and love. That Could Be Enough takes place as Eliza Hamilton is collecting stories about her late husband. It is told from the POV of her maid, Mercy who has been assisting Eliza Hamilton in the collection of these stories. Mercy is jaded and more than a little unhappy. When she meets the outspoken, brazen Andromeda, her life changes. She finds herself falling in love with Andromeda but also being too scared to embrace not only her feelings for Andromeda but also her hopes and dreams for herself. Over the course of this short story, Mercy has to confront her past, her present and determine what she wants her future to be. That Could Be Enough ties this anthology up beautifully.

Overall, Hamilton’s Battalion does incredible justice to my hopes for a Hamilton inspired romance anthology and does so in a wholly unique way. It is an incredibly read and every single one of these stories is bound to leave you with a giant smile on your face. 100/10 would recommend reading.

four-half-stars

4.5 Hot Espressos

Romance Mini-Reviews #2: The good and the okay

Posted by on 10/06/2017 • 0 Comments

A Taste of Honey Rose Lerner

GOODREADS | PURCHASE

Fire and ice cream…

Robert Moon risked everything, including his father’s hardwon legacy, to open his beloved Honey Moon Confectionery on the busiest street in Lively St. Lemeston. Now he’s facing bankruptcy and debtor’s prison.

When a huge catering order comes in, he agrees to close the sweet-shop for a week to fill it. There’s only one problem: his apprentice is out of town, so his beautiful shop-girl Betsy Piper must help Robert in the kitchen.

Betsy’s spent the last year trying to make her single-minded boss look up from his pastries and notice that she would be the perfect wife. Now the two of them are alone in a kitchen full of sweet things. With just…

Not the Persuasion Retelling My Heart Desires: The One That Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

Posted by on 08/24/2017 • 1 Comment

I’ve always regarded Persuasion as my favorite Jane Austen novel so when I heard about The One That Got Away, I was immediately intrigued. There is something about the angst of a second chance romance that always draws me in and I love seeing the various takes on the classic novel. I dove into The One That Got Away expecting to enjoy it and I am not sure I did? I am also not sure I didn’t.

Retellings don’t have to follow the original storyline word for word but in my opinion a good retelling is at least very aware of the word for word storyline and has a fun take on that story. I felt like The One That Got Away didn’t really do that? It’s biggest tribute to the novel was essentially…

Giveaway: Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Posted by on 04/19/2017 • 15 Comments

Today we are partnering with the lovely people over at Little, Brown to bring you a fabulous giveaway for Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray. Alert: THIS BOOK IS SET IN SPACE. <– important fact because all books set in space are always on my tbr since I’ve kind of been obsessed with space since I was a bb8 and wanted to do that astronaut as a career thing (now I am a lit major so that didn’t technically work out.)

About the Book About the Author

Claudia Gray is the author of the bestselling Evernight series, Fateful, the Spellcaster trilogy, and the Firebird trilogy. She is also the author of the young adult Star Wars novels Lost Stars and the forthcoming Bloodline. She has worked as a lawyer, a journalist, a…

Giveaway: Frostblood by Elly Blake

Posted by on 02/20/2017 • 14 Comments

Today we are partnering with the lovely people over at Little, Brown to bring you a fabulous giveaway for FROSTBLOOD by Elly Blake. It has a cover that is hella gorgeous and a blurb that got me glued. I am so excited to dive into this book and hope you guys are too! 🙂

About the Book

About the Author

Elly Blake loves fairy tales, old houses, and owls. After earning a degree in English literature, she held a series of seemingly random jobs, including project manager, customs clerk, graphic designer, and reporter for a local business magazine before finally landing on her current job as a library assistant. She lives in Southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids, and a Siberian Husky mix that definitely shows frostblood tendencies.

Offical…

Q&A With S. Jae Jones

Posted by on 02/13/2017 • 2 Comments

Hello and welcome to Xpresso Reads’ tour stop for Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones. Today we have a Q&A with the author and hopefully they’ll make you feel even more excited about reading the book!

Please give a round of applause for S. Jae-Jones!

Q&A With S. Jae-Jones

What was your favorite part about writing this book? What was your favorite scene to write?

I loved that I was able to draw on so many things that inspired or influenced me aesthetically as I wrote this book. I love goth stories, Death and the Maiden tropes, Jacques Cocteau movies, Phantom of the Opera, glitter, David Bowie, Mozart, and all of that made it into my book in some form or another. I don’t have a favorite scene,…

Romance Mini-Reviews: Two Mysteries + A Blast from the Past

Posted by on 12/14/2016 • 2 Comments

 

Hard Rules Lisa Renee Jones

GOODREADS | PURCHASE

Wall Street meets the Sons of Anarchy in the smoldering, scorching first novel in the explosively sexy new Dirty Money series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones.

How bad do you want it?

The only man within the Brandon empire with a moral compass, Shane Brandon is ready to take his family’s business dealings legitimate. His reckless and ruthless brother, Derek wants to keep Brandon Enterprises cemented in lies, deceit, and corruption. But the harder Shane fights to pull the company back into the light, the darker he has to become. Then he meets Emily Stevens, a woman who not only stirs a voracious sexual need in him, but becomes the only thing anchoring…

Review: The Boy is Back by Meg Cabot

Posted by on 09/01/2016 • 8 Comments

Earlier this year, Remembrance came out – an adult add-on to one of my favorite series growing up – and I was d.i.s.a.p.p.o.i.n.t.e.d. I had come to expect so much from Meg Cabot but the book failed to deliver and I was filled with sadness. But when I heard about The Boy is Back, I was pumped and ready to dive into the book. Fortunately, The Boy is Back is as amazing as a Cabot book should be and filled with all the sugary goodness that makes me squeal with delight.  

I am trash for good second chance romance novels and even though it was Meg Cabot,  I was a little vary because I hate the second chance romances where two people were in love in HS and 10 years later,…