Hi! We’re trying this… again!

New year, new us (sort of)! After a few intermittent co-blogging adventures between the two of us, we both woke up with the urge to start book blogging/reviewing again. That was over a year ago.

Anyway! If everything went right, you can see us in the right sidebar: Lisa is a 30-something avid romance reader who’s previously blogged at Romances Ever After and who has been on a decade-long campaign to get everyone to #ReadTheMarchetta. Ellis is a 30-year-old translator who used to blog at Paper Riot and Finding Bliss in Books. And together we’ve set up this space for when one of us gets the sudden urge to write, review, or blog about something.

Personally, we’re very curious to discover how often that will be, but we genuinely hope you like what you find on this blog! And to kick things off right, we’ll delve into our favourite reads of 2022 and the books we’re really looking forward to reading this year. Feel free to share your own, and in any case: welcome!

Lisa’s Best Reads of 2022

• Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews: what’s not to love about this book? enemies-to-lovers plus drift-compatible fighting (!!!) please I reread this book so many times after I finished it.
• All the Feels by Olivia Dade: Alex’s chaotic energy had me in stitches throughout the book but what I love the most is the way he would go to war for Lauren, he would just burn the whole world for her (sounds extreme but this is also unpacked in the book lol)
• Bend Toward The Sun by Jen Devon: so many people mentioned this book on my Twitter feed so I just had to check it out and no regrets! The intensity of feelings between Harry and Rowan is chef’s kiss. The Bradys are also a riot and I want every single one of them to have a book, including Harry’s parents (!!!).
• The Devil You Know by Elizabeth O’Roark: WELL. If I had to sum this book up in one word, it would be HOT. All the enemies-to-lovers workplace romances I’ve read pale when compared to this one, this book is top tier.
• Flirting with Fifty by Jane Porter: this books is a case of serendipity – not sure how I stumbled upon it on Goodreads but it caught my eye because the cover is so pretty! One of the most romantic books I’ve read thus far, I still have tingly feels in my stomach whenever I remember this book.
• Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews: all the books I’ve read in the Innkeeper Chronicles are my faves! The feminine urge to just make this whole list Ilona Andrews is STRONG, but I shortlisted this book because Maud and Arland are just exquisite together.

Ellis’s Best Reads of 2022

• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: possibly my favourite book of 2022, and one I instantly bought as a birthday gift when a colleague mentioned she wanted to start reading in English again. With the way Homegoing‘s structure and themes seamlessly complemented and amplified each other, it is, in my opinion, literature in its purest form and should be taught in schools.
• Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir: couldn’t put down this slightly unhinged love story between a princess and a fairy with an attitude (both of them, to be clear).
• Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil by Melina Marchetta: Marchetta is a phenomenal writer, but she’s truly at her best when she’s writing people finding their way back to each other. And found families. And secondary romances. To the point that I was texting Lisa in frustration at all hours of the night.
• Black Cat by Jed MacKay: bought them on a whim when they were on sale and now Felicia Hardy is the new love of my life: both no-nonsense and full-nonsense, ridiculously charming and loyal to a fault, she is the babe and the it girl of the Spider-Man rogues gallery. And an inspiration.
• Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola: this story made me so happy. It’s such a joyful celebration of love in all its forms – romance, friendship, self-love, community, and life in general – that just feels so vibrant and alive. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, it’s tongue-in-cheek, it has this underlying beat of optimism to it, and its characters and relationships feel so real and lived-in. It could have been twice as long and I still wouldn’t have gotten bored by any of it.
• Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord: I am haunted by the last page!! In a very good way: I don’t think I’ve ever read a more beautiful send-off. And to this day, I still crack up whenever I think of the perfectly described ‘bowtle’ scene.

Honourable mentions: People Person by Candice-Carty Williams (heartwarming, chaotic in the best way, I wouldn’t mind a follow-up at all), Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (so effortless, the romance turned me absolutely giddy with delight), the Daisy Jones & the Six audiobook experience (completely elevated the story: January LaVoy, Judy Greer and Benjamin Bratt in particular), and the following rereads: Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu & Sana Takeda (Maika Halfwolf is the reason I support women’s wrongs), Hate Is Such A Strong Word by Sarah Ayoub (just immaculate: Sophie’s voice, Sophie x Shehadie, all of it), Love in the Afternoon by Lisa Kleypas (Beatrix Hathaway foreverrr, the ‘talented, brilliant, incredible’ Gaga meme fully applies), X-Factor by Leah Williams (the BEST team of the Reign of X era, there only being 10 issues is a crime), and Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar (Jess is the definition of disarming, Mitch has so many issues, I was so into all of it).

Lisa Is Most Looking Forward to in 2023

• Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn: I cheated a bit with this one because I’ve read the ARC but still!!! Best Kate Clayborn to date, releasing on January 24th!
• Codename Charming by Lucy Parker: I would read Lucy Parker’s grocery lists and I’ve been gagging for this sequel to Battle Royal.
• Radiant Sin by Katee Robert: I’m a fan of this series and I made the mistake of reading the 5-Chapter preview on Netgalley so now I’m more impatient for this book.
• Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews: NEW KATE DANIELS!!! NEW KATE DANIELS!!!! NEW KATE DANIELS!!!
• Off the Map by Trish Doller: I’ve been an instant fan of Keane’s brother Eamon ever since he was introduced in Float Plan, so I’m very looking forward to reading his HEA.
• Rebel at Heart by Zoe York: second chance romance between married characters??? SIGN ME UP FOR THE ANGST.

Ellis Is Most Looking Forward to in 2023

Not all of these books are new releases, but that doesn’t mean I’m any less excited to (finally) read them this year!

• Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey: releases tomorrow, actually! Maggie taking up nine hobbies post-divorce is so specific that I’m already very entertained.
• Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli: released at the end of 2022, but is also a frontrunner on the 2023: What the over-35s Are Reading Goodreads list apparently, which made me laugh so hard.
• The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova: released in 2021… I’m a bad fan, but this unequivocal masterpiece WILL be read this year.
• The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi: I’ve been in love with Chokshi’s writing since her Star-Touched Queen debut and can’t wait to see what her first adult fairytale thriller (?) will bring.
• Knockout by Sarah MacLean: Imogen has been a favourite since the very first book of this series, and new Sarah MacLean is always a treat!
• X-Terminators by Leah Williams, Carlos Gómez, Bryan Valenza, Travis Lanham, Federico Vicentini: it’s Laura Kinney, Jubilee, Boom-Boom and Dazzler written by the geniuses who gave us (me) X-Factor (2020), what more could you (I) want!

Honourable mentions: Magic Tides by Ilona Andrews (new Kate Daniels!!!!), Alecto the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (and also Nona the Ninth….whoops), and Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh (though first I really need that synopsis to be revealed soon because I have some theories on this Auden Scott business).

Lisa

Lisa is a 30-something avid romance reader whose high expectations in real life men can be attributed to all the love stories she's read. Outside reading romances, Lisa also loves learning new languages (currently learning French and Spanish), and watching productivity videos on Youtube.

Ellis

Ellis is a 30-year-old translator whose taste in music has been described as both wistful and energetic. Unsurprisingly, she deeply relates to the lighthearted dramatics of Georgia Nicolson, Felicia Hardy, and the entire cast of the 2022 masterpiece Rosaline. There’s almost nothing she loves more than being fully engrossed in a story, whether it’s romance, urban fantasy, literary fiction, the latest x-men comic, pretty much anything narrated by Inés del Castillo, or someone passionately talking about their day/interests/latest obsession.