Welcome to Litsy!

I soft pick - this was an expectations problem. I was lured by the premise of a female artist stumbling across a naked man and using him as a model, only to find out he is a Duke. I expected hijinks and trading for modeling sessions and fun.
This went a lot deeper into PTSD, alcoholism, corruption, mental institutions - especially the last third went to some dark places and I'm not sure the pay-off really got out of them. More painting please!

I‘m trying to balance spooky and sweet reads this month so I can sleep 😆.

This romance was recommended to me for #12challenge- 12 books, 12 friends, 12 months.

I don‘t read much romance, but I thought this was pretty good. Lots of spice.

Lucy is a seamstress and an art student. She stumbles upon a passed out drunk and naked man in an alleyway and paints his figure into a mythical work. Turns out he‘s a Duke, and a rather naughty one.

Cute

Ozzie has joined me on my lap tonight while Gatsby sulks at the end of the couch. Normally he‘s quite against reading (#kittensagainstliterature) but it seems he‘s okay with romances. Not sure he‘s romance hero material but he is quite handsome so maybe.

This book started off strong & had all the pieces I love in a romance. Sadly, this book just didn't work for me.

I wanted to love Anthony, who‘s the kind of hero I love to root for. So disappointing. He did too little too late.

There were also a lot of random secondary characters that got a lot of attention, but then never went anywhere. The over-characterization of minor characters diminished Anthony‘s potential character development.

Gave this a five star rating on Goodreads. Wonderful banter between the characters. Really pulled me in, can‘t wait to read more from this author.

This was a fun and steamy read, you can imagine what goes on here. The Duke is found lying on a side street naked and drunk. The young lady in the story comes across him and then at a later date paints a picture of him. He eventually sees it and tries to find the painter. He doesn't realise that a women painted it. There is a bit more to it, but you get the drift.

This book had a lot of promise but I honestly felt like the ending was just wrapped up too nicely. I wasn‘t the biggest fan of Lucy or Anthony so I wasn‘t really rooting for them

This was a refreshingly political historical romance. The author is unabashedly frank about topics of feminism & class through layered characters & just damn good prose. There are even a few discussions of anti-colonization, which is a rare — & welcome! — thing to see in Victorian-era romances. I wish more would do that. So while the plot was a wee bit too predictable at times, the writing & themes definitely carry it off well. ★★★★☆.

15 read in February.
30 total in 2021.

My copy of A Court of Silver Flames did not show up today, so I had to pick a different book to read while I do curbside this evening. I'm going to give this ARC a shot.