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SarahSaysRead

SarahSaysRead

Joined September 2016

books. comics. cats. food. feminism. 💥
review
SarahSaysRead
Man vs. Durian | Jackie Lau
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Love this Jackie Lau series ❤💋❤

#romance #contemporaryromance #swoon

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SarahSaysRead
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Cuuuuuuute. And so relevant.

I do want to mention that I think the cartoon covers in romance has come to signal that it's a rom-com, and this doesn't have much comedy. Maybe some whimsy. But it's still lovely. 💕

#contemporaryromance #romance #metoo #accountability #BossAssWomen

23 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

Great MC but not enough of her, somehow. And I never quite got a grasp on the world-building and honestly by the last third of the book I just didn't really care anymore. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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SarahSaysRead
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Pickpick

I don't know what on Earth we've done to deserve Talia Hibbert. She is just too amazing. Olu and Griff are amazing, complex guys and seeing them lose their shit over each other was so delicious.

#contemporaryromance #romance #lgbtq #faveauthor

17 likes2 stack adds
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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

I think I was expecting a little more silliness, but the next books are about pegasus/phoenix/etc shifters so there's probably a lot to work with there. Otherwise this was amusing, held my interest.

#dragonsbaby #romance #shifters

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SarahSaysRead
Ayesha at Last | Uzma Jalaluddin
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"Sometimes there were no words, only sunshine on your heart." ☀️

#contemporaryromance #romance

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SarahSaysRead
Along for the Ride | Mimi Grace
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Soooo cute and the sexy times were 🔥🔥🔥 There's some good mishaps, banter, competence-porn, and it just worked really well. I'm excited to see more by Mimi Grace. ❤

Counts for Road Trip for the #RippedBodiceBingo 🗺

#contemporaryromance #romance #swoon #kissingbooks

19 likes3 stack adds
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SarahSaysRead
The Nickel Boys: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Man... this short book packs a hell of a gut-punch. I think it's the best I've read of Colson Whitehead's work.

#basedonrealevents #litfic #racism #jimcrow #trauma #readit

24 likes1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
The Nickel Boys: A Novel | Colson Whitehead
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Pulling no punches.

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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

The premise of this one cracked me up: young lady invents a Scottish captain who she claims to be betrothed to, even sending him letters, to avoid crowds b/c social anxiety. But turns out, he exists and he got all her embarrassing letters, and threatens to expose her lies unless she marries him. But for some reason I didn't love their story, and I really didn't like the end. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Counts for Kilts for #RippedBodiceBingo

#historicalromance 🏰

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SarahSaysRead
Making Up | Lucy Parker
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Mehso-so

Why didn't I love this more?? I usually love hate-to-love stories, especially when there's fun snarky banter. And they were super cute, and kickass professionals in their fields. There's a lot to enjoy here, but for some reason it just never really sparked with me 😕

Going to use this for Show Business for #RippedBodiceBingo 🤸‍♀️🧚‍♀️

#contemporaryromance #romance #enemiestolovers

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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

I didn't click with this one the way I did with Thirsty, but it's still a good, steamy read with some heavy themes (redemption, family, etc). I'm really looking forward to Tanked with the third brother though. 👀

Using this one for Wine & Spirits on my #RippedBodiceBingo

#romance #contemporaryromance #sexytimes

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SarahSaysRead
Null Set | S. L. Huang
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Mehso-so

This one suffers from sophomore slump just a little bit, mainly because some of the characters have the same argument several times, with lots of overly mysterious references to Cas's past. But I think there are two novellas out there to bridge the gap until the third book, so yay!

#scifi #kickassladies #CasRussell

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SarahSaysRead
Unsung Heroine | Sarah Kuhn
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I love Sarah Kuhn's Heroine world and this was a cute little addition to it that was a sweet little romance, but with microphone demons. 💜😈💜

Counting this for Queer Paranormal on #RippedBodiceBingo

#romanticfantasy #lgbtq #demons #superheroes #badassladies

TaraTLK I love this series. 5y
26 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
The Unhoneymooners | Christina Lauren
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A fun hate-to-love romance, with lots of snarky banter and ridiculous situations.

#contemporaryromance #beachread

30 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

So I had never heard of Jane, and it's absolutely fascinating and I wish their story was more widely known. The approach they took to abortion and women's healthcare and liberation in general was refreshing and amazing. The downside is that this book is kind of all over the place and hard to follow, it's not organized in any clear or linear way, and a ton of names are floated about. It seems badly in need of editing.

#abortion #history #roevwade

21 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston
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Finished this lovely, funny, warm romance novel tonight. It's as fabulous as everyone says it is. It practically glimmers with sweetness and heart. 💖🏳️‍🌈👑

#romance #lgbtq #pride #contemporaryromance #royalty #RippedBodiceBingo #AlexAndHenry #politicalromance

royallyregan93 I was noticing your tattoo of the three stars. Is that from the pages of the Harry Potter books? 5y
SarahSaysRead @royallyregan93 It is, I have them on both wrists 😊 5y
royallyregan93 So cool!! I have them too! Just on my right wrist and the Deathly Hallows symbol next to them! 5y
29 likes3 comments
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SarahSaysRead
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I listened to this on audio too but it still took me forever to finish! Could've been 50-100 pages shorter, and I think Pinker should've stayed away from talking about marginalized issues because he seemed awkward at best, insensitive at worst. Overall this was worth the read, especially Part 2 (most of the book) that talks about hard data on quantifiable topics. Everything may SEEM like the worst, but it's almost definitely not.👍

#datascience

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SarahSaysRead
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LauraJ Such a great book! 5y
10 likes1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
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YA rom-com perfection. 💕🔥💕🔥💕

(Also, using this as my Title Includes Characters Name pick for #RippedBodiceBingo.)

#YA #romance #representationmatters #SweetieAndAshishForeva

32 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
Fire in His Blood | Ruby Dixon
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My first ever dragon romance ???

I picked this one for #RippedBodiceBingo because I read and liked the first book in Dixon's alien series, and this one was definitely hot (lol) but I noticed a lot of similarities between this and the alien one - "fated" mates, spunky chick that feels responsible for taking care of others, intense protective dude. Anyways, it was interesting.

#dragons #romance #postapocalyptic

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SarahSaysRead
Patsy | Nicole Dennis-Benn
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I really like Nicole Dennis-Benn. This is about a mother who flees Jamaica to America in an effort to save herself, leaving behind a young child. As the story moves on you see Patsy struggle with disillusionment in her new home, and watch Tru try to grow up and understand herself without a mother. I think they'll both stay in my mind a long time.

#newbooks #immigration #lgbtq

Caterina Is this as depressing as Here Comes the Sun? Because I LOVED that one but I need to be ready before my heart breaks that much again. 😭 5y
SarahSaysRead @Caterina UMMM... this one also deals with some pretty deep subjects. So my heart definitely had feels for these characters. 5y
Caterina Okay I'll save it for when I'm ready for a heavy one then. 👍 I just remember loving Here Comes the Sun so much but feeling like it hit me so hard, it had me really sad for a week or two and then I had to read happy books for a bit to recover. 5y
24 likes1 stack add3 comments
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SarahSaysRead
Hawaii Magic | Beverly Jenkins
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Super short and sweet. It reads like one of those daydreams we all have, where you like randomly fall in love with your soulmate, win the lottery, and everything is just sunshine and rainbows. The end made me laugh a bit too.

Using this for my “Beach on the Cover“ pick for #RippedBodiceBingo

#summerreading #Hawaii

TaraTLK I also pulled this from the TBR for just that reason 5y
12 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
The Ripped Bodice | Culver City, CA (Bookstore)
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If anyone has recs for romances involving assassins, kilts, eloping, wine, or some queer paranormal that would be super awesome. 😘

#RippedBodiceBingo #challangeaccepted #romance #summerreading #recommend #bookrecs

StayCurious Julie Garwood has a few highland romances that have plenty of kilts. 5y
JackieSmith @EloisaJames latest both have ale in them: Born to be Wilde & Say No to the Duke. 5y
15 likes3 comments
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SarahSaysRead
Let's Get Textual | Teagan Hunter
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So I don't read a lot of "new adult" romance I guess? Like early 20's/in college type romances? But the title hooked me and MAN, it was funny and super sweet and ridiculous. I'll 100% be reading the others in this series. (Also because so much of it was text conversations I'm counting this as my Epistolary pick for #RippedBodiceBingo)

#romance #ilikepunsandicannotlie #LOL #contemporaryromance #newadult

21 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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This book is a goddamn treasure. Two women find love late in life while tearing down a truly awful man. The sweetness of their romance, paired with the rage-filled revenge on that dude is just perfection.🔥📚💕

#RippedBodiceBingo #romance #LGBTQ #burnbabyburn #historicalromance

21 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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FINALLY, the happy conclusion I've been waiting for. Mona and Abram have a lot of obstacles in this one but obvs it all turns out okay. I love that Abram is always shocked and infuriated by the shit women go through and Mona is just like "Well yeah, duh. Society kind of sucks for us". ??‍♀️ Anyways yes, good end to the series.

#contemporaryromance

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SarahSaysRead
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Finished my first Christina Lauren ever! It was super cinnabon-sweet and made me laugh out loud a couple times, and the sexy times were 🔥. Hazel borders on the kind of quirky that's almost unbelievable, but luckily it's humorous enough to pull it off. I'm going to read The Unhoneymooners next 😊

#romance #contemporaryromance #actualLOL

30 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
The Bride Test | Helen Hoang
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Sweet, and kept me up until 2 a.m. reading. And I particularly loved some of the sexy times for how not great and awkward they were. 🤣🥰

#romance #contemporaryromance #autism

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SarahSaysRead
Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Joshua David Stein, Kwame Onwuachi
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I listened to this on my drive to D.C. this weekend, and then went to his restaurant on Sunday! His book is as great as his food. Those braised oxtails, mmmmmm... 🖤

#memoir #food #DC #audiobook #cooking

BarbaraTheBibliophage I heard him speak on Saturday. He‘s just as genuine as he seems on TV. Can‘t wait to read his book! 5y
26 likes1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle | Emily Nagoski, PhD, Amelia Nagoski, DMA
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I liked the first half more than the second half - it seemed more geared toward biological/physical reactions to stress and managing those, where the second half was more managing your own thought processes. But in general I liked this a lot, related to it HARD, and bought myself the hardcover copy to refer back to.

#stress #selfcare #feminism #audiobook

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SarahSaysRead
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Loved this, love the whole dang series, love Alyssa Cole. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

#romance #contemporaryromance #representationmatters #faveseries #awesomeauthors

Julsmarshall I‘ve got this one on hold—can‘t wait! 6y
24 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
That Kind of Guy | Talia Hibbert
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Talia Hibbert does it again. Zach and Rae gave me all the feels. While I'm bummed for this series to be over, it definitely goes out with a bang (lol pun intended).

#faveseries #romance #contemporaryromance #awesomeauthors #swoon

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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

This author/ series gets a lot of Instagram hype so I was excited to read it, but it wasn't my jam. It might be that it was just a lot more serious/darker than I was in the mood for, but we didn't click. I did really enjoy how both characters had big important career things happening, and they didn't try to hold each other back. I'll try another by this author someday and see if this was a fluke for me.

#romance #contemporaryromance

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SarahSaysRead
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Pickpick

Lovely, though not what I was expecting. Thinking of a space program that actually focuses on sending humans into space, long-term, is always fun. Based on what happened in this, I certainly wouldn't turn away a sequel if the author were so inclined.

#scifi #space #interstellartravel

22 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

Interesting, and scary. A bit long though, I had to jack the speed up to 1.5 in the last quarter of the book or so because I was just ready to be done with it. The narrator may have been part of the issue.

#nonfiction #audiobook

ItsAngel The end of it dragged on a bit... 6y
Catt I liked this book overall, too. But don‘t watch the movie. The movie is horrible. 6y
19 likes2 comments
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SarahSaysRead
Convenience Store Woman | Sayaka Murata
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I'm not sure how to describe this weird short little novel except I thought it was both funny and amusing and sometimes a little sad, and I liked Keiko. She's "not normal" (possibly on autism spectrum) and I was rooting for her to just do her thing and ignore the annoying "normal" people who want her to change.

#intranslation #ReadHarder

29 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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Short and sweet, with wonderful nerd / POC / disability rep.

#representationmatters #romance #romancelandia #HEA #PuzzleBae

22 likes2 stack adds
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SarahSaysRead
Queenie | Candice Carty-Williams
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I'm surprised this is a debut novel. Great cast of characters (Queenie's friend Kyazike is SO great), bitingly funny but also so heartbreaking, complex, and shines a light on mental health. I'm confused by reviews that say Queenie is frustrating bc she makes bad choices... it's literally in the description that it's that the whole book is about. Can't wait for more from this author.

#fiction #mentalhealth #highlyrecommend

SarahSaysRead Also I think the pieces saying this is Bridget Jones's Diary meets Americanah are way off base. This is its own thing, and it's great. And BJD was dumb. 6y
SW-T Thank you for saying BJD was dumb! Everyone seems to luuuv it 🙄 I‘ve got Queenie in my TBR stacks but it might take a while to get to. 6y
28 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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SarahSaysRead
Driven to Distraction | Olivia Dade
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This was so funny and great. Cinnabun hero who woos the commitment-phobic heroine by making her life better and easier in every way. And there's another plot point that I really really loved but can't mention because spoilers, so just read it. It's fun.

#romance #contemporaryromance #laugh #librarylove

18 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
Driven to Distraction | Olivia Dade
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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

I know a lot more about Pixar now than is probably necessary! The management advice and stuff was interesting, though I can't really apply any of it. And it makes me wish I worked with a company with a culture more similar to this. (Instead of the old "do more with less AKA do the job of 3 people" gross mentality.) Anyways, interesting but long. I had to listen at 1.5 eventually, and I usually stick to 1.2 or so.

#audiobook #business #readharder

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SarahSaysRead
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Mehso-so

Good enough that I could finish it in two days, but not necessarily unputdownable. It was fine. 🤷🏼‍♀️

#somuchhype #litfic

29 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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Well worth the hype. Sal & Vanessa are 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

I can't wait for the second book!

#romance #contemporaryromance #EastsideBrewery

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SarahSaysRead
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Pickpick

Learned some stuff I didn't know, and just a good reminder about how data can be used for good and evil, algorithms can have unintended terrible consequences, and always check the methodology whenever possible (and ideally, it should always be possible).

#nonfiction #datascience

WanderingBookaneer This book is fascinating! 6y
26 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
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Gah! So many feels, and a couple laugh-out-loud moments, and now I have to wait until April 15th for the last book and Mona and Abram's HEA. 💙😢💙

#contemporaryromance #allinmyfeelings

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SarahSaysRead
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I totally forgot going in that this is a three-book romance and that it was going to end on a cliffhanger (clearly noted in the Kindle summary), but I am DIGGING the slow burn between Mona and Abram. And the physics jokes. And talks about consent. I'm feeling the feels for these two lovebirds. 💓💓💓

#romance #contemporaryromance #science

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SarahSaysRead
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Fun blend of sci-fi & fantasy, lots of action that makes the pages go by like nothing, and some really great characters that totally sucked me in and made me cheer and despair with them. Also a very pretty cover.

Need the second one soon.

#scifi #fantasy #spaceopera #diversecast

22 likes1 stack add
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SarahSaysRead
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Probably not my fave of the series, but still pretty damn great. Heartbreaking in many spots.

Liatrek I need to buy this ASAP😊love the series. 6y
23 likes1 comment
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SarahSaysRead
Sweet on the Greek | Talia Hibbert
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I'm just really glad to see Litsy got its shit together and finally added all of Talia Hibbert's romance novels. She is a romance ROCKSTAR 💖💖💖💖💖

#romance #contemporaryromance #diverse #sexytimes