Like any self-respecting menopausal woman, I'm currently getting my news in the middle of the night, in tiny bites that I can manage. I have some news sources that I trust, most of which are no longer traditional. And then I analyze, plot, run things through my social work brain, and try to come up with courses of action.
But I also listen to books in those hours of wakefulness. Books have always helped me through difficult times. They helped me to survive and to find myself in schools that often felt hostile. The books that I loved and identified with the most are often banned now. During my first round of college, I probably did more pleasurable reading than coursework. I'm pretty sure that wasn't entirely helpful.
During the lockdown, I was trying to complete my doctorate, and doing full-time caregiving while I also worked full-time. I would take breaks and stand on the back porch listening to a book, and I would watch Mr. Dog while he played. We spent all of our breaks back there, and I think it helped both of us. And I would make sure my mom was set for the night, then crash at 7PM. Then I would get up and read in the middle of the night, then write and study very early. Those nights with Harry Dresden and Stephanie Plum helped me to find my balance, and to make it through those very hard times.
All of which is to say that I have a lot of feelings about my books, and I have some standards. When I first converted to a diet of mostly romance and fantasy, I often found books that left me feeling unsettled because they were sometimes vaguely (or overtly) misogynistic, or disrespectful regarding women's issues. And I also remembered reading early Harlequins as a teenager, and those were mostly of the Secretary-to-First-Wife variety. That's what we were offered in those days.
Then, I went through many years of literary snobbery in which I wouldn't be caught dead reading a romance. Eventually, I realized that you can read anything with a critical eye. So I now insist on romances that are smarter; where emotionally unavailable men are not glorified; where mental health issues are treated with sensitivity, and not used as cheap plot devices; and where diverse authors and characters are given the opportunity to shine. Q we
So, all of that has lead up to me saying that I've finished two books this week, so far.
The first is The Fake Mate, by Lana Ferguson. This had the potential to be a DNF (Did Not Finish.) It is a shifter romance (Omegaverse,) and exists in a timeline where wolf shifters are part of mainstream society, but still experience bias. The FMC (Female Main Character) needs a fake boyfriend to appease her family members. However, the MMC (Male Main Character) is an Alpha, and needs to prove that he's not dangerous so that he can keep his job.
I will not give away the rest of the plot, but this really had the potential to go south. The MMC has all of the markers of being emotionally unavailable, and possibly withholding. However, he is written more as someone who has been emotionally shut down for a long time, but is willing to take a risk on the right person. He turns out to be quite the Cinnamon Roll (a character who is kind, sweet, and supportive). And I love my cinnamon roll characters.
It's a bit of a slow burn, but picks up quickly. And once it picks up, it catches fire and does not stop burning. The romance is super spicy, like a 5/5 on the seasoning scale. If you like to leave some stuff to the imagination, this is not for you. There was an element of the wording that was used repeatedly in the intimate scenes that I found really annoying, and I really had to work through that. Surprisingly, it was not the stuff about wolf knots.
On my personal rating system of 1-5, most things fall at 3, which means I enjoyed the book. A 4 means I thought it was very good. A 5 is exceptional, and I really need to feel as if it was life-changing in some way. This book was a solid 3, with a 5/5 on the amount of spiciness in the romance scenes. And I'll probably try some other romances by this author.
And this has gotten long, so I'm gonna leave The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon for some other time.
Gina