Susan’s Book Blog

  Glitterland (re-release) Alexis Hall 5 🪩 out of 5  My original review from Dec 2020: This book was so much more than I expected. It’s title and cover do it little justice.  The characters are written with depth and tenderness, the relationships are dynamic and engaging, but the real beauty of this book comes in the passages detailing the main character’s bouts with his mental illness. The author’s descriptions of bipolar depression display an on-the-nose, “been there” authenticity. That said, there were also many moments where I found myself laughing out loud. Alexis Hall is as adept at profound sadness and beauty as he is with lighthearted comedy and romance. He writes stunning prose and the most endearing dialogue. Is there nothing this author can’t do? ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ It was so great revisiting this one again. I had forgotten about so much of what originally made me love it. It’s truly beautiful in both content and writing. I’ve never read such a beautiful character as Da...

  📚  Fave Reads of 2022 Countdown  📚   🥁   🥁   🥁   🥁   🥁 #1   Something Fabulous   &  A Lady For a Duke  by Alexis Hall  I grouped these two together because I don’t know if one deserves to be ranked above the other. For me, these books are Alexis Hall doing the best work of his career. They’re very different books - SF is a hilarious, over-the-top love letter to Regency romances while ALFaD actually IS a Regency romance. (ALFaD is profoundly beautiful. And it has a declaration of love in it that rivals Darcy’s for Elizabeth Bennett.) But both books exhibit everything Hall excels at and in the most entertaining ways.  3️⃣  2️⃣  1️⃣  🎊 What did you think of my Top Ten (or thirteen) choices? Have you read any of them? Will they be on your TBR for 2023? What are some of your favorites this year?

Alexis Hall’s newest book, Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble , is now available. It’s the second book in the Winner Bakes All series. (Both can be read as standalones.) 🎂 🧁 🍰 🍞 🥖 🥐 You can read my original review here .  From quicunquevult.com: Paris Daillencourt is a recipe for disaster. Despite his passion for baking, his cat, and his classics degree, constant self-doubt and second-guessing have left him a curdled, directionless mess. So when his roommate enters him in Bake Expectations, the nation’s favourite baking show, Paris is sure he’ll be the first one sent home. But if Paris can find the strength to face his past, his future, and the chorus of hecklers that live in his brain, he’ll realize it’s the sweet things in life that he really deserves. 🎂 🧁 🍰 🍞 🥖 🥐 ⚠️ Content Guidance: MC with an undiagnosed anxiety disorder (that does get diagnosed), on-page panic attack, hospital stay due to panic attack, treatment plan for anxiety disorder discussed, Islamophobi...

Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble by Alexis Hall Pub Date: Nov 1, 2022 🍰  3.5 stars out of 5 🍰   Despite having been warned that this book wasn’t a romance or a romcom (those are debatable) and that the anxiety rep was intense, I still feel underprepared for what this book was. (Not that I even *know* what it was.) I feel almost unable to assess it properly after just one read-through. My opinion of it changed drastically several times while reading as I adjusted and readjusted my expectations. I’m not sure I can give a coherent or meaningful opinion on it right now. I’m also not sure I want to reread it so…  🤷🏻‍♀️  But I’ll do my best to come up with a review that says more than “…it was okay?”  The TV show characters are all back and even more enjoyable than the first go-round (in Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake), in my opinion. The on-set animosity between host Grace Forsythe and producer Jennifer Hallett is great. Not really sure why but I enjoyed th...

  So it's Pub Day for Alexis Hall's newest, Husband Material . (To read my early review of it, click here .)  I gave this book 2.5 stars out of 5. And I know I'm not alone in my feelings about this book, though the majority of reviewers seem to have no problems with it. I had thought about laying out more specifically and with evidence all the ways and reasons this book bothered me but at this point I’m pretty done with it. It broke my heart and I’m tired of thinking about it. I will just say that I heartily disagree with any and all 5 star reviews and any declarations of “it’s perfect!!”  I genuinely think that many of these readers have gone in already knowing they were going to give the book a stellar rating regardless of what they read.  That said, I stand by my previous rating and review. I’m not disappointed that they didn’t end up married, even though it felt a little bait-and-switch-y. I’m disappointed that Alexis Hall wrote what he did and thought it depicte...

  Husband Material  by Alexis Hall pub date Aug 2, 2022 Sourcebooks Casablanca  ⛪️ 2.5 stars out of 5 ⛪️  I am a HUGE fan not only of this book’s series predecessor, Boyfriend Material , but of Alexis Hall’s work in general. Literally everything of his I’ve read, I have loved. His writing style, his amazing characters, his facility with language and wordplay, his deep understanding (and inclusion) of complex social issues, these are all huge draws for me. I love everything he writes and trust him as a writer more than anyone I have ever read. I had ZERO doubts about this book. I was so excited to get to revisit one of my favorite fictional couples, Luc & Oliver - especially under the guise of seeing them move their relationship forward. Look at the cover! That title! They’re tying the knot! This is going to be wonderful! I thought. This book is cruel. Nothing about it makes sense. Does Alexis Hall hate us? Did he resent having to write this? I don’t know. I don’t...

 It's pub day for one of the best books you will read ALL YEAR.  A Lady for a Duke   by Alexis Hall 💙 5 stars out of 5 💛 Viola is a trans woman who has given up her old life simply so she can live as her true self. She is extremely hesitant to revisit old places and faces for fear of rejection. She believes she is consigned to a life without love and friendship. However, we see such radical empathy, compassion, and acceptance among the characters. It’s truly beautiful. The message “love is love” echoes loudly throughout these pages. So much of this book is profoundly beautiful. The writing is exquisite, and the topics are given the weight and sensitivity they deserve. And frankly, it’s a damn good story. There is yearning and angst and drama and more yearning. So much yearning. 😂 And there is a declaration of love in this book that rivals Darcy’s for Elizabeth Bennett. It is SO beautiful. Available for purchase or borrowing today!  Read my review in its entirety h...

One of my favorite books is Glitterland by Alexis Hall. About a struggling bipolar depressive writer who finds love in the last place - and person - he’d expect. It’s so beautifully written and conveys the most beautiful messages. I highly recommend reading it. Below are a few quotes I highlighted on my kindle and wanted to share. When I highlight quotes in a book, they tend to fall into one of a few categories: lines that made me laugh, lines that I thought were profound or particularly well-written, or lines that I could strongly relate to. The quotes below fall into these categories. I’ll let you decide which ones they might be. Have you read Glitterland? If so, share your favorite lines in the comments below!

  A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall Release date: May 24, 2022 Published by Forever/Grand Central ❧ ❧ ❧ When Viola Carroll was presumed dead at Waterloo she took the opportunity to live, at last, as herself. But freedom does not come without a price, and Viola paid for hers with the loss of her wealth, her title, and her closest companion, Justin de Vere, the Duke of Gracewood. Only when their families reconnect, years after the war, does Viola learn how deep that loss truly was. Shattered without her, Gracewood has retreated so far into grief that Viola barely recognises her old friend in the lonely, brooding man he has become. As Viola strives to bring Gracewood back to himself, fresh desires give new names to old feelings. Feelings that would have been impossible once and may be impossible still, but which Viola cannot deny. Even if they cost her everything, all over again. ❧ ❧ ❧ I’m not sure I can articulate exactly how amazing this book is. But I will try. Even though Alexis Ha...

 I hadn't gotten too far into reading Alexis Hall's new book Something Fabulous when I started thinking about how I could Pop-ify the characters. I don't think I've had this much fun reading a book in quite a while and Bonny & Valentine were the most delightful characters and I felt the need to have them on my shelf... I decided to recreate the cover looks for Bonny & Valentine. Below are some pics of the work in progress and the finished product.  First, here's the mock-ups I made using images of the heads and bodies I chose to create them with, painted in the appropriate ways. ⬇️ Work In Progress ⬇️ A close-up on Bonny's rings ⬇️ And... 🥁🥁🥁 the final product  (Watch out, Malvern, there's a BEE!!) 

You guys! A 5 chapter preview of Alexis Hall's Husband Material is AVAILABLE NOW on NetGalley!  Husband Material is his follow-up to his wonderful novel Boyfriend Material and is due to be published in August.  This was perfection. Absolute perfection. I didn’t think I could be more excited for this book than I already was. Alexis Hall has seamlessly fallen back into the BM universe and hit the ground running. This preview was such a treat. Reading it was like throwing a favorite blanket around myself and enjoying that cozy familiar warmth. All the characters we loved from BM are here again in perfect form and I cannot wait for August!! If you loved BM (and of course you did, why wouldn't you) go now to read the preview that's available on NG. (Don't forget to leave a review after!)  Click here to Read Now!

5 🎩🎩🎩🎩🎩 out of 5 Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern, has twin problems: literally. It was always his father’s hope that Valentine would marry Miss Arabella Tarleton. But, unfortunately, too many novels at an impressionable age have caused her to grow up…romantic. So romantic that a marriage of convenience will not do and after Valentine’s proposal she flees into the night determined never to set eyes on him again. Arabella’s twin brother, Mr. Bonaventure “Bonny” Tarleton, has also grown up…romantic. And fully expects Valentine to ride out after Arabella and prove to her that he’s not the cold-hearted cad he seems to be. Despite copious misgivings, Valentine finds himself on a pell-mell chase to Dover with Bonny by his side. Bonny is unreasonable, overdramatic, annoying, and…beautiful? And being with him makes Valentine question everything he thought he knew. About himself. About love. Even about which Tarleton he should be pursuing. ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ This book is a god damned masterpie...

 Something Fabulous is OUT TODAY and is available for FREE on Kindle Unlimited. I started this one as soon as I finished my previous book last night and It Is Amazing! It's so incredibly funny and the characters are brilliant. This is peak Alexis Hall. If you have KU you MUST give this a try. (And if you don't have KU, the kindle version is only $3.99 right now and it's so worth it. Full review to come...)  ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ ☙ From the acclaimed author of Boyfriend Material comes a delightfully witty romance featuring a reserved duke who’s betrothed to one twin and hopelessly enamoured of the other. Valentine Layton, the Duke of Malvern, has twin problems: literally. It was always his father’s hope that Valentine would marry Miss Arabella Tarleton. But, unfortunately, too many novels at an impressionable age have caused her to grow up…romantic. So romantic that a marriage of convenience will not do and after Valentine’s proposal she flees into the night determined never to set eyes...

  Look for these updates on the blog:  1. Early Review of The Suite Spot , Trish Doller’s amazing follow-up to Float Plan. (Pub date: Mar 8, 2022) 2. Something Fabulous, Alexis   Hall’s new queer HR, drops TOMORROW January 25! Review coming soon. 3. Weather Girl (Jan. 11) Rachel Lynn Solomon’s romcom about a weather reporter and a single dad sports reporter. Review coming soon!

 I love everything Alexis Hall writes so I am here to remind you that his newest book is released TODAY!  Murder Most Actual available only on Kobo and the app is free to download.  Try it and tell me what you think! (See how many classic mystery genre references you can spot throughout the book. 🕵🏻‍♀️😉)  Murder Most Actual  by Alexis Hall  is now LIVE!  Download today on Kobo!    https://bit.ly/3EMWSQL     Goodreads:  https://bit.ly/39xTqeb From the author of Boyfriend Material and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake comes a cozy mystery that revisits the Golden Age of detective fiction, starring a heroine who's more podcaster than private eye and topped with a lethal dose of parody -- perfect for fans of Clue, Knives Out, and Only Murders in the Building! When up-and-coming true crime podcaster Liza and her corporate financier wife Hanna head to a luxurious hotel in the Scottish Highlands, they're hoping for a chance to rekind...

  How cute is that cover?  This book is a lot of fun. It has all of the depth and humor and cleverness you’d expect from an Alexis Hall novel. But it’s a mystery! And it’s a love story! And an homage to classic mysteries! All at the same time! I’ve never read a “cozy mystery” before. I haven’t read many mysteries, cozy or otherwise, to be honest. It’s not a genre I’m terribly familiar with but - and forgive the cliché - I would read a book full of IKEA furniture instructions if they were written by Alexis Hall. So this was a no-brainer choice for me. But now I wish I had more knowledge of mysteries because with my minuscule pop culture knowledge I was able to pick up on the not-so-subtle nods to all six of the original Clue characters and Hercule Poirot with the premise of And Then There Were None. I just wonder what other genre references I’m missing.  And the cozy mystery might be a new genre for Hall but this book has several of his signatures:  socially conscious...