Tag: historical romance

Book Review: A Foolish Proposal (The Gentlemen’s Gamble) by Kasey Stockton

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 256 pages
Author: Kasey Stockton
Publisher: Golden Owl Press
Release Date: February 5th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

One careless remark. One outrageous proposal. One Season to discover love where they least expect it.

Tristan Shepherd never expected the London Season to throw him back into the path of Caroline Whitby—the spirited girl from his youth who once declared she detested both him and his horses. But when a single careless remark at a glittering ball damages Caroline’s prospects with a promising suitor, she lays the blame squarely at Tristan’s feet.

Determined to make amends—and needing a wife himself—Tristan offers marriage. Caroline flatly refuses. Still, with the Season slipping away, they strike an uneasy bargain: he’ll help her find a husband, and she’ll help him secure a bride.

But as they navigate crowded ballrooms, stolen moments, and the dangerous game of matchmaking, their sparring gives way to a far more perilous discovery: the one match they both swore was impossible might be the only one they truly desire.

SWEET BOOK.

This series has been full of sweet, quick reads. And I have enjoyed mixing it up with more historical romances. The audiobook for AFP was great! I love having two POV’s and two narrators to really bring the story to life.

Tristan was so in love from the get-go and I liked how he flirted and bantered with Caroline. There were good family moments (I love when a family is overall more supportive than not), good friendship moments and even a bonus love story too.

If you’ve enjoyed Kasey Stockton books or have been wanting to try them, this one would be great to pick up!

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: October 2026

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How are we at the last three months of the year??

  • [Short Story] Mestra by Madeline Miller
  • Princess Academy (Princess Academy #1) by Shannon Hale
  • Golden Flight (The Keeper’s Records of Revolution #2) by S.K. Ali
  • Second Down and Second Chances (River Foxes #2) by Leah Dobrinska
  • Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
  • [Reread] House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC] The Embers That Remain (Flint Hills #2) by Jordan Abitz
  • Autumn Kissed (Falling for Autumn) by Deborah M. Hathaway
  • [ALC] Unapologetic Love Story by Elle McNicoll
  • [ARC] The Land That Binds Us (Marien Vineyard #1) by K. Sinko
  • The False Vow (The Weaver Bride #2) by Lydia Gregovic
  • Hollywood, Ending by John Green
  • [Novella] The Mirror of Infinite Endings (Once Upon a Broken Heart #3.5) by Stephanie Garber
  • [ALC] It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Murder (Kiss, Merry, Kill #2) by Ally Carter
  • [Novella] Unbound (Bound & Unbound #2) by Ali Hazelwood
  • After We Fall (Shelter & Sky #2) by Deborah Clack
  • [ARC] For Ever More (Never Ever After #2) by Sue Lynn Tan
  • Blightfall (Riftwake #1) by Brandon Sanderson by Janci Patterson
  • Let’s Kiss and Tell by Joss Richard
  • Victorious (Villains #3) by V.E. Scwab
  • [Reread] Faking Christmas (Christmas Escape) by Cindy Steel
  • The Shadows That Listen (Angel Ruin #1) by Louisa Carmody
  • [ARC/Graphic Novel] The Blind Prince Volume 1 by Cozycroww
  • The Washwoman at the River’s End (The Curse of the Fates #1) by Megan Shade
  • By the Flames of Her Fury (The Veridian Empire #4) by V.B. Lacey
  • Heirs of Infamy by Kyla Zhao
  • The Slantwise Histories by Alix E. Harrow
  • One Moore Time by Mariana Zapata
  • If Not You by Ellen O’Clover
  • [ARC/ALC] Mortal Things (Mortal Things #1) by Marie Lu
  • Feels Like Home by Courtney Walsh
  • Reap & Sow (Reap & Sow #1) by Charlotte B. Plumb
  • [Non-fiction] How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis
  • A Court of Splintered Harmony (ACOTAR #6) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Free Falling (Sweetwater Peak #2) by Lyla Sage
  • Escape Me (Shatter Me: Series Two #3) by Tahereh Mafi
  • [ARC/ALC] Defy the Dusk (The Sundering Duet #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • Dracula by Bram Stoker
  • Bad in Bed by Ali Hazelwood
  • [ARC] Take Me Home (Honey Badger Creek #1) by Leah Brunner

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: September 2026

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THE BER MONTHS. And what a good reading month for September! Made it through a lot and now I’m drowning in ARCs for October.

  • Ungodly Rich by Katharine McGee
  • Fossil Feud by Maggie North
  • Hawk & Sparrow by Ayana Gray
  • Catching Feelings (Varsity #2) by Emily Charlotte
  • [ALC] Fall Into Me by Juliana Smith
  • [ARC] Trust Fall by Lynn Painter
  • Steelborn (The Steelborn Saga #1) by Taylor J. LaRue
  • The Enigma Challenge by S.C. Godfrey
  • A Flame Among the Seas (Beyond the Tides #2) by Emilia Jae
  • Sea of Charms (Spellshop #3) by Sarah Beth Durst
  • [Graphic Novel] Rebel by Marie Lue
  • Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig
  • Further to Fall by Catherine Cowles
  • [Reread] House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [Non-fiction] Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet by Geo Rutherford
  • Runaway Rule (The Fugitive Files #1) by Jenessa Fayeth
  • The Gods Will Sing Our Song by Autumn Krause
  • [ARC/ALC] Empire (Heir Duology #2) by Sabaa Tahir
  • The Theory of Uncertain Things by Madysson David
  • Die for Me by Shirlene Obuobi
  • [Reread] The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
  • I Wish He Would (Sweeter Than Fiction #4) by Amanda Schimmoeller
  • The Winged Game by Sophie Kim
  • Resisting the Fall (Falling for Autumn) by Jess Heileman
  • Chasing the Rush (Football and Feels #2) by Lauren Rowe
  • [Non-fiction] Spooky Rivers (Haunted Hydrology) by Geo Rutherford
  • Alchemy of Souls by Adriana Mather
  • Story of My Life (Story Lake #1) by Lucy Score
  • Kobra (Inked Sap #1) by Cris G. Wells
  • [ARC/ALC] Guard My Heart by Sabrina Fedel
  • [ARC] Once, Again, Always by Amanda Gayle
  • Tempest (The Lyrian Sea #1) by Victoria Aveyard
  • Forget Me Knot (Happy in Honey Hill #1) by B.R. Goodwin
  • Threshing Day (The Empyrean #3.5) by Rebecca Yarros
  • Falling for Keeps (Falling for Autumn) by Kasey Stockton
  • [ARC/ALC] Falling Like Snow (Bramble Falls #2) by Misty Wilson

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Book Review: Our Strange Duet by Erin A. Craig

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance Retelling
Length: 390 pages
Author: Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: September 1st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, spotlighting Christine Daaé as she rises to fame while torn between love, ambition, and the haunting secrets of the opera house from #1 New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig, in a deluxe hardcover edition.

Inspired by Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, Le Fantôme de L’Opéra, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a mysterious masked figure who lurks beneath the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with a young soprano, Christine Daaé, and devotes himself to nurturing her extraordinary talents, employing all of the devious methods at his command. Our Strange Duet centers Christine’s emotional journey and her agency within this sweeping, atmospheric opera.

Thank you to Get Underlined for the gifted copy.

WELL I LIKED IT.

Now, this review is coming from someone who knows the general plot of Phantom but has only seen the movie once in middle school choir SOOOOO. Take that for what you will.

To me it felt like a pretty true to form retelling. I especially liked the audiobook because there were multiple narrators and it read like a graphic audiobook and even added in moments of singing the songs from the play and ambient background sounds really made this book. Since I didn’t know many of the details I had a good time listening and not quite knowing where the story was going to go. It’s definitely chaos, but a kind you want to be involved in.

I think I would have liked more POV’s but I enjoyed having this only from Christine’s POV well enough. The back and forth between Eric and Raoul is complicated and a love triangle I didn’t mind. The ending felt just right for this kind of story and I’m glad I read this!

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA Historical/Fantasy Romance Retelling
  • Language: low
  • Romance: one fade to black
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: murder, loss of life, near death experiences, stalking, attempted murder, child abuse, parental abandonment

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