Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

Sarah talked about Into the Blue by Emma Brodie on Sarah's Bookshelves. It has been weeks since I'd read a romance novel and I just needed something.

 AJ lives in a small Massachusetts town, writing fan fiction based off an improv comedy show that starred a reclusive actress who lives in her town where she's working at a video rental store. She dreams of leaving Massachusetts to be a writer. One day her peaceful work life is shattered when Noah Drew of the HOLLYWOOD DREWS walks in and starts working next to her. They have an immediate bond, but one day Noah disappears. When they meet up again as adults, what is going to happen with these two? 

Interesting characters: AJ is interesting. Noah is a dick who won't communicate. I cannot with Noah. Also, I cannot with "woe is me, being famous is so hard."  

But you know what's really not interesting to me? The whole idea that you will just immediately feel a connection. The whole instalove thing? The whole fated to be together thing? It's not interesting. Good relationships are built on way more than how good someone smells. (Although, to be scrupulously honest with you, my husband smells sooooo good. But it was not instalove for us.) I just don't want people out there who haven't fallen in love to think that if it doesn't happen the second you make eye contact, there's no chance. There is a chance! GIVE IT A CHANCE. 

Believable conflict: Yes, there would be conflict if one of the people in the relationship keeps running away whenever tough conversations have to happen. Sometimes you have to get through tough shit to get to the good shit, but HOW WOULD HE EVER KNOW THAT?

Emotional tension: Sure, sure. There's a lot (too much?) of will they or won't they in this book.

Happily ever after: Hm. That's an interesting question and I think it would definitely depend on your definition of happy. I'll say that I would probably categorize this under literary fiction rather than romance if I had to shelve it at the non-existent NGS bookstore. 

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There were a number of tropes here I didn't love, but I did read it all, so that's something, right? 3.5/5 stars

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(Note about page numbers. I accidentally ordered the large print edition of this book from the library. I used to feel terrible when I did that because I was taking it away from someone who really needs it, but let me tell you - the large print is AMAZING. I am officially old. Anyway, I'm going to give chapter numbers instead of page numbers.)

Line of note: 

Most people did not have hidden depths; they had hidden shallows. (Todd's Coverage, Episode 5)

This is so cynical, but I laughed anyway. 

Hat mention (why hats?):

...producing a crochet needle and a hat he was making for baby Claire. (New York, New York January 9, 2012)

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Do you feel guilty if you accidentally order the large print? What does happily ever after mean to you in a romance novel? 

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

Other books by Rebecca Serle:
In Five Years

I don't know how Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle came on my radar, but I had the audiobook on hold for several months and it came in just as I was about to leave for an eight-hour drive, so I obviously borrowed it! It is narrated by Julia Whelan, who is one of my favorite narrators, so maybe that's why spurred me to read it. 

Daphne's life is pretty normal except for the notes. She regularly gets slips of papers with a man's name on it and the length of time they will date. Three days with Martin in Paris; three months with Hugo, who is now her best friend; one night with a guy in New York. But the slip of paper with Jake's name has no time. Will they be together forever? 

Hm. Ah. Well, let's just say that I've been avoiding writing this review for a while. I listened to the whole thing because I love Julia Whelan, but I am pretty sure I would have DNFed a written version. Chapter 24. Chapter 24 is what did it for me. I don't want to tell you what happened in that chapter, but rest assured that it made the first part of the book appear to be sort of irrelevant. And it became a much different book after that.  

Also, let's be honest. I knew how I wanted the book to turn out and I won't tell if you if it did turn out that way or not, but I sort of didn't care about the ending because even if it didn't end up the way I wanted it to, I knew that that's how I would remember the ending anyway. So. Huh.

There's a dog in the book, so that's a positive.

I don't know how I felt about this. 3/5 stars and now I don't have to think about it anymore. 

Lines of note:

I am reminded every time I go out somewhere I haven't been of how many hidden wonders there are in LA, how much unlikely culture is hiding just out of sight. (timestamp 1:31:43)

There are hidden wonders everywhere. Right, Birchie?!

It's hard to hold on to people the older we get. Life looks different for everyone and you have to keep choosing one another, you have to make a conscious effort to say over and over again you. Not everyone makes that choice. Not everyone can. (timestamp 3:15:09)

Yeah. We meet so many people in our lives, but we can't hold on to everyone. It's a hard reality. 

The truth is hard. It's complicated. It does not always follow a simple structure. It is not always convenient. That's why sometimes we do our best to leave it out of the story for as long as possible. We choose to let it linger in the corners. We don't spotlight it. But eventually it catches up to us. Of course it does. (timestamp 4:02:12)

Huh. Well, Rebecca Serle, way to tell your readers that you're a liar. 

"Here's the thing no one ever tells you in any of these fucking movies we make: love is not enough."(timestamp 5:17:29)

It's true. You can be madly in love with someone and they you, but if the timing/geography/life circumstances aren't just right, it will never work out. 

He loves sunbeams and staring out the window. About once a year I cry about the fact that I'll never know what he looked like as a puppy. (timestamp 6:04:56)

CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE WHAT HANNAH LOOKED LIKE AS A PUPPY? I desperately want someone to de-age her. 

Things I looked up:

...right on top of my dog-eared copy of Jessica Darling. (timestamp 8:36)

The Jessica Darling books are a New York Times bestselling series of five young adult novels by Megan McCafferty, published between 2001 and 2009. Told from the diary-style perspective of character Jessica Darling, the series chronicles her misadventures through high school, college, and beyond. Huh. These came out just as I was graduating from college, so I guess that's how I missed them. (I did not miss Harry Potter, though!)

Hat mentions:

...with a hat to match. (timestamp 1:11:36)

One Night On the Island by Josie Silver

Other books by Josie Silver:
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird
One Day in December

In One Night on the Island, Cleo is a relationship columnist for a London paper who decides to go to an isolated Irish island to connect with herself. Meanwhile, dickhead Mac is a married man with two kids who is also on the island to photograph it for an exhibition in the States. They end up in the same cabin and soon enough sparks are flying.

Look. Here's the thing. Mac is married. He's essentially cheating on his wife for this "vacation fling." I am just not on board with the premise. I don't think infidelity is sexy. I just don't. I also don't think Mac's broody nature is attractive and Cleo's self-absorption practically makes her a kitchen drain of charisma. But mostly I was stuck on how Silver was going to turn this into a book that wasn't about cheating and she didn't manage to do that.

Silver's books always get marketed as romance novels and they are JUST NOT. They're stories about complicated people and there's always a romantic storyline, but it's not the major storyline. I think if these books were marketed correctly, people like me wouldn't be so upset about them. 

Look, it just didn't work for me. Maybe it will for you.

2/5 stars (these stars are angry) 

Line of note:

Every now and then, I wish I could press pause on life and stay longer in a moment. This is one of those moments. (location 2851)

Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson

 

Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson is the tale of Marnie, a newly divorced woman who unexpectedly inherits a building in Brooklyn from one of her ex-husband's aunts.  Meanwhile, her own family and new fiancé in Florida are really unhappy with the contingency that Marnie lives in Brooklyn for three months before the title to the building becomes hers.  

Interesting characters: Ugh.  Marnie is terrible and boring. She's sleeping with her ex because he's just so attractive and sexy, stringing along her fiancé in Florida because he's boring and safe, and then there's this other guy that the crazy dead aunt thought she should be with.  She's juggling all of this, but Dawson doesn't give us any ideas as to what Marnie is actually thinking about these relationships. Does she feel guilty? Why doesn't she just tell her ex to buzz off? Why doesn't she tell her fiancé that she thinks they used to have better chemistry ten years ago?  We see all the action in this book, but we don't have any glimpses into Marnie's real thoughts to make her less a villain.  

Believable conflict: I mean, this book is off the charts nuts. The aunt somehow sees when people are meant to be together and leaves the house to Marnie so she'll be with one of the tenants. Meanwhile, Marnie's got the other two guys in her life. If you believe the insane setup, you'll find the conflict believable. If you think the magical elements are too woo, you'll find the whole book to be a mess.  

Emotional tension: I just can't with this book.  HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF A ROMANCE NOVEL WHEN THE MAIN COUPLE ISN'T A COUPLE UNTIL THE LAST FIVE PAGES OF THE BOOK? Ahem. I was angry. There's no tension between the couple because there is no couple!  My ire is raised. This book just sort of adds to the lore that people of opposite sexes can't be friends and I am not here for it.

Happily ever after: Eh. How would I know? It's impossible to know how this couple will survive because all we know is that Marnie is flighty about men and the other guy is a hermit.  ARGH.

This book made me really mad. Don't read it unless you want to be mad, too.

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

 The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver is a tale of love, grief, and a cat.  

Lydia Bird's life takes an unfortunate turn when her fiancé Freddie is killed in a car accident. She struggles through life in a haze of grief, but when she takes sleeping pills, she's plunged into her life as it would have been if Freddie had lived. She's trying to balance her awake life and her sleep life and nothing is going as Lydia had planned.

Interesting characters: I think Silver has developed the characters of Lydia, Lydia's sister, Freddie, and Freddie's friend Jonah into full-fledged people.  Are they interesting, though? I think not, actually.  Let's stick with Lydia, shall we?  I know a lot about Lydia, but she seems quite boring, to be completely honest. What does she do with her time except for grieve?  Does she have hobbies?  Strong opinions about the order of the themes on the Great British Bake Off?  A secret addiction to purchasing camisoles even though she wears the same three over and over again?  A habit of listening to the band Oasis at top volume? Silver has created absolutely real people who I think would be boring in person to hang out with. 

Believable conflict: I wrote recently about how there was a trend in 2020 to write romance novels with a central topic that was NOT the main romance and that's what we have here. There's a romance of sorts, but it's not the main topic of the book.  It's a hard book to read because Silver does a great job of representing the grief Lydia feels after losing Freddie, but all of that conflict is internal to Lydia and that conflict is not in the relationship that I think is supposed to be the romance in the "romance novel" name. 

Lydia makes some bad decisions in the book and those bad decisions lead to tension between her and her sister and mother. I thought the conflict in the relationships among the women was well-executed and I really think that Silver should have focused more attention on this conflict.  It would have made for a more riveting read.

Emotional tension: There's lots of emotion in this book. If you're grieving someone, this might be a book that comforts you (or not, of course, if you want to avoid reading about other people's grief).  But the emotional tension from the romantic "leads" is non-existent. 

Happily ever after: There's an abrupt ending. I found it puzzling more than happy making.

Silver can write books, but I felt meh about One Day in December and I feel meh about this one. I turn the pages and Silver makes it go down easy, but Silver's true talent is writing about female relationships. It's something I noted in One Day in December and something I noted here. The romance isn't what I want, but the true representation of how hard it is to maintain female friendship is spot on.  

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

 

Do you ever wonder how books end up on your TBR list? I used to keep a spreadsheet in which I'd put down where my recommendations came from, but that spreadsheet wouldn't work on my phone, so I switched it to a document and now I can never tell. So I don't know where In Five Years by Rebecca Serle came from, but I blame romance reddit.  Anyway, here are my tiny thoughts. (Also, the last romance novel I wrote about was in JUNE - that's crazy and I definitely need to lighten my reading load to include more.)

Dannie Kohan is a lawyer engaged to a wonderful man named David when she dreams of her future self in five years.  This future self is with a man who is not David, in a New York loft that is not her current apartment, wearing clothes she does not recognize.  She wakes up again, things are normal and life goes on until four and a half years later when she meets the man from her dreams.

Interesting characters:

This is not a traditional romance novel in that the real story is that of Dannie and her best friend Bella.  David and the other guy are around, but it's a story about friendship - the highs, the lows, and the challenges that come when your best friend falls in love.  But it's telling that I had to look up Bella's name because she just wasn't as well-written and interesting as Dannie is.  Dannie is ambitious, accomplished, and driven. She has a loving family with a small bit of tragedy.

Bella is just a stereotype of a poor little rich girl.  

Believable conflict:

I think there's a fair amount of conflict between Dannie and her fiancé David that makes a lot of sense. They are engaged for more than five years and there's simmering resentment. I think that's well done in the book and the little examples of criticizing his choice of shirt or not coming home on time are interspersed seamlessly in the narrative.

I also think that the fights Dannie has with Bella are real. One time my best friend and I had a fight and I sort of peeled out of the parking lot, but that night we each brought each other presents as a way to say sorry without saying sorry.  I think Serle's characters feel real and the interactions and conflicts do, too.

Emotional tension:

I mean, no?  It was clear Dannie was never going to be with David and she was never going to be in a fight with Bella forever. Weak spot in the novel, for sure.

Happily ever after:

It's not a HEA. It's an ambiguous ending and if you go into this book thinking it's a straight romance novel, you're definitely going to be left down.

I liked this book, but didn't love it. It was a break from a series of dark books I'd been reading, though, so if you're looking for something a little bit lighter but that isn't strictly romance, this might be for you. I just read some Goodreads reviews claiming people had to "grab tissues" and "ugly cried," but I didn't think it was anywhere near that well written!

Layla by Collen Hoover

 

Layla by Colleen Hoover is a bizarre novel sold to me as a romance novel, which it sort of was and sort of wasn't.  Look, I'm going to do major spoilers, so beware. Leeds meets Layla at Layla's sister's wedding when he's playing bass in the band and she's dancing like a maniac.  There's insta-lust as they spend the night together and soon they're ensconced in Leeds' Nashville home.  But then there's an "accident" and they both end up in a remote abandoned B&B in Kansas as they recuperate. Weird shit starts happening.  

It's part romance, part ghost story, part abusive jerk, part loving partner.  I am so confused as to what I actually think about this book and I'm hoping that writing this out will make my thoughts a bit clearer.

Leeds is a terrible hero.  That's my basic problem. I actually think the book is pretty good, otherwise. It's pretty predictable, but who am I to suggest that romance novel tropes shouldn't be assiduously applied to even a "part romance novel." You know there's going to be a happy ending, but you're just not sure how Hoover's going to lead us there.  You know what the "twist" is as soon as the narrator refused to tell you about it.  You sort of know all that, but the writing is enjoyable and it's a page turner, so you just let it happen.

But Leeds. Man. He's manipulative and controlling. He doesn't actually ask Layla what she wants to do, ignores her half the time, and then! Then! He's actually holding a woman hostage against her will and we're just expected to sit back and ADORE HIM for making hard choices?! (This reminded me a lot of how Lisa Kleypas had a lot of work to make Sebastian redeemable in The Devil in Winter, but she actually pulled it off, but Hoover did not pull it off here.)  I just...I can't.  

It's become clear to me that there are things that are immediate dealbreakers for me and romance novels.  I am genuinely irritated by the lack of consent in this book. I give a lot of books passes if they were written "in a different time,"  but this book was published in 2018.  Ugh.

So much promise. Hoover just didn't quite pull this one out for me.

25 Best Romance Books of All Time

There was a list put out by Book Bub that listed the 25 best romance books of all time, so I, of course, decided I had to see how many I had read and complete the list. I had only read five or six of the books, so I set to making my education on classic romance novels complete.  I linked to my post if I wrote a full post on the book, but otherwise linked to Goodreads and wrote a little bit about it. In general, I'd have to say these are definitely not my favorite romance novels.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) - DNF at 10%. I don't like enemies to lovers, there are approximately eighty characters to keep track of, and this foundational piece of writing made it clear to me why there are so many tropes in romance.  Eh.  Keep your old-timey romance. 

2. The Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991)- Solid writing, but I'm not into motherhood as a driving force for my entire life or graphic rape scenes, so I never read any more of the series.

3. Devil in Winter  (Wallflowers #3) by Lisa Kleypas (2006) -  So close to being a good book. So close.

4. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (2018)- Not bad, but probably not for me. I did put Hoang's next novel on hold at the library after I read it, though.

5. Frederica by Georgette Heyer (1965) - DNF this regency romance at 50%.  I just could not care about the stodgy Marquis and the snarky Frederica, let alone her quirky siblings. No, thanks.  Great scene with the dog in the park, though.

6. Dark Lover by J. R. Ward (2005) - Terrible names. Big, bad alpha saving the weak heroine. I did get the next book in the series, but I'm not hopeful. (Edited to add: I'm actually on tenth book of the series as I'm finishing the list and while the series has some flaws, I do enjoy it greatly.)

7. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (2016) - Funny.  Terrible characters.

8. Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning (2006) - How is this even a romance novel? It's not!  There's no romantic story line and if you consider it a slooooow build over several books, the romantic plot is not the central one of this particular novel. 

9. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (2018) - Completely forgettable.

10. Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston  (2019) - A good book, but just a bit too optimistic for me to be reading during the summer of 2020. It's like everything that could be in the world if humans acted like humans instead of like monsters.  Very sweet and a great representation of gay romance.

11. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (2007) - This is an urban fantasy novel, but I'd be hard-pressed to call it a romance. Much like Darkfever, there's no romantic plot and it wasn't until the last chapter that I realized who the "hero" was. Maybe it's the start of a series about that relationship, but no matter what it's definitely not my type of book.

12. Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard (2000) - This did not age well, but it was a fine read if you're into love at first sight.

13. The Duke and I with second epilogue (Bridgertons Book 1) by Julia Quinn  (2000) - Non-consensual sex is called rape. I think I really like Quinn's writing, with its bantering dialogue and interesting characters, but in every book I read there's something that makes it not great and it's always a disappointment.

14. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte  (1847) - DNF for the millionth time in my life. I just don't like Jane and it feels like the point of the novel is torture porn. Life is too short for me to waste time reading something I despise.

15. Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (2006) - Very good paranormal romance. What you have here is an interracial love story between an emotional robot and a leopard.  The hero is an alpha which isn't really my jam, but I liked the world building and put the next book in the series on hold at the library. (Edited to add: I have finished the series and think Singh is brilliant.)

16. Indigo by Beverly Jenkins (1996) - So, so good. I loved this book and am thrilled to learn that Jenkins has written a ton more.

17. Nine Rules to Break While Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean  (2010)- Basically the same book as Julia Quinn's The Viscount Who Loved Me (2000). 

18. The Magpie Lord by K. J. Charles (2013) - Loved every second of this m/m Victorian gothic romance.  I'd never heard of the book before this list, but it's definitely worth a read.

19. An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole (2017) - A consensual interracial relationship that takes place in the South during the Civil War. I wanted to like it, but found it so unbelievable that my limits of credulity were busted wide open.

20. The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai (2019) - Another completely forgettable entry in the list.

21. Lord of Scoundrels (Scoundrels #3) by Loretta Chase (1995)  - DNF the first book in the series at 10%. Went ahead and just ordered this one and DNFed it at 18%. I don't think the enemies to lovers trope is my deal. I hate it when people are mean/rude to each other.  

22. A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux (1989) - Great time travel book if you're into that sort of thing.  

23. The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (1972) - DNF at 6%. There was an attempted rape scene, an actual rape scene, and another rape scene was in progress as I shut my Kindle with force as I told my husband that I read for escapism and repeated rape is not doing it for me. I understand that this book is a pioneering classic in the genre, but while rape is a reality of real life, I don't need or want it to be the entirety of my fiction reading.

24. Vision in White (Book 1 in the Bride Quartet) by Nora Roberts (2009) - When my husband was interviewing at a small school in southeastern Wisconsin in 2011, I stopped by a local KMart and bought this book. It's delightful.  It's maybe the best series Roberts has ever written and this is maybe the best example of a "beta" hero that exists.  I love everything about this book.

25. Lord of the Fading Lands by C. L. Wilson (2007) -  This was a fine read. I wouldn't rate as one of the top 25 romance novels I read this year, let alone of all time, but if you're into romance and epic fantasy, you'll enjoy this.

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

 

Colleen Hoover is a beloved romance author, winning Goodreads Choice Best Awards Best Romance in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Since I've only ever read one Hoover book, Maybe Someday, and I called it a "generic love triangle story," I didn't have much hope for It Ends With Us, the 2016 winner. I'm still not 100% sold on the idea that Hoover is an author for me, but I'll definitely add her other books to my TBR list after reading this one.

There are some spoilers ahead, so be forewarned. 

Lily Bloom (*these names - gag*) meets Ryle (*gag*) on a rooftop when she sees him kicking a patio chair over and over again.  She turns him down for sex, he asks how far she can go, and the whole "meet cute" wasn't cute, but rather sinister.  We flashback to Lily's teenager years where we learn two basic facts about her life. Her father is abusive and her boyfriend is a perfect saint named Atlas who she is separated from in a traumatic manner.  We flashforward to Lily opening a flower shop and slowly falling in love with Ryle. Their romance continues in traditional romance novel ways, but then we learn Atlas owns a restaurant when Ryle and Lily stumble into him on their first date!  

Anyway, it turns out Ryle is an abusive dick, but Lily has a baby with him anyway and then she ends up with Atlas in the end.

The depictions of abuse in the book are solid, for sure. I hate to read about domestic violence and I was cringing at times, especially in the so-called honeymoon period after an incidence of violence. Everything felt real, from Lily's dad in the flashbacks to Ryle's ever increasing level of violence to Lily's denial, deflection, and minimizing of the abuse. I have no critiques with this part of the book.

But Atlas is such a one-note. Doesn't he have any flaws except that he smells if he doesn't shower?  I just...I wanted Lily to leave Ryle, leave Atlas, and just be a woman happy to be on her own. I understand that's not how romance novels are - we always want a happily ever after - but I just felt like Hoover didn't set us up for a romance novel. There's no way a character as flat as Atlas gets to  win the heart of our leading lady. She deserves better than both of these doofuses.

And that is where I am.  It's not a bad book, but I don't know that I agree it's one of the best I've ever read. 

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning is the first book in the beloved Fever franchise.  Moning develops a world in which Dublin is the center of an emergent Fae revival and that is bad news for humans.  The heroine, Mac, goes to Dublin after her sister is murdered there, looking for clues to figure out exactly what happened to her.  She meets Barrons, a bookstore owner who has some occult knowledge and contacts throughout Dublin.  They start to work together (sort of) to find some obscure book that will apparently halt this Fae invasion.  

Mac loves pink, thinks about nail polish constantly, and doesn't seem to consider it dangerous to walk down dark streets in an unknown city by herself.  Barrons is broody, grumpy, and uncommunicative.  And these are the people in charge of saving the human race?  Heaven help us all.

(We have been watching episodes of Top Shot, an old reality show that used to run on the History Channel and which is mostly available on Netflix. There's a guy in the fourth season who is a federal police officer and veteran from the Air Force and he was just so immature.  Every time he would come on the screen, Dr. BB and I would roll our eyes because if this is the type of person who is in charge of national security, we are seriously doomed.)

(We have been watching this show because Dr. BB is convinced civil unrest will be happening. He wants me to be comfortable with firearms. Instead, I talk constantly about how beautiful the Bulldog Gatling gun, a completely impractical weapon that requires multiple people to operate, is. We also purchased a slingshot, so don't come around our house unless you want me to attempt to hit you with a clay pellet.)

Okay, back to this book. I would classify this book as an urban fantasy more than a paranormal romance. Frankly, it's not a romance at all, which is why I'm absolutely confused as to why it is frequently listed as one of the greatest romance novels.  This book is mostly about world building.  Dublin has a dark, hidden side and we're going to explore the city. There are dark areas of the city that are entirely missing from maps and this book walks us through those areas.  The book also covers the introduction of the Fae.  We have a completely naive character in Mac who is learning about this other world as we do and is even writing up a glossary to help us follow. This is all done competently, although, full disclosure, it's not exactly to my taste.

But there's no romance.  Some might call this a slow burn, but even then there's no resolution - I'm not sure if Mac is going to end up romantically attached to Barrons or V'lanes or someone else entirely. There's no happily ever after, which definitely hurts the romance novel fan in my soul.  

So, there you have it. An adequate introduction to a fantastical world that lives beside the world you and I know, but not a love story.  I think I would probably send you to the Rivers of London series instead of the Fever series if you want urban fantasy (London instead of Dublin, but you're still over there in Europe). If you want romance, I don't know exactly where to send you, but it isn't here.