#Moonstruck by Sariah Wilson

I really wanted to love this book. On paper, it has all the elements I adore in a romance - it's a clean fake relationship rockstar romance. It's like my catnip! And to be fair, this isn't a terrible book. It's just let down by a strong theme of internalised misogyny.

I can handle a small cast. I can be disappointed that the promising female friendships near the start fade away, the only non-villainous females in the cast are a secondary love interest and the supportive best friend, and still get over it.

I'm really not keen on how the heroine slams the hero's fans, to his face, and is never corrected. He never stands up for them, explicitly dislikes the music he makes that they follow him for. I was uncomfortable but willing to let it slide if she showed growth or was called out on it, but that never happened. Her viewpoint stood unopposed.

I've been there, in that crowd of screaming fans. I've followed and liked and binged YouTube interviews and music videos and behind the scenes. I've made friends and signs and shoddy gifs. I came away from the book feeling like the main character, and the author, would look down on me for this. I have no patience for a book about a rockstar who won't defend his fans. I'm not here for girls getting called "pleeches" (plastic leeches) for daring to be pretty and scoring a meet and greet with their idol.

Listen, the rest of the romance is nice enough, but it's been weeks since I first read the word 'pleeches' and it's not clever or funny, it's just mean.

Three stars.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley

The Good, the Bad, and the Duke by Janna MacGregor

A lady with a noble mission. A duke looking for redemption. A forbidden love that cannot be denied, in The Good, The Bad, and The Duke by Janna MacGregor.

Lady Daphne Hallworth is ready to celebrate the holidays with her family. But when they accidentally leave her home alone, Daphne uses the time to work on her dream—opening a home for unwed mothers. But her quest isn’t problem-free: She’s in a battle to win the property for the home against her brother’s best friend-turned-enemy, Paul Barstowe, Duke of Southart. And that’s not all: someone has stolen her personal diary, which holds secrets that could devastate her family. Daphne has always harbored private feelings for the man her family scorns…though perhaps striking a bargain with the handsome Duke will solve both their problems?

Paul, long considered good for nothing, aims to open a hospital to honor his brother and restore his reputation. So when a conflict over the land brings him straight into Daphne’s life, they make a deal: He will help her find her diary if Daphne can change her family’s opinion of him. But before he can win her family’s affection, he has to win hers first. Maybe love was the answer to their family feud all along?

Review:

It's always hard to jump into a series mid-way. You can tell by the numerous loved-up couples, their romantic problems (and character development) over and in the past, all alike in their coupledom. I can tell from personal experience it's even worse to be one of the remaining singles - and it seems like poor Daphne is in the same boat. Everyone is so taken with their significant others over Christmas, they leave London without Daphne.

No, really. She comes down from her room (after changing because a niece spilled something on her) to find everyone gone but the under-butler. What follows is a sort of coming-of-age as she finds her own feet without her loving but smothering family, along with a redemption arc for Paul, her brother's former best friend.

I enjoyed this book, but it definitely lost some impact for me, coming in mid-way through the series. I didn't have the back story that so many relationships were based on, nor did I understand what Paul did to make all of Daphne's family dislike him so much. While it was a good read, I'd recommend starting elsewhere in this series because I think it'd make the experience more enjoyable.

Three and a half (let's round up to four for the under-butler's adorable mom who I wanted more of) stars

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley; all opinions are my own