What Becky’s Been Reading
Becky’s Review Dump 📚🐝
There’s been a little bit of everything in my recent reading stack lately: emotionally devastating contemporary romance, chaotic dark erotica, introspective Paris-set healing journeys, and romantasy dragons with complicated love triangles. Basically my Kindle and headphones have been living in absolute emotional whiplash mode. Here’s a look at some of the recent titles I’ve finished and my quick thoughts on each.
Queen of the Night Sky by Amalie Howard
Romantasy is not usually my default genre, but Amalie Howard’s writing voice keeps pulling me back in every single time. This sequel delivered high emotional stakes, lush worldbuilding, dragons, magic, and a dramatic romance that kept me fully entertained from beginning to end. I especially loved Sura’s emotional journey and the tension introduced through Darrius and the expansion into Everlea. While some of the pacing and relationship development felt uneven for me, the audiobook narration by Ramiz Monsef and Anais Inara Chase added so much atmosphere and emotion to the experience.
Things That Break Us by Michelle Heard
This one surprised me in a huge way because the first half absolutely wrecked me emotionally. The caretaking, grief, and end-of-life moments were raw, intimate, and painfully honest in a way that made it impossible to stop reading. Unfortunately, the second half lost some momentum for me as the romance became increasingly built around shared trauma rather than believable emotional development. Still, the emotional writing in the opening chapters was incredibly impactful and lingered with me long after I finished.
The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
Kate Clayborn writes emotionally intelligent characters better than almost anyone, and this book felt like a quiet meditation on divorce, healing, and learning how to rebuild your life after heartbreak. Layla and Griff had a tender, slow-building connection filled with emotional baggage, longing, and vulnerability, all set against the dreamy backdrop of Paris. I appreciated how realistic the emotional journey felt, especially the complicated dynamics surrounding Layla’s ex-husband and former in-laws. That said, I personally wanted a slightly bigger emotional payoff by the end because the restrained HFN left me wanting just a little more.
The Auction by Sadie Kincaid
This was unfortunately a major miss for me despite enjoying some of Sadie Kincaid’s previous books. The marketing promised mafia, slow burn, and Beauty and the Beast vibes, but the story felt much more like taboo-heavy secret society erotica with almost no emotional build between the characters. A lot of the relationship dynamics, especially the age gap and the MMC knowing the FMC as a child, crossed into uncomfortable territory for me instead of compelling dark romance tension. The audiobook narration by Grayson Owens and June deBorahae honestly did a lot of the heavy lifting and kept me listening longer than I probably would have otherwise.
Big Girl Blitz by Danielle Allen
This audiobook completely stole my heart and officially made Danielle Allen an auto-read author for me. The story balanced humor, vulnerability, romance, friendship, grief, and healing so effortlessly that I felt emotionally attached to every part of Jazmyn’s journey. Wesleigh Siobhan’s narration was phenomenal and added so much warmth and emotional depth to the listening experience. Between the emotional family storyline, the conversations around bullying and self-worth, and Lamar being an emotionally available dreamboat, this ended up being one of my favorite romance audiobooks I’ve listened to in a long time.
If you’ve read any of these, I need to know your thoughts because my group chats have been carrying the burden of my opinions for days now. 😂 And if you’ve got recommendations for emotionally devastating romances, fantasy worlds full of drama, or audiobooks with elite narration, send them my way immediately.
Happy reading
