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Mafia Romance: Overhated, Misunderstood, and Still Addictive

  Mafia romance has one of the worst reputations in contemporary romance and honestly, I get why. But I also think it is misunderstood. In a nutshell, the biggest complaint usually boils down to this: too much “down and dirty” time and not enough actual plot. And while that criticism isn’t entirely wrong, it’s also not the full story. Mafia romance isn’t bad by default, it’s just been done badly far too often. Contemporary romance has countless subgenres, and the one I’ve defended the most is mafia romance. Unfortunately, a large portion of books in this space feel like recycled versions of a handful of masterpieces. For every mafia romance done well, there are twice as many done poorly, and triple that I wouldn’t touch again. A lot of the time, I can’t help but think: if this book had gone through a stronger editing phase, it could’ve actually been good . Planning a story is easy. Executing it well is not. I’ve never written a novel, puh-lease, I’d probably accidentally pla...
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Read, Skip, Avoid: My Book Preferences Explained

  Here’s the thing: I love to say I venture out and try new things, but I’ve never really specified how often I actually do that. For me , often means maybe once every seven years. For you, it might be every other month, and honestly, I admire that level of bravery. So, let’s break it down. What I will always read, what I’ll skip like a disease, and what I’ll avoid like an ex who suddenly wants to “catch up.” I’m a romance girly through and through. If you put my skin under a microscope, it would be sewn with pink thread, hearts scattered through every stitch, and the word daydreamer spelled out in glowing, deep red. I’d have lace frills surrounding my heart while it pumped out the word love like a neon sign on top of an ’80s diner. I love them all, from small towns to lavish cities. It could be a farmer or a billionaire. The trope could be anything from friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, all the way to arranged marriage — though that one has been scra...
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In my perfect book world, 2026 would look something like this………..

  ‘Tell a friend to tell friend, she’s back’ Hello, my book puddings! I’m back in 2026, not with the original post I had in mind, but alas, the most spontaneous blogs are often the best. My next post will be about The Housemaid , which isn’t quite ready yet, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Anyways, let’s dive in! If you read my 2025 wrap-up post, which you can find here, then you’ll know what tore me apart and, somehow, stitched me back together. The first bookish goal I want to focus on in 2026 is giving a bit more TLC to my Instagram. You may or may not know, when I first started my account, it was meant to be a book-influencing page, but over the years, it turned into more of an analytical space. Instead of chasing likes, I cared more about tracking trends, reader engagement, what the community was saying, and how authors and professionals were responding.  If you peek at my account, you’ll see a chaotic mix of flat lays everywhere, because I’ve been testing how to...
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The Housemaid – Freida McFadden

  (I mean have you SEEN the edits? Exactly) My first read of 2026, and it did not disappoint. Six days into the year, I’m already kicking things off with a book review, and yes, a tiny movie review too. Consider this my official literary curtain-raiser for the year, with snow falling outside and a warm cup of tea in hand, I am beyond excited to share my thoughts. If you’ve read any of my blog posts, you know I’m a contemporary romance girl through and through. I live, breathe, and die surrounded by hearts. The Housemaid is very far from that. This is a psychological thriller with elements of romance, but a twisted, deceptive, manipulative kind of romance. I even fell for the MMC, until I realized what a complete weasel he was. I had been aware of the noise around this book for years. Reviews, TikTok snippets, glimpses in Waterstones or The Works, it was always glaring at me. Yet, it never sparked anything inside me… until the adaptation. The film dropped quietly in late 2025, ...
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From Page to Heart: My 2025 Wrap-Up of the Best Reads & Surprising Trends

  Every year I tell myself it can’t possibly be worse than the last, and yet somehow, it is. If 2024 felt like a sharp reminder of life’s challenges, 2025 was a constant wave of obstacles, testing me every single day. And yet, amidst the struggles, it was also a year full of surprises, both online and offline. From romance novels dominating social media feeds to debut authors breaking through, this year captured my attention in ways I didn’t expect. This post is going to be part personal reflection, part book wrap-up. I’ve never been one to shy away from sharing my struggles, online, on LinkedIn, or even in person, and this year it feels important to do so. So, let’s start with the personal growth, and then move into the books that shaped my 2025. I graduated with a law degree and became an unpaid secondary carer for my mother for almost five years. If anyone were to write an autobiography about my life, this period would likely be its greatest achievement. Even in her chronic ...
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Spotlight Author Ana Huang

  First, I’d like to say welcome to my new Spotlight series, where I’ll be featuring authors who made me cancel plans, stay up far too late, and fall back in love with reading again and again. Today under the spotlight is Ana Huang who has been featured a lot on this blog, my Instagram and on my LinkedIn. You can find the link to all on my Contact page of this blog. I first discovered Ana Huang through King of Wrath , the opening novel in her King of Sins series, and I’m happy to report that I’ve never once looked back since. It started with falling head over heels for Dante and Vivian, then quickly turned into wanting even the smallest snippets of them in every book that followed. At the time, only King of Pride had been released, with King of Greed still teasing us from the sidelines, so naturally, I did what any devoted reader would do next. I took a journey to Washington, D.C., where I met Crumble & Bake , Thayer , and, most importantly, four best friends who each...
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Zero to Hero, Hero to Zero

  I have some confessing to do........ By the end every year, it’s normal for everyone to reflect on all aspects of their life’s. For me, this includes reflecting on the books I read and more specifically the ratings I very publicity gave them. All justified at the time but now looking back, I can’t just not address them. So here I am, addressing my mistakes. To keep the naming and shaming to a minimum, I’ve decided to stick two only three books for each category. Keeping in trend with that, to chase away the melancholia early on in this post, let’s start with my Hero to Zeros. I will also link my original views so you can go and revisit that time of my life. The next few titles may come as a surprise, but this first one will probably be the most unexpected. The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas once held an extraordinary place in my reading life. I remember finishing it with the firm belief that no one else could possibly have experienced it the way I did. I was convinced...
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