RomanceBooks &mdash; DadReadsRomance https://dadreadsromancebooks.online/tag:RomanceBooks One Father's Reviews and Thoughts on Romance Books.<sup>(and other things)</sup> Thu, 14 May 2026 13:24:25 +0000 Dad Reviews iWarrior Princess Assassin/i by Brigid Kemmerer https://dadreadsromancebooks.online/dad-reviews-i-warrior-princess-assassin-i-by-brigid-kemmerer?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[The unapologetically Romantic, Bisexual, and Polyamorous fantasy love story I did not realize was missing from my life. details SummaryClick for Content Warnings for the Book and the spoiler section of this review/summary The book deals with the survival of SA, forced labor, & human sex trafficking as well as the associated trauma. There is also fantasy violence and other mature themes. /details This review is #SFW but the book contains mature themes. cover Spoiler Free Review Medium Used: 75% hardcover, 25% audiobook. Ratings out of 5 Sweetness Level: 🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫 (5/5) Steam Level:sup1/sup πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯ (5/5) Spice Quality:sup1/sup πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯ (4/5) Spice Quantity:sup1/sup πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯ (3/5) MMC (Warrior) Likability: πŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈ (5/5) FMC (Princess) Likability: πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ» (5/5) MMC (Assasin) Likability: πŸ₯·πŸ₯·πŸ₯·πŸ₯·πŸ₯· (5/5) Plot Engagement: πŸ’₯πŸ’₯πŸ’₯πŸ’₯ (4/5) details summaryWas there a Bad Dad?:/summary hidden-textπŸ’―(yes...how bad and how many TBD)/hidden-text /details Overall Rating: πŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œ (5/5) sup1 I use Steam to refer to the tension, yearning, and/or build up to the Spice i.e. sexual intimacy/sup !--more-- Warrior Princess Assassin is a high fantasy polyamorous romance that tells the story of Princess Marjoriana (Jory) of Astranza, her betrothed King Kyronan (Ky) of Incendar, and her childhood friend turned Assassin of the Astranzanian Hunter’s Guild (Asher) as Astranza and Incendar attempt to cement an alliance through marriage against their common enemy Draegonis. An exquisite blend of slow-burn romance, political intrigue, and sword-clashing action every page left me wanting more. Cover to cover this book took me under 60 hours to finish. Every time I had to put it down for work, sleep, or parenting I could not wait to pick it back up. It rotates perspective between the three titular characters and had me equally invested in each of them - something that many romances with only two main characters struggle to accomplish. The best thing about Warrior Princess Assassin is its conviction. It is proud to be a capital R romance that does not shy away from classic tropes (e.g. marriage of convenience) while simultaneously subverting the mainstream of the genre with its base premise (i.e. bisexual polyamory). It is by far my favorite of the eight books I have read so far in 2026 and comes in as number eight on my top ten list of favorite romance books of all time.supsorry Headliners by Lucy Parker which now falls off my top 10 list/sup What I liked about this book A real slow-burn. With yearning and tension that goes in all directions. Asher and Ky are both masculine, emotionally intelligent, caring, and unapologetic bisexual. Their bisexuality is not fetishized and their emotional relationship has its own stakes and journey separate from their relationships with Jory. It’s less than 400 pages (sometimes I feel like the fantasy genre has abandoned brevity). What I did not like about this book I found myself left with a fair amount of questions about the world (in particular about its history). Perhaps this is the trade-off with brevity. details summaryClick to Reveal Spoiler Section/summary Spoilers Review hidden-textI am a novice when it comes to polyamory in romance books. I read a handful of Reverse Harem stories in the second half of last year and DNFed a couple others. Warrior Princess Assasin has put every one of them to shame. The love flows so equally in all directions at the end of the story. I was right there with the MCs thinking β€˜you three need each other’. It is not she needs both of them or he needs her and him. This was true believable polyamory. All the way to the last line of the book that works both as a setup for the second book and an HEA if you chose to stop there./hidden-text hidden-textI have complained in the past that lies and miss understandings are overplayed in this genre. I have to give my thanks to Brighid Kemmerer for reminding me that it can be done well when everyone is behaving rationally and honorably with their decisions. When everything clicks into place at the end of the story there are no grudges or grovels just three mature adults who reevaluate with all the information and understand each other. The fight-grovel-makeup climax maxes for a fun romance story but this is a true love story with relationships built on guilt free understanding./hidden-text sup2 romance.io’s spice scale is explicitly supposed to be a measure of spice quantity/variety not a measure of spice quality/sup. What I liked Spoilers hidden-textSexual assault / human trafficking survival is not an uncommon theme in romance books. What is uncommon is for the character experiencing it to be a man and for the characters experience to be fundamental to how the story develops./hidden-text hidden-textThere is a scene where Asher and Ky are handcuffed together (not sexual) and they and Jory are attacked. They kick ass while handcuffed together. It’s awesome./hidden-text hidden-textWho hurt you? But it keeps coming up and it goes every direction in the triangle. I didn’t know how badly I needed a man to be the one being asked this question./hidden-text What I didn’t like Spoilers hidden-textI think the second most prominent woman character in this story deserved a bit more development./hidden-text /details This Book Reminded Me of: iFourth Wing/i by Rebecca Yarros, for being a capital R Romance in a fantasy setting. iMindf*ck/i by S.T. Abby for being a book I read in the beginning of the year that had no business being as good as it was based on the premise. Who should read this book? Everyone this book fucking slaps. Get the book !--emailsub-- a href="https://remark.as/p/dadreadsromancebooks.online/dad-reviews-i-warrior-princess-assassin-i-by-brigid-kemmerer"Discuss.../a blog home #Books #WPA #Romance #RomanceBooks #Romantasy #FantasyRomance #BisexualRomance #PolyRomance #Reviews #WarriorPrincessAssassin]]> The unapologetically Romantic, Bisexual, and Polyamorous fantasy love story I did not realize was missing from my life.

Click for Content Warnings for the Book and the spoiler section of this review The book deals with the survival of SA, forced labor, & human sex trafficking as well as the associated trauma. There is also fantasy violence and other mature themes.

This review is #SFW but the book contains mature themes.

cover

Spoiler Free Review

Medium Used: 75% hardcover, 25% audiobook.

Ratings out of 5

Sweetness Level:
🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫 (5/5)

Steam Level:1
πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯ (5/5)

Spice Quality:1
πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯ (4/5)

Spice Quantity:1
πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯ (3/5)

MMC (Warrior) Likability:
πŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈ (5/5)

FMC (Princess) Likability:
πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ»πŸ‘ΈπŸ» (5/5)

MMC (Assasin) Likability:
πŸ₯·πŸ₯·πŸ₯·πŸ₯·πŸ₯· (5/5)

Plot Engagement:
πŸ’₯πŸ’₯πŸ’₯πŸ’₯ (4/5)

Was there a Bad Dad?:
πŸ’―(yes...how bad and how many TBD)

Overall Rating:
πŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œ (5/5)

1 I use Steam to refer to the tension, yearning, and/or build up to the Spice i.e. sexual intimacy

Warrior Princess Assassin is a high fantasy polyamorous romance that tells the story of Princess Marjoriana (Jory) of Astranza, her betrothed King Kyronan (Ky) of Incendar, and her childhood friend turned Assassin of the Astranzanian Hunter’s Guild (Asher) as Astranza and Incendar attempt to cement an alliance through marriage against their common enemy Draegonis.

An exquisite blend of slow-burn romance, political intrigue, and sword-clashing action every page left me wanting more. Cover to cover this book took me under 60 hours to finish. Every time I had to put it down for work, sleep, or parenting I could not wait to pick it back up. It rotates perspective between the three titular characters and had me equally invested in each of them – something that many romances with only two main characters struggle to accomplish.

The best thing about Warrior Princess Assassin is its conviction. It is proud to be a capital R romance that does not shy away from classic tropes (e.g. marriage of convenience) while simultaneously subverting the mainstream of the genre with its base premise (i.e. bisexual polyamory). It is by far my favorite of the eight books I have read so far in 2026 and comes in as number eight on my top ten list of favorite romance books of all time.sorry Headliners by Lucy Parker which now falls off my top 10 list

What I liked about this book
* A real slow-burn. With yearning and tension that goes in all directions.
* Asher and Ky are both masculine, emotionally intelligent, caring, and unapologetic bisexual. Their bisexuality is not fetishized and their emotional relationship has its own stakes and journey separate from their relationships with Jory.
* It’s less than 400 pages (sometimes I feel like the fantasy genre has abandoned brevity).

What I did not like about this book
* I found myself left with a fair amount of questions about the world (in particular about its history). Perhaps this is the trade-off with brevity.

Click to Reveal Spoiler Section

Spoilers Review

I am a novice when it comes to polyamory in romance books. I read a handful of Reverse Harem stories in the second half of last year and DNFed a couple others. Warrior Princess Assasin has put every one of them to shame. The love flows so equally in all directions at the end of the story. I was right there with the MCs thinking β€˜you three need each other’. It is not she needs both of them or he needs her and him. This was true believable polyamory. All the way to the last line of the book that works both as a setup for the second book and an HEA if you chose to stop there.

I have complained in the past that lies and miss understandings are overplayed in this genre. I have to give my thanks to Brighid Kemmerer for reminding me that it can be done well when everyone is behaving rationally and honorably with their decisions. When everything clicks into place at the end of the story there are no grudges or grovels just three mature adults who reevaluate with all the information and understand each other. The fight-grovel-makeup climax maxes for a fun romance story but this is a true love story with relationships built on guilt free understanding.

2 romance.io’s spice scale is explicitly supposed to be a measure of spice quantity/variety not a measure of spice quality.

What I liked Spoilers
* Sexual assault / human trafficking survival is not an uncommon theme in romance books. What is uncommon is for the character experiencing it to be a man and for the characters experience to be fundamental to how the story develops.
* There is a scene where Asher and Ky are handcuffed together (not sexual) and they and Jory are attacked. They kick ass while handcuffed together. It’s awesome.
* Who hurt you? But it keeps coming up and it goes every direction in the triangle. I didn’t know how badly I needed a man to be the one being asked this question.

What I didn’t like Spoilers
* I think the second most prominent woman character in this story deserved a bit more development.

This Book Reminded Me of:

  • Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, for being a capital R Romance in a fantasy setting.
  • Mindf*ck by S.T. Abby for being a book I read in the beginning of the year that had no business being as good as it was based on the premise.

Who should read this book?

Everyone this book fucking slaps.

Get the book

Discuss...

blog home

#Books #WPA #Romance #RomanceBooks #Romantasy #FantasyRomance #BisexualRomance #PolyRomance #Reviews #WarriorPrincessAssassin

]]> https://dadreadsromancebooks.online/dad-reviews-i-warrior-princess-assassin-i-by-brigid-kemmerer Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:24:14 +0000 Dad Reviews Murder at the Seven Dials by Cara Devlin https://dadreadsromancebooks.online/dad-reviews-murder-at-the-seven-dials-by-cara-devlin?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[As usual the subgenre I avoided because I did not think it would be for me (in this case regency/historical romance) does have something for me. This review refers to the murder mystery, knife violence, gun violence, and 19th century homophobia that are in the book. img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1663692782i/62671218.jpg" alt="Book Cover" style="width: 50%;" SFW Medium Used: 40% audiobook via Hoopla | 60% ebook via Kindle Ratings out of 5 Overall Rating: πŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œ (4/5) Sweetness Level: 🍫🍫🍫 (3/5) Spice Heat Level: πŸ’§ (0/5) Slow Burn Steamy Tension Quality: πŸ₯΅πŸ₯΅πŸ₯΅ (3/5) FMC Likability: πŸ‘—πŸ‘—πŸ‘—πŸ‘—πŸ‘—(5/5) MMC Likability: 🎩🎩🎩🎩 (4/5) Plot Engagement: πŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈ (4/5) At least 1 bad dad (pass/fail): πŸ’― (pass) BONUS audiobook narration:πŸ”‰πŸ”‰πŸ”‰ Spoiler Free Review Murder at the Seven Dials is the first book in the Bow Street Duchess Mystery series. It (presumably) begins a slow burn romance between Audrey Sinclair, the Duchess of Fournier and a Bow Street Detective, Hugh Marsden. Their paths cross when Mr. Marsden finds Her Grace's husband, The Duke of Fournier covered in the blood of a murdered opera singer Ms. Lovejoy. This is a fun read, an intriguing mystery, and cute start of a love story. I appreciated that its pace and brevity. I loved the subtlety of the paranormal fantasy that is woven into this story. Her Grace has a gift that allows her to see other's memories when she touches objects or people. A gift that she considers a curse and keeps a secret. For me, this 'light' fantasy in an otherwise grounded world was novel. I am interested to see if the paranormal aspects of the world will grow at all as the fantasy continues. The unique circumstances surrounding the meet (not so) cute of Her Grace and Mr. Marsden and their differences in station made their growth in admiration for each other both humorous and endearing. I look forward to seeing where this series goes. Consider me hooked. !--more-- What I liked about this book Minor Spoiler for a reveal in the first 10% of the story !The plutonic love between the Duke and Duchess was really interesting to me. I love the dynamic of a married woman as an FMC that loves her husband, who loves her, but only as friends.!< I am a sucker for sass and witty banter. There is plenty in here. The way Audrey and Hugh have unique strengths as investigators that both compliment and conflict with each other. For example, Hugh is more careful about how he approaches things but he is also often too slow or too presumptive and misses things. Audrey can be rash but is a fast learner and her decisive action makes sure opportunities are not missed. Audrey Sinclair is up there with Nevada Baylor and Olive Smith in heroines that just do it for me. What I did not like about this book At first I was listening to this book because it was available on Hoopla and an ebook version wasn't available on Hoopla or Libby. I found it difficult to keep the various aristocrats and Nobility straight in the audiobook version. Which made it hard to follow the mystery. Spoilers Review details summaryClick to Reveal Spoilers/summary What I liked Spoilers Mr. Marsden's honor and kind heart is shown not told. His efforts to protect the Duke and Duchesses secrets at the end of the story and his juxtaposition to all the members of the ton only looking out for themselves is a nice change from the super tall alphahole trope in much of romance. The Duke being gay and how this is weaved into the mystery and Audrey's character was great. What I found fantastic though was how the danger of this reality refutes the 'glamorization' of regency London which I suspected from the genre. I see now how historical romance can use the setting in a way dystopian romances do.sup1/sup The Duchess thinking people are following her because Mr. Marsden has people watching her but they are actually the bad-guys watching her. Loved this dramatic irony and the pay off when Hugh and Audrey catch up to the reader. What I didn't like Spoilers Maybe it was because I started with Audiobook but I found Hugh's backstory really confusing. I am fairly certain there are still questions to answer but if there isn't I cannot say I followed it completely. Last Scene Spoilers hidden-textNot a kiss or a hug in the last scene? Man you have to be kidding me./hidden-text sup1 One of the reasons I have not wanted to pick up historical romances (written in modern times, no issues reading 18th/19th century romance written at the time) is because both my parents marriage and my marriage would have been illegal (race mixing) in most of the Western World in the setting./sup /details This Book Reminded Me of: Hidden Legacy by Ilona Andrews, fast pace mystery with a strong woman lead Who should read this book? I think fans of slow burn romantic mysteries will enjoy this one. I described it to my wife as regency Veronica Mars vibes but with a splash of paranormal. Get the Book Bonus Gush Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe Volume 1 Apparently Rachel Smythe wrote the Greek Mythology romantic comedy graphic novel I didn’t know I needed but now cannot imagine life without. I read it in as close to 1 sitting you can have with gremlins running about on Boxing Day. The artwork is beautiful, the dialogue is witty, and the comedy lands in the way I imagine Homer’s better lines landed a few thousand years ago. So good and I cannot believe I’ve never seen this mentioned here or on any of the sister. πŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œ (5/5) img src="https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/d/9780593160299" alt="Book Cover" style="width: 50%;" Big shout out to the librarian who said it was her favorite series when I checked this out. I will be asking you for more recs next time I see you at the library. a href="https://remark.as/p/dadreadsromancebooks.online/dad-reviews-murder-at-the-seven-dials-by-cara-devlin"Discuss.../a !--emailsub-- Books CaraDevlin RomanceBooks HistoricalRomance RegencyRomance MysteryRomance BowStreetDuchess]]> As usual the subgenre I avoided because I did not think it would be for me (in this case regency/historical romance) does have something for me.

This review refers to the murder mystery, knife violence, gun violence, and 19th century homophobia that are in the book.

Book Cover

#SFW

Medium Used: 40% audiobook via Hoopla | 60% ebook via Kindle

Ratings out of 5

Overall Rating:
πŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œ (4/5)

Sweetness Level:
🍫🍫🍫 (3/5)

Spice Heat Level:
πŸ’§ (0/5)

Slow Burn Steamy Tension Quality: πŸ₯΅πŸ₯΅πŸ₯΅ (3/5)

FMC Likability:
πŸ‘—πŸ‘—πŸ‘—πŸ‘—πŸ‘—(5/5)

MMC Likability:
🎩🎩🎩🎩 (4/5)

Plot Engagement:
πŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈπŸ—‘οΈ (4/5)

At least 1 bad dad (pass/fail):
πŸ’― (pass)

BONUS audiobook narration:πŸ”‰πŸ”‰πŸ”‰

Spoiler Free Review

Murder at the Seven Dials is the first book in the Bow Street Duchess Mystery series. It (presumably) begins a slow burn romance between Audrey Sinclair, the Duchess of Fournier and a Bow Street Detective, Hugh Marsden. Their paths cross when Mr. Marsden finds Her Grace's husband, The Duke of Fournier covered in the blood of a murdered opera singer Ms. Lovejoy.

This is a fun read, an intriguing mystery, and cute start of a love story. I appreciated that its pace and brevity. I loved the subtlety of the paranormal fantasy that is woven into this story. Her Grace has a gift that allows her to see other's memories when she touches objects or people. A gift that she considers a curse and keeps a secret. For me, this 'light' fantasy in an otherwise grounded world was novel. I am interested to see if the paranormal aspects of the world will grow at all as the fantasy continues.

The unique circumstances surrounding the meet (not so) cute of Her Grace and Mr. Marsden and their differences in station made their growth in admiration for each other both humorous and endearing. I look forward to seeing where this series goes. Consider me hooked.
What I liked about this book
* Minor Spoiler for a reveal in the first 10% of the story >!The plutonic love between the Duke and Duchess was really interesting to me. I love the dynamic of a married woman as an FMC that loves her husband, who loves her, but only as friends.!< * I am a sucker for sass and witty banter. There is plenty in here.
* The way Audrey and Hugh have unique strengths as investigators that both compliment and conflict with each other. For example, Hugh is more careful about how he approaches things but he is also often too slow or too presumptive and misses things. Audrey can be rash but is a fast learner and her decisive action makes sure opportunities are not missed. * Audrey Sinclair is up there with Nevada Baylor and Olive Smith in heroines that just do it for me.

What I did not like about this book
* At first I was listening to this book because it was available on Hoopla and an ebook version wasn't available on Hoopla or Libby. I found it difficult to keep the various aristocrats and Nobility straight in the audiobook version. Which made it hard to follow the mystery.

Spoilers Review

Click to Reveal Spoilers
What I liked Spoilers
* Mr. Marsden's honor and kind heart is shown not told. His efforts to protect the Duke and Duchesses secrets at the end of the story and his juxtaposition to all the members of the ton only looking out for themselves is a nice change from the super tall alphahole trope in much of romance.
* The Duke being gay and how this is weaved into the mystery and Audrey's character was great. What I found fantastic though was how the danger of this reality refutes the 'glamorization' of regency London which I suspected from the genre. I see now how historical romance can use the setting in a way dystopian romances do.1
* The Duchess thinking people are following her because Mr. Marsden has people watching her but they are actually the bad-guys watching her. Loved this dramatic irony and the pay off when Hugh and Audrey catch up to the reader.

What I didn't like Spoilers
* Maybe it was because I started with Audiobook but I found Hugh's backstory really confusing. I am fairly certain there are still questions to answer but if there isn't I cannot say I followed it completely. * Last Scene Spoilers Not a kiss or a hug in the last scene? Man you have to be kidding me.

1 One of the reasons I have not wanted to pick up historical romances (written in modern times, no issues reading 18th/19th century romance written at the time) is because both my parents marriage and my marriage would have been illegal (race mixing) in most of the Western World in the setting.

This Book Reminded Me of:

  • Hidden Legacy by Ilona Andrews, fast pace mystery with a strong woman lead

Who should read this book?

I think fans of slow burn romantic mysteries will enjoy this one. I described it to my wife as regency Veronica Mars vibes but with a splash of paranormal.

Get the Book

Bonus Gush Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe Volume 1

Apparently Rachel Smythe wrote the Greek Mythology romantic comedy graphic novel I didn’t know I needed but now cannot imagine life without.

I read it in as close to 1 sitting you can have with gremlins running about on Boxing Day. The artwork is beautiful, the dialogue is witty, and the comedy lands in the way I imagine Homer’s better lines landed a few thousand years ago. So good and I cannot believe I’ve never seen this mentioned here or on any of the sister.

πŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œ (5/5)

Book Cover

Big shout out to the librarian who said it was her favorite series when I checked this out. I will be asking you for more recs next time I see you at the library.

Discuss...

#Books #CaraDevlin #RomanceBooks #HistoricalRomance #RegencyRomance #MysteryRomance #BowStreetDuchess

]]> https://dadreadsromancebooks.online/dad-reviews-murder-at-the-seven-dials-by-cara-devlin Sat, 27 Dec 2025 22:48:29 +0000