What to Read

#TBT: Bespectacled Heroes and Heroines

August is National Eye Exam Month. Given that tidbit, I decided to tell you a story about a little old man that used to live in my neighborhood. When I say “little old man,” I mean that will all of the kindness in my heart. When I last talked to him about seven years ago, he was easily 128 years old, and he couldn’t have been more than five feet tall. But, he was always impeccably dressed and quick with a story; he was awesome, a little handsy but awesome. Every time he saw me, he’d say, “You know, Donna, they say men don’t make passes at women who wear glasses, obviously, they never met you.” Oh, he was a charmer, indeed! In honor of my dearly departed, lady charmer with a spectacles kink and National Eye Exam Month, it feels like a good time to throw it back to heroes and heroines that wear glasses.

Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole

Let’s start with Dark Desires After Dusk by Kresley Cole. This is the fifth book in Cole’s Immortals After Dark series, and as you can imagine, the bespectacled person is not full-blown supernatural creature. PNR characters that wear glasses typically run in the human lane, which is half of what Holly Ashwin is. She’s a halfling, half-human, half-Valkyrie, 100% OCD nerdy genius. Holly is a fabulous character and the perfect pairing for our cad demon, Cadeon. I honestly didn’t expect to love this story as much as I did, but it has turned out to be one of my favorite tales in the long-running IAD series. Holly’s quirkiness is a perfect foil for Cade’s rogue-ness, they complement each other so nicely. She brings out a protective side; he didn’t often show in his 900+ years of existence. Dark Desires After Dusk is a fast-paced, sometimes gruesome addition to the larger IAD storyline that is a must-read for paranormal lovers.

Try by Ella Frank

Logan Mitchell is tall drink of sexy water. Full stop. That’s it, that’s the tweet. We first met him at the end of Ella Frank’s Edible series. I was giddy with excitement when Frank released Try, the first book in her new venture into the world of M/M romance. Poor Tate Morrison didn’t stand a chance when well dressed, clean-cut but sex personified Logan set his sights on him. Logan’s buttoned-up lawyer look, complete with sexy dark rimmed glasses is the perfect contrast to Tate’s thick, curly-haired, motorcycle driving, leather jacket-wearing look. Add in Logan’s raw sexuality and undeniable chemistry, and you have a mighty fine story on your hands! The aesthetic alone is chef’s kiss delicious!

Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton

I love to laugh. Alice Clayton always makes me laugh out loud, so it comes as no surprise that Screwdrivered didn’t let me down! The third book in her Cocktail series is the story of Vivian Franklin getting her romance novel worthy adventures on. The woman loves good bodice ripper, so she’s right in her element when she has to pick between Cowboy Hank and Librarian Clark. It’s a battle for her heart between basically Superman and Clark Kent peppered with hilarious antics only Alice Clayton can write. If you haven’t read Alice Clayton, then you probably don’t know how to laugh wholeheartedly, and you should fix that!

As I mentioned in last week’s #TBT, I could wax poetic about Kristen Ashley’s Wild Man for days and days. I won’t formally add it to this #TBT list since it should already be on your TBR list, but I will say, our heroine Tess wears glasses until she gives herself a makeover and gets contacts. In fact, her glasses are actually worked into the story a couple of times. It seems my handsy old neighbor was ahead of the curve when he decided to forgo advice and make passes at women who wear glasses! He wore them too, but he was also 145 years old.

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Donna Soluri

Donna Soluri started in the book world as Scandalicious; now, this almost empty nester is going her own way. A lover of cupcakes, champagne, old-school rap, and Harry Styles she likes to read books with characters closer to her age still romancing and kissing and causing trouble.