About Me

One year ago, I sat in my cubicle on a dreary day. I was grumpy, about what who even remembers – there were a lot of things going sideways then. I had been indulging in an endless string of romance books on my hot pink kindle as an escape my daily grind, and talked books with a little circle of awesome ladies from time to time.

With a little prodding and then a lot of technical help from this lady (who happens to be one of my besties), and then an absurd amount of name suggestions spammed to my other bestie (and hilariously read aloud by her car during one hellish commute), The Restricted Section was born.

My first year isn’t quite what I had planned. I had a lot higher productivity hopes for content. I had a lot lower expectations for relationships with publishers and authors. And I really wasn’t sure if anyone except for my closest friends and sister were even going to read what I wrote.

It was and is my hope to bring you funny, heartfelt, honest, and rarely insightful reviews for romance books – because those are still my regular getaway from the harder bits of life – along with lists galore, reading challenges, stuff I’m watching or listening to. I’m so grateful to those of you who stop by.

Last but not least, as a thank you for visiting, I’m hosting a little giveaway. Comment below about your favorite read I should check out, something I should start/stop/keep doing – anything really – to be entered to win one of my favorite books from my last year of blogging. Make sure whatever email you use to comment is one you check 🙂

XOXO

In my last week of high school, I gave a presentation to my peers and teachers. For the hundred of us that made it through all four years of a grueling academic program, we gathered one last time before commencement to pledge our commitments for continuing education, personal and professional goals, and what came to be known as “The List.”

Three months earlier, we were each tasked with creating a list of books that we were promising to read in our lifetime – a challenge given that we forced into being well-read before we entered adulthood. (Translation: On top of curriculum, we had to complete the College Board’s 101 Great Books before graduation, and read a Wild Card book each month that met the “rules” below.) (Alternate translation: I used to be a BEAST.)

When I was finished, I had 100 books on my list. By the time I was done with college, I had read them all.

I tucked my list away but thought about it from time to time. For years, I thought it was lost or trashed as happens with the ever-mounting paperwork that comes with being a grown up. And then last week, I found it. To say it was emotional would be an understatement. So much *life* has happened to that hopeful and studious 18 year old who once carefully selected every book.

After a lot of reminiscing (read: crying and wine), I’ve decided to create a new list. Today, to my new community, I want to share it. In case any of you want to play along, the “rules” are as follows. I promise to read books that will: challenge me; show me things vastly different from my own experience in the world; make me think and feel new things; not always be just “literary,” but indulge in the popular; change your life. Our guidelines to help with all that loftiness were equal parts Classics, Award Winners, Best Sellers, and Miscellany (like Plays, Poems, Non-fiction, Memoir, Translated Works). For my new list, I added two additional categories – Re-reads (mostly stuff from my first list) and Freebies. Feel free to break or amend the rules to suit you, and choose as many or as few books as you want.

I landed on 30 this go-around.

If you decide to create your own list, I would love to know what winds up on it!

XOXO

I know it’s Top Ten Tuesday (and I had a whole thing planned, I swear), but today I wanted to a take a break from reading to share a few wishes for you all in the spirit of the season. This December 25th, wherever in the world you find yourself, I hope you share hearty laughs with family – whether it’s the one you were born with, or the one you chose. May you have a hot cup of your favorite brew always within reach and a day of perfect weather, be it snow, rain or sunshine. Wishes for snugs with a blanket, a human or a furry creature. And lastly, I hope you find time for a bit of self-care in the form of a bath, a hike, a long drive, or an amazing book.

XOXO
Dani (and Argos)

From the second I decided I was going to take this new blogging adventure, I wrote down a list of books that I adore. These are the titles that didn’t necessary spark my flame, or nurture it back to life, but I would be completely remiss if I didn’t mention them in setting the tone for me as a romance reader.

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern
Timing. Is. Everything. But what is meant to be shall always come to pass. Trust in your journey.

Isolation by Bex-Chan
My first ever fan-fiction, and I think it will forever be my favorite. If you’re a dork for HP, and you like a little smut, you simply MUST read this.

Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau
Do yourself a favor and listen to the music they’re talking about in the book while you read. It adds the loveliest layer of depth.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
I read this in high school (read: ages ago), and it is still one of my favorite pick-me-ups for preventing a reading slump.

Bad at Love by Karina Halle
Read in one sitting. And I hate sitting. Nuff said.

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
I mostly read this because I have/had a very strong “thing” for 80s, 90s, 00s…really any decade of John Cusack. What I found though was so much more than that.

The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan
Be prepared. This book is going to make you ugly cry. Even robots will spring a leak.

Shopgirl by Steve Martin
Subtle, beautiful and relatable. This is really a character study of a young woman masquerading as a romance.

Atonement by Ian McEwan
More ugly crying. More ogling of the movie casting choices.

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
This is the only edition of the Austen Project that I’ve connected with. I think it’s the perfect modernization of Pride and Prejudice. Pro tip: opt for the audio. It’s brilliant.

XOXO

 

Love and I had a falling out – in real life and in my literary one. Those were dark days, I tell ya. Because I’m a hopeful romantic at heart, we never stay broken up all that long. These are the authors, and my favorite thing of theirs, who brought me back.

The Series

The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews
Fantasyland by Kristen Ashley
Paradox by Rachel Bach
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
The Weathermages of Mystral by C.L. Wilson

The Standalones

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie
Smut by Karina Halle
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

 

XOXO

I come from a long line of romantics and romance book lovers. Heck, I’m even named after a romance author! Yes, that one. It was my mom’s hope to find a love like she read about, so she read a lot of them. For a long time, I thought they were so over the top and cheesy. Then one day, I got it. I finally found the one that had all my hopes and dreams in a pretty little package. And I was hooked.

I remember being in elementary school, and in between books I scored at the Scholastic Book Fair (still the best thing ever), I would often sneak things off of bookshelves. I would swipe most well-loved looking books and hide them to read. Thanks to my GG, who would send boxes of hand-me-down books to my mom, we had an abundance of bodice rippers and loads of contemporary romances, too. When I finished with all of my books, on to my mom’s I went.

Let me just say. I cannot believe the filth my family was reading, but I’m so grateful that they did. These are the ones that got me hooked.

The ClassicsPersuasion by Jane AustenWuthering Heights by Emily BrontëJane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 

The HistoricalsOutlander by Diana GabaldonThe Mask of the Enchantress by Victoria HoltLabyrinth by Kate Mosse 

The Book FairsBoth Sides of Time by Caroline B. CooneyTuck Everlasting by Natalie BabbittA Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 

The NamesakeHeartbeat by Danielle SteelXOXO

P.S. My mom got her romance book ending in real life. So there’s hope for all of us.