Books, Blends, and a Running Commentary
Kayla started this blog in October 2017 from Houston, Texas, as a place to write down what she was reading and drinking. The focus has stayed the same since: honest takes on romance, young adult, fantasy, and manga titles, paired every so often with a glass of red.
Reviews lean heavily into romance subgenres — contemporary, historical, reverse harem, and cowboy romance — alongside young adult, new adult, fantasy, and manga picks. Recent reads covered on the blog include Well Played by Jen DeLuca, Alpha Knight by Renee Rose, K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee, and Thrown Down by Tessa Bailey, all posted in September 2020.
The Let’s Talk About Wine series has covered bottles such as The Velvet Devil Merlot, Purple Paradise Chronic Cellars, 19 Crimes The Uprising, Cocobon Vineyards Red Blend, Chloe Red No. 249, and Apothic Crush — picked up on grocery runs and written about between chapters.
A September 2020 post, Changes Coming to the Blog, talked openly about shifting priorities around work and life during that time.
A few ways to find your way around:
- Browse Reviews for romance, young adult, fantasy, and manga write-ups.
- Check the Manga page for shojo manga and anime notes.
- Read the Policy page before sending a review request.
- Say hello through the Contact page or on Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter as @booksandblends.
More about Kayla — her interests in red wine, K-pop, K-dramas, shojo manga, anime, and HGTV — lives on the About page.
The rhythm of this space is simple: a book in one hand and a glass of red in the other. Romance takes center stage here, spanning everything from small-town contemporary love stories and sweeping historicals to the wilder corners of reverse harem and cowboy romance. Young adult and new adult titles find their place too, alongside fantasy worlds and manga volumes that deserve a spot on the shelf. Every review comes from genuine late-night reading sessions, the kind where you tell yourself one more chapter and then look up to find the clock has betrayed you.
