ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a second chance story by Brayden, featuring Bethany and Reid, who were together iARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a second chance story by Brayden, featuring Bethany and Reid, who were together in high school and broke up for ‘reasons� and then reunite 11 years later. Upon seeing each other again, Reid is all for trying to start over and Bethany is less interested, due to the ‘reasons�.
A lot of this story is told via flashbacks, one of my least favourite methods of storytelling. I prefer second chance stories where the reason for the breakup is known from the start and the book is about how the couple reconnects. It also meant that a large part of the book was YA, which is also not a favourite.
The back story for these two could have been handled in the first few chapters through a mature discussion between the two, not at the last possible minute. We did not need to spend endless chapters reading about cheerleading and Reid’s parents issues, that time would have been better spent on having the two reconnect as Reid’s situation has changed quite a bit but that reveal doesn’t come til the halfway mark, and it’s a big one.
Both MCs are fairly likeable, and I did believe they were each the others ‘one�, but I found the second stab at a relationship to be fairly superficial, with not a lot of substance to their reconnection. There are quite a few supporting characters, Bethany has two BFFs in the present, Reid has her family, and there’s a bunch of others characters from when they were younger, some of whom carry over into the present storyline, but none of whom are fully fleshed out.
The rest of the reveals about why they broke up and the ramifications of it don’t happen til around the 90% mark, making the ending much too rushed. Less time in the past would have allowed for a more realistic unfolding of their new relationship but as it was, I didn’t buy the neat resolutions, even with the time jump in the epilogue.
If you enjoy second chance stories with YA/present, then I recommend Brayden’s other second chance story Strawberry Summer, which has a similar premise but better execution. 3 stars....more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven’t read this author before but the blurb intrigued me. Unfortunately, it’s misleadARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven’t read this author before but the blurb intrigued me. Unfortunately, it’s misleading, as I hadn’t realised this was set in the 70s when I picked it and I wouldn’t have chosen it if I’d known, I’m not a huge fan of books set in the past.
This features MCs Zara, a pianist on a cruise ship who is about to audition for a prestigious music school in England and Jillian, British aristocracy, who is also studying to be a scientist. Jillian’s BFF, Constance meets Zara on the cruise and invites her back to stay with Jillian, Constance’s beau Nelson and Jillian’s other long time friend Clive, who everyone assumes Jillian will end up with.
Zara is an out and proud lesbian, but that doesn’t stop her and Jillian being smitten with each other from first glance. There’s some pretty big hurdles in their way though, including the time period this takes place in and their class differences. The plot switches perspective between the five mains and this was a bit hit and miss for me depending on who the focus was, because I cared little for some of these characters. I enjoyed Zara and Jill in most of their scenes together, but found large stretches of the plot either overly contrived to insert drama (really just being lesbians from different classes was enough to overcome without the many and varied events and communication issues that cropped up).
There was way too much miscommunication or just a lack of communication between the characters that could easily have been addressed but lead to large periods of estrangement for my liking. The machinations of two of the male characters during these periods were also a bit much. Some of the supporting characters play large roles, but I didn’t find any of them particularly appealing.
I did like both MCs and enjoyed them together, I just thought the author put too much energy into creating issues to force them apart. The ending also wrapped up a bit too neatly. Readers who enjoy past settings and class drama might enjoy this more than I did. 3 stars....more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a retelling of Ask, Tell. For those unfamiliar with Ask Tell, it tells the story ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a retelling of Ask, Tell. For those unfamiliar with Ask Tell, it tells the story of Rebecca and Sabine, both serving as surgeons in the military during the days of DADT. Rebecca is Sabine’s commanding officer, and Sabine is in a relationship, adding even more complications to their relationship.
One of the main issues I had with Ask Tell is that it’s told in first person, from Sabine’s POV only. This flips the story and tells it again, but from Rebecca’s POV. The other issue I had with Ask Tell is that I felt the relationship was a little too shallow, as the characters didn’t seem to know each other that well before jumping into bed, due to the nature of the circumstances they were working under.
If I Don’t Ask helps to fill in some of these blanks by starting a few years prior to Ask Tell, from when Rebecca and Sabine first meet. Bec is instantly smitten, even before meeting Sabine, and it gets worse over time, the more they interact. They are deployed together during this first meeting, and then still work together when back in the States. We also see more of how they interact, which makes what happens during the deployment that Ask Tell is set in more meaningful and the way they embark on their relationship more realistic.
We also get more of Bec’s backstory, and one thing this reinforces (but that’s also apparent in Ask Me Again) is how isolated Bec is. She has to hold herself apart from most of those she serves with due to her rank, and has only one close friend, Linda, in whom to confide, but has lost all other family.
I actually find Sabine a bit hard to take, she’s too much of a perfectionist, and it can be a bit grating, Bec is a much more sympathetic character, and she shines here, so much so, that when she ultimately makes the decision to give in and take what she wants, you can see what’s driven her to that point.
I liked that this started before Ask, Tell, but would have also liked it to finish beyond where Ask Tell finished, to fill in a few of the blanks between this and Ask Me Again. The other problem with going back and writing something to fill in blanks, is you often create issues with what comes after, which happens with the Linda character, who is never mentioned in Ask Me Again, but surely would have been referenced, regardless of what had happened to her in the time between the two books. Still, that’s a minor quibble, those who have enjoyed this series will likely love the fleshing out of the beginning of their relationship as much as I did. 4 stars. ...more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’m a Zac fan, but this just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
So the premise of this is ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’m a Zac fan, but this just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
So the premise of this is that the three MCs, Olive, Eleanor and Harriet, all run a women’s sanctuary together. They’re having a big opening of their latest venue and being interviewed for this. Olive is somewhat recently widowed, and has the largest share and manages the place. Eleanor is the business manager and Harriet is the chef. The interview set up allows the other three characters to arrive, Mabel, the journalist doing the article, and her two friends, Sunny, a B-list actress and Judy, who I didn’t realise til part way through was the character I couldn’t stand from Falling into Her, and I honestly didn’t enjoy her character any more here.
So, the three newcomers pair off with our existing ladies, Olive, who up til now has thought she was straight hits it off with the asexual Sunny; Harriet and Judy experience insta-lust/love; and Mabel is actually Eleanor’s high school girlfriend who stomped her heart into a million pieces. There’s also the other complication of Eleanor also having been in love with Olive for years.
There’s a lot going on in this book, too much really, there’s just not enough time to give proper weight to everything that happens. For the first half of the book I wondered why Zac hadn’t written this as a trilogy (like Brayden’s Tangled Valley series) to give the relationships some space, but towards the end I could see why that wouldn’t have worked. I still think the Harriet/Judy storyline could have either been left out, or made its own book to give the other storylines more breathing room.
The main issue I had with this was that I didn’t find any of the MCs or supporting trio particularly engaging, and I found Olive very hard to take, so couldn’t see why either woman wanted her. For all that the MCs were supposed to be close, I actually found their relationships with each other kind of toxic. Sunny was my favourite character and I’d actually like to read more about her.
I can’t really say any more without giving away what happens, but I wasn’t particularly enamoured with the way any of the relationships ended up. First time I’ve read a book with multiple pairings where I haven’t liked any of the HEAs. 3 stars ...more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was another new author for me this month, and I found this ok, but ultimately, too rARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was another new author for me this month, and I found this ok, but ultimately, too repetitive.
This features MCs Kirby and Quinn, who both served in the military, Kirby in the Army and Quinn in the Navy. The two were in a relationship for two years 9 years prior to the book starting and then literally bump into each other at a pride event.
Kirby is far less thrilled about this than Quinn is and the reason why is revealed in flashbacks. Quinn broke Kirby’s heart (and her own) by breaking up with Kirby under the pressure of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Kirby is still hurt by this and is less and less thrilled each time she runs into Quinn, which happens a lot due to a convenience I also found hard to swallow. Anyway, they end up spending a fair bit of time together and Kirby eventually thaws. This section takes up approx 50% of the book and is filled with repetition involving Quinn apologising and Kirby pushing her away, backed up by flashbacks about what happens. Honestly, I found the flashbacks added nothing to the story, we already knew what happened and spelling this out didn’t add anything for me.
They then embark on another relationship, but the wheels of this one also fall off due to Quinn not being out to her homophobic parents. Kirby won’t stand for this, and we have the requisite break up, followed by a dramatic event that then allows them to reconcile. This is pretty much follows the BSB formula to a T.
Despite Quinn being portrayed as the one who did Kirby wrong, I preferred her character. She owned her mistake and wanted to make amends, but Kirby was annoying stubborn and also judgemental about Quinn’s situation with her parents. By the end I didn’t care if they got together, and thought it would be healthier for them both if they didn’t.
This is a debut book, and those are hardly ever perfect, and I found some of the writing a bit too formal in places and had some issues with the pacing. Overall, it’s an ok debut, and I’d read more from this author. 3 stars....more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sigh, I’m back and forth with Brayden’s stories, and this felt more back than forth.
The ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sigh, I’m back and forth with Brayden’s stories, and this felt more back than forth.
The MCs here are Skyler, a reporter trying to make the next move up in her career, and Carrie, a news anchor. Skyler scores a reporting job at Carrie’s station and the two meet, but don’t instantly hit it off. Well� Sky has always had a thing for Carrie, but Carrie isn’t so impressed to start. Sky also happens to be Sarah’s cousin from Heart Block. Sarah, Grace and Emory feature a lot, as do Kristin and Lucy from Firework.
For the first 25% or so Carrie is stand-offish and Sky is trying to find her feet in her new job. Then they eventually admit their attraction and start a relationship, and I enjoyed that section of the book, and found their banter and chemistry entertaining. But unfortunately, as is generally the case in Brayden’s books, unnecessary drama is inserted around the 75% mark and both characters, though Sky more than Carrie, made idiotic decisions that could be solved by simply TALKING LIKE GROWN UPS. So annoying. This is eventually smoothed over by a completely unnecessary sad event and a big gesture made by the wrong person.
I loved revisiting with Sarah, Emory and Grace and their side story had some real emotional beats. Ty was also an awesome character (view spoiler)[who did not deserve the treatment he got (hide spoiler)]. I liked both MCs, but as usual, found that first person was a limitation here because Carrie was the more interesting character for me, and I would have like to have explored her feelings about what happened with her career, while I didn’t care at all about Skyler’s, and found her meteoric rise unbelievable.
Overall, I found this a bit uneven and found the drama at the end hard to overcome. 3.5 stars, rounded down, because I can’t give it 4....more
Shout out to Lex for reminding me this was in my TBR pile, this was a lovely way to spend my day.
This is the sequel to Werlinger’s When the Stars SanShout out to Lex for reminding me this was in my TBR pile, this was a lovely way to spend my day.
This is the sequel to Werlinger’s When the Stars Sang. That story introduced us to Kathleen and Molly and the rest of the delightful characters on Little Sister Island (a delightful character in and of itself).
This book starts about a year after Stars ended and while Molly and Kathleen feature heavily and this advances their story, it broadens to also follow Meredith, a woman living on the other side of the country who has recurring nightmares about a shipwreck that happened 100s of years ago. Meredith’s mother Irene also has these nightmares, and after she convinces her family to do DNA tests for her genealogy hobby, she unleashes many questions that require answers. Little Sister Island seems to hold the answers, so Meredith, her parents and awesome dog Jasper head east to see if they can find the answers they seek.
The island itself seems to be trying to tell the (female) inhabitants something, and this coincides with Meredith’s arrival. While Molly and Kathleen get a fair bit of time in this story, Meredith and Molly’s brother Aidan are the new romance here (this doesn’t feature M/F sex scenes though). It was nice to see Aidan continue to be in a better place. Miss Louise also has a major storyline and while I found the entire book interesting and loved how it all played out, in all honesty I found Miss Louise’s side story the most moving. It features the appearance of someone I won’t mention because it would spoil the first reveal, but I loved each scene with those characters, and the end one had me choking up.
I won’t recap the book further because other reviewers have done that. There’s nothing earth shattering here, it’s a story about the lives of people living on an island and how they react to changes, both big and small, and the importance of acceptance. All of the relationships are beautifully drawn and you can’t help but wish for connections like these people have with each other. I did find the incident around Molly’s birthday a bit much, I thought the parallel was unnecessary and that it didn’t add anything to the book, there was already a lot going on. Aside from that though, I loved this trip back to Little Sister and all that was revealed. I hope it’s not our last visit. 4.5 stars. ...more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is my second read by Hale, and I had the same issue with this that I did with The SeARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is my second read by Hale, and I had the same issue with this that I did with The Secret Chord, in that I just couldn’t relate to/didn’t like one of the main characters.
This features Jen and Lacey, who both work at the 19th Century living museum that Jen owns and runs. The two have been friends for about 8 years, during which time both have battled some issues, leaving a lot of baggage (mostly Jen’s). Jen is struggling with health issues, the aftermath of a tragedy and the resulting breakup of her relationship. Lacy has a seven year old daughter (the delightful Mac) and is struggling with having been in love with Jen all this time. I struggled with this too, because I honestly couldn’t fathom why she loved her. Jen was so emotionally-repressed it was frustrating, and also has health issues.
So, the two have decided to enter a marriage of convenience since they are BFFs, they both love Mac, each wants more kids and they think they’ll be able to grow to love each other “that way� in time. Yeah, nothing can go wrong with this plan.
They’re already in the relationship when the book starts and even though they actually are attracted to each other and do love each other, they have to use marriage counselling type exercises to be intimate with each other, because instead of actually telling each other the truth about what they need/want (kind of essential in a relationship like the one they’re trying for) they prefer to hide behind half truths and constantly misunderstand each other and the other’s wants/motivations. That wasn’t annoying at all.
Lacey is easy to like, and Mac is adorable. I also loved Lacey’s mother, Jen’s best friend Mare, and Claire, who also worked at the museum. The museum itself was also great and made an interesting backdrop to the story. Jen’s ex shows up as well (because the characters needed more to deal with) and that provided more angst and opportunities for miscommunication.
I should have liked the book more, given that age-gaps, faux-mances and friends to lovers are some of my favourite tropes, but Jen did my head in, I spent most of the book wanting to slap her with it. Hale is a great writer, and I give her extra points for having Jen struggle with a health issue not usually seen in lesfic, but not liking one of the MCs made it hard for me to enjoy this as much as I wanted to. 3 stars....more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was somewhat of a mixed bag. The main characters are interesting, there’s Whitney, aARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was somewhat of a mixed bag. The main characters are interesting, there’s Whitney, a popular author who has just spilt from her Hollywood superstar wife and now has writer’s block, and Brie, who has a book review blog and gave a bad review to Whit’s last book. They meet at a conference where Whit is speaking and hook up through a ridiculous contrivance. Whit doesn’t know who Brie is til later, and this then blows up. Brie then takes to essentially stalking Whit and they eventually spend time together as ‘friends� and then sexy time friends.
Whit’s ex wife Reece also features heavily as she’s the lead actress in a movie being made of Whit’s books and though I assumed she’d be a git, she’s actually one of the best characters. Other characters include Brie’s family, complete with a way overly protective mother, ok dad and awesome brother. Whit also has an agent/BFF who honestly was just really hard to take (Brie’s mother wasn’t far behind). The main relationship evolves over time, but a lot of the scenarios were too over the top, including the major dramatic section towards the end and the eventual reunion.
Most of the dialogue is fun, but there were quite a few ‘jokes� that missed the mark and just made me cringe. I did like that Reece wasn’t the usual awful ex, she was good to both Whit and Brie, and I liked the friendship between her and Brie so much that I did actually wonder if a poly relationship might occur and I wouldn’t have minded. To be honest I actually liked her better than Whit and would have preferred her and Brie together.
The end gets tied into a big HEA bow to round everything out, but overall I found the book too uneven to really sink into it. 3 stars....more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I like Rey’s books, but this wasn’t my favourite of hers. It’s ok, but not her best.
ThisARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I like Rey’s books, but this wasn’t my favourite of hers. It’s ok, but not her best.
This features the second chance trope, with MCs Kate and Sutton as high school sweethearts who break up after Sutton leaves for college, there more to it but it’s a spoiler I guess, so hidden under the tag (view spoiler)[ Kate sleeps with someone else while she’s away and falls pregnant (hide spoiler)].
Sutton returns home 10 years later to look after her father while he has surgery and of course runs into Kate. Kate has remained in town and is raising her 9 year old daughter, Harper, alone. She has a lovely supportive family, including her trans brother Bryce. Sutton and Kate were ok characters (Sutton as the better of the two), but Harper and Bryce were my favourites.
So, Sutton comes home, but both MCs have mixed feelings about each other because of ‘reasons�. It’s a small town though, so they run into each other a lot and get friendly again pretty quickly, which then leads to a friends with benefits sort of thing. They do have good chemistry, and for the most part I enjoyed their interactions, but the scenes between Harper and Sutton were the real gold.
So the two of them have reunited, things are going ok, and then we have to hit the requisite drama portion around the 80% mark, which didn’t feel organic, in all honesty I didn’t buy either part, the whole thing felt contrived and overblown. It is fairly quickly resolved, which was the only plus.
The big downside to this book is the issue that broke them up to start with. It gets harped on all the way through the book, and yet isn’t really explained, which is just weird. Both families warn the MCs about rekindling their relationship, although for the life of me I couldn’t work out why Kate’s family were mad at Sutton, she cops a lot of blame for their break up but from where I was sitting, all the blame was on Kate. (view spoiler)[ did they seriously think she’d come home, find out her girlfriend had cheated on her and was pregnant and be all like ‘that’s cool, let’s get married�? Seriously? They all acted like Kate’s cheating on Sutton was no problem and Sutton was the unreasonable one. I mean, how did Kate have the high moral ground because Sutton had the good sense to leave and not come back? They also don’t mention what happened to Harper’s father, which I also found weird (hide spoiler)]
Anyway, that aside, the MCs are both fairly interesting and I bought that they still cared for each other. They both have good family’s and nice interactions with them and I loved Harper and Bryce as side characters. Like I said, not Rey’s best book, but an ok read. 3 stars. ...more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I knew going in that this would be a tough sell since infidelity is one of my least favouARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I knew going in that this would be a tough sell since infidelity is one of my least favourite storylines, and Holy Infidelity Batman, there’s a LOT of infidelity in this book. Zak’s one of my must read authors though, so I thought I’d give it a go.
So, here we have Cecily, who is married to a guy she loves but isn’t in love with (Luke), so she’s been having an affair with Willow, who has been waiting for three years or so for Cecily to leave Luke. Assuming this isn’t going to happen, she then begins an affair with Francesca, a bartender living in Vegas. Cecily and Willow kinda sorta maybe broke up about four months prior and Willow was then with Francesca, but still keeping Cecily on the hook. Willow then breaks up with Francesca, who knows nothing about Cecily (and is a real bitch about how she does this) leaving Francesca devastated.
Through a series of events Cecily then ends up in Vegas, gets her heart stomped on by Willow (though in reality had everything that happened coming to her for mine) and then meets Francesca, not knowing that she’s ‘the other woman�. They then embark on an affair and it all gets very messy.
My main issue with this book was that neither Willow or Cecily are very nice people. I couldn’t work out why so many people were drawn to Willow (by the end she’s such an over the top caricature that I couldn’t see how either woman ever fell for her) and Cecily is very much the ‘have my cake and eat it too, but no-one else should touch it� type. Her hypocrisy was staggering. Francesca is more sympathetic, but still knew (without knowing the other woman’s name) that Cecily was separating from her husband but had cheated on him and was still sort of involved with the other woman. Not sure exactly how that’s supposed to be an attractive quality.
The majority of their relationship also takes place over a period of around three days, so I struggled to believe they weren’t just rebounding on each other, and the ‘I love yous� were way too superficial for me. Cecily was also an absolute bitch when she worked out what had happened, so no way did I think she deserved a second chance.
I did like that Cecily’s husband wasn’t made out to be a bad guy, but I struggled to connect with any of the characters here. By the time we got to the end I sort of believed the two MCs deserved each other, but not for any fluffy HEA reasons.
ARC received via NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warning, this book focuses on domestic violence and the aftARC received via NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warning, this book focuses on domestic violence and the aftermath.
Domestic violence is a hard topic, but when handled well in a story, it can uplift and inspire while also educating. Unfortunately the handling of the topic here is so over the top it borders on ridiculous for the most part, so didn’t do the topic justice at all, in my opinion.
So, here we have MC Desi, a battered wife who lives with her abusive husband and her sister Rachel. The other MC is Harriet (Harry) an orthopaedic surgeon who is also Desi’s ex-girlfriend. Desi and Harry met in the 3rd grade and loved each other fiercely. Desi lived with her abusive father and her little sister. Both Rachel and Desi spend tons of time with Harry and her family growing up, but somehow never manage to meet Mona, Harry’s housekeeper, who has been with the family since a Harry was a child. I also couldn’t work out why Clyde even let Desi and Rachel spend so much time with Harry growing up if he was so controlling, it just didn’t make sense.
Anyway, they had a love for the ages, but just as Harry was going away to college Desi stopped talking to her (for reasons) and Harry left and didn’t look back. They are then reunited when Desi’s abusive husband puts her in the hospital. Harry happens to be on call and is Desi’s doctor. Upon hearing about the threats to Desi, Harry offers to take her and Rachel in and so the two then spend time together and reconnect. Desi explains why she left and she and Harry are able to move on. The main issue I had with this storyline was that Harry was too... everything, she could carry Desi around (in a mobile cast) for long periods without any issues and she’s sweet and accepting and protective (and of-course, handily trained in martial arts). She also comes with the requisite understanding group of friends who are able to provide Desi and Rachel with everything they need. This group includes ‘Buster� who is the son of Harry’s ex, and who calls Harry ‘Uncle Harry� even though Harry doesn’t not go by male pronouns or descriptors in any other aspect of her life. There’s also no real explanation as to why Rachel lived with Desi and Byron or why Byron, abusive ass that he is, would have ‘allowed� it.
My main issue with the book was the ‘bad guys�. We have Byron, the seemingly crazy husband, who wants Desi back for no reason that I could fathom, since he literally thinks at one point that he just wants to kill her to be free of her, since she wants a divorce, seems like there’d be easier ways to accomplish that. His father (Big Byron ...more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoy Kris Bryant‘s books, and I was looking forward to this because it she first attempARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoy Kris Bryant‘s books, and I was looking forward to this because it she first attempt at third person. I liked it, but there were parts that didn’t gel for me, so it’s not on my favourites list.
This features MC Serena, a down on her luck, ‘I have childhood issues� woman who strikes it lucky by winning the lottery. This allows her to build her life’s dream of a pet daycare/kennel business in Vail. Enter Gabrielle, an architect who is trying to make partner.
Gabrielle doesn’t like dogs (or any pets really) for reasons that are revealed later, this is a bit of a stumbling block when designing a space for animals. She and Serena hit it off anyway, and get to designing the space. The two spend a lot of time together by virtue of the long design/build process, so this is a slow burn romance.
We’re also introduced to a fairly large cast of supporting characters, I loved both Serena’s BFFs, Chloe and Jackie and Gabrielle’s BFF Rosie. Fans of Falling will be pleased to see Piper and Shalie as well, Piper features quite a bit and we get to see where they’re at, which is nice.
Gabrielle has a large group of friends that instantly adopt Serena, and I enjoyed watching her interact with them, especially Piper. I did think a little too much time was spent on Serena’s ‘mommy issues� considering the storyline essential goes nowhere.
I liked how the romance unfolded and watching the two grow as a result, both together and individually. But there’s an event that happens shortly after they start dating that almost had me putting the book down, it featured something I hate, and it made me uncomfortable. It then becomes a pivotal point at the end, and that’s where the book sort of derailed for me. 1) because I agreed with Serena, and 2) because the time jumps that followed seems a little long and unrealistic given the project they were working on. The resolution also seemed a little too quick and pat.
Overall, I thought this was an ok read, but Jolt and Listenare still my favourites. 3 stars.
ARC received from YLVA in return for an honest review.
This is a pretty impressive doubt novel. I didn’t pick this up when it first came out because sARC received from YLVA in return for an honest review.
This is a pretty impressive doubt novel. I didn’t pick this up when it first came out because second chance romances aren’t my favourite genre, but this had such good reviews I wanted to give it a try.
Now, the way the story is written, Bridget is made out to be the bad guy in the relationship, at least early on, but she was much more likeable (to me anyway) than the emotionally repressed Alex. And once we eventually got to the ‘why� of the breakup, also the more sympathetic of the two.
I’m not a fan of flashbacks because generally what’s contained in them could be revealed in a few conversations (which is still true here) but they didn’t bother me as much here, although I did chafe a bit at how slowly everything was revealed.
There are plenty of supporting characters, though none of them are terribly well fleshed out, mostly they’re just there to give support to whichever lead requires it at the time. This story is about Alex and Bridget though, and I enjoyed watching them navigate their way back to each other, though I did want to smack Alex for being so closed off!
This is a nice sweet romance, though readers should not that it also features no sex scenes to speak of, so if you’re after sexy times, you won’t find that here, but I didn’t feel this lacked anything due to that. As I said before, it’s an impressive debut, and I look forward to reading more from this author....more
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven’t read anything else by Cass Sellars, but it looks like I’ve been missing out, I rARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven’t read anything else by Cass Sellars, but it looks like I’ve been missing out, I really enjoyed this.
This features MC Jess, who is CEO of the company her father started and Skylar, who has just started working there as a Finance Manager. Both characters are engaging, especially when they interact with each other. I really felt their chemistry, and loved the way they interacted. Sky and Jess interact both at work and in private, and the unfolding of their relationship is pretty sweet. Sky has some past issues that are hinted at and then later revealed, and Jess is supposed to be some sort of player, but is too sweet for that role. She does, however, have a crappy girlfriend at the start of the book and it took way too long for her to shake herself loose.
Most of the supporting characters are fairly superficial, but I did love Jess’s ex Dino (would love to see her again in her own book) and Yolanda, although I would have liked to see Skylar with someone to support her too.
There’s also some work ‘issues� that crop up, and honestly, this was the weakest part, (view spoiler)[ especially that anyone who was remotely bad or annoying in the story were all tied together (hide spoiler)].
There’s the usual melodrama around the 75% mark, but it’s resolved fairly quickly. The romance between the two leads made up for the weaker elements highlighted above. I enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by this author. 4 stars....more
I’m slowly making my way through my TBR pile after burning out on ARCs. I’ve got a few Richardson’s in the pile, and this one wasn’t as good as I’d hoI’m slowly making my way through my TBR pile after burning out on ARCs. I’ve got a few Richardson’s in the pile, and this one wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, it had an interesting premise with the double infidelity angle, but didn’t live up to it.
MCs are Angie, a paramedic, and Vic, a doctor who both work at the same hospital. One night both of their partners are brought in from a crash, unfortunately they were together and Angie and Vic were not aware of this. This awkward situation leads to the two of them becoming friends, and this was all going pretty well, and I liked how their friendship developed, and then moved towards something more. But around the 60% mark it started to become a bit repetitive for my tastes.
Angie was the more interesting character for me, mostly just because I couldn’t fathom Vic’s to-ing and fro-ing over her ex Karen. Unfortunately, there was also some back and forth between the leads over whether they should even try for a relationship, and then whether Vic wanted Angie or Karen. Then there was an injury inflicted on one of the leads to force them together, and it all just felt too messy. It sort of overcame that at the end, but I couldn’t quite kick the feeling that these two were both still too wounded to be moving on with each other.
Anyway, it’s not a bad read, but it’s not my favourite of Richardson’s. 3 stars....more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Hmm. Ok, I usually enjoy Gun’s stories, and this is an off-shoot of Coffee Sonata, which ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Hmm. Ok, I usually enjoy Gun’s stories, and this is an off-shoot of Coffee Sonata, which is one of Gun’s better stories, but I couldn’t get into this one.
This features MC Gail, a concert violinist with an arm injury, and Romi, a homeless 22 year old who is returning to East Quay on the run from the law. Romi is arrested for no reason, and then makes a run for it and heads back to her aunt’s abandoned house, which Gail has just bought. Romi doesn’t know that Gail is moving in and her aunts house conveniently has a bomb shelter in it that Romi can live in and Gail doesn’t know about, even though you’d think the people who sold her the house would know it existed. The house has been abandoned for years, but everything in the bomb shelter still works perfectly, which was one of many conceits that had me shaking my head in disbelief.
So, even if you want to accept this off-the-wall contrivance, things then get further muddied by Romi immediately falling in with the East Quay crowd, and though they don’t know her, in mere minutes she has a job with the choir run by Manon and is hobnobbing with them all at dinner, as you do. She’s also getting to know Gail, who doesn’t realise that Romi is living in her house. Romi can hear what Gail does through some magical vent that only transfers noise one way, because she never suspects Romi is living beneath her feet. Romi feels bad about this and moves out and into another terrible living situation. Gail and Romi fall in love (practically overnight) but there’s still time for an overwrought breakup that then features an even more over-dramatic resolution, and honestly, I rolled my eyes so much at that point they were in danger of falling out.
The other major issue is that there’s an age gap in this book (which is not unusual, all of Gun’s books feature an age gap), but this is the first one I found creepy. Romi is 22, but seems much younger. She’s homeless, has barley any prospects and the imbalance between them is huge. Romi had more in common with Stephanie (adopted daughter of Tierney and Giselle from book 2), who I think is about 15 here. Several times I thought she’d have been a better match for Romi. I couldn’t get past the age gap here, the whole relationship felt off and rushed, but Romi’s situation just made it worse.
I’ve re-read Coffee Sonata several times, but this one won’t be in my re-read pile. 2.5 stars, rounded up just because it’s Gun and fans of the other books may enjoy the cameos by the characters here. ...more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I knew going in that this would be a tough sell because I hate infidelity books, but the ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I knew going in that this would be a tough sell because I hate infidelity books, but the premise of the cheater not knowing they cheated was intriguing. Too bad it didn’t live up to the premise.
So, for those who haven’t read the blurb, this features MC Chloe, an artist who is separated from her wife, the other MC Shay. The two of them have been together five years but are separated due to Shay being unfaithful. Shay is then in an accident and conveniently forgets the past 10 months or so, which also happens to be the period where their relationship faltered and she cheated. Chloe, showing extraordinarily bad judgement, has already moved on with a b**ch named Erica. Lila, Shay’s cheating partner also features briefly.
So, Shay begs Chloe to take her back, and when she won’t, and upon finding out about Erica, she takes off in her car and gets in an accident. Chloe steps up to care for Shay because she still loves her, but this is fraught with angst because of course Shay doesn’t know that she cheated and can’t work out why Chloe is acting different. And as if there weren’t already too many women involved in their relationship, Shay’s physical therapist (also displaying a ridiculous level of unprofessionalism) wants Shay and isn’t shy about making this known. Thankfully she finds out what happened to torpedo Shay/Chloe’s relationship and backs off (she became one of my favourite characters but I still couldn’t get past how creepy it was to hit on someone so dependent on you for their recovery).
So, amongst all of this Shay and Chloe are trying to figure out how to live together when only one of them knows they shouldn’t be. Of course Shay gets wise to something being wrong and figures out the truth but doesn’t tell Chloe that she knows, because that’s what an actual adult would do, and just because you screwed up your relationship by not talking with your partner doesn’t mean you’d realise that maybe you shouldn’t make that mistake again. Chloe also does the exact same thing and never tells Shay what happened even when Shay wants to know why they don’t relate like they used to. The two of them learn more about each other from reading Shay’s journals than by actually talking to each other, and frankly that was tiresome.
Honest to god, from what we’re told about how they felt about each other only 10 months before, I couldn’t work out how their relationship ever got to the point where Shay would cheat. I never bought that she would (honestly seemed more likely that Chloe would cheat, Shay seemed more into Chloe than vice versa all the way through). So, while this had an interesting premise, there just too much miscommunication, a cartoonish ex (Erica) and way too much back and forth by Chloe. I only persevered to see how they managed to overcome it in the end. 2.5 stars, rounded down....more
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is my first full length book by this author. I read Unforgettable which is two novelARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is my first full length book by this author. I read Unforgettable which is two novellas in the one book. They were just ok but I wanted to see what the author could do with more time to flesh things out. Unfortunately, the answer is too much.
Ok, this features Madison, who is a poor little rich girl, with a complete douchebag for a father (George), and the other MC is Ana, who is George’s maid’s daughter. The girls grew up together, fell in love and then were forced apart.
The story starts with George’s death, because this is the catalyst for Madison to be able to reconnect with Ana, only Ana wants no part of this, because she was WRONGED, WRONGED I TELL YOU (and Ana tells everyone that, repeatedly). So, basically this is a story about Madison wanting to get back with Ana, Ana finding out the whys and wherefores of what happened (in all honesty Madison’s reason for leaving her was pretty legitimate) and Ana telling everyone she didn’t care no matter what the reason and wouldn’t ever take Madison back, when everyone knew she would eventually.
One of main reasons I dislike ‘reunion� stories is because whatever broke the main couple up originally usually takes up too much space in the story. Here it takes up all the space. There’s so much DRAMA. And crying. Did I mention that Madison spends a good deal of time crying? Madison is kind of a wimp. The flashbacks also didn’t help. Maybe if they’d been chronological it would have worked better, but all the jumping around was enough to make me seasick.
There’s also a ridiculous subplot involving Madison’s family that was inserted just to provide some different drama and also fabricate a reason to force Ana back into Madison’s orbit (seriously, this book involved so many tropes it was hard to keep track of them all. It was like reading a telenova, only they’re usually entertaining). Even with all of this and knowing everything that had driven them apart, Ana still acts like a petulant two year old, and can’t get over herself enough to be happy. The eventual coming together happens right at the end of the book, by which time I was so far from caring, I was in another country. I didn’t like these two together (mostly because I couldn’t stand Ana), so the HEA fell flat.
I’m not sure why this wasn’t called The Road To Ana, since that’s actually the way it was written. 2 stars, frankly even that feels high....more
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