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| 0553390473
| 9780553390476
| B00IQROC1C
| 3.53
| 622
| Jan 01, 2014
| Aug 26, 2014
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liked it
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2.5 stars I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Darcy 2.5 stars I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Darcy is just your average schmuck who somehow lands a job as a housesitter for a wealthy heiress. While generally selfish and clueless, Lydia the heiress, decides to allow Darcy to attend a charity event in her place. Darcy has her misgivings but seeing as the charity event will have appearances by the Sonics, her favorite baseball team, she can't quite bring herself to say no. There, she meets Chase Westbrook, one of her favorite players. Chase is a MLB pitcher looking to sign a bigger contract, play for a better team, and finally prove to his dad he is successful. When he sees who he thinks is Lydia the playgirl heiress he decides a night of frivolous fun is order. Darcy is a character that is hard to fully like, she seems to get caught up in the glitz and glamour but ultimately she is outright deceiving Chase. Chase is no innocent babe either, his agent tells him that Lydia's grandfather likes the influence Chase seems to have on her and since the grandfather has a controlling interest in the Yankees, a team Chase desperately wants to play for, he pulls a devious trick of his own to keep who he thinks is Lydia by his side. There is a little depth to the characters with issues from parents and personal insecurities discussed but you probably wouldn't need a life jacket to swim in their waters. As they spend more time together our leads start to develop stronger feelings for each other. There isn't much for emotion written or felt here but the reader can see and understand, to some degree, what Darcy and Chase see in each other. The mistaken identity is eventually found out and gotten over and Chase decides gosh darn it he and his team are good enough. All these happenings and affirmations all happen fairly fast as the ending ends up feeling rushed. This story is a quick read as there isn't too much substance to it but let's be honest, as a reader you know that and buy this book for the same reason reality tv shows are so popular; escapism. It's a cotton candy summer sports themed romance, great for a beach read. Merged review: 2.5 stars I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Darcy is just your average schmuck who somehow lands a job as a housesitter for a wealthy heiress. While generally selfish and clueless, Lydia the heiress, decides to allow Darcy to attend a charity event in her place. Darcy has her misgivings but seeing as the charity event will have appearances by the Sonics, her favorite baseball team, she can't quite bring herself to say no. There, she meets Chase Westbrook, one of her favorite players. Chase is a MLB pitcher looking to sign a bigger contract, play for a better team, and finally prove to his dad he is successful. When he sees who he thinks is Lydia the playgirl heiress he decides a night of frivolous fun is order. Darcy is a character that is hard to fully like, she seems to get caught up in the glitz and glamour but ultimately she is outright deceiving Chase. Chase is no innocent babe either, his agent tells him that Lydia's grandfather likes the influence Chase seems to have on her and since the grandfather has a controlling interest in the Yankees, a team Chase desperately wants to play for, he pulls a devious trick of his own to keep who he thinks is Lydia by his side. There is a little depth to the characters with issues from parents and personal insecurities discussed but you probably wouldn't need a life jacket to swim in their waters. As they spend more time together our leads start to develop stronger feelings for each other. There isn't much for emotion written or felt here but the reader can see and understand, to some degree, what Darcy and Chase see in each other. The mistaken identity is eventually found out and gotten over and Chase decides gosh darn it he and his team are good enough. All these happenings and affirmations all happen fairly fast as the ending ends up feeling rushed. This story is a quick read as there isn't too much substance to it but let's be honest, as a reader you know that and buy this book for the same reason reality tv shows are so popular; escapism. It's a cotton candy summer sports themed romance, great for a beach read. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Aug 05, 2014
not set
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Aug 07, 2014
not set
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Sep 27, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 0063337606
| 9780063337602
| 0063337606
| 3.67
| 1,846
| Jul 02, 2024
| Jul 02, 2024
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it was ok
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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review What could be better publicity for my writin I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review What could be better publicity for my writing career than a romance author looking for her own happily ever after? Jac is thirty-two and just moved back home after getting a taste of what she thought was her dream of being a successful author living in New York. However, the dream was short lived, that big three book publishing contract disappears when her first book tanks and the second barely sells and she spends all her money trying to be the fun, single, successful author living in the big city. This leads to a drunken night of answering an online casting call for a reality tv show where the contestants battle it out for love, a la The Bachelor. I lean forward toward him eagerly. “And who am I?” I ask. He flashes me a sly grin. “A lit match on a very dark night.” If you're a fan of The Bachelor, then you might end up liking this more than me, but you're going to have to want to see the underbelly of what makes the show. Told all in Jac's pov, it's clear that all these events have already happened and the reader is getting the backstory, the story catches up to the present in the latter second half. We see Jac have a one-night stand before she's set to start filming and, oh no, the one night stand turns out to be Henry, a producer on the show. This sets-up the whole, are the feelings between them real or is Henry “producing” Jac to make great tv? Along the way, Jac feels an instant connection and chemistry with the man everyone is vying for, Marcus, and there's a little bit of a love triangle. I say little bit, because this is more about Jac trying to find herself. I keep questioning what's real and what's not and who I even am or thought I was. Jac is set-up to be the “unlikable heroine” in the story and the tv show. And here's the thing, while I didn't actively not like her, I grew disinterested in her and the story. It's toned in pretty bitter vibes, bemoaning botox, having to be skinny, looking a certain way, etc., which yes, all tiring issues women have to deal with but I'm not sure I ever felt Jac actually being tired and done with it. She uses all these advantages she has to “win”, which she likes in her “I want to stand out but am uncomfortable being the center of attention” personality. There's some annoyance that this is her “role” but, to me, her jaded personality doesn't really hate it, it's bothersome to her but she's written fairly dead inside, excuse me, “walled off” (works if character is walled off to other characters but me as the reader probably needs to see/feel at least some of the behind the wall emotion) and I can't say I ever really felt her hate it, because she fits the mold, even if it takes some energy for her too. Secondary characters never truly get filled out, this being all from Jac's pov and her sucking all the air out of the room. And that's not what I meant, it's never what I meant, because the happiness I need is so much bigger than romance or fairy tales or beautiful dinners where I starve because starving is how everyone might like me best. That's not real. That's not what I want. I don't know, maybe I've just read too many, “publishing is horrific”, “people on social media are horrific”, and toned writing that brings not a single ounce of joy to the characters or world. This is coming from someone who's nickname was “Daria”! I like jaded, cynical, and unlikable women because usually the character is saying a whole lot through these characteristics. I'm not sure the author accomplished what she set out to here, Jac felt like empty “not like other women”. And, at the risk of being like a social media reviewer character quoted in the story, because that seems like the du jour thing to do right now, I wouldn't recommend this for the romance, not strong enough for me. I would recommend this is you want more of a bitter toned story about how reality shows like The Bachelor aren't really about the love. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 20, 2024
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Aug 04, 2024
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Jul 02, 2024
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Hardcover
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| 1335458182
| 9781335458186
| 1335458182
| 3.71
| 1,423
| Aug 26, 2021
| Jun 04, 2024
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really liked it
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3.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review But Finn hadn't needed to be told: 3.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review But Finn hadn't needed to be told: he'd always known Zoe was off-limits. Meet Me in Tahiti is the third book in the Meet Me series about four childhood friends that experienced a traumatic car accident in their senior year that has left lasting marks on each one in different ways into their adulthood. Zoe was the rich girl fairy princess that her parents and everyone in town coddled, this only increased when she became a paraplegic after the accident. Finn was the boy who had to drop out of school to work three jobs to help his ailing mother, but for a summer where they both worked at a restaurant together, Finn and Zoe recognized and were drawn to something in the other. For two years they danced around each other until after Zoe's accident has Finn finally making a move, only to be rejected harshly by a Zoe who was hurt and in pain about her new circumstances. Now, when they meet twelve years later, they're still drawn to each other but that old pain is still there too. He wanted time with her. This had a sweet and lightness to it, with a first half that had Finn just absolutely sick for Zoe that captured my heart. I'm serious, when Zoe shows up at his hotel resort, oh yes, kid from the wrong side of the tracks Finn does good and is now an owner of six hotel resorts, he's supposed to fly out the next day. He keeps making up excuses, and it will have you almost feeling sorry for the guy because of how helpless he is over her. We get some reminiscing flashbacks to Zoe and Finn during that summer together and then the two years and ultimate breaking point of when Zoe was harsh with him. The angst is all about Finn during his younger years staying away because he didn't feel good enough for Zoe and how that has carried over to him as an adult. Finn staying at the resort with Zoe though, is all about him wanting to show her that he's good enough for her now, so he's pretty much all-in from the beginning. Zoe for her part, felt too young and unexciting for the two years older Finn when they younger and now as an adult, still won't believe that he could ever like her like that. So, we have two people who are both wanting to get together, Zoe finds adult Finn even more attractive and definitely wants to start something with him, so why is this book three hundred pages? Well, we do get that sweet yearning and tension in the first half but the second half drags out with multiple rinse and repeat moments of stop, go, and misunderstanding. She laughed. “Are you only interested in one thing?” There was the smile, the glow, the heat, that promise. “Depends how you classify one thing.” One thing. The one thing was her. When they meet back-up as adults, Zoe is twenty-eight and Finn thirty, they do have some younger feel to them, especially Zoe with her “giggling” and covering her face whenever she's flustered, if the giggling hadn't been repeated so many times, it wouldn't have tripped me up as much, because these two did have a sense of reverting to their when-we-met younger selves that, mostly, worked tone. They share some kisses in the second half but the door is firmly closed in this one, they're headed to bed and then Zoe's waking up in the morning with a quick mention that they did sleep together. And it was at that precise moment that Zoe fell in love. I really enjoyed how Zoe's disability wasn't an element of the story but rather a part of her character, she's a travel writer and while she obviously acknowledges, lives, deals with other people's missteps, and thinks about accessibility, it wasn't forced but simply the fabric of her life. Having Finn growing up with a mother who taught him a lot in this regard and then him, obviously, thinking about Zoe when working to design the resort in Tahiti, really laid down a strong foundation building block in their relationship. All the secondary characters played their parts and helped to fill out the world and add to different dynamics of our two main characters. There's not a lot of the series connection friends in this but they share phone calls for some appearances. As the vast majority of the story takes place at the island resort, you'll also get some great tropical setting with descriptions of food, flowers, and some boat rides. I lost my heart to Finn and how much he just wanted to be around Zoe in the first half but there were a bit too many stop and repeat moments in the second that wore me out some. There's a grand gestures ending, covert by Finn and overt by Zoe, that will make you smile and if you're looking for an island setting and a sweet, trembling but trying couple, you'll want to pick this one up. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 28, 2024
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Jul 02, 2024
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Jun 08, 2024
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Paperback
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| 0063329581
| 9780063329584
| 0063329581
| 3.62
| 1,412
| May 21, 2024
| May 21, 2024
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really liked it
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3.7 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review For many years, I'd had a single goal 3.7 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review For many years, I'd had a single goal in life: never ever move back to Evergreen, New Jersey. It feels like Delfina is finally getting her big break when she gets a coveted slot at a make you or break you comedy festival. Wanting to really hone her set, she quits her job at a pub and comedy club, only to walk in on her boyfriend of three months with her roommate. Suddenly, Del is jobless and homeless and on her way back to the hometown she never wanted to see again ten years later. We disagreed, we argued, we sometimes found ourselves alone and then things happened that were never mean to happen. That was it. Told all from Del's point-of-view, Summertime Punchline had all the highs and lows of being late twenties, your friends all in different places in life, coming into who you really want to be in your career and personal life, finally dealing with those pesky childhood traumas, and an added bonus of a second chance romance. Del was raised by her grandmother, her parents were substance abuse addicts, her mother fatally overdosed when she was young and her father was a deadbeat flitting in and out of her life. While this didn't really deal with Del missing her mother (she was very young when her mother died and her grandmother sufficiently filled the role for her), she did have unresolved issues with her dad. Her issues with him not being there for her when she was a child ebbs and flows throughout the book, finally looking at how it effected her and then how she feels and is willing to move forward now that he has been clean and sober for years. It was a little bit of a different take, with Del wanting to forgive him, and while I'm one to lean more sinking into the hurt, pain, and staying behind walls characters, I did enjoy this kind of restoring route of Del's moving on. So, if you're looking for a forgiveness and willing to build daughter-father relationship, this would hit those points for you. Flirting on a Ferris wheel was one thing, but sharing bunk beds? Pretty early in the beginning, Del runs into Eddie, her high-school nemesis, friend, and crush. There are flashbacks in this that stretch throughout the whole book to show moments in their friendship that lead to them being close and also ending up not talking for ten years. It's basically that high-school relationship of two kids that have strong feelings but don't have the maturity to deal with them yet, along with not the best home-life mucking things up even more for them. We do get more of an insight into who Eddie's character is in the later second half of the book, as Del and him talk, exposing to readers his story. I did feel some chemistry between them and was rooting for them to get together, they at turns had some good by-play and steamy scenes but I still have to lean this is more Del's journey than Del and Eddie together; a good romance but not the main point. His next words came out slow, dark eyes burning into mine. “No games.” If you remember me being excited about the mention of the tv show “Hacks” in the blurb, well, it was a little less in there than I expected. Del's move back to Evergreen and staying with her grandmother is for her to be able to rewrite her whole set, because it was all about her relationship with her boyfriend and after the breakup she can't do those jokes anymore. The story seemed to constantly want to stay away from Del actually doing or focusing on this, the moment that really only corresponds is the moment she realizes that she's made her set jokes all about her, making the joke on her, and she doesn't want to do that anymore. However, it doesn't seem like she really wants to be a stand-up comedian too much either because then we get how she is a great singer and maybe wants to be a musician too? It felt a little bait and switch, but she ends up morphing into a kind of Bloodhound Gang comedian with writing songs that are funny. (She performs a song about her crappy dad memories and everyone was hooting and hollering in the audience, didn't really tickle my funny bone but, ymmv) I felt the ending rushed the resolving of the issues that Del had been wading through, ending up dampening some of those satisfied feelings you get after journeying with the character. This had more of a happily-for-now (an epilogue does expand on this more) but you'll still enjoy how Del and Eddie end up. This was a great beach read that had those summertime vibes (boardwalk ferris wheel!), secondary characters you'll love (Alfonso! I want a Nan and Alfonso romance stat), a romance that was slow in the making but all the better for it, and main character Del coming into her own in the best way. A debut that makes me exited for what comes next from the author, pick it up this summer! ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 28, 2024
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Jun 2024
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May 17, 2024
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1538742756
| 9781538742754
| B0CK8CSK3T
| 3.68
| 3,122
| Jun 25, 2024
| Jun 25, 2024
|
liked it
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3.3 stars Chris Stanton had a job interview. To be a writer. Or, at least, to play one for author photos. Finding Mr. Write was a story about what y 3.3 stars Chris Stanton had a job interview. To be a writer. Or, at least, to play one for author photos. Finding Mr. Write was a story about what you'll do to achieve your dreams, with the complication of finding love along the way. Daphne has sent out her manuscript, a young adult story about a girl surviving in a zombie apocalypse but doesn't get any takers, until she creates a male pen name with a MFA. Suddenly there's a bidding war and Daphne finds herself planning with her bestfriend how “Zane Remington” can exist. Chris is trying to save his business and reputation after partnering with an old college buddy who, it's now revealed has a coke habit. When one of his accounting clients, who is a lawyer, offers to help but in return wants him to pose as an actor, posing as an author, he jumps at the chance. Daphne hates how she's regulated herself to the sidelines of her own success, Chris hates how pretending to be Zane could be keeping him from exploring these feelings he's having for Daphne, and both want to start mixing business with pleasure. He had something with Daphne. Something he’d been looking for, even if he hadn’t realized it. If you're already a Kelley Armstrong fan from her mysteries and thrillers, this would be a good pickup to dip your toe into rom-com. This did have a lighter side with Chris trying to pretend to be this tough outdoorsy guy, when he's really a math geek, with a specialty in baking brownies, and who matured into his looks really well. The subterfuge between him pretending to be an actor who can pull off a Zane type to Daphne, gets resolved in the first half, allowing them to be their selves and showcase some of the flirty by-play between them, which worked well. A sweet and smart guy who wasn’t afraid to get a little silly. As someone with both feet firmly planted in the romance genre, this had romance but more of the logistics, rather than heady, heavy emotion. These two are immediately physically attracted to each other and as they start to get to know one another, Chris having to stay at Daphne's cabin for a few days for a magazine shoot and going on a book tour together, they talk and start to realize they play off each other well. The problem is their working relationship, Chris pretending to be the author Daphne is and how Chris lives in Vancouver while Daphne lives in the Yukon. There's some emotional fear from Daphne's past over her last boyfriend saying he was all in but then bouncing after her mother was diagnosed with cancer that comes into play for a third act break-up but Chris, for his part, is mostly all-in right from the beginning, just wondering who will live where to make things work. This had both their povs, which I greatly enjoy, but it was written to keep a lot of the relationship development in their heads, we're told a lot but not shown to feel more. You'll also get some hot and heavy foreplay but then a slammed door in the face until the next morning for physical scenes. She took hold of the front of his shirt and pulled her to him, and before he fully registered what was happening, Daphne was kissing him. While the first half was setting up their working relationship, physical attraction, and getting to know, the second half has Daphne wanting to come clean that she's the real author. If you're an author reading this, the career workings, how men authors get treated differently and how the merry-go-round at publishing houses can be, will probably have you locked in and raising toasting a glass, as you drink deeply from it in commiseration. As a reader, it worked to fill out Daphne's character and world. There's a blackmail scene to force their resolution to Daphne and Chris' working relationship problem, Chris causing the third act breakup, and then some work by Chris but still felt like a quick forgive by Daphne. “That’s all this is,” he says. “Our first chapter. Pen to paper with the hope of finishing the story.” He met her gaze. “Do you want to start a story with me, Daphne?” Like I said, if you're already an Armstrong fan, this would probably be a good pick to dip your toe into contemporary romance, a lot of the story focuses more on the logistics of how these two can be together, rather than heavy emotion development. This had cute light moments with some deeper commentary on what it means to be in the business of being a writer. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 06, 2024
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Jun 13, 2024
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Mar 04, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 1668030764
| 9781668030769
| 1668030764
| 3.54
| 1,746
| May 07, 2024
| May 07, 2024
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liked it
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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review Can I really turn this fake relationship int I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review Can I really turn this fake relationship into a real one? Emily is now the only unmarried daughter in her family and at thirty-three, she's feeling the pressure from her mother. After going along with her mother's first disastrous matchmaking scheme, Emily wants nothing to do with her mother's latest pick, Mark Chan. Especially after feeling like he was judging her and wouldn't stay off his phone when she first meets him at her younger sister's wedding. However, Emily's mother is caring and devious, tricking Emily into a date with him and there, Emily comes up with a plan to fake date for three months to get her mother off her back, a plan Mark surprisingly goes along with. But I concede— in my own mind, not out loud— that Mark has grown on me, and the juxtaposition of his neat clothes and cat named Ms. Muffins is weirdly delightful. Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie was a cute fake dating story where, oops, my mom was right and I do have chemistry with this guy, that had a lot of women's fiction/chik-lit to it but came in with a surprising second half (truly, I gasped) introducing some chapters with Mark's point-of-view. The first half is all from Emily's pov and focused on how she feels like her mother is disappointed in life choices and job of being a writer and her sisters all sneer at her “I don't have my life together because I don't have a husband, kids, and white picket fence”. If you're a writer and disillusioned by the publishing business, you'd probably do a lot of cathartic commiserating with Emily. I'm not in the business and as a reader, I liked how it gave some life to her character, filling out her make-up and world, but there was a lot repeated and bemoaned over and over, to the point it started to make me want to say, “No career is a picnic”'; but, again, not the target for this aspect. Mark Chan is more than a little handsome. I lean this more towards women's fiction/chik-lit because it did feel more like Emily's life and getting herself together, with a romance. Along with the job woes, there was also a lot of family dynamics and Emily being comfortable and standing up for herself. There did feel like some chip-on-the-shoulder misunderstanding from Emily, constantly saying/thinking her mother isn't proud of her when there is a good amount of evidence to the contrary and this also carried over to the beginning of the romance with Mark. When Emily first meets Mark, she constantly railroads over him and decides what he means or thinks instead of listening to him. It's a little before the midway point when Emily finally gets out of her own head and then apologizes to Mark for misconceptions and they start to date for real. But how, exactly, does he feel about me? As I said, the second half brings in Mark pov's, I had a misconception of my own and thought the whole second half was going to be from his take but we only got a few chapters through his eyes. It did help on the romance front some, though, because we see why he went along with Emily's fake dating scheme, and get some of his family dynamic, giving readers an insight into his character and why he's more a little straitlaced. I liked some of the chemistry that developed between the two when Mark got to teasing, taking Emily by surprise because of her thinking he's uptight. The few povs we got from Mark centered around physical attraction a bit more than I would have liked, giving more lust than emotional to me, but I did enjoy the open-door scenes we got (feeling a little forced at times with the du jour “good girl” vibes). So, while this had a stronger romance plot, I still felt it was more Emily's life/romance journey than Emily and Mark's romance genre story. And then the unthinkable happens. Mark winks at me. The ending had Emily talking things out with her mom and sister for some family resolution, which I liked but then hardly left any time for Emily and Mark to have their own, again, the romance getting a little shafted in favor of chik-lit, in my eyes, but the epilogue padded the HEA, which I enjoyed. Along with if you're a writer struggling in the business, if you're a more heavily online social media person, you'd probably enjoy the many, many references to various dramas and news stories (I feel like this is going to age the book very quickly??). I would have liked some of the writer's business and headline dramas taken out in favor of strengthening the romance but if you're a struggling writer bemoaning work, family issues, and misconstruing what a cute guy in a sweater is saying, this could be enjoyable (and eye-opening!) for you. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 07, 2024
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May 21, 2024
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Feb 18, 2024
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Paperback
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| 0593642619
| 9780593642610
| B0CLKZBSDW
| 3.78
| 2,092
| Aug 06, 2024
| Aug 06, 2024
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it was ok
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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review “I’m pretty sure this is a bad idea.” The Tr I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review “I’m pretty sure this is a bad idea.” The Truth According Ember was a story of what can happen when all those little white lies you told start to add up. Ember is twenty-five years old living paycheck to paycheck after her younger brother skipped out on bail and she lost the money she had saved to continue her college classes. After not even receiving a call for an interview after the umpteenth job application, she and her bestfriend Joanna come up with the idea to check the Caucasian box instead of the Native American one and fudge her credentials a tad bit. Lo and behold, she gets called in for an interview, lands the job and even finds herself soon promoted. However, the lies are starting to snowball and that little interoffice HR rule about not allowing romances, seems more like a suggestion when Ember and the IT guy Danuwoa have chemistry impossible to ignore. I was just Ember Lee Cardinal, a sometimes liar, but mostly an overall good person. This was all told from Ember's pov and in a way that readers are on her running thoughts ride, this isn't typically my personal favorite writing style. I started to feel it lead to overly describing on focuses I didn't care about anymore and thought paced in a way I started to find exhausting, if this style doesn't bother you, though, your mileage will vary greatly from mine. I also thought this had more of a New Adult chik-lit feel but for Ember being twenty-five, all of her pop culture references felt pretty dated (yes, I know about those quirky youngin's that love older movies (Say Anything) but all the references were like this). For the most part, Ember is a character you're going to root for, even when some of her white lies will start to have you stressed out and yelling for her to stop. Starting from a place unprivileged, she tries to out play a system that wants to keep her locked out of it. There's definitely confronting racism, sexism, and nepotism moments in this. Being caught kissing him in front of the CEO’s nephew was the absolute worst thing that could ever happen. Danuwoa comes into the picture pretty early, they have one of those relationships where Ember's always somehow embarrassing herself in front of him and telling him obvious lies to make herself look better (she's borrowing the car, not the owner of a 1996 holding on by a thread Toyota). Even though we don't get his pov, it's easy to read that he likes her and, mostly, finds her obvious lies amusing. However, I found the romance fairly weak, this is more Ember's new adult, coming into my own, slice of life story. For the vast majority of the story, Danuwoa is a paper doll, it's not until around 70% that we get a deeper look at his character and background, he has a younger sister he cares for because his parents died. He's the acts perfect, looks perfect interest for the heroine that I, personally, didn't find had much substance to his character make-up. They go on a work trip where suddenly, there's only one bed!, and we get a feeling required hot bedroom scene and from there you'll get all the buzz and bullet point words and phrases that stands in for emotional depth romance. This all started because I just wanted to be an accountant, damn it. The latter half is about Ember talking about how important this job is to her and thinking about how that HR rule about not dating could ruin things but inviting Danuwoa up to her floor for a hot quickie because her boss is supposed to be gone an hour, it just didn't fit right and felt ignore previous character building in favor of hot scene, so I guess, again mileage may vary. Danuwoa also proclaims once how important the job is to him but he's more of the “doesn't want to be a dirty secret” and wants to just come clean to HR. It, of course, all blows up in Ember's face, the romance and job lies, and we get Ember learning some life lessons and what she really wants out of life. There's some family life issues going on for Ember, relationship with her brother, father, and community that I enjoyed, I found myself wishing this just would have been made a contemporary fiction coming of age and left out trying to add enough romance to get a romance tag. The relationship between Ember and who became a bit of a work mentor, Natalie, was one of my favorite relationships in the book, that friendship would have been great to see grow. Also, Ember learning to ask for help from her community and getting a talking to from her Auntie felt like it could have been a great heart of the story. The writing style of riding Ember's thoughts, created a pace I started to find exhausting and along with a romance I didn't find myself invested in, had this not hitting the right mark for me but I also think there was some great coming of age and cultural issues threaded into here that definitely hit right. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 14, 2024
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Aug 16, 2024
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Feb 17, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| 3.95
| 2,851
| 1997
| Aug 12, 2020
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it was ok
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None
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Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 27, 2023
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Dec 15, 2023
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Nov 27, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| 0996630643
| 9780996630641
| 0996630643
| 3.12
| 57
| Jan 01, 2007
| Aug 16, 2023
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it was ok
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1.7 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review If a man makes you feel like you mi 1.7 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review If a man makes you feel like you might want to throw up, it means you're in love. Growing up with a mother who capital L loved Elvis Presley and thinks he's still alive, Bailey can't help but have an affinity for his tribute stars. So much so, that when an Elvis tribute star kisses her during one of his performances, Bailey takes her bestfriend Liza to Las Vegas during a huge Elvis impersonator competition in a desperate search for the one who made her believe they're soulmates with just one kiss. Bailey does find a dream Elvis but Carter's also head of hotel casino security and after an embarrassing meet-cute, Bailey may get love me tendered or shot when a missing diamond enters the picture. He was Vegas and Elvis and danger, and she was Coupeville and Labrador retrievers and marionberry pie. Kisses Don't Lie was a little throwback to the '90s mad cap chik-lit, but didn't hit those Jennifer Crusie notes for me. Bailey has off-kilter relatives, an Elvis crazed mother and hypochondriac aunt, with twin brother mechanics that like to bring up that she dated and slept with one of them back in highschool, to bring in some eccentric smalltown flavor. Elvis is a very big additive, the tribute performances happen more than once and it's brought up over and over how wild and crazy the women go for them. I can't count myself as one of those hordes, so maybe this is a your mileage will vary because the numerous times it was written that a sweaty scarf was thrown into the audience and fought over, I only wanted to scream “It's not even Elvis!” instead of octagon style someone for the scarf and/or faint, like the women in the story. It'd be an adventure, that much was sure. We do get both povs from Bailey and Carter and while Bailey thinks Carter is the sexiest man this side of Graceland and Carter finds Bailey innocently adorable, I can't say I ever felt real emotional depth from these two; they're hot for each other but really lacking emotional depth between them. This was a fade-to-black but numerous kisses happening that sometimes read as awkward scenes because I didn't feel the heat between them. The suspense plot also lacked depth for me. It involved Carter trying to get back at a enemy he's hated since childhood but made no sense as to why he'd steal a diamond (to stop funding of a casino??) only to meekly turn around and just want to give it back. Where was the plan?? The second half just had these two feeling broken plot going back and forth from Bailey's hometown in Washington to Las Vegas. I think you need to also read this as if it was published before smart phones, because there were times (GPS, calling/text messaging) that technology would have solved some problems. I also had some problems with some TSTL moves by Bailey, I know this is supposed to be more along lines of goofy fun but Bailey having the diamond when she knew Carter needed it to potentially save his and someone else life, and instead of calling/texting or going to Las Vegas, she goes shopping with her friends? Girl. She may have already been smitten with Carter before she and Carter arrived in Coupeville, but this is where she realized he was the man she was meant to be with. There was some plot and threads that didn't quite add up, the Elvis stuff was a bit much for me, the romance lacked connecting emotional depth between the two, and the tone and vibe didn't reach that sweetspot of '90s Crusie chik-lit. The story ended with a happily for now and Bailey and Carter's story does continue. If you're a big Elvis fan, I can see this being more enjoyable or if you just miss a little bit of those hijinks, goofy, '90s chik-lit, you would maybe want to give this a try. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 27, 2023
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Dec 19, 2023
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Oct 09, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0063260468
| 9780063260467
| B0BSV787NG
| 3.60
| 9,269
| Oct 10, 2023
| Oct 10, 2023
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it was ok
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1.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review I'm going to give myself a fair amount 1.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review I'm going to give myself a fair amount of blame for not connecting with this one, I didn't realize it was a sequel to The Christmas Bookshop (my brain must have made the word sequel into series). I would say you absolutely have to read the first before starting this one, otherwise you'll feel as bewildered as I was reading it. She had lost Oke. And soon, she was going to lose her home. If you did read the first, you'll have already been introduced to these characters and all their relationships, family and friends that work on Victoria Street in Edinburgh. This starts off with Carmen still dating Oke (Obedience), her Quaker boyfriend from Brazil and going a little crazy that he doesn't want to have sex with her. This leads her to set-up a seduction that goes very badly and they end up breaking up, right when Oke gets the opportunity to go to the Amazon for a six months expedition. There's anger but also a little regret by Carmen at how she handled things while Oke also regrets his rejection but sees Carmen's anger and doesn't want to force his attention on her as he thinks she is firmly done with him. So, Oke takes off to the Amazon but not quite a full stage exit as we get povs from him as he battles his mother trying to set him up with a family friend and then a horrible case of malaria. Back in Edinburgh, Carmen's sister that she is staying with is going back to work and hiring a nanny, so Carmen needs to leave and find her own place to stay while also trying to keep her job and the bookshop she works at open and out of the clutches of the dastardly millionaire trying to buy up all the businesses on the street and turn them into cheesy survivor shops. And there was comfort in that, too: Make all your choices as well as you can; that is all you can do. One of the things that kind of threw me, was the numerous povs, even the family friend of Oke, Mary, is given a pov. The pov changes bleed into each other at times and that gave the story kind of a chaotic feel, even with Carmen the central character, this felt like a story of no one and everyone. There's dabbling into Carmen's sister Sofia and her stress at going back to work and her husband firmly on board with getting Carmen out, Carmen's boss Mr. McCredie wanting to go on an expedition to Antarctica at seventy-nine years old, and of course, Carmen trying to figure out her feelings on Oke, where to live, and how to keep the bookshop open. It's all dabbling though, and then we get numerous time jumps, the book takes place from summer to winter, and it all made for a story and characters that I never felt like I could get a solid grasp on. She was hungering for physical contact. Nobody touched her. She missed that. She had missed the very simplicity of being touched. She had been so lonely; so cold. The latter second half has Carmen leaving a phone message for Oke stating her feelings and readers see Oke telling his mother and Mary to contact Carmen and tell her he has malaria but with some schadenfreude, Oke and Carmen never learn what the other has to say. This leads to Carmen looking for love again and an almost bedroom scene with Rudi, Sofia's new nanny (Rudi was my favorite character and the one who brought the sweet, lightness, and heart that I want in holiday reads). It also led to a brief dark moment between Carmen and Sofia but that gets resolved fairly quickly. Carmen finds a way to save the store, get Mr. McCredie on his expedition, and see a new side to her Scrooge (shop buying millionaire) to give this a Christmas miracle ending. To really tie a bow on it, Oke comes back right before the end (they come face-to-face with about five percent left in book) and they get their happily for now. The ending felt really abrupt but there was happiness and a feeling of Carmen, seemingly, having figured it all out. If you read the first and want more of your favorite characters, you'd probably enjoy this but definitely don't try and just jump in here. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 24, 2023
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Jul 27, 2023
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Jun 30, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| B0C1X8LBP4
| 3.38
| 7,566
| Feb 06, 2024
| Feb 06, 2024
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did not like it
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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review “See, I knew this would be a mistake. I coul I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review “See, I knew this would be a mistake. I could tell you’d be all insufferable with me, saying all your cute things until I’m completely turned around. Well, I’m not having it,” he said all in a big, angry, frustrated rush. When Grumpy Met Sunshine was a story about a retired footballer, Alfie, and a writer, Mabel, who is hired to ghostwrite his memoirs. Alfie has built a reputation as a gruff and grumpy guy and has went through seventeen ghostwriters already. At the meeting to see if Mabel should be hired on, the two banter, leaving Alfie drawn to Mabel and Mabel thinking Alfie insulted her weight. After a little stalking on Alfie's part, Mabel realizes that Alfie's comment wasn't saying what she thought it was and she agrees to help write his book. They then are caught by media and social media hanging out a lot and the speculation becomes that they're dating and to shut down some not so nice comments, Alfie blurts out they are dating and the trope fake-dating starts. As Mabel and Alfie pretend to be in love, the attraction between them builds and eventually Mabel is scared that she might have actually foregone the fake part. she was enjoying unravelling him. This story was written in all first person point-of-view from Mabel and in a stream of conscious narrative with short choppy sentences, this, personally, is a very hard writing voice for me to get into and I struggled mightily with being able to lose myself into the story and follow along with what was being said. A lot of this story is talking back and forth between Mabel and Alfie, the sense of setting is them talking in the car, in a house, and a random quick moment at a Beyonce concert. There were also end of chapter additives from various social media sites, Twitter/X, Reddit, etc., to try and help bring the outer world in but they also didn't work for me, I'm not a big social media person, so I think I missed some of that connection and the funny and/or cuteness it was supposed to bring. With only getting Mabel's voice, Alfie came off very unclear to me as a character, and for being late thirties, pretty immature. Mabel, I had a better understanding of but her constant misinterpreting Alfie's comments and actions began to feel a little forced as, you can take into account her insecurities lying to her, but his words and actions really gave no reason for her to think he thought negatively about her weight. But there was something underneath it, she suspected. Something else they were saying without really saying it. About alcoholic fathers, and the effect they could have on you. Sometimes they turned you to the drink. And sometimes you went the other way. The above quote gives some of that lovely connection between characters, they shared a painful childhood trait of having alcoholic fathers but the way it's laid out, short and choppy, imagine the whole story written that way, it just kills the flow for me. (another example: His hair seemed newly trimmed. She suspected he’d brushed his beard. Or that someone had brushed his beard. Most likely a barber who cost more than she spent on rent per month.) I also am not sure I fully understood or went along with why they had to start fake-dating at just before the midpoint of the story, it just didn't make sense and felt like a forced popular trope thrown in. Because yeah, you weren’t supposed to want violence. But god, sometimes it was good to know someone thought it should happen on your behalf. That you weren’t just weak or nuts or exaggerating. Something didn’t just deserve pity, or whatever else she usually feared she would get, if she dropped some of her Bubbly Girl armor. It was bad, and they would do things about it, if they could. Things that made her want to do good by him, in return. The second half was more talking with adding in dirty talk and some open door scenes but since I had issues with the style, and therefore couldn't connect with the characters, I wasn't feeling the chemistry between them and it all just ending up feeling like more words on the page I was struggling to read. There was a moment of sweetness I liked between these two, Alfie brushing Mabel's hair, but the writing style didn't allow the characters or me the reader to slow down and sink into it, I wanted Mabel to simply breath for a second so we could feel the moment. The last twenty percent had Mabel admitting to herself that she loved Alfie but then getting scared he didn't feel the same way, so after she's done writing the memoir, the story has them parting for a year. The very next chapter is the book launch, which brings them together and misunderstandings are talked through when Mabel reads a passage in the memoir that Alfie wrote himself and she sees his actions and feelings in a different light to deliver the HEA. “I am happy, hanging around with a grumpy arse like you. Because you’re not that. You’re sweet, and kind, and most of all, I trust you. So you know what? If we have to kiss, we have to kiss. I know it’ll be all right. I always know everything will be all right when I’m with you,” she said. I've read in some other reviews that Alfie seemed based off a tv show Ted Lasso character, I've never watched the show, so I could be missing some connection there and like I said, the narrative style of a character speaking in written word how people talk/think (stream of conscious) is a personal hard style for me to get into, I had to go back and reread so many passages to try and understand what was going on. A personal dislike and some writing that I think needed to be cleaned up, along with talking seemingly ninety percent of the three hundred and twenty-nine pages, made this a story that I could never get into. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 20, 2024
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Jan 30, 2024
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Jun 30, 2023
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0063260425
| 9780063260429
| 3.83
| 7,180
| Jun 08, 2023
| Jul 11, 2023
|
really liked it
|
3.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review I had...I had fooled them, I suppos 3.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review I had...I had fooled them, I supposed. This made me feel unusually grim. Coming from generations of pilots, with a brother who's only into art, Morag felt a certain pressure growing up to fly. Luckily, she loves it, the feeling of her, the plane, and open air. Her life's been go go go, as she co-pilots for a big airline away from home but when an accident happens, she's shaken up and begins to question if a promotion and moving even farther from home is what she really wants from life. And suddenly nothing else mattered: not my fears, not the job, not my future, not Hayden. Not Gramps, not the airline. Not every stupid problem in my life. Nothing but this---me and Dolly---versus the world, versus the elements. Summer Skies was a standalone pleasant story to read. The history of Morag's family and why she feels the pressure she does and how her love of flying was formed gave readers a character that they could bond with and understand. Coming into the story after Morag's close call while flying and having to pass psych evals and flight simulation tests, added some tension as we see her passing everything she needs to pass but having her first person pov letting us readers know that she is in fact not emotionally ok. Adding in a blooming romance with a man she meets on the job, Hayden, having for the first time a partner, and then a chance at a promotion, Morag's life is moving in the direction she has planned all out. When she gets called back to her home, her grandfather is sick and they need her to fly their family's Cessna that island hops the archipelago, it leads to her finally getting time to sit still and realize maybe what she planned for in life, isn't what she truly wants. A place to which I belonged utterly; a place where I could breathe. The charm of the story really shines when Morag goes back home and we get to meet her family and friends, who with some shenanigans and tough love, help Morag start to heal. When another emergency happens in the air, Morag has to break through her fear and fly, which leaves her landing the plane but getting stuck on a tiny island because of a storm. Having meet the ornithologist who is temporarily staying on the island, and thinking him a grump then, her and Gregor have a less than friendly beginning. I loved their back and forth, especially the dry teasing from Gregor about Morag eating all of his bread he baked for his lunch, and because Morag just recently got a nasty shock about Hayden, it's pretty clear where Gregor and Morag's relationship is going to end up. The second half of the book is Morag forced and gradually learning to slow down, breath, and take the time to think about what she really wants from life as she's stuck on the tiny island for a few days. We get a closer look at Gregor and an eventual reveal about a tragedy he experienced in his own life that has lead to his little more taciturn personality. This had cuteness with goats and chickens showing their personalities, learning to heal from emotional tragedies, stillness, some romance, and taking the time and courage to decide what you really want out of life; a contemporary fiction story to escape into and feel good after reading. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 24, 2023
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Aug 15, 2023
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Jun 18, 2023
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Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0778333558
| 9780778333555
| 0778333558
| 3.91
| 8,332
| Jun 20, 2023
| Jun 20, 2023
|
liked it
|
2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review Featuring characters that appeared in t 2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review Featuring characters that appeared in the Blackberry Island series, The Happiness Plan follows three friends, Heather, Tori, and Daphne and the three brothers, Campbell, Grant, and Brody that are the connection links in their friend group. Written with all the friends' lives and stories intermingling, this was a good women's fiction beach read that offered emotional highs and lows. Told from only the women's point-of-views, the focus was more on their character make-ups and development, the men were pretty distant and came off as stilted characters to me. From emotional affairs, miscarriages, finding a biological father, and realizing you're in love with your bestfriend, each woman's story offered a different emotional struggle. Taking a chance on giving her heart was beyond impossible. There was too much risk and not enough reward. But that didn't mean she didn't miss him. Readers of the Blackberry series will remember Heather and the fear of her falling in love with Campbell. When Campbell pushed for more of a solid commitment from Heather, she broke up with him but now that he is seeing someone else, Heather can't get rid of the pang in her heart. Heather probably got more of the page count and had the most to work through. Growing up with an emotionally manipulative mother has made her fear love as she can't trust the other person won't demand and drag her down like her mother tried. She also learns who her biological father is through an ancestry site and tentatively starts to have a relationship with him, his wife, and their two daughters. I thought some of the actions by Heather's father and wife felt a bit forced, getting Heather's character to grow in leaps and bounds in regards to learning to accept and give love but at least her character did show and give growth. Her romance with Campbell was probably the most absent, as he's dating someone else the vast majority, but they do get their HEA because of the aforementioned growth by Heather. I felt the most satisfaction when Heather finally took a stand with her horrible mother. She was lucky when it came to her friends. Less lucky when it came to men. Tori works with Heather and has a “non-couple” friendship with Campbell's brother Grant, an ER doctor. Tori and Grant live across the hall from each other and with him working nights and her working days, they take care of each other's animals. Tori hates change and loves their routine but when the condos get severe water damage, they end up renting a place together, and Tori is confronted with the fact that Grant has decided to start dating. Losing her mother young and distant from the sister that hadn't wanted to take on the responsibility of raising her, their little friend group is all the family she has. Seeing how Heather has been pushed out a little as she's no longer dating Campbell and he's bringing his new girlfriend around, Tori's scared to admit to even herself that she has more than friend feelings with Grant. This was probably the lightest story as Tori and Grant didn't have quite as much baggage as the other two couples. We get a good amount of backstory on Tori and her issues of fear of change and not wanting to rock the boat with her great friendship with Grant but Grant was pretty much a couple of pencil marks on a page. Their friendship and little touches obviously pointed to more and when Grant sees Tori in a towel, they're suddenly jumping into bed, but there wasn't really any emotional depth from Grant or to their romance. They get their HEA because Tori admits she's in real love with Grant and he just comes to the realization that yeah, he loves her too. How had this all happened? she thought, wiping her cheeks as her breath came in choking sobs. How had they lost their way? Daphne and Brody, probably because they are already married, felt the most heavy emotion story. They're newlyweds and Brody has accused Daphne of cheating on him when he discovers a partner at the law firm she works at sent her flowers. Daphne goes to lunch with Miguel and while recognizes he's sexy, she feels that there is nothing wrong with their working friendship. With Daphne's seventy hour work weeks, and Brody's three children from a previous marriage suddenly spending more time at their house, these two have lost time to connect. Daphne's also hurt that when she brought up wanting to try for a baby, Brody told her the timing wasn't good yet, so now she thinks he just using made up anger about Miguel to distract from the fact that he doesn't ever want a baby with her. Like with Tori and Grant, we get way more from Daphne and Brody remained more of an outline of a hurt, angry husband. The majority of the time was spent with Daphne not wanting to acknowledge that she was having an emotional affair and therefore keeping Brody from being able to move on. With them growing more distant, Daphne also finds out she's pregnant and is scared Brody won't believe the baby is his. Not really knowing Brody had me kind of aghast at how he treated Daphne. He makes breakfast for himself and the kids but doesn't give Daphne any, when he sees Daphne smiling while reading an email (it had to do with a possible house for them to stay at for vacation) he nastily asks if it's an email from Miguel, and Daphne thinking her husband wouldn't believe her baby was his, had his petty attitude, from who is supposed to be an adult and love this woman, really souring me on him. For how deep some of their issues were, their story wrapped up fairly quickly when Daphne admitted she could see she had an emotional affair and Brody suddenly was fine with everything. The three stories intertwined to give fairly deep looks at different emotional issues from all three women, the men characters were kind of left to the side. If you're looking for a beach read with some variety of relationship issues, animals like cute kittens and dogs getting screen time, found family vibes, and headed by three woman trying to work out their love lives, then this would be on to pick up. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 18, 2023
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Jul 02, 2023
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Jun 10, 2023
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 125028581X
| 9781250285812
| 125028581X
| 3.88
| 29,406
| Sep 26, 2023
| Sep 26, 2023
|
liked it
|
2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review Tollivers had been growing this par 2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review Tollivers had been growing this particular variety of Christmas tree, in this particular patch of farmland in the mountains of western North Carolina, for four generations. Kerry has recently moved back home after her agency merged with another, her job as art director became redundant, and her relationship of two years just drifted to an end. When her mother has to take care of her father, even though they've been exes for years, after he has a heart-attack, Kerry suddenly has to help out with her family's tree farm. When her parents got divorced, Kerry went to live with her mom and her older brother Murphy went to live with their dad but now she's going to have live in a small trailer, affectionately named Spammy, for a month in New York City while they work their tree stand and try to keep the family farm afloat. It dawned on her that in less than a month, these few crowded city blocks had become her home and these strangers now felt like neighbors. And one of those neighbors was . . . something more. Bright Lights, Big Christmas was a chik-lit story that was great at showcasing how close knit neighborhoods in big cities can be. Small towns seem to get more of a spotlight in holiday books and I loved how this delivered on the good feels of neighbors helping neighbors and that holiday community feel. Growing up and not having much to do with the farm, Kerry was a little bit fish out of water with knowing how to help and how much hard work goes into the tree stand and her older grumpy brother Murphy seems to harbor a little resentment that she's just showing up now to help. As they get to know each other more, Kerry learning that the farm is in financial trouble and Murphy acknowledging how Kerry's new ideas can bring in money, they start to thaw toward to one another. As Kerry works the tree stand, we get to know the people that live and work in the neighborhood, from Claudia that runs the restaurant where they can get occasional free food (and Murphy might have a crush on), to the new mother of twins that lets them shower and do laundry at her place, to the older gentleman named Heinz who wanders the neighborhood but no one seems to know much about, and to the newly single dad Patrick (who's allergic to pine!) that Kerry may have had a bad first impression with but now they both can't seem to keep their eyes off each other. There's some of that quirky Andrews-ness, the trailer Spammy has a personality all it's own and rival tree sellers provide some hijinks but there's also some cuteness, Patrick's son Austin, Murphy's dog, and the couples and families that we get little glimpses into their lives as they purchase trees. The romance between Kerry and Patrick was very thin, don't expect any depth, just a sudden kiss on the lips from Patrick to alert that he was liking her and then invites to dinner. Kerry is only running the tree stand for a month and before that time is even up, Patrick is telling her she can move in with him because he wants her to stay in the city, I guess he was really feeling the Christmas spirit. It was in the later second half when Heinz turns up missing and shifts to reveals about him. The reveals lead and provide for a happy ending for Kerry and Patrick, with this and another earlier happy happenstance involving an Instagram Influencer and the tree stand, it's a Merry Christmas for all. This was a little stark in the depth of emotion departments but if you want to read a cozy, bedroom door firmly shut, holiday story that was great at showcasing how big city neighborhoods care for each other, this would be one to pick up. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 02, 2023
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Jul 24, 2023
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May 03, 2023
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Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||
| 0369736028
| 9780369736024
| 4.22
| 111
| Apr 25, 2023
| Apr 25, 2023
|
it was ok
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2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review They'd come from places where peopl 2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review They'd come from places where people didn't care, not on the regular, and Camp Phoenix had shown them they were worth something. The Comeback Cowboy was an anthology with a cool concept of having four different authors continue the story of the same characters, giving each couple a starring role. I thought this would give four different perspectives and vibes to each couple but set in the same world, instead it delivered a whole lot of sameness. The men are all tall with “barely reaching” shoulder height women and except for one couple where it was reversed, the guys are the ones wanting to keep it to just open door bedroom scenes and fearing love. All of the men work/ed in law enforcement, along with one woman, but the stories were too short to really delve into that, they are all just “protective”. The setting is a camp that they all spent time at as teenagers, it's a juvenile retreat to try and help teens change their life path, and after the death of their mentor, Bill McClain, one of the former campers buys it and asks/guilt trips for volunteers to get it back running. Until the last story though, the camp setting wasn't really felt by me and I was kind of disappointed in that aspect. If you were looking for a certain kind of vibe, short, not deep, men scared of love, teenage crushes finally getting fulfilled, then each story had these notes. I was looking for different perspectives and instead got same one after the other. The One With the Hat by Jackie Ashenden 2 stars Flint Decker. Sheriff Flint Decker and his stupid hat. This story had the added responsibility of introducing all the characters, setting, and the whos and whys of everyone. When Bree was fourteen, Officer Flint Decker took her in for stealing food, she says arrested but he really took her to Sheriff Bill McClain, who sent her to Camp Phoenix. Flint was twenty at the time and while Bree had a crush on him, he obviously never felt anything. I started to get a little “ok, enough” over how many times it was brought up how she was fourteen and his “arresting” her, it started to feel a little nothankyou, I wanted a focus on here and now. He remembers her and when Bree moved back to town (Jasper Creek, this is #4 in the city named series) he gets up in his feels how she ignores him. All our characters, well, except for one, come from families of neglect or crooks, providing the issues our characters have to work to deal with or overcome. Bree has worked to become a real estate agent and distant herself from her no account brothers but still has some problem with authority and feeling ashamed of how Flint first met her. Flint is the new Sheriff and feels he has to always be setting an example, his self-righteousness ruffles Bree's feathers. “Am I getting to you, wildcat?” he murmured as she got in, his deep voice sending the most delicious chills right down her spine. With the crushes going on, there was also our four heroines bunking in a cabin together and starting off a bit cool and adversarial to each other. They start to bond as they come up with the plan for Bree to steal Flint's hat to teach him a lesson. It's a theme that runs through the whole book, each heroine trying to steal something from their hero. It was at turns cute and immature, most of the heroines had an immature feel to them while most of the heroes were production line tough, stoic. When Bree goes to steal Flint's hat the attraction flairs and it kicks off a bedroom relationship. We seem to miss all the good bonding as it's said weeks go by of them continuing their bedroom antics. It comes to ahead as Bree wants more and Flint has to get over his issues for the eventual happily ever after. The One With the Locket by Caitlin Crews 2.5 stars Lincoln Traeger was not easily riled. As Bree and Flint's relationship is getting settled, Violet and Lincoln move into frame. Lincoln is a calm, cool, U.S. Marshal and Violet an argumentative lawyer. As with the other couples, for forced proximity trope, they get paired up and are supposed to clean up the campgrounds chapel. Violet had a crush on Lincoln when they were at camp, she, 15 and he 19, and now grown up, she's still annoyed that she can't wind him around her little finger like she does all other men. It forces her to want to be seen for other than looks but also be scared to be liked or disliked for who she really is. Lincoln catches on to this about her and after he kisses her when she says she only thinks of him as a brother, he then ignores her. This prompts Violet to want to steal a locket of his to prove that she really does hate him to her bunkmates, who she's growing closer to. This man was trouble. There was no getting around it. As with the first, Violet gets caught stealing and it ends with Lincoln and her hitting the bedroom scenes. This did the same thing where all the time they spend together is basically skipped and I was left not seeing or feeling the emotional developments between these two. These two had logistics issues with some of Violet's emotional (Lincoln seemed to just accept the seriousness between them right away??), Violet lives across the country. This has Lincoln just boldly stating that Violet needs to quit her job and move to him. There's a tiny little background on Violet wanting a change in life but it was side-eyeing how comfortable Lincoln was with only saying she should move to him and not ever a consideration for the reverse. This one had a little more enjoyable heat to it for me but, again, lacked the emotional depth and Violet just expected to upheaval her life was meh. The One With the Bullhorn by Nicole Helm 2 stars Because Kinley was not a rash, belligerent person. She was shy. She liked to hide and be left to her own devices. But when she was mad...well. Jackson Hart better watch out. Jackson is the leader of the camp and putting his whole energy behind it because he's been forced to retire from the DEA, he has leg damage after being shot and trying to run into a burning building to save his partner. Kinley has always been a wallflower and after only feeling like she could belong at camp, she moved to Jasper Creek years ago but has felt stagnated. Jackson hires her on as the camp's cook but his militant attitude has her destructive tendencies flaring, she used to act out to try and get attention from her parents, and mixed with the crush she's had on him, it has her agreeing to steal his beloved bullhorn. Except he catches her and she blindly snatches up his cane he sometimes uses for his limp. Jackson decides to teach her a teasing lesson and, you guessed it, it leads to them starting up the bedroom antics. No one had ever treated her like this. Like she might be precious, or someone to be careful with. She found herself wanting to cry and hold on to him forever. Kinley was a character that had probably the deepest hurt, she has a burn scar from an ex now in jail, and frequently talked about therapy but the shorter page count had her issues getting rushed through. She's also the one who was afraid and running away when Jackson told her he was all in. Jackson was a pretty stoic guy, some little flashes of lighter personality, I never felt like we got a look behind his brick wall, but he did feel the most mature of all the characters. I would have liked a better look at the guys' friendship in his story as he's the one who brought them all together, we really only get quick mentions of poker night and a few short conversations here and there in the short stories, the women's friendship gave more of a growth thread. Jackson's calm, steadiness eventually has Kinley feeling deserving of his love, but while the words were said on paper, I'm not sure I felt their romance. The One With the Trophy by Maisey Yates 3 stars He worried about her, and he shouldn't. He worried about her, and it made her feel special. He worried about her, and she wished he wouldn't. And she wished he would. Forever. This was my favorite of the anthology, Clementine, the daughter of Sheriff Bill, she spent her summers at the camp. As she wasn't forced or sent there because she wasn't a juvenile delinquent, she always felt like an outsider and then growing up without a mother, while her father loved her, he never seemed to know what to do with a little girl, she has also always felt like an outsider with women. Working now as a deputy with Flint and Duke, another of her father's proteges, she always tried to hide her feelings for Duke. Being ten years older than Clementine, Duke has always tried to watch out for her as his mentor's daughter but the last few months have had him seeing her in a different light. He's trying to say she's like a sister to him but when he overhears her tell the other women that she's going to lose her virginity tonight, his emotions are all over the place. He kept imagining it. Some guy kissing her. Putting his hands on her. Clementine was really talking about losing her thief virginity and stealing his MVP football trophy from highschool but when he catches her and alludes to attraction to her, Clementine decides to take her chance. This had more of that emotional feelings I was looking for and had some light laughter with heat. Duke was still missing some fully formed character feel but Clementine came out stronger with working out her issues and growing from someone who felt they had to hide their emotions and feeling like an outsider. I also thought their prior friendship helped me believe in their romance more. This did follow the same old, same old trend of the anthology of having the guy scared to trust in love and move it from casual with the woman declaring her love first and saying she wanted more. Duke does get over his parental hang-ups and they get a happily ever after. This also wraps-up the Camp Phoenix setting with the camp welcoming in a new generation of juveniles that need help. This didn't have much of a camp setting and while it seems at least two of the guys wear cowboy hats and own ranch/land, there really wasn't a western feel that the cover looked like to promise. But, again, if you're looking for the particular vibes I mentioned, those pretty much get repeated in all four stories. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 22, 2023
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Jun 04, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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ebook
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| 0063307480
| 9780063307483
| 0063307480
| 3.44
| 5,923
| May 23, 2023
| May 30, 2023
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it was ok
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2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. She looks miserable and not a sing 2.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. She looks miserable and not a single person here seems to notice but me. Lizzie has worked at James' family gym for the last five years, moving up to front desk manager. With the family business expanding, Lizzie has her eye on a promotion and becoming manager of the new gym opening up and hopefully, getting her own gym someday. But Lizzie hasn't worked up the nerve to even apply for the promotion yet, so when James begs her to be his plus one at his sister's wedding, enticing Lizzie with one-on-one time with his parents to impress them, she begrudgingly agrees. And then has a drunken conversation with James' sister Cara where she convinces Cara to ditch her fiance and wedding. I stop and wait for her to look up. Her eyes are already blissed out and unfocused, her lips parted in the most devious of smiles. And oh, this is gonna be fun. As soon as Lizzie saw and talked with Cara, she was in instant lust but tried to stay away because of “bro code”, not wanting to hurt her friendship with James. Along with this, Lizzie had some self-worth issues, her mother is an alcoholic who depends on Lizzie for money and therefore Lizzie can't save up money to do the things she wants to do in life. Cara is a lawyer who has been the golden child and Lizzie can't see why Cara would ever want to be with her. This was all told in Lizzie's pov, present tense, so readers don't really get insights to other characters. There were a couple times it felt clear that Cara was trying to hit on Lizzie but mostly, we are getting everything from Lizzie's stream of conscious. I have some trouble with first person pov, present tense (ex. I jerk my head and am met with the biggest pair of brown eyes I've ever seen. I instantly think of cows. Wait. I don't mean... Like she doesn't look like a cow, just her eyes are big and soulful and tender like cows'. In a good way. Hot cow eyes. Wait, that's weird. ) but if that narrative style doesn't bother you, your mileage would vary. “I love her.” And I hate so much that the first time I say it out loud, Cara isn't around to hear it. Lizzie and James have a friendship that is touted as close brother sister but mostly seemed to consist of getting together to watch The Bachelor and bemoan James' love life and Lizzie's inability to take any steps forward for her dream of owning a gym. It was a little hard to cheer for Lizzie to get her dream when she couldn't even get herself to apply for a promotion that she talked about throughout the whole book. The only action she seems to take towards owning her own gym is scribbling drawings/notes on napkins. There were a couple scenes of her in the gym and a long yoga scene with Cara but it felt more like an idea to have the gym as a setting than having it part of the story. I had kind of the same thoughts with the characters, I could almost see the character names on a tag board with James – bff to Lizzie, gay, trainer, competitive with sister and Cara – Lizzie love interest, lawyer. The characters had defining components but like the setting, it didn't fill them out, they were pretty cardboard. James and Cara's mom played the villain but a tad too cartoon mustache twirling. What would happen if I leaned into the people I love, instead of racing away as far as I could get? What would happen if I trusted someone, well and truly trusted them? It could be fucking awful...but what if it wasn't? The first half was a little difficult for me to get into, while the second had more of what I thought worked well, Lizzie and Cara talking, interacting more. Lizzie and Cara did have good byplay and the dialogue between them felt natural and calmed the story down focusing on the growing getting to know someone attraction between two people. This did have an open door intimate scene but then more close the door, fade to black. Lizzie's mother's issues and how they affected her was introduced early but then the mom didn't really show up until the latter second half and was never really resolved. Instead, the ending deals more with James and Cara's mom and then resolving issues and blowups between Lizzie and James and Cara. The ending had harsh words spoken by all and for a more dramatic blowup it was resolved all too soon and quickly, giving a very rushed feeling ending. “Only for you,” I say, as she leans in for a kiss. The beginning was tough for me to get into, the first person pov, present tense along with Lizzie being glum because she wants her own gym, even though she won't even apply for a promotion she wants and the setting and characters with just tags instead of flushed, developed out feeling (also, Lizzie is twenty-four and thought this “We make quite the pair, a couple of queers, inching our way toward the wrong side of thirty”. Wrong side of thirty?? Skipping right past dreading thirty to WRONG SIDE, bleh). Lizzie and Cara's interactions did hit nicely at times and I could see them developing some feelings but the underdeveloped noise of everything else didn't deliver a supportive setting for them as much as I would have liked. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 02, 2023
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May 22, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0008407916
| 9780008625955
| B0BSP9Y9R7
| 3.83
| 5,944
| Jul 20, 2023
| Sep 05, 2023
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liked it
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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 'Let the holiday commence.' Phoebe is leavin I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 'Let the holiday commence.' Phoebe is leaving England and going to spend her two week holiday with her older sister that lives in L.A. However, when she gets there, Suzanne, is immediately taking off for a quick emergency work trip to Seattle. This leaves Phoebe to fend for herself but with a hot neighbor that Phoebe instantly feels a connection with, Suzanne's personal trainer who Phoebe can't help becoming fast friends with, and an old Hollywood starlet who terrorizes the neighborhood, Phoebe isn't quite going to get the quiet, relaxing vacation she thought she'd be getting. The left side of his mouth quirked upwards to form a dimple in his cheek, a charmingly resigned half-smile. 'I guess I'm going on a date with your friend.' Love Me Do, had it's moments of charm with Phoebe and the neighbor love interest, Ren, connecting through their shared interests of the quieter aspects of life. They have a meet-cute over bird watching but the drama comes in when Bel, the personal trainer, tells Phoebe that Ren is her huge crush and believes him to be her soulmate. This leads to a Cyrano de Bergerac like situation where Phoebe writes a letter espousing her own feelings but gives it to Ren declaring that Bel wrote it. Falling for the person Ren thinks is behind the letter has Bel and Ren going on a couple dates but with Phoebe getting dragged along at times and more of Ren and her connecting beyond Phoebe's control. Not that I mattered, there was no chance now, and now there was no chance, I could finally admit the truth to myself. I was falling for him was well. While we have the love interest with Ren and he gets a pretty full back story, he's in L.A. to fix up his grandpa's house because his brother wants to sell it, while Ren wants to keep in it in the family, the development of the romance between Phoebe and Ren wasn't fully there. They talk and communicate well when together, with those charming moments I mentioned, but I'm not sure I saw or felt the depth between them. There was an open door scene towards the end, it did have some heat to it, but I'm not sure romance genre readers would feel full satisfaction from their story line. This was told in all first person point-of-view from Phoebe and while her finding Ren hot and involved in the Cyrano aspect, she's also coming to know Myrna, the past Hollywood starlet (I would have loved more of this character as she was full of sass and life) and dealing with some of the trauma of her past romantic relationship. It starts off with hints that things weren't hundred percent ok with her ex and then as the story goes on, the reader learns that the ex was emotionally abusive and controlling and we get a mini storyline of Phoebe trying to help her ex's current partner. 'What about the letter?' I asked, with a gulp. The sound of his sigh settled softly in the woods. 'I fell in love with it.' Phoebe's sister doesn't actually come back into the story until around sixty percent and then we get some talking about how they need to share things with each other more, Suzanne has her own secret to reveal, and they bond. The triangle between Phoebe, Ren, and Bel comes to ahead and we get Ren initially being upset over feeling played/tricked but it all gets resolved very quickly, which it happens so late in the story there wasn't much page count to play around with. There's some last second drama with Phoebe being scared about her emotions but Myrna and Suzanne come in with solutions to help wrap a big bow and deliver the happily ever after. It felt a little rushed and while everything was wrapped up, there could definitely be series potential with Suzanne and Bel getting their own HEAs. This was contemporary/women's fiction with some romance, charm, and old Hollywood shout-outs, a great pick-up for a beach read or summer time porch reading. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 18, 2023
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Sep 03, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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Paperback
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| 0778333485
| 9780778333487
| 0778333485
| 4.15
| 2,989
| Apr 11, 2023
| Apr 11, 2023
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it was ok
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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. For the first time, Etta realized the serio I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. For the first time, Etta realized the seriousness of what was happening. Etta is in Kansas City when a global pandemic hits and finds herself stranded as people and states shut their doors in fear. Walking through a neighborhood on a way to try another hotel, a kind older gentleman offers her a place to stay, and his son in Denver begs her to be his new caretaker over the phone. Getting a good vibe from the man and out of options, Etta stays. While the current world is at a standstill, Etta goes on an incredible journey. Would she dream again? My Heart Will Find You was a time travel story that had some Wizard of Oz to it. The beginning introduces us to Etta and how when her mother died, she became the family's new caretaker. At one point Etta, her father, sister, and sister's husband all lived in the same house. As Etta's sister moved out a little while go, Etta is missing being in charge of everything, so it's a time of transition. When Etta ends up at the kind older gentleman's house, Henry, a few more characters are thrown at us as we get a look at Henry's life; the son Ben lives in Denver with his wife, who is going into labor, Freddy, the woman who gives vegetables to her neighbors, Sally the singing neighbor, and a few others. It was a good amount of characters to get to know and when Etta falls asleep only to have an incredibly vivid dream of being a mail order bride in 1871 Kansas, the contemporary characters we just meet, all end up in her dream world, but with different names. “Etta,” Henry said slowly, “I've written many books about the Old West, but I've never heard of anyone named Wyatt Earp.” Etta shares her dream with Henry and, as a historian who has written many books on the American West, he's intrigued with the actual history and connections he is recognizing from Etta's retelling. After a few nights of sleeping, Etta suddenly finds herself again in the dream world. She gets to know her new husband, Max, the second biggest landowner in Kansas, Max's sister Alice, who is Etta's sister Alicia in her “real” world, and some of the townspeople. Etta begins to think that she is being sent back in time to help the people she recognizes from her real world, recognizing Alicia as Alice, has her knowing that Alice should be matched up with the blacksmith, because he is Alicia's husband in Etta's contemporary world. Etta repeats this match making and it was a lot of the two people being introduced and instantly falling for each other. Even in dreams, she took over other people's lives. Talking with Henry after a dream, Etta realizes that what she does in the past, can alter the future, she ends up having to make sure Wyatt Earp escapes in the past so that the future will know his name. This has Etta realizing they aren't simply dreams she's having and she begins to think that she has to set everyone's lives right in the past, that she recognizes from her contemporary world. This doesn't leave much room for the romance between Etta and Max to develop, they end up just kind of “I love you” later in the story. Their first under the stars scene (bedroom scene) was a one line and though they get intimate again, those get extended to a paragraph, at most. The emotionally and physically the romance just wasn't there for me in this one. “I'm afraid I'll be taken from you.” He didn't ask what that meant, but then, he was growing used to the odd things she said. “If you are, then you'll just have to find me. I'll wait for you forever.” After setting things to rights the way she thought would make everyone happy and realizing she loved Max, Etta learns that Henry was keeping a secret from her. The ending introduces a new character in the contemporary world and if you've read A Knight in Shining Armor, well, you're in for a similar ending. The concept was interesting with the Wizard of Oz aspect of “and you were there and you were there!”, even though the first half was somewhat of a jumble of names but the romance wasn't there for me. I do hope that someone out there got to escape the first months of Covid by time traveling and finding love, this story was nice fanciful thought to that. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 04, 2023
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Apr 08, 2023
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Mar 21, 2023
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Hardcover
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| 1538739232
| 9781538739235
| 1538739232
| 3.29
| 892
| Mar 21, 2023
| Mar 21, 2023
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it was ok
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I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review I hated high school. Getting the opportunity I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review I hated high school. Getting the opportunity to write for what has become a popular tv show right out of college has been great for Ellie. Not so great, it's a tv show about highschool, something Ellie doesn't want to remember. When her ten year high school reunion invitation gets fished out of the trash at work and her boss is dangling a promotion to co-executive producer if Ellie goes to the reunion, she's trapped. Armed with a bucket list drawn up by her two LA bestfriends, Ellie's reluctantly ready to take on high school again. “We'll call it Ellie Is Cool Now,” Vic says. Told all from Ellie's point-of-view, Ellie is Cool Now was a chik-lit easy read that had a cynical, leaning mean tone as Ellie goes back home and judges the hell out of everyone and everything. I found myself glad that she was never one of the popular kids in school because she would have been an absolute monster. Ellie recognizes that she's judgmental, admitting it over and over, and while she had flashes of maybe she's going to grow from this, the ending pretty much left her the same as when she started, except she got a happily for now. This is why I didn't want to be reunited with my past. Too busy judging everyone, Ellie never let herself fit in, except with her childhood bestfriend Roxy. As they get older, though, and home issues with a sick and mean mom, Roxy starts to become self-destructive and turns to alcohol, eventually sleeping with a lot of classmates, earning her the Most Likely to Brighten Your Day yearbook crown. Teens can be fairly self-centered, so I didn't blame Ellie for being too wrapped up in her own head to really be there for Roxy but when they meet up again as adults, Ellie still thinks and says some pretty mean things to Roxy. This is partly from the hurt Ellie is still carrying around after seeing Roxy make-out with who Ellie thought she knew was her big high school crush, Mark. Ellie had chances with Mark senior year but when she likes someone, she treats them like dirt, due to insecurities and fear. Her attitude toward him in high school had adult Mark claiming he never even knew Ellie liked him. “I liked you,” he says softly. When Ellie gets back home to small-town Midwest for the reunion, she runs into Mark and Roxy fairly quickly and the reunion actually happens in the first half. Her bucket list consists of ten objectives, make-out with the Prom King, create art with Most Artistic, get your high school crush to help with at least one of objectives, etc. We get introductions to old classmate secondary characters and just about everyone is described as an alcoholic or BLW (Boring Life Wife) with one or two exceptions. I think Ellie's inner thoughts and observations were supposed to come off snarky funny but cynical and judgy bleed through it all with plain meanness. The fantasy was always so easy. Real is so much harder. The second half was Ellie and Mark flirting and connecting, while Ellie tries to get over the fact that only a week ago Mark broke off his engagement and is still living with his ex-fiancee and trying to reconnect with Roxy. Mark seemed nice but when his ex-fiancee referred to him as spineless, it was hard not to agree from his background story. There's some help from Mark with a couple of the bucket list items but it's mostly Mark and Roxy drama. The ending had Ellie showing no growth and going back to LA and we get a couple pages of “Three Months Later” that wrap up what's going on with Roxy and a reveal that leads to the happily for now. I've gotten myself tangled up in the middle of an unexpected, unpredictable mess. And I think I like it. I don't always have to like the characters I'm reading about but when the story is told all from one character and it's a mixture of genre chik-lit and romance, I usually like to see growth in the main character and leave with a feel good feeling. How Ellie acted in the end, in regards to Mark and how she was still seeing and talking about people, I don't think she did change from that cynical first page character. There were a handful of moments throughout the story that she had self-awareness thoughts but her actions and thoughts at the end made those seem like not sticking flashes in the pan. Ellie might not have been popular but she had “mean girl” down pat. If you're someone who has to like the characters they're reading about or want to see character growth, this would be a tough read but if you like pretty constant mean snark (the only showing up two times very quickly pizza delivery guy couldn't even escape with being referred too both times as “pimply”) this had that in spades. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 05, 2023
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Jun 18, 2023
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Mar 19, 2023
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Paperback
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| 1250808014
| 9781250808011
| 1250808014
| 3.84
| 5,477
| Feb 07, 2023
| Feb 07, 2023
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really liked it
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3.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Now that Rose had a little extra t 3.5 stars I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Now that Rose had a little extra time on her hands, she was . . . lost . .. Second in the Supernatural Singles series, Not Your Ex's Hex was a paranormal and fantasy world story that put the spotlight on the second Maxwell sister, Rose and Damian Adams. I haven't read the first book but I thought the author did a good job catching newbies up on what happened, eldest of the Maxwell witches magical triad triplets, Vi, finally came into her power and displaced Rose as the Prima Apparent (Prima is the head witch of the Supernatural Council). Rose, gladly, not only lost her job but an unwanted fiance and now is feeling adrift as she moves from working for a ride share to working at the local bar, Potion's Up. Damian is a half-demon who is bestfriend's with Vi's soulmate, a veterinarian and owner of an animal sanctuary, and oh, has a soul hex on him that if he falls in love, he'll lose his soul. He's all about one and done encounters but a few months later, when he runs into Rose, he can't get their one night stand out of his mind. The more he embraced his inner demon, the less Damian saw of Damian. He hadn’t been fully aware of precisely how off-track his life had gotten until he faced the wrath of a pissed-off teenage witch and earned himself his very own hex. That was his wake-up call. And finally, after years of Hunting, he realized he had two choices: give up his humanity to become one of the volatile lowlifes he Hunted, or hold onto it with everything he had. I enjoyed the magical realism/urban fantasy world this had, think a lighter toned Hidden Legacy by Ilona Andrews or Third Shift by Suleikha Snyder. There's a good amount of friends and family but they stayed enough to the side to let Rose and Damian shine but came in enough to fill out the characters and world. Even though our main couple had a one night stand months ago, they get a push to be together when Rose has to complete some community service hours at Damian's clinic/sanctuary. Their teasing friendship chemistry was pleasurable to read and even though I said the tone was lighter, Rose gets horribly injured at one point but the scary danger of it was rushed through fairly quickly, never getting too dark, they curse and hit the sheets and desk pretty often. They had that chemistry snark towards each other that flowed to softening when they rescue puppies and then a little before the midway point, they come up with their friends with benefits agreement. And then his eyes locked with hers across the room. The second half brings in more of Damian's half-demon issues, him trying to control his inner demon and dealing with his brother Julius. Julius is on the Supernatural Council and wants Damian to return to Hunting (think supernatural bounty hunter). Damian needs money for the sanctuary, so he's already thinking about it and when Julius involves Rose, getting her to want to hunt, Damian agrees so he can take assignments with her to protect her. This was a bit longer than usual contemporaries, around 340 pages and while I overall liked how it didn't like the story was rushed, there were some pieces that didn't feel like they smoothly fit and maybe could have been left out. There was a mean girl trio that tied into Rose's ride share job, a random flashback from Damian's past that could have worked if went longer and showed his hexing but as the only flashback felt uselessly placed, a no pants subway ride that didn't hit the mark for me, a live cams scheme by Rose to help the sanctuary that could have been left out as there was a later, rushed, adoption fair featured, and a few other little things that when I think back on them, didn't tie-in the best. I would have much rather had that time given to more resolution with Damian, his inner demon, and his brother. They belonged together, and he wasn’t about to let something as minor as a Soul Hex prevent that from happening. The last twenty percent had Damian's hex coming more into the picture to be dealt with and we meet the ex witch that hexed him, following with the tone, she's not as evil as thought to be with a surprise reveal. If you're looking for a sizable cast of characters that keeps them around but gives the spotlight to the main couple, a lighter toned paranormal world, and steamy open door love scenes between two leads that had fun chemistry, this is definitely a world you'll want to hop into. Rose's younger sister Olive looks to be getting the set-up with her new roomie, guardian angel Bax. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 15, 2023
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Feb 18, 2023
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Dec 18, 2022
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Paperback
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WhiskeyintheJar
>
Books:
chik-lit
(225)
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my rating |
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| 3.53
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liked it
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Aug 07, 2014
not set
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Sep 27, 2024
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| 3.67
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it was ok
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Aug 04, 2024
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Jul 02, 2024
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| 3.71
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really liked it
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Jul 02, 2024
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Jun 08, 2024
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| 3.62
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really liked it
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Jun 2024
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May 17, 2024
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| 3.68
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liked it
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Jun 13, 2024
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Mar 04, 2024
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| 3.54
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liked it
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May 21, 2024
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Feb 18, 2024
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| 3.78
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it was ok
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Aug 16, 2024
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Feb 17, 2024
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| 3.95
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it was ok
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Dec 15, 2023
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Nov 27, 2023
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| 3.12
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it was ok
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Dec 19, 2023
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Oct 09, 2023
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| 3.60
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it was ok
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Jul 27, 2023
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Jun 30, 2023
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| 3.38
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did not like it
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Jan 30, 2024
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Jun 30, 2023
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| 3.83
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really liked it
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Aug 15, 2023
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Jun 18, 2023
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| 3.91
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liked it
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Jul 02, 2023
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Jun 10, 2023
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| 3.88
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liked it
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Jul 24, 2023
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May 03, 2023
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| 4.22
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it was ok
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Jun 04, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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| 3.44
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it was ok
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May 22, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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| 3.83
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liked it
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Sep 03, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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| 4.15
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it was ok
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Apr 08, 2023
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Mar 21, 2023
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| 3.29
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it was ok
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Jun 18, 2023
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Mar 19, 2023
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| 3.84
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really liked it
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Feb 18, 2023
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Dec 18, 2022
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