It was 4 stars up til the end, but I didn't like the end. Semi-spoiler alert ahead, in that it is sort of a spoiler, but it's the kind of thi3.5 stars
It was 4 stars up til the end, but I didn't like the end. Semi-spoiler alert ahead, in that it is sort of a spoiler, but it's the kind of thing people usually like to know ahead of time so I'm including a warning.
**Girl Cootie Alert: This is not a typical m/m, nor is it a m/m/f menage. It's an m/m romance with an m/m/f scene near the end.**
That's not the only reason I didn't like the end, though. It was more that I just didn't feel the flow. The whole second half of the book felt a little awkward and I wasn't as satisfied with the h/h's HEA as I wanted to be. But the writing is good; characters and dialogue were realistic and it felt natural. And although I've inadvertently made it a life mission to let everyone know that Montana is more than a bunch of ranches, I must say this book made me a touch homesick.
Merged review:
3.5 stars
It was 4 stars up til the end, but I didn't like the end. Semi-spoiler alert ahead, in that it is sort of a spoiler, but it's the kind of thing people usually like to know ahead of time so I'm including a warning.
**Girl Cootie Alert: This is not a typical m/m, nor is it a m/m/f menage. It's an m/m romance with an m/m/f scene near the end.**
That's not the only reason I didn't like the end, though. It was more that I just didn't feel the flow. The whole second half of the book felt a little awkward and I wasn't as satisfied with the h/h's HEA as I wanted to be. But the writing is good; characters and dialogue were realistic and it felt natural. And although I've inadvertently made it a life mission to let everyone know that Montana is more than a bunch of ranches, I must say this book made me a touch homesick....more
I think I liked it? Like sometimes I legit wasn't sure, you guys.
This was sort of two books.
So the first half was where I couldn't decide if I liked itI think I liked it? Like sometimes I legit wasn't sure, you guys.
This was sort of two books.
So the first half was where I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I kept wishing it was different. More. It was more of a fiction book, and not a romance. I was fascinated by the story, but I was not invested in the characters. I didn't like them, I didn't care about them, I kept wishing a different author had written it who could elicit those feelings in me. And yet I was fascinated by the story, and I kept reading.
The second half was where it finally became a romance, and while I still wish I had felt more connected to the characters, the 2nd half was the reward for plodding through the first one and I enjoyed it quite a bit more.
In some ways this was so ridiculous. Ludicrous, implausible, surfacey... it skips across 20 years like a stone across water, never quite going deep enough for you to really feel involved. And the characters are so blah - especially Joshua. Like who even is Joshua and why does Neil love him? Why am I supposed to care? I just don't know. We see so little of their relationship "before" that it's hard to know why we're supposed to want them back together.
And yet I couldn't put it down. Like seriously could not, this was so compulsively readable. (And I seriously loved Neil's mother. Loved. Her.)
So yeah, I guess I liked it? I don't know, you guys. I'm so confused. I feel bad giving this 4 stars because I just gave Boy Shattered by Eli Easton 4 stars and that is an amazing book that rocked my whole world. And yet I feel like this deserves more than three so...here we are....more
I love Keira Andrews, and this book was no exception. The writing is good and I got through it in a day - Keira's style just works for me on every levI love Keira Andrews, and this book was no exception. The writing is good and I got through it in a day - Keira's style just works for me on every level and while this was not my favorite of hers, it was still better than so much of what's out there. I love that there's an author out there I can truly count on to deliver every time!
What I liked:
Pacing, story arc, everything is great here and there's such a cute scene where Ethan and Clay write notes to each other because Ethan is having an extra hard time with his hearing that night.
I loved reading about Ethan and his later-in-life hearing loss. We love diversity in our books and it was nice reading about a different kind of character, and learning a little bit about something that was new to me. Also, Clay is probably demi, so there's some good rep here.
The premise of the book is that Ethan finds out his fiance Michael is cheating on him with his best friend Todd - the day before the wedding! I liked the way she made the fiance and best friend, Michael and Todd, believable. As a reader you still hate them and in no way can forgive or condone what they did, but they weren't one-dimensional super villains either. You can understand how and why it happened. People aren't all good or all bad (well, most of them), and I appreciate that in book characters as well.
What I liked less:
I found Ethan and Clay to be a tad bit bland. I didn't feel their chemistry burn the way I have with characters from Keira's other books. I've also noticed that she seems to be doing a lot of age gap stories lately and as far as that goes, this one just wasn't as good. As much as I love a good age gap story, I think it might be time for KA to take a break from this trope for a book or two.
The book also unfortunately paled in comparison to Private Charter by N.R. Walker, which is a similar story about a man going on a trip to Australia that was originally planned for two and then falling for your tour guide. Ethan and Clay just could not compete with the way Stuart and Foster set the pages ablaze.
Bottom line - I enjoyed reading this book but it's not one that I'm going to remember a month from now....more
Ah, I stumbled across another book I read but never marked on Goodreads. When did I read it? No clue. Did I like it? I mean, I think so. I was underwhelAh, I stumbled across another book I read but never marked on Goodreads. When did I read it? No clue. Did I like it? I mean, I think so. I was underwhelmed by the first book in this series but I'm such a Keira fangirl I went ahead and read this one anyway and liked it a lot more, although I think the characters were echoing Bryan and Troy from Beyond the Sea more than they were Rafa and Shane from book 1. That's probably why I liked it, Beyond the Sea is in my top 5 favorite m/m books ever....more
I haven't been reading much lately and this was such a great book to break my fast. Hot, and sweet and romantic. It had all the things I'm looking forI haven't been reading much lately and this was such a great book to break my fast. Hot, and sweet and romantic. It had all the things I'm looking for in a romance - engaging, believable characters, chemistry that burns off the page (like seriously, this one is HAWT), but also a true connection that goes beyond the physical. Really enjoyed this one....more
The first half was SO good. I was loving everything about it, especially Pasha. Dear, sweet, charming, misunderstood, hilarious, brave, wonde3.5 stars
The first half was SO good. I was loving everything about it, especially Pasha. Dear, sweet, charming, misunderstood, hilarious, brave, wonderful Pasha.
Unfortunately the writing quality dropped drastically right around the 50% mark, not sure why. I still enjoyed it. Pasha and Levi are great together, but I wish the second half had lived up to the first. (Plus there's some crazy melodrama at the end that wasn't my favorite.)...more
What is it about the fake boyfriend trope that's so appealing? It's so ridiculous and yet so much fun to read at the same time.
This book totally workWhat is it about the fake boyfriend trope that's so appealing? It's so ridiculous and yet so much fun to read at the same time.
This book totally worked for me. The outrageous premise was just plausible enough to keep me invested, and Maddox and Damon are so perfect for each other. I really enjoyed the trajectory of their relationship. Each step of it made sense for who they were as people and what they'd been through in the past.
I'll admit to not loving the (view spoiler)[crazy aunt is actually my birth mom and also she's dying (hide spoiler)] subplot. It was really unnecessary and didn't add anything. But it also didn't try to take over the story so it didn't bother me too much.
I've seen other reviewers didn't totally appreciate the character of Stacy and I can understand that, but I've got to say, I'm very interested to see how the Stacy/Jared thing plays out. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the series.
Like the other KA book I read over the weekend, I'm giving it three stars because there are 4 and 5 star books I love more, but I still really enjoyedLike the other KA book I read over the weekend, I'm giving it three stars because there are 4 and 5 star books I love more, but I still really enjoyed this one. Keira Andrews is my absolute favorite, I can always count on her, and her backlist is so big, I'm still finding ones I haven't read before which seems crazy.
I didn't always totally feel the connection between Misha and Dev - they definitely had scorching chemistry but beyond that I thought the relationship development was a little weak. I think The Next Competitor was better. But this did spur my interest in watching the Olympics, so good timing. I don't have regular TV (just hulu/netflix) so I just texted my sister to let her know I'll be coming over for the next couple weeks to watch figure skating....more
This was a really nice, feel-good story. I LOVED CJ, I just want to snuggle him and his relationship with Pops was so perfect.
Tiny niggles: things worThis was a really nice, feel-good story. I LOVED CJ, I just want to snuggle him and his relationship with Pops was so perfect.
Tiny niggles: things worked out a little too perfectly, although I honestly don't know if my heart could have taken it if anything had really gone wrong after everything CJ had been through. And my true crime loving self was SCREAMING at the end. NEVER. TALK. TO. THE. POLICE. But whatever. It's fiction. Oh, and the smexy times didn't happen until literally almost 80%. What the hell is that?
Overall I really liked this one. NR Walker can be hit or miss for me and this was definitely a hit....more
I liked this a lot, although there were some mental gymnastics involved with trying to understand Bryan's no-sex thing. Overall a grea12/14: 3.5 stars
I liked this a lot, although there were some mental gymnastics involved with trying to understand Bryan's no-sex thing. Overall a great story. I just wish there'd been a little bit more to grab onto as far as the characters went. They were likable characters but not especially deep.
12/11: I guess we'll see how the book is, but this blurb is sooo up my alley....more
I'm a huge Keira Andrews fan girl so I was pretty much guaranteed to like this. And as I got started, I had that giddy feeling, li3.5 stars rounded up
I'm a huge Keira Andrews fan girl so I was pretty much guaranteed to like this. And as I got started, I had that giddy feeling, like "Yep, this is for me!!"
Sadly I felt like the second half wasn't quite as good. The first half is all awkward and flirty and setting things up and it was delicious, but it turned on a dime a bit. Once they got together it was just sex that I skimmed, and then I was disappointed that (view spoiler)[Melanie and her boyfriend never showed up again. I really would have liked to see that Daniel and Cole became friends with them. (hide spoiler)]
But ultimately it's a very nice Christmas story that I ate up in one sitting. Very cute!...more
It took me quite awhile to get into this because honestly, pirates aren't really my thing. But I couldn't find anything else to read so in moments of It took me quite awhile to get into this because honestly, pirates aren't really my thing. But I couldn't find anything else to read so in moments of greatest boredom I kept giving it one more shot and today I finally got hooked. I read the second half over the course of a few hours. I ended up really enjoying it, because duh. Keira Andrews....more
Nichole (DirrtyH)
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