Blog Archives

Review: More Than Desire You

Posted on by
Reply
Review: More Than Desire YouMore Than Desire You (Reed Family Reckoning, #8) by Shayla Black
Series: Reed Family Reckoning #8
on November 1, 2022
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 322
Goodreads
three-half-stars

FINAL DECISION: I enjoyed this book, but my interest in this series is beginning to wane a bit. I’m hoping that we will move on soon to a new group of people. I didn’t feel that the story between these two was as deep as others in the series.

THE STORY: Xavian Costa has decided to get revenge on his best friend who slept with the woman Xavian planned to marry and then made a movie that painted Xavian as the villain. The form of Xavian’s revenge is his ex-best friend’s sister, Corinne, who has come to Xavian for help manipulating her brother to get her inheritance. Xavian proposes that the two of them fake an engagement — but Xavian also plans on using Corinne for his own pleasure. When Xavian just begins realizing that something between the two of them might be real, his plans completely unravel.

OPINION: This book is really hot, but I wanted a bit more of the relationship development. Corinne wasn’t as interesting a character to match Xavian. I would have liked him to have a real contrast. There was something about the relationship that never seemed to be grounded in the couple. I would have liked to have more conflict between them. At the same time, the book fits well in the series. Xavian wasn’t as much of a jerk as I had expected because he falls pretty fast for Corinne…perhaps that is what feels a little off. Xavian is so quickly falling for Corinne that the stakes of the story never feel that high.

WORTH MENTIONING: The epilogue of this book introduces readers to one of the new main characters in the next book.

CONNECTED BOOKS: MORE THAN DESIRE YOU is the eighth book in the More Than Words/Reed Family Reckoning Series. The romance here is self-contained and can be read as a standalone, although there are relationships between the characters (apart from the main characters) that have developed over the series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3.5 stars.

three-half-stars

Review: You Had Me at Hola

Posted on by
Reply
Review: You Had Me at HolaYou Had Me at Hola (Primas of Power, #1) by Alexis Daria
Series: Primas of Power #1
Published by Avon on August 4, 2020
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 387
Goodreads
three-stars

FINAL DECISION: Sweet but average romance. Didn’t live up to the hype, but certainly an okay read. I enjoyed the telenovela setting, which felt fun and flirty, but the hero was a mess.

THE STORY: Jasmine Lin Rodriguez is starting the most important role of her career as the star of a bilingual romantic comedy. After a messy public breakup, Jasmine is determined to lay low until she meets her co-star, Ashton Suárez. After being dumped from his most recent telenovela, Ashton worries that he is past the prime of his career and hopes that this role will give him a chance to increase his visibility in Hollywood. Both Jasmine and Ashton have a lot of gain in this performance, so creating chemistry on screen is vital. But as the two work to improve their performance, they find out that everything between them is not acting.

OPINION: This story was enjoyable as a read, but quickly forgettable. It was a bit banal. I really didn’t get any emotional connection between these characters. Their relationship felt cold. They had sex and acted, and then there were performative lectures about how a relationship should be. But I really didn’t get much emotion or connection between these characters.

My real problem was with the hero. I really felt like he was a hot mess. And it seemed like the heroine needed to get him to act more responsibly. It seemed like he had things together by the epilogue, but I needed that before.

There were some fun and flirty moments. I enjoyed how parts of this book mirrored the telenovela/romantic comedy/soap opera format. The first part of the book is flirty and cute. Unfortunately, the story turned serious, and I didn’t like the obvious drama that pulled the couple apart. It was too contrived and didn’t work for me. Instead, the characters stayed disconnected.

There was a good book here, and it was almost good. Instead, it was just okay.

WORTH MENTIONING: I enjoyed how this book includes some episodes of the show which interacts in interesting ways with the “real” story.

CONNECTED BOOKS: YOU HAD ME AT HOLA is the first book in the Primas of Power series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

three-stars

Review: Blame it on the Billionaire

Posted on by
Reply
Review: Blame it on the BillionaireBlame It on the Billionaire (Blackout Billionaires #3) by Naima Simone
Series: Blackout Billionaires #3
on January 9, 2020
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 224
Goodreads
four-stars

FINAL DECISION: This was my favorite of the series. I really liked these characters. The story was over the top, but it felt well within the expectations for series romances. I enjoyed this one and would reread it.

THE STORY: During a blackout, executive assistant Nadia Jordan takes the chance on a secret one-night stand with her crush, the owner of the company she works for, billionaire Grayson Chandler. Things explode, however, when Grayson is trying to avoid his matchmaking mother and sees Nadia and claims her as his fiancee. The two are soon involved in a fake relationship that seems awfully real.

OPINION: This book is short and sexy, and the trilogy’s best. The main characters are both nice people who quickly fall for one another. I thought the motivations for having the fake engagement worked in this one. I absolutely adored Nadia in this book. There is a beautiful scene where she tells Grayson that he is worthy of love which elevates my opinion of this book.

The book is filled with tropes: rich guy/girl from the wrong side of tracks, boss/secretary, fake engagement, Cinderella, and probably plenty more that I didn’t note. The story has energy because the layered tropes work in this book in a way that they didn’t for me in the prior two books in the series.

Admittedly, reading this book requires suspension of disbelief on many of the plot points, but that is not unreasonable for a category romance that takes place in fewer pages and thus is compressed. There is only one terrible character that makes an on-page appearance in this book, and luckily, she is quickly off the page. This book also managed to tone down the disapproving parents. These ones aren’t nearly as terrible as others in the series.

This book just felt right to me. What is a similar story feels more complex than the others in the series, with the rough edges filed off and characters that I really liked.

WORTH MENTIONING: All three books in this series are iterations of almost precisely the same story. This one is the best of the three. The family is less terrible, and the couple seems really decent.

CONNECTED BOOKS: BLAME IT ON THE BILLIONAIRE is the third book in the Blackout Billionaires series. The book can be read as a standalone because while the books all occur at the same place and time, there is no overlap of characters (except for a brief wrap-up in this book).

STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.

four-stars

Review: Black Tie Billionaire

Posted on by
Reply
Review: Black Tie BillionaireBlack Tie Billionaire (Blackout Billionaires #2) by Naima Simone
Series: Blackout Billionaire #2
Published by Harlequin Desire on August 8, 2019
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 224
Goodreads
three-stars

FINAL DECISION: The story was just okay. It read okay as a quick read, but I would not go back to the book again.

THE STORY: During a blackout, Shay Neal ends up having a one-night stand with Gideon Knight. Shay is at the party under a pseudonym, but Gideon is furious when her identity is revealed to him. Shay is the sister of Gideon’s enemy. Determined to get his revenge, Gideon blackmails Shay into a fake relationship. Gideon’s intended revenge, however, is complicated by his very real attraction to Shay.

OPINION: This is a book without any subtleties. At times, it almost read as a parody of series romances. Everything was drawn really broad. The characters also didn’t have much depth at all. I wish the author had cut down on the drama and written from some depth of the characters. It can be done even in a shortened form.

The story was okay. I read through it really quickly, and I liked the relationship between Shay and Gideon. I wouldn’t pick this up again, and I might even forget that I read it in a month. There are really good series books and even novellas, but this isn’t one of them.

WORTH MENTIONING: Shay’s brother is just a terrible person.

CONNECTED BOOKS: BLACK TIE BILLIONAIRE is the second book in the Blackout Billionaires series. The books, however, are really standalone books with a common event (the blackout).

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

three-stars

Review: The Billionaire’s Bargain

Posted on by
Reply
Review: The Billionaire’s BargainThe Billionaire's Bargain (Blackout Billionaires #1) by Naima Simone
Series: Blackout Billionaires #1
Published by Harlequin Desire on May 16, 2019
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads
three-stars

FINAL DECISION: The story is well written with clear characters and conflict, but I didn’t feel that either the characters or the story were remarkable. I’ve read much better category romances. This one was a good read but not memorable.

THE STORY: Darius King finds comfort from a woman during a blackout. When the lights come back on, however, he discovers that the woman is Isobel Hughes Wells — the woman who betrayed her husband, his best friend. Darius discovers that the child is actually his best friend’s son, contrary to the rumor that she had another man’s child. So Darius decides that Isobel must marry him so that he can raise the boy as his friend would have wanted. The only problem — Darius is attracted to Isobel, and she doesn’t appear the wicked woman he thought she was.

OPINION: The story was enjoyable to read. I’m not sorry that I read it. However, it was just okay as a memorable book. I read it a week ago, and I’m already having trouble remembering what I liked about it.

I did like the setup of the story and felt the conflict that the hero felt, being torn between his own developing feelings for Isobel and his loyalty to his “family” who hate Isobel. I understood his ambivalence considering his past, so I didn’t dislike him. But I really did not like the family, which is pretty terrible. Isobel shows great strength in this story as a character.

Some of the negatives. I really didn’t like how the paternity issue was resolved. It didn’t feel like the betrayal was adequately resolved. I wanted more of the relationship between Dante and Isobel. It felt too superficial for the issues involved.

Honestly, the most memorable part of this book is the blackout, which makes the rest of the book a bit of a letdown.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is a category romance in the Harlequin Desire series.

CONNECTED BOOKS: THE BILLIONAIRE’S BARGAIN is the first book in the Blackout Billionaires series.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

three-stars

Review: Meet You in the Middle

Posted on by
Reply
Review: Meet You in the MiddleMeet You in the Middle by Devon Daniels
Published by Berkley Books on February 2, 2021
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 368
Goodreads
two-stars

FINAL DECISION: I was not engaged by this book. The story was too banal and uninteresting, with the characters not well defined or interesting. The first quarter of the book was the best. Once the characters became interested in one another, I was not interested in them.

THE STORY: Senate staffer Kate Adams is trying to gain support for a piece of liberal legislation when she encounters Ben Mackenzie, who works for a conservative senator. The two strike sparks off of one another immediately. As the two continue to spar with one another, they first develop an unlikely friendship and then their relationship becomes deeper and more complicated.

OPINION: I kept reading this book, figuring that there must be something there, but I was just bored by it. The story between these two was superficial and did not really engage with their conflicts. There actually is little politics in this one. It’s more used as a device to keep the two apart, and it doesn’t grapple with the differences between these characters. Don’t have much else to write about it. Not sexy, not funny, and definitely doesn’t live up to the blurb or even the first couple of chapters.

WORTH MENTIONING: This book has only one sex scene late in the novel.

CONNECTED BOOKS: MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE is a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book two stars.

NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Edelweiss. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.

two-stars

Review: For Real

Posted on by
Reply
Review: For RealFor Real (Spires, #3) by Alexis Hall
Series: Spires #3
Published by Alexis Hall on July 5, 2018
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 442
Goodreads

FINAL DECISION: Deeply emotional, this book feels like being trapped in the minds of these two characters. How they fall in love and navigate their relationship kept me enthralled throughout, even though I’m generally less interested in erotic romance, where the relationship is developed through sex. This book is definitely an exception.

THE STORY: Laurence Dalziel is emotionally worn out. The man he loved left him six years ago, and he hasn’t found a relationship that can replace his need for BDSM submission and be emotionally fulfilling. At age 37 doesn’t have any optimism about the future when he meets Toby Finch, who is 19 years old and looking to mature into his need to be a dominant in the BDSM scene. Laurie and Toby connect almost immediately, although Laurie feels the weight of his age and Toby’s youth, freshness, vulnerability, and optimism. Laurie might reluctantly accept the sexual pull between them but refuses to allow it to mean anything more.

OPINION: This book reads like a literary story. Although definitely within the romance genre, it just feels different. I thought about the story of these two characters long after finishing this book.

I tend not to be a big fan of erotic romances. I’m not as interested in the extended sexual exploits that are essential to that sub-genre as I prefer my characters to interact in other ways. Thus, I was prepared not to like this book. Admittedly, I drifted at times during the erotic scenes, but I found that this book is deeply emotional in ways I didn’t expect. I would say that despite those scenes, I really loved this book.

Laurence and Toby both travel so much in this story. The book begins with the older, worn-out man who has lost much on his life’s journey. He no longer even hopes for something more. The younger man yearns to define himself and discover his future. But the book does not maintain these stereotypes. The reader learns that each of these characters is complex and has emotional needs that the other can help assuage.

The book defies the expected. Again and again, the story turns in directions that I didn’t expect. Deeply romantic and a book that centers the connection between these two characters.

WORTH MENTIONING: The only thing that made me uncomfortable about this book is that Toby is 19. I would have found even a 20-year-old less jarring, but perhaps the uncomfortable feeling is precisely what the author intended.

CONNECTED BOOKS: FOR REAL is the third book in the Spires series. It is not necessary to read those books before this one, however. The books are connected thematically but are not otherwise related.

STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

Review: It All Comes Down to This

Posted on by
Reply
Review: It All Comes Down to ThisIt All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler
Published by St. Martin's Press on June 7, 2022
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 352
Goodreads
two-stars

FINAL DECISION: The book is well constructed from a technical standpoint, but I think I am exhausted with these three women at a change of life women’s fiction books. Nothing about this book was exciting or extraordinary to me. Just banal from the first page to the last, with the exception that part of the story was just terrible in my estimation. If it was an attempt at a happy ending, it was entirely unbelievable and demonstrates selfishness rather than love and caring.

THE STORY: The death of their mother brings a surprise for three sisters when a provision of her will states that the family’s summer house in Maine is to be sold with each sister getting an equal share. Each sister is facing something significant in their lives. Beck, the oldest, is a journalist jolted by the news because she had a vague idea that she would use the summer house to write the novel she has been thinking of writing. She also is having trouble in her marriage. The middle sister, Claire, is a doctor who is divorced and has a thing for the wrong man. The youngest sister Sophie has a glamorous life that masks her financial woes. A stranger also comes into their lives at this same moment when things are falling apart for each sister.

OPINION: I found almost all of these characters uninteresting and unlikeable. In committing to a book like this, I like to find some people I enjoy reading about. Instead, there are a bunch of awful people who do really bad things, and somehow, the book wants to explain their bad behavior. I don’t really think that I would like to know these people and thus, I don’t really want to read about them.

Because the book can’t express the emotional depth of these characters (indeed, most of them are pretty shallow and selfish people who are quite satisfied to harm even their closest relatives), it instead tries to keep secrets from the reader from saying nevermind and putting down the book. Because to be honest, if the reader knew from the beginning how amoral and unlikeable these people are, they wouldn’t continue with the story. The story drags because it ultimately relies on a “keeping secrets from the reader” premise instead of exploring the depths of the characters.

Definitely not worth my time in reading.

WORTH MENTIONING: I read this book as part of a book club, so it wasn’t something I would have chosen myself. Judge my opinion accordingly.

CONNECTED BOOKS: IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS is a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 2 stars.

two-stars

Review: The Hating Game

Posted on by
Reply
Review: The Hating GameThe Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks on May 16, 2019
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 369
Goodreads

FINAL DECISION: This book isn’t what I expected from the blurb. I expected a lot of backstabbing and undermining and anger and angst. But this book was such a beautiful romance. I loved both these characters and how their relationship developed. It is a slow-burn romance but not boring — just wonderful.

THE STORY: Lucy Hutton’s nemesis is Joshua Templeman. Lucy and Joshua are executive assistants to the co-CEOs of a publishing company. Now they are both competing for the same promotion. Neither is going to back down from the competition, but at that precise moment, Lucy begins to get to know Joshua better. Perhaps neither really hates the other as much as Lucy expected — or is Joshua playing the long game in winning the competition between them?

OPINION: This book was hot several years ago. I have to admit that I wasn’t attracted to the book then. I ended up reading it recently for a book club. Unlike many “hot” books, this one was amazing.

From the first page to the end, I loved the couple and the story, even though it has many elements that aren’t my favorite — such as it is told in the first person present (by Lucy), and we never get Joshua’s perspective other than what Lucy learns. But it worked for me because it ended up being precisely what the story needed to work.

Lucy is sweet but surprisingly determined and strong when it matters. Joshua … no, I can’t say any more because it will give the story away. I can say that Lucy’s perception of Joshua is that he is a stick-in-the-mud, cold person, and a big jerk. When she finds herself attracted to him, she can’t imagine why.

What I love about this book is that it takes all the tropes of the office romance from 20-30 years ago and writes in a new and unexpected way. I’ve read stories like this many times before, but this book never gave the easy, expected answer. It is modern and funny, but it is also sweet and romantic.

It wasn’t the typical angsty and angry enemies-to-lovers story that I was expecting, but it was definitely worth the reading.

WORTH MENTIONING: THE HATING GAME was made into a movie.

CONNECTED BOOK THE HATING GAME is a standalone.

STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

Review: Her First Christmas Cowboy

Posted on by
Reply
Review: Her First Christmas CowboyHer First Christmas Cowboy (Four Corners Ranch #0.5) by Maisey Yates
Series: Four Corners Ranch #0.5
Published by HQN Books on October 1, 2021
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 55
Goodreads
three-stars

FINAL DECISION: Pleasant short story/novella. The characters are decent people and although things are tied up quickly and neatly, I enjoyed the sweet story.

THE STORY: Tala Nelson’s evening grading papers is interrupted by rodeo cowboy Clayton Everett coming to her home with a gunshot. Tala knows that she should stay away from this man who comes from a bad background, but she can’t help but like and care for Clayton. As Christmas approaches, two people who have unhappy pasts find something for the future in one another.

OPINION: This was a pleasant, pretty straightforward romance. Both Tala and Clayton have family problems (in really different ways) which builds understanding between them. Because of the novella’s length, there isn’t a lot of character development here. I liked the characters and thought that the story was heartwarming and sweet. Everything is tied up too neatly, but it worked as a quick read for me.

WORTH MENTIONING: This is a very short novella (about 55 pages).

CONNECTED BOOKS: HER FIRST CHRISTMAS COWBOY is book 0.5 in the Four Corners Ranch series. This is a novella prequel. The Four Corners Ranch series is a spinoff of the Copper Ridge series, but it is not necessary to read those books (I haven’t) to read this book.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.

three-stars