Category: B reviews (Page 19 of 74)

July Round Up

August 3, 2017 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Too Close to Call by Tessa Bailey – B Branded as part of the multi-author 1001 Dark Nights series (linked only by a Scheherazade-like prologue), this novella also fits within Ms. Bailey’s Romancing the Clarksons series. I haven’t read the other books in the series and I didn’t have any trouble following the story so it stands alone well. The blurb caught my eye: Guy gets drafted to the NFL from college and realises that it means nothing without the girl of his dreams – the girl who broke up with him in their senior year of high school and who he’s been pining after ever since. He decides he’s going to win her back and heads to his home town to do just that.

To mix my sports metaphors, what follows is a full court press. Kyler Tate has been faithful to Bree Sutton the entire four years they’ve been apart. He still doesn’t understand why she broke up with him after they’d made all these plans to go to college together. But either way, it doesn’t matter, he still loves her and will do whatever it takes to have her in his life. Continue reading

Lingus by Mariana Zapata, narrated by Callie Dalton

July 15, 2017 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: This is one from my own TBL.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Most people would describe Katherine Berger as a responsible girl with a big heart, a loyal friend who takes care of those close to her, and the possessor of a wicked sense of humor. There was something about her that most people didn’t know. “My name is Kat Berger, and I love porn.”

When twenty-five-year-old Kat is dragged to a porn convention by her best friend, she’s both embarrassed and nervous. The last thing she ever expected was to meet someone who makes her laugh like no other. This is a story about acceptance and friendship, and a love born out of the most unexpected of places.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Via some Goodreads friends, I saw that this one is apparently pulled to publish (P2P) fan fiction – apparently it was Twilight fan fiction. I don’t get bent out of shape about this kind of thing, particularly when the the story really bears little or no resemblance to the original story the author was riffing on. And apart from that Kat at one stage mentions she’s name a character in one of her books (she’s a teacher but writes murder-mysteries in her spare time) “Christian” which might have been a nod to Fifty Shades of Grey, I really couldn’t see any resemblance to Twilight in this story. Continue reading

First & Then by Emma Mills

July 6, 2017 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I borrowed this one from my local library.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Devon Tennyson wouldn’t change a thing. She’s happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon’s cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn’t want them: first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Most of the book was sweet, charming and very engaging. But there was one thing which really bothered me. More on that later.

Devon Tennyson is a high school senior. She considers herself average, ordinary and uninspiring. Her parents are still together, they all get along well; no major traumas have really touched her life. She has no particular passion; there’s no career or sport or hobby she’s all that attached to. She has a huge unrequited crush on her best friend, Cassidy (Cas) but otherwise, she thinks there’s not much all that interesting about her. She’s wrong of course because everyone is interesting in one way or another but I get where she’s coming from. And, in the end, she celebrates about herself some of those things she bemoans when the book begins. Continue reading

June Round Up

July 1, 2017 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner – B I’ve had the ebook of The Thief on my TBR for ages as the entire series comes highly recommended. I was warned that this first book in the series had a slightly different tone to the later books and that it wasn’t as strong a story. But I like to start at the beginning. The entire series has recently been re-released on audio with a highly rated narrator, Steve West.

It is the story of Gen, a young thief who begins the book in the prison of Soonis. The Magus of Soonis offers Gen a chance to get out of jail. There is a stone, called “Hermiathes’ Gift”, said to bestow immortality on whoever it is given to. The Magus needs a thief to steal the stone and then to give it to the Magus so the Magus can “give” the stone to the King of Soonis, thus strengthening his suit with the Queen of Eddis. Gen, the Magus and his two apprentices set off on a covert mission across Soonis, through Eddis and into Attolia to seek the stone. Continue reading

The Hot One by Lauren Blakely, narrated by Andi Arndt & Zachary Webber

June 15, 2017 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: This is one from my own TBL.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Ever notice that sometimes a guy will do something really stupid, like let the love of his life slip through his fingers?

Yeah. I’m that guy. But the moment I run into the woman I once loved madly, I’ve got one goal and one goal only—a second chance. The plan? Go big or go home.

Fine, at first glance, stripping naked at my ex-girlfriend’s place of work might not seem like the brightest way to win her heart again. But trust me on this count—she always liked me best without any clothes on. And you’ve got to play to your strengths when you’re fighting an uphill battle. As a lawyer, I know how to fight, and I’m prepared to fight hard for her. Because sometimes you need a second chance at first love.

He’s the one who got away . . .

The nerve of Tyler Nichols to reappear like that at my job, showing off his rock-hard body that drove me wild far too many nights. That man with his knowing grin and mischievous eyes is nothing but a cocky jerk to saunter back into my life. Except, what if he’s not . . .? I’ve tried like hell to forget him, but maybe I’m cursed to remember the guy I fell madly in love with eight years ago. Lord knows I’m not over him, so what’s the harm in giving him a week to prove he’s changed in the ways that matter?

What worked for me (and what didn’t): When The Hot One first began, I was a little dubious. Tyler is a very gung-ho kind of guy and some of his actions, interpreted through a different lens, could have landed him in asshole territory. Fortunately for him, much of the scene where Tyler turns up naked at Delaney’s workplace (and the context matters here – she is a massage therapist) is told from her POV and while she had some misgivings and thought he was being outrageous, she didn’t freak out. So I decided not to either.
Continue reading

May Round Up

June 2, 2017 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

When Was The Last Time by Kelly Jensen – B- This short story (it’s about 40 pages) is a relationship-in-trouble story. Paul and Evan have been together for 15 years but in the past 12 months, their sex life has gone stale. Evan raises it one morning and Paul realises he needs to reprioritise. He’s worried he might lose Evan if he doesn’t change. He plans a romantic Valentine’s Day date but interstate work runs late and he’s faced with a decision to potentially damage his career or potentially damage his relationship.

My impression was the Evan wasn’t anywhere near the stage of walking out but Paul’s wake-up is nevertheless a welcome one. It’s sweet and romantic without a ton of detail. I was curious as to why Evan chose that particular day to raise the issue with Paul – but as there was only Paul’s POV, it remained a mystery.