Category: C reviews (Page 11 of 20)

Rhythm of Three by Kelly Jamieson

December 23, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I enjoyed the first book in this series and bought this one as soon as I realised it was out.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) One woman, two lovers. Double the pleasure, or double the trouble?

Rule of Three, Book 2

Former goodie-two-shoes Kassidy now has three pairs of shoes under her bed—hers, Chris’s and Dag’s. While she relishes the hot threesome that makes her friends jealous, she can’t deny things are…complicated. Namely, whom to tell about their unconventional relationship, and whom to keep in the dark.

In the dark category? Definitely Chris’s parents, which should be simple, since they live far away. Except they’ve sprung a surprise for their son’s thirtieth birthday. They’re coming for a visit. Then there’s Kassidy’s best friend Danielle, who’s home from Europe, clueless to recent events, and flirting with Dag like crazy.

Awkward!

Family, friends, coworkers and a wedding put three lovers’ best intentions to the test, making them wonder if this unique brand of love has a chance in hell of working out.

Warning: Spoilers ahoy.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): This novella starts off the day after the end of book one and the trio are still trying to find their feet and work out how their relationship is going to work – from who they will tell and when, where they will live, to communication and picking up laundry. I felt that it made a good start on some of the practical issues three people in a permanent menage might have, even if there was a tad too much melodrama for me when Chris told his parents (Dag’s reaction was a bit scary for me actually and I thought it was out of line even though Chris’ dad was a douche). Once again, there was plenty of smokin’ sex – I appreciated that there was a just Dag and Chris scene – I felt it needed to be there so show that Chris was becoming more comfortable with his heteroflexible side.

Northern Star by Ethan Day

November 20, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Some of my Goodreads friends liked this one. It sounded more genre romance than my earlier foray into this author’s work, so I asked for a review copy from the publisher so I could try it too.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Deacon Miller never had it all—he never really believed he could. Growing up in a broken home with an alcoholic mother and a revolving door of truly pathetic father figures taught him to keep his expectations low. Now at twenty-seven, on the night before Christmas Eve, his life is turned upside down yet again; his boyfriend has dumped him, he just fled the holiday family reunion from hell, and now to top it all off, a blizzard has left him stranded in an airport hotel.

Steve Steele has spent the better part of his forty-four years living a lie, ignoring his attraction to other men in an attempt to fit into the mold of the man he thought he should be, instead of living life as the man he knew himself to be. Recently divorced after coming home from work one day and coming out to his wife, Steve has floundered over the past year, desperately attempting to wade through the guilt and find the courage to start again.

That’s when a chance meeting in a hotel bar brings two lonely men together… and what should’ve been a one night stand turns into something much more than either one ever expected.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. The premise grabbed me because I do like an angsty story and I liked that there was a reasonable-sized female cast in the story, only one of whom was a witch (Deacon’s mother). I felt that there was some attempt to explain Patty’s despicable attittude to Deacon – she had a back story and it was clear that she blamed Deacon for all of her woes (completely unfair of course, but there was some method to her madness, at least). The other female characters were either sympathetic (Ashley, Clarissa, Steve’s mother, without being perfect) or positive (Mrs. Garibaldi). The main part of the book was about Steve and Deacon which is what I want in a romance, so I’m fine with the secondary characters generally serving the story – but I liked things like that Ashley wanted to sneak out to a party after the prom and, generally, that Steve’s mother was supportive of Steve while not completely understanding him. To me, that showed that some thought went into the characterisations and I liked that they weren’t one note – even Patty had more substance to her.

Aftermath by Cara Dee

November 8, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Mandi from Smexy Books recommended this one so I bought it.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Austin Huntley and Cameron Nash are like night and day. One is a family man, works in a nice office, drives an expensive car, and is content to be content. The other one is an antisocial car mechanic with a short fuse.

Some things don’t change. Others definitely do.

After surviving a five-months long kidnapping together, they struggle to return to normalcy, all while realizing that they’re more drawn to each other than they ever could’ve imagined.

“I know I’m not normal, but I’m not fucking stupid.”

“Define normal,” Austin countered quietly, meeting Cam in the doorway. “And for not being normal, you’re the only person in the world who makes sense right now. What does that say about me?”

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I had been warned that the kidnapping and torture to which the men were subjected weren’t pretty – they weren’t but they also weren’t as bad as the average episode of Criminal Minds either. Spending five months locked in a cell together with little light, little food and water and no answers, with the occasional violent beating thrown in is sure to have a profound effect on a person. Austin and Cam had a shared experience which made them very different men. I didn’t have any trouble believing they would become close and, even the development of their sexual feelings toward one another seemed to grow organically out of it. I had expected a bit of an angst-fest, but it wasn’t really that. There were parts of the book which I enjoyed very much but other parts with bothered me.

Come As You Are by Theresa Weir

October 9, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a copy for review via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Molly Young has a secret. To keep it she holds the world at a distance. Behind her lies a trail of dumped boyfriends who came too close to discovering what no one can know. When her estranged father dies of an unexpected heart attack he leaves an even deeper secret, one tied to Molly’s.

At the funeral repast Molly is unable to tolerate the shoulder-to-shoulder mourners and runs out the door and down the street to the nearest bar. Come dawn, with no memory of the past ten hours, she finds herself in bed with a beautiful stranger. She slips away before he wakes up, unaware of the role he’s about to play in her life. Is he the one guy who can convince Molly to face her painful secret and become the person she’s meant to be?

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’m not sure how helpful this review will be to anyone because it’s been days since I read the book and I still don’t quite know what to make of it. Even describing the story seems spoilerish but I can’t work out another way to do it. So, with the warning that there may be spoilers (I can’t tell if they count as spoilers or not), let’s proceed.

Private Eye by SE Culpepper

September 30, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: Some of my Goodreads friends have rated his series very highly so I bought all three using a 50% off Kobo coupon.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Rafe Bridges stopped mixing business with pleasure long ago, but when he receives a call from an intriguing cop who needs help searching for an old family friend, he breaks down and takes on the case. With each day that passes, Rafe becomes further fascinated with Jeremy Halliday…but the biggest problem isn’t his attraction to the cop or his growing need for him. It’s the tiny little detail of Jeremy being straight.

Jeremy isn’t as immune to Rafe as he’d like to believe and as they work together, sifting through a case that is more mysterious and dangerous than it seems, Rafe draws away from him. Knowing he might miss out on someone incredible, Jeremy has to figure out what and who he really wants. And soon.

Nothing is black and white anymore.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I found this book very hard to grade. It was very readable and there were things about it that I liked but there were also things which bothered me and the more I thought about them, the more they did. I appear to be an outlier regarding this book however, so YMMV.

August Round Up

September 2, 2013 / Kaetrin

on Paper/eBook

You Melted Me by Kari Gregg – C+ Cute free short about a guy who’s in love with the boss’s son at work. They’ve been seeing each other on the quiet for months and Brian is convinced Leland is the player he’s rumoured to be and there is only heartache in his future. He’s been trying to break away, without success. Leland has been promising he would tell his parents about their relationship once he makes sure that Brian won’t lose his job because of their relationship. But can Leland be believed or is Brian just fooling himself? The story is basically one sex scene (it’s only 13 pages) but there is character exposition in there. Because it is so very short, there is necessarily a lot of telling not showing but the story was entertaining enough and just what I was in the mood for. I didn’t love the numerous references to Brian or Leland feeling or behaving “like a girl” though.