I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Shadow’s End by Thea Harrison. It’s Graydon’s book!!
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Monthly Mini Review
Don’t Stop Believing by Gwen Hayes – B- This is a sweet and (a little bit but in a non-erotic way) sexy short about a grumpy recluse and the librarian he has been crushing on. When Adam’s car goes off the road in a snowstorm, Simon brings him home to his cabin to look after him and they finally have some conversation. The time frame is short and the grand gesture at the end a little treacly but I enjoyed the cast and the writing style. There was a bit of POV whiplash, for instance:
Simon groaned and took Adams lips. Sampling lightly, tasting, teasing. The kisses kept him off balance in the masculine cage Simon had made of his body. Was Simon holding back or was he just trying to drive Adam crazy? As the kisses veered away from Adam’s mouth to his cheek, his chin, Adam clenched. He wanted more. Needed more.
but I was able to follow the story and enjoy it anyway. Simon and Adam were pretty well drawn considering the short word count and I liked my 99c visit to the small Washington town of Silver Pines.
Plus, you gotta love a librarian book amirite?
Coming Soon
Why I read it: I heard about this book on a DBSA Podcast. It sounded good so I bought it.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) For years, Alyssa has been going to bed with a memory. Is she ready to wake up with a fantasy?
Some people wait their whole lives to find their soul mate, but not Alyssa Barrow. She met Rob at nineteen, and they were set to live happily ever after—until he became ill. In his final days, Rob urged his beautiful, young wife not to abandon happiness—or pleasure. He even left her a special gift, a sexy game plan to help her move on: Thirty cards with instructions for thirty days of passion. You’ll know when the time is right, he’d said. Now it’s two years later, and when Alyssa meets her hot new neighbor, Harrison Kemp, she begins to think the right time is right now…
From his sculpted thighs to his devilish grin, Harrison is the kind of man women want. Before she can lose her nerve, Alyssa tells Harrison about her long-ignored cards…and asks him to help her fulfill them. It’s a favor he’s more than happy to, um, perform. With his skillful touch, and the hot press of his lips against her skin, Alyssa finds herself re-awakening to life—and a host of other sensations. But what began as not-so-innocent fun soon grows into true intimacy, and Alyssa realizes she’s opening herself up not just to sex…but to love. When it comes to a future with Harrison, what’s really in the cards?
Saucy, heartwarming, and insightful, 30 Days explores the agony—and the ecstasy—of starting over, and how a little encouragement, and a little courage, can go a long way…
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I don’t think I’ve read anything by this author before. On the podcast, the story was billed as PS I Love You with sex cards and, even though it basically breaks my HEA rules, PS I Love You was a movie which I saw multiple times and made me sob buckets. Also: Gerard Butler and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Enough said amirite? 30 Days has a HEA – be in no doubt. Whereas the actual PS I Love You (the movie – which I liked better than the book) starts very shortly after the death of the main character’s husband, 30 Days starts two years after. So Alyssa has had time to grieve. She still misses Rob (her deceased husband) but she’s out from under the worst of the crushing grief and feels it’s time to start living again.
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I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Doing No Harm by Carla Kelly. Even though it deals with some very tough themes (there were some tears, but it ends happily, I promise), it is charming and hopeful and a delight.
I’m over at Dear Author with a thinky review of Unnatural by Joanna Chambers. An offshoot of the Enlightenment series, this is Captain Iain Sinclair’s story.
Why I read it: I received a review copy via the author.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Innocence and passion are an addictive mix…
The dark-haired stranger next door triggers every protective instinct Trevor Coleman never knew he had. From the moment Becky Hall literally falls into his arms, the last man standing of the Moonshine clan doesn’t even attempt to resist sweet temptation. Becky is beautiful, mysterious and heartbreakingly vulnerable…and he’s a goner.
To escape the hell she was trapped in, Becky left everything behind but her courage. And for once in her life, good people step up to make a difference. A helping hand, a new job…a very attentive and libido–stroking neighbour. Now a new future awaits, one that shockingly includes sexual pleasure instead of icy pain, and a sexy cowboy who’s more than eager to show her the ropes.
Becky’s sweet smiles and seductive innocence draw him in like nectar, and Trevor knows one taste will never be enough. But with secrets growing thicker than a bumper crop, changing a life will take more than a new ID and a cowboy’s good intentions.
It’s gonna take sacrifice to break these chains.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): Rocky Mountain Shelter deals with somewhat darker themes than earlier books in the series. Trigger warning: rape (not on page, not by hero, not graphic). The book begins with Becky escaping from what readers later learn is a cult where the men are polygamous and the wives aren’t always willing (and sometimes they are ‘shared’). Becky has been preparing for a while and one night, she takes off and, very fortunately for her, is picked up on the highway by a trucker with a heart of gold, with mysterious links to the Coleman clan.
Shortly after, Trevor Coleman comes across Becky fixing a leaky roof in her newly rented cottage adjacent to his family’s ranch. He’s curious about who owns the land as he’d like to suggest their family rent the acreage for extra grazing and growing, but when he meets Becky, his initial impulse takes a backseat to his fascinated attraction to the pretty lady who does what needs to be done even if (like climbing on to the roof), she’s scared.
Becky, for her part, is not all that welcoming. Her experience has made her shy of men and she’s still trying to get on her feet. But Trevor is charming and persistent in a non-asshole way and soon, she accepts his help and friendship – a friendship which later slowly develops into a romance. Continue reading
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