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Helping Hand by Jay Northcote

August 14, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I saw some positive reviews from trusted Goodreads friends, so I bought it.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Jez Fielding and James MacKenzie—Big Mac to his mates—are in their second year at uni. After partying too hard last year, they make a pact to rein themselves in. While their housemates are out drinking every weekend, Jez and Mac stay in to save cash and focus on their studies.

When Jez suggests watching some porn together, he isn’t expecting Mac to agree to it. One thing leads to another, and soon their arrangement becomes hands-on rather than hands-off. But falling for your straight friend can only end badly, unless there’s a chance he might feel the same.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Jez and Mac live (with others) in a share house while they study at university in Plymouth (in the UK). Mac has to stay in because he’s falling woefully behind in his classes and Jez has to stay in because in the first year of uni he went a bit overboard with the partying and ran up a massive overdraft. His wealthy parents are teaching him a lesson by requiring him to work off the debt himself which means he has little spare money for going out. As a result, Mac and Jez are regularly home on Friday and Saturday nights when the rest of their housemates are out.
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Uprooted by Naomi Novik

August 11, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: It was a gift. Lucky me!

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) “Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): It’s difficult to describe this book. Part of the joy of it is watching the plot unfold and go in unexpected directions. The blurb doesn’t give much away but one really doesn’t need to know much more to dive in. For those who might need a little more, I’ll talk about the plot a bit further however.

Agnieszka is at first completely confused as to why she was chosen by the Dragon. It doesn’t appear the Dragon is very happy about it and she has no idea what to expect. To find out that she has magic is an absolute surprise. What is not a surprise to her however, is that her magic doesn’t work in the same way as other magic users. Agnieszka is always untidy and clumsy. She can walk from one room to the other and rip her dress, stain her hem and spill something on the carpet, all without trying. She’s messy and untidy and terrible at simple spells. However, when The Wood mounts a concerted attack against Polnya and her beloved valley, she is forced to learn how her magic works very quickly and the Dragon finds unexpected help. When the Dragon is called away and her best friend Kasia is taken, reckless, impulsive, fierce and loyal Agnieszka risks herself for her friend. As The Wood’s corrupt influence grows, Agnieszka finds herself in increasingly desperate straits and things very definitely get worse before they get better. Continue reading

Review at Dear Author

August 6, 2015 / Kaetrin

I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Protector for Hire by Tawna Fenske. I had a bit of trouble connecting with this one.

Tempting the Player by Kat Latham

August 4, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: After reading and enjoying Knowing the Score recently, I bought the rest of the books in the series. I mistakenly thought this was the second book but it’s the third. It works as a stand-alone and does not spoil the second book but my sense of order was nevertheless offended by my error!

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Libby Hart and Matt Ogden are perfect for each other—as friends. They’ve known each other for ages. They act as each other’s plus-ones. They even share custody of a dog. And if there’s always been a little spark between them, so what? It’s never been worth jeopardizing their friendship.

Professional rugby player Matt is fighting for a starter position with the London Legends—and that’s not the only thing he’s fighting. A crippling fear of flying means he’s struggling to get his career off the ground. He has no time for a relationship, even if Libby does make him ache. As an airline pilot, Libby’s looking for a stay-at-home husband so she can have a family without sacrificing her high-flying career. Matt’s certainly not that man.

But just because they don’t have a future together doesn’t mean they can’t have a right now. When Matt asks Libby for help overcoming his fear, they agree to take a vacation from their platonic relationship—whenever they fly together, they can have sex. It’s the perfect way to resolve all that built-up tension. As long as they can avoid getting a little too comfortable…

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I do enjoy a friends to lovers story and, as I mentioned in my review of Knowing the Score, I like the author’s writing style and voice. All of those things worked for me here and I did enjoy the book. But there were some things which didn’t work for me so the experience wasn’t quite as successful with this one. Not, I might add, in any way that would make me cautious about reading more from this author however.
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July Round Up

August 1, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Yours All Along by Roni Loren – B- This novella is a kind of prequel to Call On Me which I reviewed for Dear Author this month. I read it in the wrong order but it doesn’t really matter. The only thing Call On Me “spoils” is that they are happily together and romance readers already know that’s how it’s going to end so it’s no big deal. Actually, it was probably beneficial that I’d read Call On Me first because I knew Devon and Hunter were still very happy together many years later and that helped give me a sense that they were very much right at the end of Yours All Along.

The novella is set in 2007 and flashes back to 2003 when both men were in college and roomed in a frat house together. Devon, openly gay, became close friends with Hunter, who comes from a wealthy controlling family with high expectations. His State Senator father is a homophobic bigot and expects certain behaviours from Hunter – and they definitely don’t include being gay. Hunter had previously identified as straight but over time, his attraction for Devon develops. I suppose it is a version of an Out for You story but it felt authentic to me. When Devon and Hunter met they were just 20 so it seemed not unbelievable to me that Hunter may not have previously realised his same sex attraction. This is particularly so because it was only when he came to California for college that he felt any sense of freedom to be himself at all. Continue reading

Him by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

July 29, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy via the authors.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Ryan “Wes” Wesley and Jamie Canning meet up again for the first time in four years at the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in Boston. They met at “Elites” a spiffy hockey training summer camp they both went to as kids. Every year, Wes and Jamie hung out together at the camp in Lake Placid and their bond of friendship was strong.

Wes is gay and out at college but preparing to head back into the closet, at least for a while, when he starts playing for a Toronto NHL team after graduation. He figures he will need to prove himself to the team before he can risk his sexuality becoming known. His plan is to be celibate for a good long while. Not something he’s looking forward to. At college, Wes didn’t hide his sexual orientation but he also didn’t flaunt it. It was kind of an open secret and apart from with one of his (straight) buddies on the team, it wasn’t discussed.
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