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March Round Up

March 26, 2018 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Dark in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen – B- I’m still in for this series but Dark in Death was one of my least favourite books so far. In terms of romance, there wasn’t any conflict or tension between Roarke and Eve. They’re happy, having great sex and enjoying their marriage. That’s good and it’s not exactly that I get sick of it, but at the same time, I’d like a bit of conflict (with a happy resolution of course!) to shake things up a little. The main issue I had with the book however is the premise. A killer is recreating murders from a police procedural series and particularly the section where Eve is interviewing the author and talking about fan expectations and the challenges of being an author were just too meta for me. (I had a similar issue with the latest Suzanne Brockmann.) I can’t help but feel like the actual author is talking to the reader this way and even if that is only in my imagination, it makes me uncomfortable. There wasn’t really anything objectionable in what was said but I want to be immersed in the story and forget about the author altogether when I read/listen and I couldn’t here.

The other thing to mention is that a member of Eve’s squad, Jenkinson, uses a transphobic slur twice in the course of a conversation with Eve and there was zero narrative pushback on it. I do not accept that such slurs are okay in 2062 – they’re certainly not okay now. I dearly wished Eve would have told Jenkinson off about it. Continue reading

Keepsake by Sarina Bowen, narrated by Erin Spencer & Teddy Hamilton

March 26, 2018 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: This one is available via the #AudibleRomance package.I have it in digital format too but hadn’t found time to read it.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) There’s a first time for everything.

Lark Wainwright used to be fearless. Her life was a series of adventures, each one more exhilarating than the last. But her recent overseas adventure was one too many. Now she’s home and in one piece. Mostly. But her nights are filled with terror.

When her best friend offers her a stay at the orchard in exchange for help at the farmers’ markets, Lark jumps at the chance to spend fall in Vermont. But her nightmares don’t stop. Desperate to keep her fragile state a secret, she relies on the most soft-spoken resident of the Shipley Farm to soothe her when her dreams prove too much.

Zachariah is a survivor, too. It’s been four years since he was tossed aside by the polygamist cult where he grew up. He’s found a peaceful existence on the Shipley’s farm, picking apples and fixing machinery. But getting thrown away by your own people at nineteen leaves a mark on a guy. He doesn’t always know what to make of a world where movie quotes are the primary means of communication. Before hitchhiking to Vermont, he’d never watched TV or spoken on the phone.

Actually, there are a lot of things he’s never done.

Zach and Lark slowly grow to trust one another. One night they become even closer than they’d planned. But Lark may still be too broken to trust anyone. When she pushes Zach away, he will have to prove to himself that he’s good for much more than farm labor.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I have all of the True North books on my TBR but I haven’t read any of them yet. Keepsake works as a stand alone novel however and I didn’t have any trouble following the story. The blurb attracted me and I was in the mood for an angsty listen so I loaded it up on my iPod. It wasn’t as angsty as it could have been actually but I enjoyed, particularly, Zach’s vulnerability in the story. He’s a bit of a cinnamon roll hero (h/t Olivia Dade) and I have soft spot. Also, I’ve recently listened to Goodbye Paradise and Zach had also been at Paradise Ranch so there was a link.
Continue reading

Rough Ride by Kristen Ashley

March 22, 2018 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I read it as soon as I could after it came out because of course.

TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic abuse/violence to women. The heroine is severely beaten by her then boyfriend (not the hero) and the description is relatively graphic.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Rosalie Holloway put it all on the line for the Chaos Motorcycle Club.

Informing to Chaos on their rival club—her man’s club, Bounty—Rosalie knows the stakes. And she pays them when her man, who she was hoping to scare straight, finds out she’s betrayed him and he delivers her to his brothers to mete out their form of justice.

But really, Rosie has long been denying that, as she drifted away from her Bounty, she’s been falling in love with Everett “Snapper” Kavanagh, a Chaos brother. Snap is the biker-boy-next door with the snowy blue eyes, quiet confidence and sweet disposition who was supposed to keep her safe… and fell down on that job.

For Snapper, it’s always been Rosalie, from the first time he saw her at the Chaos Compound. He’s just been waiting for a clear shot. But he didn’t want to get it after his Rosie was left bleeding, beat down and broken by Bounty on a cement warehouse floor.

With Rosalie a casualty of an ongoing war, Snapper has to guide her to trust him, take a shot with him, build a them…

And fold his woman firmly in the family that is Chaos.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I admit it’s been a while since I read a Chaos MC book (although I did re-read Motorcycle Man over Christmas – as you do – that’s part of the Dream Man series so I’m not counting it). There have been so many books in between Own the Wind and now, I barely remember the plot. I know Tabby and Shy got their HEA but to be honest, I’d forgotten all about Rosalie.

I put it together quickly enough once I started reading Rough Ride. Rosie was the girl Shy had been dating and then he dumped her to take up with Tabby. I’m sure at the time I was all Team Tabby but I am Team Rosalie now. That’s not actually a conflict because they don’t both want the same man and everyone gets a HEA (It’s like Oprah – you get a HEA! and YOU get a HEA, etc). Continue reading