on Paper/eBook

**NB This review first appeared in the November ARRA newsletter.**

I Dream of Johnny by Juliet Madison – B- This short story wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it would be funny and it was but I also thought something different would happen with the Geek God Mandy conjured with her modern magic lamp. To know what actually happens, you’ll have to read the story to find out. The Geek God Jonathan Fortran Schnecklmyer, is every geeky nightmare of bad fashion, bad hair and bad taste one could imagine. But even he has his good points. The story is probably more “chick-lit” than romance, with the focus being more on Mandy’s journey of self-discovery but it has a hopeful romantic ending and it was certainly a bit of fun to while away a half hour.

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Coming Soon

I’ll have reviews of Ripped by Sarah Morgan and How I Met Your Father by LJ Gregg up in December as well as a post about my most romantic scene.

on Paper/eBook

**NB This review first appeared in the ARRA members newsletter in October 2014**

In Another Life by EE Montgomery is a very short story but it covers a lot of ground. It’s a very stylised work, with glimpses of the main characters for short periods every eight years. It begins with Eli and Mike at 24, living together and just at the start of their careers. Because each of them is so busy, their relationship suffers and the story starts when Mike leaves and Eli is devastated. Fast forward eight years and they encounter one another again but Eli lets Mike believe he is with someone else. There is still attraction but also (especially from Eli) great pain. A further eight years pass and Mike finds Eli drinking heavily (in celebration over a friend’s good health news) and takes him home and looks after him (yes Kat, this is a vomit book). There is a strong connection between the characters but the story is so short it doesn’t have much chance to develop. We cover 24 years in about 20 pages. Eli and Mike have never stopped loving each other it seems, but there is a lot of hurt and baggage to be dealt with before they can have their HEA. For me, I think I would have appreciated the story more if I had been able to spend more time with the characters. As it was, I did feel their connection and Mike’s guilt for the decision he regrets and the pain it caused Eli. I enjoyed the secondary characters of Quinn and Jerry as well. The story was a quick read and in a very short time the author captured my interest. I wished it were longer.

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AMAZON KOBO