Musings on Romance
I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Girl Underwater by Claire Kells, narrated by Julia Whelan. A story about survival, loss and change. Also, there’s a plane crash. Fear not – there’s a happy ending! It had a similar “vibe” to Raw Blue. Completely different books but I think those who enjoyed that will enjoy this.
Why I read it: Someone linked to the audiobook on Twitter and I one-clicked that sucker straight away.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Second chances are the sweetest—and the hottest.
It took a spectacularly embarrassing break-up to knock Steve Moonshine Coleman off his lazy butt. In the ten months since that night, he’s changed his ways, and now that Melody’s back in town, it’s time for this sweet-talking cowboy to convince her to get back in the saddle with him.
A return to her veterinary position in Rocky Mountain House was always in the cards for Melody Langley. Getting back together with Steve? Never part of the plan. He had lots of potential but zero ambition, and there’s no way she’ll accept anything less than a man who can keep up with her, in and out of bed.
But the new-and-improved cowboy is impossible to resist, so Melody issues a challenge. Three months to prove he’s reformed. Three months of Steve orchestrating one sexual indulgence after another—wicked distractions from the old boys’ club Melody faces at work and Steve’s growing responsibilities.
He’s got one shot to prove with more than words what’s in his heart and soul.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’ve been enjoying this series mostly on audio – Rocky Mountain Freedom isn’t out yet so I read that one – and I was happy when I saw there was a new book out. Not only that, it’s a bit longer at more than eight hours of listening. Steve Coleman hasn’t featured strongly in the series previously. He was playing guitar and singing with the band at Trader’s Pub a while back when a woman dumped a pitcher of beer on his head but other than that, he was mostly unknown to me. (There’s a family tree on the author’s website which is helpful. Go here.)
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I’m over at Dear Author with a review of The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan. This is the follow up to last year’s The Hook Up and it was So. Much. Fun. Definitely recommend.
I’m over at AudioGals with a review of Looking for Trouble by Victoria Dahl, narrated by Celeste Ciulla. Great story but the narration had many strange pauses which annoyed me.
Why I read it: One of my fellow reviewers at AudioGals recommended this one so I bought it.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) The top-selling, beloved indie author of Ten Tiny Breaths returns with a new romance about a young woman who loses her memory—and the man who knows that the only way to protect her is to stay away.
Left for dead in the fields of rural Oregon, a young woman defies all odds and survives—but she awakens with no idea who she is, or what happened to her. Refusing to answer to “Jane Doe” for another day, the woman renames herself “Water” for the tiny, hidden marking on her body—the only clue to her past. Taken in by old Ginny Fitzgerald, a crotchety but kind lady living on a nearby horse farm, Water slowly begins building a new life. But as she attempts to piece together the fleeting slivers of her memory, more questions emerge: Who is the next-door neighbor, quietly toiling under the hood of his Barracuda? Why won’t Ginny let him step foot on her property? And why does Water feel she recognizes him?
Twenty-four-year-old Jesse Welles doesn’t know how long it will be before Water gets her memory back. For her sake, Jesse hopes the answer is never. He knows that she’ll stay so much safer—and happier—that way. And that’s why, as hard as it is, he needs to keep his distance. Because getting too close could flood her with realities better left buried.
The trouble is, water always seems to find its way to the surface.
Warning: Ahoy! Thar be spoilers.
Trigger Warning: Domestic violence, rape.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I started this book but I didn’t think it was going to be an adultery book. I probably should have realised that. My bad. I’m not big on the adultery trope. I had mixed feelings about it here. Alexandria Petrova is married to Victor Petrova a Russian mob type 20 years her senior. While she married him willingly, I’m sure he did take advantage of her youth and circumstances (she was poor and only had her mother for family) in getting her consent to marriage. Victor is rich and he left her presents and dazzled her with the promise of plenty. I gather that the marriage wasn’t entirely awful at the start, but gradually Victor becomes more and more controlling and physically violent with her.
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I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Misfits by Garrett Leigh. I liked the slow build to the HEA and the focus on the emotional connections the trio made with each other.
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