I’m over at Dear Author with a review of The Bad Boy of Bluebonnet by Jessica Clare. It’s a fun and sexy self published novella in Clare’s popular Bluebonnet series.
Tag: contemporary (Page 98 of 122)
Why I read it: This is one from my personal library.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Vicki Hansol made different choices than her less-than-reputable mom and sister, yet her fiery temper has left her branded with the same town-bad-girl label. When she desperately needs a change of scenery, her get-out-of-town-free ticket arrives—and requires that she face down one of her deepest fears.
Easygoing Joel Coleman has nothing to complain about, but he’s never really done anything to brag about either. The youngest member of the Six Pack Ranch is looking to make some changes in his life that include stepping out from under his twin brother’s shadow.
So when the bold beauty with the smart mouth approaches him with a proposition, Joel is intrigued. Her request for him to teach her to ride soon takes on a whole new meaning. All that passion in his arms, his bed, in the barn . . . hell, anywhere he can get it? Bring it on.
But tangling the sheets leads to unanticipated complications, and by the time the dust settles, everything family means is going to be challenged.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I do like those Coleman boys. *fans self* Joel and Jesse are the twins in the family, with Joel the younger by about 30 minutes. In previous books, we have seen Joel and Jesse “double teaming” various happy, consenting girls but Joel is finding he wants to step out of that now that they’ve finished college. He wants to have a girlfriend rather than just hookups and he doesn’t want to share with Jesse anymore.
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Why I read it: I finally got around to listening to Easy on audio. When I was browsiing my TBR for what next to read, I felt it was the right time to read this one. I bought it when it first came out but the timing was never quite right before.
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) He was lost and alone. Then he found her.
And the future seemed more fragile than ever
As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.
All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…
As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.
Warning: Spoilers for Easy follow.
What worked for me (and what didn’t): I think part of the reason it took me a while to actually read the book was that I was a bit scared I wouldn’t like it. I adored Easy. Would Breakable be a re-hash? Would it be boring? Would it somehow retroactively impact my enjoyment of the first book? As it happened, I was very much feeling the NA love after successful reads from Kristen Callahan and Sarina Bowen. Being up to date on my audiobook reviewing commitments (which is kind of unprecedented but yay me!) I decided to revisit Easy via the audiobook which was waiting patiently on my TBL. And, about halfway through the listen, when I was searching my TBR for my next read and I was all caught up in the Lucas love, I thought – well it’s time. And there was a beautiful symmetry to listening to Jaqueline’s perspective and reading Lucas’s. I think it wouldn’t have worked as well if I hadn’t already read Easy and it probably helped that I was halfway through the listen before I cracked open the book – because I never caught up to Lucas’ POV but I also had Jacqueline’s perspective fresh in my mind when I read reading. In the end, for whatever reason, none of my fears were realised and I enjoyed the heck out of Breakable. I’d say it’s not quite as good as Easy because it essentially tells the same story but in more detail and from another perspective. So it’s not entirely “fresh and new” (although there are aspects of the story which are). But it wasn’t boring and it didn’t feel like just a “re-hash” either. If anything, it made me love Easy more.
Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley
What it’s about: (from Goodreads) As Reapers Motorcycle Club president, Reese “Picnic” Hayes has given his entire life to the club. After losing his wife, he knew he’d never love another woman. And with two daughters to raise and a club to manage, that was just fine with him. These days, Reese keeps his relationships free and easy—he definitely doesn’t want to waste his time on a glorified cleaning lady like London Armstrong.
Too bad he’s completely obsessed with her.
Besides running her own business, London’s got her junkie cousin’s daughter to look after—a more reckless than average eighteen-year-old. Sure she’s attracted to the Reapers’ president, but she’s not stupid. Reese Hayes is a criminal and a thug. But when her young cousin gets caught up with a ruthless drug cartel, Reese might be the only man who can help her. Now London has to make the hardest decision of her life—how far will she go to save her family?
Trigger warnings: I have hidden them because some are spoilerish.
Spoiler
pregnancy loss for one of the characters, violence against both men and women, rape (off page) of a female character, some violence between Reese and London including some rough, dub-con sex.
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What worked for me (and what didn’t): Reese “Picnic” Hayes has been a fascinating character right from the beginning. As President of the local chapter of the Reapers MC he doesn’t turn a hair at violent and illegal behaviour. He’s also a loving dad and, up until the death of his wife, Heather, from breast cancer, a devoted husband. After Heather’s death, Reese became a total manwhore. He’d screw any willing woman, didn’t want a relationship – actively discouraged any such thinking and was convinced that there would never be another “old lady” for him.
I’m over at Dear Author with a review of Riding Dirty by Jill Sorenson. A somewhat different take on MC (Motorcycle Club) books and super hot. I liked it.
Monthly Mini Review
Blonde Date by Sarina Bowen – A I developed a little crush on Andy Buschnagel while reading Blonde Date. He’s so adorkable and kind and sweetly charming. I was a little worried Katie would tear him up because he strikes me as someone who’d be so devoted that he could be taken advantage of. But perhaps I’m doing Andy a disservice there. Fortunately, in the course of their blind date (the story is almost all set in the course of one night), Katie comes to appreciate just what she has in Andy and my feeling is that she’s not planning to treat him badly. Katie is “blonde Katie” from The Year We Hid Away. Her character isn’t terribly developed in that book, but by the end, there is a hint of there being more to her. I liked that this novella didn’t try and recreate her character, but rather, it expanded the reader’s knowledge, and in that expansion was the nuance and the depth we didn’t see in the earlier book.
I loved that Katie unashamedly loves sex and I liked the way slut shaming was handled in the book. It felt very authentic to me – because we all think things from time to time which are unflattering, let’s face it. What made the difference was that Katie realised and called it.
Peeking through the boughs of the Christmas tree, I snuck a closer look. When the girl shifted her face from one side of him to the other, I recognized her. Debbie Dunn. She wore an unhealthy amount of eye makeup. And was staring up into Dash’s face, and practically rubbing her boobs on his oxford shirt.
My first thought was: Ew. My second was: Have I ever done that? And did it cause someone else to say ‘ew’? My third thought was: Do I care? Am I actually slut-shaming Debbie Dunn because she’s wearing gloppy mascara?
I also loved that Andy came up with creative ways to defend “his girl” without being all he-man and included ways for her to take back some of her own power. It fit his personality so well but also demonstrated that he will stand up for those he cares for.
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