Tag: NetGalley (Page 22 of 37)

Back in Play by Lynda Aicher

May 18, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. The blurb just hooked me – a bit unusual and very intriguing; it lived up to its promise.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) For Minnesota Glaciers captain Scott Walters, skating on a bum knee—and self-medicating to keep skating on it—is all part of the game. That the painkillers he’s eating prevent him from having meaningful relationships is just one more sacrifice in a lifetime of them. He’s worked too hard to let his image be ruined by injury or dependency, so he hides the pain and fakes the rest—a girlfriend would only complicate matters.

High school teacher Rachel Fielding never needed a man in her life, but she also never intended to grow old alone. When she meets Scott while visiting her brother, she’s intrigued to find herself wanting him in her bed. For hours at a time, as often as possible. Scott is a giver, and just the memory of his attentions is enough to drive her crazy. Anything long-term is out of the question, though—the pills she finds in Scott’s house indicate he’s struggling with a lot more than growing older in a young man’s game.

When what starts out as a what-the-hell weeklong fling turns into Scott and Rachel exploring each other outside the bedroom, Rachel hesitates. But Scott asks for her support to break his addiction, and hearing him admit his secrets has her ignoring her own rules—until he breaks her heart. With the Glaciers refusing to renew his contract and his future with Rachel uncertain, Scott has some big decisions to make and a lot to prove—especially to himself.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I haven’t read the first book in the series (yet) but I think this one works well as a stand-alone. The story begins at the wedding of what I assume to be book one’s hero and heroine. Scott Walker, the Glaciers captain is in attendance. He was the best man. His knee is very sore and he’s popping pain pills but is being careful not to mix them with alcohol. He’s been hiding or downplaying the pain in his knee for so long and he’s desperately tired. He’s also desperate to keep playing. It’s the end of the season and the Glaciers have just missed out on winning the cup. He wants one more shot at it before he retires. His contract is up and the Glaciers have been coy about renewal. He’s 34 and he knows he’s nearing the end of his career. Is he already past his use-by date?

At the reception there is a very attractive woman Scott hasn’t seen before. This is our heroine, Rachel Fielding, the sister of a friend of the groom. She is in town visiting her brother Rock (short for Rockford) and his partner Carter, for the summer. Scott and Rachel are beyond attracted to one another but Rachel is going home in a week. It seems any potential relationship is doomed. Continue reading

April Round Up

May 4, 2015 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Dirty Secrets by Jane O’Reilly – B+ The second in her recent erotic novella duology, Dirty Secrets is about Jules, Amy’s (from Dirty Talk) kind-of-former-best friend. Jules has split up with Dave the Dick for the last time. She has escaped to London for a month to try and recover herself. Somehow over the course of their relationship, Jules lost all sense of her self worth, her value and her self esteem. Dave the Dick slowly eroded her confidence in everything. She is finally out and she realises that he’s done a number on her but it is only as she begins to recover that she realises exactly how big of a number he did.

Theo is a friend from school. They haven’t seen each other in 10 years, but when she calls him he offers her a haven and she takes him up on it. Good decision Jules! Theo is a co-owner of an exclusive sex club in London, the complete details of which are (I think, deliberately) vague. They cater to fantasies, with a particular emphasis on women’s pleasure. Theo offers Jules a 30 day membership to explore her fantasies and get in touch with her sexual self. Theo’s gentle friendship and calm support, together with the encouragement and charm of Theo’s business partner, John, are balms to Jules’ soul and there are sexual adventures with a “stranger”. Continue reading

Out of the Game by Kate Willoughby

March 16, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Alex Sullivan may be the San Diego Barracudas’ resident playboy, but he hasn’t been able to forget the woman who kissed him like her life depended on it ten months ago. When he sees her again at a teammate’s wedding, he can’t think of anything but spending more time with her. Preferably naked.

Claire Marzano lost years catering to an overbearing husband, and she’s not going to answer to anyone ever again. A hot fling is just what she needs to get back in the game, and that’s exactly what sexy Alex offers—one wild long weekend away, with no promises or obligations.

But that one weekend changes everything. Despite knowing full well Alex isn’t the kind to ever commit, Claire is falling for him. And Alex secretly imagines a future with his strong, smart “accidental girlfriend.” Until a surprise announcement and an on-ice accident threaten to derail everything…or cause Alex to finally ditch his old ways and become the man Claire needs him to be.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I really enjoy this author’s writing voice and I especially like the way she writes guys and the banter between the team mates. I liked On The Surface and loved Across the Line so I had high hopes for Out of the Game. More so because I liked Alex Sullivan in the earlier stories. He’s a charming rogue type character. A bit of a manslut but not in a cheaty way. I don’t have a problem with someone who wants to have lots of casual sex as long as they’re not making promises they can’t or don’t keep. If both parties are on the same page, it’s all good IMO. There is something great about watching a guy like this fall for “the One” and I was looking forward to what Ms. Willoughby would do with it. It had such a promising start but it went off the rails for me about halfway in and never quite recovered.
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Her Holiday Man by Shannon Stacey

November 24, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy by the publisher via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Christina Forrester is starting over. After a financial scandal sent her ex-husband to prison, she’s left raising her young son without any of the comforts of their old life. Budgets, coupons, lawn care—you name it, she’s learning to do it all on her own. Well, almost on her own—she’d be lost without Gail Broughton, the kind widow across the street. But when Gail’s son comes home, Christina’s vow to never trust a man again is put to the test.

Will Broughton left town because he was tired of being “that poor man” who lost his wife and unborn child in a tragic accident. But years have passed and, with his dad gone and his mom alone, it’s time to go home. Only his mother’s not alone. She’s taken Christina under her wing, and the beautiful and determined single mother awakens something in Will he thought was buried forever.

As Will and Christina are forced to spend more time together, feelings that are more than neighborly grow between them. And with Christmas coming and a child filling both houses with holiday cheer, it becomes nearly impossible not to embrace the joy—and the love—in their lives.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Oh, man! I needed tissues for this book. Of course it has a HEA (it’s a romance after all) but Will has been through the wringer after losing his wife and their unborn daughter shortly before Christmas a few years before the story begins. He’s stayed away from his hometown at Christmas since then but, after also losing his dad suddenly six months before, he feels he needs to come home to stay and make sure his mother is okay. When he’s doing things like going through his dead wife’s hope chest – well, let’s just say I had convenient dust in my eyes. Continue reading

Rogue Spy by Joanna Bourne

November 10, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) For years he’d lived a lie. It was time to tell the truth…even if it cost him the woman he loved.

Ten years ago he was a boy, given the name Thomas Paxton and sent by Revolutionary France to infiltrate the British Intelligence Service. Now his sense of honor brings him back to London, alone and unarmed, to confess. But instead of facing the gallows, he’s given one last impossible assignment to prove his loyalty.

Lovely, lying, former French spy Camille Leyland is dragged from her safe rural obscurity by threats and blackmail. Dusting off her spy skills, she sets out to track down a ruthless French fanatic and rescue the innocent victim he’s holding—only to find an old colleague already on the case. Pax.

Old friendship turns to new love, and as Pax and Camille’s dark secrets loom up from the past, Pax is left with a choice—go rogue from the Service or lose Camille forever…

Warning: Series spoilers follow.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): Joanna Bourne writes such beautiful prose. I get lost in it from time to time. Fortunately, she uses the beautiful language to tell a good story as well. It would be a great pity for it to be otherwise.

A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev

November 3, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Mili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America for eight months, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her.

Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. Open-hearted yet complex, she’s trying to reconcile her independence with cherished traditions. And before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis, escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding, and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I admit I’m not a big Harlequin Presents reader. While I don’t mind reading about the occasional rich alphahole, many of the HPs I’ve tried have not worked for me because the power differential in the relationship is too great – perhaps I’ve tried the wrong ones but the alphahole vs the innocent doormat ingenue mostly doesn’t work for me (Not that I’m saying that all HPs are like that. I don’t think that is the case). A Bollywood Affair isn’t a HP, but I think it’s a close cousin. It seems to me to fit within the common tropes and themes within the line, while at the same time being somewhat fresh and different to the usual fare. I didn’t personally find that it subverted tropes. It seemed to me to stick fairly closely within them but it mostly did this in an entertaining way which I enjoyed, but did not adore.
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