Susan Scribner
*Review written during the COVID-19 emergency. My emotions are all over the place, and my rational mind is on hiatus.This was okay, but when my emotions were more deeply engaged during a scene between one of the MCs and the kitten he needs to re-home than during the scenes between the two MCs, there's something that doesn't quite work. Thom and Dean are both appealing characters, but I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between them. They seemed better suited as friends than as two men falling in love. I give Harper credit for incorporating chronic illness (Crohn's Disease) into the story, but another recent book I read did it better (Jay Hogan's [b:Digging Deep 49385118 Digging Deep (Digging Deep, #1) Jay Hogan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576635614l/49385118.SY75.jpg 70500746]). Still, as an aspiring Cat Lady, I can't help but appreciate a story that features one MC with multiple cats and another MC who is a caring veterinarian. It was also interesting that Thom was a little north of 50 years old, and came of age during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, which gives him a unique perspective on the growing homophobia in the US since the 2016 election. I haven't read anything of Kaje Harper that I didn't like, but I've read several books of hers that I loved more than this one. This book was free on Smashwords in March 2020, and I appreciate her generosity.
3.5 stars. Another strong woman-centered novel from reliable and prolific author Barbara O'Neal. This one features a touch of New Age woo-woo, repressed childhood memories, insta-love, the power of art, a pile of recently unearthed bones and the awesomeness of cats. As with her 2018 book, [b:The Art of Inheriting Secrets 38097931 The Art of Inheriting Secrets Barbara O'Neal https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528728728l/38097931.SY75.jpg 59764662], O'Neal devotes a lot of real estate to the love story, to the detriment of the rest of the crowded plot. And I can't say I was a big fan of the MMC, who travels around the world teaching people how to meditate (he makes bank but feels guilty about it). But I've been following O'Neal for more than 30 years (and three pseudonyms), so I'll continue to greet her future releases with pleasure. ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.
Is there an M/M version of Women's Fiction? If so, this book would qualify for the category. The focus is less on romance (although there is one) and more on Gabe's relationship with his ailing father and partially disabled sister, and how his return home to care for the former causes a re-examination of the beliefs he has held for years about how he is viewed by the two people he loves most in the world. He also has to recalibrate the relationship with his best friend Jamie, to whom he has served as rescuer and enabler since they were boys. In the midst of those complex dynamics, explicit sex scenes with Scott, the cute guy next door who has just moved in with the young niece and nephew he seems to barely know, seem jarringly out of place. Their relationship goes from mistrust to making out very suddenly without any discernible arc - they're not together, then they are, and that's about it. I'm not sure they even say “I love you” to each other, that's how little the stakes seem to be.
Several reviewers whose opinions I respect gave this 5 stars, but after reading 3 books by Con Riley, I am going to conclude that she's just not my cup of tea.
Bland and forgettable stories. Even the ones by J.L. Merrow and Suki Fleet were disappointing, although the Fleet one was the best of a lackluster bunch. In Merrow's story, two men who don't want a relationship sleep together and then...decide they want a relationship. In Fleet's story, a man who has been crushing on his best friend's younger brother for several years...finally gets together with him. I realize there is only so much you can do with a limited word count but there was nothing that hooked me and engaged me for the relatively few pages of each story.
Glad this is supporting a worthwhile cause, otherwise I would have felt that I had wasted my money.
Romance with a gimmick, but it's a good one. Arie loses the love of his life, the beautiful pianist Diana, in a tragic way. Before she dies, she plays a love song she wrote for him in a hotel lounge and is overheard by a weary traveler. He's transfixed enough by the melody to share it with his teenaged daughter when he returns home. Eventually the song travels around the world and has a significant impact on everyone who hears it. Meanwhile, two years later, Arie is unable to move past his grief until he meets the temporary lodger next door who inexplicably is playing a tune on her guitar that Arie can't quite place...
There's a bit of Love Actually to the book, as the chapters about Arie and the guitar player (who's really a poet named Evie) are interspersed with brief glimpses into the other characters whose lives are transformed by the song. I liked the way the stories covered different types of love (parental, filial, romantic) and the intriguing links between the characters. And of course the critical question: will the song ever find its way back to Arie and Evie and help them find the HEA they deserve?
The only problem is that the inclusion of these “interludes” means there is less room to devote to Arie and Evie's relationship. Although there are some beautiful, heartbreaking passages about love and loss, and the climax is definitely swoon-worthy, there were not enough scenes showing the two of them together to really understand why they were perfect for each other. So I ended up admiring the writing style and the plotting, but not quite fully engrossed in the love story.
This would make a great movie if they could find someone to compose a melody with the power to transform lives.
This was a freebie for the Kindle, and each story served as a nice “palate cleanser” between more weighty books I was reading. Lots of insta-luv, but hey it's the apocalypse and emotions are heightened. Good mix of humor, horror, and sex. And the premise was just realistic enough to keep an undertone of dread underneath it all. Start hoarding your canned goods, people!
This is a bit of a departure for Ainslie Paton from her contemporary romances, as it takes place in 1976 and has a strong secondary romance, along with a heroine who starts off with one guy and ends up with another. I could identify with the period details (even though I grew up in America, not Australia) - the songs, the disco, the clothes, the mustaches. And Paton reminds us of how difficult life could be for women of that era, especially divorced ones, who were frequently considered loose women just by virtue of their status. The women's liberation movement had just begin to make itself felt, but women still had a tough time finding jobs and getting decent wages for their work.
The historical aspect is interesting (ouch - when did my childhood become history?) but at heart this is still a love story, with two engaging couples and lots of angst, especially on the part of the male characters, and several scorching sex scenes. I've gotten used to reading contemporary romances with sexually experienced heroines , but setting this book in 1976 allows Paton to go back to the old trope of the almost-virgin heroine who thinks she's frigid. Interestingly, it's not even the hero who first awakens her, but he sure finishes the job. In the process, the heroine learns the difference between someone who looks as her “like she was a delicious daily special, something to devour and digest” and someone who looks at her “as though she was altering his view of the world and his place in it.” Wow!
Ainslie's blog indicates that she wrote Hooked on a Feeling as an exercise to see if she could do something different. I'm glad to say that the experiment was very successful. Her upcoming releases all look like contemporary romances, but if she wants to go back to the era of disco balls and pornstaches I'll be glad to trip back down memory lane with her.
Sweet romance, not particularly hot. Liked both MCs and the little mini plots about the members of Robin's tour group. Too much evil ex-boyfriend in the picture, although I appreciated the fact that Robin didn't fall for his BS even for a moment. Not sure how I missed this author, who is apparently very prolific. Not a bad book for a 99 cent special but I wouldn't consider him a new auto-buy.
Another take-no-prisoners romance from Ainslie Paton, one of my few auto-buy contemporary romance authors. It's apparent from the start that neither the motorcycle club errand boy “Fetch” nor the buttoned-up female chauffeur “Driver” are what they appear at first glance. There's a lot of attraction but very little trust. After a fairly explosive start, the novel settles into a leisurely road romance as our hero and heroine gradually open up to each other while at first resisting, then giving in to, their urges in several extremely hot chapters. Then the stakes are raised and everything they gained together appears to be lost.
I'm being deliberately vague to avoid spoilers, but I can say that Paton did such a good job of building a credible relationship that develops over a few short days that I was almost sick to my stomach during the chapters in which the hero and heroine were angry with and distrustful of each other. There was a little too much heroine-humbling for my liking, although the hero does an impressive amount of groveling to make up for it. For the record, while “Fetch” does exhibit a certain amount of “I know what's best for you” attitude, he is nowhere near as controlling and manipulative as the hero in Paton's previous novel, Detained (which I still loved).
What else can I say? Great internal angst and external dialogue. Sex. Danger. A secondary character named Stud. And Paton throws in a sick abandoned dog! You will end up feeling bruised and battered by this novel, but ultimately redeemed.
ARC received from NetGalley in return for honest review.
Cute but underdeveloped. The two MCs go from hating each other to passionate kissing in the blink of an eye, and the age difference between the two is commented on once or twice and then ignored. Plus Bran's journey from grieving, closed-off widower to long-term boyfriend material happens without any setbacks (although it is definitely a slow process), which seems unrealistic. The focus is more on Nathan's emotional growth from self-absorbed, alcoholic party animal to caring and sober good guy, which includes plenty of challenges and roadblocks. I've read better books by this author, especially her [b:Point Shot Trilogy Boxed Set 34066713 Point Shot Trilogy Boxed Set V.L. Locey https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1485790679l/34066713.SY75.jpg 55077345].
Not my favorite from this author. I liked the authentic look at what it takes to put on an ambitious rock tour, and the hero was a sweetheart. But the heroine was too awful to him and her alleged change of heart too little and too late for me to root for them as a couple. The happy ending for me would have been for the hero to run as fast as possible in the other direction. I'm all for modern kick-butt heroines, but if the hero had been this cruel the book would have felt like a romance out of the 1980s.
Nowhere near as good as Floored, Detained or White Balance.
Warning: This book is not a romance. There is the slightest whiff of a HFN but I think it will be a long journey to get these MCs together. Allie Therin forgoes her historical paranormal series ([b:Spellbound 43620442 Spellbound (Magic in Manhattan, #1) Allie Therin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553212283l/43620442.SY75.jpg 67881581], [b:Proper Scoundrels 59338248 Proper Scoundrels Allie Therin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634067914l/59338248.SX50.jpg 90594875], etc.) for a contemporary but still magical setting in which a small number of empaths have the ability to read others people's emotions. Although they are avowed pacifists, empaths are mistrusted and feared by many, resulting in laws that limit their involvement in certain fields and think tanks that seek to uncover their potential hidden threats to democracy and our way of life. Reece is one of Seattle's two empaths, and although he is snarky as hell, he's not the one to call for backup in a fight - he becomes physically ill when exposed to violence. After he receives an anonymous phone call tip that his police detective sister Jamey is investigating the homicide of a legislator who introduced a strong anti-empath bill, he rushes to her side, desperate to help in some way. But when he encounters the foreboding Evan Grayson, aka The Dead Man, Reece realizes he has found the one person he can't read. Grayson insists he is not an empath hunter, but an empath specialist, although Reece has trouble understanding the difference. He has no choice but to accompany Grayson for his own protection while Jamey actively pursues the killer. Reece and Grayson manage to get themselves in the middle of danger anyway, as the body count increases and surprising suspects are revealed that will change the way the world looks at empaths. Reece is also hiding a secret about new powers he has recently developed that are unprecedented even for an empath, and may be the first sign of oncoming madness. As I mentioned, this book is not a romance, and the series will have to do some heavy lifting before I will accept Reece and Grayson as a couple. From the beginning, Grayson has all of the information, and he drags Reece around without sufficient explanation. The power differential is disturbing; Grayson is above any other law enforcement agency and can kill with impunity, while Reece vomits whenever he witnesses violence or even anger. Reece's only upper hand in the situation is his insistence on safe driving, which drives Grayson crazy since all Big Tough Guys drive fast and recklessly. The book ends with the apprehension of the legislator's murderer, but it leaves many other questions unanswered. There is a hint that Reece hasn't seen the last of Grayson, but the two haven't even touched yet. I'm not a big fan of the unemotional alpha/Care Bear cinnamon roll pairing; Grayson will have to open up a lot for their relationship to be at least a little believable. ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.
*I am putting an asterisk next to any reviews written during the COVID-19 emergency, since my emotions are all over the place and my rational mind seems to have taken a hike.
This book deeply engaged me at a time when I needed to be thinking about something other than current reality, so I'm giving it 4 stars. I can't say it was very romantic; it felt more like the male equivalent of Women's Fiction, with the romance being only one part of a larger plot. Also Kellen was emotionally closed off for 95% of the book (with good reason, but still it pained me to see him continue to refer to his relationship with Mike as friends-with-benefits when it was obvious that Mike was in love with him). And Mike was a sweetheart (who doesn't love a socially awkward virgin MC in his late 30s?) but perhaps it wasn't the best idea to describe him as looking like Woody Allen (although the book may have been written before Allen became such a controversial figure).
Kellen's struggles with his mother's rapidly worsening dementia are gut-wrenching and realistic, made more acute because he has no other family members to help him. It certainly makes for sometimes grim reading, but at least he is able to get to a more stable, manageable situation that allows him room to open his heart to Mike.
Definitely not a fluffy love story, but well-written and obviously a topic that was very close to the author's personal life at the time.
Cute but a few things about the plot bothered me and the author's zany but still earnest voice didn't quite work for me. Plus there was a bit of head hopping between MCs within a single scene and that's one of my pet peeves. I skimmed the last 25%.
On the plus side, however, the two ghosts stole the story and deserved their own full-length book.
2.5 stars. There was something about Michael's relationship with James that made me uncomfortable. It started when Michael first realized James was in a wheelchair and felt relieved because it meant he “had a shot” with him. As in, James was smart, attractive and successful but he was in a wheelchair so that meant his standards were lower...? The rest of the book tried to make the point that Michael fell for James because of who he was as a person, not because of or despite the disability. But given Michael's initial impressions, that didn't ring true.
Interesting idea to have an MC who is a gay sex surrogate, and lots of cute bantering between the two men, but I never got over the ugliness from the initial meeting. YMMV if you're a fan of the author and don't get hung up by one or two jarring sentences like I tend to do.
Had a hard time keeping track of all of the characters who might or might not have played a role in the suspected poisonings, but that could just be down to me and inability to concentrate these days. Interesting twist to have poor Jonty laid up in an infirmary bed with a sprained ankle so that he has to do his sleuthing from a distance, and Dr. “sorry I blew up the laboratory” Panesar is always a welcome addition to the team. Plus we get a fair amount of pining from Orlando, whose bed is too big without his partner in crime and in life.
I should probably read it again sometime when I am not so distracted (not sure when that will ever be true).
I've read all of the Shamwell Tales by this author, and this is my favorite so far. Flirty, campy David, who readers met in Caught!, starts the book off with a bang, quite literally, losing his job and his home when he is caught in a tryst with his boss' very married client. He seeks out his former boss Mark, now relocated to Shamwell, finagling a temporary job with him and lodging with Mark's acquaintance Rory.
Rory is a very sweet, straight teddy bear of a man with two young children whom he wishes he could see more often. He has no problems boarding a gay man, even when his mate Barry warns him that David is out to “convert him to the cause.” But Rory, recently dumped by his girlfriend, is glad for David's company, whether it's cooking and eating together or comparing the merits of the various Dr. Who actors. David, who has a history of going for Bad Boys, is surprised to realize how much he likes and respects Rory, not to mention how well he gets along with Rory's kids. Like slowly turns to lust for both men, but David is convinced that Rory remains straight as an arrow, and Rory thinks there's no way David would be interested in a plain, poorly educated postman.
This book is just plain fun. David may be a bit too stereotypically effeminate (he carries on conversations with his teddy bear Gregory FFS), but you can't help root for him to open up his heart and let someone in. Rory is just about perfect as he engages in a brief internal struggle about his attraction to David, quickly decides it's no big deal that he is probably bisexual, and then risks his friendship with Barry because he won't lie about his feelings. The only weakness is a bit of uncharacteristic and out of place angst when both David and Rory start avoiding each other instead of being honest, but the scene where they finally come together (and Rory processes his first gay sexual experience as it happens) is hilarious, sweet and worth the wait.
Merrow is at her best when she goes for humor and heart, hold the angst, and Spun! is one of her better efforts. While the previous books were published by the now-defunct Samhain, Spun! is being released by Riptide (who is also re-releasing the previous books in the series). I hope they give her the green light to keep the Shamwell Tales going.
Just adorable.
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for honest review.
A realistic portrayal of the complexities of a romance between two men in 1950s England. The homophobia and class differences were very much front and center, as imprisonment and professional ruin were very much risks the MCs faced if their relationship was discovered. In addition, as a physician and a farmhand, they had no good excuse to be hanging out together, and few settings where they both felt comfortable. Because of those obstacles, the sudden declaration of love for both MCs felt very sudden, as they had barely spent any time together before confessing their feelings.
Sweet but sad (albeit with a happy ending) and dismaying to realize that decriminalization of homosexuality in Britain happened less than 60 years ago.
This book started out strong, but devolved into the titular heroine acting completely irrationally and immaturely. After the hunky, talented singer Tyler pursues her and writes beautiful songs professing his feelings, she suddenly decides she is just another notch on his belt and that he is engaged to another woman (because we all know that everything that gossip magazines print is 100% accurate). Much despairing and “oh, he can't possibly love me!” ensues. And then she does something really stupid. So even though the book has a HEA, I was sure Grace would find a way to sabotage herself again once the reader said goodbye to her. Too bad, because Shelle Sumners has a breezy, fresh voice that easily switches among romance, humor and sex.
Also (this doesn't affect my rating), Boo Hiss to the cover artist, who apparently decided that the schnauzers Tyler is walking when he meets Grace weren't macho enough and so replaced them with yellow labs. Because a dog is a dog, right?
Another cute, funny romance by the wondrously named I.M. Flippy. The fake fiance/boyfriend trope is just EVERYWHERE these days so I have to admit I was a little over it, but was adorable to watch the two MCs realize how much they knew about, and were attracted to, each other way as they went through the charade. Might have helped if their rival for the business account was more than a cartoonish jerk, but their victory was still sweet.
Some adorable scenes between Gus and Rae, but there were numerous times that I wanted to knock the MCs heads together for making assumptions and not communicating. And Rae is actually pretty horrible to Gus , making a big speech about how much he loves him and then ghosting him, without a suitable grovel IMO. Not my favorite in this charming series but it's nice to see the couples from the previous books, and Charlie and Andy's plotting to help Gus is pretty hilarious. I.M. Flippy continues to be one of my favorite comfort authors for fun, low-angst books that capture the wonder of falling in love. On to Andy's book!
Sweet and funny novella with two MCs encountering each other five years after high school at a karaoke bar. The beginning is strong as they slowly open up to each other through their song choices, but then it turns into a snowed-in together sex fest, which was far less interesting to me. Strong HFN ending though.
Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite Shakespeare play, although I don't remember there being quite as much hate-fcking in the original as there is in Ben and Beatriz, which updates the setting to Cape Cod, post-Trump but pre-COVID, and the MCs to Harvard seniors. The titular characters are forced into close proximity when Ben's BFF Claudio and Beatriz's cousin Hero decide to spend Spring Break together at Ben's family's beach house. Beatriz hates Ben because he's a rich, white fckboy who is being groomed to be the heir to his father's financial empire. And because once, in a drunken haze three years ago, she slept with him and he ghosted her. Ben doesn't hate Beatriz as much as he is annoyed by her social justice warrior attitude towards absolutely everything he does or says or represents. If only she knew how much he still thinks about the night they had sex, or the fact that he loves reading Jane Austen novels.
During the aforementioned hate fcking, Ben and Beatriz slowly open up to each other, despite a lot of poor communication and Big Misunderstandings. Until the Claudio/Hero dynamic plays out much like in the original, and disaster ensues. My enjoyment of the book was hindered by the fact I didn't really like either of the MCs. Ben *is a rich douchebag for much of the story, and although his toxic masculinity is radically reduced, he still engages in a lot of problematic behavior when shit goes down about Hero. And he pretty much ignores his alleged best friend Meg, when it is obvious that she is not okay emotionally or mentally.
Beatriz is sanctimonious and judgmental; she's a Latinx with dark skin who bristles at every microaggression Ben or his friends make and is prone to long, preachy speeches. It's true that there's not much room to compromise for a progressive woman in a relationship with the son of rabid Trump supporters, and Ben obviously needed to be enlightened about the evils of late-stage capitalism. But I want to see both MCs on a journey towards something, and it feels like Ben is the only one moving while Beatriz stands still.
The love story may not be convincing, but modernizing the story does give Hero a chance for a much more satisfying resolution than Shakespeare ever did. From the Author's Note, I learned that Catherine Tate and David Tennant starred in a British production of the play that apparently surpasses the 1993 Kenneth Branagh/Emma Thompson and the 2012 Joss Whedon movies. So I thank the author for pointing me towards a previously unknown version of one of the Bard's best.
I'm not quite feeling the love between Silas and Darien, and I'm still a little fuzzy on exactly what it is that make Darien's magic so special. But the introduction of his familiar, Pip, was absolutely adorable, and the difference between the cool feline disdain of Silas' familiar Grim and Pip's eager canine affection make for some entertaining interactions. I think Harper is stronger when she writes regular contemporary romance, but I still ordered the next book in the series, [b:Bound by Memories 56250434 Bound by Memories (Necromancer, #3) Kaje Harper https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1607701294l/56250434.SY75.jpg 87626582], as soon as I finished this one.
Loved the first 60% as Chloe, Rory and Smith try to decipher the clues that golden girl Shara Wheeler has left behind after a mysterious prom night disappearance. They are tied together by the fact that within a few days before she vanished, Shara kissed each of them. The three high school seniors are from disparate crowds at schools, and watching them slowly develop a Scooby Gang friendship is charming (and the dynamics somewhat surprising). But once the mystery is solved, the plot stumbles. I lost patience with Chloe's selfish behavior, and the romance made me think, “these two people deserve each other” more than “they're my new OTP.” I kept reading for several queer romances that develop along the way (including one that deserves its own book), and the message that queer teens in Bible Belt towns can indeed live their truth, especially if they can find and support each other. I don't think anything will ever top this author's [b:Red, White & Royal Blue 41150487 Red, White & Royal Blue Casey McQuiston https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566742512l/41150487.SY75.jpg 61657690], but I Kissed Shara Wheeler demonstrates that, three books in, Casey McQuiston is here to stay.