Saturday, September 30, 2017

Think of England by K.J. Charles

Though it took me a little bit to get into the story, once I was in - I was ALL in. The whole story is told from the POV of Archie Curtis, a former soldier who was injured by faulty weapons. Hurt and angry for the lose of his physicality and his fellow soldiers he goes to search for evidence it wasn't an accident. Archie is no spy, so lucky for him he encounters a real spy - Daniel da Silva and together, they try to bring the responsible (for much more than what Archie suspected) to justice. 


Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Completely (New York #3) [Rosemary & Kal] by Ruthie Knox

This is not what I was expecting.. I've loved everything I've read by Ruthie so I've been waiting impatiently for this book to finally release and now I feel so annoyed and I'm not sure with what or who. This book just didn't work for me. It started out slow and kept the pace. I felt disconnected from the characters, the way the story was told, both MCs kept their "walls up" which made them feel distant not just from one another but from me as well. I wanted to see ONE big reaction. ONE extreme outburst or breakdown and just - nothing. Composure and simple gratitude for the other person. I needed more. 


Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Epiphany By Mary Calmes

This isn't even a novella, it's almost a scene between Joey and Luke (told from Joey's POV). Joey and Luke have been best friends for a long time, building love and trust, but now they are  ready to take it to the next level. 


Sunday, September 24, 2017

Summer Lessons (Winter Ball #2) [Mason & Terry] by Amy Lane

Rating this book isn't easy for me. It was GREAT at the beginning, funny and engaging, then when Mason and Terry started their relationship I wasn't sure it was working for me, but somewhere on the last third I was SO caught up in Mason's struggles I couldn't put it down! Unlike the previous one which felt lacking because it was too short, this one, delivered a full journey for both MCs (though we only get Mason's POV). They both needed to "grow up" in their own way, they needed time, and Amy gave us this time before they were truly ready to have their HEA with one another. I really appreciated that. Yet still, I gotta say, I"m not fully convinced about this couple. They work! There's no denial in that, but it still doesn't make sense to me. Terry is a nice sweet guy, but I would have preferred seeing Mason with someone more "like him" in any sense really (which is why this is a rounded up 4 stars rating).


Saturday, September 23, 2017

The Tin Box by Kim Fielding

I have no words to how beautiful and yet heart breaking this story was. I loved everything about it, the romance which was there and yet wasn't the main focus, Bill's story (the one who wrote the letters in the Tin Box), the creepy yet mostly sad surrounding of the Asylum but mostly it was William's story. William who is 32 years old, soon to become a doctor (once he finishes writing his dissertation), have been married for 6 years yet with all of this life experience he has never truly LIVED before he took the job at the Asylum. He doesn't know himself, he isn't sure who he is or what he wants. Everything in his life has been somehow dictated even the things he thought he truly wanted. Now, on his own, in a silent decrepit buildings he finally becomes the man he wants to be. 


Thursday, September 21, 2017

Lay It Down by Mary Calmes

This one started out great, but somewhere around the middle it changed in a way that left me annoyed. That's where I stopped for a few days not finding the motivation to keep on reading. The whole idea was great, and I liked a lot of the way it played but the insta-love and insta-lust was SO all-over-the-place I couldn't enjoy the romance at all. 

Dalvon and Hudson are twin brothers, not identical twins but they DO look very much a like. When Hudson comes to visit Dalvon in Ibiza he runs off on Hudson leaving him to deal with his mess. Hudson thought it would be him telling his VERY rich fiancee Miguel GarcĂ­a he and Dalvon are over but it turned out it wasn't the ONLY thing Dalvon left in his care.. 



Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Live and Learn by Mary Calmes

This one was SHORT! Yet it actually DID have a romantic story and even a lesson to be learned.
Robert Owens is frustrated, he is at a club with his friends and boyfriend Teague Powers and while trying to be a "cool guy" he drives Teague to dance with Hunter, a guy Teague has known for years and spend many nights with.. Truth is he is NOT okay with it at all.. But Teague isn't as oblivious as Rob thinks..


Where You Lead by Mary Calmes

Though short this was actually a sweet short novella. Our MCs are already a formed couple their issue is more than the usual "taking a step up" in their relationship since Carver needs to return home to his sleepy little town of Colt after his mother suffered a stroke and needs help taking care of. Question is, what would Pete do? Stay in Chicago or follow the love of his life home. 


Monday, September 11, 2017

Temporary by Sarina Bowen & Sarah Mayberry

Beautiful! SO SO beautiful! Sarina and Sarah were perfect together as were the two MCs - Callan and Grace. The story that brought these two together was so touching. Callan lost his uncle, the one constant in his life who made him the person he is today, but his mother is determined to delete all his doing by getting rid of everything he owned and everything he stood for by disposing of his belongings. She uses Grace, a temp at the New York offices to do that job. Yet even though Jack wasn't alive anymore he WAS alive throughout Callan's memories and through his house who is the main setting of the book. I felt connected to Jack even though he wasn't even there. I shed a tear at his eulogy and was heart broken for him many times. I feel as though I WISH I actually "met" him and I have a feeling Grace feels exactly the same. 


Play On (Glasgow Lads, #0.5) by Avery Cockburn

Something didn't work for me in this one. It might be the Scottish jargon I was unfamiliar with, which "helped" with me not really getting the two MCs. There's an undercurrent of events that happened in Duncan's soccer team and though it was explained I couldn't care for the team because I didn't know them and Duncan was just sulking around about it. Brodie seemed too fragile for my liking and mostly too defensive. I didn't like that things was explained LATER rather than NOW, on too many accounts. What happened between the two of them (still not sure at 35%), what happened with the team, what's the issue with a LGBT soccer team and what does it mean? What happened to Brodie to make him hate athletes. I would have loved for ONE straight answer throughout this short novella. 


Thursday, September 7, 2017

Living Out Loud by Christina Lee & Nyrae Dawn

Beautiful and heart breaking at the same time, but also SEXY as hell! I loved both Ben and Xavier. They had a difficult childhood that made them into who they are today, but while Xavier is mostly content with his life, Ben has a lot of exploring to do - in the sexual sense, but also personally, learning to not only accept who he is, but to look for the things he loves and enjoys in the new life he is building himself now that he is free from his past' shackles.

Though this book is not a part of the "Free Fall" series, it's still connected. First because we've met Ben in the last installment "Paint the Stars" (he and Ezra were a couple in college), but also because there are mentions of other characters from the series. 

It can be read as a stand alone no worries. 

Sariel by Mary Calmes

I was quite surprised with the actual story Mary managed to build in only 28 pages! It has a lot of sexual interactions (considering it's length) but there is also a really nice idea behind it. Though it does contain "insta-crash/love/commitment".

When Jacob Gray is offered to go to Italy with the new company he just started to work with he is excited! But as the boss takes JUST him with a few associates on a car ride he starts to get anxious and rightly so... They are planning to rape torture and kill him.. Yet he gets offered to suffer those OR be given to "The Beast". Jacob does the "unthinkable" and decides to go with the unknown beast only to find he isn't actually a beast at all..



Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Circle (Roads #3) by Garrett Leigh

This book wasn't just Ash and Pete coming full circle, it me as well. "Slide", the first book in this series was the first I've read by Garrett. It's been 2½ years and I've completed all of her published work and became addicted on the way. Pete and Ash's story was soul crashing but it was also gentle, loving and endearing even though they are both not the romantic kind. This book brings us and them a true feeling of HEA even though they have to go through a new journey before they get there. 


Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Chevalier (Romanus #2) by Mary Calmes

I enjoyed this novella, like the first part "Romanus" [which you HAVE to read in order to understand the dynamics and basic world building] it was fast paced with a lot of things happening and a lot of information revealed about the Gargoyle species. This one starts a year after the perilous one with Mason and Luc an established couple. Mason still tries to hold Luc back, not because he doesn't want him, rather because of his past experiences with men he dated. Yet in his heart he knows that Luc is the only guy (or rather Gargoyle hehe) for him. It's admitting it, saying it out loud which terrifies him. 


Monday, September 4, 2017

Romanus (Romanus #1) by Mary Calmes

A very detailed short novella. I"m really happy this is part one, with part two "Chevalier" concluding the story because it would really be a shame not to get more of this very detailed world. I've read many reviews describing this one as "confusing" but I think if you are used to reading Paranormal Romance novels you'll get this one - no problem! It's actually quite amazing HOW MUCH we get of the world building in such a short story which naturally also includes romance, though be advised it's almost an "insta-love" or rather "insta-lust" (which is quite common in PNR). 


Friday, September 1, 2017

Still by Mary Calmes

Beautiful heart warming story. I think mostly we read about romance novels which start at the beginning - introduction, relationship buildup up to a sort of HFN we feel will be a HEA. This one is different. We start at the breaking point, 17 years after Sivan Cruz and Walter Wainwright met, now a married couple with two grown kids finding life and romance isn't where they want them to be.