Mini Review: Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon

Three words: Russian figure skaters! If that's not enough for you, here are some random thoughts that I hope will convince you.


The good:

The leads, Anton and Carrie, are smart, kind people who know what they want and work hard to get it. The hero is sweet and vulnerable; the heroine is self-aware and driven. Despite what the prologue suggests, theirs is a slow-burn romance that’s built on mutual respect and friendship. There are lots of interesting details about figure skating and the sport world, yet they are so well integrated into the plot that they never feel obstructive. I don’t know if the author has ever been to Russia (I haven’t, so I’m not a good judge of authenticity) but the story is incredibly atmospheric and evocative. Last but not least, the first half of the book is filled with amazing tension which makes for an emotional and gripping read.

The bad:

This book has an “other woman” and she only functions in one mode: mean. The hero is in a relationship with her for a huge chunk of the book. He doesn’t cheat on her with the heroine, but he’s obviously conflicted on account of her being so damn evil! There’s some mild effort put into justifying her actions, but frankly, those efforts were about making him look good rather than adding nuance to her character.

General Thoughts on Some Current Reads

Today I don’t have a proper review ready, but I do have things to say about the books I’ve been reading, so you get four mini-reviews for the price of one.

***** 

Claiming the Duchess by Sherry Thomas

Romance has the bad habit of using prequel novellas as samples, which usually backfires because novellas aren’t easy to write and they end up working as samples of bad writing. But I like Ms. Thomas’ books, so I was more than happy to read this prequel novella.

I really liked most of it, but the short length really hurt the story, because at its core there’s an act of deception and betrayal that needed more than one paragraph for the climax and ending to be satisfying and to do justice to a heroine that deserved much better. On top of that, the novella (or short story) ends around the 50% mark and the rest is promotional material, so having the book unexpectedly end when you think there’s still half of it to go, doesn’t make for the best reading experience.

Sex and the Romance Novel: Satisfaction by Sarah Mayberry

Source: Someecards

Source: A review copy was provided by the author.

Remember the Four Horsemen of the Tropecalypse? One of them is back, only with a slight variation.

Meet Maggie, our poor, orgasm-less heroine, who, after trying everything on hand (pun intended!), decides to get under the sexy, hung tattooist who gave her BFF a tattoo and the best sex of her life. Maggie figures that if his magic dong doesn’t give her an orgasm, nothing will, so she makes an appointment and accidentally tries to seduce the sexy tattooist’s identical twin, in what must be the most awkward scene I’ve ever read.  

But fear not! This is a Romance novel, after all, and humiliation makes for a great meet-cute. It turns out that Mr. Sexy Twin, also known as Rafel, is so smart and intrigued by Maggie, that he puts two and two together and realizes that, holy shit! She’s never had an orgasm, and lookie here, he happens to have the right tool to alleviate her ailment. That’s how they embark on a relationship that’s based on unconventional motivations, so of course things go pear shaped fast. The good news is that these two are mature individuals, so they actually deal with it accordingly. Well, Kind of.

Angry Heroines and End-of-Life Decisions: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I never met an Elizabeth Scott book I didn’t like. She writes the type of YA I enjoy--books with complex female characters and deep parent-child relationships. I adore her heroine-centric stories filled with characters that would rather be interesting than likeable or relatable. So when I saw this book available on NetGalley over six months ago, I didn’t hesitate to request it. It’s taken me all that time to put my thoughts into what I hope is a coherent take on a deeply flawed book that I think is worth reading even if for its wonderful heroine alone.

Emma’s father died when she was little and since then, she and her mother were a team. They had a wonderful relationship that did nothing but grow the moment her mother met and married Dan.

Review: His Uptown Girl by Liz Talley

After reading Wendy’s review, the first thing I did was buy the book. The way she described both the story and her reaction to it, made it impossible for me to resist reading it. The novel turned out to be as good as she said, and although there were some things I didn’t love, I’m glad I read it.

Eleanor is a 39-year-old widow struggling to put her life back together. Her cheating husband was murdered by his mistress (who then committed suicide) leaving Eleanor immerse in a political scandal. Her daughter is almost out of control and her judgmental mother-in-law is a constant headache. But at least she has her store. The problem is that a club is about to open in her neighborhood and she’s worried that it will bring nothing but constant trouble and annoyances, which is why Eleanor is actively trying to prevent the club from ever opening. So it’s quite humiliating when the hunky stranger she awkwardly tries to seduce turns out to be the owner of the club.

Review: Flirting with Disaster by Ruthie Knox

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Flirting with Disaster is the third book in the Camelot series, and it brings closure and a happy ending to Katie, the last Clark sibling. The previous book was a bit of a mixed bag, but this new installment worked much better for me, even if some of the same issues remained.

Katie is a people pleaser. She followed her husband to Alaska so that he could make his dreams come true, and in the process she lost herself and put her life on hold. So when her husband left her with nothing, she came back to her hometown completely defeated. Her brother gave her a job, which helped her get her life back on track, but she remains a work in progress.

Sean is back in town to sort his recently deceased mother’s affairs. It’s a deceivingly easy task, because although all he has to do is get rid of her clothes and sell her house, he’s also forced to confront the bad memories of a mother who was less-than stellar. He’s really bad at dealing with his baggage, though, and really good at ignoring them and hoping they will go away, which is why he’s staying in town far longer than planned.

Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

Source: A review copy was provided by the publisher trough NetGalley.

As you guys know, I loved Pushing the Limits because OVER THE TOP ANGST! *ahem* Which is why I was dying to read the sequel. Unlike its predecessor, however, Dare You To is --or at least feels-- less convoluted, probably because it only focuses on one angsty character instead of two. It is still quite dramatic, but way more contained.

I was intrigued by Beth as a secondary character in Pushing the Limits, and I liked her a lot as a heroine in Dare You To. She spends the whole book being angry, something that automatically makes her refreshing and interesting. The previous book heavily hinted at a different outcome for her, meaning that it appeared that her hero would be Isaiah, the other secondary character, yet this book completely challenged all my expectations. And although Isaiah still plays an important role here, he is not the love interest.

Review: Fire & Frost by Meljean Brook, Carolyn Crane, and Jessica Sims

Source: A review copy was provided by the authors. 

Fire and Frost is the newest collaboration between authors Meljean Brook, Carolyn Crane and Jessica Sims. The novellas are unique and almost impossible to compare, but they do have two things in common: the charming, compelling characters and the way the “hot and cold” theme has been cleverly incorporated into each story.

In Speed Mating by Jessica Sims we meet Estrella, a mixed tiger and lion shifter (or liger) who is about to go into heat and asks her clan’s alpha to help her find a suitable male to have sex with. Hilarity ensues. Well, not hilarity exactly, but as the title suggests, this is a light, tongue-in-cheek story that’s all about having fun while still managing to sneak in an interesting and welcome take on the ubiquitous shifter romance.

In which I Use a Bunch of Arrows to Illustrate the Plot of K.A. Mitchell's No Souvenirs

It's the 3rd book in the series,
but stands alone perfectly well.

I just hit an unexpected —and unwelcome—reading slump, so I decided to re-read a few favorite books. No Souvenirs is a story I loved the first time I read it and that I've been meaning to revisit. The second time around was just as good, but with one pretty big exception: this book is drowning in sex.

A story filled with sex scenes isn't necessarily bad, and in this book many of those scenes were effective and necessary. The two main characters are very bad at communicating, so their relationship develops and grows through the sex. Not only that, but there's an attempt (not entirely successful) to use sex as a way to explore and reflect the power dynamics that take place outside of the bedroom. It is a good example of how in Erotic Romance the sex can, and should be, used to tell the story (or at least part of it). However, at one point I started skimming, because it soon became clear that every scene in the book was immediately followed by sex.

Review: The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley

This book caught my attention because of its interesting premise and because I seldom read Sci-Fi. The blurb did mention a love story, but we know that when the book isn't a romance, love stories tend to end tragically, so I wasn't expecting a happy ending. It took a couple of chapters for me to realize that as much as I wasn't expecting anything, what I got wasn't what I was expecting at all. 

The Best of All Possible Worlds tells the story of Dllenahkh. It’s not clear whether the book is set in an alternate universe that looks futuristic, or if it’s supposed to be a very distant future (1). Regardless, what we do know is that there are different planets and different types of humans that have some genetic differences between them that manifest in their appearance and some psychic traits. 

Review: Aftershock by Jill Sorenson

Source: a review copy was provided by the author.

This year Romantic Suspense has been lackluster, and with a few notable exceptions, I feel like it needs an infusion of new and innovative ideas. Jill Sorenson is one of those exceptions. Her stories may not be new, but they certainly are refreshing, and Aftershock takes it a bit further into the novelty territory. It’s not a perfect book, but I’m glad to see an author taking risks in a sub-genre that has become a bit stale. 

I can’t tell much about the story without spoiling it, but the basic premise is that there’s devastating earthquake in San Diego, and a group of people get trapped under a collapsed highway. They barely have water, half of them are injured, and not all of them are good guys. Lauren, our heroine, is an EMT, and the hero, Garrett, a former Marine. They have a lot to worry about, yet find the time to fall in love.

Review: Romancing the Holiday Anthology by HelenKay Dimon, Christi Barth and Jaci Burton

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Carina Press’ Holiday Anthologies have become a tradition for me. This year they published three: Erotic, Sci-Fi and Contemporary, which is the one I’m reviewing today. To be honest, this is my least favorite of all their anthologies, although it still is a fairly competent set of novellas.

The first story is We'll Be Home for Christmas by HelenKay Dimon. I loved her previous novel, Lean on Me, and this novella is part of that series, so I was really happy to read it.

Review: Under the Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Note: this review contains spoiler for The Sweetest Thing. 

As you guys know, I’m a fan of the Lucky Harbor series, even though I think the original trilogy has been the best. When I saw that this novella was about a secondary character from the original series, I couldn’t wait to read it. And for such a short story, I was pleasantly surprised.

If you’re familiar with the series, or if you have read the second book*, you will know that Mia is Ford and Tara’s daughter that Tara gave up for adoption, just to be reunited when she was a teenager looking for her birth parents. In this book we get to see her get her HEA.

Mia is madly in love with Nick. Now that she’s almost finishing college and thinking about starting to establish her life, she wants to share it with him. But his life wasn’t easy, and he’s not outspoken about his feelings. But Mia is confident that he’s finally going to tell her that he loves her, and feels like it’s time to meet the parents. Not her real parents, but her birth parents, Ford and Tara, which makes no sense, because as far as I know she had a great relationship with her parents, but I’ll try not to nitpick. Anyway, she’s expecting a love declaration, he gets scared, and she breaks up with him. Then he realizes his mistakes and follows her to Lucky Harbor where the actual story takes place. The rest, I’m sure you can imagine.

Review: One Hit Wonder by Elyssa Patrick

There was a lot of hype surrounding Ms. Patrick’s debut novel, As You Wish, but unfortunately I had to DNF it because the hero was a widower, and you know how I feel about those. But I liked her voice, and when I saw that she had a new story out, I was happy to give her a second chance. I’m glad I did.

One Hit Wonder is a novella about a has-been pop star and the assistant who secretly loves him. It’s short, sweet and entertaining, exactly what one would expect from reading the blurb. You can pretty much guess what happens, but that’s fine because the real star of the story, what makes it good and fun, is the hero. 

Damon had one hit when he was a teenager, and that was it. He’s rich thanks to that one song, and he’s completely happy and content with it. Of course he wants to be more than that, and it’s in the middle of staging a comeback, but in the meantime he’s happy singing the same song over and over, and dancing on demand. There’s no angst, no feelings of failure or regrets, no demons to battle, nothing. This guy is as uncomplicated as it gets. And the reason why there’s no drama is because he’s confident and self-aware. Damon was a breath of fresh air in the middle of a sea filled with tortured characters, and as I said, he’s the reason you should read this novella.

Review: Lean on Me by HelenKay Dimon

Source: A review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Lean on Me is a short and sweet small-town Contemporary Romance, in which the small town is more intrusive than cute. 

Cassidy Clark’s dream was to leave her hometown behind and become a climber. She managed to accomplish just that, but in the process severed her relationship with almost everyone in her life. Things got even more complicated when after an unfortunate incident she made some pretty awful comments about her town, and she went from hero to villain. So when the end of her career --and a scam that left her broke-- forces her to go back, she has to redeem herself in front of family, friends and the man whose heart she broke years ago.

Review: Fault Lines by Rebecca Rogers Maher

Source: A copy of the book was provided by the publisher.

I first heard about this book on Carina Press’ Dear Reader Letter included in every book, where Angela James talks about the upcoming releases. It sounded interesting so I decided to read Rebecca Rogers Maher’s previous book, I’ll Become the Sea. I was very impressed and couldn't wait to read Fault Lines.

Sarah was a victim of sexual abuse when she was a teenager. Her story is heartbreaking. She doesn't know how to be in a relationship, doesn't even know if she’s capable of it. Her family life is very complicated because her mother ignores what happened to her. Sarah has to deal with her attacker, who happened to be a family member. And her only close relationship is the one she has with her best friend. But her friend recently found her happy ending, and Sarah doesn't want to intrude in her happiness. So she feels lonelier than ever.

Review: August Ice by Dev Bentham

Source: we received a copy from the author for review.

I don’t recall ever reading a story set in Antarctica, so that alone was enough to make me want to read it. Also, one of the characters is French. Enough said!

Max Conway is a former Navy SEAL with more baggage than an airport. Since he was discharged from the teams, he’s been working as a safety diver at a research base in Antarctica. During his free time he either gets drunk, has anonymous sex or both. So is no wonder that one day he wakes up in bed with someone he doesn’t know. The stranger’s name is Andre, a French scientist heading for the same base as Max. Andre is angry at him for falling sleep before sex and not remembering anything after. So when they meet again in Antarctica and are assigned to work together, neither is happy about it.

Guest Review: Time After Time by Constance O’Day-Flannery

About Sarah: Who am I? I'm a part-time library science student, part-time librarian, and full-time mom. When I'm not wrangling my little girl or my husband, I'm reading all sorts of books to be able to recommend that "next" book for shy readers or those new to the romance genre. I can be found on Goodreads or on my blog at sarahsbookshelf.com.

I've been on the lookout recently for some more established historical authors to sink my teeth into and came across Constance O'Day-Flannery. She's best known for her time travel romances, so being a newbie to this type of historical, I thought I'd give her a shot. 

Review: The Army Ranger’s Return by Soraya Lane

The first time I read one of Ms. Lane’s books, I decided to choose the one with the cheating hero. Surprisingly, things turned out well and I ended up enjoying the book. So for my second book I decided to once again step out of my comfort zone and go for the one with the widower. 

Jessica and Ryan have been pen pals for over a year now. Both of them relied on those letters to survive; Ryan because he was in the middle of the war, and Jessica because she was battling cancer. They became best friends and confidents, especially Ryan, because he was able to confide in her and tell her about his wife dying, his son rejecting him and his feelings of inadequacy. Jessica wasn’t as forthcoming but still she became dependent on him. So when Ryan gets back for a short leave, the natural progression is that they meet in person. But things don’t go as smoothly, first because they are attracted to each other but neither of them feel is the right moment to do something about it, and second because Jess won’t come clean about her disease for fear of being rejected, even as a friend. 

A review and a half: An Inconvenient Mate and Lawe’s Justice by Lora Leigh

Note: these reviews won’t make any sense if you haven’t read this series. You should go and start from book 1 Tempting the Beast and take notes along the way (if you do that, let me know because I’m having trouble following the chronology).

This review is a little different than the usual. First, I’m reviewing An Inconvenient Mate, a novella part of an anthology, and then, I’m reviewing Lawe’s Justice the last novel from the Breed Series. The main reason for this is that both stories “happen” at the same time, meaning that the timeline between one and another is almost the same. The other reason is that I read them both almost on the same day.